Chapter 713: Path-finding Stone

Sun Cheng was clearly unaware of the events occurring on the Moon.

At this moment, he was immersed in the possession of a Yuanzu Weapon of his own, as well as contemplating how to obtain more Matrix of Leadership energy from the Autobots.

The data transfer between Explorer 203 and Mirage lasted for over a day before it concluded.

This Central Main Control Intelligence from the New World Explorer had preserved too many flight logs and data on some of the planets the ship's former owner had visited during their interstellar explorations.

Much of the data within was extremely precious to Sun Cheng, who had not yet stepped into an interstellar civilization.

Because the data was truly too vast, even for Mirage, who was also a Super Intelligence, it would take some time to process.

Sun Cheng did not intend to stay in Base No. 2 for long, so after giving some instructions, he quietly returned to Trindade Island just as he had arrived.

Having been gone for two days, the Black Market on Trindade Island was still under construction.

However, two days had already brought quite a few changes to this not-so-large island; the reefs covering the waters outside the southeast pier had already been cleared significantly by the Pioneers, enough to allow some ten-thousand-ton freighters to enter and exit.

The simple pier at the southeast corner had also been widened.

The original simple pier had been dredged, widened, and expanded, and could now accommodate over a dozen freighters at the same time.

Following Sun Cheng's previous instructions, the Pioneers had also marked out an area on the island and built four helipads and a hangar capable of holding over twenty helicopters simultaneously, to facilitate future negotiations with human factions who could fly in directly from warships.

When Sun Cheng returned to Trindade Island, the steel-framed helicopter hangar on the island was already more than half finished.

The big guy Hailishi was, as per his requirements before leaving, being rotated to stay in a conspicuous spot on the island to put on a show.

The purpose was self-evident: to let those with ulterior motives know that there were extraterrestrials on the island.

"Master, you're back!"

Just as Sun Cheng returned to the island, he ran into Hailishi, who was wandering around.

He nodded, looked at the somewhat simple-looking Hailishi, and said with a smile: "You stay here for a while. When Base No. 2 is ready in a while, I'll help you upgrade some of your body and Core..."

"Great!"

Hailishi chuckled happily, though he looked a bit foolish.

His Core was insufficient to support such a massive body and the complex combat systems within it.

His computing power was heavily occupied as a result, leading to a deficiency in the computing power used for daily thinking, which was why Hailishi appeared somewhat dull-witted.

However, Sun Cheng didn't dislike such a Decepticon!

Thunder and Swindle, who were supervising the work on the island, quickly sensed his electromagnetic spectrum and came to him.

"Master, everything on the island has been normal since you left, except for a few humans who arrived and are currently being received by Lord Pioneer."

It was Swindle who rushed to take credit with Sun Cheng; this guy was a Decepticon who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Not long ago, the scene where Sun Cheng teamed up with Starscream and the Autobots to leave behind Soundwave, the Cassette Corps, Astrotrain, and a group of other Decepticons had left a very deep impression on Swindle.

Whether it was his combat power or his methods, they made Swindle—who had been miserably swindled by Starscream and Megatron in the past due to a lack of brains—view him as a god.

His attitude had also undergone a fundamental change after that battle.

"A few humans came to the island?"

Sun Cheng became interested; he didn't care whether Swindle was truly loyal to him. In the Transformers universe, there wasn't a single existence he could fully trust to this day.

Even with Pioneer and Thunder, who were loyal to him, the suspicious Sun Cheng would still keep a guard up, let alone Swindle.

Thunder disdained to compete for favor with Swindle, so seeing him answer voluntarily, he stood quietly to the side, distracted as he digested the combat experience gained from the previous battle.

Swindle was happy that he wasn't competing for favor, and answered with a fawning smile: "Yes, Master. A few humans arrived on the island three hours ago. Because of your previous orders, the island's defense system did not harm them. Lord Pioneer has already led them into the Trading Hall; it is not yet clear how the negotiations are going!"

The Trading Hall was the main building of the Black Market, constructed according to Sun Cheng's requirements at the site of the former Bahai military barracks on the island.

The name of the Black Market had not yet been determined, and these were all minor matters.

After hearing Swindle's explanation, Sun Cheng immediately connected to the communication channel they had established on the island and asked Pioneer directly in the channel: "Pioneer, I heard a few humans have arrived on the island and you are receiving them?"

"Yes, Master. Are you coming over now?"

"Which faction do they come from?"

"The Middle East's Israel!"

"Israel, I see. You go ahead and receive them; I won't go over!"

Cutting off the communication, Sun Cheng looked toward the north, lost in thought.

The Middle East's Israel—a national power that no one who cared about Earth's politics would ever ignore.

It was no exaggeration to say that even looking at Earth's modern and contemporary history, this country, with a land area the size of a pellet, had left a heavy mark that belonged only to them.

However, although Israel could be considered a regional power and a military power on Earth, it was still slightly insufficient to make its voice heard in international politics relying solely on itself.

Earth was too small; such a small planet concentrated four major races, over two hundred countries and regions, and nearly two thousand ethnic groups.

Even the five permanent members of the United Nations had distinctions in the strength of their influence, let alone other countries, which were merely background props.

The American's world hegemony strategy was actually very correct; Earth's resources could only support one country that stepped into an aerospace civilization, and other countries were either fuel or would be annexed.

Unfortunately, the correctness of the strategy could not cover up the conflict of interests between politicians and the so-called elite class. The Americans had not used their world hegemony of the past half-century to successfully move toward an aerospace civilization.

Furthermore, after the fall of their old rival, the Soviet Union, the Americans wasted too many resources on inciting wars and internal friction. They played a good hand into a mess, missing a great opportunity to march into the universe, plunder the resources of the entire Solar System, and completely establish Earth hegemony.

Although the Decepticons and Autobots had previously fought in Jordan and Egypt, two places near Israel, Sun Cheng was not surprised that they knew the intelligence about extraterrestrials, given the special relationship between Israel and the United States.

But the scale of this Middle Eastern regional hegemon was too small; with a population of several million and the surrounding environment, even if they obtained alien black technology, it would not change their status as a Middle Eastern regional hegemon.

"It seems to be a path-finding stone thrown out by the Americans!"

Soon, Sun Cheng had a guess in his heart.