I Am The Swarm

“However, I’m not too concerned about that, Elder Humes. You should know better than I do how we define the Swarm. The Swarm isn’t those intelligent individuals but the mass-produced biological combat units—the vast numbers of the swarm.”

Elder Cecil thought for a moment and continued, “As far as I know, the Swarm’s combat units are incredibly cheap to produce. They only need to create an embryo, incubate it, and then invest some time to harvest a powerful bio-soldier. Given enough time, their numbers could fill this galaxy, and even we would struggle to counter them.”

“Our technology is generations ahead of theirs. With such a qualitative gap, numbers alone can’t bridge the difference.”

“Elder Humes, while I did say the Swarm refers to those biological armies, it doesn’t change the fact that they have intelligent individuals. This allows them to learn and progress, narrowing the technological gap between us.”

“But we won’t give them that opportunity, will we?”

“Who knows?” Elder Cecil said seemingly offhandedly.

“What do you mean?”

“The Swarm currently possesses some intriguing technologies. Given their situation, it’s clear these didn’t come from their own efforts. And it’s obvious where these technologies originated. Shouldn’t we reclaim these technologies? After all, we are the rightful heirs of the original Ji Race.”

“But I doubt the Swarm will willingly hand over what they possess. I’ve already offered them a very favorable points exchange policy, but so far, they haven’t exchanged anything.”

Elder Humes shook his head. “Although the paths are different, the underlying theories are the same—it’s just the expression that differs. They might not exchange finished products, but the theories would still be helpful to them. Yet, they haven’t exchanged anything, including various theories, so this possibility doesn’t hold.”

“True, then there’s only the other possibility,” Elder Cecil agreed with Elder Humes’ point. “Although they are still weak now, they might possess more than we imagine. Therefore, they look down on our exchange list.”

“I feel this possibility is also quite low,” Elder Humes shook his head again. “They are an intelligent race. If possible, they wouldn’t act so uniquely and draw attention to themselves.”

Elder Humes’ rebuttal didn’t provoke any negative emotions in Elder Cecil. She thought carefully again and realized Elder Humes made a good point. Putting herself in the Swarm’s shoes, she would definitely keep a low profile. Even if the exchange list had nothing useful, she would still exchange some items to avoid drawing too much attention, unlike the Swarm’s current behavior.

“So, it’s not that they don’t want to exchange, but that they have no choice.”

Elder Humes nodded. “Very likely. Their system might have some restrictions, like that gene lock. If we could master it, we could dissect Swarm units on our own and uncover some of their secrets.”

“Exactly. That gene lock is undoubtedly the core technology. No matter how simple the composition of those bio-units might seem, without unlocking the gene lock, it’s all for naught.”

“It’s a powerful anti-theft system, both awe-inspiring and intimidating.”

“So, as the rightful heirs, we should reclaim it.”

“But the problem remains: the Swarm won’t hand it over willingly. What if the original Ji Race left them some means of self-preservation? They have no attachments now and could flee at any moment. If they really escape, we’d suffer a great loss.”

“Therefore, we can’t force the issue. We should let them develop further. Once they’ve grown and established themselves, they’ll have vulnerabilities we can exploit. That’s when we should act. In this regard, we’ll rely heavily on you, Elder Humes. You have the closest contact with them and should subtly provide them with more benefits. At the same time, find their weaknesses.”

“Providing benefits is manageable, but the Swarm’s weaknesses… Their social system is extremely tight-knit. I haven’t even been able to infiltrate it, let alone figure out where they come from or find their weaknesses.”

“Actually, we can make some bold guesses. Given the Swarm’s current technological level, their range of activity can’t be too large. Earlier, we analyzed that there must be an original Ji Race biological laboratory nearby. They likely emerged from there. So, even if they didn’t come from LKDW399, they must be from a nearby star system.”

Elder Cecil thought for a moment and added, “Although there’s no evidence, because of that thermonuclear creature, I think the likelihood of the Swarm originating from LKDW399 is very low. Elder Humes, have you noticed any other anomalies in that area?”

“Speaking of that, there is something. In the LKDW398 star system, southeast of LKDW399, a race calling themselves the Rat Folk has risen. Their development has been incredibly fast, advancing from a primitive state to a technological civilization in just a few hundred years.”

“Haha, that’s several times faster than the Ji Race’s early development. I don’t believe any race could surpass the Ji Race. I’m almost certain now that the Swarm comes from the LKDW398 star system.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Intuition!”

“What?” Elder Humes was stunned. Weren’t we just talking about evidence? Why are we suddenly delving into metaphysics?

“Exactly, and it’s a woman’s intuition. I trust my intuition.”

“Alright,” Elder Humes wisely chose not to argue further and instead asked, “So, what’s their relationship with the Rat Folk?”

“That’s still unclear. I hope you’ll keep a close eye on the Rat Folk, Elder Humes. There must be some connection between them and the Swarm.”

“Is this also intuition?”

“Exactly!”

Elder Humes felt the conversation had reached a dead end, but his task was essentially complete. He wisely decided to end the discussion. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two shared a knowing smile and ended the communication, leaving everything unspoken.

In truth, when Elder Cecil first raised her question and Elder Humes didn’t refuse to answer, an unspoken agreement was reached between them. Therefore, Elder Cecil didn’t hide her considerable understanding of the Swarm in the subsequent conversation.

However, what Elder Cecil and the forces behind her sought was merely intelligence sharing from Elder Humes, who acted as a neutral party. In return, they offered continued support for Elder Humes.