I Am The Swarm

The Storm Gods—aerial motherships with unparalleled mobility and transport capabilities—had enabled the swarm to take bold strides forward. However, the pace of expansion had far exceeded the swarm’s troop reserves, making it impossible to simultaneously establish bases across the continent. Fortunately, the swarm’s agility meant that no base required a standing force of millions as before.

Each location needed only a juvenile Brood Queen, a fungal carpet seed, and a small contingent of auxiliary units. Given time, a swarm base would gradually take shape.

Even in the face of insurmountable threats, as long as the base could hold out briefly, the airbases constructed with higher priority could quickly deploy reinforcements to the troubled area.

At worst, retaliation was always an option.

Gradually, the bases began to develop and expand, radiating their influence outward.

One apex predator after another, such as the T-Rex, was located, surrounded, and hunted down. These massive creatures, with their voracious appetites, were no longer needed in the swarm’s territory. Initially, they had been left alone to maintain ecological balance, but that was no longer necessary.

As time passed, the swarm, now unrivaled on land, began to extend its reach into the ocean. Luo Wen already had genetic templates for various marine organisms, such as crabs, prawns, and mantis shrimp.

During the conquest of the land, he had also acquired numerous aquatic genes, including those of carnivorous fish and crocodiles. Although many were freshwater species, Luo Wen’s mastery of genetic modification allowed him to adapt them to survive and thrive in saltwater environments.

With its exceptional logistics and resource-gathering capabilities, combined with a diverse array of specialized units, the swarm gradually occupied the coastal shallows around the continent.

Even the sunless deep ocean was not beyond the swarm’s reach. Exploration teams were dispatched to these depths, where vision was less effective but echolocation—adapted from bat abilities—proved invaluable. This unique adaptation shone underwater, enabling the swarm to extend its territory further into the deep sea.

Although the swarm’s numbers were significantly smaller than before Luo Wen’s long slumber, its occupied territory had expanded severalfold. With everything running smoothly, Luo Wen found himself growing increasingly idle and bored.

In the following days, Luo Wen wandered aimlessly across the swarm’s vast domain. Sometimes, he would climb to the peaks of towering mountains to watch the sunrise. Other times, he would sit on a sandy beach, gazing at the moonlight reflecting on the waves.

His wanderings, however, were not without purpose. Despite the swarm’s advanced transportation system and the fact that Luo Wen had already collected most of the planet’s genetic material, certain organisms and plants were difficult to preserve. Now that circumstances allowed, Luo Wen preferred to sample them fresh.

Years passed in the blink of an eye. Luo Wen had experienced nearly everything this planet had to offer. Apart from the unexplored depths of the ocean, he had traversed most of the planet’s surface.

Yet, with time, a growing sense of loneliness gnawed at him. The vastness of the planet felt like a gilded cage—a cage nonetheless.

Lying on a fine, soft beach, the salty sea breeze brushing his face, Luo Wen gazed up at the starlit sky. Above him, two moons glowed amid countless sparkling stars.

This planet, untouched by pollution, offered an astonishingly clear view of the night sky. Ever since the first time he had admired the celestial panorama by the sea, stargazing had become one of Luo Wen’s favorite pastimes.

Looking at the dazzling stars, he often wondered: Where was this place? Was one of those distant lights Earth? Were there aliens out there? If he could return to Earth, would he now be considered an alien himself?

Such thoughts often brought a lump to his throat.

Soon, his thoughts shifted. Now that he had essentially mastered this planet, with an unknown lifespan ahead, how should he spend the endless years? Could he truly live out his days as the “planetary lord”?

If so, how would he endure the boundless stretches of time?

He recalled an old adage from his previous life: “Our journey lies among the stars and the seas.” Perhaps he could set his sights beyond this world.

But was that even possible?

Luo Wen, though lacking astronomical knowledge, knew enough to understand how hostile outer space was to life. The vacuum, extreme cold, and relentless radiation were more than enough to obliterate any living being. Ṝᴀɴọ𐌱ËⱾ

Moreover, even contemplating such ambitions was premature—he had no idea how to reach outer space. The Storm Gods had a maximum flight altitude of less than 20,000 meters. Using them to breach the atmosphere was nothing short of a fantasy.

As for relying on his evolutionary talent to develop such capabilities, the time required was incalculable. His talent wasn’t omnipotent; it merely accelerated evolution.

The specialized abilities of a species usually required tens of thousands, even millions of years to evolve. Even if Luo Wen shortened this timespan by a thousand or ten thousand times, the effort required would still be daunting.

This was why Luo Wen often practiced what he called “the doctrine of borrowing.” Many biological abilities were the result of eons of refinement—proven and perfected. If ready-made solutions were available, why reinvent the wheel?

For example, species with low offensive capabilities often evolved defensive traits. Hardened carapaces were the most common, but regenerative abilities and toxins were also defensive adaptations. Predatory species, on the other hand, always had sharp fangs and claws.

The Iphieash’s strength lay in its ability to absorb such genes, combine them, and enhance both offense and defense—then improve further from that baseline.

However, evolving spacefaring capabilities from scratch? Luo Wen had never heard of a creature achieving such a feat. Attempting it himself was not only time-consuming but might even prove impossible.

Nevertheless, he had noticed during some of his genetic experiments that understanding specific theories could make it easier to acquire or derive certain abilities.

For instance, he had extensively used toxin sacs in the past and was familiar with their mechanics. This familiarity allowed him to refine and miniaturize the sacs, integrating them into the legs of the Spider Combat Bugs with ease.

Perhaps if he had learned rocket science in his previous life, he might now be able to accelerate the genetic evolution needed for space exploration.

In his former life, he had indeed built rockets—and even spacecraft—but only in video games. Gathering resources, clicking “build,” and waiting for a progress bar to fill was his entire process. The finished product would then appear magically before him.

He knew nothing of the underlying principles.

Reality wasn’t a game, and such shortcuts were impossible.

Here, there was no Baidu, no libraries, and no books or research materials. Even if Luo Wen wanted to become self-taught, he had no means to do so. And expecting him to independently discover and develop those theoretical frameworks? That was laughably optimistic.

Those theories represented the collective efforts of entire civilizations, billions of people, and centuries of work.

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