Luo Wen had viewed the ancient starship—dubbed the “Treasure” by the Rikens—through Cleo’s perspective. Although the starship was only about 500 ters long, its technological sophistication was on an entirely different level.
At its core was a gravitational warp drive, a propulsion system far beyond Riken comprehension. The Rikens had only managed to reverse-engineer the fighter engines onboard, which were far simpler in design.
The third party currently approaching from interstellar space, based on their propulsion technology, could not possibly be the creators of the ancient starship. If they possessed true warp drives, their speed would have exceeded light speed, making detection by Observer Bugs impossible.
In fact, they appeared more like elder siblings to the Rikens—cut from the sa cloth.
When viewed in this light, the possibility beca plausible. If Luo Wen’s hypothesis was correct and the Watchers had placed a starship in the native system of every intelligent species, this new faction could very well represent a civilization that had received their starship earlier than the Rikens. Consequently, they would have had more ti to study it, achieving a deeper understanding and greater benefits.
The more Luo Wen considered this scenario, the more likely it seed. As for why no Watcher starship had been found in the Genesis System, Luo Wen had a theory.
The evolution from single-celled organisms to advanced animals takes billions of years, and the transition from beasts to a civilized species requires millions, if not tens of millions, of years.
The Ratfolk on the Genesis Planet, for example, had evolved from the lowly Tail Lard Rats to their current state. Without intervention, this process would have taken at least a million years of natural evolution.
Yet with Luo Wen’s interference, they had completed this journey in re centuries.
The Watcher starship discovered by the Rikens, based on analysis, had been buried for over ten thousand years. At that ti, the Rikens had already progressed to using fire and forming tribal societies. If the Watchers placed starships only when a native species reached such a developntal stage, the Ratfolk’s situation might have been too premature for intervention. Their sudden advancent could have left the Watchers themselves baffled.
This realization made Luo Wen tread even more cautiously. The Ratfolk’s abnormal evolution might draw the Watchers’ attention, should they indeed be monitoring this region of space. Such scrutiny from a power far surpassing his own was not a prospect to be taken lightly.
On second thought, however, Luo Wen realized there might be flaws in his assumptions.
His initial certainty about the Watchers’ existence stemd from detecting a third-party monitoring device near the battlefield. But he now questioned whether the device belonged to this new faction instead. If so, the Watchers’ existence was no longer a given, rendering all his previous conjectures re speculation.
Regardless, the Riken Star System held little strategic value to the Swarm. Even if the entire force stationed there were lost, it wouldn’t matter. This gave Luo Wen the flexibility to advance or retreat as he saw fit, affording him a high degree of autonomy.
For now, the Swarm would adopt a wait-and-see approach. The arrival of the third party would inevitably bring new information, likely shedding light on the situation.
anwhile, infiltration efforts against the Rikens were temporarily halted. Antonio, even if he retained his position as president until his natural death, had only a lifespan of a little over a century. This was rely a minor delay in Luo Wen’s plans. Since the Swarm Network had undergone yet another upgrade, Luo Wen’s enhanced longevity had reshaped his perception of ti. For a long-lived species, there was no rush for imdiate results.
Half a year later, an unexpected developnt unfolded. Without any active intervention from the Swarm, the internal situation within the Riken society had naturally deteriorated to an alarming degree.
During one of Antonio’s public speeches, a large number of angry Riken citizens stord the stage, clashing violently with his security team and the guarding forces.
As Antonio was evacuated, the airship he was traveling in was struck by a weapon from an unknown faction. It crashed, and despite rescue efforts, Antonio succumbed to his injuries.
Events often play out in dramatic fashion, and Luo Wen swore he had no part in this incident. Although many intelligent entities infiltrated the opposition, Luo Wen had already ordered a cessation of all aggressive actions after detecting the imminent arrival of a third party.
It didn’t matter much in the end. The impact of Antonio’s death was smaller than anticipated. A man who had broken Riken traditions by serving as president for over fifty years vanished from the stage of history without a ripple, proving that the world marches on regardless of anyone’s absence.
A new president was elected at lightning speed—Milton, a participant in the high-level closed-door etings, and one of the most likely successors to Antonio’s position. His ascension ca as no surprise to the Rikens.
Milton was still a natural Riken, not a Swarm-embedded intelligent entity.
In fact, if Luo Wen had pushed for an intelligent entity to take office, it could have been accomplished. However, with the third party’s arrival imminent, Luo Wen decided a natural Riken would be more advantageous in the current context. Future decisions could always be adjusted based on circumstances.
Milton, conveniently, was aligned with Lieutenant Colonel Cross’s faction. If necessary, he could be forcibly converted into an intelligent entity. A clone of him already lay dormant beneath his residence, ready to assu so of his duties should he disappear for up to seven days.
As for who would operate this clone, Luo Wen had a perfect candidate—none other than the late Antonio. As part of the second group of Rikens to receive longevity serum injections, Antonio’s body had long been modified. At the mont of his death, Luo Wen had forcibly harvested his consciousness into the Swarm Network.
With Antonio’s mories intact, the resulting intelligent entity could easily impersonate one of Antonio’s “old friends” or “rivals.” After all, as the saying goes, no one knows you better than your enemy.
With the new president in power and the Swarm refraining from any provocative actions, even ceasing their routine demonstrations of force near the Riken howorld, public sentint gradually stabilized. Without agitators to fan the flas, conflicts subsided.
However, many non-intelligent Riken generals remained deeply puzzled by the Swarm’s change in behavior. To them, the recent shift in the Swarm’s “routine” was inexplicable.
From their perspective, the only significant event of late was the internal political transition in Riken leadership. So began to connect the dots, formulating a chilling theory: the Swarm had orchestrated this entire upheaval.
There were even whispers that Antonio had been assassinated by the Swarm, and if one dared to think boldly enough, perhaps the newly inaugurated President Milton was a Swarm agent.
The rumors spread with such conviction that even so of the opposition mbers who had directly participated in Antonio’s demise almost believed them.
Reality, however, soon disproved these speculations. The reason for the Swarm’s restraint beca evident to all Rikens.
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