The Forced Login Morning and the Overt Scheme Called "Coincidence"

5 AM.

The sky outside the window was a lifeless grayish-blue, like a texture failed to render in a graphics card.

Lu Ren sat at the dining table, holding a bowl of freshly cooked noodles. Steam rose, making his dead fish eyes even more glazed. At this hour, apart from the roosters crowing and the sanitation workers, normal humans' biological clocks should be in deep hibernation.

The master bedroom upstairs was silent. Comrade Lu Jianguo and Mother were sleeping soundly. Lu Ren slurped a mouthful of noodles, mentally labeling the act as "anti-human."

Five minutes to finish the meal, wash the dishes, change shoes.

The moment he opened the door, the cold air was like a frigid slap, instantly raising Lu Ren's alertness by ten percent.

Under the streetlight at the entrance of the yard, Kiyosawa Mashiba was doing high-knee warm-ups. She wore a light gray tracksuit, her ponytail swinging with her movements, her vitality overflowing the screen. Seeing Lu Ren emerge, she immediately stopped, her gaze like that of someone spotting a newly spawned rare monster.

"Morning."

Lu Ren pulled up his collar, trying to hide his face. "Big sis, are you a system-sent anti-addiction guardian? It's 5:30 AM, are you planning to rush the market for the first harvest of chives?"

"Since we've decided to tackle the Volleyball Club instance, we need to complete all daily quests." Mashiba ignored his retort and pulled a folded map from her pocket. "This is today's route. We'll run a lap around the community, then head to the river embankment, and finally meet at the Sakashita Store."

Lu Ren glanced at the map, his mouth twitching.

"You call this 'a lap'? This is a full-blown city marathon! Today's Sunday, a legal holiday, a day when even God would lie down after creating humanity."

"Oh, really?"

Mashiba smiled and took out a small, transparent plastic bag from her pocket. Inside was a CD. Even from several meters away, Lu Ren's long-trained dynamic vision accurately captured the Final Fantasy logo on the cover.

"Your game discs, about seventy percent of them are still in my backpack. This one is just one of the 'hostages'." Mashiba dangled the bag. "If you don't want them to get scratched by 'accident,' or be thrown to the big yellow dog next door as a frisbee..."

"Run."

Lu Ren snapped to attention instantly, declaring righteously, "Life is movement. I love running the most. Anyone who stops me is my enemy."

Ten minutes later, Lu Ren regretted it.

Although the morning air was fresh, inhaling it felt like swallowing blades. His legs felt like they were filled with lead, and every step required the full force of his willpower. Beside him, Kiyosawa Mashiba, despite being a girl, breathed as steadily as if she were strolling, even correcting his arm swing from time to time.

"Adjust your breathing. Exhale for two steps, inhale for two steps. Don't pant like a bellows."

"I'm... cooling down..." Lu Ren retorted intermittently. "This is... overheat protection..."

The two turned a corner, and a long uphill road lay ahead.

Just as Lu Ren was about to request a "pause game," a cacophony of footsteps and shouts suddenly came from the top of the slope.

"Rye--!!"

"Nice shot! Don't stop! Sprint!"

A group of figures in black tracksuits was charging down the slope, fierce as wild beasts just released from their cages.

Leading the pack were two bald heads—no, one bald head and a short guy with orange hair. Behind them were the calm-faced Sawamura Daichi, the refreshingly clean Sugawara Kōshi, and Kageyama Tobio, whose dark expression suggested someone owed him five million.

Except for Tsukishima Kei, the bespectacled guy who always wore headphones, almost all the main players of the Karasuno Volleyball Club were present.

Lu Ren froze, forgetting even to breathe.

Did these guys not need sleep? Was their stamina bar locked?

"Lu Ren?"

Tanaka Ryūnosuke, charging at the front, slammed on the brakes, his soles screeching on the asphalt. Hinata Shoyo followed closely, nearly crashing into Tanaka's back.

"Oh, oh! It's Lu Ren!" Hinata waved excitedly, his boundless energy making Lu Ren's stomach churn.

The main group stopped. Sawamura Daichi wiped the sweat from his forehead, revealing his signature bright white teeth, his smile so hearty it was almost alarming.

"What a coincidence? You guys are out for a morning run too?"

Lu Ren held his knees, feeling the air being squeezed out of his lungs. "Coincidence... What coincidence? Are you guys... sleepwalking?"

"We just happened to wake up early, so we decided to go for a run together." Sawamura Daichi said casually, as if it were as commonplace as eating or drinking.

Lu Ren looked at the group as if they were monsters.

Just happened?

A group of high school boys, at 5:30 AM on a Sunday, "just happened" to be unable to sleep, "just happened" to want to run, and "just happened" to all end up together?

This was a coincidence? This was clearly a server bug causing NPCs to spawn collectively at the same coordinates!

"Since we ran into each other, let's go together."

Sugawara Kōshi walked over with a smile, naturally patting Lu Ren on the shoulder. His smile was gentle, even carrying a maternal glow, but Lu Ren inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.