Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

"Speaking of which, the people from the Urban Legends Club have indeed gone too far. The Strange Tales Club had no intention of getting involved with the Urban Legends Club, but the members of the Urban Legends Club pushed it too far. They repeatedly ridiculed the Strange Tales Club in public, eventually forcing a confrontation, and I heard that members of the Urban Legends Club even injured several members of the Strange Tales Club. Unexpectedly, the school principal was so straightforward; he actually decided to merge the two clubs directly. Now, these two clubs are in for an interesting time," Meng Mengzi said with a smile.

Liu Xing nodded. It seemed that these two clubs had fundamental differences, which led to their conflict. However, now he couldn’t help but admire the creativity of the principal of Tokyo Comprehensive University, to think of merging these two nearly hostile clubs.

Speaking of which, Liu Xing now felt that there might be something off about this Strange Tales Club.

The reason was simple. In the Cthulhu RPG Game module, the NPCs and organizations that actively appeared in the early stages were generally connected to the main quest of the module to some extent.

This Strange Tales Club seemed problematic. After all, university students were generally passionate individuals. So logically, the members of the Strange Tales Club should not have chosen to endure the Urban Legends Club’s outrageous behavior and repeated provocations.

Therefore, Liu Xing speculated that the Strange Tales Club might have some connection to the Deep Diving Society. This could be the reason they were tolerating the Urban Legends Club’s behavior, in order to avoid revealing their true identity and to avoid drawing attention.

However, speaking from the heart, Liu Xing believed that the president of the Strange Tales Club must be feeling as if he had been dealt a heavy blow. After enduring the Urban Legends Club for so long in the previous semester, the result was their merger. This made the situation truly difficult for them.

If the president of the Strange Tales Club was indeed a member of the Deep Diving Society, then he had clearly miscalculated before.

But with things unfolding this way, it seemed that there would be some drama for him to witness.

Liu Xing gave Zhang Jingxu a meaningful look. Zhang Jingxu, understanding the unspoken message, said to Meng Mengzi, "President, what will the merged club be called?"

Meng Mengzi thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, after the merger of the Strange Tales Club and the Urban Legends Club, they will be renamed as the Mysterious Stories Club. Hmm, this name feels a bit strange to me..."

"Stories, huh? Back when I was studying abroad, it seemed like a dime a dozen," Zhang Shiwu quipped.

At that moment, a middle-aged man entered the activity room.

"This is our China club’s faculty advisor, Liu Xin. Teacher Liu is in charge of teaching mathematics. If any of you have trouble with calculus in the future, you can come to Teacher Liu for extra lessons," Meng Mengzi said with a smile.

Liu Xin?

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected to encounter an NPC with the same name and surname as himself here.

Speaking of which, Liu Xing felt that his name was quite common. At least, Liu Xing personally knew more than ten people with the same name and surname. This had led Liu Xing to entertain the idea of changing his name a long time ago.

But because changing his name was such a hassle, and everyone he knew was already accustomed to calling him Liu Xing, he eventually gave up on the idea.

Liu Xin extended his hand and said with a smile, "You must be the new students Zhang Shiwu mentioned. I warmly welcome you to join the China club. I’m sure you will come to like the China club very soon because we are a close-knit family. By the way, when you are outside, you can call me Teacher Liu, as these Island Nation people take the issue of addressing someone quite seriously. However, within the club, you can call me Brother Xin, or my nickname, Sanjin, as I am only a few years older than you. We are all friends, so there’s no need to be too formal."

Sanjin?

Liu Xing quickly realized that the name of this Teacher Liu was Liu Xin, not Liu Xing.

Speaking of which, this reminded Liu Xing of something. Initially, his name was indeed Liu Xin because his grandfather, an old Chinese doctor and a geomancer, had suggested it. However, due to another person in his generation already having the name Liu Xin, it was changed to "Xing" (the origin of the author’s name). Perhaps because the author couldn’t think of a better name at that time, he simply changed one character of his own name, giving it a sense of personal involvement... maybe.

Thinking about this, Liu Xing felt a certain connection with LiuXin.

After Liu Xing and the others introduced themselves, Liu Xin said, "Tonight at 8 pm, our club will have a dinner gathering at the Shudu Restaurant where Zhang Shiwu works part-time. Everyone from our China club will be there, so don’t forget to join us on time. Now, I have some matters to discuss with the faculty advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club. That person, despite being a class advisor, doesn’t shoulder any responsibilities at all."

Upon hearing Liu Xin mention the faculty advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club, Zhang Jingxu quickly asked, "Brother Xin, what’s going on with the faculty advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club?"

Liu Xin shrugged and said somewhat exasperatedly, "The faculty advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club is named Tanaka Fuji, an old teacher at Tokyo Comprehensive University. However, because he has never achieved anything remarkable and hardly engages with other teachers, simply teaching classes and then going straight home every day, he’s practically invisible within the faculty at Tokyo Comprehensive University. I’ve been teaching here for five years, and until a year ago, I’d only heard of Tanaka Fuji’s name but never actually seen him. This just goes to show how elusive Tanaka Fuji is."

"However, a year ago, Tanaka Fuji suddenly had a change of heart and approached the principal, expressing a desire to become a class advisor. The principal, considering Tanaka Fuji’s years of service to the school, though not particularly outstanding, and the relatively simple duties of a university class advisor, readily agreed to let him take on the role. Coincidentally, Tanaka Fuji’s class is next to mine. Shortly after the start of the last academic year, Tanaka Fuji approached me to help with his class advisor duties. At the time, I thought he had an urgent matter, so I agreed. But as it turned out, Tanaka Fuji just passed on all his class advisor responsibilities to me."

