I Am The Swarm

Luo Wen fell into deep contemplation.

On this beach, he remained still for a full three days, neither eating nor drinking. Thanks to the reserves stored in his Tail Lard Organ, not only could he endure three days, but he could go as long as three months without needing sustenance.

As for the dampness of the seaside or issues like arthritis, Luo Wen could replace his appendages at any time. Would something as trivial as arthritis even matter to him?

During these three days, he focused on a single question. This planet, while lacking apples, had similar fruits. His question revolved around what thoughts came to mind when these fruits fell from the tree to the ground.

In the end, his musings led to a jumble of disorganized thoughts. While he had heard of universal gravitation, he couldn’t form any coherent theories.

The truth was that developing rockets on his own was less realistic than biding his time, relying on luck, and evolving the necessary traits through his innate abilities.

Examining his genetic library, he found that advancing into outer space presented specific challenges. Wings, effective only within the atmosphere, were practically useless in outer space, where the absence of air reduced their functionality to almost nothing.

Perhaps wings would ultimately be less effective than a high-pressure jet propulsion system.

Of course, the most promising solution was the anti-gravity system of beetle elytra. However, this system currently served only to reduce weight. Still, further development in this area might yield meaningful progress.

How would he harvest energy in outer space? How would he breathe? How would he survive in ultra-low temperatures? How would he navigate the cosmos—would he truly rely on jet propulsion? He had no desire to become a piece of floating space debris.

There were too many problems to consider. Even a single unresolved issue could pose a threat to his survival.

After several more days, Luo Wen had a sudden epiphany: perhaps he could create some helpers.

As the saying goes, “Three humble tailors can outwit Zhuge Liang.”

If he created more Blades, perhaps they could pool their ideas.

Months later, he realized he had overestimated the potential of the Blades. While they lacked any sense of creativity, his tinkering did enhance their learning and adaptability.

The Blades became more akin to intelligent AIs. The more they experienced and learned, the “smarter” they became. These traits could also be passed down through the Swarm Network.

Over time, their intelligence would continue to grow.

However, intelligence was not the same as wisdom, and their lack of creativity remained their greatest flaw. They could serve as excellent commanders but were incapable of becoming scientists.

Once again, his train of thought hit a dead end.

After some time, Luo Wen suddenly realized that if the Swarm was unsuitable, he could develop other species. Other species might not have the same limitations.

With this new idea in mind, Luo Wen immediately set to work, searching for groups suitable for cultivation.

He sought species with traits such as adaptability, intelligence, and strong reproductive abilities. After rigorous screening, two species emerged as the top candidates.

These two species were ones Luo Wen was already very familiar with. They were old acquaintances of the Swarm from the earliest days: Tail Lard Rats and small dinosaurs.

The Tail Lard Rats reproduced rapidly, birthing 5–10 offspring per litter. The pups could begin foraging for food within just a few days. Being omnivorous, they ate almost anything and occupied the very bottom of the food chain. While creatures like ants were weaker, their low meat content made them less appealing prey. In contrast, the Tail Lard Rats, with their larger size and poor combat ability, were a favorite target for predators.

However, the Tail Lard Rats’ unique energy-storage organs made them exceptionally resilient. When pursued, they could sometimes hide motionless for over ten days, outlasting their predators. They were also relatively intelligent compared to other species.

The small dinosaurs, despite being predators, were also prey due to their size. They occupied a slightly higher position in the food chain than the Tail Lard Rats. These creatures could lay seven or eight eggs at a time. While the incubation period for these eggs was longer, their hatchlings could forage for food shortly after hatching.

As for their intelligence, their cooperative hunting tactics and basic strategies demonstrated significant cleverness.

With two experimental species chosen, Luo Wen began cultivation efforts.

He first extracted their genetic templates, enlarging their brain capacity. Having watched videos on human evolution, Luo Wen knew that bigger brains were the key to progress.

He then implemented some unconventional methods.

Capturing wild Tail Lard Rats and small dinosaurs, Luo Wen introduced them to the experimental specimens for interbreeding.

Although Swarm-produced Tail Lard Rats and small dinosaurs lacked intelligence, their offspring with wild counterparts might inherit the enhanced brain capacity.

This approach aimed to accelerate their cognitive evolution and foster the emergence of smarter offspring.

However, things didn’t progress smoothly. Despite prolonged captivity together, no offspring were produced.

This left Luo Wen perplexed. As a non-specialist, he lacked expertise in these matters. Could it be that Swarm-produced Tail Lard Rats and small dinosaurs had undergone species changes?

Aside from brain enhancements, Luo Wen hadn’t altered any other parts of their genetic templates. For other enhanced Swarm creatures, sterility was common, but these specimens were not supposed to have that issue.

Unwilling to give up, Luo Wen persisted. With nothing else pressing, this research became a way to pass the time.

Time passed, and his experimental field expanded severalfold. It was divided into numerous compartments, each housing different combinations of specimens.

The skies above were patrolled by Type I Flying Bugs, while Modified Spider Combat Bugs monitored the perimeter. Even underground, Worker Ants and Fungal Carpets maintained vigilance. With half of the experimental specimens being Swarm-produced, the laboratory operated with perfect order, with no incidents of escape.

After rounds of testing, several months later, a breakthrough finally came. A wild Tail Lard Rat became pregnant.

A month later, it gave birth to a litter of five.

Armed with this newfound knowledge, Luo Wen conducted more experiments based on this set of data. Once again, he achieved successful reproduction, confirming the problem’s source.

It turned out Luo Wen had been too hasty, attempting to enlarge the Tail Lard Rats’ brains too significantly in one step. This had caused reproductive isolation from their wild counterparts, preventing offspring.

By scaling up his experiments, dividing the specimens into multiple groups with varying brain capacity enhancements, Luo Wen finally made progress.

Using these successful cases, Luo Wen refined the process, identifying the maximum amount of brain capacity enhancement that would avoid triggering reproductive isolation.

With this insight, the pace of experimentation accelerated.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!