Lu Shang

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Lu Shang (陆熵)
Alias(es)	Swarm Commander; Brain Core Lu Shang; Main Brain Lu Shang; Hive Mind 3 4 24 45
Species/Race	Human from Earth; transmigrated into the Babel Swarm's territory after a failed attempt to release the Void God from the Frozen Cycle 1
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Babel Swarm; initially commands Nestworld's swarm, later directs the overall war effort 4 36
Occupation/Role	Swarm commander, hive mind, strategist, and political representative of the Babel Swarm 3 45
Status	Active; has achieved bodily immortality through psionic microscopic alteration 49
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Below Level One (personal psionic power)	13	Lu Shang states that he has not personally reached Level One, despite coordinating multiple Level Ten psionic brains.
Unranked — accelerated thought	22	Develops accelerated thought through spatial expansion, allowing time to pass far faster within expanded spacetime.
Unranked — holistic psionic warp	22	Develops a warp technique that bends spacetime across a hundred-million-kilometer radius around planetary organisms, allowing an entire Scout Nebula to make faster-than-light jumps.
Unranked — microscopic bodily control	49	Uses psionic control over molecules, cell division, metabolism, and endocrine function to continually renew his body and achieve immortality.

Background / History

Lu Shang was an ordinary human from Earth until a failed attempt by the Babel Swarm's former Overmind to free the Void God instead pulled him across space and time. He awoke alone in a cave on Nestworld, a hive planet facing imminent destruction by the Galactic Alliance's Earthburst Star weapon. 1

His body had been altered enough to connect him to Nestworld's psionic swarm network. Through it, he could understand swarm creatures, access their senses, and observe the planet from within and without. 2 Although initially terrified and desperate to survive, he recognized that his fate was tied to the swarm's survival.

Lu Shang used the swarm's Level Ten psionics to move Nestworld itself through faster-than-light travel, escaping the Galactic Alliance fleet. Afterward, he demanded formal recognition as the Nestworld swarm's brain core; tens of thousands of swarm creatures agreed to obey him unconditionally. 3 4 5

Rather than submit to the Babel Swarm's new Overlord, Lu Shang built an independent power base. He restructured the swarm's research, military methods, and political thinking around psionics, independent thought, and strategic warfare rather than traditional mass-creature assaults. 12 13 14

Appearance

Lu Shang has a human body distinct from the Babel Swarm's creatures. Galactic Alliance personnel identify him as an intelligent species rather than a beast when he appears in communications. 3

• Sparse body hair with abundant hair on his head. 3
• Two arms and two legs. 3
• Initially wears dry woven-fiber clothing. 3
• Lives in a cave that is later renovated with smooth floors and walls, lights, appliances, furniture, a fireplace, and holographic television. 45

Personality

Lu Shang begins his time on Nestworld openly panicked, sarcastic, and prone to profanity, but he quickly becomes decisive when survival is at stake. He refuses to trust the Galactic Alliance with his life or dignity, concluding that survival alongside the swarm is his only viable option. 1 4

He is intensely pragmatic and independent. Lu Shang rejects the authority of the Overlord, mocks incompetent swarm leaders, and insists that swarm individuals learn to think for themselves rather than blindly follow a ruler. 12 13 14 24 He values initiative even when it produces strange ideas, seeing independent thought as necessary for the swarm's development. 15 19

Lu Shang is also manipulative and ruthless in war. He uses infection, trade, propaganda, psychological warfare, hostage-like threats, and strategic restraint to weaken opponents without always relying on direct annihilation. 10 15 27 36 46 However, he generally keeps his stated agreements with administrative planets that accept swarm spores and does not treat violence as an end in itself. 29 36

Abilities & Skills

Psionic Swarm-Network Connection

Lu Shang is connected to the Babel Swarm's psionic network, allowing him to communicate with swarm organisms and command them across vast distances.

