I Am The Swarm-Chapter 661: Discovery

Before witnessing the scene before them, Knox’s team had been trapped in a cognitive misunderstanding. Only now did they realize that the Swarm’s trap units were not required to exist within passageways or parasitize specific materials.

The massive energy hub, though it also contained metal, was certainly different from the cheap walls of the ship’s cabin. Moreover, it included other materials similar to ceramics and plastics.

However, the Swarm’s traps could corrode all of these materials and then inhabit them. Furthermore, the Swarm seemed to have a considerable understanding of their technology, as they avoided critical components.

Although the energy hub was “infested” with these tentacle traps, it did not affect the machine’s normal operation at all.

At this moment, the Swarm’s traps had not activated their mimicry systems but instead swayed their tentacles like seaweed. Though there was no verbal communication, anyone could clearly sense the overt provocation in their movements.

“Captain, what do we do?”

Faced with his team’s inquiries, Knox was at a loss. The intent of those things was clear—blatant coercion and threat. They had parasitized the crucial energy hub, and unless one wanted to sacrifice the energy hub along with them, their long-range attacks were essentially useless.

As for close-range cleanup, their striking power was far too formidable. Trading blows might be manageable for one or two units, but with such a large number, it was impossible to handle.

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It wasn’t that the remotely controlled robots were particularly precious, but everyone had simply never anticipated that the war would escalate to this situation, so they were unprepared.

Moreover, those creatures parasitizing the energy hub carried an undeniable air of conspiracy.

The situation Knox faced was not an isolated case. As the new tactics spread rapidly, various races began to discover that the Swarm’s trap units had started retreating strategically.

They converged on some critical facilities inside the battleships—energy generators, energy hubs, engine motors, etc.—making the Confederation army’s clearance operations feel like throwing stones while fearing collateral damage.

The newly arisen situation caused the high command of the Confederation forces, who had just glimpsed victory and relaxed, to become troubled once again. In the current high-level combat meeting room of the Confederation forces, discussions erupted anew.

“Have you considered that if these things can dig a hole in the machine surface, digging deeper wouldn’t be difficult either? But why don’t they directly destroy the energy hub?”

This representative’s statement immediately drew agreement from many: “Indeed, there must be some hidden conspiracy.”

“…”

“Perhaps the Swarm doesn’t want to sacrifice too many combat units?” A staff officer timidly suggested, though his words overflowed with uncertainty, making his argument highly unconvincing.

Sure enough, someone quickly rebutted him. “How could that be? Look at the Swarm’s combat style. Leaving aside earlier instances, just during the initial phase of this war, how many combat units did they sacrifice? If the Swarm cared about these biological weapons, even the dead would laugh awake.”

“That’s right. Perhaps there are other underlying reasons, but it definitely isn’t this one.”

“Damn it. At this rate, things will return to the initial deadlock stage. Fortunately, our current operational range is much larger than before, which counts as a silver lining.”

“You’re oversimplifying. If the Swarm actively destroys those devices, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Exactly. All of this favorable situation might vanish in an instant.”

“Though reluctant to admit it, the Swarm currently holds the initiative.”

“But why haven’t they made a move yet?” After prolonged discussion, the matter returned to square one.

“We must first confirm that we are enemies with the Swarm. They absolutely harbor no goodwill towards us. Yet they haven’t acted, meaning what they plan to do is much more important than killing us.”

“I believe whatever they plan to do won’t bode well for us.”

“That’s certain, but now we can only watch helplessly.”

“Is there no way to eliminate those things?”

“Temporarily none. We do have melee forces, but according to estimates, they will have ample time to complete their acts of destruction before we can completely annihilate them.”

“Damn it. What should we do now?”

“Honestly, I think the best choice is to retreat. This war has reached a stalemate where we are bogged down by the Swarm in small-scale battles. And from the current situation, we are already at a complete disadvantage in these skirmishes.”

“But we haven’t lost!”

“It’s impossible. From start to finish, the Swarm has deployed only one type of combat unit on our battleships, and we’re already overwhelmed. When other units appear, we won’t stand a chance.”

“Maybe the Swarm only deployed one troop type?”

“How could that be? If that were true, our battleships would already be obliterated. They must have something else hidden onboard, doing God knows what.”

“Perhaps they covet our technology.”

“Laughable. The technological level displayed by the Swarm is no less than ours. Our tech, to them, is merely for reference, not necessity.”

“After much deliberation, the most valuable asset on the entire fleet is us. Perhaps the Swarm wants to capture us alive.”

“Hah, the Swarm has never had a habit of accepting surrender.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Evidence shows that after the Swarm conquered the Daqi race’s territory, quite a few Daqi survivors remained on their original life planets, and the Swarm didn’t exterminate them entirely.”

“The Daqi race? Never heard of them. Where did this information come from?” The Daqi race, being a remote minor race, wasn’t known to everyone.

Especially among those present who had spent decades in cryogenic sleep, missing numerous trending news stories. Although one foreign representative expressed doubt, his hands moved swiftly, rapidly searching keywords through his personal terminal.

The attending representatives of the Confederation, though not of the Ji race, held significant authority. Through keyword searches, they quickly found relevant information.

The information revealed that although the Daqi race’s original territory had been enveloped by the Swarm’s new domain, the Swarm lacked the ability to completely seal off the vast expanse of space.

Therefore, the Ji race had managed to approach the outskirts of the Daqi star system. However, due to the heightened defense levels within the star system, reconnaissance units couldn’t easily penetrate. They relied on ultra-long-distance instruments for observation.

Even so, their findings were astonishing. On the Daqi race’s original life planet, they discovered traces of the Daqi who had refused to evacuate.