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Chapter 625: Trade and Lockdown
🕑 Added 2023-09-22 09:46:54 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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The tragic tale of Swindle, with his wretched life as proof, demonstrated the woeful fate of placing trust in others and being used as a pawn without one's knowledge.
Sun Cheng wasn't a particularly nosy person, and he didn't concern himself with the conflicts between Swindle, Starscream, or even Megatron.
He didn't even care whether Swindle had once been part of Onslaught's combat vehicle team.
Now, Sun Cheng was no longer the person he had been when he first arrived through the dimensional rift with nothing to his name. Besides the banner of Onslaught, he had Skyfire by his side, and perhaps other Pathfinder elders he might discover. What he needed was a banner that could command the respect of certain Decepticons and Autobots.
When it came to real threats like Megatron, Optimus Prime, and even Lord Fallen, it all boiled down to one's strength.
But those were matters to be dealt with later. Sun Cheng was currently focused on Swindle, and he couldn't help but feel intrigued.
He had absorbed all of Frenzy's memories, and if Swindle hadn't deceived him, then he was indeed an expert in arms dealing.
Swindle, who had been trading weapons on the Cybertronian black market during the twilight of the Council of Primes, might not have had high combat abilities, but he possessed data on various Cybertronian weapons that had long been lost.
During the era of the Council of Primes, despite the corrupt and dark politics that had shrouded the civilization, there had been technological advancements. Cybertronians had repelled the Five-Faced Monster and Quintesson colonial forces and had assimilated the technology left behind by these colonizers.
Under the influence of hedonistic nobles, there had been fervent colonization of other planets during the Council of Primes era. As a result, Cybertronian technology had reached unprecedented levels. Not only could they manufacture a large number of interstellar warships, but their weapon designs leaned toward heavy, large-caliber firepower.
In terms of technology, Skyfire surpassed Swindle by far. However, he wasn't an expert in weaponry. Sun Cheng had glimpsed into Skyfire's memories multiple times in the hope of finding more advanced technology, and he had indeed uncovered many cutting-edge technologies. But when it came to military-related technology, Skyfire hadn't delved deeply.
In this aspect, Swindle, who hailed from a background of arms dealing, was undoubtedly the expert.
After scrutinizing Swindle for a while, Sun Cheng spoke slowly, "Now that your memories are restored, what are your plans? To seek revenge on Starscream and Megatron, or to leave Earth and return to Cybertron?"
Swindle definitely wouldn't dare to seek revenge on Megatron. Frenzy's memories showed that he had been imprisoned in the political prisoner jail at Skullburg Fortress for far too long, resulting in a drastic change in his temperament. When Starscream rescued him from the prison, this once-bold individual had become a cowardly and cunning person who treasured his own life and was afraid of death.
It seemed that when Shockwave had exonerated him, Swindle had been one of the first to surrender.
Sun Cheng believed that, given Swindle's current personality, he wouldn't have the courage to seek revenge against Megatron. Even with Starscream having used him as a pawn and deceived him, Swindle might not have the courage to retaliate openly but could resort to treachery in secret.
As expected, when Sun Cheng raised this question, Swindle's expression changed dramatically for a moment.
It took him a while before he snorted lightly and said, "I need a new mechanical body. Help me obtain one, and I will tell you many secrets about Starscream, Megatron, and even Onslaught!"
Sun Cheng could tell that Swindle had finally reached his limit. He squinted at Thunder and Forerunner and gestured for the two Decepticons to temporarily withdraw.
However, Hynix's ship was quite small, and if they were determined, they could still overhear the conversation.
"I'm not interested in the secrets of Starscream and Megatron. Onslaught is the same," Sun Cheng bluntly refused his temptation.
He wouldn't be easily swayed by such crude persuasion tactics. He knew that Swindle was undoubtedly more anxious than him. Swindle's situation wasn't much better; he had offended Megatron and had been thoroughly deceived by Starscream.
Moreover, Swindle's current mechanical body was a Vehicon-specific model, constructed from subpar materials. The only decent equipment on him was some weapons and devices acquired from Swindle in the past few months.
Thinking about this, Sun Cheng took the initiative to change the course of the conversation. "I can help you build a new mechanical body, and I can even create a commander-class mechanical body for you right away..."
He paused here and then looked at Swindle with a knowing smile.
The implication was clear: What can you offer in exchange?
Swindle instinctively took a step back, still wary of Sun Cheng.
After awakening with his previous life's memories, Swindle had some impressions of Frenzy, who had been a member of Cassette Legion. However, this current master, who carried Frenzy's identity and had been awakened anew, had become a completely different person.
