Witch, Please Open Your Eyes - Chapter 7 - Night 1-02

Fang Daichuan stayed by the seaside to smoke a cigarette before leisurely making his way back. As he walked, he tore his role card into pieces and tossed them into the sea. Then, he took out the two reagents from the box and stuffed them into his pocket. When he returned to the hall, the atmosphere was slightly tense. Instinctively, he looked for Li Sinian.

Li Sinian noticed his gaze and smiled at him. The box in his hand had already disappeared, and he was holding a magnetic card in his palm, presumably having already looked at his own role card during the journey.

“How’s it going? Has everyone come up with any ideas?” Fang Daichuan leaned against the doorframe, unwilling to go inside. The two bodies were still lying there, and the room was filled with a strong smell of blood and a faint stench of death, making him feel nauseous.

Ding Zihui quickly ran to his side: “You’re back. We were just discussing what to do with those two… two bodies.”

Fang Daichuan nodded: “Any conclusions?”

“We’re going to dig a hole by the sea and bury them,” Ding Zihui said, looking at Fang Daichuan.

Yang Song sneered coldly: “Instead of wasting time on that, why not think about how to chop down a tree and escape from this island? They’re already dead. What’s the point of being so kind now? Where was this kindness earlier?”

Ding Zihui’s eyes instantly turned red. She wasn’t as quick with words as Yang Song and could only weakly retort, “How can you, how can you be like this!” The young girl hadn’t learned much in the way of insults, so her words lacked conviction, and she could only repeat, “How can you be like this? You can’t be like this.”

“Let’s just bury them,” Li Sinian suddenly spoke up. His character as an accomplice was so deeply ingrained that as soon as he opened his mouth, everyone fell silent, reflexively turning to look at him. Fang Daichuan was also puzzled. From every angle, Li Sinian didn’t seem like the type to respect the dead or meddle in others’ affairs.

Sure enough, Li Sinian explained, “You’ve all probably read the rules. We have to gather here every morning at 8 o’clock. With the weather this hot, leaving these two bodies here is more than just a matter of smell and flies. If they start to decompose and cause some disease, it’ll be a real problem.”

With that, even the sarcastic Yang Song had no room for objection. Everyone agreed to dig a hole by the sea and bury the two bodies there.

As for carrying the bodies, it didn’t take much guessing to figure out who would end up doing it.

The journey carrying the bodies to the seaside was something Fang Daichuan never wanted to relive. He had played the role of a corpse countless times in performances, but he never imagined that one day, on a desolate island, he would be carrying real bodies, waiting for others to dig a pit to bury them-and not just one, but two.

Corpses were much heavier than living people. Wasn’t it said that a person loses 19 grams or something after death? Why did it feel like they gained 19 kilograms instead? As he walked, Fang Daichuan’s mind wandered, forcing himself not to focus on the stiff sensation against his back. The still-warm body pressed against him, and with every step, the corpse’s fingers kept tapping against his calves. He couldn’t shake the feeling that at any moment, the corpse might pat his shoulder and sink its teeth into his neck. Fang Daichuan shuddered and quickened his pace.

Would he die? The others had already dug the pit, and Fang Daichuan placed Old Chen inside, unable to stop himself from wondering: Do all people die? Will I die too? How many will die in these seven days? Standing before the crude grave, he didn’t feel much sadness. Instead, he felt an overwhelming urge to laugh.

While the others were immersed in a sentimental, self-pitying sorrow or furrowing their brows, contemplating their chances of survival, Fang Daichuan’s mind was a blur of static. He felt weightless, as if floating. The absurdity of it all, the lack of reality, made him sarcastically think, “Why don’t we all just dig our own graves now? That way, we won’t trouble others when we die. One grave each, no fighting, no arguing. Let’s line them up here, and when it’s time, we’ll just walk over and lie down.”

The wind by the sea grew stronger, and the sky had turned completely dark. From this angle, the rising moon was invisible. The endless sea merged with the horizon, both equally deep and terrifying in their blackness.

Now was the werewolf’s time.

The way everyone stood by the seaside, glancing at each other, was almost comical. Fang Daichuan stood on a rock, watching them. They looked like first-time customers at a brothel, hesitant and awkward, unsure how to face the naked reality before them. Having just come from civilized society, they still clung to some remnants of morality despite the day’s upheaval. Even with the desperate desire to survive, they couldn’t bring themselves to kill. The atmosphere by the sea was thick with an unspoken awkwardness. No one dared to be the first to say, “Alright, it’s time to run or kill. Let’s start the murder game.”

