Chapter 19: Mysterious Space

"Huh!"

Just as he was about to finish reading Sun Cheng's memory data, Starscream was suddenly forcibly expelled from his 【Core】 by a will. Starscream couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation, and as he looked at Sun Cheng, whom he held in his hand, the expression in his eyes suddenly turned strange.

"My Lord... Lord Starscream!"

Having just regained control of his body, Sun Cheng hadn't even had time to be happy when he suddenly felt the grip around his frame tighten drastically. Seeing that deformation was already beginning to occur, he couldn't help but shout out in a panic.

"Interesting!"

Starscream seemed to have just snapped out of it; his expression shifted constantly as he looked at him. After a long moment, he gave Sun Cheng a meaningful look and tossed him casually to the side of Barricade: "Take him to the 【Supply Room】 to replenish his energy. Once that's done, you two go directly to rendezvous with Brawl. I want to get that thing as soon as possible!"

"Yes, I understand!"

Barricade had clearly caught his subtle change, but he had known Starscream for too long and knew that some things shouldn't be asked.

So, although he was very curious about what exactly Starscream had seen in Sun Cheng's memory chip, he ultimately didn't ask. Once the order was given, he picked up Sun Cheng, who was lying on the ground unable to move, and headed straight for the 【Supply Room】.

The 【Supply Room】 was soon left with only Starscream. He stood there scratching his chin, looking troubled at the sets of strange data he had projected before him, and muttered to himself: "Unable to decode? And no way to start? Could these special characters I've never seen before be the more ancient Elder Script? Frenzy was born in the Moon Base; could it be that he had a hand in this?"

His voice grew quieter, and his face became increasingly irritable. After a long time, he let out a muffled, low curse: "Damn The Fallen..."

"Have you recovered your memories?"

As he carried Sun Cheng toward the 【Supply Room】, not long after leaving the 【Incubation Room】, Barricade couldn't help but ask.

Sun Cheng, who was still struggling to digest the new memory data that had just emerged in his mind, paused at the sound and replied: "Yes, Lord Barricade!"

He had indeed 'recovered' his memories, but unexpectedly, he had not been influenced by the consciousness of 'Frenzy', which made Sun Cheng feel strange himself.

Sun Cheng, having had the seal placed by Soundwave completely undone by Starscream and having fully received all of his memories, naturally knew what 'Frenzy' meant.

The 【Cassette Corps】 was first formed thousands of years ago during the 【Cybertronian Civil War】, initially composed of eight high-ranking Decepticons codenamed 'Scout Car', 'Laserbeak', 'Buzzsaw', 'Ravage', 'Rumble', 'Frenzy', 'Ratbat', and 'Overkill'.

But because Cybertron was still in the midst of war at that time, and the Decepticons were locked in fierce battles with another type of mechanical life they called 'Autobots' for control of the planet, the 【Cassette Corps】 was sent to the battlefield shortly after its birth.

Tasked with the most dangerous intelligence work, the death of 【Cassette Corps】 members was naturally inevitable. This included 'Scout Car' and 'Overkill' dying in battle first, and later new members like 'Rat-needle Bird', 'Brawl', 'Tyrannosaurus', 'Stegosaurus', 'Triceratops', and 'Bruticus' were added, but most of them didn't survive until the end of the civil war.

The 【Cybertronian Civil War】 had only ended a little over a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, 'Laserbeak' and 'Frenzy', the two best spies of the Decepticons, were both killed in the final battle while surrounding the Autobot Leader—Optimus Prime.

Although Sun Cheng had not yet fully digested the memory data of 'Frenzy', he had discovered many suspicious points within it.

The interior of the 【Cassette Corps】 did not seem as harmonious as he had imagined. Although their Commander, Soundwave, was powerful, among the eight great generals under him, apart from Ravage who was loyal to Soundwave, none were easy to deal with.

Laserbeak considered his own spy abilities superior to Soundwave's and had always tried to gain Megatron's favor to replace Soundwave and become the boss of the 【Cassette Corps】.

Buzzsaw was unruly, and his passion for destruction was hair-raising.

Ratbat was a cold loner; his disregard for everyone but himself meant he could never be loyal to anyone.

Not to mention Rumble; as a Decepticon Warrior with powerful destructive force, he had never once been convinced by Soundwave since being assigned to the 【Cassette Corps】.

