Chapter 182: NEST, Deploy

Southeast of Nye County, Nevada, the heavily guarded Nevada Test Site.

A generic SUV with United States Department of Energy markings on its exterior slowly drove in from a ground radar station thirty kilometers away. After passing through layers of security checks, it entered the test site under the protection of two accompanying military vehicles.

Major William stood in front of his vehicle, frowning as he watched the generic SUV approaching from afar.

"What's the situation?"

He tilted his head slightly and asked Captain Robert, who was beside him.

"Not sure. You know, the higher-ups don't trust our robot friends, so they've never allowed us to connect our local network to the outside!"

Captain Robert shrugged, though a nonchalant smile hung on his face.

Major William frowned at him, "They are Autobots, not robots..."

But he did not continue the argument, because William knew what Robert said was the truth.

Politicians are a bunch of old men who are forever insecure, especially those in Washington, whose personalities are suspicious to the extreme.

The destructive power caused by the Battle of Las Vegas was more than just a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of the American top brass; it was as if an entire reservoir had collapsed upon them.

Ninety-two various fighter jets were damaged, the total number of destroyed tanks and military vehicles exceeded two hundred, and the number of dead and wounded soldiers exceeded two thousand, among whom more than fourteen hundred American soldiers were killed in action!

A battle between visitors from beyond the sky caused the United States to suffer a more painful price than the sum of the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, and it also left the American top brass divided on whether to get involved in the struggle between the two factions of Mechanical Life.

Although the President and the Defense Minister ultimately finalized the cooperation plan with the Autobots, the government's attitude toward the Autobots was far from as good as imagined.

From the very beginning, the majority, including intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, and the White House, took a hardline stance demanding that the Autobots not be stationed within the United States.

Optimus Prime made concessions, agreeing to the United States government's request to place the future base for cooperation with the NEST unit overseas.

Even so, before the United States had finished the base for them to be stationed in, the United States government still treated the Autobots poorly by placing them at the Nevada Test Site in the southeast of Nye County, Nevada.

What kind of place is the Nevada Test Site!

This is the place where the United States Army conducts tests for new nuclear weapons and the destruction of nuclear weapons!

The United States Army has two missile brigades, one tank division, and no fewer than two hundred various fighter jets deployed near the Nevada Test Site, not to mention that there is also an unregistered land-based nuclear force nearby.

With the Autobots temporarily stationed in such a heavily guarded place, the United States government's wariness of them can be imagined.

The car soon arrived in front of them. After the door opened, a young white man in a black suit stepped out. He looked to be only about thirty years old. He walked respectfully to the two men, gave a military salute, and then said, "Major, I am from the Nankanda Radar Station. This is the footage we just captured today. My superiors told me to bring it to you!"

He took a dozen photos from the briefcase he was carrying and handed them over.

Major William glanced at the bulging briefcase held tightly in his hand; it was clear that besides these dozen photos, there were other things inside.

Returning the military salute, he then took the photos.

Captain Robert also leaned in to look. When the two of them looked together, their expressions changed in unison.

The images on the photos were of a set of aircraft in flight. The resolution was not very good, but the general outline could still be made out.

"A small aircraft... it looks a bit like..." Captain Robert asked for one from him and looked at it carefully, trying to identify the type of aircraft.

"Reaper..."

Major William's face sank, and his eyes were instantly filled with murderous intent. He spat out these two words, almost through gritted teeth.

He took a deep breath to suppress his churning thoughts. Major William looked at the young man again and said, "How long ago were these images captured? And where were they taken?"

The man checked the time and replied, "33 minutes ago, over Colorado..."

"As expected..."

Major William nodded and saluted him again, "I need to take these things away. That's no problem, right?"

"Yes, Major."

The young man immediately handed him the briefcase he had brought, returned a military salute, turned around, and went back to the car to leave.

Once he left, Major William handed all the dozen photos he was holding to Captain Robert beside him, while he himself reached into the briefcase.

Soon, after several discs and other documents and materials were also taken out, Major William looked at them carefully for a while before raising his head.

"Captain, send someone to bring Optimus Prime here. You go notify the equipment department immediately, and I will go apply to convene an emergency remote Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting..."

"Yes..."

One hour later, C3 Base outside the Nevada Test Site, Joint Chiefs of Staff communication office.

"The Joint Chiefs of Staff encrypted line is connected, Major..."

Accompanied by the communicator's reminder, Major William took a deep breath, nodded, walked straight to several high-definition cameras, gave a military salute, and then said, "... Sir, we have just obtained a piece of intelligence. Because the situation is critical, I had to request this meeting to report the situation to everyone..."

Below the cameras in front of him were several LCD screens. On each screen appeared a military tycoon wearing a general's uniform; they were none other than the top leaders of the major branches of the United States Army and the Ministry of National Defense.

"What intelligence?"

Army Secretary Erwin asked.

Major William glanced at Optimus Prime, who was on the side, and said, "A few days ago, one of our NEST military satellites that had just replaced its Dark Spectrum Scan system captured some Dark Spectrum reactions while passing through Saguache County in Colorado... Afterward, we applied to strengthen the surveillance of Colorado, and then just over an hour ago, our satellite captured another set of images... After identification, it can be confirmed that the captured images originated from the Decepticon member--Frenzy..."

"Frenzy!"

Upon hearing the name Frenzy, even through the screen, Major William immediately felt that the bigwigs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who were far away had all become tense at once.

In fact, it was not just them; Major William himself was the same.

If the appearance of Megatron in the Battle of Las Vegas made the Americans realize the terrifying combat power of Decepticon Mechanical Life.

Then, Frenzy, whose combat power was not outstanding, taught the Americans what is meant by the lasting destructive power of Mechanical Life.

Not to mention the American fighter jets and soldiers lost at his hands, the personnel losses caused by his two invasions of Sector 7 and his slaughter in Sector 7 deeply stung the heart of the United States government.

It is no exaggeration to say that now that Megatron is confirmed dead and Starscream, whom the Autobots fear, has yet to appear, in the minds of the bigwigs of the United States government, Sun Cheng has suddenly become the most dangerous target that needs to be eliminated immediately.

Thus, the meeting was approved with an efficiency that Major William had not even thought of.

"Major, we authorize the NEST unit to mobilize. There is only one requirement: by any means necessary, completely destroy this Mechanical Life named Frenzy!"

"Yes, sir. Guarantee to complete the Task!"

PS:

Something came up at noon, and I didn't have time to type. I'll rush a bit tonight and try to make up for it tomorrow noon.