The eyes of everyone in the conference hall focused instantly on the speaker.
“Read the reason for the application,” Fuchesi said directly.
The member cleared his throat and read in a monotone voice, “I deeply identify with your club’s philosophy and long to temper myself within this collective.
I wish to improve myself and contribute my strength to our future missions.”
“It sounds like it was copy-pasted directly from some ‘Top Ten Club Application Reason Templates’ website,” Fuchesi commented incisively, her face showing undisguised disgust.
“There’s more.”
The member holding the tablet continued with a strange expression.
“His roommate, Li Hao, the one whose Divine Sense is ‘Creation,’ also submitted an application.”
“And the reason?”
“Identical to Lin Yu’s. Not a single word is different.”
A weird silence descended upon the conference hall.
“It seems,” Alexander finally broke the silence, his lips curling into an arc that was hard to tell if it was helplessness or amusement, “they didn’t just copy it from the internet; they couldn’t even be bothered to find a second version.”
“But they are both Mu Chengfeng’s roommates. Could this be Mu Chengfeng’s plan?”
Alexander’s fingers stopped tapping.
He sat up straight and scanned every core member present.
In those gray-blue eyes, the previous playful look was replaced by a sharp, challenging light.
“Approve their applications,” he decided, his voice clear and powerful.
“If this is Mu Chengfeng’s challenge…”
He smiled slightly, a smile full of confidence and competitiveness.
“Then I accept.”
***
Time rewound to half an hour ago.
Inside Dormitory 126.
Lin Yu and Li Hao were forced to try applying for clubs for the sake of those damned Extra-curricular Credits.
Li Hao slumped in his chair, his fingers irritably clawing through his hair as he reluctantly logged into the Thanatos school website.
The faint blue light of the screen reflected off his troubled face.
Lin Yu didn’t say anything, silently operating his own computer to enter the “Club Application” section of the official website.
He had no interest in so-called club activities, but rules were rules.
Once the page finished loading, what met his eyes wasn’t the expected variety of choices.
Unlike the “Art Club,” “Photography Association,” or “Music Club” of an ordinary university, the club list at Thanatos felt cold and sterile.
The “Anime Club” that Li Hao had fantasized about was nowhere to be found.
The list was ranked by the number of members, and the names of the top clubs were each stranger than the last:
King
Maple
Fort
Mirai
“What the hell are the clubs in this school?”
Li Hao couldn’t help but complain.
“The names look like they were ripped straight out of a fantasy novel. It doesn’t sound like they’re doing activities; it sounds like they’re forming parties to clear dungeons or launch a coup.”
Mu Chengfeng, who had been sitting quietly at his desk reading a book, explained, “It’s different from a regular university. The total number of students at Thanatos remains around 1,000 year-round, and only a few hundred might be active on campus at any given time. With limited resources, the clubs are naturally more like… organizations.”
He paused before adding, “The school clubs are essentially preparatory groups for those entering the various departments of the Operations Department or the Research Division in the future.”
By then, Li Hao had already clicked on the page for “King,” the top-ranked club.
The webpage included a photo of the president and a club introduction, though everything was in English.
Li Hao skillfully called up the browser’s translation function, and the information was quickly converted.
‘Join King and instantly receive a 100-pound welcome bonus.’
This was the first sentence of King’s club introduction, written in an exceptionally eye-catching bold font.
“I remember the exchange rate between the pound and the yuan is…”
Li Hao said subconsciously.
“One pound is approximately 9.5 yuan,” Mu Chengfeng’s voice chimed in at the perfect time.
“What does this mean? Pay to join? Or…”
Li Hao was a bit dazed.
“It’s exactly what you think. Anyone who joins King will have 100 pounds transferred directly into their student account by Alexander,” Mu Chengfeng explained.
“Alexandre Duval’s family is extremely wealthy. He used his massive financial backing to establish and grow the ‘King’ club, single-handedly making it the largest club in the school.”
Next, Lin Yu and Li Hao scrolled down the rankings.
The second-ranked club:
“Maple.”
President: …
Their gazes froze simultaneously.
Then, in unison and with a hint of unbelievable shock, they turned their heads to look at their expressionless roommate sitting nearby—Mu Chengfeng—who was currently looking down and flipping through a thick book.
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Li Hao opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something like, ‘Senior, you’re actually the president of such a big club?’ but seeing Mu Chengfeng’s unshakeable, serious profile, he swallowed his words.
Lin Yu felt a bit surprised as well, but he quickly accepted the fact.
This poker-faced senior truly possessed the “keep away” aura of a club boss.
Mu Chengfeng sensed their strange gazes and closed his book.
“Do you want to join Maple?”
Mu Chengfeng asked suddenly, without any warning.
‘Is this a threat?’
The two looked at each other.
“It’s just an invitation. Which club you join is your choice,” Mu Chengfeng explained further, seemingly seeing through their worries.
However, Mu Chengfeng’s face still lacked any expression whatsoever.
To Lin Yu and Li Hao, this explanation felt more and more like a threat.
They had originally thought joining a club was just for credits, but now it seemed like joining a club carried the weight of choosing a side.
“The clubs are not in a hostile relationship…”
Seeing their expressions, Mu Chengfeng had no choice but to explain again.
This time, the two finally felt at ease.
“Is that 100 pounds given just for joining?”
Li Hao asked while staring at the computer.
“Yes, as long as the application is approved,” Mu Chengfeng replied.
“That’s 100 pounds. That’s almost 1,000 yuan. I just have to join? There won’t be any predatory clauses later, right?”
“To Alexander, that amount of money is nothing.”
“The world of the rich is truly hard to understand.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so low-profile, Senior. The boss of the second-largest club in school.”
Mu Chengfeng shook his head.
“I’m different from Alexander. I don’t care much for things like clubs. The reason I became the president was because I was set up by someone else…”
“So… which one should we choose?”
Li Hao threw the question back, his eyes moving between Lin Yu and Mu Chengfeng.
Lin Yu’s gaze swept over the two club names, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion.
To him, it didn’t matter which one he chose; it was just a task that had to be completed.
He only wanted to get the credits in the easiest way possible.
“Since it’s just joining a club for credits, there’s no reason not to take the money, right?”
He casually clicked on the page for the “King” club.
His finger tapped the application button, and he paused at the application input box.
It actually required a reason for the application.
‘I’ll just find a random paragraph online,’ Lin Yu thought.
He then opened Google, searched, copied, pasted, clicked, and submitted.
“Done,” he said flatly, as if a burden had been lifted.
Li Hao leaned over to take a look.
“Holy crap, you’re… being way too lazy, aren’t you?”
“What else?”
Lin Yu closed the terminal.
“Am I supposed to write an essay explaining how obsessed I am with this club?”
“That makes sense. Send me a copy so I can paste it.”
Li Hao agreed wholeheartedly.
Without hesitation, he copied and pasted Lin Yu’s paragraph and submitted it to the “King” club as well.
“Heh, that’s easier.”
He clapped his hands in satisfaction, completely unaware of the ripples these two identical, half-hearted applications would cause in the core meeting of “King” half an hour later.
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