Only I Walk Alone

“Brother!”

Kachi rushed to Kabu, who had already fallen, his chest soaked with blood. The crowd tightly encircled them, someone shouting, “Doctor, doctor, who’s a doctor?”

Kachi pressed on her brother’s chest wound, having always been Kabu’s logistic support, preparing food and water for him during his solo speeches, and heating bathwater for him when he returned home insulted by many.

She silently supported her brother, tidying his study daily, tirelessly doing all this for the day their brother’s wish could be realized.

Kabu’s wish was simply to see the real sky.

Wu Ge had once promised that he could take Kabu to see the real martian sky anytime, but Kabu said, “I want to see it with all martians, to witness that great day together.”

But that day would never come.

Kabu slowly removed his mask, then said, “Girl, it’s your turn now. Our family has been striving for the working class since our grandfather’s time. Unfortunately, I can’t complete this final step. Now, it’s up to you. I’ll be watching over you with our grandfather and father from heaven, don’t let all this be in vain… it’s all yours now!”

Struggling, Kabu stuffed the mask into Kachi’s hands, then fell to the ground, lifeless. The most professional sniper had pierced his heart, his lasting this long was already a miracle!

Kachi cried out loud, clutching the mask and shouting, “Why? Why die at this last moment? The glory should have been yours, brother!”

Kachi was heartbroken, but she knew she had unfinished business. This was a goal sustained over three generations, her brother’s and her dream, and the change all martians at the bottom hoped for. This final step had to be taken by her.

Kachi put on the mask, tears moistening the inside. She stood up.

The moment Kachi stood, the surrounding martians, unclear of the situation, cheered again, believing their leader had not died, a miracle had occurred!

The distant sniper frowned, reloading and aiming at Kachi wearing the mask, as his earpiece conveyed the irate voice of the administrator, “What are you doing, kill her now!”

The sniper grew impatient with the administrator’s order, but he had to follow it. He aimed and was about to pull the trigger when suddenly, a change occurred!

The number of people wearing masks suddenly multiplied, confusing the sniper about the real target.

More and more people donned the mask symbolizing the lower class’s interests. Some martians, with too large faces, couldn’t fully cover their faces with the mask; martian children also wore the masks, too large for them, blinding their vision.

Some even wore masks with nothing painted on them; others simply found a piece of paper, crudely drawing a hammer and sickle, then slapped it on their faces with spit.

There were many such imposters; the sniper couldn’t care less about them. However, many wore new masks, surrounding Kachi and making it impossible for the sniper to find his target.

The first-level administrator roared in the sniper’s communicator, “What are you waiting for, fire now!”

Angered, the sniper retorted, “Fire your mom for a fruit, spicy fart!”

Immediately feeling remorseful, the sniper also felt puzzled; as the home’s best sniper, why was his mindset so unstable? Was he affected by this scene?

The sniper sighed, “I am, after all, a person, not livestock. That’s why my heart is stirred.”

He put down his rifle, smashed the communicator, and left the sniping spot, watching all the masked martians with a bitter smile, “If only I had prepared a mask for myself.”

Suddenly, a sly fellow ran over, “Hammer and sickle masks, five bucks each, want one?”

The sniper couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the notion of people seizing the opportunity to profit even in such times. He bought a mask, thinking to himself that once everything was over, he would turn himself in. But at least, he wanted to see the real sky first.

Joining the crowd, the sniper moved towards the connection point between the third and fourth levels, where a tall wall stood, manned by armed guards showing nervousness and hesitation on their faces.

They wished they could jump off the wall and join the crowd, but their families were still in the hands of the nobles, so they dared not defy orders.

The nobles behind the wall, despite sweating profusely, tried to appear relaxed, saying, “Don’t worry, they can’t breach this wall. Just cut off their water supply, and they will stop.”

But this time was different, because Wu Ge had appeared!

The crowd, initially chanting, fell silent upon Wu Ge’s arrival. The nobles climbed the wall to see the synthetic martian body floating in mid-air.

From afar, an elder Martian glared angrily, saying, “At last, the spiritual leader of the livestock, Wu Ge, appears!”

Wu Ge’s appearance astonished many martians because he was floating in the sky, his entry bringing a profoundly shocking effect to everyone.

Could he be a god for being able to fly?

However, it wasn’t Wu Ge’s own spiritual power that lifted him, but the collective will of the people united. As countless people from the lower classes shouted, hoped, and expected in their hearts time and again, Wu Ge appeared, embodying the collective wishes of the people.

Wu Ge carefully sensed this sincere and genuine belief, the conviction of the martians. At this moment, they were united, their wills converged, gathered for the future of Martian civilization. There were no barriers between them; all petty grievances became insignificant.

Their thoughts converged, their emotions interconnected, their souls seemed to merge as one; they transcended.

At this moment, they were divine!

Suddenly, a disturbance appeared in the void, and a pitch-black cannon emerged, a four-dimensional electromagnetic cannon from a newly constructed four-dimensional warship parked in the four-dimensional space near Mars. This warship, without anyone of Enlightenment realm aboard except Wu Ge, couldn’t be piloted.

Yet, at this moment, the warship moved as if it had its own consciousness. Wu Ge raised his hand, and the dark cannon suddenly flashed with light. Despite the warship’s unexpected activation, it remained under Wu Ge’s control.

With his command, three hundred and fifty-six lights flashed in the void.