Shane Freak
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Chapter 754
🕑 Added 2023-10-20 14:11:15 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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As the door outside the lounge was knocked, Sun Cheng was reviewing the current preparedness data for Base Two.
At the same time, he was contemplating whether he should take another trip to Mars to send more resources to the Decepticon engineers, in order to ensure that his own influence would not be completely wiped out in the impending war, the timing of which remained uncertain.
However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the knocking on the door.
"Come in!"
Sun Cheng responded, and only then was the large door of the lounge pushed open, and Thunder walked in.
"Master, the warehouse is already full."
"I know!"
With various powers on Earth entering an active phase due to the heavy blows they had suffered during the Decepticon invasion several months ago, the demand for various mechanical equipment produced in the Black Market on Terindad Island had greatly increased for various reasons.
So, almost every month, new goods landing in the Black Market online store would immediately be bought out by the various resident powers on the island to prevent interference with the transfer of goods. Scarce metals and materials were continuously sent in the direction of the Black Market.
Currently, there were fourteen warehouses used for storing trading materials on the island, but at best, they could only store about a month and a half's worth of trading materials.
Sun Cheng got up from the lounge, intending to go to the warehouse and store the piled-up materials in the Spherical Space for future use.
In the blink of an eye, Black Market had been in operation for nearly half a year.
As the year 2008 AD in the world of [Transformers Universe] approached its final month, the rapid changes in technology and politics in this world made even Sun Cheng feel that it was uncontrollable.
The number of humans on the island continued to increase. In addition to the service team of over three hundred, Yuri had hired some service personnel such as chefs, bartenders, hotel staff, translators, etc., through legitimate channels in Brazil to offer high salaries. There were more than two thousand office workers from various countries permanently residing on the island.
Among them, personnel from some European countries and powers were the most numerous.
Old Europe could be said to be the biggest beneficiary after the emergence of the Black Market, followed by the United States.
The Black Market was located above the South Atlantic Ocean, within the sphere of influence of Old Europe and the United States.
With the attack on the United States Navy Major, for at least the next two years, the Invisible Alliance formed by the five traditional European powers of Anglo-French, Germany, Italy, and Spain would temporarily replace the United States as the most powerful voice on the Atlantic Ocean.
In some countries within several old European countries' borders, Decepticons or Autobots had been discovered before, but when the Sound Nest force was still active, they were reluctant to provoke the powerful United States. Even if they noticed something unusual, they could only turn a blind eye and let the U.S. military conduct exclusive exercises within their borders.
Later, with the invasion of the Decepticons, aliens suddenly appeared in the sight of countries all over the Earth.
After discovering the powerful technology and wisdom of these aliens, even the staunchest allies of the United States in the past could not help but have some suspicions.
Anglo-French, these two traditional European powers, were the most eager for alien technology. The reason they pulled in Italy, Spain, and Germany, three other European countries, was merely to eliminate more competitors.
Among the five old European powers, Anglo-French was a traditional naval power and colonial power with significant global influence and national strength.
Germany, on the other hand, had aspirations, but their situation was quite awkward.
After World War II, Germany was subject to strict military restrictions for a long period of time. It wasn't until more than half a century after World War II ended that Germany's navy, which currently relied on a few escort ships and a handful of conventional submarines, was known globally for its good reputation. During exercises, they could only play the role of minesweepers.
Their awkward international position, coupled with their relatively advanced domestic industrial manufacturing capabilities, meant that despite Germany's membership in the Old European Union, they had little interest in the equipment sold by the Black Market on Terindad Island.
If they could acquire it, they were happy to take it back for research; if not, it didn't matter.
In at least over a hundred major industrial equipment manufacturing fields, Germany firmly held a position in the world's top three. This was the source of their confidence.
Italy and Spain were merely dragged along to make up the numbers. Some reports indicated that the industrial systems of these two countries, once powerful old European nations, had largely declined. Surprisingly, they had turned to the business of middlemen, buying advanced equipment from the Black Market on Terindad Island and reselling it at a high markup in U.S. dollars to other countries.
Among their biggest buyers were the United States and a certain island nation in the Far East.
Yes!
Because, when they first made contact, the old Americans, accustomed to wielding their power on Earth, apparently had their attitudes spoiled by their past dealings with Optimus Prime, even wanting to show their toughness to Sun Cheng and the Forerunner.
As a result, the first batch of American representatives sent to the island were directly thrown into the sea.
After that, under the deliberate arrangements of Sun Cheng and the Forerunner, the representatives sent by the United States were forced to cancel their orders even if they managed to grab them during three consecutive months of Black Market transactions.
At the same time, some of their competitors around the world, even if they offered relatively lower prices, obtained a batch of urgently needed advanced industrial equipment.
After several months of turmoil, this group of guys with eyes on their foreheads finally capitulated.
And afterward, with the covert operation of Sun Cheng and the Forerunner, several countries in Old Europe were always able to grab more equipment. They even secretly traded some technology with Two European Fallen Powers using enriched uranium ore that was difficult to enter the open market.
Moscow and Beidou, after receiving some hints, were also happy to play the role of being pushed aside on the island.
Their chances of grabbing advanced equipment and machinery were far below those of several Old European countries and the United States.
However, direct equipment transactions within their respective countries were still ongoing, and Sun Cheng did not give his two allies a hard time. He directly upgraded the quality of the equipment and machinery originally sold to these two countries to the level of the First Generation, but the prices were only slightly increased.
The island was becoming more and more lively, and many humans who saw Sun Cheng from a distance wanted to get closer to secure a private meeting with him.
However, not all countries could offer what he wanted, as the Forerunner had already proven with facts.
During his time managing the Black Market, there were quite a few countries and powers that had contacted him for private meetings. However, when it came to what the Decepticons needed, very few were able to provide it.
So Sun Cheng didn't care whether anyone would try to stop him from requesting private meetings.
Those who came to the island could indeed obtain a lot of advanced equipment and even technology from him. In return, they had to offer a substantial amount of rare metals, ores, and resources.
After spending some time storing all kinds of materials piled up in the island's warehouse into the Spherical Space, Sun Cheng didn't return to his resting room on the island. Instead, he headed to the data receiving center of the sub-base.
Moon had been quiet for some time, and recently, Base Two had launched more than ten satellites to monitor everything on the Moon.
As he entered the data center, Sun Cheng browsed through the Moon data transmitted by the satellites while deep in thought.
"Let's calculate the time; Base Two's preparations should be nearly complete! Forerunner should be able to switch to a new mechanical body soon, right?"
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 755: Megatron and Starscream
