Shane Freak
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Chapter 577: The Eve of the Storm
🕑 Added 2023-09-14 14:39:23 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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A flying craft, resembling the United States Global Hawk Drone, soared continuously in the African sky. It transmitted the captured information to a crude cave located high on a mountainside near the South Sudan-Ethiopia border, within a section of the East African Rift Zone.
"Have the unmanned reconnaissance drones found any new sources of strong energy or electromagnetic reactions?" Sun Cheng, facing several enormous screens on the wall in front of him, had furrowed brows that hadn't relaxed in a long while.
"Not yet," replied Forerunner, as he operated a machine. Bright blue electrical sparks occasionally flickered. Currently, he was remotely controlling three drones hovering over North Africa, East Africa, and West Africa, searching for potential sources of strong energy and electromagnetic reactions.
"It's a barren land," Excavator grumbled from the side. "Those darn reptiles have truly wasted this fertile soil."
While establishing their temporary base, Sun Cheng's team had stumbled upon several small mines nearby. Out of a principle of not wasting resources, they dispatched dozens of mining robots to extract resources from these small mines.
In less than a week, they had already mined 3 tons of gold, over 850 tons of copper, 171 tons of tin, more than 500 tons of iron, and more. Africa was indeed a land of abundance.
Sun Cheng subtly nodded in agreement with Excavator's views. Africa had indeed been a neglected treasure trove. However, there were various reasons for this situation, mainly due to the "great power competition" and being "too close to Europe."
Such a valuable land, and it was clear to Sun Cheng how reluctant he had been to use the fertile Africa to trap the Autobots initially. But you can't keep a child from growing up.
Sun Cheng and his team had noticed that the Autobots had started exploring and mining in the uncontrolled regions of Solia and Kenya. This indicated something he understood very well: the Autobots were unable to resist establishing a base on Earth.
Cybertronians' bases, unlike human cities, were more accurately described as military fortresses. A base required an energy supply system, defense and combat systems, living quarters, a command center, barracks, and more, along with nearby mineral deposits.
On Cybertron Planet, whether Autobots or Decepticons, even a small base would occupy an area of at least several square kilometers and cover hundreds or even thousands of square kilometers in the surrounding region. They were often responsible for the security and defense of a specific area, as well as mining and energy refining.
To put it bluntly, once the Autobots' bases in Solia and Kenya were established, with the Autobots' extensive resources, they might surpass Base Two in size and coverage within a few months. Of course, this was an ideal scenario.
Leaving aside whether the Skytiger Legion would allow the Autobots to establish bases on Earth, just the Autobots themselves would find it difficult to overcome the moral dilemma of competing with the local population for minerals and living space.
However, these were not Sun Cheng's concerns. His investment in the Autobots had ended. From start to finish, the Autobots had only shown him a slight bit of goodwill. While Optimus Prime hadn't outright refused his alliance request, he hadn't accepted it either.
This aligns with Sun Cheng's intentions because getting too involved with the Autobots wasn't a good idea.
He held an All Spark fragment in his hand, and blue electrical arcs continuously danced between his fingers and the All Spark fragment.
"All Spark fragment!" Excavator's eyes turned envious. He, who didn't need to breathe, released two hot white streams of air from his nostrils when Sun Cheng took out the fragment.
Under the icy gaze of Thunder, he quickly realized his lapse in composure and turned his head away.
The fragment belonged to Sun Cheng, and it was something he could never obtain. Thunder made a disdainful sound, running his fingers over the wound on his chest that Surfboard had left, which hadn't completely healed yet.
A medical spider, currently crawling all over him, had two legs gripping a piece of metal fragment. It was diligently repairing some inconspicuous small wounds on Thunder's body.
Sun Cheng had realized the importance of the fragment not long ago when Surfboard and Doctor kidnapped Sam to extract the information they needed from his mind.
After that, Sun Cheng recognized the significance of the fragment that Sam had obtained. Like the Autobots and Skytiger Legion, Sun Cheng was also searching for the Leadership Module.
However, none of the three factions had better methods. The Leadership Module had been deliberately hidden, although they all believed that this immense source of energy couldn't be completely concealed. Once they approached a certain distance, whether it was the Autobots, Skytiger Legion, or Sun Cheng, they could sense it, just like the All Spark.
Based on this understanding, all three parties, the Autobots, Skytiger Legion, and Sun Cheng, were using an expansive net to search for the Leadership Module.
Skytiger Legion had the most manpower, with Starscream dispatching over a hundred Decepticons to search all over Earth.
The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, had started their search in East Africa, according to Sun Cheng's investigation.
As for Sun Cheng's team, they had designed and manufactured three special unmanned reconnaissance drones based on the United States Global Hawk. These drones were capable of capturing strong energy sources and electromagnetic fluctuations that reached deep underground, thanks to orders from Base Two. Currently, the three drones were under Forerunner's control, scouring Africa for any trace of the Leadership Module.
Sun Cheng himself was taking the opportunity to decipher the information within the fragment, hoping to obtain more useful information from it.
Africa was now entering its last dawn before the storm.
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