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Chapter 775: The Secret of Swindle
🕑 Added 2023-10-27 12:13:46 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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With the addition of a new Elite Warrior to his ranks, Sun Cheng felt a certain pressure lift from his shoulders.
As the number of advanced fighters and Elite Warriors increased, there was less need to station so many low-level warriors at Base Two.
In other words, many of Sun Cheng's lower-tier warriors were now available for rotation.
From the moment Forerunner entered the Medical Room, he noticed Swindle's head within the cultivation chamber.
He was aware of Sun Cheng's ongoing efforts to reclaim Swindle and Swindle's persistent indecisiveness.
It seemed Swindle had finally exhausted his master's patience.
Noticing Forerunner's gaze, Sun Cheng spoke in an extremely calm tone, "I have given him chances. Thunder reported to me that during his time at Base Two, Swindle communicated remotely with an unknown party!"
The attack on the Black Market, coupled with Swindle's previous actions, had sent a chill down Sun Cheng's spine.
If the exact coordinates of Base Two were exposed, despite the Anti-air defenses there being somewhat stronger than those on Terindad Island, they were not foolproof. If a batch of Vehicons managed to land, especially in his absence, the losses would be inevitable and probably more substantial than at the Black Market.
This was the final straw for Sun Cheng, prompting the decision to deal with Swindle, eradicating a ticking time bomb.
Swindle wasn't an old-timer under his command, unlike Thunder and others. He was, in essence, a talent poached from Starscream.
Thus, there was no sense of sentimental mourning from Forerunner. He nodded, making an excuse to leave.
"Master, I've been away from the island for some time. I was undergoing a mechanical body replacement when the Vehicons attacked, so I'm not up to date with the current defense situation. I need to check on it!"
Sun Cheng didn't object but simply said, "Go ahead, and be ready. In a few days, I plan to visit the new Iron Fortress again. You'll accompany me this time."
"Understood!"
After Forerunner's departure, Sun Cheng was left alone in the Medical Room with Swindle, who was barely clinging to life.
Looking at the head, stripped by his doctors and kept alive only by the nutrient fluid in the cultivation chamber, Sun Cheng's expression was neither of joy nor sorrow.
"Let's see what you've been concocting behind my back!"
He murmured before pressing his hand on the chamber. Dozens of metallic tendrils penetrated inside, linking directly to Swindle's brain.
Sun Cheng's eyes glowed with a strange blue light, ancient Cybertronian scripts flickering within them as segments of memory and information were downloaded into his mind.
He was accessing all memories before and after Swindle's awakening.
This blatant invasion of Swindle's most private data soon awakened him from his dormant state, his Core forcefully reviving him due to the immense threat.
"…Stop, Frenzy, what are you doing…"
Swindle, regaining consciousness, quickly realized what was happening.
Sadly, when he tried to retaliate, he found his body was gone.
"Realizing now? Too late!"
Through the transparent glass of the cultivation chamber, Sun Cheng showed no emotional fluctuation.
Even after Swindle's awakening, rifling through his memory data was effortless for Sun Cheng.
This was a contest of Core processing power, defensive capability, and hacking skill. Swindle was no match on all accounts.
Under Sun Cheng's vastly superior computational power, Swindle's feeble defenses and false memory constructs were easily swept away.
Sun Cheng even began taking over his senses, until Swindle couldn't even make a sound, only using his remaining computational power to send desperate pleas.
"Spare me, Frenzy… no, Master… I swear absolute loyalty… No, Master, please give me another chance!"
Unfortunately, Sun Cheng was unmoved by his pleas.
In his view, why had Swindle waited until now to pledge loyalty?
He had given Swindle ample time and trust before, even had his Decepticon engineers design an Elite Warrior-grade mechanical body for him.
Too late!
Without hesitation, Sun Cheng crushed all of Swindle's resistance, erased his consciousness, and began rapidly extracting his memories.
As each segment of memory was accessed, he gained deeper insights into Swindle.
Swindle's memories were fragmented. Though he had survived past rebellions against Megatron due to Starscream's manipulations, his memories had been wiped and personality reshaped, serving the Skytiger Legion under the alias 'Excavator.'
His revival of past memories was sheer coincidence. His recollections of his previous life were incomplete, with only deeply ingrained hatred and fear of Starscream and Megatron clear, the rest scattered and disconnected.
Sun Cheng had indeed misjudged one aspect: the former Decepticon arms dealer had genuinely forgotten many details from the Cybertron Council of Primes era.
But he felt no remorse, as his suspicions weren't entirely off base.
Swindle had indeed been playing a dangerous game, exploiting his role to siphon extra materials while gathering intel on Base Two, searching for his former bosses—Onslaught and veteran Decepticon Skyfire.
During Sun Cheng's trip to Mars, Swindle had reached out to Lockdown.
He had deceived Sun Cheng and everyone else, initiating contact with Lockdown, not to extend an invitation as instructed, but with an ulterior motive.
Swindle, having collaborated with Lockdown before, wasn't friends but mere acquaintances with this arms expert and Bounty Hunter—Lockdown, who had no friends, only contracts.
Sun Cheng's earlier threats had also turned Swindle against him.
He offered Lockdown a contract, hiring the most formidable Bounty Hunter to come to Earth.
The contract listed four targets: Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Sun Cheng himself.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 776: Reunion with Optimus Prime
