Only I Walk Alone

Wu Ge’s strength advanced further. The martian revolution led him to realize how to sublime his soul once more. The moment he grasped this truth, his realm broke through.

After comprehending this principle, the numerous “I”s within Wu Ge merged into one. The sorrowful Wu Ge, the joyful Wu Ge, the lonely Wu Ge, the desperate Wu Ge, the mundane Wu Ge, the bored Wu Ge – these countless versions of Wu Ge united into a single entity, achieving a high degree of spiritual unity.

He became “one,” entering a new realm – Spirit Condensation, meaning the concentration of spirit.

It was this new realm that enabled Wu Ge to stand on the Mars surface without any protective gear, a feat that seemed godlike to other Earth races.

Upon seeing Wu Ge, martians understood he was their spiritual leader, feeling the spiritual fluctuations he emitted.

Wu Ge settled the martians who reached the surface in Mars No.1 City, a colony protected by a particle shield, providing an environment for martian survival.

In a short period, martians elected a new leader, Kachi, whose prestige was unmatched. Without her and her brother, they wouldn’t be living in this spacious, clean, high-tech city.

Under Wu Ge’s guidance, martians formed a Chamber of Commerce. Wu Ge discovered martians had a potential for commerce. With Earth civilization already developing religion, science, and military, and now with the Martian Chamber of Commerce, the economy was well-rounded.

Wu Ge found each race had its strengths: werewolves suited for developing religion and science, mechanical insects and demon races for military, and martians for economy, given their millennia-long aristocratic capitalism.

Although Wu Ge was revered as a god by werewolves, a commander by mechanical insects and demon races, and a spiritual leader by martians, he rarely interfered in racial affairs. Like this time, although he saved martians and offered advice, he didn’t impose any conditions for forming the Chamber of Commerce.

Thus, Kachi boldly reformed, ensuring equality and collective progress, with every martian free to choose their profession. Registering as a merchant wasn’t about accumulating capital but creating and meeting demand.

Kachi, influenced by her brother’s oratory skills, excelled in speeches herself. At the Chamber’s platform, she declared, “We are merchants, not capitalists. Capitalists focus on personal gain, exploiting workers to accumulate capital for enjoyment. Merchants, however, aim to create and satisfy demands. Without merchants, people couldn’t buy what they want, and life wouldn’t be convenient. We do business not for ourselves but for the people!”

In the highest villa of No.1 City, Wu Ge watched Kachi’s speech. After a while, he asked, “Xiao Chao, remember the 810 incident a year before humanity disappeared?”

Xiao Chao immediately searched and replied, “The 810 incident in October 2023, where domestic capitalists proposed an 810 work system, making bottom-tier workers labor for over 14 hours daily.”

Wu Ge said, “Though I can’t recall everything clearly, the 810 work system remains vivid. My parents couldn’t come home because of work. About a month after the incident, the state seemed to have used thunderous methods to suppress those capitalists, a tumultuous month indeed!”

Xiao Chao replied, “The impact of working 14 hours daily was immense, exacerbating social conflicts and leading to overproduction. It also meant people had no time for family, romance for the youth dwindled, and capitalists challenged state authority.”

Wu Ge continued, “The theory of collective progress emerged then, propelling our country to become the world’s most potential nation. Countless foreigners clamored to join us, a true era of foreign nations paying homage.”

Xiao Chao added, “The country’s governing philosophy underwent a major shift that year, recognizing that only through the collective progress of all people could society greatly advance.”

Wu Ge nodded, “This collective progress isn’t about simply sharing wealth, like distributing money or houses to everyone, but about the intellectual advancement of the entire population. Just like the martians now, the populace freed themselves from narrow-mindedness, truly achieving job equality, mutual understanding, and assistance. Class and status differences vanished, suspicion and jealousy nearly disappeared, and the people united, except for individuals like me.”

Xiao Chao, not fully understanding Wu Ge’s intent, guessed it was sparked by the martian establishment of the Chamber of Commerce.

Wu Ge concluded, “Did the Microstar Civilization realize this, hence refusing diplomatic ties in favor of containment and control, fearing the unparalleled potential of humanity carrying the collective progress ideology?”

Xiao Chao replied, “Insufficient data to speculate on the Microstar Civilization’s actions.”

Wu Ge deeply understood this point. After all, reaching the Spirit Condensation realm meant achieving the collective progress goal within oneself, breaking through due to the unity of all internal personas. He knew his own strength; now, he could enter the fourth dimension without any instruments, and his powerful spirit could even warp space around him.

If a society, race, or civilization reached the Spirit Condensation realm, its growth potential would be unimaginably vast. It’s known that the Mechanical civilization, due to its non-stop work capacity, gained immense production power. However, its flaw lies in the lack of creativity.

Humans capable of collective progress possess both advantages: they work almost all day except for eating and sleeping because they love their work, and they are creative, continuously developing new products and propelling technological advancement rapidly.

This situation effectively combines the strengths of the Mechanical race and the Technological race. Their fervent spiritual state not only defends against the Deity Race’s faith attacks but can even influence other races to join their side, similar to the current Earth civilization.

Therefore, this state of human civilization might have alarmed the Microstar Civilization, and their abduction of all humanity could also be driven by a desire to study this condition.

Of course, the initial Wu Ge is an exception due to a metaphysical curse, making him out of sync with the world.