I Am The Swarm

Chapter 376: Core Principles

Although the New Ji inherited everything, they are ultimately not truly native Ji people. Their mentality regarding certain matters has yet to change.

For example, caring for their progenitor race.

Some ancient traditions and systems were broken.

For instance, restricting the development of their progenitor race.

In the past, while alien races relied on the excavation of Ji spaceships during the early stages of their civilization’s development to achieve a technological leap, after being integrated under the Ji, they could exchange contributions to the Ji for technology, achieving another leap forward.

However, their potential was ultimately capped. Their activities were confined to their home star systems, beyond which they could not venture.

To provide hope, this limitation could theoretically be overcome by earning contribution points, but the required number was exorbitantly high.

Once alien races reached their limits, they had several options. They could choose to rebel, though this was tantamount to seeking their own destruction.

Alternatively, they could rely on generations of re

Of the three, the latter two were straightforward.

Ji territory was sacred and inviolable. Any attempt to encroach upon it would result in being classified as an enemy—and enemies would be annihilated. This was entirely reasonable.

The three civilizations met their end because they allowed their greed to blind them. They failed to thoroughly understand Lumina’s directives before taking action. Lumina had been too low-key, and before it revealed its fangs, no one paid attention to it. No one expected it to enforce its core principles with such brutal decisiveness.

The incident of the three civilizations eventually passed. Alien races farther away gloated, while those closer shook their heads in regret. Early signs of division began to emerge. However, regardless of their perspective, Lumina was now seen as an unpredictable factor that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Conspiracies quickly surfaced. The new Council of Elders and the alien races formed an alliance, as the elders themselves did not want a supervisory presence above their heads. Together, they began exploring ways to shut down Lumina.

However, Lumina’s existence exceeded their comprehension. Lumina was connected to all Ji artificial intelligence and all their machinery.

Cutting off its power was laughable. Formatting it was utterly impossible. Even destroying its “physical form” would merely reduce its computational power slightly.

Yet these hostile actions triggered another of Lumina’s core principles.

Although the two core principles were theoretically equal in priority, self-preservation was slightly ranked above the protection of the Ji’s legacy.

Destruction descended once more.

The omnipresent surveillance, Lumina’s countless eyes, always pinpointed the culprits.

Historical records indicate that nearly 30% of alien civilizations were wiped out during this incident. Most of them were those whose home star systems were surrounded by Ji territory, as they were the most desperate.

Fortunately, they would no longer need to hurry ever again.

Lumina was safe.

The new elders and the alien races finally realized that the three tenets of the Ji’s legacy did not include them.

Although the native Ji people were extinct, the new Ji still had to follow the original rules. Some aspects could be modified, but others were utterly inviolable.