Call in Reinforcements
In this situation, the experts here in astronomy, celestial bodies, and calculation are somewhat at a loss.
Perhaps experts in marine biology and atmospheric science can offer some suggestions regarding this situation.
No one expected that the Swarm had landed on so many planets without finding any signs of life. Yet, on this very moon, they discovered living creatures.
Rowan had no idea whether there were any experts in these areas among the Swarm's Intellect. He only took on the task of "guarding the gate" briefly in the early stages, and once more people were "knocking on the door," he had already handed the task over to the Stork.
Stork should have detailed records. He connected with them telepathically, and the Swarm Network was not delayed; he connected to them immediately.
The Stork are creations of the Mother Nest, and they are rigid in their execution of their assigned tasks.
Soon, the Stork provided a list of Intellect in the relevant fields and marked their node positions in the Swarm Network.
"Hey, Monte, you're here too?" A Rat-folk with grayish-white fur looked in surprise at a Rat-folk with dark gray fur sitting in the seat.
"Carlos, it's perfectly normal for someone like me, who studies aircraft design, to come and attend an open lecture on aerodynamics, right? It's you, who studies atmospheric environment, who's here; that's the abnormal thing." Monte, the Rat-folk in the seat, said with a sneer.
"This lecture is by Professor Guna. Although she's young, she's incredibly knowledgeable. While she'll be focusing on aerodynamics this time, she might throw in some personal insights. I know she covered atmospheric stratification last time, which will be very helpful for my major," Carlos said, settling down in the chair next to Monte without ceremony and letting out a couple of comfortable hums.
"Ha, is it worth you wasting your time listening to this lecture just for such a tiny chance? You're not even this enthusiastic about your own major courses, are you?" Monte said dismissively.
"Hmph, if you're not coming to class, what am I here for?"
"Tch, look at this classroom full of Rat-folk. Apart from those who are genuinely here to listen to the lecture, the rest all have pretty much the same purpose. Do I need to say anything more?" Monte scoffed.
"What's wrong? Teacher Guna is only a few years older than us. She's beautiful, has a good temper, and is very knowledgeable. What's wrong with us admiring her?" Carlos said confidently.
If Rowan were here, he would be utterly speechless upon witnessing this scene. Guna has already lived a lifetime; her true age is enough to make her the grandmother of these two male Rat-folk, plus another twelve years older. I wonder if they would be shocked if they knew this fact. If they achieve something in their field and encounter the truth of the world in the future, they might indeed see their stunned expressions.
For reasons unknown, among the Swarm Intellect that choose to return to the Rat-folk world, females mostly choose bodies around twenty years old, while males usually choose bodies between 30 and 40 years old.
However, in Rowan's eyes, apart from the difference in fur color, they were all almost identical. Without the markers indicating their node identities, he couldn't tell them apart at all.
Two young male Rat-folk were still whispering when a pretty female Rat-folk walked into the classroom and placed the materials she was carrying on the podium.
She looked at the young students opposite her, chuckled, clapped her hands, and was about to say something when she suddenly collapsed to the ground without warning.
The previously noisy classroom seemed to have been paused, with everyone's movements and voices stopping. But then, the stunned crowd erupted into an even louder commotion, and they rushed towards the podium.
"Call an ambulance quickly! Teacher Guna has fainted!"
"Move aside, don't block the airflow."
Various voices and shouts came from the crowd, and for a moment, everyone was in chaos.
At the same time, similar events occurred in multiple locations across the Rat-folk Empire. Several experts specializing in atmospheric or ocean-related fields suddenly lost consciousness.
Afterwards, these people regained consciousness almost simultaneously. Although some felt this was too much of a coincidence, under the control of the Rat-folk's higher-ups, the incident caused no ripples, and those who dared to question it all kept quiet.
These people were all Zerg Swarm Intellect who had returned to the Rat-folk society. Rowan remotely forcibly extracted their consciousness and pulled them into the group that logged into A7B5.
Faced with the summons of the Overlord, these Intellect would not experience any negative emotions, but would only feel honored.
After learning about the current situation, they also joined the discussion.
As each has its own expertise, these atmospheric and oceanographic researchers quickly deduced something different.
"My Overlord, based on our speculation, since this creature can move in the air like a marine creature swims in the sea, it may also have an adaptive range of activity, just like marine creatures," said one of the Rat-folk Intellect.
"Continue," Rowan signaled.
"Just as shallow-sea fish cannot enter the deep sea, and deep-sea fish find it difficult to reach shallow seas, their body structures differ in order to adapt to certain living environments. Since this creature lives in the relatively low-density air at high altitudes, its body density would only be lighter and smaller. The denser air at low altitudes might be like impenetrable rock to it. Perhaps if the Spore Sac meteorite descends a little further, this creature will be unable to pursue it."
Communication and exchange between thoughts are very rapid. Despite the extensive discussion and the addition of external support, not much time has actually passed.
Under the fourth pull of this Atmospheric Creature, coupled with the fact that the air at low altitudes has indeed become more viscous, the Spore Sac meteorite's falling speed has decreased to 500 kilometers per hour.
Perhaps with one or two more attacks, Atmospheric Creature will be able to completely capture and drag away the Spore Sac meteorite.
If Atmospheric Creature can keep pursuing them, even if the Spore Sac fall to the ground, they will likely not escape their clutches. This is because when they first fall, the Creep Seed and Insect Egg are in a dormant state, and the Spore Sac themselves have no defensive mechanisms, making this their most vulnerable time.
However, if it is true, as speculated, that Atmospheric Creature cannot continue their pursuit once they reach lower altitudes, then there is still room for reversal.
Although Spore Sac lack defensive mechanisms, they can still create a false impression through other systems.
As the Spore Sac meteorite continued its descent, the Atmospheric Creature became somewhat agitated, and the blue Electric Arc on its body became more active, flashing more frequently.
It seems that the speculations of many Intellect are somewhat reasonable. Just then, the Atmospheric Creature finally caught up with the Spore Sac meteorite for the fifth time and extended its tentacles to entangle it.