Essence

This universe, perhaps its inner world is constantly cycling and restarting, but it itself is a higher-level existence, and time is meaningless to it. Rowan only needs to accompany it, sleep in, and he can become stronger in his dreams.

However, Rowan hadn't undergone a complete transformation. He couldn't ignore time, and at that time, he didn't understand his own true nature. So, he did all sorts of things and, by chance, found a way to shorten the time it took to become stronger. "Intellect."

Regardless of Rowan's original motives, the birth of the "Intellect" did indeed make him stronger, not only in terms of technology, but more importantly in terms of the growth of the Swarm Network.

Perhaps because Rowan's ascension was achieved through the sacrifice of his life and spirit, he was able to draw upon spiritual energy to strengthen his essence.

This is more efficient than passively absorbing energy from the universe. Moreover, while absorbing spiritual energy, he can also absorb energy from the universe.

The process of forming Intellect involves the Swarm Network absorbing all of the spiritual entity's essence, creating a blank Intellect, and then copying the original entity's memories onto it.

Note that this process is predicated on Rowan absorbing and digesting the spiritual body, thus strengthening himself. As for what exactly the Intellect is, it is a derivative of the essence of a higher-dimensional being, which is difficult for lower-dimensional beings to comprehend. They might understand it as a clone, or a split personality, or something similar to precise control over one's own cells, but none of these are sufficient to describe that special relationship.

Whether or not he could understand this relationship, Rowan had become stronger, which meant that the Swarm Network had been strengthened. Unfortunately, Rowan did not understand this kind of strengthening at a higher level. All he could see was that the radiation range of the Node Unit had increased and that they could create more Anchor Point.

At the time, Rowan used various methods, such as putting his main body into hibernation or faking death, to hatch more main bodies and Mother Nest. In reality, the relationship between the main body and the Mother Nest and Rowan was merely that of a tool. The creation of them did not need to be so complicated. The reason why it was so difficult was inseparable from Rowan's own understanding at the time.

The powers of higher-dimensional beings are more a manifestation of their own will. At that time, Rowan was still stuck in his old way of thinking, believing that a being could only have one entity. This mental constraint prevented him from creating more Anchor Point.

Rowan's subsequent fancy maneuvers were more about self-hypnosis to circumvent the effects of the constraints. As for the fact that no matter how he tried to circumvent them, he could only create five main bodies or Mother Nest, it was because, with his abilities at the time, he could only create a maximum of five Anchor Unit.

As Rowan's true form grew stronger and his mindset underwent a gradual transformation, he came to understand more and more, and thus became capable of more and more. However, his self-awareness remained somewhat flawed.

The so-called Swarm Network underwent another upgrade. After that, he felt he had completely become a "network" person, but in fact, that was his characteristic, his essence.

Regardless of the type of network, they all have their own carriers. For example, the kind of network that Rowan previously knew had a carrier that was a memory and an electrical signal. Networks are not ethereal entities; their signals can be intercepted, and as long as their carriers are found, they can be destroyed.

However, since its inception, the Swarm Network has never been discovered by outsiders or detected by any instruments. So what is its carrier? What is its transmission method? Why can the Node Unit achieve communication without delay?

Now Rowan understands that the Swarm Network is its higher-dimensional essence, a lower-dimensional existence. Without the means to observe higher dimensions, no matter how powerful or technologically advanced it is in the lower-dimensional world, it is impossible to discover the existence of the Swarm Network.

Communication without delay is easier to understand. Although they seem to be scattered all over the world in low latitudes, in Rowan's essence they are actually one. Through communication outside of dimensions, there is naturally no delay.

There is no concept of large and small as understood by lower-dimensional beings in the usual sense between this universe and Rowan's body. Therefore, as long as there is Anchor Point, Rowan can arbitrarily connect two points in the lower-dimensional world through his higher-dimensional body, ignoring the so-called distance in the lower-dimensional world.

Having understood all this, Rowan felt as if he had finally come to know who he truly was. He had undergone another transformation, not in terms of ability or strength, but in terms of spirit—a deeper understanding and control over himself.

Therefore, the problem of network coverage in the Star Sea Alliance, which seemed insurmountable before, has become easier. Rowan's current ability allows him to create ten Anchor Unit. He is no longer limited to insect bodies or Mother Nest, and he no longer needs to go to such lengths as before. Now he can freely create whatever style he likes, only the quantity is limited.

So he created a small golden insect, wrapped it in amber, and had the departing Intellect carry it with him. To reduce attention, he also chose a Ricken Intellect.

It can help Rowan locate the position of this universe, allowing Rowan to find it through dimensional barriers and the protection of this universe, and connect the Node Unit around it.

However, as the Intellect and the Anchor Point worms gradually moved away, Rowan made a new discovery. It turned out that the Node Unit themselves could also send coordinates, but their signals were weak and could not penetrate the many barriers. In addition, Rowan's physical strength was slightly weaker, so he could not actively find them.

However, when tens of thousands of Node Unit are gathered together, the signal strength they generate is comparable to that of Anchor Unit. At this point, even if there are no Anchor Unit around them, Rowan can find them and connect to them.

Does this mean that the limit on the number of Anchor Unit is useless? Although ten seems like a lot, the Swarm has only used the second one so far. But with the continuous advancement of technology and the increase in travel speed, the coverage area of Swarm Network will definitely face constraints again.

If the speed of the Swarm reaches eight times the speed of light of the current Epoch Clan, it would be impossible to fly a distance to slow down and escape the Warp Bubble in order to set up network nodes when exploring unknown star fields. This would not only be very troublesome, but also greatly affect efficiency.

But now it's easily solved. As long as the number of Node Unit in the exploration force is kept at a certain level, Rowan won't lose them. Rowan is in a good mood, having solved a potential future problem. Moreover, as his essence continues to strengthen, the boundaries between Node Unit and Anchor Unit may become blurred in the future, and they will no longer be distinguishable. Any Node Unit can become an Anchor Unit, and Rowan can find them through all barriers, regardless of their signal strength.