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Chapter 709: Invitation from Optimus Prime
🕑 Added 2023-10-09 08:55:32 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Autobot Drift is here?"
Forerunner's sudden remark pulled Sun Cheng from his thoughts as he contemplated what preparations to make for his first landing on Mars in over half a month.
Over a month ago, when Sun Cheng was fully immersed in designing the spaceship on Terindad Island, he had handed over all the responsibilities of managing the island to Forerunner. Consequently, the island's security and defense systems were set to alert Forerunner immediately upon detecting any invaders.
However, Thunder and Swindle, who were currently on the island, were not idle. The two of them were temporarily responsible for maintaining law and order as well as the island's defense.
The engineers responsible for the maintenance of the island's security and defense systems were slightly slower in issuing their warnings, but they also alerted Thunder and Swindle.
Therefore, not long after, they followed Forerunner and Sun Cheng's electromagnetic spectra to locate their position.
"Master, we've detected Autobots approaching the island!"
"Understood!"
Sun Cheng looked northeast towards Terindad Island, where the radar had an effective detection radius of approximately 520 kilometers. This radar had been upgraded specifically to detect Decepticons and Autobots. Once either group entered its detection range, the radar would issue an early warning.
Drift was one of the Triple Changers among the Autobots. About a month ago, during the operation where Sun Cheng, along with Optimus Prime and other Autobots, hunted down Soundwave, Astrotrain, and the Cassette Legion, Drift had been one of the dozen or so Autobot warriors who arrived with Optimus Prime on Terindad Island.
Among Triple Changers, most of them possessed strength equivalent to or exceeding Elite Warriors. Drift's combat abilities were on the lower end of this spectrum. While his strength did indeed reach the level of an Elite Warrior, compared to Triple Changers like Astrotrain, who stood at the pinnacle of Elite Warriors, he fell slightly short. Even when compared to Sun Cheng, there was still a noticeable difference.
Due to this gap in power, Sun Cheng wasn't particularly concerned about Drift daring to come to the island to provoke them.
"We don't need to pay him any mind, nor do we need to hold any ill will towards the Autobots. We'll know his intentions once he lands on the island."
Sun Cheng quickly thought back to the excuse he had used over a month ago when he had enlisted the help of the Autobots, including Optimus Prime, to eliminate Soundwave.
"Could it be related to Sentinel Prime's matter?"
He furrowed his brow, but Sun Cheng wasn't overly worried. Strictly speaking, he hadn't deceived Optimus Prime. Sun Cheng had delved into Megatron's memory data a long time ago when he had peeked into the Mariana Trench. Honestly, for a long time, he had regretted his rash actions.
That act of prying into Megatron's presumed death not only failed to provide Sun Cheng with the information he had desperately sought at the time but also unintentionally revealed Megatron's fake death and his dangerous collaboration with Sentinel Prime, which had thoroughly offended Megatron.
However, now, that regret had faded considerably. The news of Sentinel Prime's Spaceship crashing on the moon was genuine, and Sun Cheng hadn't deceived Optimus Prime. He not only knew the coordinates of the crash site on the far side of the moon but also that Sentinel Prime hadn't died but, like Megatron, had faked his death and gone into hiding.
This is also part of the plan orchestrated by Sentinel Prime and Megatron. For some reason, Megatron had developed an intense hatred for his former teacher, Lord Fallen. He was willing to collaborate with the Autobots and even fake his own death to use them as a means to eliminate Lord Fallen.
At that time, Sun Cheng's access to memory data was incomplete, so he only knew a portion of the cooperation between Megatron and Sentinel Prime. The specific details of why the leaders of two opposing factions would collaborate remained a mystery to him to this day.
But that was sufficient!
Sun Cheng believed that over the past month, Optimus Prime must have sent someone to investigate the situation on the moon. He was unsure of the Autobots' findings, but the intelligence he had provided them had likely been partially confirmed. Otherwise, the Autobots wouldn't have refrained from visiting him on Terindad Island over the past month.
Coincidentally, he had also been keeping an eye on the Leadership Module in Optimus Prime's possession. He was beginning to grow curious about Drift's sudden visit and what it might entail.
As Sun Cheng had guessed, Drift wasn't here to pick a fight. Drift, who possessed three transformation forms, had crossed thousands of kilometers of the Atlantic Ocean in his armed helicopter form, flying from Africa all the way to Terindad Island.
When he was still some distance from the island, he temporarily halted, just as he had done when he visited the Autobots' temporary base previously. He informed them in advance of his visit and only proceeded toward the island once he received permission.
"Greetings, Frenzy..."
It wasn't clear whether it was because Sun Cheng had teamed up with Optimus Prime and others to hunt down Soundwave and Astrotrain, which had earned the recognition of these Autobots for his identity as a Decepticon traitor, but this Autobot, who had once harbored some hostility towards him, greeted Sun Cheng despite the stiffness in his voice and expression.
Sun Cheng was curious about Drift's intentions and responded with a friendly nod and smile.
Forging alliances with the Autobots had always been one of his strategic moves. Autobots, unlike the Decepticons, didn't possess the same level of aggression. Under the rule of Optimus Prime, they posed much less of a threat to Earth and to Sun Cheng and his fellow Decepticon traitors.
In the current situation, where he had already incurred the unrelenting enmity of Megatron, the commander of the Skytiger Legion, Sun Cheng had no desire to add another enemy.
Over a month ago, when Sun Cheng had invited Optimus Prime and his allies to help in the battle against Soundwave and Astrotrain, it had been a deliberate gesture, a sort of introduction to the Autobots.
Drift had once been a Decepticon and had been both a victim and a beneficiary of Shockwave's Triple Changers program. However, he had ultimately defected to the Autobots' side, escaping the madness of his fellow Decepticons. Over the years, Drift had killed countless Decepticons on the battlefield and had completely redeemed himself.
Therefore, when Drift realized that he needed to deal with Decepticons again, not in a fight to the death but in a more diplomatic manner, he couldn't help but feel conflicted. Nevertheless, he managed to suppress his complex emotions as he faced Sun Cheng, knowing that goodwill had been extended to him by Sun Cheng and his Decepticon faction, as well as the Autobots supporting him.
With a serious expression, Drift quickly conveyed his purpose.
"Our Leader, Optimus Prime, has issued an order to establish a new base on Earth called the 'New Iron Fortress City.' He has commanded me to invite you to visit the New Iron Fortress City as a guest."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of Sun Cheng, Forerunner, Thunder, and Swindle, all four Decepticons, underwent a simultaneous transformation.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 710: Journey to the New Iron Fortress City (Part 1)