His former master, Soundwave, had suffered a great loss at his hands, and Starscream, who had deceived Swindle so thoroughly in his past life, hadn't gained any advantage from it.
Outsiders believed that Frenzy had indeed mixed with Onslaught, but Swindle, who had spent a long time in the combat vehicle team, had sneered at this notion.
For someone like Onslaught, a perfectionist with an ego, others had to follow his plans meticulously.
From Sun Cheng's performance in the past few months, it was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that he was the true decision-maker.
But missing this opportunity, trying to find another force to create a new mechanical body for himself, would undoubtedly be as difficult as climbing the heavens.
After hesitating for a moment, Swindle asked, "What do you want? I know many secrets about Skytiger Legion and Autobots..."
"That kind of thing, it doesn't matter to me at all," Sun Cheng impatiently interrupted him. This guy seemed to think he could easily exchange various goods for some information about Starscream, just like before. Not happening!
Back then, it was because of his lack of power and an attempt to deceive Starscream, along with a curiosity to see if he could successfully recruit him. However, now that he knew Excavator's true identity was Swindle, Sun Cheng had completely abandoned the idea of recruiting him.
Swindle had no faith; he was an arms dealer who dared to sell Decepticon weapons to the Autobots. If he truly had any loyalty, Sun Cheng wouldn't believe it.
He'd have better luck waiting for the sun to rise in the west!
Without wasting any more time, Sun Cheng pointed to his own head and threw out his conditions without reservation. "Two choices: First, duplicate all the weapon data related to the ancient Cybertron civilization from your head and give it to me. Second, I provide the materials, and you must create ten weapons capable of seriously harming a leader, according to my specifications."
With these words, Swindle's expression changed abruptly, and he quickly shook his head. "Impossible!"
Seeing Sun Cheng growing impatient, Swindle, who might still need his help for his new mechanical body, had to put on a polite smile as he explained, "After waking up, I lost some of my memories. So, although there's still a lot of weapon data in my head, both its completeness and accuracy are still unverified."
Seeing that Sun Cheng remained unmoved, Swindle had no choice but to continue explaining, "As for weapons that can seriously harm a leader, forget about it. Even one, I can't make it. I'm an arms expert, not a weapons specialist. I used to sell many weapons, but that doesn't mean I know how to manufacture them."
Sun Cheng let out a soft snort. He couldn't trust a single punctuation mark in the words of these Decepticons.
Seeing that Sun Cheng wasn't buying into his excuses, Swindle was getting desperate. He didn't want to be captured and brainwashed by Skytiger Legion again, forced to become a Vehicon.
Missing out on Sun Cheng as a powerful ally, it might take who knows how long to find another faction capable of creating a new mechanical body for him.
After hesitating for a moment, Swindle finally showed some sincerity. "I can help you manufacture some powerful weapons in exchange for you creating a new mechanical body for me. In addition, I can tell you some important information. As for weapons capable of seriously harming a leader, there's a wanderer who should have them..."
"Wanderer..." Sun Cheng narrowed his eyes. He had seen this term in both Skyfire and Frenzy's memories, so he knew what it meant. Long ago, during the Council of Primes era, countless lower and middle-class Cybertronians had been sent to foreign planets to search for resources to satisfy the desires of the corrupt nobility. Eventually, some of these slaves escaped and built black markets and settlements on desolate planets. They cared nothing for the Decepticons or Autobots' histories and even abandoned their mother planet, Cybertron, considering themselves "wanderers." Such wanderers were numerous in the Milky Way, especially after the Cybertronian revolution and the two internal wars between the Decepticons and Autobots.
Skyfire had visited places called "junk planets" and some unfriendly wanderer settlements in the past. Even Frenzy and Cassette Legion had once visited a few nearby wanderer settlements to gather information, so Sun Cheng wasn't completely in the dark.
Now he looked at Swindle and said, "Tell me in detail about the information you have on this wanderer."
Swindle saw a glimmer of hope and eagerly nodded, offering a detailed explanation, "The wanderer I'm talking about is called 'Lockdown.' He's rumored to be a former Autobots traitor, a bounty hunter. As long as you give him something that satisfies him, like an Energon Cube or other weapons, he'll do anything, including assassinating a leader."
"I've dealt with him before. This guy is also an arms dealer, and he undoubtedly possesses weapons capable of seriously harming a leader because leaders are on his assassination list."
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 626: The Battle of Destiny (Part 1) - Midnight
