Seven Days and Nights with the Werewolf

Night 1·The Game Begins

As soon as the words “The game begins” fell, the loudspeakers went dead silent. The men in black backed out of the villa, guns still trained on the group. They were definitely foreign mercenaries—their zigzag retreat was executed with professional precision. The last man stayed behind to cover their escape, and before leaving, he made a mocking “pew-pew-pew” gesture at them with his fingers shaped like a g*n.

“You!” Fang Daichuan’s pent-up anger flared instantly, and he lunged forward, ready to throw hands.

The mixed-race guy grabbed him roughly: “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Fang Daichuan caught a glimpse of the g*n in the mercenary’s hand, its black metal glinting coldly in the light, and his rage vanished as quickly as it had come. Over a dozen helicopters lifted off into the sky before their eyes, and Fang Daichuan didn’t just lose his anger—his heart turned to ice in an instant.

The group was left standing in the hall, staring at each other blankly, no one knowing what to do next. Two bodies lay motionless on the floor, and the girls had all huddled together in a corner, as far from the corpses as possible.

Fang Daichuan glanced around, but no one spoke up. He took a deep breath and forced himself to be the one to break the silence, trying to sound reassuring. “Don’t be afraid, everyone. We still have seven days. If we work together and think of a plan, we’ll find a way out of this.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help glancing at the two bodies lying there, then turned back, trying to lighten the mood. “Why don’t we get to know each other first? Maybe… introduce ourselves?”

“Introduce ourselves? For what?” Yang Song scoffed coldly. “So you’ll know who to haunt if you die?”

Ding Zihui stood beside her, frowning in disapproval. “What are you saying? You can’t actually be thinking about killing someone, right?”

Yang Song stared at her like she was an i***t, pointing at the two corpses. “Didn’t you see what happened to those who resisted? Do you want the same fate?”

“But the men with guns left!” Ding Zihui stared at Yang Song in disbelief, her voice rising.

Yang Song curled her lips into a cold smile. “But they’ll be back in seven days. Only the winner gets to board the helicopter.”

She was right. No one dared to argue. The group exchanged glances, each lost in their own thoughts.

“If you all really want to survive,” the mixed-race guy—who’d been isolated far off to the side—suddenly spoke up, “I might have a plan.”

Every eye turned to him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” the mixed-race guy said, sitting at the head of the long table and struggling with his suit jacket, not even looking up. “I was tricked too. Just another poor soul trapped in this life-or-death game.”

He quickly shed his suit jacket, tossing it onto a nearby chair, then started unbuttoning his tight waistcoat. The air had grown warm, and the tension in the room didn’t help—when he took off the waistcoat, Fang Daichuan saw that the back of his shirt was soaked through with sweat.

A middle-aged man sat at the table too. He hadn’t moved an inch since the first gunshot, exuding an air of calm detachment, as if he’d seen it all before. He turned to the head of the table, fixing his gaze on the mixed-race guy lounging with his legs crossed. “Do you know something we don’t? What does that mastermind want?”

“What does he want?” Li Sinian smiled—a cold, empty smile. “Just the twisted amusement of a rich man. Some people like watching football, some like underground boxing. He likes watching people kill each other for fun.”

Fang Daichuan left Ding Zihui hiding behind him and stepped forward, his voice urgent. “So what’s your plan? Spit it out!”

The mixed-race guy looked at him, his eyes reflecting the light like shards of ice.

“It’s simple in theory, difficult in practice,” Li Sinian said, toying with the small box in his hand. “All he wants is to watch us tear each other apart. We just need to refuse to play by his rules. We have seven days—plenty of time to explore the island and set up defenses. When the helicopter arrives, we’ll h****k it. I can fly helicopters. Once we reach Chinese territory, these foreign mercenaries won’t stand a chance against us.”

Fang Daichuan frowned as he listened, then asked, “What about you?”

“Hm?” Li Sinian paused, staring at him in confusion.

