I Am The Swarm

Luo Wen decided to lead his ants to search for food. Surprisingly, they showed no interest in tree roots, taking only small sips of water. Luo Wen was both amused and annoyed by their picky nature. “Even I’m gnawing on tree roots, and you two dare to be choosy? That’s embarrassing, you know?” The ants, unable to understand such complex sentiments, ignored him completely.

A sigh escaped Luo Wen. The loneliness of his situation crept in as he realized the communication barrier between him and his creations.

After the meager meal, Luo Wen broke off three tree roots and gave the command: “Bring them back to the nest.” Unfortunately, he overestimated the ants’ intelligence. They neither optimized their angles for dragging the large roots nor handled the task with finesse. Instead, they simply grabbed the roots and pulled recklessly, often getting them stuck in the tunnel.

To accommodate them, Luo Wen halved the size of the roots. Finally, the ants managed to drag them without issue, but the combined amount they carried was still less than a tenth of what Luo Wen could handle alone.

Back at the nest, Luo Wen divided the roots, giving some to the black beetle and the rest to the brood nest. While the brood nest absorbed the nutrients, Luo Wen decided to name the ants: one was Black Two, the other Black Three. However, after testing, he realized his effort was wasted. The ants could only comprehend vague pronouns like “you” or “them,” and names were meaningless to them. Despite this setback, Luo Wen took solace in the simplicity—it saved him the mental strain of naming future followers.

Next, Luo Wen directed the ants to dig a chamber near the nest—a dedicated incubation room to keep eggs safe from the wandering black beetle. Once the brood nest regained some vitality, Luo Wen ordered the production of a new egg. He carefully shielded it from the beetle and instructed the ants to guard it.

The ants understood the command. One picked up the egg, and under Luo Wen’s guidance, placed it in the incubation room. Satisfied, Luo Wen initially considered leaving them to their task but decided to use one ant for an experiment.

He gave Black Two the command: “Search for food.” To his surprise, the ant understood and began moving toward a tunnel. Intrigued, Luo Wen followed, curious about where it would search.

As expected, the ant headed to the tree roots they had visited earlier. It bit into a piece of bark and began feeding. After a moment, two droplets of water formed on its mandibles. Luo Wen was amazed—he couldn’t fathom how the ant extracted water from the root or managed to carry it.

Obediently, the ant carried the water droplet home. Luo Wen sighed, realizing the inefficiency of micromanaging his followers. With growing numbers, this method would soon become impractical.

Following the ant back to the nest, Luo Wen observed an unexpected behavior: without needing further instruction, the ant gave the droplet to the ant guarding the egg. This sparked an idea—these ants possessed basic instincts and could act autonomously when not given specific orders.

Excited, Luo Wen conducted more experiments. Over several hours, he tested various commands and found that precise instructions weren’t always necessary. Without commands like “stand guard” or “stay here,” the ants would automatically find tasks to do. They would search for food when hungry, maintain the incubation room’s humidity, and generally function without Luo Wen’s intervention.

Relieved, Luo Wen instructed the brood nest to produce 10 eggs—the maximum it could manage daily without harming itself. For the next few days, the nest consistently produced 10 eggs and two small-sized mature ants.

However, Luo Wen was busier than ever. The ants couldn’t survive on water alone, and their undersized forms made them incapable of hunting the larger black ants. Luo Wen had to personally hunt and drag back enough prey to sustain the brood nest and the growing ant population.

The workload was grueling. He subsisted on tree roots while the ants feasted on meat. This lopsided dynamic frustrated Luo Wen. “I’m the boss here, yet I’m the one eating scraps while my underlings enjoy a feast. This isn’t how things are supposed to go!” He couldn’t help but recall the hapless white grub he’d used as a tool in the past. “This can’t continue. I need to change things.”

Thankfully, Black Two and Black Three had grown rapidly, bolstered by the steady supply of ant meat. Now large enough to join hunts, they acted as transporters, reducing Luo Wen’s burden slightly. Still, with two new ants being born daily and the potential for eggs to hatch, Luo Wen’s workload continued to grow.

He considered sending the ants to the surface to forage, but their reduced size and incomplete development made them too vulnerable. Losing even one ant, given the effort it took to produce them, would be a heavy blow. For now, he decided to endure the tough early days, knowing things would improve once the ants could forage independently.@@novelbin@@

After two more days of hard work, the first batch of eggs began to hatch.