After a moment of silence, a man in his fifties, trembling slightly, spoke up: “Maybe… we should follow that brother’s suggestion. Destroy the magnetic cards and wait together for the plane to come pick us up.”

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one responded immediately.

This must be the so-called prisoner’s dilemma, Fang Daichuan thought to himself, sighing quietly.

“Li Sinian,” Li Sinian said, interrupting the awkward silence. “Stop calling me ‘brother’ all the time.”

Normally, after someone introduced themselves, the others would follow suit and share their names. But it seemed like no one else was willing to step forward.

The older man, clearly nervous, continued: “So what’s the plan? We need to figure something out. We can’t actually kill each other, right?!”

Ding Zihui quickly chimed in: “He’s right! Let’s all agree-no one plays the werewolf, no one kills anyone, and during the day, we won’t vote anyone out. We’ll all survive together!”

“Yes, yes, let’s all stick together!” Whether out of sincerity or pretense, everyone nodded in agreement, their faces showing a mix of relief and cautious optimism.

Fang Daichuan suggested: “Since we’ve all decided, why don’t we stay in the villa tonight? That person mentioned there’s a volcano on this island, and who knows what kind of animals are in the woods. Staying in the villa seems safer.”

The island’s night air was chilly. Even though it was summer, the ocean breeze carried a cold, salty bite.

Fang Daichuan’s luggage and daily necessities were left at the airport, in Zhou’s possession, so he couldn’t change his clothes. He had been sweating all day, and his shirt was stained with blood on both the front and back. He sniffed himself and wrinkled his nose-his body emitted a strange, unpleasant odor, a mix of faint decay, blood, and sweat.

He wondered how Zhou was doing. Had she noticed something was wrong? Would she call the police to look for him? After all, he was somewhat of a minor celebrity. Surely his sudden disappearance would create some public pressure, right? Sitting on the steps in front of the villa, he lit a cigarette and stared at the eerily shaped woods in the distance.

“Come inside,” Li Sinian’s voice came from behind him. “The sea breeze out here is too cold.”

Fang Daichuan raised his cigarette, signaling that he couldn’t go inside just yet. Whether it was because Deng-Ge had drilled it into him or just his own habit, Fang Daichuan was very particular about smoking etiquette. He never smoked indoors, always disposed of his cigarette butts properly, and treated service staff with more politeness than most. As Deng-Ge had once said, “If you don’t pay attention to these things now, they’ll come back to haunt you when you really make it big.”

Li Sinian thought for a moment and handed Fang Daichuan a jacket-his own black suit, made of fine material. Fang Daichuan took it, intending to put it on, but then he glanced down at the bloodstains covering his clothes. After hesitating a few times, he decided against wearing it and instead carried it in his hand.

Noticing his hesitation, Li Sinian extended his right hand. “Come on, let’s search the villa. Since we weren’t allowed to bring luggage for seven days, there must be clothes, food, and water stored inside.”

Fang Daichuan stubbed out his cigarette and let Li Sinian pull him to his feet. Li Sinian’s fingers were cool and dry as they brushed against his wrist.

The villa was eerily quiet. Everyone was staying in the rooms on the second floor, making it easier to respond quickly if something happened. The two of them walked down the dark hallway on the second floor, and Fang Daichuan couldn’t shake the feeling that one of the doors might suddenly open, revealing a wolf-headed creature ready to pounce.

He reached down to touch the two potions tucked in his waist pocket, which gave him a small sense of security.

The third floor was empty tonight. Unlike the faint sounds of breathing coming from the rooms downstairs, the third floor was completely silent.

The villa had an unusual layout. The first floor had high ceilings and was designed as a grand ballroom. The second floor was filled with guest rooms, while the third floor seemed to have been set up as an activity space. The doors along the hallway were all closed, and when Fang Daichuan tried pushing them, they didn’t budge.

“These are electronic locks,” Li Sinian said, frowning as he examined the door handles. “They require a card to open. Should we try using our identity cards?”

Fang Daichuan ran his hand over the cold metal doors. There were only four rooms on this floor, far fewer than the thirteen guest rooms on the second floor, so he guessed each room must be quite large.

