I Am The Swarm

To this day, Luo Wen still couldn’t give the Swarm a precise definition. He wasn’t sure if the Swarm was a civilization, a species, or even an individual entity.

Fortunately, Luo Wen wasn’t the type to get caught up in such philosophical dilemmas. So, he simply referred to the Swarm as a faction.

The Swarm was, in essence, an extremely exclusive faction.

The Swarm’s primary method of resource acquisition relied on the Fungal Carpet. The carpet’s extensive coverage and its mild toxicity made it nearly impossible for other organisms to coexist on it.

Unless, of course, they adopted the approach of the Ratfolk Civilization, where Luo Wen had designated specific zones off-limits to the carpet.

However, the Ratfolk Civilization had been cultivated by Luo Wen himself. Other civilizations were unlikely to choose to coexist with such a faction. In fact, the Swarm’s survival methods might make it a target for enmity, potentially leading to a unified attack against it.

With this in mind, Luo Wen once again found amusement in strategizing against the universe’s odds. It was clear the Swarm needed to grow even stronger.

As time passed, disguised Swarm units began appearing throughout the Genesis Star System—on the various planets, their satellite orbits, and even in the void between them.

These units, varying in size, were hidden within meteorite-like structures. Inside these meteors, electromagnetic cannon modules lay concealed. Equipped with energy absorption and storage components, these modules could operate independently.

They were scattered across the star system, forming a rudimentary defense network. Though still weak and largely ineffective at present, it would have been wasteful not to harness the ambient radiation emitted by celestial bodies.

Moreover, the electromagnetic cannons’ capacity to grow over time would ensure that this defense system became increasingly formidable.

Surrounding Planet A7, in addition to its original 36 satellites, were now countless floating units. These orbited in its gravitational pull, forming a dense band of activity around the planet.

Planet A7 was a powerful radiation source—a perfect charging station for the Swarm’s bio-ships. Consequently, the bases on its 36 satellites had become the Swarm’s main ship production facilities.

Once Swarm eggs hatched, the bio-ships, roughly half a meter long at first, absorbed sunlight and Planet A7’s radiation on the planetary surface to grow. Once they reached a certain size, they would ascend to Planet A7’s orbit for closer exposure to radiation.

Since the Swarm had no active conflicts, there were no losses to their bio-ships. This led to an ever-increasing number of these ships accumulating in Planet A7’s orbit.

Moreover, as time went on, these bio-ships grew larger and larger.

In another century or so, these bio-ships might completely enclose Planet A7—effectively becoming a planetary-scale Dyson Sphere.

Among the countless smaller units in Planet A7’s orbit, one stood out as a veritable giant—a creation of the Swarm unlike any other.

This was an ultra-massive electromagnetic launch platform, which constantly fused with primal fungal strains to develop more growth points. Additionally, every bio-ship exceeding 200 meters in length supplied it with collected energy to accelerate its growth.

Currently, the platform stretched over a hundred kilometers long. Once fully constructed, it was projected to reach over 5,000 kilometers in length, 300 kilometers in height, and 500 kilometers in width.

Without this behemoth, the number of bio-ships in Planet A7’s orbit would have been several times higher.

The platform’s name hinted at its purpose.

Once fully developed, it would be capable of accelerating projectiles to over one-tenth the speed of light, with commendable accuracy—at least accurate enough to not deviate disastrously.

In the future, it would replace the current Swarm Meteor Launchers as the primary means of launching Swarm Meteors toward neighboring star systems.

Speaking of the Swarm Meteor Launchers, their reliability left much to be desired. Over the years, the Swarm had launched thousands of Swarm Meteors toward nearby star systems.

Yet most ended up destroyed mid-flight due to unpredictable obstacles, random trajectories, or their excessive speeds. If they collided with large objects like comets or asteroids, it wasn’t so bad. However, smaller meteors were much harder to detect and avoid, making collisions almost inevitable.

When such collisions occurred, the destruction rate was nearly 100%.

The future electromagnetic launch platform, while still exceedingly fast, offered relatively precise targeting. This would allow the Swarm’s increasingly advanced intelligent entities to map out safer trajectories in advance, significantly reducing collision rates for Swarm Meteors.

Despite the high destruction rate of Swarm Meteors in the past, their mission of establishing network nodes had been quite successful.

Now, in the void outside the Genesis Star System, thousands of network node units were scattered every light year, expanding the Swarm Network’s coverage.

These node units came in two versions. The first generation, equipped with eco-circulation systems, was bulkier, limiting the number of units each Swarm Meteor could carry.

Later, after assimilating genetic templates from atmospheric organisms, the Swarm developed a second-generation node. These upgraded nodes could directly absorb radiation to sustain themselves, eliminating the need for eco-circulation systems. This drastically reduced their size and allowed each Swarm Meteor to carry several times more nodes.

As a result, while the first-generation nodes had been launched decades earlier, the second-generation nodes now far outnumbered them in space.

Of course, the electromagnetic launch platform wasn’t limited to launching meteors—it could also serve as a powerful weapon. Its projectiles packed devastating power, capable of obliterating satellites the size of Yellow Moon or Red Moon with a single shot.

This was, however, merely Luo Wen’s estimation. He hadn’t actually tested it.

Despite its immense firepower, the superweapon platform faced limitations. It was practically useless unless an enemy attacked the Genesis Star System directly.

Even if an enemy were just outside the star system, the platform’s projectile speed meant it would take at least an hour to hit its target. Any moderately advanced opponent could easily evade it.

Thus, the platform’s utility was confined to engagements near Planet A8 or A9.

Fortunately, this megastructure was also a superorganism, giving it exceptional adaptability. As Swarm technology advanced, it might one day be equipped with propulsion systems for rapid movement, granting it true combat potential.

For now, however, adding propulsion modules wouldn’t suffice. Moving such a colossal structure would require immense energy. Without Planet A7’s radiation acting as a giant charging station, the platform wouldn’t travel far before exhausting its energy—let alone firing its projectiles, which consumed vast amounts of power.

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