• Reads the intentions of swarm creatures without spoken language. 2
• Receives sensory information from swarm organisms, including a planet-wide view of Nestworld. 2
• Issues orders to hives, worker bees, Behemoths, planetary organisms, Overminds, and main brains. 4 16 25
• Uses the network to communicate with external factions, including the Galactic Alliance and other Void God vassal races. 3 40 45

Swarm-Directed Psionic Warfare

Lu Shang develops and directs numerous applications of the swarm's psionic power, turning it into the foundation of his military doctrine.

• Warp bubbles — Orders Level Ten psionic brains to distort spacetime for faster-than-light travel, including Nestworld's escape. 2 5
• Psionic Impact — Applies kinetic energy directly through psionics; two hundred thousand Behemoth brains can launch an Earth-sized planet like a baseball. 8
• Psionic Deflection — Curves incoming shells, missiles, plasma, and lasers away from their targets. 9
• Psionic Grip — Reaches through warship armor and compresses targets inside into dense spheres of flesh. 10 11
• Gravitational interdiction — Uses psionic gravitational waves to prevent enemy ships or planets from forming faster-than-light warp bubbles. 10 46
• Sublight kinetic strikes — Accelerates rocks to near-light speed when enemies remain beyond psionic range. 18

Limitations

• Level Ten psionic brains have a finite effective range; linking multiple brains does not increase that range beyond roughly one hundred million kilometers. 13
• Gravitational-interference ships can disrupt the formation of warp bubbles. 9 18
• The Galactic Alliance exploited psionic range limits with particle accelerators that created microscopic black holes. 18

Planetary Organism Development

Lu Shang orders the design and mass incubation of planetary organisms, biological celestial structures capable of housing far more psionic brains than ordinary planets.

• A planetary organism can support at least five million psionic brains, compared with roughly five hundred thousand for a conventional solid planet. 16
• Extracts stellar matter and uses it to incubate additional planetary organisms. 16 17
• Uses planetary organisms to counter black-hole induction strikes, destroy stars, attack administrative planets, and produce new swarm forces. 25 29 46
• Delegates many later battles to other Overminds once the organisms become the swarm's primary military force. 40

Scout Nebula and Galactic Intelligence Network

Lu Shang develops microscopic scout organisms to overcome the swarm's intelligence and perception limitations.

• Proposes expanding perception after the Galactic Alliance begins attacking from outside psionic range. 19
• Oversees the Scout Nebula, which enables faster-than-light sensory speed but initially interferes with near-light-speed counterattacks. 21
• Develops second-generation scouts: microscopic, diamond-like organisms that survive on cosmic microwave background radiation. 48
• Plans to spread the second-generation scouts throughout the galaxy to form an intelligence network capable of ending the war. 48 49

Black Curtain

Lu Shang directs new-generation planetary organisms to create a flattened black hole made from concentrated psychic energy.

• The resulting black curtain exceeds 200,000 kilometers in area while measuring roughly three nanometers thick. 32
• Stops sublight rocks without visible disturbance. 32
• Is tested against black-hole-induced and beam-type attacks. 32
• Protects planetary organisms while they prevent administrative planets from escaping by faster-than-light travel. 46

Strategic and Political Leadership

Lu Shang applies human-style military strategy, diplomacy, and psychological warfare to a swarm that previously relied on brute force.

• Uses negotiations with the Galactic Alliance fleet as a stalling tactic during Nestworld's escape. 3
• Trades captured warships to Hathe's governor Soland in exchange for toilet paper, deliberately fostering distrust toward the Dias Empire. 10
• Reforms the swarm's ideology by challenging centralized Overlord rule and promoting collective decision-making. 13 14
• Teaches Overlords and main brains to exploit enemy weaknesses, preserve initiative, and coordinate attacks. 25 38
• Changes the swarm's external slogan from “the swarm devours everything” to “everything is for love and dreams.” 36
• Represents the Babel Swarm in political negotiations and demands the surrender of five Galactic Alliance member powers. 45 46

Immortality

Lu Shang uses psionic power to maintain his human body indefinitely.

