Chapter 645: The Autobots' Counterattack (End) Seeking Subscriptions

For four consecutive days, the headquarters or subordinate laboratories of several major domestic arms giants have been attacked one after another.

A large number of Autobot corpses they had previously seized in Jordan were stolen, and cameras even clearly captured the Autobot Leader—Optimus Prime—personally leading the team to attack the headquarters and laboratories of several major arms giants.

When the news reached Washington, from the Pentagon to Capitol Hill and then to the White House, a large number of high-ranking American officials were enraged.

The White House, inside an office.

President Cheney slammed the conference table heavily, his face full of anger.

"Counterattack! We must teach those damn aliens a harsh lesson and let them know who the master of Earth is!"

The quadrennial presidential election is set to begin in two months.

Cheney has already served two consecutive terms; according to the unwritten rules of American politics, it matters little to him whether the next president is black or white. To avoid a destitute life in his later years, he has been busy preparing for his post-retirement life during the final year of his term.

The Autobot corpses obtained in Jordan not long ago were a political resource deal Cheney made with domestic military-industrial giants.

Originally, this move of his could be considered brilliant, even though the military and some Silicon Valley giants were also very interested in the Autobot corpses.

But during Cheney's eight years in office, the United States was at war almost every year. As a hawkish president, he did not mind accepting an invitation from an arms giant to serve as a board member after leaving office, which would allow him to enjoy a high salary while continuing to maintain his family's influence in the military, political, and business circles.

Yet, no one expected that the supposedly dead Autobot Leader—Optimus Prime—would mysteriously resurrect, and after his resurrection, he also possessed the ability to resurrect other fallen Autobots.

At the attacked arms giants, surveillance equipment clearly captured that Bumblebee, Ratchet, and several other Autobots who had originally died—and whose corpses had been transported back to the country by the U. S. military and given to those arms giants for research—had also appeared in the Autobots' recent operations.

This is not a good phenomenon, because what the American high-level officials fear most right now is more powerful alien life appearing on Earth, and they are difficult to kill with most weapons equipped by the U. S. military.

The former Defense Minister Voight had already resigned to take responsibility when the main force of the Second Fleet was attacked and completely wiped out.

The current Defense Minister is the former Army Chief of Staff Eric. Looking down at a loss report just received by the Pentagon, Eric has a headache.

"Mr. President, of the Autobot corpses we previously obtained in Jordan, except for Drift, Sideswipe, and Crosshairs, the rest have all been snatched back by the Autobots."

He raised the report in his hand, "I believe everyone has already read this loss report. Currently, the most severely affected is General Dynamics. Before leaving, the Autobots detonated a bomb with a power equivalent to at least 1.7 tons of high explosives. The General Dynamics headquarters suffered heavy losses; equipment damage alone is no less than several hundred million dollars, and more than ten technical personnel died in the explosion, with over seventy people injured."

"This is a warning, an alien warning!"

Eric said solemnly, "Clearly, they are very angry that we transported their companions' corpses away and used them for research!"

This former Army Chief of Staff's analysis was relatively close to the Autobots' thoughts, and many people in the conference room nodded secretly in their hearts.

However, his statement also made Secretary of State Garber sneer repeatedly.

"So what, Mr. Minister? Do you think we should raise our hands and surrender directly to the Autobots?"

Eric looked him in the eye, with no sign of annoyance at being targeted on his face; he just shook his head slightly: "I have not had contact with the Autobots before, and my understanding of these alien creatures is very limited."

"But as a soldier, I need to make everyone understand one thing. We may eventually have a battle with the Autobots in the future, but that battle should absolutely not be now."

Just as Garber was about to speak, he was interrupted by Eric, who continued: "Please let me finish first, if Mr. Secretary of State has any brilliant insights afterward..."

Garber had to stop and listen to him continue.

"The recent large-scale invasion by the Decepticons caused us to lose the main forces of the Second and Fifth Fleets, and in addition, we paid the price of tens of thousands of naval soldiers killed or wounded."

"Now is the weakest period for America since the Vietnam War. We need at least two to three years to return to our peak. But our opponents are not just aliens; there are other countries and forces on Earth, and they will not be idle during this time."

"Ten days ago, the other four permanent members of the United Nations just obtained dozens of Decepticon corpses from Egypt. Although we have the heart to stop it, our strength is insufficient."

"Tombstone is a special unit established specifically to target aliens. Although its predecessor was the NEST unit, I have pulled all the combat records of the NEST unit from the past year or so. Forgive me for being blunt, but if there were no Autobots, the NEST unit would likely have ceased to exist long ago."

"I am not belittling ourselves, I just want everyone present to understand one point: we need time to recover and digest the alien technology applied to those Decepticon corpses we obtained earlier."

"So what is your opinion? Surrender to the Autobots and ask for their forgiveness?" After listening, Garber immediately retorted with sarcasm again.

Eric held a gold-inlaid Parker pen, playing with it while continuing calmly: "With so many things having happened, not to mention that we have lost so much because of the Autobots, the conflict with the Autobots is already irreconcilable. After the Autobots discovered that we stole their compatriots' corpses for research, I estimate that even if we show goodwill now, the other side may not necessarily accept it!"

He looked at Garber as if he were seeing this Secretary of State, who seemed even more hawkish than himself, for the first time.

President Cheney understood some things, and after thinking for a moment, he asked: "Continue with your opinion!"

"My opinion is to first appease the arms giants who suffered heavy losses domestically. Then, there is no need for any reaction for the time being, as if the Autobots' attack on us never happened."

Eric said, "Before we have the strength to completely deal with the Autobots, our so-called retaliation will only bring about greater casualties."

Unsurprisingly, his opinion caused the conference room to erupt, with voices of criticism and opposition rising one after another. Even President Cheney had an ugly expression, clearly unwilling to swallow this bitter pill.

And just as they were still arguing endlessly in the conference room, outside, after a burst of knocking, a White House secretary walked in anxiously, clutching a document.

"Mr. President, an urgent document from the CIA."

Cheney took it, flipped it open, and soon slammed it angrily onto the conference table, his face even uglier than before.

Everyone in the conference room looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.

After a long while, Cheney took a deep breath, looked at the new Defense Minister Eric, and said: "Regarding the development of Tombstone, I need a detailed plan. Send it to me by tomorrow night. I will personally go to Congress to apply for a special financial appropriation for Tombstone."

No one knew what was written in the urgent document, but after leaving the conference room, they soon found out.

Lockheed Martin, an American arms giant that has developed many famous aircraft products for the U. S. military, including the U-2 Reconnaissance Aircraft, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, F-35 Lightning II, and F-22 Raptor Fighter, was attacked by the Autobots.

A massive explosion occurred at the Skunk Works, where the corpses of the Autobots Drift, Sideswipe, and Crosshairs were stored. Lockheed Martin suffered heavy losses, and the F-22 fighters currently in mass production will need at least a year or more to resume production.

The F-35, which had only recently been finalized, also had to temporarily stop testing. In short, because of the Autobots' retaliation, the American military industry suffered heavy losses.

It was precisely this intelligence that forced Cheney to temporarily suppress his anger toward the Autobots.

The power went out again today, and it lasted even longer than yesterday. I need to rush to finish the draft at an internet cafe.

Dingdian