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Chapter 705: The Test Ship
🕑 Added 2023-10-08 10:59:39 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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The efforts of Yi nation to remain inconspicuous were commendable, but there were many countries closely watching from the skies above Terindad Island, and none of them were ordinary.
It seemed that on that very day, some power had obtained certain information from Yi nation that they desired. Starting from the next day, Terindad Island became bustling with activity.
The first to make a move was a British naval vessel from Saint Helena Island. The HMS York, a destroyer, was an old Type 42 that had been in service for over twenty years.
Before the York could get close to Terindad Island, it was detected by the island's newly installed early-warning radar.
Sun Cheng quickly received the news and, upon inspecting it, couldn't help but laugh.
"Everyone speaks of the once mighty British Empire. Now, it's become one of the Two European Fallen Powers... While the old United Kingdom still has some depth, it's undoubtedly declined!"
In its prime, the British Empire ruled the world, leveraging the advantages of the Age of Exploration and being the forerunner in the Industrial Revolution. From an island nation on the fringes of Europe, it once expanded across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and Oceania – a true global empire.
But history has made it clear that no empire, no matter how powerful, can last forever.
The Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties couldn't achieve it, and the same went for overseas empires.
Whether it was the Persian, Ottoman, Roman, or Arabian empires, their fates were strikingly similar.
Time is the most potent weapon. It can diminish any sorrow or hatred and decay everything in the world, including a nation's will.
The British Empire couldn't resist the erosion of time. Its once-mighty navy, which had dominated the world's oceans, now consisted only of two small aircraft carriers with a total weight of just 20,000 tons and a few aged Type 42 destroyers and Type 23 frigates.
Even in its most economically challenged moments, the ambitious Moscow persisted in developing nuclear submarines.
A certain Far East nation, although appearing weak now, has naval construction plans lined up for the next decade, heralding an era that will terrify its enemies.
In contrast, the United Kingdom, a few years ago, had to decommission an aircraft carrier to save on maintenance costs to finance the invasion of Iraq.
It seemed unlikely for this nation to dominate the world again!
The radar also detected submarine activity beneath the sea, but Sun Cheng lost interest after a quick glance.
"Forerunner, entertain the representatives from the United Kingdom..."
He wasn't particularly interested in the Two European Fallen Powers. Though these two old colonial powers still had many valuable assets, like the UK's stakes in premium mines in Australia and Canada or France's rich mineral resources in North Africa and former colonies in Central Africa, they were notorious meddlers in international politics – ever greedy and fickle.
Sun Cheng had studied many collaborations between China and these Two European Fallen Powers, witnessing numerous instances of their duplicitous dealings.
If these two hadn't initiated contact, he wouldn't have wanted to engage with them.
Although Forerunner was a bit surprised, he accepted the task of dealing with the British representatives.
Sun Cheng was now focusing on nurturing him, planning to invest more resources in this subordinate who had been loyal and devoted for over a year.
While Sun Cheng was naturally suspicious, it didn't mean he didn't value loyalty in his subordinates. His skepticism stemmed only from the fact that he couldn't afford to lose in this world.
After dilly-dallying for several hours, the HMS York discreetly dispatched a helicopter, tentatively approaching Terindad Island.
These fellows had surely observed through satellites that the island was constructing a helicopter landing pad.
Before transitioning to a new mechanical body within the Black Market, Forerunner always took charge. He had spent the most time with Sun Cheng and was adept at mimicking his thinking style when dealing with humans.
He even assigned several engineers to shadow him and learn. These would become the second batch of spies promoted from the rank of engineers after Mora.
Sun Cheng prioritized training a batch of spies so that they could better gather intelligence from human nations in the future.
After tentatively approaching the island multiple times, at one point getting within less than a mile without being attacked, the helicopter from the HMS York finally made its bold approach to the island.
Forerunner, along with several engineers Sun Cheng assigned to him, went to engage with the representatives from the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Sun Cheng was in the hollowed-out base within Tristan da Cunha peak, going through data he had acquired from the Central Main Control AI of the New World Explorer about an exploration-grade spaceship.
The data was comprehensive, but Sun Cheng found it challenging to digest.
Previously, when working with his Decepticon engineers to study the small spaceship from the Hunter Civilization he acquired from the Real World, Sun Cheng struggled due to his lack of knowledge in aerospace and propulsion.
Afterward, he spent considerable time searching the internet of both the Real World and this world, gathering relevant materials. In his free time, using Frenzy's Body's powerful computational abilities, Sun Cheng would read, extrapolate, and expedite his learning.
Through this continuous accumulation, he had established a knowledge base grounded in Earth's current technological advancements.
However, both the Real World and the Earth within the Transformers Universe hadn’t genuinely ventured into space, offering only basic knowledge.
In contrast, by digesting data left by his Decepticon engineers from their research and modification of the Hunter Civilization spaceship, Sun Cheng made rapid progress in this domain.
Days flew by, and during this time, naval vessels from France, the USA, and Russia unexpectedly encountered each other in nearby waters.
Midway, Forerunner reported to Sun Cheng, but as he was deeply engrossed in the Explorer-class spaceship data, his initial intent to personally meet the Americans gave way to impatience. He handed the task of reception and contact entirely to Forerunner.
In reality, Sun Cheng's decision was proven right.
The first Americans to approach them on the island did so with a blend of probing and hostility. Forerunner’s initial contact with them was far from pleasant.
Yet, on Sun Cheng's end, progress was much better than anticipated.
Not because he rapidly digested the data from the Explorer-class spaceship; in fact, his pace was slow, almost painstakingly so.
However, since Sun Cheng and his Decepticon engineers had previously researched and experimentally modified a small spaceship from the Hunter Civilization, they had a profound understanding of that craft.
Their subsequent progress in further modification was limited due to their limited knowledge in aerospace technology.
Now, with the data from the Explorer-class spaceship, an enlightened Sun Cheng conceived a daring idea after skimming through it.
Before starting the construction of the Explorer-class spaceship, why not experimentally build an upgraded test ship based on the original Hunter Civilization spaceship?
Firstly, it would verify some technologies. Secondly, constructing a small spaceship wasn’t particularly challenging given Base Two's current manufacturing capabilities. And thirdly, Sun Cheng could potentially bring it back to the Real World.
With this thought, he was bursting with excitement.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 706: Urgency
