I Am The Swarm

Beyond the physical changes he observed, Luo Wen felt that his internal structure had also undergone significant transformations, though he wasn’t sure of the specifics.

If Luo Wen had more entomological knowledge, he might have deduced, based on the spider’s physiology, that his oxygen delivery system had been overhauled. However, he would soon be able to confirm these genetic modifications through the Brood Nest.

The new oxygen system was capable of supporting growth to much larger sizes.

Despite these upgrades, Luo Wen hadn’t gained the ability to produce silk. This wasn’t entirely surprising. The creature resembled a spider in appearance, but Luo Wen had named it based on his own understanding. Who knew what it actually was?

Moreover, its hunting method involved using rocks for ambushes, rather than showcasing any web-weaving abilities.

Lacking the ability to spin silk didn’t bother Luo Wen.

The enhancements to his six striding limbs and the addition of venomous fangs alone were a major boon. Everything else would have been icing on the cake, desirable but not necessary.

With his revenge complete, Luo Wen temporarily abandoned his thirst for action, allowing the region to experience a period of peaceful development.

With the support of four nearby ant colonies, the number of insects under his control grew daily. Over time, the supplies from these colonies could no longer keep up with the demands of the Brood Nest.

Recently, scout bugs with compound eyes had discovered three new ant colonies. Plans were underway to dig new transport routes. Once completed, the combined supply from all seven colonies would sustain the Brood Nest’s development for a while longer.

Hundreds of days and nights passed. Luo Wen had no idea how long a year was on this planet. The climate in his region showed little variation; every day seemed the same. Plants didn’t follow any seasonal patterns of sprouting or shedding leaves, and there was no clear distinction between spring, summer, autumn, or winter.

After all this time, the Brood Nest now connected to thirty-five ant colonies, supporting a vast swarm of over 10,000 worker ants and several hundred soldier ants.

This number was deliberately capped by Luo Wen. Without such control, the population could have easily doubled.

The primary constraint was the length of the transport routes.

The farthest colony was nearly a kilometer from the Brood Nest. By the time the transport workers reached the storage chambers to steal food, they were often too exhausted to carry much back. After consuming a portion of the food on-site, they transported the remainder back, consuming even more along the way. By the time they returned to the Brood Nest, little food was left.

To quantify this.

Every morning, a transport worker ant consumed one unit of food before setting out. Upon reaching Colony 35’s storage chamber, it ate another unit and carried back two units of food.

After returning, it consumed half a unit of food before resting for the night. The next morning, it consumed another unit and repeated the cycle.

From this, it became clear that transporting two units of food cost the worker ant 2.5 units—a net loss.

Moreover, each colony had a daily limit on how much food could be stolen without disrupting its operations. Exceeding this limit would gradually reduce the colony’s food output. Sustainable development required restraint, avoiding the “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” scenario.

As a result, the Brood Nest had halted its expansion several weeks ago. Even the colonies numbered thirty and above were rarely visited by transport teams anymore, with only a few spy bugs loitering there for sustenance.

Luo Wen had considered a diet of pure dirt for all but found it impractical. Tests revealed that the energy gained from eating dirt was too minimal to support daily activities. It was only viable for emergencies, where the swarm needed to remain inactive, minimizing survival costs.

In simpler terms, eating dirt allowed them to survive while idle but couldn’t sustain normal operations.

Now, the Brood Nest’s development had reached a bottleneck. To break through, Luo Wen devised three potential solutions.

Plan One: Improve Transport Efficiency. While ants were strong, capable of carrying food several times their weight, they lacked suitable transport tools to maximize their potential.

Currently, they relied on their mandibles for transport. If the food remained intact, they could carry larger pieces. Unfortunately, the stolen food was often already ground into smaller fragments.

It was akin to a one-ton truck with only the cab and no cargo bed—capable of carrying only a fraction of its capacity.

If Luo Wen could find a way to enhance their carrying capabilities, the Brood Nest’s influence could expand severalfold.

Unfortunately, Luo Wen didn’t know how to build “cargo beds.” He could only hope to encounter a bug species equipped with such a feature, allowing him to extract its genetic material. When or if that would happen was anyone’s guess.

Plan Two: Relocate the Brood Nest. The current Brood Nest was nestled against a cliff. In its early days, this location was advantageous, as it minimized the need to defend against enemies from all sides.

Now that the Brood Nest had grown strong, relocating it to a more central area surrounded by numerous ant colonies could significantly increase its reach.

Connecting to more colonies meant more stolen food, solving the current supply problem.

However, this was merely a stopgap measure that didn’t address the root issue. Furthermore, relocating such a large Brood Nest was no simple task.

Even if they moved, it would take time to establish transport routes to the new colonies. During this transitional period, there was no clear way to sustain the swarm.

Plan Three: Claim Territory. The third plan involved clearing out nearby ant colonies and establishing a surface territory to produce food autonomously.

Four colonies were located close to the Brood Nest. To avoid conflict, Luo Wen’s swarm rarely ventured above ground.

Currently, all the food came from the colonies. This had created a warped ecosystem where the entire swarm—except the soldier ants—was essentially a massive transport team. Such dependence was unsustainable.

By securing a patch of surface territory, they could produce their own food. For instance, they could raise the small green aphids found on tree leaves, expanding their scale using Luo Wen’s intelligence. While this method of food production might seem unsavory, it would at least provide sustenance for his underlings.

Compared to the first two options, the third plan seemed the most feasible.

However, the worker ants from the nearby colonies were diligent and hardworking, making Luo Wen hesitant to disrupt their operations. His own laziness and lack of ambition caused him to put this plan on hold.

Until a few days ago, when something unexpected happened.

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