Only I Walk Alone

Wu Ge plans to help Kabu and the martian working class at the bottom, partly because he seeks a way to spiritual ascension, and perhaps, he can’t stand seeing capitalists oppress the working class.

After all, Wu Ge has been imbued with the education of the proletariat since childhood. What’s that saying? We are the heirs of communism.

Thus, Wu Ge began to write diligently in a small room prepared by Kabu, translating the works of great revolutionaries like “A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire” and also writing new articles based on the societal status of martians.

Kabu was amazed after reading these articles, as the lower-class martians were illiterate. He began organizing lecture classes under Wu Ge’s guidance and started giving speeches.

Kabu, already prestigious in the seventh level, ignited fervor among the workers with his talks on equality and the proletariat’s rights.

As Kabu’s fame grew, workers from other regions were drawn to him. Previously, the seventh level had little entertainment besides reproduction, but now they found something far more engaging.

Standing on the podium, Kabu loudly stated, “Following the guidance of our great spiritual leader Wu Ge, today I will talk about three aspects: What is equality? What are the rights of workers? And what is civilization…”

Kabu’s lectures were light-hearted, always finding relatable jokes to make everyone laugh. However, after the laughter, there was an underlying bitterness.

This was just the first step. Without attracting the upper echelons’ attention, they gathered all the suffering working class for lectures. Afterward, under Wu Ge’s direction, Kabu began holding secret training classes on martian literacy and public speaking.

Kabu alone was not enough; they needed more people, more strength.

The trainer was Wu Ge, now revered as a spiritual mentor. So far, he was the masterminded behind the entire revolutionary phase.

Wu Ge said, “Remember, when you are weak, accumulate strength; when you are strong, proceed cautiously. A successful revolution is not a spur of the moment but a result of persistence and relentless effort.”

Wu Ge’s fame spread, and his writings began to disseminate to the sixth and fifth levels.

Although those on the fifth and sixth levels had a slightly higher class status than the seventh, they were still exploited by higher classes, working directly under the capitalists of the third level or as servants and bodyguards for the nobles of the second level. They were not much more dignified than the working class.

Then, Wu Ge appeared, opening a new door for their spirits with his works, showing them a new sky.

Thus, the revolutionary force continued to grow. The first-level administrators noticed some clues and sent investigators to the seventh level, but they found nothing, as Wu Ge had already instructed Xiao Chao to create a four-dimensional space in the seventh level.

To be precise, “create” is not the right term since the four-dimensional space was always there, neither increasing nor decreasing. What Wu Ge and his team did was simply build a room in the four-dimensional world and connect it to the three-dimensional one.

The investigation team, despite their sophisticated equipment and advanced weapons, had no means to probe into the four-dimensional space.

So, the investigation team reported back, “We found nothing unusual, except that the people of the seventh level seem to be in high spirits and have become stronger. We suspect they have stolen food.”

However, this report was immediately contested, “But recently, the food supply for the seventh level has actually increased, with plans to distribute some small favors. Wouldn’t your report contradict the authorities?”

The team leader broke into a cold sweat, immediately deleting the peculiarities from his report, changing it to all being normal.

With no abnormalities detected above, Wu Ge and his team continued their actions. Before long, the empowered revolutionaries openly gave speeches on the streets, with Kabu proclaiming loudly, “I suppose you are all familiar with me by now, I am Kabu, the advocate for the interests of the lower classes, following the instructions of our great spiritual leader, Teacher Wu Ge, to convey to you the program of our revolutionary army for the lower classes…”

Not just Kabu, countless orators went to the sixth, fifth, and fourth levels to speak. Their voices had a magical power, captivating hearts as soon as they began talking, winning over many martians’ hearts in just a morning.

When the first-level administrators realized what was happening, it was too late to address it. The revolutionary army’s counterattack was fierce; they had no guns, no cannons, only their pens and eloquent speeches.

They flaunted theories of equality and collective progress, threatening the positions of the first-level administrators, second-level nobles, and third-level capitalists. Eventually, they could no longer sit idly by. The first-level administrators first dispatched inspectors to arrest the instigator Wu Ge, but how could Wu Ge be so easily captured?

Setting aside that Wu Ge’s true body was on a space station in Mars orbit, even the synthetic martian body he controlled was guarded by countless robots. Moreover, everyone from the third level down had resigned and gone on strike, making it impossible for the police to operate effectively.

When one plan failed, the first-level administrators immediately concocted another, their most common strategy: military suppression.

However, the structure of Martian civilization is pyramidal, with a minority of upper echelons managing the majority of the middle and lower levels. Once a revolt occurs, the numbers of the middle and lower levels are not something the upper echelons can suppress.

Failing to suppress the uprising, they had no choice but to flee, otherwise, they would be overwhelmed by the sea of people.

The revolutionary army grew stronger. They had no guns or cannons, but they cornered the upper echelons, who still hadn’t grasped what was happening.

By the time they realized, it was already too late. However, the upper echelons didn’t give up; they sent out their most eloquent speaker to stand on the walls of the third level and shouted, “You ungrateful lot, have you forgotten who built this home? Who kindly took in your ancestors? Who preserved the spark of Martian civilization when Mars was on the brink of extinction? It was the ancestors of the administrators, the great creators of our home, they saved you. And now, you dare to overthrow the administrators and claim the home they painstakingly built as your own. This is biting the hand that feeds you!”

Kabu stepped forward, shouting back, “You’re twisting the facts. You created this home and took us in because you needed our labor, wanting to make us your slaves. Moreover, your rule only satisfies your personal interests. Over these tens of thousands of years, our Martian civilization has hardly progressed, all because you dumb down the people, hindering the development of Martian civilization. You are the criminals of history, the enders of civilization, you should have been eliminated long ago!”

Kabu’s argument was very reasonable. The behavior of monopolizing for personal gain and dumbing down the populace is the greatest obstacle to the advancement of civilization, something the other side couldn’t refute.

However, the opposition still had a desperate strategy— their weapons and equipment were more advanced, and all the food processing plants and wastewater purification areas were above the third level. As long as they held the walls, the revolutionary forces would eventually have to compromise due to lack of food and water resources.