I Am The Swarm

Using echolocation, Luo Wen determined that the attackers were four fish, each approximately 30 centimeters in length.

He relaxed slightly. The numbers were small, and their size didn’t give them an advantage. Where did they find the courage to challenge him?

As the attackers swiftly approached, Luo Wen finally got a clear view of them. They had disproportionately large heads and slender tails. Their bodies were dark gray with crescent-shaped red markings, and their mouths were filled with densely packed, razor-sharp teeth, exuding an oppressive aura.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered the ever-prepared Luo Wen. As one strange fish neared, a massive pincer snapped at it. Though the pincer appeared cumbersome, its speed was lightning-fast, creating a trail of white water ripples beneath the surface.

The strange fish was highly agile, twisting its body to evade the pincer. However, a limb shot out from the shadows, piercing its body from the side.

In an instant, red blood began to diffuse through the water.

The three fish trailing behind caught the scent of blood. Instead of continuing their assault on Luo Wen, they turned on their injured companion, tearing it apart.

Within moments, the wounded fish was reduced to shreds—fragments of flesh, scales, and limbs floating in the water.

This sudden development left Luo Wen momentarily stunned, and the follow-up attacks he had prepared lost their targets.

But what happened next gave him no time for shock. Just seconds after the blood spread, a torrent of abnormal vibrations emanated from the depths of the river.

It seemed the blood had disturbed something, and countless vibrations raced toward his location.

From the feedback he received, Luo Wen discerned that they were all the same type of strange fish. The small area around him was about to turn into a battlefield.

This was an internal conflict among the strange fish, and as an outsider, Luo Wen decided not to get involved. Realizing the three remaining fish were no longer interested in him, he quickly swam away.

After covering a dozen meters, the water behind him began to boil. Dense, frothy waves surged across the surface. Luo Wen had no interest in looking back. After swimming another fifty meters, he cautiously poked his head out near the riverbank.

The commotion behind him expanded rapidly, and Luo Wen’s swimming speed was too slow to guarantee his safety for long. If the chaos spread further, he might still get caught in it. Compared to the strange fish with their menacing jaws, the flying bugs now seemed almost endearing.

Faced with a choice between regular danger and extreme peril, the decision wasn’t difficult.

Fortunately, Luo Wen had already gained some distance, and the flying bugs seemed distracted by the turmoil on the water’s surface. Moreover, his impromptu bath had washed away most of the pollen particles.

Luo Wen slowly climbed ashore, his form gradually blending into his surroundings. Only the hovering water droplets and occasional drips betrayed his movements. But now, no one was paying attention to him.

Grateful for the respite, Luo Wen darted into the jungle, disappearing from sight.

The environment around him was familiar; traces of his pheromones lingered. He had scouted this area days ago and remembered a burrow of tail lard rats nearby where he could rest temporarily.

As for the tail lard rats?

[T/N: I’m guessing he ate them? It’s not really clear in the source material.]

The burrow was spacious enough for Luo Wen. The foul stench from before had mostly dissipated over the past few days. His recent exertions had drained a significant amount of his energy, though with his tail lard organ, such consumption was negligible. Ṝ₳𐌽ŐＢЁꞨ

Closing his eyes, Luo Wen sank his consciousness into his mind, uploading the newly acquired flying bug genes to the Swarm Network.

This was a feature he had discovered recently—he could back up his genetic data to the network, with only him and the Brood Nest having download permissions.

It was like switching from local storage to cloud storage.

This function saved him a lot of trouble; he no longer needed to return to the base each time he acquired new genes to link with the Brood Nest for sharing.

After completing the upload, he began analyzing the flying bug genes. Now that he could actively select his evolutionary traits, he no longer passively accepted every new ability but instead could pick and choose.

For instance, from earlier genetic acquisitions, he had only opted for thermal sensing and echolocation, discarding others like web-spinning.

While web-spinning seemed flashy, it required a new gland to be added to his body. Apart from the toxin glands near the base of his teeth, his abdomen already housed the “Gatling” system.

The “Gatling” system consisted of two glands storing different chemical compounds and a reaction chamber, taking up most of his abdominal space.

Not to mention the recently added tail lard organ.

Adding a new gland would require reducing his “Gatling” ammunition capacity, which was impractical. After careful consideration, Luo Wen realized his interest in web-spinning was largely influenced by movies. In reality, the ability required extensive preparation and wasn’t nearly as miraculous as portrayed.

Thus, Luo Wen abandoned it. Many of the abilities he discarded were for similar reasons—like feathers. There was simply no place on his body for such things.

As he encountered more species, the diversity of his abilities proved adaptable. However, sometimes having too many abilities wasn’t advantageous.

Many traits required corresponding structural adaptations.

For instance, his ability to fly relied on anti-gravity wing cover technology because his bulky body couldn’t achieve flight otherwise. Birds and pterosaurs, by contrast, had streamlined forms optimized for flight.

Similarly, his swimming could only be described as “not drowning” compared to the speed and agility of fish.

Even his echolocation system, derived from bats, fell short. Bats had large ears as receivers, while he had only two small ear holes. The performance gap was self-evident.

Perhaps the only system in which he surpassed the original was his “Gatling” mechanism, where his size provided a clear advantage. But that didn’t obscure the shortcomings of his multi-trait approach.

Despite these thoughts, Luo Wen wasn’t about to abandon his multi-talent strategy. It had proven crucial to his adaptability and survival in varied dangers.

As the Swarm’s Supreme Commander, Luo Wen’s primary task was survival.

For him, multiple talents were the right choice. However, his musings weren’t about himself but about the future of the Swarm. Should he develop soldiers with versatile abilities or specialize them for specific tasks?

He had begun to feel the limits of his knowledge and intellect. Yet, there wasn’t much he could do about it. The Queen Ant resembled an intelligent AI, capable of “receiving commands” but not “holding discussions.”

Fortunately, their current enemies weren’t particularly strong. With the Swarm’s unique abilities and sufficient resources, overcoming them shouldn’t be a problem.

This thought circled briefly in Luo Wen’s mind before he set it aside.

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