Shane Freak
patreon
Chapter 738: The Future Commander
🕑 Added 2023-10-16 13:11:44 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Sun Cheng had spent nearly a month in Base Two, during which he had managed to clear his accumulated work and make arrangements for the coming weeks.
Realizing that he had been out of the public eye for long enough in Base Two, Sun Cheng grew concerned that the attention he had once attracted to Terindad Island might shift elsewhere.
Therefore, he reminded Atlas and the others once more that, after they had prepared the second batch of supplies for Mars within three months, he planned to leave this comfortable haven.
Not long after leaving the control center, just as he was about to transform into his fighter jet form to fly to Terindad Island, Sun Cheng spotted a group of combat robots approaching. They were carrying four peculiar life support devices resembling medical pods.
He curiously scanned them and couldn't help but mutter, "Hmm? Humans?"
He quickly realized that these four humans being brought in were likely experimental subjects for Hades, and it made Sun Cheng somewhat uncomfortable.
After all, he wasn't one of Hades' Decepticons; he had been a silicon-based lifeform since his inception.
Though the four experimental subjects included both men and women, predominantly from white and brown racial backgrounds, they were all still humans.
"Oh well, probably more prisoners that Yuri managed to acquire from somewhere!"
Hades' research delved into the mysteries of the human body, involving repeated studies of various genetic chains and attempts to modify them, along with the creation of various enhancement drugs, among other things. This required a significant amount of experimental material.
While most restrictions on Hades' research had been lifted, it didn't mean they were entirely unrestricted.
Ignoring the inner workings of Frenzy's Body, it concealed the soul of a human within it.
Sun Cheng wouldn't allow his Decepticons, who were currently on Earth, a planet inhabited by humans, to be pushed into opposition due to some sinister research.
So he gave instructions to Hades and Yuri, allowing them to use prisoners and gang members from South American prisons or chaotic areas as their experimental subjects.
Sun Cheng believed they wouldn't dare to defy his orders, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
As he watched the team of robots heading towards Hades' research lab, he shook his head and then activated his optical camouflage device. He transformed back into his fighter jet mode and quickly disappeared into the sky.
After several months, he returned to Terindad Island once again.
When Sun Cheng flew over the area above the island, the vastly changed landscape momentarily made him doubt if he had come to the right place.
"What a significant transformation!"
Rather than immediately landing on the island, Sun Cheng, in his mechanical body's fighter jet form, hovered in the sky about ten kilometers above the island.
Decepticons possessed superhuman vision; for example, his electronic eyes were usually sufficient to observe micrometer-level details within a range of dozens of meters around him.
With his current high-altitude position and the assistance of scanning functions, he could even examine nanometer-level materials.
Observing a small island of around ten square kilometers from a height of ten kilometers was not a challenging task.
Terindad Island, which had been under construction and in use for several months, had undergone noticeable changes compared to when Sun Cheng had last left.
The original buildings on the island were concentrated in the southeast corner, occupying roughly one-fifth of the island's area, where the Black Market was located.
Now, after several months, much of the rugged and hilly terrain in the eastern and northeastern parts of the island had been leveled artificially.
In their place stood densely packed warehouses and neatly planned residential areas.
The reason Sun Cheng had momentarily questioned his location from high above was that he had noticed a substantial new residential area on the island.
Within this residential area, there were numerous entertainment establishments like hotels and bars, giving the impression that he had arrived at a touristy island destination.
However, the island's coordinates and contours, which matched his memory, clearly reassured Sun Cheng that he was in the right place.
Beneath the increasingly vibrant island managed by the Forerunner, it was Sun Cheng's personal design—a Black Market known as Terindad Island—established for transactions with the major forces on Earth.
The island's radar could detect targets even under optical stealth, so Sun Cheng's arrival was immediately noticed by the units stationed on the island.
Forerunner, Thunder, and Swindle, all hurried to greet him after his descent on the island.
Glancing at Forerunner, who had undergone some unknown changes recently, Sun Cheng nodded slightly and initiated the conversation.
"Long time no see, Forerunner!"
Thunder and Swindle had only been dispatched from Base Two to join him not long ago.
Upon noticing Sun Cheng's gaze on himself, Thunder appeared unchanged, but Swindle seemed somewhat uneasy.
Thanks to Sun Cheng's deliberate arrangements, Swindle had learned that the production plan for his new mechanical body had been indefinitely postponed.
As soon as he received this news, Swindle immediately guessed the reason.
Having been around Sun Cheng for a long time, he had a deep understanding of his methods, thoughts, and more.
It was precisely because of this that Swindle now appeared so uneasy; he sensed that this was a test from Sun Cheng, and he was waiting for Swindle to come clean.
However, once Swindle yielded, he would have no other options left and would be entirely bound to Sun Cheng's agenda.
This deadlock seemed like it would continue for some time.
Fortunately, Sun Cheng was patient and not in a hurry to deal with Swindle, as there was still some time left within the timeline he had set aside for Swindle.
"Master!"
Forerunner bowed slightly, showing great respect.
Over the past few months of running the Black Market independently, he had made tremendous progress.
Forerunner had been with Sun Cheng since his awakening, deeply influenced by him and unconsciously learning from him.
However, in the past, Forerunner's actions could be considered imitation at best.
He imitated Sun Cheng's way of thinking but never needed to seriously contemplate why certain decisions were made and what results they produced because Sun Cheng calculated everything.
In the last few months, without Sun Cheng as the "brain," Forerunner, who now managed and operated the Black Market on his own, had to face the greed, cunning, goodwill, and malice of humans.
Fortunately, he was a powerful Decepticon warrior.
Perhaps Forerunner wasn't as skilled in plotting and scheming as the politicians who visited the Black Market, seeking to benefit from it.
But Forerunner possessed combat capabilities comparable to the military forces of any small European nation, and behind him was the steadily growing behemoth, Base Two.
Therefore, while he had faced his fair share of scheming, he had not suffered any major losses.
In the ongoing struggle with these humans, Forerunner was rapidly improving, gradually moving beyond mere imitation of Sun Cheng and starting to understand his thought patterns. He was slowly developing his own principles of thinking.
As Sun Cheng observed this increasingly composed subordinate, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
His most promising subordinate was maturing rapidly, and perhaps in the not-so-distant future, he would have a commander capable of leading on his own. Then, Sun Cheng wouldn't have to bear the burden of calculating every aspect on his own.
[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Next Chapter >>Chapter 739: Familiar Faces
