On the morning commute, the air still carried the faint scent of dew that hadn't yet evaporated.
Lu Ren yawned, two tears of sheer reflex squeezing from the corners of his eyes. He carried his schoolbag in one hand and shuffled along unsteadily, like someone who'd stayed up all night grinding through a dungeon. Beside him, Kiyosawa Mashiba was full of energy, her ponytail swishing with every step.
"I heard something big happened at your place last night?" Mashiba turned her head, her tone teasing, though she already knew the answer. "Mom told me about it when she got home. She said it was quite the moving scene."
"Don't remind me." Lu Ren waved a hand, his expression full of regret. "Was that something big? That was a flood. The Empress Dowager's tear ducts malfunctioned, and we nearly had a 'Flooding of Jinshan Temple' situation. If your mother hadn't arrived in time and found the outlet, my dad would probably have been using his body to block the breach."
"Auntie was just homesick."
"I know, but it was an emergency system update with no announcement. The players were completely unprepared." Lu Ren sighed. "Still, the final evaluation was S-rank, so there's a good chance we'll unlock the new 'Visit the Hometown' map over winter break."
The two of them chatted back and forth until, before they knew it, they'd reached the gym entrance.
Before they even went inside, a loud bang rang out from within. It was the sound of a volleyball slamming into the floor, and it made you wince just hearing it.
Lu Ren peered inside.
In the empty gym, Kageyama Tobio stood at the end line, spinning a ball in his hand. An empty water bottle stood in the far corner on the other side of the net, apparently the target for his shooting drill.
"This guy's practicing his aim this early in the morning." Lu Ren leaned against the doorframe, in no hurry to go in and change his shoes.
Kageyama tossed the ball, jumped, and swung his arm. His movements flowed like a pre-rendered high-frame-rate animation.
The volleyball drew a fierce arc through the air, heading straight for the poor water bottle. Judging by Lu Ren's dynamic vision, the shot's trajectory correction was perfect, with a 99% chance of hitting its mark.
But accidents always happened in that remaining 1%.
An orange figure suddenly darted out like a lagging NPC.
"I'll get it!"
Hinata Shoyo appeared from who knew where, shouted, and charged toward the ball's landing point. But he'd clearly overestimated his ability to predict its path—or underestimated the spin Kageyama had put on the shot.
He stuck out his arms in a pose as twisted as someone doing morning exercises.
Bang!
The ball didn't go up. Instead, it slammed squarely into Hinata's wrist with a sharp crack, then ricocheted off at a weird angle and crashed into the second-floor railing.
"Ow, ow, ow..." Hinata hopped around on the floor, clutching his wrist.
A vein bulged at Kageyama's temple. The second ball he hadn't served yet creaked in his grip.
"You idiot! Quit getting in my way!" Kageyama roared. "I could've hit that one! Are you here to mess things up?"
"Did I get it? Did I get it?" Hinata completely ignored Kageyama's fury and gazed up at him hopefully.
"Get what?!" Kageyama pointed to the second floor. "That was a home run! Are you a spy from the baseball club?"
Lu Ren watched from the doorway, thoroughly entertained, and casually pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.
"Again!" Kageyama couldn't be bothered with that one-track-minded idiot and picked up another ball.
This time, his gaze was even more focused, as if he meant to bore a hole through the plastic bottle. He tossed the ball, ran forward, and jumped.
Vrrr—
The volleyball howled through the air with a fierce spin, moving even faster than before.
A split second before the ball was about to hit the floor, a dark figure flashed past the entrance.
Lu Ren didn't even see how he moved.
The figure appeared abruptly at the ball's landing point, as if he'd used the Teleportation Skill. Without any unnecessary movement, he spread his legs and crouched low, his weight centered. The black school jacket draped over his shoulders fluttered with the motion, revealing the white T-shirt underneath.
Four large white characters were printed across the back: "One Against a Thousand."
Clap.
It wasn't a dull thud, but a crisp, clean sound.
The serve looked powerful enough to knock someone over, but the instant it touched the man's arms, all its momentum seemed to vanish into a black hole. The volleyball obediently bounced upward in a gentle arc and landed exactly where the setter usually stood.
Even its spin had been completely canceled out.
"Now that's steady." Lu Ren nearly crunched the candy in his mouth.
That reception had to come with max-level defense gear.
The figure straightened and reached up to pull his school jacket back onto his shoulder before it could slip off. The movement was as cool as a samurai sheathing his sword.
Hinata's mouth fell open. He stared at the calm, collected figure, then glanced at the volleyball still rolling across the floor.
"So amazing..." Hinata murmured, then looked up at the other boy's head.
The boy in the "One Against a Thousand" T-shirt turned around. His hair stood straight up, with a streak of blond dyed at the front, and his gaze was sharp.
Hinata stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly blurted out, "Um... you're even shorter than me."
The air froze.
Lu Ren covered his face. This kid really had no idea how to talk to people. Was that aggro-drawing skill of his triggered passively?
Before you continue