“But why didn’t they do it this way? And how did Benba manage to calcte the precise timing of the wormhole’s openings? ording to your reasoning, that should have been impossible,” an Intelligent Entity asked with a puzzled tone.


    “The first part, I don’t know. Maybe they’re not as strong as we think,” the expert replied. “As for the second part, only Benba himself—or you, Overlord—might have that answer.”


    That phrase, “Maybe they’re not as strong as we think,” hit Luo Wen like a lightning bolt.


    Of course. This was the ufortable thought he had been suppressing all along. The existence of high-level technologies was undeniable, but what if their actual capabilities didn’t match their sophistication?


    For instance, the metallic shell on the Botian homeworld—it was beyond the reach of Botian technology to even approach, let alone construct. And yet, there it was.


    As for the second question, Luo Wen already knew the answer. When Benba was converted into an Intelligent Entity, Luo Wen, curious about how he calcted the wormhole timings, had directly essed his memories.


    What he found had been equal parts eye-opening and baffling. Luo Wen wasn’t sure whether tobel Benba a daring genius or an audacious oddball.


    Due to theck of critical data points, Benba had made several bold assumptions, plugging in entirely arbitrary values. Even more surprisingly, his calctions ignored the first four instances of the wormhole’s openings entirely.


    Why? Because Benba had discovered that the initial activations showed no discernible pattern. Given the constraints of his civilization, he had limited his assumptions.He surmised that during those early instances, the wormhole’s creators had sufficient energy reserves, allowing for more flexibility in timing. As energy became scarcer, the wormhole activations began following a predictable pattern.


    Benba then extrapted the energy collection efficiency of the opposing force, incorporated his assumptions, and through a mix of guesswork and calction, derived a form.


    And, against all odds, his form worked. The subsequent sess only bolstered his reputation—until a malfunction in the wormhole system caused his calctions to fail. His tenuous model, which had already drawn skepticism from peers, fell apart under scrutiny. Critics seized the opportunity to tear it apart.


    Despite its ws, Benba’s form held some merit. After two adjustments, it regained utility. This indirectly confirmed that the opposing force wasn’t particrly strong; their apparent struggle to umte enough energy for each activation betrayed their limitations. Such constraints were far from what one would expect of a high-level civilization.


    With this “they’re not strong” hypothesis in mind, many previously unexined contradictions began to make sense. Verifying this theory was theoretically simple—Luo Wen could send an anchor unit through the wormhole during its next activation to observe the other side.


    But the risks were immense. If the opposing force was not as weak as Luo Wen suspected, such a move could expose the Swarm and result in the loss of an anchor unit. Unlike in a game, where losses can be reset, a single misstep here could lead to catastrophic consequences.


    Even if the opposing force was weak, there was nopelling reason for Luo Wen to confirm it firsthand. There was a treasure trove awaiting him right here, the metallic shell. Why risk the unknown when the riches beneath his feet were far more essible?


    Luo Wen’s insatiable curiosity often drove him, but he understood the importance of prioritizing his goals. With that in mind, he formted a clear course of action for the next phase.


    “Perhaps they are weak. But we cannot confirm it. So, I will assume they are weak and choose to ignore their existence while focusing on what needs to be done. If they are indeed weak, they won’t be able to interfere with the Swarm. If they are strong and react, then the Swarm will retreat.”


    With this decision, the Swarm’s expansion resumed, now even more aggressive than before. Within six months, over a thousand Swarm bases had sprung up across the Botian homeworld.


    In just over a year of sustained growth, these bases collectively reached the metallic shell. Regardless of their location on the, every excavation ended with the same result. It became undeniably clear, the metallic shell enveloped the entire satellite.@@novelbin@@


    The Botian civilization was living on a man-made structure.


    No wonder Luo Wen had always felt that the satellite’s position, orbit, and tidal locking seemed almost too perfect—like a series of coincidences too precise to be natural. It was now clear that this perfection was the result of deliberate design.


    This metallic satellite, with a diameter exceeding 7,000 kilometers, was undoubtedly a creation of an immensely powerful civilization. Toplete such a colossal project would require technological capabilities far beyond anything Luo Wen had encountered.


    Forparison, the Swarm’s 3,000-kilometer Megastructure was merely a rectangr prism—3,000 kilometers long, less than 1,000 kilometers wide, and with a height half its width. Even with the numerous advantages offered by biotechnological methods, such as organic self-growth and self-adaptation, constructing it had been an incredibly challenging feat. The spherical metallic satellite, in contrast, was orders of magnitude more advanced inplexity, leaving the Swarm’s Megastructure far behind.


    Yet even the Swarm’sparatively simple Megastructure had drawn the attention and envy of countless civilizations. The construction of this metallic-like satellite was a testament to the strength and ambition of the civilization that built it.


    The satellite had evidently existed for an unimaginably long time. Despite the durability of its materials, signs of weathering and corrosion had begun to appear—scars left by the passage of time.


    Its abandonment remained a mystery. Over millennia, it had be a cradle for a new civilization, the Botians. The force on the other side of the wormhole might have some knowledge about its origins. Alternatively, answers might lie within the satellite itself.


    For Luo Wen, the next step was clear: open it and uncover its secrets. Even if the interior held no records or data, merely observing its internal structure would yield tremendous insights for the Swarm.


    This was akin to what other civilizations had hoped for when they sought to study the Swarm’s Megastructure.


    Since the metallic satellite was an artificial construct, it must have entry and exit points. However, locating these ess points would be an immense undertaking. Furthermore, such locations were almost certainly equipped with identity verification systems. If operational, these systems would pose a significant obstacle. Additionally, entry points were likely to be fortified with defensive measures.


    Whether these systems were still functional or not, attempting to breach them directly risked triggering unpredictable responses.


    Given these uncertainties, Luo Wen concluded that brute-forcing a hole through the metallic shell was a more practical approach. He reasoned that defensive systems near walls would not be as concentrated as those at entry points.


    However, the shell’s material was exceptionally resilient. Breaching it would not be easy. For now, Luo Wen’s only viable method was to experiment with various toxicpounds, attempting to corrode the surfaceyer byyer.


    This approach, while feasible, was excruciatingly slow. The thickness of the shell was unknown, and at the current rate of corrosion, it could take years—or even decades—to break through. The longer the process dragged on, the higher the likelihood of unexpectedplications, which often meant increased danger.


    Luo Wen detested unnecessary risks, but in this situation, he had no better options.