I Am The Swarm

Once everything was ready, Empress Kerrigan issued the command, and the rocket launch countdown began.

Ten seconds later, amidst billowing smoke, the rocket—resembling a cluster grenade—spewed flames as it shot toward the sky.

The rocket steadily gained altitude. Its bundled secondary boosters, grouped in sets of four, detached from the main body once their fuel was depleted.

Perhaps due to the rocket’s overly unique design and significant air resistance, Luo Wen experienced violent vibrations while confined in the cargo bay at the rocket’s nose. The ride was exceedingly uncomfortable. Were it not for his resilient body, he might have been smashed to pulp within the cramped confines.

Fortunately, the rocket’s speed was commendable. After twenty minutes, utilizing a total of three sets of twelve secondary boosters, it successfully exited the atmosphere.

The rocket then employed another set of boosters to reach planetary orbit. The boosters shut down as the rocket was captured by the planet’s gravity.

This planet had two moons, both similar in size and mass. The yellow-white moon appeared larger than the red-white one due to its closer proximity. Luo Wen’s target this time was the yellow moon. After several failed attempts, the rat folk had calculated a precise and feasible landing trajectory through meticulous computations.

The rocket remained in orbit for more than ten hours, circling half the planet. Then, the boosters reignited, propelling the rocket onto a lunar-bound trajectory.

The next two days were uneventful. Luo Wen spent this time in idle stasis, sparing himself the misery of enduring the cramped space.

“Vitals of the test subject are normal, but signs of low activity suggest potential injuries from severe vibrations during atmospheric exit,” a uniformed female rat folk reported to Morgan while monitoring the instruments.

Empress Kerrigan had left shortly after the rocket exited the atmosphere. Now, Morgan, the director of the Imperial Space Research Institute, was overseeing operations.

Morgan was well aware of the test subject’s nature. It was undoubtedly one of the Swarm Overlord’s specially engineered bodies. Morgan also knew about the Overlord’s experiments in private laboratories, and this body was likely one of the results. This mission served to test its performance in space.

Two days later, through Morgan’s perspective, Luo Wen learned that the rocket was approaching the yellow moon’s orbit. In three hours, it would collide with the yellow moon.

Yes, collide. With no atmosphere on the yellow moon to slow descent, the rocket’s impact would be direct and unmitigated. This meant Luo Wen was in for a hard-core landing.

As the rocket approached, tension mounted in the control center. The rat folk responsible for monitoring data didn’t dare blink.

The rocket, now with only four secondary boosters left, was running out of fuel. Thirty minutes before impact, the last four boosters exhausted their fuel and began detachment procedures.

The metal framework securing the boosters to the rocket was remotely unlocked.

This 1+32 configuration was being used for the first time, and this was also the first time a rat folk spacecraft had traveled this far. Inevitably, a malfunction occurred.

One of the secondary boosters failed to eject properly due to a malfunction in its release mechanism. As a result, it collided with the rocket’s main body during separation, damaging the rocket’s engine base.

In the ground control center, piercing alarms blared. Observation devices showed damage to the rocket’s engine on the right side, though the extent was unclear.

Shortly thereafter, black smoke began billowing from the rocket’s base. After limping along for several more minutes, the engine exploded, followed by the fuel tank.

The rocket’s nose, along with the cargo bay, was blasted away from the plume of smoke, veering off its planned trajectory.

Panic erupted among the rat folk as they frantically recalculated the trajectory.

Luo Wen recalled an old adage from a wise man: “Ugly weapons are usually unreliable.” Thinking back to the rocket’s cluster grenade-like design, he realized why he’d doubted its reliability from the beginning.

Given its catastrophically ugly design, an accident seemed almost inevitable. Luo Wen was speechless. His body was now tumbling and spiraling through deep space, potentially destined to become a mere speck of decoration in the cosmic void.

However, he could always self-destruct his body and regenerate back on the planet, so losing one insect form wasn’t a major issue. The real problem was the lengthy delay for another lunar mission, and the bitterness of seeing his long-awaited hopes dashed.

Time ticked away. After intense calculations, the rat folk gathered new information.

“Overlord, are you still there?” Morgan asked.

“What’s the situation?” Luo Wen’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Overlord, the outlook is grim.”

Luo Wen had anticipated this outcome. It seemed another delay was inevitable.

“However, there’s still a chance to salvage the situation,” Morgan added after a pause.

Luo Wen was momentarily irritated, suspecting Morgan was deliberately being cryptic, though he had no proof. Perhaps he could just dig into Morgan’s mind to find out.

“The rocket’s nose and cargo bay will be captured by the yellow moon’s gravity in ten minutes, entering its orbit,” Morgan quickly continued, sensing Luo Wen’s ominous thoughts.

But before Luo Wen could relax, Morgan added, “However, although the rocket’s propulsion system was destroyed, its initial speed was too high. With minimal resistance in space, it will exceed the escape velocity of the yellow moon after being captured, remaining in orbit for thirty-four minutes before being flung into deep space.”

Luo Wen became serious, understanding the gravity of Morgan’s statement.

“So, I need to control the insect form to detach from the rocket within this thirty-four-minute window?”

“Yes, Overlord.”

“What are your suggestions?”

“There are two options. First, after detaching from the rocket, the insect form’s speed will be 3.5 km/s. You’ll need to decelerate to and maintain a speed of 2 km/s to stay in orbit. Then, at the right moment, accelerate to 2.5 km/s to leave orbit and head for the yellow moon.”

“And the second option?”

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