I Am The Swarm

There had been an incident in the past where a monster emerged from the wormhole but didn’t rush away. Instead, it lurked near the wormhole, evading detection by the reconnaissance equipment. When mecha warriors with no prior experience ventured too close, the monster ambushed them.

In that attack, three mechas were destroyed, and one pilot lost their life.

This time, the situation bore an eerie resemblance. After the wormhole opened, there was no indication that the monster had moved. Rooney and Zeki, determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, proceeded with heightened caution.

Though there was no apparent sign of a monster, a creature tens of meters long and weighing tens of thousands of tons couldn’t hide without altering the surrounding terrain. Every larger rock in this area had been cataloged, so by scanning the current terrain map and comparing it to the previous one, they could pinpoint any changes.

But to their surprise, the updated terrain map showed only minor variations. These changes were so slight that they couldn’t possibly be attributed to a massive monster. Marine biologists had already determined that these changes were caused by large underwater creatures native to the area.

The wormhole had opened, yet nothing emerged? The skeptical Botians searched tirelessly for days. During this time, reinforcements arrived—over ten additional mechas, several submarines, and a substantial number of reconnaissance devices were deployed. They practically scoured the seabed, leaving no stone unturned, but still found nothing.

This left them bewildered. The wormhole’s premature activation was already unusual, and the absence of any monster made it even stranger. Experts poured over the data, attempting to make sense of it, but no conclusive explanation emerged.

—

Previously the moment the wormhole opened, a flesh pod was expelled.

Luo Wen could manifest his consciousness in any node unit and share their perspective, but if a unit lacked sensory organs, there was little he could perceive. The flesh pod, designed for its specific purpose, was encased in a thick protective layer with no sensory organs.

As a result, Luo Wen couldn’t immediately observe the surroundings when the pod exited the wormhole.

However, the protective layer beneath the pod did contain sensory cells. If it had emerged in space, there would have been detectable radiation, but there was none. Instead, the pressure here was immense.

“What’s going on? The wormhole’s exit isn’t in space?” Luo Wen wondered.

As his thoughts raced, the flesh pod began to change. Its tough, defensive exterior cracked open slightly, and an eye protruded from the gap.

Due to the pod’s limited size and the space occupied by its defensive layers, it couldn’t house too many complex functional organs. In an unfamiliar environment, optical observation was the safest and most reliable reconnaissance method since it didn’t emit any detectable energy waves.

The surroundings were pitch black, devoid of any light. Even with low-light vision, the eye couldn’t discern anything. Such total darkness was almost impossible in space. Even the void between star systems wouldn’t be entirely without light.

Soon, another crack appeared, and a tendril extended outward. This tendril was equipped with multiple sensory functions, including smell, hearing, and touch.

The sensations it received were puzzling. The tendril felt liquid around it, detected a salty, fishy scent, and heard the faint sound of flowing water.

The pod was submerged in liquid.

Another small tendril extended from the flesh pod, and at its tip, a faint yellow light briefly flashed. Though fleeting, the momentary glow allowed the eye to capture significant details.

It was indeed water.

At the same time, the pod sank to the seabed. The firm sensation beneath it immediately triggered a realization in Luo Wen’s mind—he recognized this place. After all, he had once spent hundreds of years in a similar environment.

But how could this be? How could a wormhole open here? According to theory, wormholes connect black holes and white holes, but this location clearly contradicted those principles.

Could this be an artificial wormhole? Luo Wen was shocked. Even the New Ji Race lacked the capability to create wormholes, let alone position one in such a location.

Was this the proverbial “out of the frying pan and into the fire”?

Could this territory belong to an even more advanced civilization?

Luo Wen’s cautious nature made him consider destroying the flesh pod immediately to avoid exposing himself. Yet, he felt reluctant to act rashly, especially as he began to notice anomalies.

If this truly was the domain of a high-level civilization, the unusual activation of the wormhole should have triggered a response by now. Why hadn’t there been any reaction? Could there still be a chance to turn the situation around?

Regardless, the top priority was to conceal himself.

The flesh pod began rapidly consuming its stored energy reserves, while parts of its genetic makeup underwent mutation. Soon, the pod slimmed down slightly, and two digging limbs along with several auxiliary legs sprouted from its body, making it resemble a bloated burrowing insect.

Luo Wen couldn’t help but think that his first successful long-distance Fold Crossing had immediately thrown him back to his “roots”—digging tunnels. Perhaps fate had a sense of humor.

However, as a high-dimensional being, Luo Wen no longer needed to handle such tasks personally. A simple nudge of a Hive Queen’s consciousness was enough to complete the job flawlessly.

The digging limbs, refined through countless iterations of Swarm genetic enhancement, were far superior to the primitive versions Luo Wen had once relied upon. Optimized for a variety of mechanical forces, they made excavation significantly faster.

Soon, the “flesh worm” burrowed into the seabed. Using its auxiliary legs, it carefully covered the disturbed sediment behind it. As the ocean currents swept past, the site became nearly indistinguishable, with only a slight depression hinting at any disturbance.

The “flesh worm” continued digging several hundred meters deeper before finally halting. This familiar domain gave Luo Wen a faint sense of security.

The flesh pod underwent further transformations. It rapidly deflated, while a streak of purple-gray coloration spread outward, infiltrating the surrounding area. At the same time, a small, inconspicuous golden beetle emerged from the pod and began tunneling independently toward a distant location.

Luo Wen couldn’t be certain whether this was part of an advanced civilization’s strategy to lure him in or if they were tracking his origin. However, he reassured himself that the pod had entered the wormhole mid-transit. His cross-dimensional Fold Crossing was unlikely to be traceable, and even if it were, the New Ji Race would bear the brunt of any consequences.

Still, to be safe, the Anchor beetle needed to move far away from the pod. As long as the Anchor Unit remained secure, Luo Wen could maintain a link to this area and avoid being completely in the dark.

The “seed” began to develop rapidly. Once the purple-gray carpet had reached a certain threshold, one of the nodules absorbed nutrients and mutated into a Brood Queen egg. Within days, the Brood Queen hatched.

With the Brood Queen’s involvement, the small base’s development accelerated. Soon, functional insects were hatched, and they began relocating the undersea base deeper into the Earth’s crust.

Simultaneously, small reconnaissance bugs emerged, carefully breaking through the sediment above the seabed to discreetly survey the surroundings.

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