Undercurrents Stir, Endurance and a Glimmer of Light

Clang!

The iron door of cell 107 slammed shut behind him. The lock clicked with a dull, despairing sound, like the gavel delivering a final verdict, throwing Lin Feng back into this cage steeped in foul air and invisible malice.

The red marks left by the metal handcuffs still ached faintly on his wrists, but Zhang Qian's cold, cutting, prejudiced words continued to buzz in his ears, stabbing his nerves again and again like poisoned needles. "Scum of society," "last chance," "the harsh judgment of the law"... Every word carried immense humiliation and injustice, making the violent flames in his chest threaten to burst forth.

He lowered his head and walked silently inside, trying to make himself less conspicuous and retreat as quickly as possible to his corner, right beside the source of the stench.

But trouble always came looking for him.

"Well, look who's back?" Skinny Monkey's grating, mocking voice rang out at once. "The cops call you in for tea again? What kind of heavy treatment did they serve you this time?"

Scar still sat sprawled in the middle of the communal sleeping platform, a cheap cigarette that never seemed to burn out dangling from his mouth. Squinting, he looked Lin Feng up and down as though inspecting a piece of merchandise, then gave an inscrutable cold snort. "Look at that sorry sight. Bet they gave you another rough time. What, still won't confess?"

Lin Feng didn't answer. He just quickened his pace.

But his silence was taken as a provocation, or perhaps proof that he was weak and easy to bully.

"Fuck, Brother Scar asked you a question! Are you deaf?" The burly man with a face full of beefy flesh-everyone called him "Iron Head"-jumped down from the platform and blocked Lin Feng's path, his shadow almost completely engulfing him.

Lin Feng stopped, his head still lowered, his hands clenching slightly at his sides.

"Get lost." He forced the words through his teeth, his voice hoarse but carrying an unmistakable chill.

Iron Head froze, apparently not expecting the "wimp" who had always meekly endured everything to dare talk back. Then the flesh on his face twisted into a vicious grin. "Hey! Grown a temper, have you? Got roughed up in there and came out acting tough? I'll have to teach you the rules around here today!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he shot out a hand and seized Lin Feng by the collar of his prison uniform, nearly lifting him off the ground with the force of it.

"Brother Iron Head asking you a question is giving you face! And you dare tell me to get lost?" Iron Head spat as he spoke, pointing with his other hand at the filthy squat toilet in the corner. "Looks like you didn't scrub the toilet clean enough yesterday! Today you're going to use that-"

He released Lin Feng's collar and pointed instead to a battered plastic toothbrush by the sink. Its bristles had long since bent and splayed, looking even harder and rougher than a shoe brush. "Use this! Scrub the whole damn toilet, inside and out, every edge and corner! If you can't finish, you'll lick it clean with your tongue today!"

The cell erupted in irrepressible laughter and cheers. Scar grinned too, evidently happy to see this kind of "entertainment." Skinny Monkey was even more excited. He darted over, grabbed the battered toothbrush and shoved it into Lin Feng's hand, pushing him along. "Get moving! Didn't you hear Brother Iron Head?"

Humiliation poured over Lin Feng like boiling oil. A toothbrush... to scrub the toilet? This went beyond putting him in his place. It was an extreme, deliberate trampling of his dignity!

His body trembled slightly with rage, his nails digging deep into his palms, sending sharp pain through them. Only one voice screamed wildly in his head: Fight back! Go all out! Even if I can't beat him, I'll bite a chunk of flesh off him!

But just as he teetered on the edge of losing control, the faint link in his mind to Wang Wu, the beggar deathsworn far away, fluctuated ever so slightly. It was as though a thin stream of icy water had poured into a pot of boiling oil, instantly suppressing the emotions that had nearly burst out of him.

I can't fight back!

Fighting back now would accomplish nothing except getting me a more brutal beating and solitary confinement!

I need time! I need to wait for the next summoning! I need Wang Wu to bring me more information!

Failing to endure a small indignity will ruin a great plan!

Only by staying alive will I have a chance at revenge!

He drew a deep breath, the foul, murky air seemingly laced with shards of ice, and forcibly pushed down the anger churning in his chest. Slowly, with extreme stiffness, his trembling hand accepted the filthy, battered toothbrush.

Seeing him finally choose to submit, Iron Head and Skinny Monkey looked even more smug and contemptuous. The prisoners watching also let out bored jeers, seemingly disappointed not to have seen the resistance they had expected.

Lin Feng turned away without looking at any of them again and walked, step by step, toward the stinking corner.

He crouched down, picked up the battered plastic bucket and filled it halfway with icy tap water. Then, facing the filthy ceramic toilet, covered in yellow stains and unidentifiable grime, he slowly squatted down.

He dipped the hard, battered toothbrush into the bucket and began scrubbing bit by bit, pressing down with all his might.

The hard, rough bristles scraped against the ceramic with a grating sound that set his teeth on edge. Icy dirty water inevitably splashed onto his hands, his face and his prison uniform. The overpowering smell of ammonia and other indescribable stenches almost blasted through the top of his skull.

