The Cyber Ascension
Chapter 1: The Ruthless Shadow
The night was cold and silent.
Rain poured across the empty streets, reflecting the dim streetlights like shards of glass.
Jin Yuan walked without direction — his soaked clothes clinging to his trembling body, his heart heavy with something deeper than sadness.
> "Why… why does everyone betray me?" he whispered, his voice barely louder than the rain.
He stopped beneath a flickering streetlight. The puddle beneath him reflected a stranger's face — hollow eyes, a lifeless smile.
> "If this world only rewards liars and monsters…"
"Then maybe I should become one too."
---
Earlier that year…
The morning sun poured into the classroom, painting the old wooden desks with soft light.
Jin Yuan, a nineteen-year-old boy with kind eyes and a gentle smile, sat at his seat, trying to spark conversation.
> "Guys, today's exam went well, right?"
No answer.
His classmates ignored him as if he didn't exist. One boy smirked, crumpled a paper ball, and tossed it — hitting Jin in the head.
> "Oh my, seems like I threw it in the right dustbin," the boy laughed.
The whole class joined in. Jin froze, forcing a small smile before quietly leaving the room.
---
The schoolyard was quiet, wind brushing through the trees.
He found Chanoki — his childhood friend — by the basketball court. Her smile was the only warmth he had left in this world.
> "Hey, Jin!" she waved.
"Hey, Chanoki," he said softly.
She tilted her head, noticing the dullness in his voice.
> "Something happened?"
"Nothing serious…" Jin chuckled weakly.
But she could see through him — she always could.
So he finally confessed.
> "Chanoki… I like you. I've liked you since we met."
Her eyes widened. A moment of silence passed before she smiled softly.
> "Really?"
"Yes. I mean it."
"Then… maybe I feel the same," she whispered.
For a brief, fragile moment — everything felt right again.
---
That night, he replayed her smile in his mind until sleep took him.
Days passed. Then weeks.
Chanoki began avoiding him. No texts. No smiles. Just silence.
Until one evening…
> "Jin, I'm sorry for ignoring you," she said softly.
Her eyes glistened, voice trembling. Before he could answer, she hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.
> "I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Jin froze, his heart filling with fragile warmth again.
> "Of course… I forgive you," he said, smiling.
"Wait here. I'll get us some ice cream."
He ran down the street, his chest light for the first time in weeks.
But when he returned…
The world shattered.
Chanoki sat on a bench with another boy — his arm around her waist, her laughter echoing through the park.
> "You're so naughty, Jim," she giggled.
The ice cream fell from Jin's trembling hands.
He stood there, silent, rain beginning to fall.
> "What are you doing, Chanoki?"
"He's just my best friend…" she lied, looking away.
Jin didn't speak. He simply turned, walking away as thunder rumbled across the sky.
> "Why…?" he whispered, voice breaking.
"Why does everyone betray me?"
He screamed into the storm until his voice cracked.
> "AAAAAHHHH!!!"
---
Days turned to nights.
Nights turned to silence.
Jin Yuan stopped smiling. He stopped caring.
Each passing day felt emptier than the last.
Until one evening — the moment his heart finally broke.
He stood beneath a broken streetlight, the same one from before.
His reflection stared back at him, drenched and lifeless.
> "If kindness is weakness… then I'll become cruelty itself."
The decision was quiet, but absolute.
That night, Jin Yuan died — and something else was born.
---
Weeks Later
> Breaking News:
"Authorities report a wave of violent incidents across the city.
Victims: gang members, loan sharks, and corrupt officials.
No survivors. No clues."
Rumors spread like wildfire.
They spoke of a man in black — a shadow who hunted criminals and vanished into the night.
They called him The Shadow Farmer, for he seemed to harvest something unseen from every soul he struck down.
---
On a lonely rooftop, the wind howled against the dark sky.
A figure stood there — tall, silent, cloaked in black.
His mask hid everything but his cold eyes.
> "The world never listens to words," he murmured.
"Only to violence."
He leapt into the night.
Below, laughter turned to screams.
Steel met flesh.
Blood splattered across the walls, shining red beneath the moonlight.
Moments later, silence.
Only one man stood breathing — Jin Yuan, holding his massive blade as rain washed the crimson away.
> "They deserved this," he whispered.
"Stealing, killing, destroying lives for greed…"
He looked at his reflection in the blade and smiled faintly.
> "Maybe… this is what I was meant to do."
---
Days later, somewhere on the outskirts —
A little girl peered out her window and saw the masked man passing by.
> "Mister, what are you doing?" she called.
"Farming," he replied.
"Farming? But it's midnight!"
"Aura farming."
He smiled faintly under his mask, then vanished into the darkness.
---
At sunset, he sat on an old park bench — the same one where it all began.
Chanoki approached him slowly, trembling.
> "Jin… can we talk?"
"What is it, Ms. Cheater?" he replied coldly.
She flinched but didn't leave.
> "Why are you doing this?"
Jin looked up at the sky, voice calm, almost emotionless.
> "Because talking never changes anything. People worship justice, morality, kindness… but never act. They let the weak suffer while the powerful smile."
He turned toward her — his gaze sharp as a blade.
> "I'll burn this world and build a better one from the ashes. Even if I have to become its greatest villain."
The sun vanished. Only shadows remained.
Chanoki sat frozen, watching the man who once smiled like the sun disappear into the night — colder than darkness itself.
---
> "Villains are not born."
"They are made — by this world."
---
End of Chapter 1: The Ruthless Shadow