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Chapter 885: News
🕑 Added 2023-12-07 14:12:02 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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After a brief stay on Mars for about a month, Sun Cheng meticulously inspected the entire Mars base for the first time. For him, this would likely be the last rear-view inspection before the impending war.
Following his assessment of all the factories and defense facilities on Mars base, he once again boarded a specially modified Golden Eagle armed transport ship, accompanied by two pilots, for the journey back to Earth.
This time, the transport ship pushed its speed to the limit for the entire return journey. With a faster speed than when they had arrived, Sun Cheng and his team returned to Earth in just over ten days.
As soon as the spaceship touched down on a landing pad at South America Base Two, even before disembarking, Sun Cheng felt a powerful electromagnetic spectrum – Thunder!
It was evident that Thunder had hurried over from the central command base.
"There must be something important!" Sun Cheng could sense the intense electromagnetic fluctuations from Thunder, similar to how humans experience dramatic emotional changes when excited.
After Sun Cheng disembarked from the spaceship, Thunder, as expected, quickly approached and greeted him before delivering some very bad news.
"Master, during the month you were away, Earth has experienced some unfortunate changes. Autobots have replaced their leader, and Sentinel Prime has taken control of most of our African bases, including the Skytiger Legion."
It was indeed very grim intelligence. Sun Cheng had already suspected that Sentinel Prime, the King of Primes, would become the biggest source of instability upon awakening. However, he had thought that the presence of Optimus Prime would to some extent restrain Sentinel Prime's ambitions.
After all, Optimus Prime, who now possessed the Leadership Module, was incredibly powerful. Not only was Sun Cheng no match for him, but even the former Skytiger Legion Commander-in-Chief, Megatron, who was once considered the strongest, might not be his equal anymore.
"Tell me the details," Sun Cheng asked Thunder.
"Yes, Master."
"As of now, our information is very limited. All we know is that approximately 7 to 10 days after you left, there was a small-scale military coup in New Iron Fortress City. After that, Sentinel Prime was reinstated as the leader by some Autobots. Shortly thereafter, he personally led the Autobots to cleanse our bases within Africa."
It was not surprising that the base could not obtain firsthand information about New Iron Fortress City. As one of the tacit agreements between Sun Cheng and Optimus Prime, both were trying to ease the tensions between their respective races and hoped for cooperation. They tacitly controlled their subordinates, refraining from operating within each other's spheres of influence.
However, due to Autobot's long-standing cooperation with the United States Government, their development on Earth had started much later, and they had not yet expanded into the Eastern and Northern regions of Africa. Therefore, the base had simply refrained from operating in East Africa and North Africa. Since Africa was the richest region on Earth in terms of mineral resources, Sun Cheng and his team naturally wouldn't miss out on it.
Starting a year ago, the base had gradually established a series of mining sites in Central Africa, West Africa, and South Africa. They dispatched some warriors to control robots mining in areas where humans could not reach.
The bases that had been recently removed by Sentinel Prime were located in several mining sites within Central Africa.
Sun Cheng listened patiently to Thunder's report, and his brows furrowed as he processed the information.
Losing some mining sites in Africa did not greatly concern him. What intrigued him more was what the Autobots and Optimus Prime were up to.
After a moment of contemplation, Sun Cheng asked, "What's the situation with Optimus Prime? Is he still in New Iron Fortress City?"
While they had a tacit agreement not to send Decepticons into Autobot "territory," gathering intelligence on the Autobots was still essential. To avoid raising suspicion, the base had launched a few weather satellites tasked with collecting information about Autobots in Africa.
The intelligence Thunder provided about the young Autobot leader was limited.
"Unfortunately, Commander-in-chief, we only know that Optimus Prime left New Iron Fortress City, and he left alone. But not long after, some Autobots, such as Ironhide and Ratchet, also departed."
Optimus Prime leaving alone indicated his reluctance to cause a rift within the Autobot ranks. However, it seemed that his batch of Autobots on Earth was already divided.
Upon returning to Base Two, Sun Cheng found a group of senior Decepticon warriors and commanders waiting for him in the command room. As he entered, they all stood up and saluted.
"Greetings, Commander-in-chief!"
Sun Cheng nodded and took his seat.
The base had captured the signal from a satellite when Sun Cheng's spaceship entered the Earth-Moon system. Thunder and the others had prepared for this meeting in advance.
"The situation in Africa is very tense right now. According to the feedback from the satellites, Skytiger Legion has practically abandoned all of its bases within Africa."
"Sentinel Prime and the Autobots are advancing continuously."
"We have lost all our mining sites in Central Africa. Should we consider giving up the ones in North Africa and South Africa next?"
The command room was bustling with discussions. Decepticons who knew each other well gathered in small groups, quietly exchanging thoughts.
Sun Cheng didn't stop them; instead, he was deeply contemplating the pros and cons.
Regarding the mineral resources in Africa, aside from uranium and a few rare earth elements, they were also abundant in South America. Even uranium could be procured through the Black Market or from several well-established European nations and the Polar Bear. In a sense, it could be relinquished, though it would come at a higher cost.
What Sun Cheng was truly concerned about was how easily Skytiger Legion had given up their bases in Africa.
According to the data captured by the base's satellites over the past few years, there were at least thirty to forty Decepticon mining sites within Africa. While each base might only have five or six Decepticons, mostly Vehicons serving as cannon fodder, they still provided a substantial amount of mineral resources to Skytiger Legion each month.
Such bases had also existed in South America in the past. It was only after the rapid expansion of their power following the establishment of Base Two that Sun Cheng and his team had managed to eliminate those Decepticon mining sites hidden in remote areas.
However, Sun Cheng had not gone too far in his actions, as he suspected that the true mastermind behind those mining sites was likely Starscream. Consequently, he had mostly adopted a policy of expulsion, destroying only a small number of Decepticons who refused to surrender.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 886: Arrangements
