A Legion Grows From My Smartphone

Chapter 32

“You’re telling me to record this… and send it to the Swarm, to the army…”

[If you trust us.]

Trust. That single word barely managed to stitch together my crumbling sanity.

I clenched my teeth, trembling uncontrollably.

The situation had already spiraled out of control.

I had to take responsibility.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

My hands, shaking uncontrollably, were barely able to lift the camera.

I had to hold one hand with the other to keep it steady.

My breathing grew increasingly ragged.

It was all because of me.

Everything… because of me.

[Take the shot. There isn’t much time. If her breathing stops and brain damage sets in, her memories cannot be guaranteed.]

I squeezed my eyes shut.

The price of incompetence was brutal.

With the sound of the camera shutter clicking,

I finally activated the camera.

[Leave the aftermath to us. Will you collapse here? Will you lose again, only to stand by and watch?]

“…No, never. Never again.”

[Then move. Surely, you have a plan.]

Each letter pierced my heart.

With trembling legs, I barely managed to move.

“Gate!! A Sudden Gate has appeared!”

“Secure the patients!”

Almost simultaneously, the sound of sirens and screams echoed from outside the hospital.

People had been murmuring about the end times for a reason.

But for those who knew the true nature of things, this was nothing less than a fierce war in progress.

Supporting my distraught mother, who was crying herself into exhaustion and complaining of dizziness, I ran through the hospital corridors.

The sound of shattering glass windows erupted, plunging the area into chaos.

In a twisted way, it was almost convenient.

In the midst of such pandemonium, the disappearance of one patient would easily go unnoticed.

*

“…”

[Do you clearly feel his emotions? The intense rage and hatred. This is what we are learning. Powerlessness and guilt are unnecessary emotions. Burn the hatred. Anger is strength.]

In the dim cavern,

A sudden flash of light revealed a figure wrapped entirely in bandages.

[These emotions will soon become our strength. We will be the most rational and, at the same time, the most passionate beings.]

A few Swarm Soldiers cautiously approached and began removing the bandages from Kang Do-Yeon’s devastated body.

If left as she was, she would soon stop breathing.

Simultaneously, the Swarm’s Nest began to shift.

Tentacles stretched out toward her.

[He sincerely desires the survival of his younger sibling. His sorrow is palpable. Sorrow is not a useful emotion. Therefore, it is now our turn to erase that sorrow.]

The tentacles began to wrap around her body slowly.

The sticky secretion emitted from the tentacles gradually formed a flesh wall that enveloped her.

On the surface, it appeared no different from the devouring and absorption process the Swarm had demonstrated before.

But what was happening within was entirely different.

[We are assimilating our cells into her body. Calmly, slowly. Replacing each of her cells with ours.]

As a bonus, the Swarm perfectly analyzed the human genetic structure from each portion of her body’s tissues.

Thanks to this, the Swarm could replace and reconstruct her physical form entirely with its own.

[This will go down in history. The first Command Entity with an independent ego will be born within the Swarm.]

It was an extraordinary privilege.

Until now, the Swarm had only repeated cycles of devouring, slaughter, disassembly, and analysis. The emergence of another ego within the Swarm, one that could potentially threaten its hierarchy, had never even been considered.

This became possible only because of the strong desire transmitted through the direct String connection.

[Do not be afraid. I assure you, Kang Do-Yeon will become another one of our weapons.]

Kang Do-Yeon was now fully immersed in the flesh wall.

At the center of the Nest, the large flesh wall containing her resembled a human womb in form.

She was completely submerged in the secretion filling it.

The secretion was a mass of countless Swarm cells.

As her original cells were broken down at the cellular level, they were replaced with new ones, restoring her body into an identical form.

[This timing is perfect.]

The Swarm ceased all other activity.

They waited earnestly for the Special Nest containing Kang Do-Yeon to complete its process.

[The Enemies of the Thirty-Fifth Stratum are special and strong. Facing them with conventional methods would result in immense energy loss. Therefore, strengthening our forces is the logical course of action.]

The Swarm had not yet identified what the Enemies of the Thirty-Fifth Stratum truly were.

Previously, an attempt had been made to analyze a stolen corpse, but as soon as the marks on its body extinguished, it dried up into a brittle mummy and crumbled away.

Since the enemy was not a normal living being, analysis had been impossible.

[But next time, we will prevail.]

Nonetheless, the Swarm had fully grasped their opponent’s capabilities.

