Creep

Some carnivorous plants also have genes that enable them to produce digestive juices, allowing them to quickly convert prey into nutrients.

At the same time, it also strengthens its root system by incorporating various green leafy plants. The powerful root system can extend continuously into the ground, even reaching distances of hundreds of meters.

Most remarkably, having incorporated biological genes, it also produces a large Strain on its body. These Strain can even light up nodes in the Swarm Network.

This means Rowan can directly perceive these Strain and observe the surroundings from their perspective. Furthermore, while these Strain lack intelligence, they can be programmed with various stress response options.

Because of the fact that they illuminate nodes, it means they are now part of the Swarm and possess the ability to distinguish friend from foe. When an unknown creature steps on or passes by them, their nodes in the Swarm Network will begin to flash as a warning.

The new plants also effectively solve the problem of food storage because they possess powerful digestive capabilities. Simply place prey on their bodies, and the prey will be rapidly digested and converted into nutrients.

These nutrients are stored within the plant and can be rapidly transported within it. Anyone with node status in the Swarm Network can open an opening in any part of the plant's body and request access to these nutrients.

Simply put, these plants have built a "tap water" system with their bodies. Anyone with legal status can install a "faucet" on this system to get water.

Moreover, these plants can be eaten directly in critical situations.

Its practicality far exceeded Rowan's initial expectations.

However, it also has its drawbacks, namely its appearance is not very appealing. The exposed parts look like a carpet spread on the ground, appearing purplish-gray all day long. However, this carpet has intricate veins, and these veins occasionally twitch, as if they were alive.

Although he knew they were transporting nutrients, Rowan still felt a little uncomfortable with the "carpet" moving every now and then.

In commemoration of certain memories from his time as a human being, this new plant was named "Creep".

With the help of the Creep, the problem of food storage has finally been solved. And barring any unforeseen circumstances, it won't be a problem in the future. This is because the Creep digests the prey, converting it into something similar to "tree sap," so there's no issue of spoilage.

The Seed for the Creep can be produced directly by the Insect Empress. Theoretically, only one Seed is needed for the Creep to grow indefinitely. However, if you want it to quickly cover an area, it's better to sow more Seed.

Everything the Creep touches, as long as it doesn't possess node status, will have its nutrients absorbed by it. Therefore, in areas covered by the Creep, nothing else grows.

At the same time, because it incorporates many predatory plant genes, it can also hunt some insects and small animals on its own. Without these creatures, the creatures that feed on them will not come. Therefore, its damage to the environment and ecology is devastating.

Therefore, Rowan did not let them grow unchecked, but instead stipulated that each base should plant a certain area of Creep according to actual needs.

Even so, as the number of Swarm bases increases, the coverage area of Creep also increases.

The increased coverage area means an increase in the number of large Strain, which in turn means an increase in nodes. These large Strain cannot distinguish between normal situations and hostile situations, and will trigger an alarm as soon as they detect Fat-Tail Rat.

Some nodes in the Swarm Network began flickering abnormally, severely disrupting Rowan's daily work. Therefore, he reset permissions, dividing the Creep into sections so that the Creep only interacted with its direct Insect Empress and Blade. If it was truly an anomaly, he would then report the situation to Rowan.

Only in this way can the problem of those Strain triggering false alarms be solved.

With his initial enthusiasm for tinkering with plant genes waning, Rowan found himself with more free time. He returned to his familiar "homebody" lifestyle, spending his days holed up in the base, spying on everything within his territory through the Swarm Network.

Under his watchful eye, the territory expanded at a much faster pace. Moreover, thanks to the presence of Creep, the newly established bases only needed to produce a small number of Worker Ant to clean up. They were no longer needed to feed the larvae.

Now, the Hatching Room at the base are covered with Creep, allowing the larvae to "turn on their own water taps" and replenish their food at any time.

Moreover, because these foods have already been digested once, they are very easy to absorb, which shortens the larvae's growth cycle considerably.

The increased efficiency of troop replenishment further accelerated the expansion of the Swarm.

The entire forest was quickly incorporated into the Swarm's territory. This forest stretched for more than two thousand kilometers and contained many mountains and rivers, making it extremely rich in resources.

After a period of stability, the Swarm grown to five hundred bases, forming a mutually supportive network and firmly controlling the forest.

With a logistics base in place, Rowan then turned his attention to the outskirts of the forest.

Rowan crashed on the outskirts of the forest. When the Swarm was still weak, Rowan had scouted the area and even encountered Diplodocus and Triceratops.

After that, the Swarm's strategic focus shifted to conquering the forest. Although the main base was only a stone's throw from the forest's edge, they rarely ventured in that direction.

It wasn't that Rowan had forgotten about that area. In the early stages, the Swarm base expanded outwards. However, as the trees thinned on the outskirts of the forest, their canopies could no longer shield them from attacks from the sky.

The massive Pterosaur showed little interest in tiny creatures like Spider War-Bug and Flying Bug. The Swarm's prey, however, were generally over a meter in size.

The outer edge of the forest has few obstructions, and it's mostly large dinosaurs that roam there. Occasionally, a few smaller ones are caught, but before they can be dragged back to base, the "fishermen" in the sky make their move.

Although they are hundreds or even thousands of meters in the air, their eyesight is excellent. Spider War-Bug and Flying Bug have no carrying ability and have to wait for the Heavy-Armored Soldier Ant to come and carry their loads after each hunt.

During these gaps, the Pterosaur always manage to seize opportunities to intercept the Swarm's prey. And the Swarm's two main combat units, one on the ground and one on the air, have little chance to stop them.

Even if the Spider War-Bug managed to climb onto the Pterosaur the moment it swooped down to snatch its prey, let alone whether their venom would kill the Pterosaur, even if it did, the Pterosaur would have already flown far away.

When the Pterosaur fall, besides benefiting some predators, the Swarm will also lose Spider War-Bug.

What's most intolerable is that the Pterosaur even attacked the Heavy-Armored Soldier Ant that had broken free from the forest's cover. These small heavy tanks, with their relatively slow movement, were completely unable to evade attacks from the air.