I Am The Swarm

“The second option is to detach from the rocket and, instead of decelerating, accelerate inward toward the yellow moon. The rocket will be flung out of lunar orbit, while the insect body accelerates toward the moon’s surface,” Morgan explained, stroking his whiskers. Although the gesture seemed incongruous with his younger body, it had become a habit.

“What are the pros and cons of each plan?” Luo Wen asked after some thought.

“The first option offers higher safety. Staying in lunar orbit provides ample time for observation and finding the right moment. The downside is the difficulty of accelerating the insect body by an additional 0.5 km/s during detachment.”

“The second option’s advantage is immediate action—you can proceed to the moon landing without delay. However, the opportunity is fleeting, and the descent carries significant risk due to high speed. What will you choose, Overlord?”

Luo Wen pondered. His primary body’s Gatling system had been replaced with a jet propulsion system during anaerobic tests. He wasn’t confident in its ability to increase speed by 0.5 km/s. Failure would mean being trapped in lunar orbit and forced to self-destruct, awaiting another chance.

The second option appeared riskier, but its challenges were mainly in timing and deceleration during the landing. With his reaction speed and ultra-high-resolution vision, he was confident he could manage timely deceleration.

After conveying his decision to Morgan, Morgan immediately mobilized personnel to recalculate trajectories.

Ten minutes later:

“The rocket has been captured by the yellow moon’s gravity and is entering lunar orbit,” a researcher monitoring the screens reported.

“The rocket has been in orbit for nineteen minutes. Calculations remain unchanged. It will leave orbit in fifteen minutes.”

“Let’s begin, Morgan,” Luo Wen’s voice echoed in Morgan’s mind.

Luo Wen would need to focus entirely on controlling his insect body, leaving ground operations to Morgan.

Morgan, through the Swarm Network, pulled trusted personnel into a private channel and began directing. Plans originally reserved for post-lunar landing had to be implemented ahead of schedule.

Suddenly, alarms blared in the ground control center.

“Report! Monitoring in the rocket’s cargo bay has failed!”

“What’s the cause?” Morgan asked, maintaining a calm expression that betrayed no hint of the unfolding chaos.

“Likely the result of the earlier fuel tank explosion, which destabilized the cabin. The rocket remains under the moon’s gravitational pull, accelerating as the cabin deforms,” a researcher speculated.

Before Morgan could respond, another observer shouted, “Report! The test subject’s life-support pod has lost contact! Vital signs are gone!”

“Report! The cargo bay is compromised! The rocket’s nose has separated from the bay, and internal gases are leaking!”

The control room descended into chaos, red lights flashing as bad news piled up.

Meanwhile, Luo Wen, after the “monitoring failure,” easily opened the transparent container restraining him. Smashing a protective case on the cabin wall, he revealed a red button inside.

Feigning a deep breath, Luo Wen pressed the button.

With a loud “bang,” the rocket’s nose cone was ejected. Since the cabin contained air, sound traveled, making the ejection noise audible. The connection between the nose cone and the cargo bay revealed a large circular hole. Through it, the pitch-black expanse of space was visible.

Before Luo Wen could appreciate the view, the cabin’s escaping air swept him and various debris out through the opening.

As he tumbled, Luo Wen increased the refresh rate of his vision. To him, the surrounding debris, the rocket’s nose cone, and the cargo bay seemed to drift away in slow motion.

Now adrift in space without any external protection, he immediately felt the extreme conditions. The side of his body facing the sun soared above 300 degrees Celsius. Thankfully, he had anticipated this, incorporating nano heat-resistant materials from a mantis shrimp’s hammer into his carapace. Without them, the high temperature would have inflicted severe damage.

The side facing away from the sun plunged to -200 degrees Celsius, creating a temperature gradient of several hundred degrees. Meanwhile, his body continued to spin uncontrollably, producing a uniquely unpleasant sensation.

His internal power system activated, supplying energy to his magnetic field generator. Blue electrical arcs danced across his carapace as a small magnetic field enveloped his body.

Simultaneously, small vents on his body released jets of gas, gradually reducing his spin until he stabilized.

Once his body stopped spinning, the vents closed immediately. In the vacuum of space, where replenishing air was impossible, the expelled gas came from his reserves.

His muscles vibrated, bioluminescent organs lit up, and chloroplasts began working. The reserves in his tail fat organ rapidly depleted. Though wasteful, this generated copious amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide necessary for both directional changes and deceleration during descent.

The rocket and debris, though initially near him, maintained the same velocity, drifting away slowly. Five minutes later, Luo Wen glanced back at the rat folk creation one last time. Silently bidding it farewell, he acknowledged that they might never cross paths again in the vastness of space.

Farewell complete, Luo Wen turned around. With the aid of his vents, he adjusted his trajectory by about 30 degrees toward the yellow moon. His propulsion system lacked the power for a perpendicular descent, which would only slow him down.

Instead, he altered his angle slightly, allowing his current velocity to carry him toward the moon.

In the featureless void of space, movement felt imperceptible, though his velocity was immense. As soon as he adjusted his angle, the rocket and debris disappeared from view.

His course set, all that remained was to wait. He needed to travel for more than ten hours, orbiting the moon one and a half times before impact.

This plan, meticulously calculated by several of Morgan’s trusted aides, was now in motion. Unfortunately, without his monitoring equipment, Luo Wen couldn’t precisely track his speed or position. From the moment he left the rocket, everything depended on his instincts.

Thankfully, with the Swarm Network, he didn’t have to stay inside his body for the entire journey. Instead, he could collaborate with Morgan and the others to refine the next phase of their plan.

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