And the original Frenzy was also an ambitious man. Under his painstaking management, the not-so-bright Rumble became his good friend and thug. Judging from the memory data Sun Cheng had just received, the two of them had even confronted Soundwave head-on more than once.

In the 【Cassette Corps】, the only ones who could be used by Soundwave were the later-resurrected Overkill and Ravage. The former was simple-minded and didn't have many thoughts; if one really had to say, only Ravage was truly loyal to Soundwave.

That such a bizarre team could still have such glorious military achievements left Sun Cheng between laughter and tears, and he had to admit that Soundwave definitely had reason to stab his own people in the back.

It was no wonder why, after the war, Soundwave would strike at 'Frenzy' when resurrecting him.

The term 'Lord Barricade' made Barricade pause in his tracks for a moment. After a while, Sun Cheng heard his laughter: "Not bad, it seems you've made your decision. How about it? Consider pledging your loyalty to Lord Starscream like I have!"

If Barricade had said this before his memories were recovered, he might have believed it.

But hearing him open his mouth now, Sun Cheng secretly spat in his heart.

From the newly acquired memories, he already knew Barricade's background.

This guy came from the Decepticons' natural enemy—the Autobots. Valuing only power, he had defected to the Decepticons as early as the 【Cybertronian Civil War】.

Naturally, even the Decepticon Legion, with its endless supply of bizarre characters, wouldn't truly trust a turncoat like him.

Yet, despite his explosive temper, this guy had always skillfully navigated between the various factions within the Decepticons.

It was said he had once been loyal to Shockwave, fawned over Thrust, obeyed Megatron's orders, and had never spoken ill of Starscream.

One must know that during the period when Megatron ruled the Decepticon Legion, the frequently rebellious Starscream was practically a target set up by Megatron. For the many small factions within the legion to spray him with insults or stab him in the back was practically a daily routine for the Decepticons.

One can imagine that someone who ran to Starscream's side as soon as Megatron went missing would claim to be loyal to someone.

Sun Cheng estimated that even he himself didn't believe those words.

However, despite his disdain, he didn't show it on his face for a long time, and even agreed quite readily: "As long as you and Lord Starscream don't mind!"

Clearly, his immediate stance satisfied Barricade. Soon after arriving at the 【Supply Room】, he personally summoned a spider-type Decepticon equipped with a 【Medical Template】 to give instructions before preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to add a reminder: "After replenishing your energy, come find me in the 【Incubation Room】. Lord Starscream may already be losing patience; we must complete the Task he assigned as soon as possible!"

"I understand, my Lord!"

Once Barricade left, Sun Cheng was immediately lifted by the spider-type Decepticon in charge of the 【Incubation Room】 to a strange machine and was told: "Reveal your 【Core】!"

Sun Cheng nodded; he knew this was indeed a necessary process for replenishing energy, so he directly revealed his 【Core】.

The next moment, he saw the spider-type Decepticon tap the machine casually, and a light screen was immediately projected before him.

After the Decepticon quickly entered some data on the screen, it wasn't long before Sun Cheng saw more than a dozen transparent tubes, resembling plant tentacles, emerge from the machine.

Soon, after the tubes adhered to his 【Core】, streams of water-blue liquid continuously surged into his 【Core】 along the tubes. On the surface of his body, small energy fluctuations resembling lightning immediately began to jump.

"Ding... Energy source detected... Absorption function activated..."

The moment the energy entered his body, Sun Cheng felt as if his body had encountered sweet rain after a long drought. A sense of pleasure and satisfaction from the depths of his soul made him unable to help but gulp down the energy that was continuously pouring into his body.

"Hmm?"

The spider-type Decepticon nearby looked at the light screen in front of him with some confusion. "500 points of energy aren't enough? Why is the consumption so high?"

Without the slightest hesitation, he added another 500 points of energy for Sun Cheng.

After all, being personally sent by Barricade and even mentioned by Starscream, his status was certainly not something a lowest-level Medical Decepticon like him could compare to.

He didn't expect that this action would do Sun Cheng a huge favor. As sufficient energy continuously surged into the 【Core】, he unexpectedly captured a faint attraction coming from an unknown corner of his body.

Filled with curiosity, he then probed his consciousness toward where the attraction was coming from. Soon, he felt as if a terrifying vortex had appeared there. Before he could react, his consciousness was drawn into a water-blue Spherical Space that had been troubling him for several days.