Teammate Damage Judgment and Physical Exorcism Ritual

With the referee's whistle, the starting lineups of both teams stepped onto the court.

On the Aoba Johsai side, Iwaizumi Hajime led the way, followed by familiar faces like Kindaichi Yutaro and Kunimi Akira, as well as older students like Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei who looked like trouble.

In contrast, Karasuno's side had a rather strange atmosphere.

Sawamura Daichi, as captain, wore a calm expression that seemed to say, "Please bear with my clumsy children." Kageyama Tobio had a dark expression, as if the whole world owed him five million. Tsukishima Kei looked indifferent, as if he wanted to go home. Tanaka Ryūnosuke was punching the air, trying to intimidate the opponents with his aura.

As for Hinata Shoyo...

Lu Ren glanced at the small figure beside him. The kid wasn't just shaking; he was shaking so fast it created afterimages. If you didn't look closely, you'd think it was a game model clipping through itself.

"Hey, is that shrimp a wing spiker?"

A voice full of doubt came from the other side of the net. Kindaichi Yutaro pointed at Hinata, his expression like he'd seen a hilarious bug. "Is Karasuno out of players? A guy his height playing wing spiker, did they make a mistake?"

"Don't get careless," Kunimi Akira reminded him lazily from beside him, but his eyes clearly didn't take the orange-haired kid, who was shaking like a sieve, seriously either.

"Hinata, calm down," Sawamura Daichi patted Hinata's back. The muscles under his palm were as stiff as stone. "Deep breaths."

"Y-Yes! I'm cold... I mean, calm!" Hinata replied loudly, his voice cracking, sounding like a screaming chicken whose neck had been grabbed.

Kageyama Tobio walked over, frowning, and lowered his voice. "Hey, idiot. Just play like we did in the three-on-three before. As long as you jump, the ball will come to your hand."

"I-I got it!" Hinata nodded vigorously, his head shaking like a rattle drum.

Kageyama looked at him suspiciously. "Did you really understand?"

"Of... Of course!"

Lu Ren stood in the back row, sighing silently. Based on his many years of gaming experience, when a flag like this was raised, it usually meant an epic disaster was about to unfold.

The match began.

Aoba Johsai served. Matsukawa Issei stood at the baseline, tossed the ball, and swung his arm.

It was a very ordinary overhand serve, with no strong spin and no tricky placement, purely a tentative opening ball. The ball traced a gentle arc, heading straight for Karasuno's back row.

The landing spot was clear, and the speed wasn't fast.

Sawamura Daichi had already taken his receiving stance. As the team's defensive core, a ball like this was as easy as a newbie tutorial for him.

"I got it!"

As Daichi shouted, an orange afterimage suddenly cut in from the side.

"I-I-I-I got it--!!!"

Hinata Shoyo was like an out-of-control wild boar, completely ignoring the original defensive formation, even ignoring the laws of physics, and forcefully squeezed into Daichi's defensive area.

"Idiot! That's not your ball!" Kageyama yelled from the net.

But it was too late.

Because of extreme nervousness, Hinata's footwork became a mess, and he lunged forward as if he had tripped. The volleyball hit the bone of his wrist with a crisp sound, then bounced towards the out-of-bounds area at a strange angle—in other words, in Lu Ren's direction.

"..."

Lu Ren watched the volleyball flying straight towards his face, too lazy to even complain.

This wasn't a volleyball match; it was a live broadcast of Human Fall Flat.

His body moved faster than his brain. Lu Ren sidestepped, and from an angle that should have been a certain kill, he managed to save the ball with an awkward posture.

"Tanaka-senpai!" Lu Ren called out.

The ball flew high to the left wing.

"Nice receive! Lu Ren!" Tanaka Ryūnosuke roared, sprinting and jumping. His aura was fierce, his eyes menacing, as if he intended to smash this ball along with the floor on the other side.

However, Aoba Johsai's reaction was faster.

The moment Tanaka jumped, three blockers on the opposite side—Iwaizumi, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa—rose in unison like a wall of despair.

"Thud!"

A dull thud.

Tanaka's spike was solidly blocked, and the volleyball slammed heavily onto Karasuno's court.

0:1.

"Sorry! My bad!" Tanaka slapped his thigh in frustration after landing.

"No, I passed the ball too quickly," Lu Ren waved his hand, his gaze drifting to Hinata Shoyo, who was now lying on the ground with a look of horror.

Kageyama Tobio stood at the net, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked. If looks could kill, Hinata would already be a QR code.

The next few minutes were a public execution titled "A Thousand Ways Hinata Shoyo Could Die" for everyone on Karasuno.

On the second ball, Hinata tried to run an attack, but as he retreated, he sat down squarely on Tanaka, who was preparing to receive. The two rolled into a ball, and the ball landed, scoring a point.

On the third ball, it was Hinata's turn to block in the front row. He mistimed his jump completely, and as he landed, his left foot tripped over his right, sending him face-first onto the ground.

On the fourth ball, Lu Ren had finally predicted the opponent's tip, and was preparing to dive for the save, when suddenly a wall of orange appeared in front of him—Hinata had blindly blocked his path.