Chapter 342: Swiftly Solving the Case

Lin Xiaoxiao leaned over to look at the visual observation puzzle. After staring for a long time, she said dejectedly, "Huh? I think these two pictures are exactly the same!"

Su Yuqing and Zhao Ya, on the other hand, were more interested in the logic grid puzzle. The two of them huddled together, whispering as they discussed the clues.

Shen Xinghe and Zhou Yue glanced at the cryptography puzzle. Without much thought, they both picked up nearby pens and fluently wrote down the decoded sentence. Then, they gave a slight nod to a surprised club member standing beside them, as if they had just done something trivial.

In contrast to the others, who were merely drawn in by the small puzzles, Chen Mo was drawn to the booth almost instinctively.

He didn’t bother with the smaller puzzles; his gaze fell directly on the most complex simulated case analysis on the whiteboard.

It was a simulated "office murder," complete with crime scene photos, brief statements from multiple "suspects," and a list of physical evidence (a blurry fingerprint, a strand of hair, a doctored time log, etc.).

Just then, the female club president—a calm and capable-looking young woman with gold-rimmed glasses—noticed Chen Mo’s focused gaze. She walked over, smiled, and spoke to him in a pleasant tone, "Are you interested in this case, classmate? It’s one of the assessment questions we designed for this semester’s recruitment. So far, no new student has been able to deduce all the details and the real method."

Chen Mo didn’t answer right away. His eyes swept over all the information on the whiteboard, his brain whirring like a high-performance computer as he cross-referenced details, filtered out useless information, and constructed chains of logic.

The clues, which seemed jumbled and chaotic to others, quickly began to fall into place and connect in his mind.

After a little over ten seconds, he pointed to one of the statements and a photo of physical evidence—an overturned coffee cup—and spoke, his voice steady and clear:

"This ’Suspect A’s’ statement has a contradiction in the timeline. He claims he heard an argument next door at the time of the incident, but based on the direction of the coffee cup’s splash pattern and a simulation of its solidification, the cup must have been knocked over at least five minutes later than when he claimed to hear the argument. Those five minutes would be enough time to commit the murder and begin staging the scene."

"Furthermore," he said, his finger moving to the ’hair’ evidence, "the location where it was noted to be found doesn’t match the height of the cabinet where the stolen items were stored post-murder. It’s more likely a red herring, planted intentionally.

The focus should be on re-examining the metadata of the altered digital time log. Although the visible time was changed, the server’s cache might still have a record of the original creation or last modification timestamp."

He didn’t speak quickly, but every point he made was crucial and logically sound, instantly dismantling the main obstacles the club had so carefully designed.

After hearing Chen Mo’s words, the club president froze. She pushed up her glasses, carefully re-examined the whiteboard, and then looked back at Chen Mo in disbelief.

A few nearby freshmen who were wracking their brains over the puzzle, along with some club members who didn’t know the solution, were also drawn over. Listening to Chen Mo’s analysis, their faces filled with shock and admiration.

"...Completely correct." The club president took a deep breath, her eyes full of surprise and appreciation. "You... How did you do that so quickly... Have you had any experience with criminal investigation before?"

Chen Mo gave a faint smile and answered evasively, "I’m just rather interested in logical deduction."

’Of course he wouldn’t reveal his past.’

Zhou Yue, Lin Xiaoxiao, and the others gathered around. Although they didn’t really understand the specifics of the case, they could tell from the reactions of the club president and the others that Chen Mo had, once again, unconsciously revealed an astonishing ability.

"Wow! I’m not even done with my little puzzle over there, and you’ve already cracked the big one, Chen Mo?!" Lin Xiaoxiao exclaimed.

Su Yuqing looked at Chen Mo, her eyes filled with pride and a hint of ’of course’. Having entered her dream, she already knew how capable he was. ’Ten years as a criminal police officer wasn’t for nothing.’

The club president immediately extended an enthusiastic invitation to Chen Mo. "Classmate, you’re incredibly talented! Our club desperately needs a member like you! Every week, we analyze real cases (publicly available ones), design puzzle games, and hold all sorts of events and exchanges with enthusiasts from other schools. Sometimes we even have online and offline deduction showdowns! Please, you must consider joining us!"

Chen Mo maintained his noncommittal attitude, politely accepting the detailed informational flyer she handed him. "I’ll give it serious consideration, thank you."

They stayed at the club, with its captivating logic, for quite some time before finally leaving under the president’s reluctant gaze.

After browsing through several clubs, each with a different style yet equally fascinating, the six of them felt a sense of information overload.

From the passion of esports to the intellectual rigor of debate, from the mysterious supernatural to the meticulous detective work, the richness and diversity of university life unfolded before them in the most vivid way.

"University is so much fun, way more fun than I imagined! I don’t have to worry about my life as a medical student being boring anymore," Lin Xiaoxiao said cheerfully, linking her arm with Zhou Yue’s.

"Do you have a club you want to join?" Zhou Yue remarked. "Choose carefully, or instead of relaxing, you’ll just be giving yourself more work."

"I thought that supernatural club looked pretty interesting. It seems like it’d be a lot of fun to hang out with them," Lin Xiaoxiao replied with a giggle.

"Yeah, it did seem interesting, but I prefer the atmosphere of the National Style Club," Su Yuqing said with a sweet smile.

Zhao Ya remained quiet, apparently still undecided on which club to join.

Just as the group was walking past the last club booth and getting ready to leave, someone suddenly rushed out and blocked their path.

The group took a look and saw that the last booth belonged to the Street Photography Club.

The president of the Street Photography Club had already approached Shen Xinghe before, so upon seeing him pass by now, he naturally rushed out at once.

He had originally planned to pull Shen Xinghe aside to chat for a bit.

But when he rushed out, he saw two other people with equally outstanding looks and presence behind Shen Xinghe.

It instantly made him feel like he had hit the jackpot.

The president of the Street Photography Club was a tall, fashionably dressed guy wearing a rather stylish vest, with a professional-looking camera hanging around his neck.

His original target was Shen Xinghe, but after rushing out of the booth and getting a clear look at the group, his eyes lit up like searchlights, and his face broke into a smile of extreme enthusiasm, one that could even be called ecstatic.

"Classmate Shen, what a coincidence!" he greeted Shen Xinghe first, then his eager gaze shifted to Chen Mo and Su Yuqing. His tone was excited but somewhat restrained. "Are these... your friends? You guys have a great look. Are you interested in checking out our Street Photography Club? We’re right over there." He pointed to the booth behind him.

His excitement drew the attention of the other members at the Street Photography Club’s booth.

A few curious members gathered around, among them the guy with bright blue highlights from the cafeteria entrance, the one who’d been so impatient with a younger female student.