“Do you have Chinese citizenship? D-do you dare set foot in Chinese customs?” Fang Daichuan’s voice was laced with concern. The mixed-race guy claimed he’d been dragged into this against his will, but Fang Daichuan couldn’t be sure he was innocent. Collaborating with foreign mercenaries was a serious crime. He also realized—Li Sinian. So his surname was Li, like the Chinese character, not the English “Lee”?

Fang Daichuan held out his hand, and their fingers brushed briefly—Li Sinian’s were dry and cold. “Fang Daichuan.”

The two sat side by side on a rock by the shore, saying nothing.

“So… why did you call me out here?” Fang Daichuan finally asked, turning to him.

Li Sinian smiled lazily, one corner of his mouth lifting. “Your reaction was so obvious, it’s like you had your role card written on your forehead. If I hadn’t gotten you out of there, anyone could’ve tricked it out of you in two sentences.”

Fang Daichuan felt a little embarrassed. First, this guy had tried to save everyone, and now he’d protected him too. Whatever his motives, he couldn’t be a bad person.

He scratched his head, trying to make conversation. “Too bad everyone already opened their boxes. I guess your plan to escape together is out the window. What a shame.”

Li Sinian shook his head, chuckling softly.

“I knew it wouldn’t work from the start. Do you know about the ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’?” Li Sinian looked up at the sky, where the sea and horizon merged into a strange dark blue.

Fang Daichuan shook his head honestly.

Li Sinian explained: “Two criminals who colluded together are arrested and interrogated separately. If both keep quiet and don’t incriminate each other, the evidence is insufficient—both get one year in prison. If one confesses and the other stays silent, the one who talks goes free, and the other gets ten years. If both confess, they both get eight years. Now, imagine you’re one of them, and you can’t communicate beforehand. What would you choose?”

Fang Daichuan’s face twisted into an awkward, troubled expression. He thought carefully for a moment, then answered truthfully. “It depends. Who am I locked up with?”

Li Sinian raised an eyebrow.

Fang Daichuan explained: “If it was Xiao Zhou, I’d trust her not to betray me, and she’d trust me too. Easy—we’d both take the one year. Or with someone smart like you or Manager Deng, we’d just know. The problem is strangers, especially idiots. To save myself, I’d have to confess and spend eight years in jail with them.”

“That’s why I knew it wouldn’t work,” Li Sinian said, a bitter laugh escaping him. “Humans are inherently selfish, especially when their own lives are on the line. Selfishness, indifference, laziness, mutual accusation, endless desire—these are the original sins. Humans are such ugly creatures.”

Fang Daichuan felt a twinge of discomfort at his words. After all, he was one of the humans Li Sinian was sneering at. But then he remembered that Li Sinian was human too, and he felt a little better.

“Then why did you even tell everyone your plan?” Fang Daichuan asked.

“Because I wanted to give everyone one last chance to save themselves—and one for me too. What a pity.” Li Sinian stared out at the sea. Night was falling fast, the black waves crashing against the shore like some unseen monster dancing in the darkness.

Li Sinian smiled, drained his water cup, and stood up to leave.

His back seemed to carry a weight of unspoken stories, no longer as straight as before. Halfway away, he turned back and smiled at Fang Daichuan. “Be careful tonight. Don’t die on the first night.”

Fang Daichuan sat on the rock, grinning like an i***t. “No way! I’m the main character—high combat power, plot armor when it counts. You should be more careful. Smart guys with dark pasts like you always end up as mentors to us noob protagonists, and in anime, that role has a 100% mortality rate.”

Li Sinian stood with his back to the light, his face in shadow, but Fang Daichuan thought he smiled. He held up his box and shook it, joking back. “What if I’m a werewolf? You never know.”

“Do we really have to keep jinxing each other like this?” Fang Daichuan laughed, tilting his head back. “Whatever you are, I kind of like you. Good luck. Stay safe. Let’s both make it back alive. I’ll buy you a drink in China.”

Li Sinian waved a hand, neither agreeing nor refusing, and walked away.

Fang Daichuan shouted after him. “Hey! That’s not a good sign!”

Li Sinian’s voice drifted back, lazy and tired. “Worry about surviving first, i***t!”