I Am The Swarm

When Morgan first created the “Deity Faith Sect,” its doctrines were remarkably lax. Beyond a requirement for secrecy, there were virtually no binding commandments. It simply preached that those who, in life, believed in, revered, and drew close to the divine might find the Kingdom of God after death and gain rebirth there.

Initially, many rat folk dismissed this as a hoax. However, over the years, more and more rat folk who had supposedly died returned to society with new bodies. These bodies often looked similar to their original forms but appeared significantly younger.

Moreover, these individuals displayed no abnormalities. Their thoughts were coherent, their values aligned with their pre-death selves, and they remained dedicated to their former professions, showing no signs of mind control or brainwashing.

As a result, what once required Morgan’s considerable effort to promote turned into something rat folk fervently pursued. The “Deity Faith Sect” became an open secret in certain circles.

Over time, people from various walks of life, including many royals and nobles, sought ways to join. However, only those with scientific, managerial, or military command experience had a realistic chance of reaching the divine realm.

This dynamic significantly reduced the prevalence of idle aristocrats among the rat folk. Many who had access to inside information pursued specialized careers, hoping to increase their chances of finding the Kingdom of God after death—and perhaps achieving immortality.

Even Empress Kerrigan, despite having injected the affinity serum in her youth, took a keen interest in military command in her spare time. She often engaged in simulated battle games with military staff outside her administrative duties.

While the “Deity Faith Sect” consistently maintained a low profile, as time passed, the number of deceased rat folk who returned grew steadily. These individuals often held positions of power before their deaths—teachers, superiors, royals, nobles, or leaders of influential families.

Having been integrated into the Swarm Network, these returning rat folk subtly extended the influence of the “Deity Faith Sect” across every facet of society.

Although some insightful rat folk raised alarms and issued warnings, they lacked the power to change the tide.

The returning individuals behaved obediently because Luo Wen needed a stable rat folk civilization to cultivate new talent for his purposes. However, should Luo Wen ever issue questionable orders, these individuals would carry them out without hesitation. The concerns of the insightful few were thus well-founded, yet the overall trend left them powerless to resist, often leading to their reluctant acceptance.

Since its inception, an unknown factor seemed to have guided rat folk civilization toward a distinct preference for scientific research. Entertainment and leisure activities were sparse, and young rat folk aspired to careers in science, with researchers forming a substantial portion of the population.

Years earlier, Empress Kerrigan had embraced Morgan’s proposal to reduce funding for rocket-related technology and prioritize other underdeveloped fields.

The empire’s reallocation of resources led many rat folk students to focus on previously neglected areas of science. Over the years, this shift produced a new wave of outstanding researchers and numerous breakthroughs.

Under Luo Wen’s direction, the rat folk’s vast power structure began implementing various policies and measures in secret. Computing and radar-related technologies were prioritized, resulting in rapid advancements.

However, astronomical research remained tightly controlled by Swarm-affiliated “insiders.” Letting outsiders witness the frequent “ball tossing” experiments between the two moons could incite widespread panic.

The rat folk’s latest refracting telescope technology offered superior image quality and a broader field of view compared to reflecting telescopes. However, large refracting telescopes required extensive industrial capabilities to construct. The immense size and weight of their lenses made them difficult to operate.

Luo Wen had no such constraints. No longer limited to passively using foreign gene fragments, he developed a new observational bug species through cellular reconfiguration.

Unlike the Eagle-Eye Bug, this new bug, designed for large-scale refracting telescope purposes, was massive in size.

Resembling a giant toad, it stood 30 meters tall. Its head was replaced by an enormous cylindrical telescope made of biological “lenses” crafted from crystalline cells, transparent scales, cartilage, and other materials.

The creature’s other organs were concentrated in its chest and abdomen. It lacked a mouth, relying on a connection to the Fungal Carpet for sustenance. Its limbs were extraordinarily thick, containing a high proportion of plant cells to support its massive body. Additionally, it was equipped with an anti-gravity magnetic module at its base.

Even with these adaptations, the bug could only function on the Moon’s surface; the significantly stronger gravity of the Genesis Planet would crush it instantly.

This non-combative, purely auxiliary bug’s sole purpose was to observe celestial bodies in real time and provide alerts for unidentified objects or phenomena. ȑÃ𐌽ȮВÈṤ

Due to its appearance, Luo Wen named it the Giant-Eye Bug.

The Swarm gradually produced over a dozen Giant-Eye Bugs for deployment across the two moons. To ensure timely reception of their observations, Luo Wen assigned a Blade to coordinate with them.

Simultaneously, he established an observation center on the Moon.

Over the years, as more intelligent rat folk were assimilated into the Swarm Network, not all chose to return to rat folk society. Many, devoted to research, remained within the Swarm’s secret laboratories, which hosted a growing number of insiders.

In certain scientific fields where progress was slow due to a lack of personnel, Luo Wen forcibly reassigned these insiders to critical projects.

For instance, in the Red Moon’s observation center, Luo Wen mandated that over 80% of insiders in relevant fields work there.

To accommodate those needing legitimate identities within rat folk society, Luo Wen devised a unique clock-in system.

On the Genesis Planet, these individuals were officially employed by Swarm-affiliated laboratories. Each workday, they would report to a designated location and lie in prepared Fungal Carpet chambers.

With a “whoosh,” their consciousnesses would transfer to their space-adapted bodies at the lunar observation center. At the end of their shifts, they would return the same way.

However, the proportion of rat folk choosing this arrangement steadily decreased. Only recently deceased individuals harbored lingering attachment to their previous lives. Over time, even these attachments faded entirely.

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