Chapter 150: Development - I Am the Swarm

The Rat-folk's currency was of no use to Rowan, and the minerals were currently of little value to the Swarm. They couldn't leave this planet, so the minerals were useless to them; once they left, the other side was full of minerals.

Therefore, it's better to exchange these low-value items for some technology or ideas. As long as one or two of them are useful, it will be worth the price.

During this time, Rowan also researched methods to improve his mental strength. After all, relying solely on luck to recruit followers, he didn't know when he would be able to establish his own research institute within the Swarm.

However, he only had a superficial understanding of this ability. Just like a person is born with the ability to use their arm, but how it works is something that most people find difficult to comprehend.

Rowan was just an ordinary person, and it would be quite difficult for him to figure it out. So, he didn't blindly stick to one path.

While researching how to enhance mental strength, he was also searching for other methods. He now possessed a considerable foundation in genetics. So, starting from this aspect, he actually found a rather ingenious method.

He developed a potion whose main ingredient was blood from the Mother Nest diluted countless times. This potion could effectively increase the compatibility between the recipient and the Swarm Network. Simply put, it shortened the distance of that path.

To illustrate, improving mental strength is like improving endurance, allowing someone to walk a longer distance to find the "door." Similarly, even with poor endurance, shortening the distance needed to find the door achieves the same effect.

Because this potion dilutes the Mother Nest's blood so much, although its production cost is very low, it also has a drawback: it requires a longer fermentation time. Simply put, the earlier the potion is injected, the better.

So Morgan started making moves, beginning his search for suitable candidates at the Aerospace Research Institute. He first approached his old friends, but he only vaguely mentioned that the cult was recruiting.

As a result, those people thought they had caught him red-handed and secretly reported him to the Queen. Not only was Morgan not punished, but they were also severely reprimanded.

Morgan hadn't expected things to turn out this way; it seemed he had been too secretive. So, he quietly revealed some things to those people.

He revealed his identity and used some old stories to gain the trust of some people. Although most people were still skeptical, he managed to coax and trick them into injecting the drug.

At the same time, the Queen also received a vial of potion. She had been so busy with state affairs that she had almost forgotten about offering her faith. Now that there was a follow-up, she didn't hesitate and injected the potion into her body in front of Morgan.

She had already taken some precautions. Although she had no children and wasn't even married, she had already chosen an heir. If anything went wrong, she would rather die than live in dishonor.

As luck would have it, two months later, a researcher who had been injected with the drug suffered a serious accident during an experiment and died on the spot; his body was blown to pieces.

This was a highly respected researcher Kevi, an authority in the field of engines. Because of his advanced age, he was one of the people who trusted Morgan the most and had more interactions with Morgan. The allure of rebirth was too great for him, not because he was afraid of death, but because there were still so many unknowns waiting for him to explore.

Although the injection period was short, his inherently strong mental attributes, coupled with his yearning for rebirth in his final days, led him to have a deep faith in "God."

So, luckily, he found the door and became a member of the Swarm.

A few days later, when the young Kevi returned to the Research Institute under a different identity, a small circle of people were in an uproar.

They began to ask how they should dedicate their faith to God. Morgan told them that God is unique, and to go back and read more legends and stories, imagining God's greatness and omnipotence. As long as they are devout, God will sense it.

It wasn't that Morgan didn't want to explain in more detail, but rather that neither he nor Rowan quite understood the specific methods of faith. To put it bluntly, faith was just a facade; it was merely one of the emotions connecting the Swarm Network. Rowan didn't care about these beliefs; as long as they could find the gateway, he didn't care what they did.

By consulting legends and stories and relying on one's own imagination, one can generate a variety of emotions such as awe, exploration, curiosity, longing, and faith, and perhaps one of these will resonate with the Swarm Network.

As for them arriving at the Swarm Network and finding that reality doesn't match their expectations, it doesn't matter. At that point, Rowan will still have the final say on how things are handled.

Within the Swarm Network, Rowan could easily Overlord their fate; they could not hide any secrets from Rowan. If Rowan wished, he could annihilate these consciousnesses at will, and even take over their consciousness and bodies, viewing their memories.

However, none of this is necessary. They are absolutely loyal to Rowan, and under the influence of the Swarm Network, they will not have any thoughts that are detrimental to Rowan.

To be honest, Rowan still doesn't understand whether those who were forcibly assimilated and modified by the Swarm Network are clones created by the Swarm Network or their original selves.

The Rat-folk got the method, but after a few days, they started subtly asking Morgan if he had any more of the potion and if he could give them a few more bottles so they could give some to their relatives.

Morgan reported this situation to Rowan, Rowan, after careful consideration, asked Morgan to devise a reward and punishment system. Developing a capable research talent or achieving a major breakthrough would earn rewards with a drug.

Anyway, this potion is very easy to make, and as a reward, it will motivate those people to work harder. As for their relatives, it doesn't matter if they receive some.

If the Swarm expands into outer space and its territory grows larger, it will be impossible for it to handle everything personally. Having more intelligent individuals to help with management would be a good thing.

As for the possibility of some bad-behaved ones mixed in, we can simply give them a body and let them fend for themselves. If they dare to talk too much, we can just stuff them into Worker Ant' bodies and send them to lick Aphid droppings.

As for ordinary Rat-folk who have no value, the Swarm doesn't need to be a burden. However, they are the cornerstone of civilization, and perhaps among their descendants, there will be Rat-folk reach the Swarm node standard.

So let them live happily ever after on this planet.

With the implementation of reward and punishment measures, the work attitude of those Rat-folk immediately changed. Before long, almost all the researchers over 40 years old in the Research Institute had been recruited.

At the strong urging of the crowd, Morgan relaxed the requirement to those over 30 years old. He also declared that this matter must be kept strictly confidential and not spread widely. He warned that if anyone leaked it and caused trouble, God would know, and their reward might be revoked, or even their eligibility might be cancelled altogether.

Without Morgan needing to emphasize it further, these Rat-folk kept the matter tightly under wraps.