• Controls molecular and cellular processes throughout his body. 49
• Removes deteriorating cells and stimulates healthy cells to divide. 49
• Restores his body to the condition it was in when he first awakened, retaining his memories. 49

Relationships

• Nestworld swarm — His first followers; they recognize him as their brain core after he leads Nestworld's faster-than-light escape and promises their survival. 4 5
• Worker bees — His earliest direct contacts within the swarm; they excavate his cave, construct facilities on his orders, and carry out operations ranging from research support to battlefield retrieval. 2 4 11
• New Overlord / Sovereign — Initially an authority Lu Shang refuses to submit to; later becomes an ally after agreeing to provide genetic material in exchange for Lu Shang's aid. 12 22 24
• Nanali — Former Sovereign and hive mind who works under Lu Shang, assists with political negotiations, and reports progress on intelligence concerning the Frozen Cycle. 45 49
• Soland — Governor of Hathe; submits to swarm-spore infection and becomes Lu Shang's trading partner for captured warships, toilet paper, and alien food. 8 10 11
• Kalogo — Main brain assigned to negotiate with the Galactic Alliance; impatient with diplomacy and favors immediate military action. 48
• Bahadun'er — Crystal Entity collective and former fellow vassal race of the Void God; becomes hostile after Lu Shang refuses to search for the Void God's seal without compensation. 40 41 44
• Galactic Alliance — Lu Shang's principal enemy; he alternates between warfare, diplomacy, intimidation, infection-based expansion, and long-term intelligence operations against it. 3 10 45 49

Major Arcs

Escape from Nestworld

Lu Shang learns that the Galactic Alliance intends to destroy Nestworld with an Earthburst Star weapon. He proposes using Level Ten psionics to create a warp bubble, stalls the enemy fleet with false peace negotiations, and escapes by moving the entire hive planet faster than light. 2 3 5

Bogu Grand Nebula Campaign

After destroying Miro Star and spreading spores to Hathe, Lu Shang lures more than one hundred million Galactic Alliance ships into a trap. He blocks their escape, captures intact warships, eliminates resisters with Psionic Grip, and turns Hathe into a source of supplies and political instability. 7 8 9 10

Swarm Reformation

Lu Shang captures a hostile swarm brain, refuses to join the new Overlord, and begins challenging the Babel Swarm's traditional hierarchy. He promotes gene editing, independent thought, collective decision-making, and a strategic philosophy of using enemies against one another. 12 13 14 15

Planetary Organism Arms Race

In response to the Galactic Alliance's black-hole-induction weapons, Lu Shang creates planetary organisms, Scout Nebulae, accelerated thought, holistic warp, and eventually the black curtain. These developments transform the swarm into a force capable of harvesting stellar matter, destroying stars, and countering black-hole attacks. 16 18 21 22 25 32

Command of the Sovereign's Front

When the Galactic Alliance attacks the new Sovereign's swarm, Lu Shang agrees to help in exchange for a copy of the Sovereign's genes. He connects to its swarm network, assumes full command, stabilizes its collapsing defenses with nebular barriers, and openly reprimands both the Sovereign and its main brains. 22 24

Galactic Expansion and Negotiation

Lu Shang shifts from direct assaults on industrial targets to infection and political pressure against administrative planets. He delegates combat to other Overminds, intimidates the Galactic Alliance's member civilizations into surrender, and uses negotiations to stall until the galaxy-wide scout network is complete. 29 40 45 46 49

Notable Quotes

“Make as few enemies as possible, and as many friends as possible.” 15

“Let’s wait and see.” 17

“The Sovereigns within the swarm are too redundant. There will be no more Sovereigns in the swarm from now on.” 45

“Those who want to die may die. The Swarm will only keep those who wish to live.” 10

Trivia

• Lu Shang's demand for research-capable swarm organisms is partly motivated by the lack of usable toilet paper on Nestworld. 6
• He trades captured Galactic Alliance warships to Soland in exchange for toilet paper. 10
• He buys alien food from Hathe because he becomes sick of eating the swarm's food for months. 11
• He describes viewing the universe through second-generation scouts as feeling “as though he were God.” 48