The mysterious faction had done everything within their power to ensure they were thoroughly prepared. Not only had they assigned a covert technical team to continuously monitor and intercept any surveillance attempts from the Ji race, but the mont the transmission was complete, they imdiately severed contact between the two parties—going so far as to destroy the quantum communication equipnt used for the link. With these asures, even if Lumina herself took action, she would likely return empty-handed.
“Things went even smoother than expected. The tech team didn’t detect any interference from the Ji race.”
“As expected. After all, the entire process was too quick—barely two seconds.”
Because the frontline recon unit had frequent contact with the Swarm, the transmitted video file was small in size. The entire transfer took less than two seconds—it could only be described as instant.
“Interesting.” The file was quickly browsed several tis, and a black-robed figure from the mysterious organization let out an intrigued click of the tongue.
“Seems those Swarm bio-units aren’t as dumb as they look.” A Spider Combat Bug that could understand the Confederation’s common tongue and even write had completely reshaped the mysterious faction’s perception. Clearly, they could no longer equate the Swarm with re simpletons.
“Maybe. Or perhaps soone’s pulling the strings behind them.” This theory imdiately gained traction—too many of them found it hard to accept that a spider could be literate.
“There’s sothing else. The Swarm acted too calmly. I even believe they already knew about the Empress’s rescue before we made contact.”
“But those are just bio-units. They don’t possess emotions. Isn’t calmness to be expected?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I have the sa feeling—that the Swarm knew everything.”
“If that’s the case, then unless the Empress tipped them off herself, it ans we’ve never been without the Swarm’s eyes watching us.”
“Looks like the Swarm is far more troubleso than we imagined. I’m starting to wonder if working with them is like bargaining with a tiger.”
“Who knows. But what I do know is, the mont we rescued the Swarm Empress, our stance was made clear.”
“Yeah. There’s no turning back for us now.”
“Let’s not overthink it. Let’s just focus on waking the Empress.”
Although Sarah could heal herself at any ti, the Swarm had still provided a thod of treatnt—perhaps to avoid revealing too much. The thod was remarkably simple: just place the Swarm Empress in an environnt rich in energy. As for the kind of energy, the Swarm claid any type would do.
The mysterious organization found this kind of treatnt suspiciously half-hearted, but figured the Swarm wouldn’t joke about the safety of their own Empress.
As they gazed at the Empress inside the energy chamber, the expressions of several black-robed figures were complex.
“I have a feeling all these asures were unnecessary. Her injuries may not be as severe as we thought.”
“That doesn’t matter. I only care about what she can offer us.”
“A thorough search was just completed. Nothing suspicious was found.”
“Heh. The Ji race had the first look. Do you really expect they’d overlook anything?”
“True. But our people haven’t reported anything unusual either. Seems the Ji race got nothing too.”
“As expected. This is the inheritance of a high-level civilization—it’s not sothing that would be casually stored.”
“Maybe the inheritance is inside her body. Tell , if we dissected her, would she undergo the sa self-destructive gene collapse like other Swarm units?”
“Put away your dangerous thoughts. That’s not sothing we’re authorized to attempt.”
“Exactly. Even if the inheritance really is inside her, what if it collapses along with her? We’ve already offended Lumina—offending the Swarm as well? I don’t want to enter hell mode.”
“Relax, I was joking. Maybe once she recovers, we can ask her directly. I imagine an Empress wouldn’t lie so easily. Even if she says nothing, we might still be able to infer a few answers.”
“That might be worth trying. Since we saved her life, even if she feels sowhat offended, she might still tolerate it. Maybe…”
The Swarm Empress’s injuries were healing rapidly. The half of her body that had vanished, along with her damaged biological armor, was regenerating at a rate visible to the naked eye in the energy-saturated room.
“What a pitiful creature.”
“Heh. Don’t forget what the Ji race sacrificed to capture her.”
“They really are a terrifying race.” The speaker imdiately corrected themselves—
“Yes. A single unit with the combat power of a Swarm Empress can turn an entire city upside down. Civilizations below the Mid-ring would be forced to use extinction-level weapons just to take her down with them.”
“Fortunately, our relationship with them should be good.”
“That’s only for now. We’ll have to face them one day.”
“Yeah. The best outco would be for the Swarm and the Ji race to drag each other down in a mutually destructive war.”
“I think they will. After all, for an Empress, being captured at a signing ceremony is an imnse humiliation.”
Suddenly, as if waking from a deep sleep, the Swarm Empress opened her eyes. She turned her head, her sharp gaze locking onto the surveillance cara in the corner.
Although Sarah had been rescued, she was still on the run. The core mbers of the mysterious organization, of course, wouldn’t risk exposing themselves—so they observed everything through remote surveillance. At least three technical teams were supporting this live broadcast, ensuring everything went smoothly.
“You think this is a coincidence?”
The Swarm Empress’s piercing eyes stared through the monitor, causing the black-robed individuals to stiffen. But then they rembered that the one on screen was still several lightyears away—there was no way she could pose a direct threat.
Yet a surveillance cara was just a lifeless machine. Could its gaze alone alert her?
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. They’re an advanced biological civilization. Who knows what kind of modifications they’ve made to themselves? Enhancing sensory perception shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Alright, everyone. This historic conversation is about to begin. Are you ready?”
“Let’s begin.”
—
“Your Majesty, due to current circumstances, we are unable to et face-to-face. Please forgive our discourtesy.” As Sarah stood up, just before she could damage the ship’s interior, a voice suddenly ca through the broadcast.
“You? Mukarchi? Dokemim? Or perhaps… all of you?” Sarah casually stretched her limbs. The regenerated half of her body was still slightly stiff. But perhaps… that had been misunderstood.
“It seems Her Majesty knows us quite well. That saves us from making introductions.”
“Heh. During the developnt of my Swarm you guys helped us, I must thank you for your repeated assistance.” Whatever their motives, the resistance organization had indeed helped the Swarm multiple tis in the past.
“Your Majesty, knowing this is wonderful. I believe our upcoming conversation will be quite pleasant.”
“That depends on what you need from .”
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