Deathsworn Summoning, the First Light in the Darkness

The darkness in the cell was as thick as congealed ink.

Only the dim wall lamp in the corridor, left burning all night, cast a faint, dismal halo through the small wired-glass window above the door. It barely outlined the sleeping, snoring figures inside the cell and the figure curled up in the farthest corner, right beside the source of the stench.

Lin Feng lay with his eyes open.

His body was utterly exhausted. Every inch of muscle screamed with soreness, his stomach twitched faintly with hunger, and the places where he had been beaten throbbed more distinctly in the cold night. Yet his mind was unusually clear, like a piece of metal soaked in ice water: cold, sharp, and entirely sleepless.

The occasional drip from the toilet-"Drip... drip..." -was amplified endlessly in the dead of night, striking his eardrums and tormenting his nerves. The mingled stench in the air-sweat, feet, urine, and mildew-no longer made him want to vomit. It had become a numbing backdrop, a humiliating brand that reminded him every moment where he was.

He pressed himself against the cold, rough wall, trying to draw a negligible trace of coolness from it to suppress the raging fire of anger and hatred in his chest, a fire that nearly threatened to burn him to ashes.

Scenes from the day flashed through his mind again and again, beyond his control.

Zhang Qian's cold face, full of prejudice and disgust, the thunderous bang as she slapped the table, her shrill rebukes: "Your character is rotten to the core!" "Even three or five years wouldn't be too much for you!"

The unrestrained laughter of Scar, Skinny Monkey, and the others, their contemptuous looks, their brazen snatching of his food, and their mockery as they forced him to scrub the toilet.

And before that, Sun Tingting's cold gaze after her scheme succeeded, and Li Jing's hypocrisy as she tried to smooth things over, only to ultimately allow and even condone it...

Every image was like a blunt knife, sawing back and forth across his heart. The resentment and injustice left behind by the original owner of his body fused perfectly with his own savagery and resolve from another world, fermenting into an almost tangible dark energy that surged wildly through him.

Never had time felt so long, so unbearable.

Every minute, every second, was like being tormented over burning coals.

All his hopes, all his expectations, were bound fast to that cold, mysterious notification in his mind: [One absolutely loyal deathsworn can be randomly summoned each day].

It was like an absurd dream, a single straw floating on an endless sea of despair. Yet it was so real-that cold mechanical voice and the perfectly clear system interface had appeared at his most desperate moment.

What if... that was only a hallucination before death?

What if... the so-called summoning is completely useless?

What if... I can't summon anyone today?

Doubts and unease slithered out silently like venomous snakes, gnawing at his already taut nerves. He squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open again, forcing himself to stare at the dismal halo on the floor and using sheer willpower to fight the exhaustion and despair sweeping over him.

He couldn't fall.

He absolutely could not die in a place like this, nursing hatred and swallowing his grievances like the original owner of his body!

Those who had bullied him, framed him, and pushed him into this abyss had to pay!

A nearly obsessive conviction held him up. Like a stone statue, he curled motionless in the darkness, all his senses drawn in to their utmost limit, his attention focused entirely inward as he listened for the slightest stir that might emerge from the depths of his mind.

The night grew deeper.

Snores, grinding teeth, and sleep-talking rose and fell, joining into an eerie nocturne of prison life. Occasionally, a guard's heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside, approaching from afar and then receding again, bringing a moment of tension followed by an even deeper deathly silence.

Time seemed to stand still.

Just as Lin Feng's willpower was nearly crushed by exhaustion and cold, and his eyelids grew so heavy they were about to close-

[Ding!]

A perfectly clear mechanical voice, cold and devoid of any emotion, suddenly exploded in the deathly silence at the depths of his mind like mystical ice falling from the ninth heaven!

It's here!

Lin Feng jolted violently, all his exhaustion and drowsiness vanishing without a trace. As though an electric current had passed through him, his spine straightened a little of its own accord, and his heart pounded wildly with immense anticipation and tension, nearly bursting out of his chest.

[Daily Deathsworn Summoning has refreshed.]

[Summon immediately?]

The cold notification appeared once more in the "view" of his consciousness, accompanied by the utterly even mechanical voice. An extremely simple, translucent interface with a certain futuristic feel floated before him. Its background was a profound darkness, with the notification in the center and two clear options below: [Yes] and [No].

No hesitation! There was no way he could hesitate!

Deep in his heart, Lin Feng used every ounce of his mental strength to let out a silent but utterly resolute roar:

Summon! Summon immediately!

[Command confirmed. Beginning random summoning...]

The text on the system interface changed, and the faint image of a list appeared, scrolling so rapidly that its contents were impossible to make out. It was as if countless names, identities, and occupations were flickering and shifting within it, so fast that he could catch only a blurred stream of light.

An indescribable ripple of energy, faint but unmistakably real, silently swept through the entire cell with Lin Feng at its center. It even penetrated the thick walls and spread outside. The sleeping prisoners noticed nothing, and the guard in the corridor was equally unaware.

Lin Feng held his breath, his attention fixed entirely on the rapidly scrolling list. What will it be? A powerful warrior? A tycoon rich enough to rival a nation? A high-ranking official with power in his hands? Even a strong bodyguard would do! As long as they can immediately change the desperate situation I'm in!

The scrolling gradually slowed.

The blurred options seemed to become distinguishable one by one, only to sweep past in an instant.

[International assassin]... swept past...

[Conglomerate CEO]... swept past...

[Special forces king]... swept past...

[Political heavyweight]... swept past...

