The most important revelation for Luo Wen was that he had discovered a true thod to enhance his power. The Rat folk civilization, serving as the Swarm’s first production base for Intelligent Entities, had a lineage rooted in Swarm node units and had supplied the Swarm with nurous Intelligent Entities over the years.
Previously, Luo Wen only selected the best candidates, rejecting many spiritual entities that sought to join. However, he now realized this practice was a significant waste. Regardless of the quality of a spiritual entity, all contained an essence of pure, concentrated energy—albeit in varying amounts.
Even those unqualified to beco Intelligent Entities could have their essence absorbed by Luo Wen to strengthen himself. The process was simple for him, requiring only the separation of the first half of the Intelligent Entity creation process from the rest.
Beyond this, Luo Wen could also improve his thod of absorbing energy from the universe.
He discovered that the growth of the Swarm—through an increased number of node units, expanded territory, and broader network coverage—accelerated his energy absorption rate from the universe. While the increase was minuscule, it was tangible, and as the Swarm continued to expand, this rate would inevitably rise further.
Luo Wen had a premonition that as he grew stronger and the Swarm Network’s coverage reached a critical threshold, he would gain the ability to exert more dinsional influence over the universe—perhaps even altering its fundantal rules.
However, such possibilities lay in the distant future. For now, Luo Wen had to focus on the present and overco the imdiate crises.
Although he now understood himself better, Luo Wen realized that even if the Swarm were entirely annihilated within the universe, he would not perish. His true essence existed outside the universe. However, the Swarm’s extinction would an losing his anchor within the universe. At that point, he might beco lost in the dinsional chaos, drifting into a deep sleep. For Luo Wen, that fate would be no different from death.
anwhile, the construction of the Riken civilization’s Trade City progressed smoothly, without any unexpected complications. The two Ji vessels remained stationed in low orbit around Riken’s howorld. Perhaps due to the unique circumstances, the Ji crew did not enter their usual hibernation state. However, this prolonged waiting was incredibly monotonous.
With permission from the Riken, so Ji crew mbers connected to the Riken’s internal network using specialized instrunts. They began to imrse themselves in the alien culture, discovering that their appreciation for art had much in common with the Riken.
As for the language barrier? For a civilization as advanced as the Ji, overcoming it was a trivial matter. The Ji held the philosophy that the more ti a civilization’s children spent morizing knowledge, the less ti they would have for creative thinking, which was essential for progress.
Using a specialized cognitive-enhancent device that stimulated the brain, the Ji were able to achieve forced morization within hours. Theoretically, they beca fluent in the Riken language and script in a single session, leaving only practical application to refine their newfound proficiency.
Since the end of the war, the Riken had relaxed their restrictions on free speech. Freed from the burden of heavy military expenses, the standard of living for their citizens had improved significantly. With newfound leisure ti, they began pursuing spiritual fulfillnt.
The Riken’s internal network beca their most affordable source of entertainnt. It hosted an abundance of variety shows, movies, and dramas—enough to captivate the Ji crew. On the network’s trending topics, the top ten were mostly related to joining the Interstellar Technological Confederation.
“These Riken have so rather peculiar thoughts,” one Ji crew mber remarked.
It wasn’t without reason. In his view, a country being invited by another to join an alliance was often a source of animosity. Yet, the Riken harbored surprisingly little resentnt toward the Swarm. Instead, they exhibited an oddly accepting attitude toward the prospect of joining the Confederation under the Swarm’s invitation.
The reasons behind this phenonon primarily stem from three factors:
The Riken had fought against the Swarm for many years, with the exception of a single victory on Planet Raze, which was later suspected to have been intentionally allowed by the Swarm.
This placed the Riken in a constant position of psychological inferiority, especially since the Swarm ultimately subdued them without any actual conflict. This earned the Riken’s respect for the Swarm as a symbol of strength.
After their victory, the Swarm refrained from making any excessive demands. Many Riken realized that even if they were in the Swarm’s position, it would be difficult to exercise the level of restraint the Swarm displayed. This further fueled their admiration for the Swarm.
Over the years, Intelligent Entities disguised as Riken leaders subtly guided public opinion, shaping perceptions of the Swarm in a favorable direction.
After joining the Interstellar Technological Confederation, the Swarm did not exploit the Riken’s resources or manpower to the extre, unlike many other civilizations. As the Riken learned more about the Confederation’s inner workings, they felt grateful for the Swarm’s restraint.
Additionally, the Riken’s exposure to the Confederation’s realities made them realize that survival, even within an alliance, was dictated by the law of the jungle. As a smaller civilization, they recognized that without a powerful backer, they would be at the rcy of the larger, older civilizations.
While joining smaller organizations was an option, those groups charged exorbitant “protection fees” without guaranteeing actual protection during critical monts. By contrast, the Swarm was not only powerful but also displayed a kind temperant, making them an ideal ally.
The Swarm’s proximity as a neighbor, combined with its prior conduct and reputation, made it even more trustworthy than the unfamiliar mbers of the Confederation.
For the Ji crew mbers, however, these reasons elicited little more than casual banter. A small, backwater civilization’s mindset wasn’t worth their deeper consideration.
“Hmm? They actually have sothing like this?” The Ji who had been critiquing the Riken’s mindset suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. His tone was filled with excitent.
This Ji resembled the “blue-haired monkey” from earlier, who had been involved in security inspections. Were it not for the slight difference in their voice, one might have thought they were the sa individual.
It seed that the blue-haired monkeys might belong to a significant species, as multiple mbers of their kind were present within this small Ji fleet.
“What did you find?” The colleague next to him tilted his head curiously.
Lately, such exclamations had beco a common occurrence in their room, though the source was usually so bizarre video or similar content. Despite differing aesthetics across their ho species, certain things seed to spark universal interest.
Before the colleague could finish speaking, his eyes fell on the screen in front of the blue-haired monkey. The display was vibrant and detailed, with text and images providing an introduction to a particular product.
While his curiosity dimd slightly—text descriptions were rarely as engaging as videos—he couldn’t resist leaning closer to see what had caught his colleague’s attention.
“What?! Is that real? How could they have sothing like this?” The colleague’s exclamation seed to ignite a chain reaction, as more Ji crew mbers hurried over, crowding around the screen.
A hubbub of excited chatter filled the room as the blue-haired monkeys and their colleagues marveled at the discovery, their collective interest clearly piqued.
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