A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 2

[Energy. The most important thing is energy.]

“…Then how do we provide that energy?”

[Just now, we obtained the genetic information of the fungi living in the cave and the Earth Ants you collected. This means we can mimic their nutrient absorption methods.]

“Ah, I see.”

Kang Shin-Woo glanced at the snack bag beside him.

It was unopened and still new. But could it really be edible?

There was no need to worry about that.

If ants could eat it, then so could they.

[Then take a picture of it.]

He picked up the camera as instructed.

It was oddly annoying to be ordered around, but there was no other choice.

[The snack you photographed has been transmitted to them.]

As he opened the bag and spread the snacks out, they disappeared into the mobile phone the moment the picture was taken.

In the dim cave, the snacks tumbled down with a faint thudding sound.

Kang Shin-Woo monitored the reaction of the cells.

At first, they were cautious.

But soon enough, they began to produce something and started to extend.

[It is a mix of the Fungal Growth Method and the Ant’s Gene.]

As the cells clustered together, threadlike strands began to branch out in countless directions.

The strands, tentatively stretching out, started to cover the snacks.

It was as though plant roots were absorbing nutrients, attempting to digest the snacks.

Zooming in further, cells equipped with jaws capable of crushing fungi were seen clinging to the snacks and gnawing at them.

[We are still primitive. Digestion will take a long time.]

“…It seems that way.”

In other words, there was nothing to do while the digestion was happening.

Even so, Kang Shin-Woo kept watching his mobile phone.

It was quite entertaining.

Watching those tiny creatures wriggle and gradually grow was fascinating.

There was a certain joy in nurturing them, surpassing that of any ordinary simulation game.

“Hmm…”

Leaving the mobile phone aside, Kang Shin-Woo sat down in front of his computer.

Entertaining as it was, he opened a search engine and typed in “Smartphone Hacking.”

He wanted to see if there were others experiencing the same symptoms as him.

But the results were clean.

Just to be sure, he searched in English as well, but there were no similar cases to be found.

He opened the messenger app but closed it again.

Honestly, unless he showed it to someone in person, it seemed unlikely anyone would believe him. The threat from the entity also lingered in his mind.

It sounded absurd, but if it were true…

He had already witnessed objects disappearing the moment they were photographed.

This wasn’t something that could be dismissed as mere hacking.

[A wise choice.]

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, the screen went dark, and white text began to appear again.

This lunatic was now invading his computer as well!

[It would also be wise not to make it obvious.]

“Why should I do that?”

[Not only for the sake of protecting your mobile phone records… but also because it concerns your life.]

It was just text, but it carried an eerie weight.

Kang Shin-Woo had no choice but to acknowledge it. The entity clearly held the upper hand.

Come to think of it, it had mentioned this was a game.

There was no guarantee that this game was single-player.

“Why me? There are plenty of exceptional people out there. I’m just an ordinary college student.”

[Didn’t I tell you? You downloaded it yourself. All I did was activate the system and find its owner, Kang Shin-Woo.]

“…”

He was at a loss for words.

It seemed like sheer bad luck, and there was nothing more to argue about.

Eventually, Kang Shin-Woo turned off his computer and flopped back onto his bed.

He had studying to do, but in this situation, he couldn’t focus at all.

“…Hmm?”

He ended up falling asleep.

Considering the circumstances, it was surprising he could sleep, but the toll of an all-night study session had been heavy.

Next to his ear, his mobile phone blared noisily with an alarm.

“What is it?”

[An attack. Sweet snacks that suddenly fell into the dim cave. The scent has attracted them.]

The source of the alarm was the Mysterious Game.

Panicking, Kang Shin-Woo quickly opened the app.

“You said there was an enemy. Where are they?”

[Zoom in.]

Following the entity’s instructions, he zoomed in on the screen.

The intruders were extremely tiny creatures.

Were there no large animals living in this cave?

[This might actually be a good thing. We can’t handle large enemies at our current level.]

His question was quickly answered.

At any rate, the invaders crawling toward them were tiny, comparable to fleas.

[We have an abundance of stored energy. We can face them.]

To confront the approaching enemies, they began to mobilize.

Tentacles stretched out toward the intruders drawn to the digesting snacks.

[We combined the Fungal Growth Method with the Ant’s Gene.]

The tips of the roots swelled like tumors and began to rapidly take shape.

What they formed took Kang Shin-Woo by surprise.

Though small in size, the resulting creations unmistakably resembled ants.

Severing their connection with the tentacles, the ants swarmed toward the enemies that threatened their food supply.

[We are many yet one. There was no inefficiency in our movements. Larger and stronger, we easily overpowered the enemies. And the defeated foes became part of our assets.]

