I Am The Swarm

The Swarm’s node units, camouflaged in the exteriors of native marine creatures, had little need to remain hidden while aboard the ship. If discovered, they were either casually stepped on or thrown back into the sea, raising no suspicions.

Behind these reconnaissance units, Luo Wen had already assembled a specialized team of intelligent entities. The Swarm was no longer the fledgling force it had been when it first encountered the Rikens. It had now accumulated considerable experience in deciphering the languages and scripts of alien races.

By observing and recording the conversations between the native crew members, the Swarm steadily expanded its vocabulary of the natives’ language.

In the crew’s quarters, the Recon Bugs discovered numerous books. Judging from the illustrated covers, these books were unlikely to provide much insight into the native species’ history. However, the Swarm’s primary focus was on decoding their written language. Although progress was slow without a direct point of reference, it was better than making no progress at all.

The ship’s machinery also became a focal point of the Swarm’s study. From these machines, Luo Wen could not detect any traces of an advanced civilization. The ship relied on primitive fossil fuels for energy, with an antiquated design where a boiler generated steam to drive a main turbine.

Such a rudimentary combination was not only far below the level of the Rikens but even inferior to that of the Rat Folk civilization.

Although Luo Wen couldn’t draw broad conclusions based solely on this observation, the accumulating evidence began to shape his thoughts.

The Swarm’s expansion proceeded at an accelerating pace, with several ocean-going vessels being infiltrated each day. With more materials for comparison, progress in decoding the natives’ written and spoken language advanced rapidly. Soon, the Swarm could roughly understand conversations between the natives.

Although the discussions aboard the deep-sea vessels rarely touched on anything of substantial value, the Swarm managed to extract some interesting tidbits from the scattered information.

“Stop slacking off! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest! We’ve still got to work overtime tonight!” barked a native supervisor as he patrolled and directed the crew.

“Boss, the guys have been working seventeen or eighteen hours a day for the past few days. We just can’t hold out anymore,” one crew member complained.

They were tasked with sorting and storing the seafood caught the previous night into cold storage. Some of it even required light steaming before it could be stored, adding to the complexity of the task, often keeping them busy late into the night.

“Yeah, so hurry up now! The faster you finish, the longer you can rest, and the easier tonight will be,” the supervisor snapped.

“Boss, we’ve been doing this for over ten days straight. If this keeps up, something bad’s going to happen,” another crew member added.

“That’s right, boss. You’ve got to talk to the captain. We can’t keep this up. He’s treating us like we’re not even Botian,” someone chimed in.

“Exactly! Before we set sail, I thought I’d signed up for a job. Turns out I signed up to risk my life!” The crew voiced their frustrations collectively.

“Shut it! I know what’s going on, but this arrangement is for your own good!” the supervisor yelled in response.

“Boss, you can’t fool us with that! How is this madness for our own good?” The crew members were clearly unconvinced by the supervisor’s explanation.

“You lot don’t know anything! Haven’t you noticed how the defense forces at the wormhole base have been acting crazy these past few days, constantly deploying?”

“Now that you mention it, it has been strange. This is the first time I’ve seen those Mecha Warriors up close,” one of the crew remarked.

“Same here. But what’s that got to do with us working eighteen hours a day?” another crew member questioned.

“You’ve never had the chance to see those Mecha Warriors up close before, have you? There’s a big story behind all this,” the supervisor began, his tone mysterious.

“Boss, stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us!” The workers dropped what they were doing and crowded around him, eager to hear more.

Of course, they were more interested in sneaking in a break than in hearing a story. The supervisor knew it well. Even he, whose job was merely to oversee and shout orders, was utterly exhausted in recent days, let alone the crew, who had been working tirelessly.

He understood that if the resentment kept building, trouble would inevitably follow. Better to be transparent and give them a moment to rest.

“Hmph, you all know that every so often, the wormhole opens and spits out a monster, right?”

“Boss, of course, we know that! Tell us something we don’t—” One of the crew began to retort but was quickly silenced by a nearby colleague, who covered his mouth and pulled him back.

Everyone had come here to rest; they’d much rather have the boss start from the origins of their species and drag the story on for days if possible. Some workers were already yawning and preparing to sneak in a nap.

The supervisor didn’t pay any attention to their small antics. He continued at his own measured pace. “Every time the wormhole is about to open, the defense base locks down a vast area of the sea. At that time, there’s no work for us.”

The crew were paid daily wages—no work meant no pay, and taking a break only meant dipping into their savings.

“We know all this already, boss—” Another worker started, but he too was pulled away. However, this time, someone dared to ask, “Boss, what’s the point of bringing this up? We just got back from a break.”

This one wasn’t dragged away because, truthfully, everyone was curious about what was coming next.

“You don’t know a thing!” the supervisor retorted. “This time, after the wormhole opened, the Mecha Warriors successfully dealt with the monster. But not long after, the wormhole opened again. However, this time, no monster came out—or if it did, the defense forces didn’t find it.”

“What? What does that mean? Are we in danger?” one of the workers exclaimed. Concerned for their safety, even the crew members who had been dozing off were suddenly alert.

“Whether you’re in danger or not, I can’t say. But I do know this—if you don’t keep working, your savings will run dry soon. That’s why, at my request, the captain decided to make the most of the defense forces’ current confusion by keeping us out at sea to fish as much as possible. At any moment, we might be ordered to return to port. When that happens, the thickness of your savings will depend entirely on what we’ve managed to catch these past few days.”

“Are you serious? You’re not just making this up, are you?” Some of the crew were skeptical.

“Believe it or not, it’s the truth! This came directly from the captain. And you all know the captain’s connections, don’t you? His sister-in-law’s fiancé’s aunt’s lover’s nephew works at the defense base. That’s firsthand information!”

Though the source of the news was convoluted, the crew chose to believe it. After all, the captain had never pushed them this hard before. With this in mind, they resumed work with a bit more effort—not for the captain, but for themselves. The supervisor felt gratified by this change in attitude.

Meanwhile, Luo Wen, through the Recon Bugs hidden aboard the ship, recorded the entire conversation and gleaned several key pieces of information.

A wormhole that opens periodically? Monsters? And Mecha Warriors? The general outline of the situation began to take shape in Luo Wen’s mind. Could it be that these natives truly weren’t an advanced civilization? Was it possible that such wormholes existed naturally in the universe?

The idea unsettled Luo Wen. If such wormholes were indeed natural phenomena, it challenged much of what he understood about the cosmos.

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