Unrestrained laughter and comments came from behind him.

"Look at that pathetic sight!"

"Fuck, stay away from him when you eat from now on. Bad luck!"

"Scrub carefully! Dig out the places the toothbrush can't reach with your fingers!"

Every taunt lashed his back like a whip. Every stroke of the brush ground away at what little dignity he had left. His teeth ground together, and his eyes reddened slightly from the extreme humiliation and rage, but he endured it fiercely, letting no trace of weakness show.

His entire attention was fixed on the faint link deep in his mind. He turned all his hatred and humiliation into a cold expectation, hoping that the beggar far away beneath the overpass could bring him something useful, even if it was only the most insignificant scrap of information!

He didn't know how long he scrubbed, until his fingers turned white and wrinkled from soaking in the cold water, until the bristles of the battered toothbrush had almost all fallen out, until his back ached so badly he could barely straighten it.

At last, just as his mind was nearly numb-

The link fluctuated again!

This time, it was a little clearer than before. Disjointed, blurry fragments of images and sounds came through like a radio with poor reception:

... (noisy street sounds in the background)... "Tingting... recommended for graduate admission... settled..." (the laughter of several girls faded into the distance)...

... (car horns)... a white... Volkswagen Polo... license plate ending in... 37?... Li Jing... every day... around this time... drove out of... the faculty housing complex...

... (a siren approached, then faded away)... municipal bureau... criminal investigation team... entrance... saw... Zhang Qian... drive out... very aggressive... almost scraped... a passerby cursed... bitch...

The information was still fragmented, mixed with Wang Wu's subjective observations and understanding from his low social station ("bitch" was obviously what he had heard a passerby call her), but Lin Feng keenly picked out the key points!

Sun Tingting's recommendation for graduate admission seemed to have been settled!

Li Jing's car model, the last digits of her license plate, and her approximate travel time and route!

Zhang Qian's workplace, the time she got off work, and even her aggressive driving habits!

This information was like the first glimmer of light in the darkness. Faint as it was, it meant a great deal! The objects of his hatred were no longer vague and insubstantial; they were beginning to take concrete form, becoming observable and trackable!

An indescribable excitement, mingled with even colder hatred, surged through Lin Feng's heart.

Useful! Wang Wu is useful!

This seemingly lowest and most useless deathsworn was weaving a web of information for his revenge in his own distinctive way, unnoticed by anyone!

He abruptly stopped his mechanical scrubbing. Keeping his head lowered, he used his bent posture to conceal the terrifying gleam that flashed through his eyes.

"Hey! Are you done scrubbing? Quit dragging your feet!" Skinny Monkey's irritated shout came from behind him.

Lin Feng didn't respond. He simply sped up, quickly giving the last bit of the toilet a few careless scrubs before rinsing it clean.

He stood up and walked silently back to his corner, tossing the battered toothbrush back where it belonged. Then he sat curled up, hugged his knees and buried his face in them.

To anyone watching, he had broken down and withdrawn into himself after all that humiliation.

But in truth, the face buried between his knees and arms showed no tears or weakness, only icy calm and a mind working at a furious pace.

He began to piece together and analyze the information Wang Wu had sent him.

Is Li Jing's travel routine a way in? Can I stage an accident?

Zhang Qian's driving habits... perhaps I can make use of them?

Sun Tingting... how much longer can her triumph last?

One vague, dangerous thought after another began to grow and circle in his mind.

He realized that information was power. Even the most insignificant information could have an enormous effect at a critical moment. And Wang Wu was his first eye, his first ear.

Once again, he used the mental link to send Wang Wu clearer, ongoing instructions: "Keep observing. Focus on confirming Li Jing's exact license plate number and her fixed daily routine. Record the approximate time Zhang Qian leaves the municipal bureau each night. Watch for any unusual behavior or remarks from Sun Tingting."

Beneath the overpass, the beggar Wang Wu received the instructions. His cloudy eyes blinked, and he pulled his tattered cotton coat tighter around himself. Like a real shadow, he continued to blend into the backdrop of the city.

Night fell once more.

The lights in the cell went out, and darkness and snores covered everything.

Lin Feng curled up on the cold sleeping platform, enduring hunger and physical discomfort. But his heart was no longer filled with the torment of uncertainty as it had been the night before.

The humiliation remained, and his hatred burned even hotter.

But now there was something more-hope and a plan.

He silently counted the time, waiting for the next midnight, waiting for the chance to summon a second time.

Every day was a new card draw.

Every day could bring him one step closer to revenge.

He closed his eyes, no longer listening to the irritating drip of water. Instead, he ran through his vague plans again and again in his mind, considering how best to use Wang Wu, a chess piece that seemed insignificant but was vitally important.

His start in hell had not changed, but at the bottom of the pitch-black abyss, the venomous serpent of revenge had opened its cold eyes and flicked out its tongue, beginning to silently measure the distance to its prey.

The night was still long.

But his wait now had meaning.