I Am The Swarm

The Ultra Giant Soldier Ants were a marvel of biology, managing to achieve such massive sizes despite the severely outdated oxygen supply system typical of ant physiology. They relied entirely on their incredibly dense and powerful muscles to physically pump oxygen throughout their bodies. This impressive muscle density also translated into a highly efficient energy conversion rate.

When Luo Wen awoke, not only had he grown wings, but his Brood Nest had also regenerated.

Previously, Luo Wen had only speculated about the possibility of his Brood Nest regenerating. Now, with his hypothesis confirmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps due to insufficient energy supply during growth, the regenerated Brood Nest appeared somewhat underdeveloped. However, this was only in relation to Luo Wen’s large size. Compared to its initial state when it was first formed, the reborn Brood Nest was already several times larger.

Scooping up some rotting branches and leaves from the surroundings, Luo Wen stuffed them into the feeding orifice of the Brood Nest. Though this first meal for the regenerated Brood Nest was lackluster, the circumstances left little room for luxury. Something was better than nothing.

The Brood Nest wasn’t nearly as picky as Luo Wen. Ever since it acquired earthworm genes, it could even consume soil and pebbles, earning it the title of “everything within sight is edible.” Rotting leaves, therefore, were an effortless choice.

After attending to the Brood Nest, Luo Wen crawled out of his burrow.

If not for the importance of the Brood Nest, he would have been unable to suppress his excitement.

Soaring freely through the blue sky was a dream cherished by all living creatures. Luo Wen, whether in his past human life or his current insect form, had always longed for a pair of wings of his own.

The sturdy black carapace on his back split open and lifted upward, revealing a pair of delicate, transparent wings that unfolded. The intricate patterns on the wings were clearly visible, with black accents along their edges and roots.

The wings began to vibrate, their speed increasing rapidly. Gradually, Luo Wen’s cumbersome body lifted off the ground.

Though his first flight was clumsy—rocking left and right with a constant risk of crashing—Luo Wen couldn’t help but emit a hiss of exhilaration.

Flying was a highly energy-intensive activity. For Luo Wen, using a pair of thin, translucent wings to lift his tens-of-kilograms-heavy body required an immense amount of energy.

Still recovering from hibernation and with his energy reserves critically low, Luo Wen was forced to land after less than half a minute of flight, having barely risen 20 centimeters off the ground.

While Luo Wen felt a twinge of disappointment, he didn’t complain. After all, his wings weren’t rented—there was plenty of time to enjoy them once he’d eaten his fill.

Meanwhile, the Big-headed Ants’ leaf-cutting convoy, after enjoying two days of relative peace, suffered another ambush. Several Ultra Giant Soldier Ants were lost to an unknown assailant during transportation.

Infuriated, the Big-headed Ants dispatched a large force to sweep the area of the attack, but all they found were lingering stench and chaotic pheromone trails. The perpetrator had long since vanished. ɽäɴо𐌱Εs̩

Replenished and brimming with energy, Luo Wen even brought two ants back to his Brood Nest to hasten its recovery.

Once everything was in order, he eagerly began his second flight experiment.

In the jungle, a large black beetle hovered half a meter above the ground, flying at a leisurely pace. Its mandibles and limbs dangled naturally as its wings beat so quickly that even their afterimages blurred.

Despite successfully flying, Luo Wen couldn’t help feeling a bit disheartened. He could fly, sure, but it wasn’t anything like what he’d envisioned.

In his imagination, flight meant dazzling aerial maneuvers, breakneck speeds, and intense dogfights with opponents, reminiscent of the pterosaurs battling for food in the sky he’d once witnessed.

But now…

Watching the scenery slowly recede around him, Luo Wen realized his flight speed was slower than his crawling speed on the ground.

The gap between expectation and reality left him momentarily uninspired.

At this speed, the only advantage he could think of was avoiding embarrassment during another free-fall situation like last time.

However, his slow flight wasn’t due to a lack of capability in his flying system. On the contrary, his wings incorporated several advanced technologies.

First, Luo Wen had developed a set of muscles dedicated to wing movement. The protein fibers within these muscles were highly organized, with cross-sections forming a precise hexagonal pattern. This structural regularity allowed for rapid wing vibrations.

Luo Wen’s wings flapped at a standard rate of over a thousand times per minute, with a maximum speed exceeding twenty thousand flaps per minute. However, such high-speed flapping generated significant noise and consumed a massive amount of energy, though it did considerably increase flight speed.

The wings themselves were membranous and featured hidden folding patterns. When in use, the elytra (wing covers) opened, and the concealed wings unfurled like umbrellas.

Retracting the wings was a bit more complex. It required leveraging the elasticity and flexibility within the wings’ internal structures to fold them back along their creases. In simpler terms, the wings needed to be “folded” back into place.

Initially, Luo Wen struggled with this operation. After folding his wings and elytra, parts of the wings remained exposed. Assuming this was normal, he paid it little attention.

Later, after observing green beetles, he realized the wings could be fully retracted. It required the assistance of his hind legs to manually push the wings back under the elytra, where they would automatically fold along their creases.

Even with these features, the wings alone wouldn’t have been sufficient to lift Luo Wen’s heavy body.

Here’s where the most advanced feature came into play.

The elytra housed an enormous amount of ultra-microscopic pyramid structures. When the wings vibrated at high speed, these structures emitted magnetic particle longitudinal waves. The directional waves created a polarized magnetic particle phenomenon, which in turn generated an anti-gravity field effect.

Simply put, it was anti-gravity!

The elytra’s unique structure allowed Luo Wen to partially negate gravity, enabling his lightweight wings to lift his bulky body into the air.

However, this system wasn’t omnipotent. Otherwise, Luo Wen wouldn’t have been so dissatisfied with his flight speed.

Improving his speed was straightforward in theory: permanently alter his body structure, shedding parts of his exoskeleton and protective layers to reduce weight. Reshaping his rotund body into an aerodynamic form would also enhance his speed.

Such modifications were entirely possible with his newfound ability to choose genetic segments to transform himself, a talent awakened after his prolonged hibernation. With sufficient energy, a single session of cocooned metamorphosis could achieve these changes.

Yet after careful consideration, Luo Wen decided against it for now.

The jungle terrain was treacherous, and his delicate membranous wings couldn’t withstand much abuse. Above the treetops, the domain of the pterosaurs, Luo Wen was utterly outclassed in both size and numbers.

All things considered, faster flight offered little advantage in his current situation.

Thus, when forced to choose between speed and defense, he opted for defense.

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