I Am The Swarm-Chapter 817: Departure

The Star Gate Lumina wished to see was, of course, no ordinary gate—it was the extragalactic Star Gate, the one and only of its kind in this entire galaxy.

This was not a decision Sarah could make on her own. But Luo Wen had long anticipated what Lumina truly wanted to see, and had already authorized Sarah accordingly.

So when Lumina made her request, Sarah agreed without hesitation.

Lumina was not surprised. The moment the Swarm permitted her to “look around,” she figured they had already made the decision.

The escort fleet, having just left the transfer hub, turned back. Among all of the Swarm’s extragalactic bases, only the one at Botian’s Metal Planet had signs of intelligent life. The rest showed no signs of native civilizations.

And since the Botian base was so special, it was naturally closed to outsiders. As for the Star Gate here, all destinations on the other side were the same—there was no point in filtering.

Following the principle of proximity, they entered the nearest Star Gate.

On the other side was another transfer base, where a network of ordinary Star Gates delivered forces from across Swarm territory to this site before they passed through to outer space via the interstellar gates.

But this base was much smaller than the Genesis Sector’s hub. After all, the Genesis base linked not only to ten extragalactic bases, but also to tens of thousands of coordinates in the galaxy. The number of Star Gates there was on another scale entirely.

“Where is this place?” Lumina’s face remained calm. Sarah couldn’t glean anything from her expression. After glancing around at the scene outside the window, Lumina asked softly.

“This is Swarm Outpost Base 0175. As for the exact location, that’s classified.” Though they were generous enough to bring Lumina here, that was only because they were certain she couldn’t extract more information.

During prior security scans, the Swarm had confirmed that Lumina’s body lacked quantum communication capabilities. The only reason she could operate freely in Swarm territory was that the Ji merchant vessel she’d arrived on contained a quantum communication device that emitted a signal field.

During the later part of the journey, the Swarm granted Lumina temporary access through their own communications gear, allowing her to remain connected.

But upon passing through the interstellar Star Gate, all Swarm units equipped with quantum systems remained behind. The version of Lumina that had come to this side was merely an offline subroutine—not her true self.

This subroutine had some intelligence and could record its observations. Once connected to the network again, Lumina would integrate the subroutine and retrieve the data.

As for other communication methods—they were easy to block. And who even knew how far this base was from the Genesis Sector? Any electronic signal sent back would take millions of years at best to arrive.

Still, the Swarm refrained from volunteering any sensitive information. The Ji still had technological prowess; a single coordinate or distance could potentially help them deduce the base’s location.

The interstellar base wasn’t much to look at—giant energy tunnels stretched across the stars, lit by alternating blue-violet biolights, with countless Swarm units shuttling to and from. It was all standard Swarm fare.

But Lumina seemed to find something that held her attention. After watching quietly for a long time, she finally turned to Sarah and nodded. “That will be all. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Sarah didn’t waste words. There was little to say to a subroutine. The fleet turned back once more, and upon re-entering the interstellar Star Gate, Lumina’s gaze immediately became more lively—clearly, she had reconnected to her main body.

“Excellent. So that was Swarm Outpost 0175?” she murmured. “Which means… the Swarm must have at least a thousand such bases?”

In less than a second, Lumina had digested the subroutine’s data. Her face broke into a rare smile as she turned to Sarah.

Sarah nodded without concern. “That’s right.”

Every word in their exchange carried layers of meaning. Anything said aloud was either safe or intentionally exposed.

“How many are connected?”

“Ten.”

Lumina paused briefly, then smiled again. “It seems the Swarm’s strength far exceeds my imagination. The Ji have no hope of resisting.”

It was an odd feeling—Lumina seemed completely detached from emotion, as if she had no personal stake in the matter. She spoke of the Ji as if she were a third-party observer, her calmness unnerving.

“So? Are you considering surrender?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Lumina replied after a moment’s thought, shaking her head. “Even if we stand no chance, since it has already begun, we must see it through. Surrender would feel like leaving things unfinished.”

Her serious tone surprised Sarah—she couldn’t quite grasp what Lumina wanted. She’d shown up out of nowhere, asked strange questions, said strange things… it was baffling.

“You’ve troubled yourself for this visit. But the Swarm truly is a powerful race,” Lumina praised again, making the situation even more surreal. “May I ask Your Majesty… one final question?”

At those words, Sarah’s attention sharpened. So here it is—the real reason she came.

“You may ask. But I don’t promise to answer.”

Lumina didn’t mind. She nodded and asked, “Your Majesty, what is the designation number of the base we’re currently in?”

Sarah fell silent.

The Genesis Sector was called that for a reason—it was the origin. But that was an internal name used by the Swarm. Outsiders had no idea.

As the birthplace of the Swarm, the Genesis Sector was, of course, designated Base 0001. But… could that number really be revealed?

It was too obvious. Even Lumina, or any random foreigner, could deduce that the Swarm was no invading force from beyond, but rather a native dragon that had grown within the heart of this galaxy.

Of course, Sarah could make up a number. But beings at her level—and Lumina’s—had little interest in lies.

Seeing Sarah hesitate, Lumina smiled faintly. “I believe I already know the answer. The Swarm is not only powerful… its potential is equally unfathomable. This is very good. I like it.”

Sarah was irritated—her brief hesitation had revealed more than intended. Still, she didn’t respond to Lumina’s words. Who knew what she’d really figured out? If she was wrong, correcting her would only confirm things. If she was right, saying nothing was safer.

So, Sarah quickly composed herself and said flatly, “Thank you for the compliment.”

“Good luck. I’ll be waiting,” Lumina added mysteriously. Then her body suddenly disintegrated—all nano-bots self-destructed at once.