Star Gate

In the early stages, Rowan lost sight of many Node Unit due to limitations in strength. However, as his strength increased and the number of branch bases expanded, his connection with the main universe became closer, which made it increasingly easier for Rowan to locate new regions.

Originally, it would have taken tens of thousands of Node Unit to light up a new map for the Swarm, but that number has now been reduced to less than a thousand.

The reduced requirements led to the reactivation of many previously disconnected areas, and their numbers increased significantly. After these entities were reintegrated into the Swarm Network, Rowan issued new instructions.

In fact, it is very easy to gather a thousand Node Unit in a region. This is because Rowan can remotely command Node Unit to perform mutation operations under the influence of the constantly upgrading Swarm Network.

With sufficient energy, any Node Unit can mutate into Creep, which in turn can spawn Insect Empress Creep. With Insect Empress, a new Zerg base can be established in a short time, from which a thousand more Node Unit can be spawned—it couldn't be easier.

However, all of this is predicated on Rowan being able to link to and command them, because without Rowan's authorization and permission, the Node Unit themselves cannot perform these operations.

The uncertainty surrounding the loss of contact with Node Unit prevented Rowan from granting them permissions in advance. This wasn't out of concern that the Node Unit might betray him; even if they lost contact, they would never harbor any ill intentions towards Rowan.

Rowan is concerned that when Node Unit are out of contact, they may make some hasty decisions due to a lack of intelligence support, leading to exposure and causing problems.

However, with the continuous release of Life-Extending Serum and the decreasing number of Node Unit needed to light up the map, the movement of people alone often meets the quantity requirement and lights up an area.

However, since this is a temporary gathering, the lighting in this area is unstable and there is a high possibility of losing contact again. But while the location is being determined, Rowan can issue an authorization to mutate one of the Node Unit, leaving a Zerg base in that area and permanently lighting it up.

As these areas gradually increase, the Star Sea Alliance's territory within the Swarm Network appears like spots of light appearing in the void, then connecting into strands and threads, like a tattered rag. At this rate, perhaps in a few hundred years, this rag will stretch and glue together, becoming a brand new, flawless piece of silk.

Even in its current tattered state, its effectiveness against Rowan should not be underestimated, and it can even bring some pleasant surprises at times...

For example, the real reason Rowan was in this predicament was that in a newly lit area, Rowan unexpectedly discovered Cecil he hadn't seen in a long time.

This is an Epoch Clan enclave far from the Zerg territory, roughly estimated to be over two thousand light-years away. At this stage, it's impossible to gather a significant number of people over such a long distance through sheer numbers, and the process of illuminating this place was quite dramatic.

When the Riken Race and Zerg first joined the Star Sea Alliance, a group of researchers who had been converted into points left en masse. Although many Node Unit were mixed in, as they were gradually dispersed, most of them eventually lost contact.

However, there was one team that Rowan could always locate, no matter how many members they lost. The reason was that one of the team members was carrying a specimen of Golden-Armored Bug.

The Golden-Armored Bug that slipped through the Epoch Clan's inspection and was categorized as personal belongings is an extremely valuable Anchor Unit, both then and now.

It was thanks to this Golden-Armored Bug that Rowan was able to keep track of their movements, even when the number of Node Unit in this team was reduced to a few dozen at its lowest.

This team also made many contributions to the Zerg. Whenever they stopped along the way, a Creep Seed would be planted. Whenever the team was split up, the Golden-Armored Bug would transfer to the Node Unit that continued to move. In this way, they opened up a path on the map.

When they arrived at Cecil's location, there were fewer than ten Node Unit left. These ten researchers were all from the biological research branch, and it seemed that they could no longer be split up. This would be their work location from now on.

A distance of two thousand light-years would take over two hundred years even for the Epoch Clan Humins's vehicle to travel non-stop. The spaceships of ordinary, newly joined foreign researchers were far too slow to match the speed of Elder Epoch Clan's vehicle.

If they rely solely on warp drive for flight, it might take them over three hundred years to arrive, a time during which the war against the insectoids would likely be over.

Rowan had long suspected that the Epoch Clan possessed a much faster mode of transportation. Because relying solely on the speed demonstrated by the warp drive, it would be almost impossible for them to control such a vast territory, even if they built overseas enclaves everywhere.

Therefore, they must have had a rapid deployment method of movement. This was only confirmed after Humins's defection.

The Epoch Clan possesses a device called a "Star Gate," which is a large, controllable wormhole. It is built near the orbit of a star and can only be opened by relying on the massive energy supply of Dyson Sphere.

However, this Star Gate is different from Rowan's Warp Skill; it's more similar to the technology of the small, controllable wormhole on Porter Star. Although the Star Gate can be opened independently, the Star Sea Alliance has never had a record of anyone surviving a single-sided Star Gate. Those brave explorers were either instantly crushed into dust by the violent energy or disappeared within the Star Gate itself, swept away by spatial turbulence to some unknown corner.

Therefore, to use Star Gate safely, a Star Gate must also be built at the destination. Building Star Gate is an extremely resource-intensive and time-consuming task, which limits the Star Gate to a semi-fixed facility, providing services to the Star Sea Alliance.

At certain transportation hubs, the Epoch Clan builds these Star Gate to provide services for both the Epoch Clan and other races. However, because each opening of Star Gate consumes a huge amount of energy, they are opened only once every month or three months, depending on the traffic flow.

Although Cecil's location was far from the Zerg, it was not remote within the Star Sea Alliance. Therefore, the Epoch Clan ships carrying Anchor Unit only waited for less than twenty days before the Star Gate opened.

Against the backdrop of the vast starry sky, the enormous fireball was covered by a special energy-absorbing material on its outer layer. Although the mesh structure made of this material had large gaps, it still reduced the brightness of this star system considerably, making the environment here somewhat dim.

Thank you to Ni Chuan Shui Shang Ren and the Barbarian King with Ultimate for the 100 Qidian Coins reward.