I Am The Swarm

The ants intertwined their bodies, forming a net that entangled the black beetle. The beetle struggled more and more to shake off the ants, and the tide of battle shifted from a one-sided massacre to an uncertain outcome. If there had been bets placed, this would surely go down as a tragic spectacle.

After losing two claw tips and half an antenna, the black beetle finally chose to retreat.

Continuing the fight would likely lead to its death, but if it decided to flee, the ants’ slender frames couldn’t stop it.

Like a heavy tank crashing through infantry lines, the black beetle charged away with ants clinging to its body, scattering some along the way due to sheer speed.

Since Luo Wen had been observing from a great distance, the beetle quickly disappeared beyond his sight, ants still riding on it.

Luo Wen didn’t linger idly. Why had he been watching all this time? Besides the entertainment, he harbored the hope of scavenging something useful from the battlefield.

Now that both sides had left, the area was littered with loot. Passing up such an opportunity wasn’t Luo Wen’s style. He scrambled up and quickly scuttled toward the battlefield.

Though it was only a dozen meters away, a mere few steps for his human-sized self, it was a marathon for his fingernail-sized body.

Fortunately, Luo Wen had anticipated scavenging from the start. While spectating, he had planned his route to the battlefield and checked for potential dangers along the way.

Nothing seemed amiss on the surface, but the hidden ambush tactics of the dimwitted earthworm earlier taught him to be cautious. Predators employing stealthy hunting methods were hard to spot until it was too late.

So, as he raced forward, Luo Wen kept an eye on the ground beneath him to avoid a tragic mishap.

Luckily, he reached the battlefield safely. His suctorial mouth wasn’t suited for quickly consuming meat, so he grabbed a piece of an ant’s lower body, raised his rear, and burrowed underground.

After digging a small hole deep below to store the food, Luo Wen returned twice more, retrieving a severed head and a torso. But when he emerged a third time, a few ants were already beginning to return to the battlefield. Not wanting to risk it, he retreated to the underground.

Carrying the ant remnants, Luo Wen burrowed deeper, creating a small chamber and carving out several escape routes. He also gathered some roots for extra sustenance.

Once everything was set, he finally began his meal, hoping for some useful gains.

It took him a long time to thoroughly lick the ant meat clean, leaving behind a pile of discarded exoskeleton shells. Luo Wen set them aside and went to rest with high expectations.

When he awoke, he ignored his hunger and the low-energy alerts from his reserves, rushing to examine his body.

He inspected his antennae, eyes, limbs, and carapace—none showed any changes.

Disappointed, Luo Wen recalled that the black ants hadn’t displayed any special abilities during the fight. He shouldn’t have hoped for too much.

He pouted in frustration, then noticed something unusual about his mouth. Was something different?

Unfortunately, his mouth was one of the blind spots in his compound eye’s field of vision. Carefully, he used a limb to probe and feel with its fine bristles. ꞦάNÔꞖЕṤ

Oh, if only he had a mirror, this wouldn’t be such a hassle.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. His mouth must have changed because of the black ants. It was likely similar to their mouths.

The empty ant head was still lying nearby. Luo Wen approached it for a closer look.

Comparing the sensations from his bristles with the specimen in front of him, Luo Wen reached a conclusion.

“My mouth finally got an upgrade!” he exclaimed. Luo Wen had long harbored a grudge against his previous suctorial mouth. Why couldn’t he have been given something more capable at the start? Instead, he had been stuck with a mouth made for soft foods—a “freeloader’s” mouth, as he called it.

Now, his new mouth resembled the black ant’s chewing-type mouthparts. The mushroom-like shape of his original mouth was gone, replaced by structures like multiple lip plates, mandibles, labial palps, and sclerites. These components could shovel food into his mouth as if a ring of tiny hands had grown around it. Quite the mental image.

Though chewing mouthparts were the most basic type for insects, with suctorial mouthparts being an evolution from them, this wasn’t necessarily a regression. Sometimes, the simplest tools were the most versatile—and what suited him best was what mattered.

It was a bright and sunny day. The familiar shrubs had unfolded their green leaves.

With the underground river rising closer to the surface, vegetation grew denser, covering the ground with rotting leaves rather than yellow sand.

Luo Wen crawled through the underground for some time, putting distance between himself and the battlefield above. Finally, he pushed aside a layer of fallen leaves and emerged.

The chirps of unseen insects filled the shrubs. Compared to the desolate desert, this area felt far livelier.

Of course, this also meant greater danger.

After crawling a short distance, Luo Wen’s antennae picked up some unusual sounds from a shrub nearby. Turning to look, he saw what appeared to be a relative of yesterday’s “war god” beetle munching on leaves. The sounds were coming from it.

This black beetle was even larger than the one from yesterday and had intact limbs. That was how Luo Wen immediately knew it wasn’t the same beetle.

But to his surprise, this mighty warrior—a juggernaut capable of taking on multiple enemies—was a vegetarian! Luo Wen was stunned. It was like seeing a heavily armored knight wielding a massive sword, drenched in blood after slaying foes, return to cheers only to grin and say, “Actually, I’m just cosplaying.”

Luo Wen felt a wave of dismay. As a self-identified carnivorous insect, being utterly outclassed in size and equipment by a plant-eater left him in a bad mood.

Before he could vent his frustration, he noticed movement near the beetle. A piece of bark seemed to shift.

Focusing intently, Luo Wen saw a pair of slender antennae twitching at the edge of the “bark.” It wasn’t bark at all—it was an insect.

Still recovering from the shock of the vegetarian revelation, Luo Wen was stunned again. Was this some kind of camouflage tech? What was this bug’s deal?

His knowledge of entomology was clearly lacking. He’d heard of chameleons but never of shape-shifting bugs. The camouflage had some minor flaws, but without movement, it was nearly undetectable.

As the wind rustled the leaves and branches, producing soft noises, the disguised insect crept closer to the oblivious beetle under the cover of sound.

After a few minutes, it was just a step away from the beetle’s rear.

The black beetle remained unaware, but Luo Wen, watching from afar, felt his heart tighten. What was this camouflaged bug planning?

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