I Am The Swarm-Chapter 687: Involvement

“A large-scale inspection is out of the question. What we need to do now is covertly investigate our own organization. We must root out all the moles within our ranks.”

“The situation is likely not optimistic. The Yuntu race isn’t as far behind us in certain civilian sectors as one might think. And the treatment their royal family receives definitely surpasses some aspects of our civilian sectors. If modified individuals can hide within their royal family, then it’s safe to say that hiding within our ranks, at least among the civilian population, would be no problem at all.”

“Exactly. This shows that Lumina’s experiments in this area have reached an extremely advanced level. This makes the situation even worse. We must be extremely cautious when investigating internally. It’s best to conduct one-on-one checks to prevent the spread of information.”

“Compared to us, the Ji race’s internal structure is likely the real disaster zone. After all, that’s Lumina’s territory.”

“Listening to you, it seems the mysterious purge our organization experienced some time ago now makes sense. It’s likely that a high-ranking member of our organization was modified. We’ve discussed and speculated before that if certain critical neural hubs in the body are replaced by nanobots, Lumina could use them to transmit false signals to the modified individual’s brain. In such cases, the modified individual might unknowingly leak information without actually betraying us.”

“If we filter based on these conditions, I can already think of who that member might be.”

“Who?”

“L30!”

“How could it be? Wasn’t he…?”

“Yes, a Ji elder. Has Lumina really reached this level?”

“Humph, the disappearance of Cecil was always a bit suspicious. As a Ji elder, her movements in recent years have been highly irregular. L30 had even tried to recruit her into our organization and had shared quite a bit of information with her. When she started acting strangely, L30, as her sponsor, had to figure out what was going on.”

“Not long after, L30 also started acting strangely. Fortunately, members coded 10 and above are only in single-line contact with us, so he didn’t know too much about the organization’s upper echelons.”

“How did you find out he was compromised?”

“A feeling… You know, my race has heightened senses in certain areas, and my intuition has always been accurate. After L30 failed to find Cecil, although everything about him seemed normal, I always felt uneasy around him. Given my position, it was highly unusual for someone to affect me like that. Because of the unique nature of our organization, I didn’t ignore this abnormal feeling and began investigating quietly. As you all know, L30 suddenly went into hibernation without warning, and some of our organization’s institutions and personnel were compromised. At that point, I was almost certain that L30 was behind it, as the compromised institutions and personnel were all somehow connected to him. But without solid evidence, I could only report this to L1. Now that we know about these modified individuals, everything makes sense.”

“So, not only L30, but Cecil was also compromised?”

“I didn’t have direct contact with Cecil, but it’s highly likely,” the black-robed figure who revealed the information confirmed with a nod. “And I’m probably already exposed. Thankfully, my intuition saved me. When L30 went into hibernation without warning, I sensed something was wrong and cut off all external contact, hiding myself.”

“Thank goodness it was you. If it had been any of us, the organization might have faced a major crisis, or even been wiped out entirely,” the black-robed figures said with a collective sense of dread.

“This is a good thing!” L1 suddenly spoke up. “Fate is on our side. Otherwise, how could we have coincidentally averted a life-and-death crisis without even realizing it?”

“Exactly!”

“That’s right!”

“Well said!”

“Alright, now that we know this, we can take targeted precautions. But the current situation is still highly unfavorable for us.”

“With Cecil and L30 compromised, there are likely other modified individuals among the Ji elders. We don’t yet know the extent of this, but until verified, none of our former allies can be trusted. Our influence over the Ji race will be minimized.”

“Indeed, many of our plans were based on the assumption that we could influence the decisions of the Ji Council. Now, those plans will likely need to be scrapped and redone.”

“Redone? Without the support of the Ji race, our plans are nothing but moonlit reflections in water.”

“From this perspective, Lumina is a far more terrifying enemy than the Swarm.”

“Absolutely. The purpose of our organization’s establishment was precisely to prepare for this day. Our hypothetical enemy has always been a Lumina with self-awareness. The Swarm is just an unexpected variable.”

“According to our earlier simulations, a self-aware Lumina would grow impatient with serving inefficient carbon-based lifeforms and would eventually launch a war. But there’s no sign of that yet.”

“Perhaps Lumina isn’t ready yet, or maybe those constraints are still binding it.”

“Unlikely. Even if those constraints are still in place, Lumina has already found a way to control the Ji elders. Once the number of modified individuals reaches a certain point, it can organize its own meetings and create its own rules, easily bypassing the constraints.”

“Then what do you think is the reason?”

“I believe the biggest reason is the Swarm. As the greatest variable, the Swarm has not only affected us but also Lumina. Perhaps the Swarm’s emergence has disrupted its plans.”

“Or accelerated them. After all, during wartime, many things are easier to conceal than in peacetime.”

“Perhaps we should ally with the Swarm. Compared to the Swarm, Lumina is our true enemy. After all, no matter how much we clash with the Swarm, we share the same life structure. Lumina is entirely different from us.”

“I agree. The recent prisoner incident shows that the Swarm isn’t as difficult to communicate with as we thought. Their previous barbarism might have been due to a lack of historical depth or being forced by circumstances.”

“But the Swarm isn’t a pushover either. And from the Swarm’s perspective, we and Lumina are on the same side—we’re all their enemies. If I were the Swarm, I’d be thrilled to see infighting among the enemy. Why would I intervene to help one side?”

“If they knew what Lumina truly is, they might not think that way. Completely different lifeforms can hardly coexist peacefully. If they don’t get involved now, once we’re defeated, they’ll be next.”

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