Chapter 2: The Smile That Died in the Rain
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.
> "Why… why does everyone betray me?" he muttered, his voice barely above the sound of the rain.
He stopped under a broken streetlight, staring at his reflection in a puddle.
His own face looked like that of a stranger — a hollow smile on a lifeless expression.
> "If this world only rewards liars and monsters…"
"Then maybe I should become one too."
---
Days passed. Jin Yuan returned to his dull routine — a small part-time job, silent meals, and long walks through the same city that had taken everything from him.
He rarely spoke anymore. His smile was gone.
But something had changed inside him.
His calmness began to twist into something else — something darker.
---
One evening, as the sun disappeared behind the skyline, Jin Yuan sat at the old park where he used to meet Chanoki. The benches were rusted, the swings creaked in the wind. Yet here, he found strange peace.
He looked up at the sky, whispering to himself,
> "This world… only listens to those who act. Words are just noise."
---
Flashback.
He remembered Chanoki's tearful face, her apology, her betrayal, and that boy's arm around her.
Each memory stabbed through his mind like knives.
> "I believed in kindness. I believed in them."
"And they called me weak."
---
Jin Yuan clenched his fists.
> "Then I'll become the monster this world deserves."
His tone was calm — almost too calm.
The wind blew his long black hair across his face as his expression hardened.
> "From today… Jin Yuan is dead."
"Only the one who will change this rotten world remains."
He stood up, walking away as thunder rolled across the sky.
---
The next day, news spread across every TV channel.
> Breaking News:
"Authorities are investigating a series of violent incidents. A mysterious man, described as a dark shadow, has been targeting criminals and gangs. No survivors. No mercy."
People called him The Shadow Farmer.
They didn't know what that name meant.
But Jin Yuan did.
---
That night, he walked across the rooftops under the moonlight.
His black coat fluttered in the cold wind. A dark mask covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his deep, emotionless eyes visible.
He stopped, gazing down at the city below — at the lights, the people, the corruption.
> "I'll make everyone regret being blind," he murmured.
---
Screams echoed in the distance — criminals falling, one after another, before they even realized death had come for them.
When the chaos ended, Jin Yuan sat silently on the edge of a rooftop, breathing heavily. His massive blade dripped with blood, glowing faintly under the moonlight.
> "They deserved this," he whispered.
"Stealing people's hard-earned money… destroying lives for greed…"
He looked at his reflection in the blade — tired eyes, but a calm smile.
> "Maybe… this is what I was meant to do."
The screen faded to black, the rain starting to fall once again.
---
End of Chapter 2.
---
Author's Note:
The line between justice and evil begins to blur.
Jin Yuan has chosen the path of blood — not for revenge, but to rebuild a world that never gave him mercy.
He farms aura, not crops — strength born from pain and willpower itself.
No heroes. No saviors.
Only the monster this world created.