I Am The Swarm

“Exactly, Elder Humes. It seems we need to find another approach. You’re stationed there, and with these speculations, have you found any clues?” Elder Cecil asked, shrugging slightly.

Elder Humes shook his head. “I arrived too late. Although the Swarm isn’t particularly strong, they are a completely unfamiliar form to us. Their social structures, networks, and information systems are impenetrable. Combined with some of their unique methods, even with them occupying LKDW399, infiltrating and investigating there isn’t easy. Moreover, I lack sufficient specialized personnel here. We’re essentially searching for a needle in a haystack with only a handful of people. Unfortunately, so far, we haven’t found any noteworthy information.”

“Can’t we use diplomatic pressure to force them?” Elder Cecil frowned.

“The Swarm follows a biological path entirely different from ours, making technological or scientific blockades difficult. They are also an extremely insular race, showing almost no willingness to engage in communication. They are self-sufficient in terms of resources, so economic sanctions are out of the question. If this were before they joined the Confederation, perhaps military pressure could have been an option, but now…”

“Rules can’t be broken, but only because the stakes aren’t high enough. If those people knew the Swarm’s true value, they’d likely start a war immediately.”

“True, but for now, they don’t know, so we can’t…” Elder Humes’ face showed a look of regret, and the two fell into silence.

Just as Sarah thought the conversation would end there, Elder Cecil suddenly looked up and said, “Perhaps we can try another method.”

“What method?” Elder Humes’ eyes lit up as he eagerly asked.

“Elder Humes, can you confirm whether this creature also belongs to the Swarm?” Elder Cecil pointed to the image of Godzilla in the second set of materials.

“Is there any other information? Can I see the original materials?” Elder Cecil asked.

“Of course, no problem. However, the Riken Race, in their greed to monopolize the life-extension serum, deliberately destroyed many records. Even with all the methods I’ve used, I’ve only managed to gather fragmented information. It’s good for you to take a look; perhaps you can piece together more than I have.” After saying this, Elder Humes performed a series of operations, and the information was transmitted to Elder Cecil via the quantum communication network with almost no delay.

Elder Cecil opened the materials one by one, and as expected, they were all fragmented. However, she had anticipated this. Most of the New Ji Race, aside from a few individuals, were formidable researchers, and Elder Cecil clearly leaned toward information processing.

Her hands moved rapidly, as if using some algorithm to sift through the data for useful information. Elder Humes, in no hurry, waited patiently.

Suddenly, Elder Cecil’s eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “This record is interesting.”

Hearing her voice, Elder Humes, who had been dozing slightly, suddenly opened his eyes and craned his disproportionately long neck to look over. Unfortunately, separated by the communication link, he couldn’t see what was displayed on Elder Cecil’s side.

Noticing Elder Humes’ reaction, Elder Cecil smiled slightly and considerately shared the screen with him. “Look here. According to this record, the Riken Race encountered attacks from a native species on the planet they called Neighboring Planet. Unfortunately, while there are some images of the native creatures, the most crucial parts have been destroyed and can’t be restored. Otherwise, we could see if the creatures that attacked them ever existed among the Swarm.”

Elder Humes focused on the shared screen. Indeed, it mentioned attacks by a native, communal species, but the specific descriptions and images were destroyed. Such creatures exist on almost every ecological planet, and based on this alone, it was impossible to determine if they were related to the Swarm.

“The record even states that they gained the upper hand in battles against these creatures. If they were part of the Swarm, I doubt the Swarm would be so weak.”

“True. Later, as you mentioned earlier, they were defeated by enemies from another barren planet. Could it be that this creature has no connection to the Swarm?”

“Possibly. The original Ji Race’s laboratory was relocated so far away for two reasons: one, to avoid trouble, and two, perhaps because they needed diverse ecological environments to aid their experiments.”

“There’s a section of information here that’s been damaged. Let me try to repair it.” Elder Cecil performed another series of operations. Elder Humes, not being specialized in this field, couldn’t make sense of what she was doing.

After a moment, Elder Cecil’s voice came through, tinged with excitement. “Elder Humes, if this is accurate, it might explain why you’ve never seen that creature again.”

Elder Humes quickly looked over and read the newly revealed information. “The creature was actually killed by the Riken Race, and relatively easily at that. Though it’s not surprising. This creature may seem powerful, but its lack of agility makes it a sitting duck if enemy weapons can penetrate its armor. This is likely why I’ve never seen it among the Swarm’s combat units—it’s been phased out.”

Hearing Elder Humes’ words, Elder Cecil was momentarily stunned, but she quickly shook her head. “Elder Humes, the reason I was thinking of isn’t the one you just mentioned.”

“Is there another reason?”

“Have you considered that this creature might have been unique? Now that it’s dead, you’ll never see it again…”

“Is that so? I find it unlikely. Although I don’t have much evidence, there’s one thing you must know, the Swarm’s primary combat units are octopus-like creatures. When they reach a certain stage of growth, they exhibit thermonuclear reactions. I suspect they possess something similar to what this creature had.”

Hearing Elder Humes’ explanation, Elder Cecil also scratched her head, muttering to herself, “Is that so? But why would the Swarm keep such an outdated creature on this planet? I’ve seen the Swarm’s combat records. Their units can even absorb nutrients from their comrades to repair themselves. Given their style, they wouldn’t waste resources on such a large creature.”

“That is indeed hard to explain. Perhaps this creature once performed some great service? Or maybe it’s simply a memorial of some sort?”

“Great service? With such primitive thermonuclear reactions, if it had participated in any major battles, it couldn’t have escaped our monitoring and early warning systems.” As she said this, Elder Cecil’s eyes suddenly widened.