I Am The Swarm

Time flew by. Although the attempt to land on A7 was unsuccessful, the missions on its many moons, excluding the A7B5 satellite, were all executed smoothly.

Dozens of Swarm Bases were established, and many smaller moons were now shrouded in the characteristic purplish-gray fungal carpet.

Even the landing operation on A7B5 was technically a success, though it encountered a small but unexpected incident during the descent and subsequent development.

The Spore Capsule, during its descent, was attacked by an unknown lifeform. This brought Luo Wen immense excitement—his genetic database hadn’t been updated in a long time.

A7B5, the fifth “satellite” of A7, was the largest among its moons. Though it was A7’s subordinate, its sheer size and mass made it a behemoth. It accounted for over 80% of the total mass of A7’s satellite system, making it only slightly smaller than the Genesis Planet.

From its orbital path, one could see a thick atmosphere enveloping its spherical body, with clear outlines of land and oceans visible on the surface.

If not for the atmosphere’s high concentration of toxic gases and the relatively low temperatures, it might have nurtured life forms similar to those on the Genesis Planet.

Yet life’s evolution often defies expectations. While A7B5’s environment didn’t produce Earth-like life, it gave rise to a different, unique kind of life.

As the Spore Capsule passed A7B5’s orbit and entered its atmosphere, the composition of the air—remarkably similar to that of the Genesis Planet—caused the capsule’s meteoric shell to heat up due to friction, glowing red like a fireball descending toward the surface.

A7B5’s atmosphere, though similar in composition to Genesis Planet’s, was denser and more viscous, with the addition of toxic gases.

The capsule’s braking system required minimal thrust to drastically reduce its speed. The friction-heated front cooled down, and the meteoric shell returned to its normal coloration.

Suddenly, a nearby white cloud came to life.

The movement revealed its true nature. It resembled an abstract, enormous octopus or jellyfish, stretching 30 to 40 meters in length. With a massive head and countless elongated, cloud-like tendrils trailing behind, it dwarfed the Spore Capsule.

The now-living white cloud seemed to mistake the capsule for food. Despite its massive size, the creature was surprisingly agile. Even though the Spore Capsule was traveling at approximately 2,000 kilometers per hour—slow by space standards—this cloud entity confidently pursued it.

The creature’s body was incredibly soft and pliable. Contracting its body and flexing its tendrils, it suddenly propelled itself forward with explosive force, mimicking an octopus swimming in water. However, instead of water, it swam through the air, with its cloudy form emitting rhythmic, blue, arc-shaped electrical discharges.

Luo Wen and the team of intelligent entities, witnessing this scene through shared vision, were momentarily stunned. The white cloud organism, wingless, moved by “swimming” and steadily closed the gap with the Spore Capsule.

Its seemingly fluffy, cloud-like form showed no signs of dispersing, even at such high speeds. Its enormous head resembled a giant cotton candy puff, accented by the glow of blue electrical arcs—an endearing sight from afar.

However, as it neared and its immense size became apparent, the sense of oppression erased any semblance of cuteness.

Nature often provides examples of such phenomena: a pet pig can be adorable, but a wild boar is terrifying. Similarly, tiny insects might be charming, but larger ones are horrifying.

The “cute” giant took no time to demonstrate its true nature. It made no attempt to slow down, relying on its speed advantage as it streaked past the Spore Capsule, its dozens of glowing tendrils coiling toward the capsule’s meteoric shell.

Strangely, the cloud-like tendrils, appearing weightless and insubstantial, adhered to the shell.

The creature abruptly halted, tightening its tendrils as blue arcs intensified in brilliance. However, it had clearly overestimated its strength. The capsule barely decelerated before breaking free and continuing its descent.

As it disentangled itself, several tendrils were torn off, spilling transparent fluid. These severed tendrils vanished in an instant, their destination unknown.

The white cloud emitted a silent roar, its entire body glowing brighter with electrical arcs, accompanied by a faint hum. It surged forward again, catching up to the Spore Capsule within moments and entangling it once more.

The process repeated: the creature halted, the tendrils tightened, and then they were ripped apart.

However, this time, the capsule’s speed dropped more significantly, reducing its velocity to approximately 1,500 kilometers per hour.

The creature’s repeated attempts had cut the capsule’s speed nearly in half. Luo Wen noted that with the considerable distance remaining to the surface, the likelihood of the cloud entity succeeding in fully stopping the capsule was high.

Though its intentions were unclear, the creature’s actions were unlikely to be friendly. Luo Wen needed to find a solution before the entity completely subdued the capsule.

The team of intelligent entities began a frantic discussion. This novel lifeform was a first encounter for everyone, and with limited data, their speculations were tentative at best.

Time was running out. The white cloud entity was already making a third attempt, preparing to grapple the Spore Capsule once again.

The preliminary hypothesis suggested that the creature was an exceptionally low-density organism, enabling it to navigate air as if it were water. To the entity, the atmosphere was its ocean.

The blue arcs emitted from its body likely signified an electromagnetic field, which it used for propulsion.

Despite its size and behavior, the Spore Capsule was almost certainly not a part of its natural diet. Survival couldn’t hinge on consuming falling meteors.

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