I Am The Swarm-Chapter 639: Investigation

“The Swarm still controls vast territories, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The war has only just begun.”

“Exactly. This war could last a very long time. We might spend half our lives fighting it.”

“You guys are quite the optimists. Alright, alright, I hope I can survive until retirement.”

“That won’t be easy, unless every battle goes as smoothly as this one.”

“You’re probably overthinking it. The reason this battle has gone so well is, first, we have the firepower advantage, and second, we have those Outer-Ring civilization fleets acting as shields for us.”

“That’s true. Those Outer-Ring civilization fleets can’t sustain such losses for long. It won’t be long before their fleets are completely depleted, and then it’ll be entirely up to us.”

“Their population numbers and war potential are just too weak. They’re far from meeting the standards for participating in a war of this scale.”

“Hmph, forget about them. I think even some of the Mid-Ring civilizations might not meet the standards for this war after the Swarm showcased its dark energy-based units.”

“Don’t say that. At the very least, the Mid-Ring civilizations make much better shields than the Outer-Ring ones.”

“Haha, true.”

“There’s no need to gloat. If this war continues, the fleets of civilizations with inferior technology will eventually be wiped out. When it’s our turn to be the weakest on the battlefield, we’ll be the ones serving as cannon fodder.”

Hearing this crew member’s words, the surrounding group fell silent. Although they wanted to argue, they couldn’t find any grounds to refute him because what he said was undeniably true.

“Haha, that’s a problem for the distant future. Maybe we’ll be sunk before that happens.”

“Good point. In that case, we don’t need to worry about what comes after. Perfect!”

“Shut up, you two jinxes! I’m going to make it to retirement.”

With some self-deprecating humor, the previously tense atmosphere lightened up again. However, Segal, who was operating the instruments, grew increasingly serious and solemn.

“What’s wrong, Segal? Hasn’t that monitor been fixed yet? Honestly, those robots work much more efficiently than we do.”

“Hey, that’s just you. I work very hard. One of me can do the work of at least two robots.”

“If boasting had destructive power, you could win this war single-handedly.”

“Then you’re underestimating my combat abilities.”

“Haha, true. If boasting had destructive power, we could all go home right now. You could take care of the Swarm by yourself.”

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“Well, you’d better hurry up and pack, or I’ll finish the war before you’re ready.”

However, their banter didn’t ease Segal’s tense expression. He continued to stare intently at the instrument in front of him.

Suddenly, a series of error messages came from the instrument, silencing the surrounding chatter.

“Segal? What’s going on?” asked Alexon, the group leader.

“I don’t know. The two engineering robots I sent to repair the equipment just suddenly lost contact,” Segal replied loudly. Then, the instrument sounded another alarm, and Segal’s eyes narrowed. “Sir, another monitor on the B5 deck has gone dark. This might not be an accident or a quality issue.”

One incident could be an accident, but the probability of two incidents happening in quick succession was infinitesimally small. Everyone understood this.

“Are we under attack or something?”

“Could the Swarm have infiltrated us?” If the ship’s interior was under attack, given the current battlefield conditions, the first thing that came to mind was the Swarm.

“How is that possible? Don’t mythologize the Swarm. They’re not omnipotent,” another crew member refuted.

“Right. Our ship’s hull is intact, and there’s no sign of intrusion at any of the entry points. Don’t scare yourselves,” the previous crew member’s viewpoint gained more support. Whether they truly believed this or were just seeking comfort was unclear.

“Segal, did the engineering robots transmit any abnormal footage before they lost contact?” asked Alexon, the group leader. At their level of technology, equipping machines with one or even several cameras to transmit real-time footage was trivial.

“No abnormalities, sir. They lost contact suddenly,” Segal reported. “To ensure I didn’t miss anything, I’ve sent the footage to Gwendolyn. We should get feedback soon.”

“Good job, Segal,” praised Alexon. Although Segal was just a low-ranking crew member, it was only due to his lack of seniority. The young Segal had graduated from a prestigious military academy and was highly skilled, no less capable than seasoned veterans. After this war, he would likely be promoted to group leader.

At that point, he would be on par with Alexon, and with his potential for rapid advancement, he might even become Alexon’s superior in a few days. It was only natural to praise him now to build a good relationship.

Gwendolyn was the ship’s artificial intelligence. Sentient beings had limited capacity to receive and process information simultaneously, which could lead to oversight when reviewing video footage. Artificial intelligence, as long as the hardware and software were up to par, didn’t have this problem. This was perhaps why people both feared and admired Lumina.

“Sir, Gwendolyn’s feedback is in. She reviewed the footage three times and found no useful information,” Segal reported after receiving a message moments later.

“Send five repair teams to investigate!” Alexon thought for a moment before issuing the order. Each repair team consisted of two engineering robots, so five teams meant ten robots. Such a large-scale deployment was usually reserved for unexpected hull breaches. Using it to repair two monitors was indeed overkill.

However, this wasn’t a waste of resources. It was to confirm the status of the B5 deck. If everything was normal, then the earlier incidents were likely just rare accidents.

“Understood, sir!” Segal nodded and quickly sent instructions to the repair teams on standby in B5 deck.

The banter had already stopped earlier. Although the crew members looked down upon the enemy on a strategic level, they were still very concerned about the situation on B5 deck. After all, many of them had sworn to survive until retirement.

Time passed slowly, and the crew members felt as though they were living through years in a single day. Segal, observing their expressions, felt a hint of disdain. These guys were really quite weak.