I Am The Swarm

When Luo Wen woke up again, he noticed that the temperature around him had dropped slightly. His stomach growled with hunger, but the eggshell was long gone. It baffled him that an eggshell twice his size had only been enough for two meals—he had no idea where all that food had gone.

From this, however, he could deduce one thing: his appetite was massive. And while the saying goes, “a good appetite is a blessing,” it was anything but for Luo Wen in his current situation.

The surface was a barren desert, and there was no sign of food anywhere. If this went on, he might starve to death in just a few days.

The thought lit a fire under him. He had to find food—he refused to die a starving insect.

Relying on his antennae and sensory leg hairs to orient himself, Luo Wen began clawing his way toward the surface.

The further he climbed, the colder it became. He began to wonder if he was heading in the wrong direction, but his antennae and leg hairs insisted otherwise. With no other options, he gritted his metaphorical teeth and pressed on. Well, technically, his head was already hard—and black, too.

When he finally emerged from the sand, he froze in shock. The golden desert was gone, replaced by a silvery layer of frost covering the ground. For a moment, Luo Wen wondered if he had somehow teleported again.

“What is this place? The temperature difference between day and night is insane!”

It was night now, and the dim light barely illuminated his surroundings. Strangely, Luo Wen found he could now see up to five or six meters—much farther than before. Was he a nocturnal bug? He wasn’t sure.

Even with his improved vision, the cool light source in the sky was still too blurry to discern. However, he could sense something else.

There were two of them! Two distinct light sources hung in the sky.

During the day, there had only been one light source, giving Luo Wen hope that he might have been sent back to his home planet. But now, that hope was completely shattered.

Based on his limited knowledge of astronomy, Luo Wen could reasonably conclude that at least two moons were orbiting this planet.

Still, he accepted this reality rather quickly. After all, he had already been turned into a bug—what was one extra moon in the sky compared to that? The last few days had thrown so many shocks his way that he was starting to become numb to it all.

His original three possibilities had been reduced to two: he was either in the sorcerer’s world or some other unknown realm. He just hoped it wasn’t the sorcerer’s world—that place seemed far too dangerous for a little bug like him.

For now, though, survival took precedence. If he didn’t find food soon, he wouldn’t live long enough to figure out where he was.

While no food was in sight, the frost-covered ground offered a potential source of water. Luo Wen decided to fill his belly with frost for now and worry about food later.

His mouthparts extended—a little longer than he expected, with a mushroom-like cap at the tip. The cap spread flat and adhered to the frosty surface, while tiny hidden teeth scraped rapidly against the ice, grinding off small shavings. Aided by his tongue (yes, bugs apparently had tongues, much to his horror), he sucked the ice particles into his body.

Luo Wen had no idea what he looked like while eating, and he didn’t want to know. He simply followed his instincts and let his body do the work.

After a long while, all he’d managed was a shallow depression in the frost. His eating efficiency was dismal, but with no other options, he kept going.

The cold liquid trickled into his stomach, and Luo Wen began to feel his entire body stiffen. His thoughts turned sluggish, and his fading consciousness brought back an old human memory: wintertime, when mosquitoes and flies mysteriously vanished.

That’s when it hit him—he was a bug now. Bugs don’t survive well in the cold. And here he was, out in freezing weather, drinking ice-cold water. Was he trying to kill himself?

Panicked, Luo Wen snapped out of his stupor and scrambled back underground along the path he had come.

“This place is insane! Too hot during the day, too cold at night. When am I supposed to go out looking for food?” He had planned to scout the area a bit more after drinking his fill, hoping to find something edible, but now that was out of the question.

Once he was safely back underground, Luo Wen didn’t feel like resting anymore—nor could he afford to. He needed to find a reliable food source as soon as possible.

If the surface was too dangerous, then he’d look underground. He had an incredible talent for digging, after all. It would be a waste not to use it.

Determined, Luo Wen picked a random direction and began tunneling.

His antennae twitched constantly as he worked, sending him both new sensory experiences and useful information. They seemed to function as both a nose and ears, allowing him to detect smells and hear sounds.

Midway through his digging, his antennae picked up a strange scent from the lower left. The unfamiliar smell stirred hope in Luo Wen—it could mean food. Excited, he quickened his pace, tunneling toward the source of the scent.

But as the smell grew stronger, Luo Wen’s caution returned.

He was here to find food, not to become someone else’s meal.

At the moment, his body was still tiny—smaller than a typical housefly—and he had only just been “born.” He hadn’t had any time to learn bug-style combat skills. If he encountered a living creature capable of fighting back, there was a good chance he’d lose. Better to be careful and think things through.

Focusing on his insect instincts, Luo Wen’s body became hyper-alert. The fine hairs on his legs, and even those covering his entire body, stood on end.

The vibrations coming from the front left filtered through his senses and coalesced into information in his mind. After analyzing it, he came to a conclusion:

There were living creatures ahead, likely three or four of them. They were moving slowly and seemed smaller than him. It should be safe to check them out—but if anything went wrong, he’d run. There was no shame in retreating; he didn’t know anyone here, so who cared if he lost face?

Carefully, Luo Wen clawed at the sandy soil in front of him. His digging techniques proved less effective here—the loose sand he had been working with earlier was easier to handle. The firmer, more compact soil presented a challenge.

Thankfully, this area wasn’t fully solid; it was a mix of sand and soil. While it slowed him down slightly, he could still make progress.

The soil’s better structural integrity also worked in his favor. It allowed him to create stable tunnels, which he reinforced as he went. He carefully moved the displaced sand and soil to the looser layers above, ensuring a clear escape route if things went south.

After some effort, Luo Wen had dug a tunnel just large enough for his body to pass through. This way, he could retreat quickly if needed.

As he drew closer to his target, his movements became more deliberate and his body tensed further. Finally, after scraping away another layer of dirt, a round, plump, white translucent bug rolled into view.

The creature’s body was segmented into over ten sections, though only the first few bore three pairs of stubby limbs. Its yellowish head looked rather harmless, but Luo Wen was horrified to see it had a pair of huge mandibles.

The bug was about the same size as Luo Wen, perhaps slightly smaller. Suddenly unearthed from the soil, it squirmed helplessly, curling and stretching its body while emitting faint hissing noises in an attempt to scare Luo Wen off.

Watching the little white bug struggle to flip itself upright, Luo Wen’s fear melted away, replaced by growing confidence. He sneered inwardly.

“Oh, you think I’m scared of you just because you’ve got a pair of big teeth? Think again, little guy!”

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