I Am The Swarm

The solutions to the current problem were either to find new Black Ant nests to share the burden or, once the number of insects in the Brood Nest reached a sufficient size, to completely annihilate the ant nest, turning its inhabitants into food and claiming the territory.

The two approaches were not mutually exclusive. Luo Wen could search for new Black Ant nests while simultaneously infiltrating and eroding the neighbor’s nest. However, this would mean Luo Wen would become busy again.

Deploying a few Camouflage Bugs to infiltrate the ant nest and feast without drawing suspicion was feasible. But expecting them to handle Luo Wen’s tasks—stealing food while cleaning up traces—was unlikely given their limited intelligence.

If any mistakes exposed their actions and led the Black Ants to track them back to the Brood Nest, it would spell disaster. The Brood Nest’s current combat capabilities were far from sufficient to withstand an assault. Thus, Luo Wen had no choice but to personally handle the undercover work and food transport operations in the ant nest.

As for exploration, Luo Wen had already scouted the area within a few dozen meters around the Brood Nest. To find another Black Ant nest, he would need to venture farther.

Currently, most of the insects in the Brood Nest were modeled after Black Ants. Lacking vision, they relied on close-range contact with their antennae to gather information. This method posed numerous dangers, and the farther they traveled, the higher the risk of encountering threats.

Given the current population in the Brood Nest, it would be difficult to sustain such heavy losses.

Luo Wen needed new types of insects with functional eyesight, capable of detecting potential dangers from a distance and reporting back the gathered intelligence. But once again, he faced the same fundamental problem: while Luo Wen could likely configure the required physical traits, he couldn’t enhance the insects’ intelligence.

The insects in the Brood Nest were competent in repetitive, mechanical tasks but struggled with anything more complex. They couldn’t fully comprehend Luo Wen’s instructions, meaning he had to personally oversee all critical missions.

Grumbling aside, Luo Wen diligently attended to his responsibilities. Each day, he transported enough materials to the temporary storage chamber to keep the transport teams occupied for a day, sealing the passage to the hatchery tightly and surrounding the area with pheromones signaling danger and warning others to stay away.

After completing this task, Luo Wen would crawl out of the ant nest to scout farther afield.

The Brood Nest was also developing steadily. The first batch of pupating larvae had emerged, forming a new generation of adult ants. As they matured, they would gradually take on various tasks within the colony.

The Brood Nest itself had grown larger. Although Luo Wen’s size had also increased recently, it seemed unlikely he could still carry the massive structure.

Applying his principle of preparing for danger during times of peace, Luo Wen used Big Black as a template, removing the gene for Burrower Legs after observing that the oversized Giant Mandibles conflicted with burrowing efficiency. These mandibles, wider than the body itself, made underground movement cumbersome.

Additionally, Luo Wen incorporated pheromone genes for communication and identity recognition. Using this template, the Brood Nest produced a dozen eggs. If they successfully hatched, these insects would become specialized fighters tasked with defending the Brood Nest.

This was Luo Wen’s first time using a self-designed template to produce insects from eggs. It was an entirely new experiment. He didn’t know if such artificial genetic configurations could support a complete developmental process from egg to maturity.@@novelbin@@

If these insects, with their entirely novel genetic sequences, could grow into fully developed, mature adults, it would signify a breakthrough. When resources were abundant, the Brood Nest could produce a series of insects with unnatural but highly advantageous traits.

By then, the Brood Nest’s influence would expand exponentially, like a snowball gaining momentum. It would no longer need to parasitize the ant nest to grow.

Energized by these promising thoughts, Luo Wen threw himself into his work with renewed enthusiasm. Events also seemed to be unfolding in a favorable direction.

A few days later, Luo Wen’s efforts bore fruit. He discovered another Black Ant nest in the opposite direction of the Brood Nest.

This new nest was much larger. Luo Wen counted over fifty Soldier Ants within it, suggesting a total population of three to four thousand.

The ant nest not only boasted a much larger hatchery but also had two of them. Additionally, there were several food storage chambers. Worker Ants ground food into powder with their mandibles, secreting a protective substance to prevent spoilage.

Naturally, the hatchery was filled with even more Yellow Bugs, parasitic creatures brazenly stealing Luo Wen’s resources. Infuriated, he spat on each one, dooming them to annihilation.

This new ant nest was over a hundred meters from the Brood Nest. Its vast population and extensive patrol coverage meant there were no blind spots. Luo Wen would need to dig at least fifty meters of underground tunnel to transport food. It was a monumental task.

Fortunately, Luo Wen now had many underlings. He assigned over twenty ants to the transport teams to handle food transport, left another twenty newly emerged ants to tend to the larvae, and led the remaining dozens in a massive excavation project.

Luo Wen’s daily schedule became packed. At dawn, he would transport food from the first ant nest to the storage chamber, seal the tunnel, and leave the transport teams to work independently. Then, he would hurry back home, gather his excavation team, and head to the second ant nest to dig a new tunnel. Along the way, he’d practice his Luo-style Insect Combat Technique with a few of the new neighbors, ensuring his skills remained sharp.

The Black Ants who watched the performance often couldn’t afford his appearance fee and were forced to “pay” with their lives, becoming food for the excavation team.

Time flew by, and as the massive smuggling tunnel neared completion, trouble arose with the transport teams.

The first nest’s smuggling tunnel had been dug close to the patrol’s blind spot, just over ten meters from the ant nest. However, as Luo Wen shifted focus to the second nest and stopped performing his combat demonstrations, the number of Scout Worker Ants in the area gradually increased.

Today, by sheer bad luck, a transport team carrying food emerged from the tunnel and came face-to-face with a Scout Worker Ant.

The Scout Worker Ant noticed a large group of ants resembling itself but lacking proper identification. It immediately moved forward to challenge them.

The transport teams, not known for their patience, responded aggressively. After a heated antenna duel, a fight broke out.

Although the Scout Worker Ant was outnumbered, this was the transport teams’ first battle. Despite their superior numbers, they allowed the Worker Ant to escape.

The transport teams didn’t think much of it. However, when they returned to the tunnel with more food, the Worker Ant had brought reinforcements, lying in wait to ambush them.