“Let’s not,” Fang Daichuan said, recalling the gunshots from earlier and shuddering. “Do you remember what the instructions said? There are a lot of ‘surprises’ here. Who knows what’s behind these doors? It could be an automatic machine gun waiting to fire.”

The two of them casually made their way up to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was an open, unfinished space, resembling a parking lot. Fang Daichuan thought, with a touch of dark humor, that it would be perfect for a game of nametag ripping. If he hadn’t gotten on the wrong vehicle, he’d probably be in Qingdao right now, enjoying seafood, beer, and a friendly game of nametag ripping. Instead, he was stuck in this godforsaken place, fighting for his life. The thought of indulging in such simple pleasures felt impossibly distant compared to his current blood-soaked reality. Frustrated, he punched a pillar.

The pillar let out a hollow thud.

Fang Daichuan quickly glanced at Li Sinian.

The innermost pillar was larger than the others. Li Sinian knocked on one of the nearby pillars, but it made no sound-it was solid. The two of them exchanged a look, and Fang Daichuan focused his energy, spinning around to deliver a powerful kick. The pillar, wrapped in flimsy paneling, shattered with a sharp crack.

Inside, there was a large box sealed tightly with tape. Fang Daichuan used both his hands and teeth, scratching and biting at the tape, but after a lot of effort and sweating, he still couldn’t get it open.

The commotion they were making eventually caught the attention of the others downstairs.

Ding Zihui was the first to rush up. She had deliberately chosen the room next to Fang Daichuan’s, and when she heard the noise and didn’t see him, she panicked.

“What are you doing?! You scared me to death with all that racket!” Ding Zihui exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Fang Daichuan looked up from the box, spitting out bits of tape that had stuck to his mouth, his face contorted from the struggle. “We found this box and wanted to open it, but we don’t have a knife.”

As they spoke, the others came running up the stairs. An uncle, disheveled with his beer belly hanging out of his shirt and sweat dripping from his forehead, asked, “What’s going on? Did someone else die?!”

Yang Song was the last to arrive, adjusting the collar of her shawl as she walked.

She took in the scene and stepped forward, standing in front of Fang Daichuan. She was wearing slippers, her pale feet adorned with wine-red nail polish, which made Fang Daichuan feel a little awkward.

“Let me handle it,” Yang Song said casually, smoothing her shawl. “When it comes to opening packages, you’re no match for us professionals.”

Ding Zihui chimed in with a laugh, “Yeah, yeah, we girls are experts at opening packages by hand!” She then crouched down to help.

The young couple who had come up together were also there. They looked like they’d been crying, their eyes red, and they clung tightly to each other. Perhaps going through a life-and-death situation together had intensified their bond. The girl glanced at her boyfriend and also stepped forward to help.

“Dude, your luck stat must be off the charts!” the boy, who looked no older than twenty and probably still in college, said as he leaned on his knees, watching Fang Daichuan crouched on the floor. “Just casually stumbling upon a treasure chest like that. Impressive.”

Fang Daichuan could only offer a bitter smile.

The three girls quickly managed to open the package. Just as Li Sinian had said, inside was a box of clothes and food and water. The clothes were simple in design and came in standard sizes.

Fang Daichuan grabbed a cotton T-shirt and quickly changed into it, his well-defined muscles briefly catching everyone’s attention. Li Sinian had initially thought it might not be a good idea to reveal his combat power, but then he reconsidered, thinking that intimidating the others might actually be beneficial, so he didn’t stop him.

“This box was prepared based on the assumption that there would be daily casualties. Since we’re not following the rules, the food and water won’t last long. Everyone needs to use it sparingly. If it runs out, I’ll figure something else out,” Li Sinian said as he bent down to pick up the box and carried it downstairs. “Let’s wake everyone up. It’s almost dawn, and we should distribute the supplies.”

The others hurried downstairs to rouse the rest. Fang Daichuan followed Li Sinian, still clutching his jacket.

“Can I trust you?” Fang Daichuan suddenly stopped and asked, staring at Li Sinian’s back.

Li Sinian turned around and said seriously, “On this island, don’t trust anyone too easily.”

Fang Daichuan lowered his gaze. “Including you?”

“Especially me,” Li Sinian replied with a smile before carrying the box downstairs.