Chapter 454: Drawing the Snake from the Grass (Part II)

"... Chirp..."

After more than half an hour of scanning, it finally ended with a mechanical chime that sounded like a time signal.

Sun Cheng stood calmly to the side, appearing out of place in the heated atmosphere of the Laboratory.

"... Incredible, his life should have already reached its end; even the armor on the surface of his body has begun to rust, yet he has somehow not died..."

"... This is actually a Pathfinder; the legends are true!"

"... Master, please allow us to read his memory. That would be a treasure of unimaginable richness. Once fully utilized, it will help you control Earth in the shortest possible time..."

"... This Pathfinder is currently in a peculiar state—neither dead nor alive. It is very interesting..."

"... I understand now. The reason this Pathfinder has been able to survive for so long without his 【Spark】 is because he has another independent Energy Supply System within his body..."

"... So that's it. He must have been a very powerful Warrior. The weapon systems in his body require a massive amount of energy. Perhaps this lord realized this, which is why, in addition to his Spark, he equipped himself with an independent Energy Supply System..."

Facing Jetfire, a veteran Decepticon who had very likely lived for millions of years, the Engineers, after an initial display of considerable fear, quickly fell into a state of madness—or perhaps "delirium" was a more appropriate term—that even Sun Cheng found troublesome.

They didn't even need him to give further orders; after a brief silence and exchange, the dozen or so Engineers quickly formulated a complete research procedure.

Utilizing the terrifying manufacturing capabilities within the Base, they took the lead themselves and, in less than two hours, produced a set of diagnostic machines combining dozens of complex functions such as ultrasound, nuclear magnetic resonance, and laser scanning to comprehensively examine Jetfire's body.

The results were obvious; the conclusions reached by the Engineers were consistent with the initial scan Sun Cheng had performed when he first saw Jetfire in Washington, yet they were far more detailed and comprehensive.

They even discovered the reason why Jetfire had not completely died despite his body being in a state of decay, instead falling into that strange state of being neither dead nor alive.

It was because Jetfire's body was loaded with a terrifying weapon system far superior to Sun Cheng's own New Body, and the energy consumption of that weapon system was naturally just as terrifying. Even this former Decepticon veteran could not sustain it, so he had redesigned an independent Energy Supply System within his body, separate from the 【Spark】, much like the Auxiliary Power System in Sun Cheng's own body.

And this was the reason why, even though the 【Spark】 inside Jetfire had been extinguished for a long time, he had not yet completely died.

Of course, he could not hold on for much longer.

The buzzing and noisy sounds did not last long.

Soon, the Engineers noticed their master, Sun Cheng, standing there with an indifferent expression, his gaze calm as he watched them express their respective opinions and thoughts, yet he remained silent.

In an instant, the Decepticon hierarchy, deeply branded into their bones, made all the Engineers, including Atlas, hold their breath in fear.

Seeing this, Sun Cheng finally spoke: "Finished discussing?"

None of the Engineers in the Laboratory dared to say another word at this moment, especially those greedy Engineers who had just tried to read Jetfire's memory; they were now so frightened they didn't even dare to look up at him.

With a cold snort, Sun Cheng was merely warning them; he did not pursue the matter further.

Jetfire's memory could be called the richest treasure he had obtained to date, and its value was even far beyond that of the Cybertronian Spaceship that might be lying at the bottom of Lake Titicaca, if it were even still usable.

After all, no matter how advanced a spaceship is, it is ultimately just a ship.

But once the knowledge and Cybertron Technology in Jetfire's head were fully digested, Sun Cheng and his team could even build similar aircraft themselves in the near future.

How could he easily share such a treasure? Even the group of Engineers under his command who had pledged their loyalty to him could only share a tiny fraction when he needed them to, or when he granted them permission.

All of it?

Impossible!

Selfishness is the nature of life, and besides, in this world, Sun Cheng trusted no one but himself.

"... Since you are finished discussing, now, I will ask, and you will answer!"

After teaching his greedy subordinates a lesson, Sun Cheng looked at Atlas. "Atlas, you speak first... is there any possibility of saving this guy?"

Atlas uneasily avoided his gaze; it was clear that this guy had also been tempted by Jetfire's memory just now.

He shook his head awkwardly, but his tone was not very certain: "Master, I cannot give you a precise answer regarding this. This lord's body has existed for too long. His 【Spark】 was extinguished decades ago. If not for the existence of another Energy Supply System in his body, I fear he would have already gone to meet the 【Primes】... This lord likely realized his life had reached its end, which is why he voluntarily entered hibernation... It's just that the Energy Supply System in his body only allowed him to linger on for a few more decades, because it hadn't been replenished for too long... The organs in his body have begun to decay, and even now, the rust has spread to every part of his body..."

However, as if forgetting his fear from just a moment ago, Atlas suddenly looked up at Sun Cheng, his tone shifting.

"To save him, apart from the legendary 【Matrix of Leadership】, perhaps only the 【AllSpark】 would have that kind of ability!"

The blue light in Sun Cheng's eyes flickered, but upon hearing this, he did not continue to ask.

Regarding information about the 【Matrix of Leadership】, with the defection of Brawl and the intelligence he had gathered intermittently from Scrapper, although Sun Cheng and his team still didn't know exactly what this thing was, it was no longer a secret within the Base.

A treasure that even 【The Fallen】, one of the thirteen Primes existing in Cybertronian legend, had attempted to control, could naturally not be something common, and its value should be even higher than that of the 【AllSpark】.

Sun Cheng didn't have many thoughts about it; for one, he didn't know which corner of Earth this thing was hidden in.

Secondly, he currently had no energy to spare to covet something from the mouth of a Cybertronian Prime while having offended Megatron and being on bad terms with the Autobots and the Americans.

As for the 【AllSpark】, that thing had long since shattered.

However, Sun Cheng did have a few fragments of the 【AllSpark】 in his possession.

Thinking of this, Sun Cheng's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he looked at Atlas.

This guy was actually playing little tricks on him.