They had already calculated their victory.

[Simultaneously, Our Brain develops even further.]

During this lull, the Swarm also fortified other aspects.

This time, they had acquired a portion of the brain tissue from a 17-year-old human girl, Kang Do-Yeon.

By perfectly analyzing the functionality of the human brain, the Swarm’s Brain underwent rapid growth.

Far more advanced than an orc’s crude intelligence.

Even if it wasn’t completely understood, the Swarm replicated the structure and expanded its volume by thousands of times.

[Now, we will truly understand. We haven’t learned speech yet, but once we do, we can create a Vocalization Organ to communicate as well.]

The massive brain now filled an entire cavern by itself.

Though almost a blank slate for now, the development of the brain, which acted as a stabilizing core, dramatically increased the Swarm’s computing power and communication speed, enhancing the Collective Consciousness.

Thus, they evolved once more.

[Did you see that?]

“…Yes.”

[This is the Swarm’s sincerity.]

“I believed it.”

Watching the entire scene unfold, he nodded with a dark expression.

His eyes remained fixed on the Special Nest containing his younger sibling.

“I heard you reached out. Um…”

“Kang Shin-Woo.”

“Yes, Kang Shin-Woo.”

Late at night.

I took a taxi to meet Cha Jiyeon.

Collaborating with Cha Jiyeon was now an essential condition for me.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t know when I’d become the target of a hunt.

To her, who believed I was Oh Yoon-Ah’s subordinate, my presence was undoubtedly unwelcome.

It was only natural.

Oh Yoon-Ah had not been particularly active in alliance matters, and as of today, she was in a coma due to an accident.

In her eyes, I likely had little value…

“I’ve heard the news. About your younger sibling… even the corpse… taken by them.”

However, contrary to my expectations, she sighed and held my hand.

Honestly, I was so surprised that my eyes widened, and I was at a loss for words.

For someone as strong and important as her to care about something like this…

“Before I was a Unit, I was a Hunter and a human being.”

Her bitter smile pierced my chest.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t fully considered it.

Unlike the Swarm Soldiers, who were simply Part of the Swarm, she was undeniably an independent individual. Was she truly unconditionally aligned with her Player?

“Thank you for the consolation. But I’ve come here for a different reason.”

“A different reason?”

“I’ll prove myself. So… please take me along in the upcoming Gate Conquest Battle.”

Clenching my teeth, I conveyed my determined request to her.

Cha Jiyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

But I was sincere.

I didn’t feel guilty about taking risks for the Swarm.

Because, after all, that was what they wanted.

Now, I could understand that.

“Prove yourself?”

“Give me a mission. I’ll handle it.”

“That’s… understood for now. It seems our Player finds it interesting too. Any addition to our strength is always welcome.”

Cha Jiyeon nodded almost reflexively.

I wasn’t entirely without confidence either.

[Surpass the 35th Stratum and uncover the truth of the Labyrinth. If so, you will reach Chapter 3, and additional functions will ensure your safety.]

There was one step left to take.

“You’ve had a tough time at such a young age, just twenty-three.”

“Uh, but I heard you’re only twenty-four, Hunter.”

“That’s true, but…”

At first, I was a bit surprised.

She seemed so mature, yet she was only a year older than me.

She chuckled faintly while fiddling with her mobile phone.

“Don’t worry too much. The Unknown Units who harmed your Younger Sibling and attacked Oh Yoon-Ah—our Player has already identified their identities and is confident of victory. We will definitely get revenge.”

“Who are they exactly?”

“They don’t share much information with me either. But you’ll find out soon enough.”

She nodded as if to reassure me.

I decided to trust her for now.

Revenge wasn’t my concern anyway.

No matter how long it took, I, or rather the Swarm, would handle it ourselves.

“Thank you.”

It was enough that she cared for someone as insignificant as me.

[It would be better to stay close. The enemies have the ability to track the Player.]

“Right. But did those guys really target Oh Yoon-Ah thinking she was the Player?”

After parting ways with Cha Jiyeon, I rubbed my temples.

As I pieced together my shattered thoughts, something nagged at me.

Targeting the Player implied they belonged to the same world. Yet, the Units I knew of Oh Yoon-Ah’s had nothing in common with the High-Tech Suits caught on CCTV.

“Or maybe they’re like a Proxy Kill Group that delegates killing to others. I can’t be certain.”

Clicking my tongue, I got back into the taxi.