Only I Walk Alone

Wu Ge had anticipated such a situation; not everyone can accept the concept of extraterrestrials, let alone his current appearance as a martian.

Wu Ge explained, “I am currently controlling a synthetic body; my true appearance is not like this.”

Saying so, Wu Ge took out a metal sphere that slowly floated up and projected an image of Wu Ge’s real body, startling Kabu. Then, Wu Ge’s voice came from the sphere, “It’s easy to verify whether I am an extraterrestrial because I will continuously provide you with more advanced technologies. With these technologies, you can become your own masters and no longer need to suffer.”

Kabu was still puzzled, clearly not understanding the situation. Wu Ge continued, “This is a memory sphere, storing information that can be disclosed to you. I will teach you how to access the information. After you have looked through it, you can give me your response.”

Kabu took the memory sphere with skepticism and learned how to operate it from Wu Ge. After examining its contents, he showed a shocked expression, saying incredulously, “Earth civilization, it’s such a civilization, the ideal civilization we’ve dreamed of!”

Kabu was astounded, having never imagined a civilization where everyone is equal, governance is through elections, officials are subject to assessments, and even different races living in reproductive isolation can coexist peacefully.

Wu Ge stated, “No highly developed civilization can be a dictatorship, as a dictatorship centered on personal interests cannot achieve collective progress. Working for others will never be as efficient as working for oneself.”

This statement by Wu Ge was based on his country’s situation hundreds of years ago. Apart from the hive-minded insect civilization and the divinely ruling deity civilization, all civilizations that value individual freedom of thought must eventually evolve into societies where everyone is equal and progresses together. Dictators, though having absolute power, turn their people into slaves who cannot fully express their creativity, stalling the civilization’s progress.

A civilization that cannot progress will easily be destroyed by powerful external enemies, with the Qing Dynasty being the classic example.

Initially powerful, the Qing Dynasty ultimately fell because its rulers closed the country off to protect their personal interests and dulled the people’s minds to prevent rebellion. As a result, this mighty nation was invaded by profit-driven capitalists.

Of course, those capitalists who treated workers as slaves and focused solely on personal gains were eventually punished. After all, no matter how strong you make yourself, you can’t possibly use money to smash your enemies when they invade, can you?

Economic strength not converted into military might is just asking to be beaten.

Wu Ge’s ideas were clearly communicated to Kabu. Regardless of how much Kabu understood, he realized that with Wu Ge’s support, the working class could escape their current situation. However, for some reason, Kabu insisted on one principle: he did not intend to wage war.

Kabu said, “I believe you and am willing to join Earth civilization, but I hope you do not provide us with weapons and equipment for now. What we need are your advanced social theories and ideological awareness.”

Wu Ge was surprised; he hadn’t expected such awareness from the other party. Initially, Wu Ge intended for them to handle their internal issues on their own.

Although with Earth’s current military force, deploying just two armies, Tiger Sky and Insect Edge, could flatten Martian civilization in a day, doing so would be meaningless besides showing off. What Wu Ge needed were Martians who sincerely wanted to join Earth civilization, which is why he planned to support them with advanced weapons and equipment.

But now, Kabu was saying he didn’t even need weapons and equipment. Was he planning to take down the nobles with hoes and sickles?

“Why?” Wu Ge asked.

Kabu provided an unexpected answer to Wu Ge, saying, “Since my grandfather’s time, we have been looking for ways to liberate the working class. Initially, we were just searching through vast amounts of data and creating tools to facilitate workers’ tasks. By my father’s generation, he realized that no matter how many new tools we invented, it wouldn’t solve our problems as workers. However, he didn’t know where the problem lay, not until my generation.”

Kabu, caressing the mountains of books around him, said, “I realized the issue lies in the existence of classes. No matter how advanced our tools are or how hard we work, we can’t change our status as workers. Our children will still be workers, and generation after generation, we are doomed to do these dirty and tiring jobs. Even though I realized this, I didn’t know how to solve the problem. I looked through many ancient texts but found nothing, until today!”

Kabu’s eyes suddenly filled with determination, “The problem with our civilization is in its way of thinking. To change it, we must start with thought. Guns and cannons cannot change a civilization’s thought, only what I hold in my hands can!”

Clutching a book tightly, Kabu spoke with unwavering conviction, “Only knowledge can change destiny, only the spirit can make those kneeling stand up. Great figure of Earth civilization, I beg you, bring your advanced ideas to the world of civilization. Our Martian civilization will not disappoint you; we have the strength to stand up!”

Wu Ge was somewhat moved, great historical figures flashing through his mind. Had they, too, awakened to a similar will at some point?

From his true position in Mars orbit, Wu Ge immediately contacted Xiao Chao, “I need all the books about ideological revolutions that humanity has produced up to this point.”

Thinking of ideological revolutions brought Wu Ge to think of a person often credited with every conceivable quote, Lu Xun.

“Why do you assume what Zhou Shuren said was said by Lu Xun?”

“A scalpel can only treat physical ailments, but only this pen in my hand can heal the spirit.”

Rubbing his temples, Wu Ge suddenly felt the bottleneck in his spiritual power loosening. After reaching the peak of the Out-of-Body realm, he had been unsure of the path ahead and had been exploring the path of cultivation. Hearing Kabu’s words today seemed to enlighten him, even feeling the bottleneck in his spiritual power realm loosen.

Today, Wu Ge brought a new perspective to Kabu, and Kabu, in turn, brought Wu Ge a new understanding. He pondered whether Kabu’s desire was for the martians to achieve spiritual ascension.

And whether his next step in cultivation was also related to this ascension?