Leon Chen returned to school, quickly becoming a hot topic at H University. Over the past month, his name frequently came up in conversations. As soon as he was back from the hospital, he was surrounded by curious onlookers.
However, this time, there wasn't much to brag about. These onlookers were mainly interested in his experience of being caught in a terrorist attack and his "award speech" for getting shot. Leon knew that Isabella Xiang's presence at the mall had been deliberately erased. If people found out that he took a bullet for the icy beauty Isabella, would their eyes, filled with schadenfreude, pop out in disbelief?
Thinking of Isabella, Leon noticed that she, who rarely missed a class, was absent today.
After enduring the morning classes, Leon headed straight to the club-room.
As Leon walked into the club-room, four classmates were already there, each occupied with their own tasks. They greeted him with excitement.
"Vice President, you're finally back."
"Oh my god, we can finally escape the witch's clutches."
Peter Wen and Alex Zhu, whom he had met at the hospital, looked relieved.
"I didn't come back to be your shield," Leon laughed.
"Where's the witch?" Leon looked around the small club-room, not seeing the stunning figure.
"Oh, the president will be back soon. She went to negotiate with the Mystery Club again," Peter explained.
Leon understood.
The club's activities were minimal, especially for a small club like theirs. Typically, they read books and shared insights as a form of extracurricular relaxation. Leon pulled out a copy of "The Three Coffins" by John Dickson Carr, a renowned locked-room mystery novel, for a re-read.
Ten minutes later, the door to the activity room opened again. Leon looked up to see a pretty girl walk in. She was delicate in appearance but with an unusually composed expression, sporting a short bob haircut and holding a record book. She smiled happily upon seeing Leon.
Her name was Sandra Yue, the only female member besides the president. Her presence immediately changed the room's atmosphere.
"Vice President, we've been waiting for you!"
"Where's the president?" Leon asked.
"Hmm... hmm... hmm..." The eerie nasal sound announced the arrival of a figure behind Sandra. A girl with disheveled hair, looking like a ghost with her pale dress and white arms, akin to Sadako from "The Ring," emerged.
In a few blinks, she was behind Leon, her skeletal hands gripping the back of his neck.
Even seasoned members of the Supernatural Mystery Research Club couldn't help but shiver at the sight.
"Madam Witch, the club is open. Haven't you checked on the new members?" Leon said wearily, prying her cold hands off and turning around.
"The old members are already scared away, Madam Witch. Don't you consider dressing up a bit?"
"My dear Leon, are you suggesting I put on blood makeup?" Sadako's voice was melodious.
Leon let go, "Forget I said anything."
"Hmm... hmm..." The evil laugh echoed as the girl parted her hair, revealing a pale but beautiful face with hauntingly black eyes.
"Ha, I just scared some new freshmen at the Mystery Club. You should've seen it, Leon. Even President Hu was frightened," Sandra laughed. Luna Hu, president of the Supernatural Mystery Research Club, was known as the Gost Witch of H university.
"Now, let's discuss club matters!" Luna tied her long hair into pigtails and sat formally at the president's seat, making the others straighten up.
The atmosphere turned serious. Luna was the kind of person who could easily manipulate and change the mood.
"The Student Council has officially opened club activities, and there will be a large recruitment event this weekend. Every club will participate," Luna said, twirling a pen and rubbing her temple. "Normally, I wouldn't care, but the Student Council issued a notice: any club with fewer than ten members will be disbanded…"
Leon glanced around the room. With Peter, Alex Zhu, the two girls, and a couple of other members, they were nowhere near double digits.
"Does this mean our club will be disbanded?" Leon asked in surprise.
"Hmm... yes," Luna replied. "We need three more sacrificial lambs."
"Do you have any ideas on how to quickly recruit three more members?" Luna's pen spun faster, indicating her rapid thinking.
Getting three students might not seem difficult, but given the nature of the Supernatural Mystery Research Society, it wasn't easy.
Leon's club, the Supernatural Mystery Research Club, focused on supernatural phenomena and mysteries. Due to H university's unique status in the country, making a name in school often meant having a significant impact on one's future in society. Hence, countless clubs emerged, ranging from "Alien Exploration Department" to "Virgin Research Society" to "Time Travel Discussion Club." Except for those challenging moral standards, like the Virgin Research Society, most clubs were approved and given a room and a small budget for activities.
H university was wealthy and aimed to nurture students' hands-on and critical thinking skills. However, many clubs were canceled each year due to lack of attraction or remarkable achievements.
With only so many students, the top ten clubs monopolized about seventy percent of the members, with the rest drawn to medium-sized clubs. By the time it came to the Supernatural Mystery Research Society, as Luna often said—only ghostly shadows remained.
This club, founded by Luna Hu, had only been around for a year, lacking the historical foundation of other clubs. Moreover, H university had the famous "Astrology Medium Society" and a "Mystery Department," making it hard for the Supernatural Mystery Research Club to attract members.
"Getting three more members shouldn't be too hard. We could do what we did last year and find three graduating seniors to pad our numbers," Leon suggested.
"No, we've already tried that," Sandra replied regretfully.
"Hmm... Leon, you've been quite popular lately. Why don't you talk to the Student Council?" Luna smirked.
"Forget it," Leon cut off her wishful thinking. "Luna, don't you have any plans for recruiting new members?"
Luna glanced at Sandra.
Sandra awkwardly answered, "Vice President, Luna does have a plan, but it seems impractical." She pulled out a piece of paper.
Leon was stunned. "Dear Luna, you're not thinking of another twisted brain teaser like last time, are you?"
"Correction, it's a psychological test to gauge one's judgment and imagination. Isn't that appropriate?" Luna raised an eyebrow, the pen still twirling.
"It's enough to make anyone pray. Let me see what the Witch has come up with this time."
Leon took the paper and scanned the questions, feeling speechless. As expected, it was challenging.
The question: Guess the coin's side. If the coin shows heads ten times in a row, which side would you bet on for the eleventh flip?