Chapter 635: Irreparable Rift (Part 1)
Added 2023-09-24 11:05:34 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Inside the cab of the heavy truck that had once been Optimus Prime, now transformed back into his tape recorder form, he remained motionless. However, the two vertical antennas in the rear were constantly adjusting their angles.
The tape recorder continuously intercepted all communication waves within a 7.4-kilometer radius, using this ability to gather more intelligence.
This was his unique skill, and it was the reason why the tape recorder had become the leader of the Autobots' tape unit.
"Leader, the president of this country has just arrived in the northwest of the Sinai Peninsula..."
"The situation here hasn't been great recently. I've heard that two countries named France and Britain have been conducting joint exercises in the Mediterranean Sea area near Egypt..."
"There have been reports of the American Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft circling over the Sinai Peninsula..."
Optimus Prime listened quietly, occasionally asking a question or two.
In the past, he had relied more on Prowl and Bumblebee, the two intelligence experts.
Prowl excelled in professionalism, while Bumblebee was loyal and meticulous in his work.
But both of these intelligence experts had gone silent due to the "Leadership Module," and there was a significant chance that they had been lost.
Now, Optimus Prime had to rely on the tape recorder to collect more information for himself.
"Have you found any information about Ratchet, Bumblebee, or the others?"
"I'm sorry, Leader... My information-gathering abilities are far from those of our predecessors, and I haven't found any information about them so far..."
"It's not your fault. We all know that the hope of their survival is very slim... You don't need to blame yourself. Keep up the good work!"
In silence, the convoy continued heading north and entered the Sinai Peninsula, taking Route 17.
What the Autobots didn't know was that at the same time they were approaching the location where they had originally buried the bodies of Autobot warriors, President Husni, in the city of Arish, had finally divided the spoils among the five major rogues who had come knocking at his door after arduous negotiations.
Among the five major rogues, without a doubt, Britain and France benefited the most.
Their navy majors had joined forces, an unusual collaboration with their old rival, while the United States, whose navy major had suffered a setback, had to save face by getting a smaller share.
Among the Decepticon corpses recently acquired by Egypt, there were a total of 114, with only 32 relatively intact. The rest had missing limbs and broken parts, as both Autobots and Decepticons relied heavily on close combat for their lower-tier warriors.
Of these 32 mostly intact Decepticon corpses, Egypt retained two for research purposes or potential future trades with other nations.
The remaining 30 were distributed according to the following ratio: Britain and France each received 10, the United States got 5, Russia received 3, and China received 2.
As for the incomplete corpses, they were also distributed symbolically according to the same ratio.
Regarding this distribution, aside from the United States expressing some dissatisfaction, both China and Russia only made symbolic protests.
In reality, everyone was quite satisfied with this allocation scheme.
For the financially strained Britain and France, they had finally obtained the extraterrestrial corpses they had longed for, eagerly wanting to transport them back and gain advanced extraterrestrial technology through their research.
The United States, being somewhat greedy, didn't place too much importance on this batch of mainly Decepticon cannon fodder corpses. After all, in the past year, they had killed or captured around a hundred Decepticons in cooperation with the Autobots. Later, as Autobots made concessions, they had obtained around twenty to thirty corpses.
Moreover, not long ago, they had made a substantial discovery in Jordan, once again obtaining more than a dozen Decepticon corpses and even a batch of familiar Autobot high-level warrior corpses.
This harvest had finally given the United States, who had lost two Navy fleet majors, some relief, making them feel that God had once again blessed the United States of America.
As for China and Russia, although it may seem that they obtained the least, the number of Decepticon corpses they acquired from Egypt was not of great significance to them.
This is because their dealings with Sun Cheng had already included Decepticon cannon fodder warrior corpses, which were quite expensive and valued at around one billion US dollars each.
However, over the past year, both Moscow and Beidou, for various specific reasons, had purchased four to five Decepticon corpses from Sun Cheng for research purposes.
In just over a year of research, they might have gained some insights from their studies.
But it was evident that purchasing Decepticon corpses did not provide them with much assistance compared to the cost-effective and cutting-edge technology and equipment Sun Cheng offered. Therefore, such transactions had become increasingly rare.
After the distribution of the spoils, although Egypt couldn't be considered as making a windfall, they did receive some support.
This included over 8 billion US dollars in interest-free loans and substantial military aid from the five major rogues.
For Egypt, it was like stumbling upon a small fortune.
After the division of the spoils, the diplomats from various countries followed Egypt's military personnel to the military base located in Nahele, where this large batch of Decepticon corpses was temporarily stored.
Soon after, the convoy of Autobots had quietly entered Nahele.
The tape recorder remained inside the cab of Optimus Prime's transformed heavy truck. Shortly after entering Nahele, he, who could capture nearby communication signals, quickly filtered out some frequent keywords from the massive communication waves and extracted crucial information.
"Leader!"
He reported his findings to Optimus Prime with a touch of anger, "Inside the city known as Nahele, there's a human military base. The corpses of the Decepticons who died in battle against you are all within that military base. Some human nations are buying them; they want to study them to gain our technology and wield weapons capable of killing us!"
Optimus Prime remained silent for a moment before soothingly saying, "You need not be so angered, tape recorder."
"If you've come to understand this planet, you'd realize that Earth's history is essentially a chronicle of warfare. Through war, they step on the bodies of outsiders and other nations, colonize, expand, and grow stronger!"
"Greed has penetrated deep into their bones. They have not lost before, so they lack reverence for their own mother planet!"
"We once wanted to help them break free from this greed, but unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory!"
"This planet belongs to them, and since they have chosen this path themselves, let them continue down it."
"Someday, when the oceans dry up, and the continents fracture, they will pay the price for their greed!"
While consoling the infuriated tape recorder, suddenly, Arcee, who had been leading the way at the forefront, spoke with anger in her voice over the communication channel.
"Leader, I've found the Sound Nest unit. They are at the place where Ironhide buried our comrades earlier. It seems they are planning to secretly take away their corpses!"
Upon hearing this, Optimus Prime's heart sank.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 636: Complete Rupture (Part 1)