Only I Walk Alone

Cang Shu and Ye Hong passed away from this world, seemingly finding each other in their final moments, holding hands and leaving with smiles on their faces.

They were buried in a cemetery of the God religion, a place usually reserved for renowned zealots.

However, no one knew whether they were resting here eternally or had moved on to another world.

After returning from Venus, Wu Ge began studying the ring artifact, a donut-shaped ring too unique to be worn comfortably for long periods. This ring, large enough to be a bracelet, had particle streams around it resembling Earth’s magnetic field, with particles jetting out from the top, circling around, and returning to the bottom.

Wu Ge named it the Spirit Void Ring and started his investigation. He found that, unlike the Gold Essence Sword, the Spirit Void Ring couldn’t be absorbed into the body nor could it be activated by the True Dragon Qi. It required psychic/spirtual or faith power to trigger its reality-inverting function.

Wu Ge discovered that the so-called inversion ability was more like a materialization power, as it inverted reality and the soul, allowing creations of the mind to be brought into reality.

Using the artifact, a domain appeared around the user where everything underwent a mental-material inversion. The size of the domain depended on the user’s spiritual strength, while the created mental constructs related to the user’s psychic power, imagination, and expression.

In an experiment, Wu Ge found that wearing the ring allowed him to generate attacks that wouldn’t be possible in reality, like bending light attacks, colorful musical note attacks, various textual attacks, and complex numerical attacks.

All these bizarre creations could be materialized, proving more potent than the magical brush in children’s tales.

Understanding the ring’s capabilities, Wu Ge used it to assist Xiao Luo in researching the Unified Field Theory.

The ring’s effects were miraculous, able to create anything one could imagine, including forces like electromagnetism and gravity. Hence, studying the Unified Field Theory with the ring seemed more efficient.

Using the ring felt like knowing the answer before solving the problem. The question and answer were known; it was just a matter of figuring out how to solve it.

Though still challenging, it saved a considerable amount of effort.

The Unified Field Theory is central to understanding the universe. Without it, civilization lacks essential understanding, akin to a ship without sails, a car without an engine, or a helicopter without rotor blades.

With this theory, Earth’s civilization could officially enter the interstellar age.

Thus, Wu Ge entered the research institute and, using the Spirit Void Ring, assisted Xiao Luo in studying the Unified Field Theory. Even with the artifact, unraveling the theory remained daunting.

By the 555th year since humanity was taken, Earth’s civilization had 30,000 top scientists, over 100,000 secondary scientists, and more than 500,000 scientific assistants. Countless research universities on Earth, Mars, and the Moon also tirelessly tackled the Unified Field Theory.

The Science Faction had governed for fifty years, leading to rapid technological advancements and a boom in research talent.

After fifty years of effort, it seemed Earth’s civilization was on the verge of cracking the Unified Field Theory.

However, at this stage, increasing the number of scientists no longer accelerated their research progress. It wasn’t about quantity anymore but about a single scientist’s moment of inspiration.

Wu Ge established the highest honor in science, the Nebula Award, but since its inception, no one had yet received this prize. Now, they awaited that flash of genius.

Inspiration is elusive; despite Earth’s scientists frequently coming up with new ideas, none could make the final breakthrough in discovering the Unified Field Theory.

Success depends on 99% effort and the right inspiration. Why are there so few successes in the world, even with inspiration and hard work? Why does everyone endure, and why do they keep getting back up after falling?

Wu Ge and Xiao Luo often discussed this issue. Wu Ge remarked, “It’s partly about luck. It’s hard to quantify luck; those who don’t have it just have to keep trying until they get it right.”

Xiao Luo felt helpless about this situation. Although she was the highest leader in Earth’s scientific community, she had transitioned from an inventor to a managerial role hundreds of years ago.

In this world, some people’s abilities decline with age, while others accumulate knowledge and experience slowly, achieving greatness later in life. Therefore, Xiao Luo’s role was to manage all scientists, ensuring they serve the Earth civilization to their best ability.

As science hit a bottleneck, scientists became increasingly anxious, with some even contemplating suicide.

Human nature tends toward negative thoughts after repeated setbacks, especially those who achieved success at a young age.

Now, Earth’s scientists were desperately trying to crack the Unified Field Theory. They felt indifferent about who made the breakthrough; they just wanted someone to overcome this hurdle and move past this challenging period.

Someone had to break this stalemate, regardless of who they were or what they did. If they could unravel the Unified Field Theory, they would be hailed as the hero who saved this era for the Earth civilizaiton.

Yet, this hero was nowhere to be found.

Scientists were in agony, enveloped in negativity, despair, and other dark emotions. Despite receiving salaries from the science academy, they were lost, unsure of their purpose beyond science.

“What’s the meaning of all our efforts?” some scientists lamented, echoing the sentiment of many.

A restless atmosphere pervaded Earth’s society, anxiety was rampant, and suicide rates soared. By the 556th year, the Science Faction stepped down, and the Religion Faction took over. Many turned to the God religion as free believers, and gradually, people’s mental states began to improve.

However, this was a temporary solution. While it could distract and momentarily alleviate the gloom, it didn’t address the root issue, potentially leading to depression and even psychosis over time.

During this period, a unique individual from the Earth civilization emerged.