I Am The Swarm

This time, the flight duration was significantly longer. The spore capsule projectile flew for over two hours before kicking up a spray of lunar dust upon impact on the Red Moon’s surface. However, due to the restricted performance of the Orbital Sling, which made it easier to control, the accuracy greatly improved. The impact site was only about 100 kilometers off the calculated landing point.

Learning from the previous crash-test data, the spore capsule’s main structure was redesigned using the skeletal framework of deep-sea creatures combined with the hammer-like appendages of the mantis shrimp. Coupled with its inherent plant-cell composition, its resistance to pressure and impact was vastly superior to Luo Wen’s original designs.

Additionally, the impact this time was relatively mild. Although the lichen-like outer structure of the spore capsule was severely damaged, the main body of the capsule remained largely intact.

Luo Wen easily established a connection with the capsule via the Swarm Network and remotely activated it.

Within the crater created by the impact, the side of the spore capsule facing the ground cracked open, releasing fungal carpet seeds along with some nutrients.

The crack then sealed, shielding the fungal carpet seeds from the sparse but harmful cosmic radiation penetrating the moon’s surface.

Once the fungal carpet seeds landed, they activated immediately, consuming the surrounding nutrients at a frenzied pace.

As the nutrients dwindled, a streak of purple-gray began to emerge.

The roots of the fungal carpet rapidly developed, burrowing into the ground in search of frozen water and mineral resources.

Having completed its temporary shielding role, the spore capsule was absorbed into the fungal carpet through an opening.

Over a brief development period, the purple-gray fungal carpet fully enveloped the crater. Its roots burrowed dozens of meters underground, eventually uncovering a small water source.

With access to water, the fungal carpet’s growth accelerated. The main body of the carpet filled the crater entirely, while some of its branching structures fused with lunar dust to seal the crater’s entrance completely.

This precaution was implemented by Luo Wen as a potential defense mechanism for future spore capsule deployments on inhabited planets. While it seemed premature, Luo Wen programmed this camouflage as part of the system.

The crater, now camouflaged by the fungal carpet, was no longer easily noticeable. Without deliberate investigation, it was easy to overlook.

Inside the sealed, dark crater, a soft purple glow began to emanate. This was the newly adjusted lighting system, designed with a monochromatic scheme. The combination of the purple-gray fungal carpet and the gentle purple glow created a luxurious and mysterious atmosphere, finally eliminating the garishness reminiscent of a karaoke bar.

As time passed and energy accumulated, some underground roots of the fungal carpet began to converge and press outward, displacing surrounding lunar soil to form a hollow cage-like structure.

The fungal carpet wriggled briefly and deposited the spore capsule into the hollow structure.

The spore capsule split open, revealing insect eggs of the Brood Queen and Worker Drones within.

Some of the fungal carpet’s main body extended through the gaps in the cage to supply nutrients to the eggs.

At this point, the spore capsule’s task was complete. On the Red Moon, the Swarm now had the foundation of a base.

What followed was a period of patient waiting.

The consciousnesses of the rat folk on the Yellow Moon had been sent back to the Genesis Planet by Luo Wen to analyze their data. Their space-adapted bodies were stored within the fungal carpet for maintenance.

Ten days later, the Worker Drones emerged from their cocoons. With their assistance, the underground base’s expansion accelerated. However, since Worker Drones weren’t specialized for excavation, their efficiency was limited. Luo Wen considered including some Burrower Ant eggs in the next spore capsule.

Thirty days later, the Brood Queen’s egg had grown to five or six meters tall and was ready to hatch.

Luo Wen, however, let it remain in the egg for a few more days until it grew to eight meters before allowing it to emerge.

A larger size indicated stronger hatching capabilities. While the Brood Queen could continue to grow post-hatching, most of its energy would then be directed toward hatching, slowing its growth.

The arrival of the Brood Queen finally provided the base with a cornerstone production unit, making its structural ecosystem complete.

The first batch of Burrower Ant eggs was hatched in large numbers. Since the base was situated on the side of the Red Moon facing the Genesis Planet, its main development would remain underground, necessitating a substantial number of specialized digging ants.

Later, during the second conjunction of the two moons, Luo Wen used the Orbital Sling to send several more spore capsules to the Red Moon. Upon landing, these capsules were retrieved by Swarm units and transported to the far side of the Red Moon.

Finally, during the third conjunction, Luo Wen launched a large spore capsule containing a Brood Nest.

Since the Red Moon orbited farther from the Genesis Planet, its weaker gravitational pull made it a more suitable location for spore capsule launches.

Following the gasification of his original body during a natural disaster, Luo Wen’s new body had remained a compact 30 centimeters tall due to its lack of manual labor requirements.

Subsequent adaptability experiments in the Starlight Enterprises laboratory had led to several additional losses of his body. As a result, his current form was under 30 centimeters in size.

The Yellow Moon Brood Nest, produced based on Luo Wen’s current body size, was similarly scaled at around 30 centimeters, only slightly larger than a Brood Queen egg.

Thanks to numerous experiments conducted between the two moons, the Swarm’s slow-projection technology had reached a highly refined level. Thus, transporting the Brood Nest, encased in amber-like material, to the Red Moon via a spore capsule was considered a safe process.

Given that only a Brood Nest could produce Brood Queen eggs, the Red Moon, as the Swarm’s primary launch base, required a Brood Nest to anchor its operations. Otherwise, relying on imports from the Yellow Moon would be too cumbersome.

With the Brood Nest in place, the Swarm’s development on the Red Moon quickly outpaced that on the Yellow Moon. On the far side of the Red Moon, numerous Orbital Slings were constructed.

However, the name “Orbital Sling” was met with strong objections from Morgan and other intelligences. They argued that such an important space-launch tool deserved a more imposing name.

After some discussion, Luo Wen agreed. The name “Orbital Sling” was indeed a bit plain and unworthy of the grandeur of a space delivery system. Hence, after much deliberation, it was renamed the “Swarm Meteor Launcher,” or simply “Launcher.”

Luo Wen didn’t feel the new name was much more dignified than the old one but couldn’t think of a better alternative, so he accepted it for the time being.

The spore capsules were also renamed “Swarm Meteors” due to their lichen-clad structure, which made them resemble small meteors. Without closer inspection, their true nature would remain undiscovered.

With numerous launches between the two moons, the Swarm’s mastery of slow-projection technology reached maturity.

Thus, the next phase of the Swarm’s plans began implementation.

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