I Am The Swarm

Due to Bular’s limited authority, he was unable to make any decisions on his own. Whenever disputes arose during negotiations, he had to seek approval from his superiors.

Adding to the delays, the recognition process for the operations room was exceptionally complicated and time-consuming. On top of that, it seemed even the Troi civilization couldn’t make decisions on certain matters without further consultation with higher authorities.

Thus, while the final agreements were relatively few, the process took an inordinate amount of time.

The second reason for the lengthy negotiations was that the Troi civilization and the Swarm signed several agreements outside the framework of the Confederation.

The Swarm’s territory was located at the far edge of the Interstellar Technological Confederation’s sphere of influence. Four star systems—Sandstorm, Golden Horn, White Grub, and Red Ant—either directly bordered Confederation members’ territories or were separated by one or two systems. There was also a stretch of unclaimed star systems between them.

The Troi civilization’s primary interest lay in these unclaimed systems. While they were a dominant force in the Outer Ring, there were several civilizations in the Outer Ring with comparable strength, not to mention the even more powerful civilizations in the Inner Circle and the Middle Ring.

Over the years, conflicts with rival civilizations—often instigated by the New Ji Race—had created numerous enemies but also fostered alliances, including partnerships with a few native civilizations previously invited to join the Confederation. These native civilizations formed a small coalition led by the Troi civilization.

The unclaimed star systems near the Swarm’s borders, while unrelated to the Troi civilization itself, bordered its allied native civilizations and faced no other competition. The original plan was for these native civilizations to occupy the systems, with the Troi civilization stepping in to secure a significant share of the resources.

However, the Swarm’s sudden emergence and rapid development over the past few centuries disrupted these plans. To be precise, the Swarm’s explosive expansion began only a few decades ago, coinciding with the upgrade of the Swarm Network and the confirmation of the Watchers’ identity.

In just a few decades, the Sandstorm, Golden Horn, White Grub, and Red Ant star systems had become well-established Swarm territories. While not impenetrable, these systems were so fortified that few Outer Ring civilizations could claim to match the Swarm’s military strength in even a single star system.

If competition proceeded fairly, those native civilizations stood no chance against the Swarm. Given the Swarm’s rapid pace of expansion, it was likely that within another decade or two, their reach would extend to the unclaimed star systems. This would render the Troi civilization’s centuries-long plans futile—an outcome they could not accept.

As a result, the Troi civilization sought assurances that the Swarm would refrain from expanding toward the Inner Circle, focusing instead on consolidating their territories in the Sandstorm, Golden Horn, White Grub, and Red Ant systems.

The Swarm’s response to this request was indifferent. Luo Wen himself had no strong desire to expand in that direction.

Maintaining a buffer zone between the Swarm and Confederation members meant it would take at least a century, if not several centuries, for those civilizations to expand outward. Given their current capabilities, colonizing outer star systems remained a formidable challenge.

The current situation was fraught with intrigue. The attitudes of the New Ji Race and other civilizations hinted at various conspiracies. Luo Wen, however, felt somewhat passive in response due to a severe lack of intelligence.

Of the Confederation’s more than 200 civilizations, Luo Wen was only familiar with a handful, and even then, his understanding was shallow. Gathering detailed information on the relationships and characteristics of these civilizations was an urgent priority.

For now, the Swarm needed to lower its profile. While the conflict with the Daqi civilization seemed unavoidable—an irreconcilable clash, given their history—the scale of any resulting war would likely remain limited due to the Daqi’s relative strength.

Avoiding larger-scale conflicts was essential to prevent the Swarm from becoming the focal point of attention among the Confederation’s many powers.

Reaching an agreement with the Troi civilization allowed the Swarm to foster relationships with other civilizations. While such friendships were inherently unreliable, Luo Wen valued the time they afforded. With this breathing room, Luo Wen could focus on gathering intelligence and devising plans at a more deliberate pace.

Moreover, abstaining from Inner Circle expansion wasn’t entirely without benefit. The Troi civilization agreed to compensate the Swarm with rare resources and a quantum communication device, along with some related theoretical research for the Swarm’s study.

While quantum communication devices were tightly regulated, they were merely mass-produced items for the Ji Race. Once the Swarm joined the Confederation, they would receive at least five of these devices for internal communication within the Confederation. However, these devices would be heavily monitored, with even their transmissions potentially surveilled, and—most critically—they were designed to prevent dismantling and reverse engineering.

The devices provided by the Troi civilization didn’t have such restrictions. Over the years, the Troi civilization had acquired numerous devices from the Ji Race. While all were nominally under strict control, they had devised various “legitimate” methods to lose a few along the way.

By dismantling and reverse-engineering these missing devices, the Troi civilization had developed a wealth of mature theoretical knowledge. Even so, every lost device remained a precious asset to them. Trading one to the Swarm was, in their eyes, a monumental sacrifice.

For the Swarm, however, such a device was of little importance. Yet Luo Wen understood that diversifying their technology base was always beneficial. Additionally, the Swarm needed an overt communication system to conceal the existence of the Swarm Network.

The Troi civilization’s offer perfectly aligned with Luo Wen’s goals. By creating a false lead, anyone investigating the Swarm’s communication methods in the future would likely trace the trail back to this transaction and draw incorrect conclusions.

As for whether this might implicate the Troi civilization, Luo Wen felt no guilt. After all, it was simply a trade, wasn’t it?

As for the actual concessions made by the Swarm, Luo Wen believed they were minimal. Beyond the Sandstorm, Golden Horn, White Grub, and Red Ant systems, the Swarm still had the Earth River and Black God systems to expand into.

The Swarm’s territory lay on the outer side of the second arm of the spiral galaxy. Beyond it were numerous unclaimed star systems ripe for development, and even the possibility of crossing the vast void between the arms to reach the third arm, which contained even more star systems.

Thus, the Swarm’s next focus was outward expansion, increasing its strategic depth and bolstering its overall strength. At the same time, covert teams would be dispatched to the third arm to establish new outposts.

Although the distance between the second and third arms was considerable—estimated by the Intelligent Entities to be over 6,000 light-years—the Swarm was no longer what it once was. With the advantage of its long-lived members, this distance posed little challenge as long as sufficient time was available.

Luo Wen calculated that if the Swarm could secure 2,000 years of buffer time, it would have no problem facing the entire Interstellar Technological Confederation head-on.

Two thousand years might not seem long for a civilization that had reached the interstellar stage, but Luo Wen was certain that their enemies would not grant the Swarm such an extended reprieve.

This often led Luo Wen to lament. If only he hadn’t overslept back then, if he had awoken just a few million years earlier, wouldn’t the Ji Race have been a non-issue by now?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!