I Am The Swarm

Fortunately, when the Swarm initially settled on the Great Dawn Planet, they refrained from making large-scale ecological changes. Only the Red Forest, home to the Swarm’s base, had undergone significant alterations.

At this moment, the purple-gray Fungal Carpet covering the forest floor began retracting beneath the surface, revealing the original color of the ground.

Although the Fungal Carpet was hidden, the local wildlife was no longer under the Swarm’s control. Luo Wen hoped they could return to their natural habitats in the coming years.

Otherwise, a forest devoid of life would be far too conspicuous.

Flying Bugs patrolled the forest repeatedly, directing Worker Drones to meticulously remove all traces of the Swarm’s presence, restoring the area to its pre-Swarm state.

Unnecessary combat units, such as the Terror Wolves, were systematically reclaimed. Though their external appearances remained intact, their internal ecological circulatory systems were glaringly alien. Such anomalies would risk exposing the Swarm, a cost too great to bear.

Even large aerial transport units like the Storm God were mostly withdrawn after completing their tasks. Only a small number were hidden deep underground in hibernation.

The Odd-Headed Fish in the oceans weren’t reclaimed but retreated beneath the surface along with the Fungal Carpet, avoiding the vicinity of Godzilla’s hibernation site.

It was clear the unknown civilization had been drawn to the thermonuclear breath emitted by Godzilla. A major battle might occur near the area, so it was prudent to steer clear of the location.

However, to prevent Godzilla from being captured, Luo Wen prepared several Swarm units equipped with storage stomachs. If the opposing civilization’s technology didn’t completely overpower the Swarm, he would find opportunities to collect some of Godzilla’s biological material, even if exposure became inevitable.

Of course, this plan depended on Godzilla suffering physical damage during a battle. Without such an occurrence, it would remain unfeasible.

Given the other party’s speed, they would arrive only seven or eight years ahead of Luo Wen’s main body. If Luo Wen could seize even a small sample of tissue and store it in the extreme cold of the polar regions, Godzilla’s unique biological properties might preserve it for those years without deterioration.

Even if the tissue degraded, Luo Wen would still use it for the Swarm’s advancement. After all, in his early days as a mere bug, he had done far worse for survival.

Half a month later, preparations were complete. The Swarm seemed to have vanished from the Great Dawn Planet. Animals began reappearing in the Red Forest, and the forest once again echoed with the calls of wildlife, teeming with vitality.

Across the outskirts of the Neighboring Star System, all active Swarm Meteors focused their observational organs on the incoming alien ship, hoping to confirm whether it was indeed powered by a solar sail.

Time passed tensely. Several years went by in the blink of an eye.

Over the decades, the Swarm had launched numerous Swarm Meteors toward the Neighboring Star System. As the alien ship approached, it inevitably came within the monitoring range of the Swarm’s observation units.

With their preparations in place, the alien ship never escaped the Swarm’s watchful gaze after entering its range.

However, due to the vast distance and the outdated observational organs aboard the Swarm Meteors, they couldn’t penetrate the dazzling light emitted by the ship to discern its nature.

Fortunately, these older models emitted negligible energy signals, allowing them to observe the ship without being detected.

Nonetheless, the Swarm gleaned some information from various signs.

For instance, the ship’s size had decreased, and its speed had slowed slightly.

The intelligent entities speculated that the ship was preparing to enter the more complex spatial environment of the Neighboring Star System by reducing the size of its solar sail and decreasing its velocity.

These observations further validated Tikas’s earlier hypothesis that the unknown civilization was employing solar sail propulsion.

This indicated that while the opposing technology might be slightly more advanced than the Swarm’s, the gap wasn’t insurmountable.

Even though the hypothesis seemed confirmed, the cautious Luo Wen still felt the need for direct observation.

Several days later, the ship crossed the outermost debris field of the Neighboring Star System. Its size had shrunk by 90%, and its speed had dropped to less than one-hundredth of its original.

At that moment, Planet A5 in the Neighboring Star System rotated into a position just ahead of the ship.

When the “greeting gift” had landed on the Great Dawn Planet, two additional Swarm Meteors had remained on standby. After determining that the Great Dawn Planet required no support, these meteors settled into planetary orbits, awaiting Luo Wen’s arrival.

One of these meteors was stationed in orbit around Planet A5, providing the Swarm its first close observation of the alien ship.

Although “close” in space meant a distance of approximately 2 billion kilometers, it was still remarkably near in astronomical terms compared to the 94 trillion kilometers in a light-year.

There were no dramatic surprises—the reality matched the predictions. The ship used an extremely thin solar sail to propel itself forward.

Behind the solar sail was a ship that seemed minuscule in comparison. Measuring roughly 300 meters in length, it had a narrow cylindrical shape, giving it a peculiar appearance akin to a chopstick.

Luo Wen exhaled in relief. A ship this unsightly hardly seemed capable of formidable combat capabilities. This flexibility in the Swarm’s strategy opened up many tactical possibilities.

Even if the aliens managed to capture Godzilla without leaving behind any tissue samples, the solar sail’s slow initial acceleration meant Luo Wen’s bio-ships could catch up and forcibly retrieve the organism once his main body arrived.

However, Luo Wen remained cautious. Determining the true extent of the other party’s technological capabilities would still require careful investigation.

For now, he would observe their actions closely.

“Captain, we are approaching Planet T853. The ship’s speed has reduced to 10 km/s. We are expected to reach our designated orbit in thirty minutes,” a mechanical female voice announced in the control room.

“Excellent. Celia, notify all crew members to take their positions.”

At this point, the Cat’s Ear Spaceship, with its massive solar sails retracted, advanced toward the Great Dawn Planet. Energy streams periodically burst from various parts of its elongated hull, making fine adjustments to its orientation.

“10, 9… 3, 2, 1. The ship has reached its designated position. Orbit alignment successful. Thrusters offline.”

As the mechanical countdown concluded, the ship trembled slightly before stabilizing in its orbit around the Great Dawn Planet.

For a civilization capable of interstellar travel, such maneuvers were routine, leaving little room for mishap.

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