Anticipation

Two weeks passed in this way, Swarm's researchers learned very quickly. Regi guessed that although they outwardly appeared to be a biological civilization, they also possessed a fairly solid foundation in mechanical theory.

The other party asked them fewer and fewer questions, and he discovered that the information and technology he relied on as leverage could be deduced by the Swarm in a short period of time.

Regi knew that the other side had far more researchers than those on the spaceship; they had a much larger team behind them, numbering in the thousands or even tens of thousands.

This is a remarkably powerful civilization.

I used to think they were just lowly beasts, but now I realize how ridiculous that was.

Fewer chips mean lower value, and no one will expend great effort to support something of no value. Many Riken Person understand this, and they are becoming increasingly uneasy.

As expected, everyone's worries were not unfounded.

A month later, two Riken Person were taken away.

Because people don't usually gather together, and there aren't convenient means of communication like Personal Terminal, nor is there artificial intelligence to help with statistics, Regi and his team didn't discover the two Riken were missing until two days later.

These were two members of the Guard Team. They didn't interact with others much, so much so that no one noticed them at all. If their original Captain hadn't gone to find them, who knows when they would have discovered this.

Regi didn't know where they were taken, and even when he asked Morgan and the others, they just gave him a strange smile and didn't answer.

Regi's smile now felt completely different from when he first saw them.

These smiles didn't look kind of innocent at all; instead, they were somewhat terrifying.

This made him feel like meat on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

Gradually, word spread, and fear permeated the crew.

Two weeks later, two more Riken Person disappeared.

Many Riken Person were on the verge of collapse after learning the news.

They answered the Swarm researchers' questions with more cooperation than ever before, and some even took the initiative to explain things.

Some of the Riken Person, however, were quite indifferent to the situation. They were the complete opposite of those who cooperated, displaying an attitude of complete nonchalance.

The Riken Person also secretly split into two factions, slandering each other and disliking one another.

Two people are disappearing every two weeks, from both factions. The Swarm seems to have its own set of selection criteria, which doesn't change because of their attitudes.

The Big Three meet.

"Do you know where they went?" Lute asked.

Regi shook his head.

"Weren't you on good terms with that Morgan? Didn't you get anything useful out of him?" Lute continued, undeterred.

"Hehe." The laughter carried a mix of emotions, including self-deprecation, bitterness, and resentment.

"What do you mean?" Lute's emotions had been extremely unstable lately, and he rolled up his sleeves, assuming a fighting stance.

"Heh." Regi ignored him, his laughter filled with sarcasm.

As Regi's longtime friend, Lute understood the meaning behind the laughter: it was a "come at me if you dare" message.

It seems Regi needs to vent too.

"Alright, we would have died when they stormed the ship. We've already lived this long enough. Don't let your men laugh at you at the end," Kamas interjected, his mindset undeniably the best.

Upon hearing these words, the two men who were about to fight suppressed their impulsiveness.

Yes, what's the point of a fight? Let's just maintain the last shred of dignity.

"You know what? I think about it every day, where did those missing people go?" Lute changed the subject, muttering, "You know, the Swarm is a biological civilization, do you understand what that means?"

"What does it represent?" Regi asked, trying to ease the tension.

"This means they are more interested in us as a whole than in the mechanical parts. After all, life forms from other galaxies might offer greater inspiration for their technology."

Regi and Kamas were both startled, but then somewhat relieved.

They had thought about these things before; they weren't difficult to deduce, but they had selectively ignored them in the past, and now Lute had made them clear.

This is the reality they are about to face.

Fear, helplessness, and timidity overwhelmed me.

Six months later, everything of value on the Cat Ear Spaceship had been removed, even the artificial intelligence's memory. The Swarm researchers had also gradually withdrawn, indicating that they had completed the analysis of the Cat Ear Spaceship and that it was no longer of any value.

Thus, the Cat Ear Spaceship became a true prison. When the Swarm were here before, the atmosphere of discussion was intense, but the effects weren't immediately apparent to everyone.

This feeling became more pronounced after the Swarm members withdrew.

As time goes by.

Some of the Riken Race were shouting and yelling in the cabin to vent their emotions; some were close to madness; some were weeping bitterly; and some remained silent.

Later, everything became utterly meaningless.

Everyone was waiting silently, waiting for the moment when they would be chosen.

And we look forward to that moment arriving soon.

Because this kind of waiting is just too agonizing.

Two years later, Regi was emaciated. The long-term mental torture had ravaged his once robust physique beyond recognition.

A year ago, the Swarm took away the Riken Race was no longer predictable; sometimes they would take away several Riken Race in a short time, and sometimes they wouldn't take away a single one for a long time.

The three experts speculated that there might be a problem with some of the Swarm's research.

But even if they knew, what could they do?

Six months ago, Kamas was taken away first.

A month later, Lute was also taken away.

Of the three giants of the Cat Ear Spaceship, only he remained, and the once lively cabin became deserted, with only a few Riken Race left on board.

Regi was somewhat envious of them, finally free from this torment.

Footsteps approached, steady and powerful, without the slightest hint of disorder.

A creature that can walk with such a pace on Cat Ear Spaceship these days is definitely not Riken Race.

The sound was like heavenly music.

A figure slowly approached Regi, who was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. Regi slowly raised his head.

"Is it finally my turn?" A hoarse voice came from Regi's mouth, completely unrecognizable from his former high spirits.

"Can't wait any longer, old friend?" A cheerful voice came from the other side, speaking in standard Riken Race language. Judging from the voice alone, one would never believe that the other person was an alien.

"Ah..." Regi let out a long sigh, containing complex emotions: longing, reluctance, unwillingness, relief mixed with a hint of joy.

"Then let's go," Morgan said softly.

Morgan then helped Regi put on his protective suit, and the two slowly walked out of the cabin, followed by two guards in menacing armor.

A Mature Biological Transport Ship is already waiting at the exit.

This was the first time Regi had ever heard of this thing being able to carry people. Thinking back to when he was trapped in the Cat Ear Spaceship, the information he gathered was just the tip of the iceberg.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and asked, "Is it alive?"

Morgan was walking ahead, was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and laughed, "Of course. Not only is it alive, it will also grow bigger." After saying that, he took a few quick steps, came to the Mature Form spaceship, and stroked it a few times. The Mature Form shook a few times in response.

Regi's eyes widened. "You mean, it's the same one that attacked us before?"

"That's right, those are just Larval Form. This is what they'll look like when they grow up, and they'll get even bigger."

At first, Regi only felt that the creature in front of him that could carry people was similar to the soft creature that had attacked them before, but he thought it must be a different model.

Just like their mechanical technology, the difference between small and large airplanes is that their principles are similar, so the finished products are also similar, but he never expected that they were actually the same thing.

Is this what biological civilization is?

"Incredible technology," Regi exclaimed, then worried about his mother's tribe. Could the Riken Race really withstand such a civilization? The two sides' war potential were simply not on the same level.

The bio-ship's interior was very comfortable, but unfortunately, there were no windows or anything like that. He wondered how these aliens managed to observe the outside world from inside the ship. Did they rely solely on the ship's own power to move around?

It's truly incomprehensible.