Only I Walk Alone

In ancient times, emperors required their subjects to kneel before them, not just for the sake of their own vanity, but crucially to maintain their ruling status. After all, if you kneel for too long, you can no longer stand.

Wu Ge met the seventh level workers Kachi had mentioned, emerging from several openings at the tail of the ecological worm. Upon exiting, they immediately grabbed handfuls of soil from their pockets and stuffed it into their mouths, clearly possessing oxygen-generating worms in their stomachs, allowing them to directly eat soil for oxygen.

They immediately began working, throwing countless water pumps into the mud, then starting to draw up wastewater.

In Wu Ge’s view, this method was utterly foolish. After all, one moment you’re expelling wastewater, and the next, you’re collecting this contaminated mudwater. Isn’t that nonsensical?

But no one seems to notice such an obvious flaw; perhaps they’ve been kneeling for too long, so they no longer question the rationality of their actions.

Kachi led Wu Ge over, and the lead martian water worker, upon seeing Kachi, exclaimed in surprise, “Kachi, you’re alive, you didn’t die!”

The other water workers were also shocked, gathering around and pinching Kachi’s cheeks. Martians resemble penguins in appearance, so to Wu Ge, it seemed like a group of strong penguins were manhandling a smaller one.

They waddled as they walked, similar to penguins.

“Kachi, who is this?” The lead worker noticed Wu Ge and the group of robots behind him.

A martian whispered, “Could he be one of the upper levels? Look at those machines; it seems only the upper levels would use them.”

The lead worker became cautious, approached, and asked, “May I know who this is?”

Wu Ge said, “I’m not from this planet; I come from beyond the stars. Kachi, explain.”

Although Wu Ge had learned the Martian language, this was a difficult question to explain, making Kachi, familiar with both sides’ situations, the best to explain. He had been at the Mars orbital base for three days and had a basic understanding of the Earth civilization.

Kachi explained to the lead worker, who took a while to respond, then asked in astonishment, “Help us transform this planet? Restore its former beauty? Kachi, don’t be fooled; that’s impossible!”

Kachi said, “I’ve witnessed it all myself… forget it, I need to take this Earthling elder to meet my brother; let him decide.”

Wu Ge asked, “Your brother is?”

Hearing Wu Ge inquire about Kachi’s brother, the other workers showed admiration. Kachi replied, “My brother is the most educated person on the seventh level. He invented many devices to reduce the workers’ burden, and it’s by reading his collection of books that I learned of our planet’s former beauty.”

Wu Ge became interested in this person Kachi mentioned, saying, “Let’s go, I want to meet this person.”

The situation within the Martian civilization was more complex than Wu Ge had imagined. Not only do they live inside the ecological worm, but the Martians themselves are divided into different classes, with the nobility living a happy high-tech life while the lower levels engage in repetitive, undervalued work. Yet, it’s from such conditions that exceptional talents emerge.

Following Kachi into what he called home, Wu Ge found the interior of this massive home had been transformed almost into a steel fortress. Upon entering the ecological worm, everything was metal, dirty, and messy, everywhere filled with grime, feeling like a prison.

After a long walk with Kachi, Wu Ge finally saw a bright light, leading to a series of soilless cultivation frames growing a peculiar type of climbing plant in three layers—upper, middle, and lower—on the soilless frames. These plants bore gourd-like fruits, and Wu Ge noticed martian farmers harvesting gray fruits while leaving the red ones untouched.

The farmers greeted Kachi, indicating his brother’s high prestige and Kachi’s own renown, although Kachi’s image seemed to fall short of his brother’s.

“Kachi, where have you been running wild again?”

“Kachi, learn more from your brother, don’t always cause trouble for the adults.”

“Kachi, you’ve read books, tell grandma, how do you pronounce this word?”

An elderly martian came over with a wooden board, engraved with a string of characters, likely Martian writing.

Kachi, despite being mischievous, was considerate of the elders, helping the old grandma. He mentioned, “In this level, only my brother and I can read. Other literate lucky ones have moved up to the sixth level.”

Wu Ge nodded slightly, understanding that the Martian civilization wasn’t as bad as he imagined. It seems talented individuals could indeed move to higher levels, but this still doesn’t change the situation of the lower-class people.

Kachi led Wu Ge into a dimly lit room, where a martian youth was engrossed in reading under a dim light, not noticing Kachi’s arrival until Kachi shouted, “Bro, I’m back!”

Kachi’s brother jumped up in shock, first surprised, then scolded, “You little she-devil, where have you been? Do you know how many people I asked to look for you? How much trouble you’ve caused everyone!”

Wu Ge: ??

Little she-devil?

To him, all martians looked alike, and distinguishing between males and females was even more challenging.

Kachi stuck out her tongue, then said, “Bro, I went to the surface of the planet, and also, I brought back an extraterrestrial. He said he could help us restore the planet’s original state, so we wouldn’t have to live in this cramped space anymore, nor would we have to constantly pump wastewater or do those dirty, tiring jobs!”

Kachi looked at his sister with indulgence, “You’re thinking too simply. As long as there are classes, no matter where we go, we’ll have to do the dirty, tiring work!”

After that, Kachi’s brother finally looked at Wu Ge, his face showing a puzzled expression. To avoid alarming the martians inside the home, Wu Ge didn’t bring the robots in, making him appear like a regular martian.

“Hello!” Kachi’s brother greeted, “I’m her brother, my name is Kabu. Thank you for bringing my sister back. May I ask, are you an elder from another ecological worm?”

Kabu’s intuition told him that the martian before him must be a significant figure, evident from his calm demeanor and the way he looked at everyone equally, as if looking down on all beings.