Chapter 739: Familiar Faces (Patreon)

Transformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List

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In just a few months, Forerunner had grown rapidly.

As Sun Cheng explored Terindad Island, he found that the changes here were indeed as significant as they appeared. The transformation was immense.

Now, a considerable number of humans had made this island their permanent residence. The existence of the Black Market was no longer a well-kept secret, and almost all the Earth's nations with a modicum of power were now aware of the existence of this mystical island.

Many nations and influential groups of humans had established liaison offices on the island. These offices ranged from small teams of five or six individuals to larger ones with dozens, or even hundreds, of members. Rumor had it that the total number of resident humans on the island had already exceeded a thousand.

The reason these human nations and factions went to such lengths to set up permanent liaison offices on the island was due to the rules of the Black Market.

The amount of goods available for trade on the island was fixed, and although it was periodically refreshed, the quantity was limited. Therefore, unless one purchased the items as soon as they appeared on the Black Market online store, they would have to wait until the next month or hope that a competing faction defaulted on their purchase.

Given that the lowest possible price for a single piece of equipment often reached millions of dollars, and higher-end items sold for hundreds of millions, this market was anything but ordinary.

Terindad Island did not accept the currencies of human nations; it only traded in various rare metals and minerals, following a barter system.

Sun Cheng had initially set this rule to give humans ample time to prepare, whether they wanted to mine these resources themselves or purchase them from the international market. Both processes required time.

The emergence of the Black Market on Terindad Island was rooted in two main reasons.

First, Sun Cheng hoped to leverage the human factions on Earth to help him quickly gather enough resources to expedite the growth of his own power and the construction of Explorer-class Spaceships. He had chosen to develop South America, where Base Two was located, because it was indeed a land of abundance, rich in minerals. Even if they only sold mineral resources, it would be enough to sustain the economies of several countries in South America for a long time.

However, no matter how rich a gifted land might be, not all mineral resources were abundant. Sun Cheng's Decepticon engineers had already drawn detailed maps of mineral veins in several South American countries under his control, including uranium and rare earth minerals, among many others. Some of these minerals were either scarce or completely absent.

That's why, even as Base Two gradually grew in strength, they continued to import various minerals from the Far East and Russia in large quantities.

The second reason for establishing the Black Market was to avoid excessive attention from the nations of Earth. Ever since Lord Fallen had suddenly ordered the Decepticons to invade Earth half a year ago, destroying the United States' Second Fleet Major, and openly infiltrating the communication systems of nations worldwide, exposing the Decepticons' existence, countries around the world had invested vast resources and manpower into exploring extraterrestrial beings, driven by national security concerns and other considerations.

Subsequently, the battles between the Decepticons and U.S. Military in the Red Sea region, the fierce clashes between Autobots and Decepticons in Egypt, and the battles between Autobots, Decepticons, and humans in Jordan, not to mention a series of attacks on military-industrial complexes within the United States, had further fueled the international frenzy.

In the events following the exposure of the Decepticons and Autobots, it was clear that the roles played by the nations of Earth were that of passive, helpless victims. Even the Americans, who had dominated Earth for over half a century, had suffered the loss of most of their Majors, despite having lost two aircraft carrier fleets.

It was worth noting that since World War II, aircraft carrier battle groups had always symbolized the military presence of the United States, and they were almost omnipresent in regional interventions and military coercion. However, despite the fact that the United States maintained a total of around ten aircraft carriers, they could only deploy a limited number for combat at any given time, typically around three.

This was why, after the United States had suffered significant damage to three of its aircraft carriers, they were still able to endure the subsequent attacks on domestic military-industrial complexes by the Autobots before finally regaining their composure.

Their most significant conventional deterrent power had already been crippled by the previous Skytiger Legion, so even the arrogant Hawk Faction had no choice but to bow their heads.

There aren't many nations on Earth that possess aircraft carriers, and undoubtedly, the United States has the most aircraft carriers and the strongest carrier-based combat capabilities among them all.

Considering how badly even the United States had been bullied by extraterrestrials, one could easily imagine the attitudes of other nations when faced with these unwelcome visitors.

Sun Cheng had intentionally created Terindad Island's Black Market to avoid attracting too much attention. He wanted all humans to have direct contact with these extraterrestrials.

The goods he offered in exchange for resources were all advanced mechanical equipment and Precision Instrument Manufacturing Company products that matched the current industrial capabilities on Earth.

Such equipment could only be produced by a handful of countries on Earth, making them powerful tools in the hands of politicians for exerting influence over other nations. Thus, even those nations genuinely in need couldn't acquire them, regardless of their desire to purchase.

Moreover, to sell more and gain more resources, Sun Cheng instructed a Decepticon engineer specialized in manufacturing various mechanical devices for the Black Market to ensure that the technical content of the equipment remained about five to ten years ahead of Earth's current level, roughly equivalent to First Generation technology. This made it attractive to most countries.

Forerunner managed the Black Market on the island efficiently, which pleased Sun Cheng greatly.

Accompanied by a few of his subordinates, he strolled around the island.

Forerunner had now fully grasped and implemented Sun Cheng's earlier directives.

All humans staying on the island had to calculate their accommodation costs based on the number of people and the duration of their stay.

The island didn't accept the currencies of any human nation, so those countries and factions that had established offices on the island could only pay with resources. This applied to their consumption of food, freshwater, and everything else on the island.

Sun Cheng was highly satisfied with Forerunner's learning capabilities. If Forerunner continued to develop on the island, once Sun Cheng and Forerunner's new mechanical bodies were fully completed, he wouldn't mind making Forerunner his first commander and entrusting him with more command and combat tasks.

The prerequisite, however, was that there should be no performance issues.

Several towering mechanical warriors wandering on the island naturally attracted many curious glances.

As Sun Cheng and his group arrived near the colossal temple-like building that had been rudely named the "Black Market," a few well-dressed humans approached and stopped them.

"Excuse me, are you Lord Frenzy? Could we have a few minutes of your time? We'd like to discuss a business opportunity with you."

Sun Cheng looked at the humans who had addressed him with surprise and a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

Among these individuals, he recognized a familiar face!

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