I Am The Swarm

The attendees’ eyes lit up. Dr. Balt’s explanation was straightforward, and everyone understood the implications.

Who wouldn’t want to live a few years longer? Especially for those in high positions of power, longevity was an irresistible temptation.

While the fruit’s actual problems went far beyond the “minor flaws” Dr. Balt casually mentioned, the allure of extended life would undoubtedly mobilize the entire civilization. With enough resources and effort, these “minor flaws” might indeed become trivial.

“Doctor, is there anything your research team still needs? Let us know, and we’ll make it happen as best we can,” General Masai said bluntly. He knew that dealing with scientists required a direct approach.

The subtext was clear: We’re deeply interested in this project. Request whatever resources you need to produce results as quickly as possible. Once you succeed, everything else can be negotiated.

For those stationed in the T85 Star System, this fruit represented an unprecedented opportunity. If they could independently develop something so valuable and unique, their influence within their civilization would grow immensely.

However, their fleet was a combat and frontier-expansion force. Its cargo was primarily weapons, space factories, and fortress components. The personnel were mostly soldiers, leaving limited room for researchers and precision instruments.

Moreover, the fleet had been assembled and constructed entirely in space. The delicate equipment essential for such research was manufactured on the Riken homeworld and wasn’t designed to endure the turbulence of atmospheric transport.

Dr. Balt, no superhuman, shook his head and said, “We lack specialized instruments and enough researchers in this field. With our current resources, it would be nearly impossible to achieve meaningful results quickly.”

Given time, progress might be made. While General Masai, still middle-aged, could afford to wait, older officers like Major General Porter likely couldn’t. They might not live to see the research bear fruit.

Now that they knew of the possibility of extending their lifespans, speed was paramount. To delay could lead to unrest; after all, Masai’s authority was not absolute. He was merely the most powerful leader in a loose coalition. If push came to shove, every member of this coalition had their own forces at their disposal.

If they sought help from the homeworld, the fleet would be reduced to mere suppliers of raw materials. Selling raw materials versus finished products were vastly different propositions.

While Masai was still deliberating, Dr. Balt spoke again. “General, I believe it’s too early to focus on potential results. Our immediate priority should be to confirm this plant’s growth environment and yield. If its numbers are substantial, we might be able to speed up research by rapidly accumulating experimental data.”

Masai realized the truth in Balt’s words. If the plant turned out to be rare, they wouldn’t even be able to supply raw materials.

The meeting concluded with consensus, and multiple teams were dispatched to further explore Godzilla’s lair.

If the Riken had meticulously searched the lair immediately after Godzilla’s death, they might not have found many life-extending plants. At that time, the plants had only recently been created and hadn’t grown much, even with accelerated cultivation. Without an insider’s guidance, discovery was uncertain.

But after several days, imperfections in the setup had been smoothed out. When the Riken teams returned, they found an abundant supply of the plants with little effort.

When General Masai received this news, his concerns eased, and he ordered the special forces to collect as many samples as possible.

Unbeknownst to the Riken, the plants had been deliberately enhanced by the Swarm. Hidden within their roots were spores of the fungal carpet, ready to be transported aboard Riken ships.

This roundabout method seemed needlessly convoluted, but Luo Wen had no better alternative. It was the most suitable plan he could devise.

The simplest solution would have been for Kaida to directly bring the spores back. With Lieutenant Colonel Cross covering for him, the risk of detection would have been almost nonexistent.

If this were solely a two-sided contest between the Swarm and the Riken, such a method would have been the most efficient and secure. But if a third-party observer existed, precautions had to be taken.

In a two-sided scenario, the Swarm could afford to act more overtly. But if external entities were involved, the Swarm, potentially a mere pawn, had to keep its capabilities as concealed as possible.

Even losing Kaida or Cross wouldn’t have been a major setback for the Swarm. The real question was why they were transporting fungal spores to a Riken ship. While the Riken wouldn’t uncover anything, a hypothetical observer might. Exposing any aspect of the Swarm’s abilities for such a trivial matter would be a grave mistake.

Hence, the Swarm needed to craft a plausible narrative to support its actions.

For instance, the story of Kaida leading the Riken to discover the life-extending plants was carefully constructed. From Cross’s capture and subsequent rescue to her promotion of the patrol captain who risked his life to protect her, every step was deliberate.

The chain of events continued: with the Swarm resuming hunting operations, Cross retaliated by assigning the special forces to drop a nuclear bomb. The blast attracted Godzilla, leading to its pursuit, lair exploration, and eventual discovery of the “treasure.”

This sequence of events was supported by orders from higher-ups, mission logs, and gunboat travel records, all of which could be corroborated.

Even if someone were to investigate further, Cross’s rise to captain, her involvement in this mission, and even her personal background—family, education, career—all followed a reasonable trajectory.

This was the hallmark of a successful story.

Luo Wen understood that if the fungal carpet were to appear on a Riken planet, its origins would be scrutinized. Observers would need to determine how it arrived, making direct transportation by an insider implausible.

But a well-constructed narrative? That could carry the day.

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