Chapter 701: Solus Prime (Part 1)

"Hello, First Mate, thank you very much for the maintenance you performed on me. I feel much better now than when I was last awakened. And Huan, my friend, it is a pleasure to meet you!"

Contrary to Sun Cheng's expectations, he did not anticipate that the moment Explorer 203 was awakened, it would take the initiative to greet them in such a cheerful tone.

"Hello, Explorer 203, I am also very happy to meet a companion here!"

Both Super Intelligences seemed very interested in each other and soon began chatting away.

Sun Cheng did not find it boring at all; he stood to the side, listening to them talk with great interest.

However, the conversation between the Super Intelligences was very dry, consisting of questions about designers, awakeners, and computing power.

Fortunately, the two Super Intelligences were clearly not as chatty as human aunties; after exchanging some data and learning about each other's information, they ended the conversation.

Only then did Sun Cheng speak up, "Explorer 203, until a new spaceship is built, you should stay here for the time being."

After all, Explorer 203 was the Central Main Control Intelligence of a Cybertronian Spaceship, and it held a lot of data he was interested in; not draining it dry would be a waste.

Moreover, he was not exactly lying; building a spaceship might not be much during the peak of the Cybertronian civilization.

However, Base No. 2 did not currently have the scale of the Cybertronian civilization during the Council of Ancients era. Even if an Explorer-class spaceship was just a medium-sized vessel capable of carrying hundreds of thousands of tons, it would likely take about a year or two for Base No. 2 to build it, even with most resources tilted toward it.

Explorer 203 had just exchanged data with Huan, who was also a Super Intelligence, and had a rough understanding of the situation at Base No. 2.

Therefore, upon hearing this, it did not show any disappointment and acted very humanely: "Very well, if there is anything you need my help with, please do not hesitate to ask!"

Sun Cheng did not stand on ceremony with it, "Explorer 203, can you copy all the data you possess and transmit it to Huan?"

"No problem, but I have a great many flight logs saved, and the transmission will likely take some time. Are you sure you want to start the transmission now?"

"Start the transmission!"

Sun Cheng did not hesitate at all. He had returned to Base No. 2 temporarily this time because Chunchi and the others had searched for half a year and finally found the New World Explorer spaceship that had crashed nearby in the distant past.

A spaceship that had the full potential to bring Base No. 2 into a spacefaring civilization was worth him waiting a few extra days here.

Besides, the arrangements at Trindade Island had only just begun, and the human factions invited by the Black Market plan were likely still hesitating about whether to take the initiative to contact them.

Staying here for a few short days should be no problem; Sun Cheng had also returned in a rush last time, and there were many things he hadn't had time to deal with.

In order not to affect Explorer 203 and Huan, he left the Laboratory after the two Super Intelligences began their data transmission and returned to his private laboratory located not far away.

After passing the password verification and entering the laboratory, Sun Cheng immediately saw the Forge of Solus Prime, which was absorbing energy on a huge test bench in the center of the spacious laboratory.

Unlike the weapon of The Fallen—the Requiem Blaster—which he had obtained from the 【Stellar Extraction Tower】, the self-awareness of the Forge of Solus Prime possessed extremely high intelligence, so Sun Cheng could not store it in the Spherical Space.

This relic of the Ancients had been left here when he last returned to Base No. 2.

During the time Sun Cheng was away, the Forge of Solus Prime had been maintained and monitored by Huan.

The self-awareness of the Forge of Solus Prime had once told him that Solus Prime had placed some restrictions on it before dying, and that only the Thirteen Primes could use and unleash the power of this weapon; in the hands of ordinary people, it was just a hammer with a bit more destructive power.

Sun Cheng had not believed what the Forge of Solus Prime said at the time; he had tried to use the special abilities of a Cybertronian to forcibly analyze and master the weapon.

Unfortunately, it was obstructed by a special force from within the hammer that he was completely unable to break through.

At the time, Sun Cheng had indeed suspected, because of the Forge of Solus Prime's remarks, that it was a restriction left behind by the ancestor Solus Prime before her death.

But now, as he recalled things over this period, he found more and more suspicious points.

The claim that the Forge of Solus Prime could only be used by Primes was highly suspicious, and its super-high intelligence was also somewhat unsettling.

Compared to it, although the Requiem Blaster also had self-awareness, its self-awareness could only express simple logical thinking and emotions; it was nothing like the high intelligence of the Forge of Solus Prime, which was practically like a clever Mechanical Life.

"What kind of secret are you hiding..."

The password door behind him closed. Sun Cheng walked up to the test bench where the Forge of Solus Prime was placed, quietly watching the hammer, which was being continuously supplied with High-purity Energy Liquid by dozens of hoses, and whispered to himself.

After a long while, he suddenly spoke to the Forge of Solus Prime: "Forge of Solus Prime, I need your help!"

The hammer hummed with a light sound, and that familiar, cold female mechanical voice rang out, "I am very sorry, Mr. Frenzy, I am afraid I cannot provide assistance!"

Sun Cheng frowned as he looked at the Forge of Solus Prime on the test bench and asked, "Who exactly are you? The weapon of The Fallen—the Requiem Blaster—is in my hands. I have been trying to communicate with it all this time, and although that weapon still rejects me, it definitely does not have intelligence as high as yours!"

"Mr. Frenzy, I do not understand what you are talking about?" It was still that cold female mechanical voice, which seemed to have a bit more confusion.

"You once told me that you could sense the weapons that the ancestor Solus Prime had forged using you, and that there seemed to be something blocking your sensing of the one closest to me... But afterwards, why did you never mention it again?"

"Because there is indeed something blocking the connection between me and the weapon that my master forged using me..."

Listening to the conversation that had never shown any flaws, the suspicion in Sun Cheng's heart grew even stronger.

He watched the Forge of Solus Prime quietly as it explained to him with clear logic and extremely high intelligence, and suddenly, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I really am an idiot!"

Sun Cheng sighed, "I should have realized you were problematic the moment you displayed such high intelligence, but I ended up reacting only after dragging it out for so long!"

"Mr. Frenzy, I do not understand what you are talking about?"

The Forge of Solus Prime continued to answer unhurriedly, the confusion in its tone seemingly even deeper.

Sun Cheng fell silent, and after a long while, he suddenly asked, "Ancestor Solus Prime, I am very curious why you, who should have died long ago according to legend, still possess self-awareness. Are all the Thirteen Primes playing this game of faking their deaths like you?"

Before the Forge of Solus Prime could react, Sun Cheng pointed to his chest. On the body armor of his chest, a huge claw mark still remained.

That claw mark was three points deep into the bone, and the location it had grabbed was exactly where his Spark was located.

"This claw mark was left by a ghost-like existence when I was searching for the 【Matrix of Leadership】 on Earth more than a month ago, at the legendary tomb of the six Primes!"

Sun Cheng had deliberately left this claw mark; he was afraid he would forget just how close he had been to death at that time.

The Forge of Solus Prime finally fell silent this time, and after a long while, it asked calmly, "Where have you hidden the Requiem Blaster?"

Sun Cheng's eyes widened in pleasant surprise; he had not expected that he had actually guessed correctly.

……

PS:

1. Additional update for Alliance Leader "Wen Zhu Xin Tiao", 8/11.

2. I had intended to maintain four chapters and strive for five today, but I didn't expect guests to come over for a meal at noon, and then I went out to help buy some things in the afternoon, which delayed me for a few hours.

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