[Cave Blood-Sucking Flea: 1B1557]

The battle ended anticlimactically.

It was their victory.

Moreover, they had absorbed the attributes of the defeated enemies.

[Now, we can also use the blood of other lifeforms as nutrients.]

“…Amazing.”

Kang Shin-Woo genuinely admired this.

Setting aside how suspicious it all was, his curiosity grew stronger.

“What are you doing, oppa?”

“Nothing.”

That evening, Kang Do-Yeon, who had returned from school and cram school, frowned as she saw him lying on the living room floor with his face buried.

Kang Do-Yeon, six years younger than him and now a high school student, had spoken up.

“…Is there a bug?”

“I caught it, so don’t worry about it.”

She flinched.

Kang Do-Yeon particularly disliked bugs.

At any rate, he had indeed caught it, so he waved her off and sent her to her room.

[Fruit Fly and Ghost Spider. They have all become our assets.]

New specimens I found while searching through the house.

I took pictures of those tiny insects and transmitted them to the cave.

Hundreds of them jumped toward the fruit fly fluttering in mid-air, successfully hunting it down.

This was thanks to the introduction of sturdy leg strength derived from flea genes.

The ghost spider, like the ants, was immediately devoured.

[In just one day, we have grown this much.]

The entity’s words were true.

Starting in the morning, now it was 9 PM.

The cell clusters, which had been no more than a small puddle, had already spread their roots over a significant area, taking on the form of mushrooms and producing a considerable number of soldiers.

“What should I do to make them grow even bigger?”

[More energy. More specimens.]

Now, I was genuinely curious about how far they could grow.

“What the… My bread! Did you eat it, oppa?”

“…I’ll buy you more later.”

After changing clothes, my younger sister immediately started searching for the bread we bought yesterday.

It was a bit unfair, but I had to compensate her.

However, that large amount of bread wasn’t eaten by me.

The packaging had been torn apart, and the bread had rolled somewhere into the depths of the cave floor.

Becoming nutrients for the reproduction of a species.

“…They’re growing incredibly fast.”

[If nutrients are sufficient, the growth rate can be increased.]

Early in the morning, I checked my mobile phone as soon as I woke up.

And I was astonished.

In just eight hours, they had achieved growth far exceeding the bread they consumed.

[By combining the growth of spider webs and fungi, the primordial ‘nest’ has been created.]

“It’s enormous…”

Turning the screen, I marveled at the sight.

The cells, which had started from a puddle the size of a human footprint, now covered more than half of the underground cavern with their roots and bodies.

Of course, it was still at the level of something you could kick with your feet, but this was just one day’s growth.

What would happen after two days, three days, or four days?

[More nutrients. More nutrients are needed.]

“Alright.”

I poured in the bread my sister had bought last night.

She would go berserk if she found out all her precious bread had been devoured again, but I could always buy more.

“For now, I’ll make do with bread. But in the long run, I can’t spend all my food budget on you.”

[That is true. Therefore, you must guide us well. Hunting and exploration skills, digestive capabilities, energy efficiency, and so on.]

It started spouting complicated terms again.

In any case, I finished preparing to leave and was the last one in the family to step out of the house.

Today, I only had one afternoon class.

“I understand the part about designing and guiding, but I need to know what to do first.”

I boarded the subway, heading toward the city where my school was located.

To others, I might look like a lunatic talking to myself, but thankfully, wireless earphones were common these days, so it wasn’t too odd.

[Correct. On the second day, I will unlock another function for you.]

Even though there were no rewards, the tutorial hadn’t ended.

As soon as the entity finished speaking, a new icon appeared.

I recognized it instantly—it was a map.

[However, in order to illuminate the map, reconnaissance is required.]

“…I knew you’d say that.”

Reconnaissance, huh? It sounded daunting, but it wasn’t anymore.

Dozens of scouts departed from the nest.

All of them were equipped with fruit fly wings.

Reconnaissance wasn’t a big deal; just send out recon units, and it was done.

[Our greatest advantage is utilizing one brain to process the input from dozens of eyes. The speed at which information is gathered and the map is updated is unparalleled. It is something few can imitate.]

The scouts scattered and began exploring every corner of the cave.

What I learned was that this was the lowest layer of the cave, and it was nearly impossible to estimate just how deep it extended.

The collective consciousness. I was beginning to understand how absurdly powerful this “connected as one” ability was.

No matter how far a scout ventured, the information it gathered was instantly shared with the whole.

“What was that just now?”

[It’s a predator. One we cannot challenge at our current state.]

At that very moment.

A report came in—one of the scouts leading the way up the stratum had been abruptly cut off by something.