I Am The Swarm

During that period, the New Ji Race had declined to its lowest point, rendering it incapable of restricting all the alien races. Combined with the establishment of certain new regulations, it was impossible to return to the old ways.

Although the New Ji Race managed to suppress the Confederation through various means, their influence could no longer compare to the dominance of the progenitor Ji race.

The progenitor Ji race had once confined every alien civilization to its home star system, strictly forbidding expansion and stationing troops in those systems to monitor everything.

In contrast, the New Ji Race could no longer achieve such control. Initially, military authority was entirely under the jurisdiction of Lumina, and by the time the New Ji Race transitioned its mindset and took over the military, the alien races had already developed significantly.

Although the New Ji Race was still the most powerful force at that time, they could no longer station troops in alien home systems as before. While they continued to maintain garrisons, these were concentrated in specific star systems within the galaxy, rather than being as widespread as before.

According to Bular, the Ji garrison point nearest to the Swarm was nearly a hundred light-years away. Such a distance meant that any journey to the Swarm’s domain would require passing through numerous alien territories.

As for the monitoring devices, they were now mostly concentrated in newly emerging civilizations and unclaimed star systems. The older civilizations had already removed these devices, as no one wished to be under surveillance.

Bular even expressed great pride in this, stating that few civilizations in the Outer-ring could detect and eliminate these devices. The Troi Civilization was one of them.

Luo Wen directed Danton to feign confusion, questioning whether such actions would provoke retaliation from the Ji.

At first, Bular hesitated to answer. Only after Danton repeatedly pressed the issue, even hinting at complicating the negotiations, did Bular reluctantly reveal some information.

The New Ji Race consisted of researchers sent or, in some cases, “sold” by alien civilizations. These researchers were skilled and highly knowledgeable, capable of passing the Ji’s stringent evaluations. Compared to others, they were also relatively pure in thought.

This explained why the early days of the New Ji Race were chaotic—they were ill-suited for governance or the intricate power struggles between civilizations.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t this initial group of researchers whose mindset shifted. Over time, within the New Ji Race, the alien races intermingled, forming new lineages. Some species were hermaphroditic and could produce offspring without pairing.

These offspring, and the subsequent generations, were the true New Ji Race in the truest sense. Having never lived within their original civilizations, their mindset evolved naturally.

These descendants embraced their identity as members of the New Ji Race. With their early education emphasizing broader learning, not limited to scientific research, the New Ji Race eventually developed its own political and administrative personnel.

However, the New Ji Race’s “immigration” channels remained open, continually accepting alien researchers. This influx created persistent internal conflicts between the naturalized descendants and the first-generation immigrants.

Nevertheless, because the descendants’ behavior better aligned with the Ji’s interests, they received Lumina’s support at a policy level. Consequently, the newly immigrated researchers, who still yearned for their original civilizations, were constantly suppressed.

According to Bular, many researchers from native civilizations were later forcibly sent to the Ji by the New Ji Race’s methods. Among them were individuals filled with deep resentment. Over time, as their hatred grew, some even formed clandestine organizations in secret.

These groups aimed to overthrow the Ji’s rule and their imposed regulations, seeking to liberate all native civilizations from oppression. Their ideals were admirable, but without the Ji’s suppression of older alien civilizations, the fate of newer civilizations could be even worse.

Still, regardless of their motivations, their rhetoric found considerable support. However, such organizations were never tolerated by the descendants of the New Ji Race. When discovered, they were met with brutal suppression. Despite this, these resistance groups persisted for hundreds of thousands of years, surviving and thriving in secrecy.

This was an open secret. As long as these rebels didn’t openly reveal themselves or leave any traceable evidence, they continued to exist as part of the New Ji Race, protected by its rules.

So, the so-called New Ji Race can now be broadly divided into three major factions:

The descendants, whose mindsets have completely shifted and who embrace their New Ji Race identity.

The immigrants, who, while bearing the identity of the New Ji Race, still strongly identify with their original civilizations.

The rebels, who aim to overthrow Ji’s rule.

Among these, the first two factions operate openly under the light of day. The descendants, being the most aligned with the New Ji Race’s ideals, hold the largest power base. The immigrants, in contrast, wield significantly less influence. However, they often receive covert support from the rebels, as their goals overlap in some respects.

The true strength of the rebels remains a mystery. Their network is vast and diverse, and its members maintain legitimate identities in public life, some even belonging to the descendant faction.

Additionally, many smaller factions exist within the New Ji Race, each pursuing its own unique objectives and ideals. Upon hearing this, Luo Wen couldn’t help but marvel. This version of the Ji’s history differed somewhat from the accounts provided by the Daqi intelligent entities.

However, Luo Wen trusted Bular’s explanation more, as the Daqi civilization primarily studied official records, which often omitted discordant details.

Attacking Ji monitoring devices was, of course, prohibited. In the early days, such actions were even considered acts of war. However, as alien civilizations grew in strength and expanded their influence, coupled with internal factional conflicts within the Ji, the rules were eventually revised.

A civilization capable of detecting and accurately locating Ji monitoring devices would be regarded as having reached a certain threshold of strength. Upon proving this capability, the Ji would view them as deserving greater freedom and respect.

The Ji were then expected to voluntarily remove all concealed devices from that civilization’s territory, replacing them with standard observation equipment.

The quantity, placement, and scale of such observation devices, as well as the type of data collected, would be negotiated between the Ji and the civilization and jointly supervised by both parties.

As a result, the Ji no longer cared as much about their monitoring devices as they once did. With garrisons stationed far away and inspections challenging to enforce, the loss of a few monitors was no longer considered significant.

However, Bular cautioned that attacking the signal relay stations was strictly prohibited. Accidentally destroying a single monitor might be excusable, but targeting a relay station was seen as crossing the line.

Of course, having someone within the Ji to advocate on one’s behalf would make things much safer. Bular subtly suggested that the Swarm consider joining their alliance to gain protection.

Danton did not outright reject the proposal but stated that he would report it to his superiors.

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