I Am The Swarm

Luo Wen finally understood why the chameleon bug from before had been surrounded and immobilized.

It was just like his current situation—encircled by flying bugs, debating whether they had noticed him or if he should make a run for it or stay still.

The deliberation didn’t last long; the flying bugs launched their attack.

Dozens of flying bugs dived at him. As they closed in, their wings spread wide, and their posture instantly shifted. They switched from head-first dives to rear-first thrusts, exposing the stingers at their tails.

They were so fast that, despite Luo Wen’s reaction, he couldn’t completely avoid the attack.

Fortunately, his exoskeletal armor wasn’t just for show. The tiny stingers couldn’t even leave a scratch on his back plates.

Luo Wen didn’t feel the least bit smug about it. He had seen countless times how the Red Ants dealt with Ultras, and these flying bugs resembled winged ants. Who knew if they might employ similar tactics?

Propelling himself with his legs, Luo Wen leaped from the tree and dashed off in a random direction. He didn’t choose to fly because his flight speed was far inferior to these bugs designed for aerial maneuvers.

Moreover, for him to fly, he would have to expose his wing covers—his back armor—leaving his more vulnerable abdomen exposed. That would be akin to disabling his own defenses.

His legs, refined through numerous evolutions, weren’t just capable of impressive running but also excellent jumping and clinging abilities. In the obstacle-filled terrain, his movements were like a parkour performance: fluid, efficient, and even visually pleasing.

However, to the flying bugs with straight-line flight and high-altitude vision advantages, his acrobatics seemed overly flashy.

Oddly enough, Luo Wen had maintained his optical invisibility, yet the flying bugs pursued him with GPS-like precision, always managing to locate and attack him accurately.

Luo Wen raised his pincers above and behind his head, shielding his eyes while ensuring his body didn’t lean too far forward during his sprint, which could affect his speed.

Unfortunately, the slight speed boost was insignificant to the flying bugs. The attacks remained relentless. While most were deflected by his armor, a few bugs managed to latch onto the crevices of his armor and clamber onto his body.

Luo Wen couldn’t afford to let them linger. Although he was also adept at poisoning, he preferred direct confrontations and despised opponents who used toxins.

While running, his legs had to reinforce his back’s defense. His reverse-jointed limbs worked to dislodge the flying bugs, significantly impacting his speed. Luo Wen had always thought his ten limbs—two pincers, two swimming legs, and six standard legs—were sufficient to handle most situations.

Now, facing one of those rare exceptions, he wished he had six more legs to fend off the airborne attacks.

At this rate, it was a slow death. In a simple marathon, he could exhaust these bugs behind him, thanks to the energy reserves in his tail lard.

But this was an unpredictable primeval jungle, with who-knew-how-many hidden predators lying in wait. He didn’t dare drag the flying bugs along for a marathon here; he had to come up with a solution.

First, he needed to figure out how they were tracking him.

His optical invisibility was useless. He released deceptive pheromones, but they had no effect. He wasn’t surprised, as this tracking method only worked at close range, and he had just been testing it.

Suddenly, he noticed faint yellow, granular powder on his back armor. The powder seemed to come from the base of the flying bugs’ hind legs and abdomen, which were covered in fine hairs. Was it pollen?

Could they be tracking him using this pollen? Luo Wen’s eyes darted around, and sure enough, he spotted traces of the powder on the tip of the leg he had used to attack the first flying bug.

Although he didn’t know exactly how the bugs tracked the pollen—since there were plenty of flowers and pollen around, yet they hadn’t lost him—it was likely a unique ability.

After determining the cause, Luo Wen’s first guess was scent. Mid-run, he abruptly opened his wing covers, lifted his abdomen, and fired off a series of “Gatling” shots with a “pfft, pfft, pfft” sound.

When the barrage ended, he immediately closed his wing covers.

In ground combat, his “Gatling” method had always worked wonders at close range. But in an aerial-ground battle, its limited range became a glaring disadvantage. Ɽâ𐌽Ɵ฿ЁŚ

The flying bugs merely heard the sound and saw the spectacle. Luo Wen hadn’t intended to kill them outright; instead, a foul stench accompanied by white smoke enveloped the area.

The flying bugs were visibly affected, disoriented and unable to maintain their course. Yet before Luo Wen could celebrate, they climbed higher and resumed the chase.

“Damn it,” Luo Wen cursed under his breath. The stench only covered a small area, rendering it ineffective while he was on the move. Unless he stayed within the affected zone, it was useless.

But staying put wouldn’t solve the root problem. If the flying bugs had enough patience, he’d become a sitting duck. The risk was too great, making this strategy untenable.

Suddenly, he remembered scenes from cartoons where characters escaped similar predicaments by jumping into water.

Not far ahead, Luo Wen could hear the sound of flowing water.

Though he wasn’t sure if the cartoon logic would work, he had no time to hesitate.

The river water was murky and potentially dangerous, but compared to his current known peril, the choice wasn’t difficult.

Changing course, Luo Wen sprinted toward the river. Every few steps, he fired another volley of “shots.” Though it only temporarily slowed the flying bugs, it prevented them from latching onto him and allowed him to focus on running faster.

Minutes later, just as his “ammunition” was running low, Luo Wen reached the riverbank.

Without hesitation, he leapt and dove into the water. With a loud splash, ripples spread across the surface before calmness returned.

Sometimes, cartoon knowledge came in handy. The flying bugs, unable to continue their pursuit, hovered over the water, unwilling to give up.

But they had underestimated Luo Wen’s versatility as an amphibious soldier.

With a sly thought to let them keep waiting, Luo Wen’s previously unused swimming legs finally got to shine. Silently, he swam along the riverbank, letting the current carry him.

Suddenly, fast-moving unidentified objects darted toward him from underwater. Though the murky river limited visibility, his enhanced hearing picked up on the disturbances.

His echolocation, derived from bats, worked even underwater. The dense hairs within his ear cavities provided some waterproofing, allowing it to function to a degree.

While he couldn’t emit ultrasonic waves underwater, the feedback from water currents revealed unnatural movements.

The intense sounds of the rushing water made their approach unmistakable.

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