Infiltration

Although it's a bit of a shame that we didn't land directly on this life-bearing planet, landing in its orbit means there will be plenty of opportunities to infiltrate it in the future.

However, the situation that followed was somewhat unexpected for Rowan. Unlike the large Star Port at the previous Star Gate, the large artificial satellite where the Anchor Unit landed mainly housed various research units and was therefore not open to the public.

The people coming and going on the satellite were all members of the Epoch Clan. Several Node Unit were assigned to an ordinary laboratory to assist and learn, without any heavy tasks. After all, they came from what the Alliance considered a barbaric region, much like savages who had just come into contact with civilization, so they definitely needed to learn and catch up first.

Because there are no outsiders and the satellite is filled with various laboratories, it has a high level of security and numerous security facilities. In addition, the entire satellite is man-made, with pipes running through it from every angle. These pipes contain not only various monitoring instruments but also security robots that patrol the area.

This tight defense left Rowan with almost no chance to bury the Creep.

Fortunately, there's always a way out. Since the Node Unit were all newcomers and hadn't yet been exposed to highly classified experiments, they had relatively free time to act.

This freedom doesn't mean they can move freely on the island, but rather that they can more easily apply to travel to Life Star. The Epoch Clan's policy towards newcomers is relatively lenient.

Newcomers often leave their mother tribe and then travel long distances, experiencing a sudden change in their living environment. In addition, their close relatives have become strange-looking outsiders, which can easily breed negative emotions.

Especially for outer-circle members like the Riken Race, who have just joined the Star Sea Alliance, many of their concepts, customs, and perspectives are still at the planetary level because they are new to the space environment. If not handled properly, they are prone to depression, which can lead them to do bad things.

To address this situation, newcomers receive various professional psychological counseling services during their first few years, and can easily apply to visit Life Star for relaxation.

This Life Star boasts diverse landscapes and recreational facilities, ensuring that newcomers can always find a sense of home somewhere. This is an experience accumulated by the Epoch Clan over many years, and it is largely for this reason that the extremely important and dangerous laboratory was built in orbit around the Life Star.

The members of the Node Unit naturally wouldn't waste this opportunity. After alleviating the fatigue of the long journey and the depression of being away from home, and after a month of observation to verify their good health, they collectively applied to go to the Life Star to relax.

The operation proceeded smoothly without any unexpected incidents. The Epoch Clan's Transport Craft, carrying several Node Unit and other aliens, departed from the satellite and, within minutes, traversed the planet's atmosphere, landing at an airport on the planet's surface.

Before the group could even properly prepare, their journey was over. Traveling through the atmosphere was much faster and more convenient than taking a bus in early civilizations.

Although the soil and air composition were different from their hometown, and the Node Unit, who were identified as members of the Riken Race, still needed to wear Breathing Mask to move around normally, Rowan knew the moment they touched the ground that this was a sure thing.

While still aboard the artificial satellite, the Node Unit collected some energy and used a small amount of body tissue to mutate several Nano-Seed. The Nano-Seed were Rowan's masterpiece at a certain point in his life; these nanoscale creations were a basic type of Swarm unit.

Under suitable conditions, the Nano-Seed will absorb all the energy around it to replicate itself. Once it reaches a certain level, it will undergo its first mutation. If successful, it will join the Swarm Network and become a glorious Node Unit.

However, at this point they are just a mass of pure organic compounds. Even if they are discovered, it would be difficult to tell what they are, and they might just be mistaken for discarded food scraps.

Rowan would examine their status and select suitable individuals for remote gene sequence transmission. They would then mutate again after absorbing energy until they became the target individuals.

Rowan developed this technology amidst tensions with the Star Sea Alliance and a wave of negative public opinion surrounding the Zerg, with the aim of launching a large-scale expansion into the Star Sea Alliance front.

However, due to the limitations of Nano-Seed, their projectile flight speed can no longer keep up with the current expansion needs. Therefore, they were shelved for a period of time. Nevertheless, their nanoscale size makes them the best unit for Swarm infiltration and penetration, bar none. Moreover, Rowan has now developed new uses for them, allowing them to shine once again.

While the Node Unit were sightseeing and traveling like normal newcomers, relaxing, they secretly released the Nano-Seed to the roadside when no one around them was paying attention.

Actually, there's no need to be so careful. The size of the Nano-Seed is countless times smaller than a booger. Without special monitoring equipment to closely observe it, even if it were released in front of those foreign races, they wouldn't notice.

The Node Unit continued its relaxed journey, while the deployed Nano-Seed had already begun self-replication. Because of its small size, its energy requirements for self-replication were minimal, so it did not take long to meet the mutation requirements.

Rowan, who had been paying close attention to this matter, did not delay at all and immediately authorized the Nano-Seed to proceed with the next step. Several Nano-Seed, which had already swelled considerably, burned all their energy and successfully mutated into Creep seeds.

The powerful Creep is Rowan's most outstanding achievement, an outward manifestation of all Rowan knowledge and abilities. A single Creep seed represents infinite possibilities.

If a Creep seed falls onto a planet and isn't eradicated early on, it will eventually grow to the point where only destroying the planet can eliminate it.

The development of the Creep was very smooth. Even as a Seed, its energy absorption rate far exceeded that of the Nano-Seed. Before long, the Creep seed grew roots.

The roots absorb energy from their surroundings, but instead of expanding laterally, they continue to extend downwards. At the same time, the parts above them begin to decay and decay, erasing any trace of their existence on the planet's surface.

The Epoch Clan could not have imagined that the Swarm could infiltrate in this way, especially since this place was more than two thousand light-years away from the Swarm's territory. Although the security and defense level here was very high, it was not to guard against the Swarm.

Therefore, without the Epoch Clan's knowledge, the Creep took root deep underground on the planet, and then, after Rowan authorized it, a portion of the Creep's body tissue burned energy and mutated into Insect Empress Egg.

The birth of Insect Empress Egg marks the beginning of a Swarm base, the start of infinite possibilities.

Thank you so much for the 100 Qidian coins!