I Am The Swarm-Chapter 696: The Dilemma

“Intelligence Division, how’s the comparison going? Is that really the Swarm Empress?”

“Reporting, currently, the individual matches the recorded characteristics of the Swarm Empress in terms of height, facial features, body details, voice, demeanor, and tone of speech. However, our records on the Swarm Empress are limited, and the comparison samples are few. Even if all these aspects match, we cannot confirm with absolute certainty that this is the real Swarm Empress.”

“Useless!”

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“Commander, what should we do next?”

At this moment, even the commander was scratching his head. If, after mobilizing such vast resources and manpower, and gambling with the lives of over a trillion captives, they ended up killing a decoy, it would be a farce.

If that happened, even if he had a hundred lives, it wouldn’t be enough to atone for the failure. Fortunately, he was just one of the many staff officers, and he wouldn’t have to shoulder this colossal failure alone.

“Everyone, share your thoughts. The ceremony is about to begin. Given the Swarm Empress’s demeanor, she likely won’t linger long after signing the agreement. Our time is running out.”

The advisors around him exchanged uneasy glances. This was a heavy burden to bear, and even collectively, they couldn’t shoulder it.

The room fell into an awkward silence as no one wanted to speak up at this critical moment.

“Everyone, silence won’t solve the problem. So, no matter what, say something. Your input might spark ideas in others.”

“Alright, I’ll start. Honestly, I think this isn’t a time for overthinking or decision-making. We can’t rely on speculation to determine the authenticity of the target. Therefore, the Intelligence Division must step up and provide us with more information using all available means.”

“Exactly. With the current intelligence, there’s no need for us to analyze it. We might as well flip a coin and leave the decision to luck.”

“But if we don’t act, won’t all our efforts be in vain?”

“Now that you mention it, I think the likelihood of the Empress being a decoy is even higher. Think about it—our plan isn’t that hard to guess. Even the outer-ring civilizations know our target is the Swarm Empress. If the Empress takes advantage of this and sends a decoy to sign the agreement, she not only avoids danger but also gains a hundred years of development time for free.”

“True, that would be the most beneficial approach. If I were in her position, I’d do the same.”

“But isn’t she afraid of being exposed? If discovered, the Swarm would suffer a crushing defeat, both in terms of reputation and public opinion.”

“Hmph, they might be betting that we can’t tell the difference. And the truth is, we really can’t.”

“But aren’t they worried we might misjudge and attack? Even if the Empress is a decoy, those intelligent Swarm members aren’t fake, are they? Losing over five thousand of their kind would still be a significant blow to the Swarm.”

“The idea that intelligent Swarm members are rare has always been our assumption. What if their numbers are actually much larger?”

“This issue shouldn’t have been our responsibility to begin with. Before this ceremony, we raised concerns about how to distinguish the real Swarm Empress from a decoy, but the Intelligence Division assured us they had a solution. If we’d known they’d be this incompetent, we wouldn’t have proceeded with this plan.”

“What’s the point of discussing this now? The key is still the Intelligence Division.”

“Exactly, arguing here is meaningless. We should report this truthfully and pressure the Intelligence Division to deliver.”

“Agreed, that’s the right course of action.”

The pressure quickly shifted back to the Intelligence Division. However, the Intelligence Division was equally baffled. When they had initially assured everyone, it was the higher-ups who had vouched for them. They had no idea what special methods they were supposed to have to distinguish the real Swarm Empress from a decoy.

They had done everything they could—pupil scans, voice recognition, even measuring the gaps between teeth using specialized equipment. According to their instruments, this was the real Swarm Empress. But given the Swarm’s advanced biotechnology, it was possible they had created something beyond their imagination. Plus, with the stakes so high, they couldn’t afford to make any guarantees.

As time ticked by, with the signing ceremony approaching, every department and individual involved began to feel the pressure mounting. Even the Confederation personnel on the ground were growing uneasy.

Ambros, in particular, was under immense strain. Not only did he have to keep Sarah engaged, encouraging her to speak and make expressions to provide more data for the Intelligence Division, but he also had to worry about when to initiate the plan, which directly affected his survival.

As a seasoned diplomat, he had begun to sense that something was off. First, the plan seemed to be slipping out of his control. As the frontline executor, he had access to a lot of information, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was being hidden from him.

Second, his colleagues—the Ji elders—were numerous and scattered across the galaxy. It was normal for them not to know each other well. For this ceremony, twelve Ji elders had gathered, and he had only interacted with four or five of them. Of those, he was only familiar with two. The rest were complete strangers.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t notice anything unusual about them. But his sharp intuition, honed by years of experience, told him something was amiss. At times, he even felt a sudden jolt of fear when facing his colleagues.

Ambros didn’t ignore these feelings. If his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, then something was definitely wrong with the others.

Now, with the ceremony about to begin, as the frontline executor, he still hadn’t received any updates on the mission’s progress.

Unlike the intelligence officers and staff advisors, his years as a Ji elder had given him insight into the inner workings of such operations. According to past precedents, once the Ji had formulated and approved a plan, issues like being unable to distinguish the real Swarm Empress from a decoy shouldn’t arise.

As the frontline executor, he should have been concerned about this. But the Intelligence Division’s assurances and past experiences had led him to overlook this critical point. Now, he was on edge, and with no word on when to initiate the plan, it felt like the situation was slipping further out of his control.