Chapter 603: Leadership Module (Part 1) (Patreon)

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In the Jordanian Petra Mountains, a mixed team of Autobots and humans was rapidly making their way through the rugged terrain.

"We're getting close to the coordinates. Everyone, be cautious; there's a good chance there might be Decepticons around," Ironhide, who had been silent throughout the journey, finally began warning the team as they entered the Petra Mountains.

"Safe ahead!" Claudia, a female Autobot who transformed into a motorcycle, stood on a small hill dozens of meters away. Her motorcycle form allowed her to move much faster than the car-form Autobots in this mountainous terrain, so she willingly took on the role of the pathfinder.

"Bumblebee," Ironhide looked at Bumblebee, who was walking alongside Sam and Michaela, and furrowed his brow. "Still no contact with Prowl?"

Prowl had once been the Chief Intelligence Officer under Sentinel Prime, and he had died in a particularly brutal assassination during the civil war. Later, Sentinel Prime had revived him, and the scientists among the Autobots had designed a new mechanical body for him, similar to those of Bumblebee, Barricade, Jazz, and others. They could almost be considered brothers due to their shared mechanical body structure.

This common mechanical body structure created a special connection between Bumblebee and Prowl. Even if they were separated by a distance, they could still sense each other's presence.

Upon hearing Ironhide's question, Bumblebee walked to a nearby hill, stood there for several tens of seconds facing in each of the four directions, and then shook his head. He then jumped down from the small hill, which was several dozen meters high.

"I can't contact him. He's probably not nearby; I can't sense his presence."

This was not good news. Prowl had been sent to the Petra Mountains by Optimus Prime a few days ago to investigate the coordinates sent by Colonel Williams. Shortly after, contact with him had been lost.

Although Optimus Prime had shown a high level of trust in Prowl, believing that even if he were discovered by Decepticons, he could escape safely, the fact remained that Prowl was now unaccounted for.

Ironhide nodded gravely but didn't say anything. The recent battles between the Autobots and Decepticons had taken a heavy toll on the Autobots.

In the past year, since responding to Optimus Prime's call to come to Earth, the number of Autobot warriors had dwindled to less than twenty. Every single one of them was a precious asset.

The atmosphere among the group was heavy as they quickly traversed the rocky terrain. In a short amount of time, they reached the designated coordinates.

Claudia, who had a penchant for exploration, was the first to spot the heavily damaged Nameless Temple. She cautiously inspected the area nearby and confirmed its safety before climbing up a small hill that the temple seemed to be leaning against.

"It's safe. No Decepticons around," she reported.

Ironhide and the others arrived a few minutes later. As they passed a bend in the terrain and saw the ruins below, which had been ravaged by the Decepticons, the faces of all the Autobots turned grim.

"Did we arrive too late?" Shake sighed and plopped down on the ground, his spirits low.

Sideswipe, silent until now, walked forward and scanned the area with two blue beams of light emanating from his eyes. After a brief scan, he shook his head.

"This used to be a temple, and it appears to have been destroyed a few days ago. Likely the work of Digger Tiger... There's nothing left."

The temple had clearly been damaged by Digger Tiger, an expert in engineering. There were traces everywhere of excavators and drills.

Ironhide adjusted the satellite link and, after confirming the coordinates sent by Colonel Williams, looked at the ruined temple in front of him. "The coordinates sent by Colonel Williams are here. It seems like we're a step too late."

His tone was heavy, understandably so, as the temple had been utterly destroyed, and there were no Decepticons guarding the area nearby.

There was a high likelihood that the Decepticons had already obtained what they were looking for.

Silence and despair once again enveloped everyone present. However, Bumblebee's sorrow was brief. He walked forward, bent down, and started picking up pieces of the temple's rubble, tossing them several meters away.

This action immediately caught everyone's attention.

"It's useless, Bumblebee. It's all over," Shake complained, his spirits still low.

Bumblebee didn't respond to him and continued picking up rocks, clearing the rubble of the temple.

Sideswipe opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it. During his previous scan, he had already examined everything beneath the rubble, and there truly was nothing left.

However, as he watched the silent Bumblebee, Sideswipe suddenly seemed to understand something.

"It's not over until it's certain. Giving up now means giving up everything," this thought unexpectedly popped into his head. For the first time, he didn't taunt Bumblebee for his self-deception.

Instead, he followed suit, walking to the ruins and picking up rocks to help with the cleanup.

Sam and Michaela exchanged a glance and then joined in, helping pick up smaller pieces of debris.

Their actions clearly resonated with many. Ironhide, after a moment of hesitation, also walked over and began lifting massive stones, hurling them more than twenty meters away.

"It's not time to give up yet, Shake," he said firmly.

Ratchet looked on with satisfaction, patting the young-hearted Shake, who had adopted some of his teacher Ironhide's characteristics, before also joining in to help.

All eight Autobots worked together, and within a few minutes, they had cleared most of the temple ruins, leaving only small pieces of debris, sand, and dust that no longer obstructed their view.

The front wall of the Nameless Temple had collapsed by more than half, and only the lower part of the arched gate remained.

Sam, following behind Bumblebee, was the first to enter the still-standing rubble of the temple. At a glance, the walls were covered in signs of destruction.

The front wall and the left and right walls were the most heavily damaged, and from the proportions, it appeared that the temple had originally been at least twenty to thirty meters tall. But now, these three sides had walls remaining only about two to three meters in height.

The back wall, however, was still relatively intact, thanks to its proximity to the mountain.

"We've done useless work. There's nothing left here," Shake complained as he looked around.

"Shut up!" Ironhide reprimanded him, and after carefully inspecting the temple, he took out a cigar, lit it, and began smoking in silence.

"What should I do next? Leave Earth or call for more reinforcements?" Shake, still true to his nature, was the one to voice his intentions.

But his constant chatter irritated Sideswipe. In response, Sideswipe drew a triangular-bladed knife and threw it toward him with force.

"Swish!"

The triangular blade narrowly missed Shake's ear and embedded itself in the wall with the mural.

"Shut up!" Sideswipe warned him impatiently. "If you keep talking, I'll shut your mouth for you!"

With that said, the usually hot-headed Shake suddenly became furious.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 604: Leadership Module (Part 2)