I Am The Swarm-Chapter 621: Sorting It Out

Luo Wen had confirmed that the host of the biological armor was a Potling, but whether it was Cecil remained unknown.

However, Luo Wen believed it was most likely not Cecil. Based on the current situation, the host not only had to serve as an experimental subject during the fusion process, enduring who-knows-what, but also had undergone significant modifications to their genetic sequence.

Cecil, after all, was a Ji Race elder. If it were simply a matter of fusing with the biological armor, that would be one thing. But to go to such lengths seemed like too great a sacrifice for someone of her status.

While the Swarm’s biological armor was valuable, it wasn’t worth a Ji Race elder risking her life. Therefore, Luo Wen thought it was likely a coincidence that the experimental subject was a Potling, or perhaps it was simply Sade’s personal preference.

Judging by the architectural style of his castle, Sade seemed to have a particular fondness for the Potlings. Acquiring a Potling as an experimental subject seemed plausible.

But nothing was absolute. The Potling origin meant Cecil’s suspicion couldn’t be entirely dismissed. Unfortunately, Elder Humes had only communicated with her via video calls. If they had met in person and exchanged more deeply, Luo Wen could have obtained some of Cecil’s DNA information. A simple comparison would have sufficed, sparing him this guessing game.

The fusion of the biological armor continued, and Luo Wen’s focus sharpened. If the other side intended to peek into the secrets of the Swarm, now was the optimal time, given their knowledge.

However, the current configuration of the biological armor was too limited, providing too little feedback and leaving Luo Wen at a disadvantage. This couldn’t continue. Luo Wen felt that sometimes, taking a calculated risk was necessary.

With his authorization, the biological armor, which had been following its programmed steps, secretly diverted a portion of energy to generate some sensory nerves, linking a cluster of cells together.

Simultaneously, it attempted to connect to the host’s sensory nerves, which also showed abnormalities, conflicting with certain genetic information of the Potlings. Fortunately, Luo Wen found some familiar patterns and successfully connected to a portion of them, gaining access to some of the host’s tactile sensations.

However, these daringly connected sensory nerves didn’t provide Luo Wen with more information. The host’s current state was peculiar, seemingly completely immobile.

Luo Wen speculated that, to ensure the experiment’s smooth progress, Sade and his team had completely paralyzed the host. This suggested that they might be preparing for a significant move.

Fortunately, reality didn’t slap Luo Wen in the face this time. Although the host’s sensory nerves didn’t provide useful feedback, the biological armor’s newly mutated sensory system detected something unusual.

Some extremely small entities were lingering outside its biological walls, attempting to make contact with the biological armor, appearing quite malicious.

Luo Wen quickly identified these tiny entities as nanobots. The term “nanobots,” or nanotechnology, wasn’t uncommon in civilizations that primarily followed a mechanical path.

In the historical records of many civilizations, the term “nano” had appeared frequently even before they were capable of leaving their home star systems. Fields like nanomedicine, nanochemistry, nanoelectronics, and nanomaterials were often mentioned.

However, these usually represented scientific studies within a certain scale range, and many remained theoretical. Translating them into practical applications wasn’t easy.

The Ji Race, however, was an exception. Having existed for over a million years, their unique civilization model allowed them to continuously absorb outstanding researchers from the Confederation to drive their progress.

With so many talented individuals striving across generations, creating true nanobots likely wasn’t a difficult feat.

It seemed that Sade and his team’s plan was to use nanobots to observe the fusion process of the Swarm’s biological armor with the host at the closest possible range. This would allow them to find and attempt a way to interfere in the process.

But they were likely overestimating their capabilities. Even for the Ji Race, some limitations of nanobots were hard to overcome. The most significant was that the smaller their size, the more limited their functionality.

This meant they couldn’t perform overly intricate operations. When their size approached one nanometer, they could only execute a few simple commands and couldn’t actively provide information.

The fusion of the biological armor occurred at a level even finer than the nanoscale. Merely operating at the nanoscale wasn’t sufficient. Moreover, even if they reached the level of the biological armor’s fusion, Luo Wen’s non-interference would still be required.

The nanobots hovering outside the biological armor were approximately twenty nanometers in size, meaning they were more comprehensively equipped and capable of executing relatively complex commands while also sending back some information.

They were likely cautious about rashly interfering, fearing that the biological armor might interpret it as an attack and trigger its self-destruction. Thus, the nanobots didn’t act recklessly. They continuously wandered around the fusion site, trying to identify the areas undergoing fusion.

Perhaps they believed that the merging parts would confuse the biological armor’s judgement, allowing them to gradually unlock the Swarm’s gene lock step by step.

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Seeing Sade’s setup, Luo Wen breathed a sigh of relief. The unknown was always worrisome. Now that the fog of uncertainty had lifted, and Sade’s cards were on the table, Luo Wen could make targeted preparations.

In truth, Luo Wen didn’t need to do much. The biological armor’s inherent settings were its greatest protection. If necessary, he could simply let the biological armor self-destruct, attributing it to its defense mechanisms and letting Sade and his team continue their research.

With a way to counter their approach, Luo Wen could also attempt a counterattack. Certain aspects of their situation had always intrigued him, and his burning curiosity urged him to uncover the key to this mystery.

The biological armor began to accelerate its fusion process and attempted to connect to more of the host’s nervous system. Luo Wen wanted to understand the current situation inside the castle as quickly as possible. The fastest way was through the host’s eyes and ears.

If he could identify and connect to these two neural pathways, he would undoubtedly gain more insight. Many of his earlier speculations and uncertainties might also be clarified.

However, Sade and his team had indeed made numerous modifications to the host’s body. The familiar structure and genetic information of the Potlings had been extensively altered and replaced. Luo Wen would have to carefully sort through everything.