At thirty-five, Yang Yifan was a UI designer who had been laid off. Three months of unemployment had reduced him to a complete slob. Every day, he holed up in his study playing games, drinking cola, and waiting for takeout. His wife had been at her parents’ home for three days, and he hadn’t even bothered to ask about her.
Then a cold voice sounded in his mind: In ten seconds, you will be transported to a deserted-island survival game. Survive for ninety days. Failure means death in the real world. With no time to think, he grabbed the only three things in his study: a fire axe, a decorative bow, and a fishing rod he had never once taken into the water.
After a flash of white light, five people stood facing one another on a white-sand beach. A Muay Thai coach, an outdoor guide, a college student, and a corporate director in a suit: none of them looked capable of lasting three days in this primeval rainforest. Tides, wild beasts, typhoons, and unknown creatures attacked in turn. But even more chilling than any of those were the traces left by people who had landed on the island before them: marks carved into tree bark, bones in caves, and a diary that ended abruptly at the words, “They’re here.”
Yang Yifan led the group from prey to predators, from waiting to die to fighting to survive. Deep in the rainforest, they discovered a giant tree covered in symbols. In an abandoned ship’s hold, they found a satellite phone. Little by little, they pieced together the island’s secret: it had never been a deserted island, but a hunting ground that was constantly being reset.
As flames soared into the sky on the night of the full moon, a sound unlike anything in nature came from the sea. Yang Yifan gripped his fire axe amid the blaze, with four people behind him who had entrusted him with their lives. Three months, ninety days. Only three could make it home alive.
And he had already lost too many times. This time, he refused to lose again.