At last, the scrolling slowed to a crawl, and one option came to a laborious, clear stop in the center of the interface.

[Vagrant beggar]

???

Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply, and he almost suspected he was hallucinating.

The interface flashed, confirming the result.

[Ding! Summoning successful!]

[Deathsworn obtained: Wang Wu]

[Identity: Vagrant beggar]

[Area of activity: Beneath and around this city's XX Overpass]

[Abilities: Begging, concealment, information gathering (bottom-level perspective), adaptive survival]

[Loyalty: 100% (absolute loyalty)]

At the same time, it was as though a sliver of Lin Feng's awareness was drawn away, crossing physical distance to connect clearly to a dark corner of the city. A vagrant in a ragged padded coat, his hair and beard tangled together and his whole body giving off a sour, stale odor, was curled up in a sheltered spot beneath the overpass. The moment the summoning succeeded, a glint of sharpness and a will of absolute obedience flashed through his previously vacant eyes, so faint they were almost impossible to detect. Then they quickly disappeared, and he returned to his numb, muddle-headed state.

Detailed information about the deathsworn Wang Wu also naturally surfaced in Lin Feng's mind, including his appearance, his current location, and the feeling of absolute control, of directing him as easily as his own arm.

The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment.

An indescribable chill instantly drowned the feverish anticipation he had felt moments ago. A beggar? It's actually a beggar?!

What use is summoning a beggar outside when I'm in this heavily guarded detention center? Can he help me fight? Can he help me escape? Can he take revenge on those enemies for me?

Is this so-called system just playing with me? Giving me a joke that looks like hope but is actually even more despair?

Intense disappointment and anger built up in his chest like a volcano, nearly breaking through the dam of his reason. He clenched his teeth so hard that his gums nearly bled, barely suppressing the urge to roar like a madman.

I can't lose control! I absolutely can't make any unusual noise here and now!

He breathed heavily, his body trembling slightly from the effort of holding himself back. Icy despair surged over him again like a tide, threatening to swallow him whole.

But amid that extreme disappointment and anger, the calm and resilience beyond that of ordinary people, deep in the soul of one who had lived two lives, began to forcibly take effect.

He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down.

The system is real! The summoning is real! The deathsworn is real too!

Although the first deathsworn's status is laughably lowly, he has... "absolute loyalty"!

And the ability to "gather information"!

A thought flashed like lightning through the darkness, suddenly illuminating his jumbled mind.

What do I lack most right now? Not just strength, but information! Knowledge of what's happening outside! A grasp of my enemies' movements!

Sun Tingting, Li Jing, Zhang Qian... What are they doing now? Will their guilty consciences make them give anything away? What habits do they have? What secrets do they keep hidden?

A vagrant beggar lives in the most inconspicuous corners of the city. Who would pay attention to him? Yet he can hear and see many things unknown to others! He can blend perfectly into the background and carry out the most basic observation and intelligence gathering!

Yes! That's it!

Although this is far from the immediate, powerful combat strength I expected, it's by no means useless!

Lin Feng snapped his eyes open. In those eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness, disappointment and anger had already receded swiftly, replaced by an extreme calm, by calculation and resolve that bordered on cold ruthlessness.

He no longer complained or raged. Like a survivor searching the ruins for usable resources, he had seized this first, seemingly useless straw.

He concentrated and, through the invisible mental link, gave his first order to the deathsworn Wang Wu, far away beneath the overpass:

"Wang Wu, listen carefully."

"First target: Sun Tingting, a student at XX University. She should be very active lately. Find out as much as possible about her daily routine, the places she frequents, and the people she comes into contact with."

"Second target: Li Jing, a counselor at XX University, a middle-aged woman. Find out her home address, her usual means of travel, and the times she travels."

"Third target: Zhang Qian, a policewoman on the city bureau's criminal investigation team. Find out the exact address of her workplace and approximately when she usually gets off work."

"Make staying hidden your first priority. Use every method at your disposal to gather all seemingly useless information related to them, and report through the link regularly."

"Start immediately!"

The orders were clear and cold, without the slightest trace of emotion.

Under the overpass, the curled-up beggar Wang Wu moved ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. Then, as if awakened by the cold, he stood up in a daze, pulled his worn padded coat tightly around himself, and leaned on a wooden stick he had picked up. Trembling, he blended naturally into the silent street in the early hours and began moving slowly toward XX University. His eyes were clouded, but deep within them shone an absolute focus on carrying out his orders.

After giving his orders, Lin Feng slowly let out a deep breath he had held in for a long time.

Though the flame of hope was faint, it had indeed been lit.

He curled up again in that cold, stinking corner. The thin, tattered blanket could provide no warmth at all, but his clenched fists were no longer a sign of anger and despair. They were a sign of cold determination now that he had found a direction.

The first deathsworn was a beggar. That was all right.

What about tomorrow? The day after?

There was one chance every day!

He believed that one day, he would summon someone capable of changing everything.

Until then, he needed to stay alive and endure. He needed to lie hidden in the dark like a venomous snake, silently building his strength and gathering information as he waited for the best moment to deliver a fatal blow to his enemies.

Outside the window, the sky was still pitch-black.

But the cold flame in Lin Feng's eyes burned more clearly and more resolutely than ever before.

He slowly closed his eyes. This time, he was not waiting in despair, but resting and gathering his strength, waiting for the next dawn's summoning, waiting for... the moment the gears of revenge officially began to turn.

The night was still long.

But his struggle had already begun.