"When I realized something was amiss and wanted to havea proper conversation with Tanaka Fuji, he kept making excuses to avoid it. Moreover, when I asked his students, they said that Tanaka Fuji showed no concern for their class, so I concluded that Tanaka Fuji’s desire to become a class advisor was solely for a pay raise. Therefore, I reported this to the principal. The principal, being astute, shared my view and thought that Tanaka Fuji might be in need of money. However, it wasn’t a good time to revoke Tanaka Fuji’s position as a class advisor. After all, Tanaka Fuji had been a long-serving teacher at Tokyo Comprehensive University, and in the Island Nation, respect for seniority and experience is paramount."

So, the principal gave me a raise, asking me to help with Tanaka Fuji’s class matters and promised to remove Tanaka Fuji after the start of the school year and even help me advance in my position. So, I accepted. After all, being a class advisor didn’t involve much work, just a little paperwork. But what really irked me was when I found out from other teachers that Tanaka Fuji suddenly became an advisor for a club. Let me tell you honestly, most club advisors do it out of love, even if some clubs pay them, it’s not much compared to tutoring fees."

"So, I decided to investigate the club for which Tanaka Fuji was an advisor, the Strange Tales Club. I found out that there were several students from his class in that club, and these students were somewhat peculiar, or rather, reclusive. While handling Tanaka Fuji’s class matters, I noticed that these students were shunned by others and had become a secluded group. So, I looked into these students and discovered that they never interacted with other students after the start of the school year, which naturally led to their isolation."

"At the time, I thought Tanaka Fuji was a good teacher, becoming an advisor to look after his students. But later, I found out that Tanaka Fuji only became the advisor for the Strange Tales Club because the previous advisor had resigned. A club without an advisor couldn’t function, and if it didn’t have one within a month, it would be disbanded. Here’s the kicker: the president of the Strange Tales Club is named Oyamaya, who happens to be Tanaka Fuji’s grandson."

"After learning all this, I was naturally very upset. But I couldn’t say anything at the time. You should already know what happened afterward, with many clubs facing conflicts at the end of last semester. The conflict between the Strange Tales Club and the Urban Legends Club led to the direct merger of the two clubs into the Mysterious Stories Club. The faculty advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club was taken from the original Urban Legends Club."

"So, I was quite happy at the teacher’s meeting this morning because I finally wouldn’t have to deal with Tanaka Fuji’s mess. But what I didn’t expect was that after the meeting, the principal found me and said that Tanaka Fuji would continue as a class advisor. He wanted me to continue assisting Tanaka Fuji with some class advisor matters. Although I got another raise, I still felt unhappy. So, I wanted to have a good talk with Tanaka Fuji. But then I heard from a colleague that Tanaka Fuji has now taken on the position of advisor for the Mysterious Stories Club."

"The reason is simple. The previous advisor of the Mysterious Stories Club had an accident and won’t be released from the hospital for a while. Thus, Tanaka Fuji took over as the advisor. As for why the principal let Tanaka Fuji continue as a class advisor, it’s because Tanaka Fuji’s son-in-law, who is Oyamaya’s father, is a high-ranking member of a financial group. This group has provided substantial financial assistance to Tokyo Comprehensive University. So now, since I can’t reason with this situation, I can only talk to Tanaka Fuji and hope he can handle some simple matters and not cause too much trouble for me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xing and others couldn’t help but exchange glances. If Liu Xin’s account was accurate, then it could be confirmed that Tanaka Fuji and Oyamaya were members of the Deep Diving Society.

Because earlier, Alice provided intelligence indicating that the Tokyo Comprehensive University branch of the Deep Diving Society had been established by the original secret cult of the Cosmic Country, coincidentally about a year ago, which aligned with Tanaka Fuji’s odd behavior.

Once the target was identified, things would be much easier.

"Alright, you guys chat. I’m going to find Tanaka Fuji," Liu Xin said before leaving the activity room.

As soon as Liu Xin left, Zhang Wenbing entered the room.

Seeing Zhang Wenbing, Zhang Jingxu was somewhat surprised. "Zhang, what brings you here?"

Zhang Wenbing shrugged and said with a smile, "From now on, please call me Senior Zhang, because I’ve managed to become a graduate student at Tokyo Comprehensive University, re-entering the school for further studies."

Liu Xing was somewhat astonished. He hadn’t expected Zhang Wenbing to pull something like this.

Clearly, Zhang Wenbing becoming a graduate student at Tokyo Comprehensive University wasn’t for further studies, but to have private room time with his group, given that such time was limited to the activity room during club hours.

As a "working professional," Zhang Wenbing naturally couldn’t participate in the China club’s activities. Now that Zhang Wenbing had become a graduate student at Tokyo Comprehensive University, he could openly participate in club activities.

Thus, Zhang Wenbing also joined the China club, although Zhang Shiwu and Meng Mengzi expressed feeling underpressure due to the sudden appearance of the graduate student.

After all, for foreign students, Tokyo Comprehensive University was not the top choice for pursuing postgraduate studies. Generally, foreign students who could study abroad wouldn’t choose Tokyo Comprehensive University, which could be considered a second-tier university in the Island Nation. As a result, there were very few foreign graduate students at Tokyo Comprehensive University, and none from China.

Therefore, Zhang Wenbing had become the "most senior" member of the China club, considering his age was similar to that of the China club’s faculty advisor, Liu Xin.

"Senior Zhang, how about you become the president of the China club?" Meng Mengzi said with a smile.

[Thanks for reading at Patreon.com/maxnkoga , if you supporting this novel, a heartfelt thankyou, enjoy the content!]