I Am The Swarm

To seek answers to his questions, the Swarm accelerated its pace of expansion. The bases of the Swarm began to extend toward the coastal landmasses.

Simultaneously, the Swarm started establishing a presence on various islands. Brood Queen eggs were escorted to remote and uninhabited islands, where the Swarm even discovered several flying species. After a series of operations, their genetic samples were obtained.

With the addition of an “air force,” the Swarm’s reconnaissance capabilities evolved from 2D to 3D. The planet’s true nature began to gradually unfold before the Swarm.

Skipping the traditional step of landing and advancing from the seas to the land, the Swarm initiated aerial reconnaissance of the native intelligent species’ civilization. Coastal ports, military bases, cities, various buildings, infrastructure, and vehicles—all appeared antiquated and primitive. There was no trace of a higher civilization to be found.

When Luo Wen looked up at the sky, the planet’s day-night cycle appeared unusual. A massive blue-gray planet dominated half the sky, while a distant sun hung high above the horizon.

However, there were no signs of large-scale artificial structures in the planet’s orbit. There were no starports or spacecraft traveling between planets.

Seeing seabirds appear in the inland areas seemed somewhat incongruous, but with the Swarm now boasting a fully integrated air-and-ground reconnaissance system, capturing a few birds was a trivial task.

Thus, the Swarm continued its steady expansion inland, seamlessly switching to organisms adapted to the local ecosystem. Brood Queen eggs were also airlifted into these regions.

Time passed, and it seemed the wormhole had been disrupted by the previous intrusion of the flesh pod. The scheduled reopening, originally set for fifteen months later, showed no activity.