Chapter 380: (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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In the end, Ironhide and the others managed to escape. Sun Cheng didn't need to send anyone to inform Waldronov, as his drones had been following the Autobots the whole time and witnessed them fleeing in a sorry state from the relentless attacks of the Russian army's fighter jets. They eventually made their way to the coast and, without hesitation, jumped into the icy waters of the far north.

"...they got away?" Sun Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. The Russian army had repelled the Autobots' probing attacks without his intervention, and he had successfully hidden himself under the cover of a mysterious smoke. This was undoubtedly a good opportunity for him.

Starscream was too cautious and cunning to reveal his cards, so it was unlikely that he would take any action against Sun Cheng.

As for the Autobots, they had almost lost four warriors in their encounter with the Russian army. This lesson would take them some time to digest.

It was safe to assume that there would be no more troublemakers in Beihang for the next few months.

However, everything comes with a cost.

Although the Russian army paid a heavy price to keep the Autobots at bay, they also gained something from the encounter.

Through this battle, the Russians realized that they were not helpless against the Cybertronians. On the contrary, their weapons could not only harm Autobots and Decepticons but, if used properly, could even severely injure and kill them.

This discovery would undoubtedly stir up some ambition among certain elements in Moscow, and perhaps even give rise to some unnecessary ideas and comparisons.

It was foreseeable that there would be some bumps in the future "cooperation" between Sun Cheng and Russia.

After weighing the gains and losses in his heart for a moment, Sun Cheng soon smiled wryly and put it out of his mind.

So what if the Russians found out? They couldn't really break ties with him.

The reason he came to Russia was not only to use human hands to quickly obtain the resources he needed to develop his base, but also to rearm himself and attract the attention of the United States on a global scale.

Moreover, Sun Cheng was not an Autobot with extremely firm principles, so in the past few collaborations, Moscow had already gained enough benefits from him. The cooperation between the two sides was by no means like that between the Autobots and the United States government.

You should know that joining forces with the Autobots to form the Sound Nest unit was a big loss in the eyes of the United States.

Compared to their relationship with Russia, it was more appropriate to describe it as a business partnership where both parties took what they needed.

In the earlier stages of their collaboration, the Russians had paid hundreds of thousands of tons of various metals and minerals, including some precious uranium ore. But their gains would undoubtedly leave Moscow satisfied.

Two improved Yasen-class attack nuclear submarines were completed, and two more were under construction with the guidance of Decepticon engineers. Hundreds of advanced precision equipment were enough to whet anyone's appetite.

Moreover, this kind of cooperation was not a one-time deal. Recently, Sun Cheng had proposed to purchase a massive amount of military supplies from Russia.

If this arms trade could be completed, it would be another multi-billion-dollar windfall that could boost Russia's stagnant economy for several years.

Furthermore, Russia's good days would not last long in the eyes of the super doctor in the city.

Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia had always been a strategic opponent and a key target of containment for the United States. The Pentagon had never relaxed its vigilance towards Russia.

The four Autobots had almost been defeated in Russia, and one of them was severely injured and had to abandon their mission in a sorry state.

The United States would certainly exchange intelligence with the Autobots afterwards, so the Pentagon would soon be able to confirm that they had also come into contact with extraterrestrial mechanical life like themselves.

This was absolutely unacceptable to the White House!

There is an old saying in China, "Only reputation and power cannot be faked." This phrase has different translations in different contexts, but the general meaning is similar: "Only reputation and power cannot be given to others."

What is reputation? It is the prestige that comes with a good reputation. In ancient China, power was often referred to as the emperor's authority.

Applied to the Americans, a more colloquial translation would be that only the influence and hegemony of the world's only superpower cannot be given to others.

In this world, the United States gained world hegemony only after completely defeating the Soviet Union in the 1990s. It has only been more than 20 years since then.

Therefore, many Americans have not forgotten the threat that the Red Empire posed to them when the world was divided into two spheres of influence before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Especially for the elderly who lived through the Brezhnev era, they should still remember the terror of a possible doomsday.

You should know that in the decades before Reagan took office, the United States had even had to adopt a defensive posture to deal with the Soviet Union's aggressive provocations worldwide.

The alien technology from Cybertron had been studied by the United States government for over a hundred years, and they certainly knew what it meant, even if there was only a one percent or even a one in a million chance of a giant star coming.

The Americans would never sit idly by and let their former rival, the USSR, rise again through obtaining black technology from an extraterrestrial civilization.

Therefore, even if the Russians quickly discovered that the weapons they possessed could threaten Sun Cheng and his team, Moscow would not have the energy to deal with them again.

...

The unexpected battle in Russia came and went quickly, but its impact was rapidly fermenting.

Sound Nest base on Diego Garcia Island.

Optimus Prime stood inside a huge building that looked like a garage with a cold expression. This building, codenamed "Garage," was a supply warehouse specially set aside by the United States for the Autobots to use when resting on the island.

Inside the garage, Ratchet was carefully examining a slender and scarred female Autobot lying on an empty space in front of him.

Three beams of bright blue light continued to shoot out from his eyes and a device resembling an endoscope in his right hand, constantly scanning the female Autobot's injuries.

This process lasted for quite a while before he finally withdrew the scanning beams and looked up at Ironhide, Optimus Prime, and other Autobots who were anxiously watching him.

Then he spoke, "Chromia's mechanical body is severely damaged, but I can still treat her injuries, although it will take some time. Commander, I need some special materials..."

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 381: The Alliance on the Brink of Collapse (Part 1)