I Am The Swarm-Chapter 674: Speculations

The Confederation fleet had already been taken over by the Swarm forces, so there was no need to send another Primordial body. Moreover, their numbers were so small that among the hundreds of millions of ships in the Confederation fleet, they wouldn’t even make a ripple. If their purpose was to maintain order, they would be utterly ineffective.

During this period of close contact, the Confederation races had witnessed the Swarm’s efficiency and execution firsthand. Even the most biased among them wouldn’t believe that the Swarm would do something meaningless.

In a virtual conference room, the high-ranking officials and advisors of the Confederation races gathered. The Swarm hadn’t revoked their permissions or overly restricted their freedom, allowing them to continue holding these immersive virtual meetings to stay connected.

“It seems our recent actions have provoked a response from the Swarm. This incoming unit doesn’t seem friendly.”

“Hmph, I think you’re just digging your own graves. The Swarm shows no mercy to those who break the rules.”

“Not necessarily. You should have noticed by now that the units on our ships are just biochemical constructs. Even the few humanoid units are nothing more than mouthpieces. Without specific commands, they can only execute fixed programs, much like our own intelligent robots. These mindless entities naturally follow the rules strictly.”

“Ultimately, it’s still the Swarm pulling the strings behind the scenes. Even if these biochemical units lack autonomy, if they were to do something excessive, the Swarm could easily stop them if they deemed it wrong.”

“Exactly. Just like how my intelligent robots wouldn’t dare offend any of you, they are extensions of our will. The same goes for those biochemical units. So, their behavior reflects the Swarm’s attitude toward us.”

“But if that’s the case, I’m a bit confused. The Swarm seems completely indifferent to our survival, yet they don’t mistreat us. In fact, they’ve been quite generous. If it weren’t for the warnings when we approach certain areas, I’d almost forget I’m a prisoner.”

“Same here. If I were the Swarm, at the very least, I wouldn’t allow us to continue holding these meetings.”

“Don’t rush to conclusions. Maybe we’ll soon find out what they’re really up to.”

“Right. That octopus ship formation has over a 90% chance of carrying real Swarm members. Their arrival will undoubtedly reveal their intentions, and then we’ll know what the Swarm truly wants.”

“Let’s hope they don’t give us a hard time.”

“Just be careful not to cross their red lines. I’ve noticed that as long as we don’t provoke them, they’re relatively easy to deal with.”

“While that’s true, I don’t want this kind of relationship. No matter how lenient the environment, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re prisoners.”

“Exactly. And this war has been frustrating. We were so close to victory, and now this sudden shift in status is hard for many to accept.”

“Although it’s hard to admit, we were just one step away from winning.”

“By now, we can pretty much rule out the possibility that the Swarm used some kind of point-to-point teleportation device to transport their units onto our ships. That leaves only one possibility.”

“There was only ever one possibility. The Swarm may have a heritage from an advanced civilization, but let’s not mythologize them too much. Even the Ji are probably several levels away from achieving individual point-to-point teleportation.”

“Who knows? The Ji’s reach is too vast. Even their elders might not fully understand how far they’ve advanced.”

“Gentlemen, let’s not forget our current status. We’re in no position to discuss irrelevant matters here.” A high-ranking official from one of the Confederation races cut in, reminding everyone that this virtual conference room was likely under Ji surveillance. Their priority was to be rescued by the Confederation, and if a few careless words offended the Ji, delaying their rescue, it would be a grave mistake.

“Hmph, anyway, the Swarm must have infiltrated our ships through extremely small units, just as we speculated. The more I think about it, the more frustrating it is.”

“True. This method has significant flaws. Their initial units must have been extremely weak when they first infiltrated. If we had discovered them earlier, we could have easily eliminated them and wouldn’t have ended up in this situation despite having such a significant advantage.”

“What’s the point of saying all this now? Where were all the strategists and advisors earlier?”

“Don’t put it that way. The Swarm’s civilization and technological path are too unique, and we know too little about them. At least now, they’ve revealed another secret.”

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“Exposing one secret in exchange for billions of troops—what a bargain.”

“Sigh, I have some secrets too…”

“Enough! If you’re so resentful, why not order a full barrage on that octopus ship formation? The Swarm may have locked you out of the weapon systems, but I’m sure with some effort, you could bypass that. Destroying that formation would at least take out a few intelligent Swarm members and give us some satisfaction.”

“Hmph, let’s keep that kind of talk to ourselves. I advise everyone not to overestimate their importance and attempt such dangerous actions. Not just for your own sake, but for all of us. Because that would get people killed—a lot of people.”

“We’re well aware of that…”

In reality, the high-ranking officials of the Confederation races could only vent their frustrations in the virtual conference room, indulging in empty talk. In the real world, they wouldn’t dare say anything out of line to the Swarm units.

An individual’s combat prowess, no matter how high, loses its intimidation factor if they’re bound by morality and reason. Conversely, even if an individual’s combat prowess is low, if they’re unreasonable, they become fearsome—like cockroaches or rats.

The Swarm’s biochemical units were unreasonable entities, and their combat prowess was far from low. However, the incoming Swarm members were clearly capable of communication, and the Confederation races eagerly anticipated their arrival.

The distance between the two sides was vast, yet also close. For races that hadn’t yet entered or had just entered space, this distance was an insurmountable chasm. But for the Swarm, it was just a two-hour journey, and that was only because the path was cluttered with obstacles, preventing them from speeding up.

A massive flagship, stylistically reminiscent of the Yuntu race—an old acquaintance of the Swarm—appeared. Although they had been defeated by the Swarm before this war, they had gathered some remnants to participate. As a result, their forces were the smallest in this war, barely a fraction of the other races’ numbers.