Chapter 729: Mars Base (Part 1)

After the Hope experimental spacecraft activated its Optical Stealth Device, it seemed as if it were shrouded in a mass of rippling water.

Although the four cooling exhaust plumes from the engines could not be completely concealed, the Optical Stealth Device was still able to mask the ship from the vast majority of observation equipment on Earth to some extent.

After issuing the departure command, the main Smart Brain on the already-activated Hope experimental spacecraft received orders to start the ship, follow a pre-calculated flight trajectory, take off from a temporary launch site within the control area of Base No. 2, escape Earth's gravity at an extremely high speed, and begin flying toward Mars.

The moment the spacecraft broke through the atmosphere, Sun Cheng's tensed body slowly relaxed, and his fingers tapped lightly against the metal seat of the pilot's chair.

"Smart Brain, report the current flight speed... spacecraft status... how much longer until we fly out of the Earth-Moon System?"

"Understood, Captain. The current flight speed of the Hope is 347 kilometers per second, the spacecraft status is excellent, and the activation of the Optical Stealth System has increased the ship's energy consumption by 1.94% compared to normal status; it is recommended to deactivate... At the current flight speed, we will successfully exit the Earth-Moon System in 27 minutes and 41 seconds..."

Sun Cheng: "Keep the Optical Stealth System activated; once we exit the Earth-Moon System, you are authorized to deactivate it automatically! Additionally, generate a flight log; we need more experimental data from this flight..."

"Understood, Captain, it has been recorded!"

There was a base belonging to the Decepticons on the Moon, and Starscream and Megatron were very likely both on the Moon; this was also the reason Sun Cheng could not truly set his mind at ease.

Only by flying out of the Earth-Moon System could he feel slightly relieved.

Nearly half an hour of time—it could be slow, and it could be fast.

The Hope experimental spacecraft finally flew out of the sphere of influence of the Earth-Moon System, and when the central control Smart Brain on the Hope deactivated the optical stealth, Sun Cheng finally let out a small sigh of relief.

Whether it was the Autobots or the Decepticons, although both had deployed some detectors on the fringes of the Solar System.

However, there did not seem to be any within the star system; at least, Sun Cheng had not seen any such memories in the memories of Soundwave and Jazz.

Because of this, he could finally relax his tensed nerves a little and, through the windshield on the front side of the Hope experimental spacecraft, admire the unknown cosmic space that he had once yearned for and feared.

Some have used "dreamlike" to describe the wonder of the universe, "deadly silence" to describe its desolation, "vast and boundless" to describe its size, and "full of the unknown" to describe all the secrets the universe contains.

Sun Cheng did not know what language to use to describe everything he was seeing now; even while sailing away from the Sun, that Sun which had bestowed infinite life upon Earth still shone its scorching rays upon the spacecraft.

Ahead of the Hope experimental spacecraft's flight trajectory was a crimson planet that was gradually beginning to grow larger.

Countless asteroids and strange celestial bodies passed by from directly in front of or around the spacecraft from time to time; only by being placed within the universe could one feel the insignificance of Earth, humans, Cybertronians, and even civilization itself.

"So beautiful!"

Sun Cheng admired everything his gaze caught from time to time; he was full of curiosity about everything in the universe.

This curiosity lasted for more than two full days, until he inadvertently cast a subconscious glance toward the Earth, which had become increasingly small, while the spacecraft briefly adjusted its flight trajectory to avoid a meteorite heading straight for it, only then did he suppress the excitement of his first voyage into space.

Looking at the two newly promoted Decepticon Engineers behind the cockpit who had been silent and afraid to speak, a smile appeared on Sun Cheng's face.

"Adam, Prometheus, you two don't need to be so reserved... Regarding the site selection, construction, and planning of the Mars Base, while there is still some time before the spacecraft reaches Mars, I would like to hear your thoughts!"

Sun Cheng, who had been sitting silently in the pilot's seat, suddenly conversed with his two newly promoted Decepticon Engineers, and his attitude was quite good.

On the faces of Adam and Prometheus, expressions of flattered panic and surprise appeared simultaneously.

A strict hierarchical system had always been the order championed by the Decepticon Legion.

Regarding this concept, which was clearly beneficial to the shaping of his own status, Sun Cheng had no intention of forcibly correcting it.

He was a vested interest holder, so he naturally prioritized his own interests.

The names Adam and Prometheus both originated from Western myths and legends.

In fact, many of the Newborn Decepticons under Sun Cheng had names that all came from Western myths and legends on Earth.

The reason he did not use names from Eastern myths and legends was mainly because Eastern surnames were too conspicuous and could easily be linked by interested parties to a certain Far East country.

Although the Far East country in the 【Transformers Universe】 world was not Sun Cheng's true motherland, he still had some emotional ties to it.

Therefore, until now, he had been hiding behind the scenes, inciting Moscow, and even recently starting to stir up trouble with the two useless nations in Europe and the Americans, but he had never involved the Far East country, whose comprehensive national strength was not yet considered very strong.

Adam was one of the first Workers cultivated at Base No. 2, and Sun Cheng had participated in the experiment when he was born.

So, although he, like the other Newborn Decepticons, had developed a fear of the master behind the base over the past year or so, he recovered faster than Prometheus.

Although still somewhat fearful, upon hearing Sun Cheng's question, he thought for a moment and was the first to answer: "Master, ever since Prometheus and I were selected for the Mars Exploration Project and appointed as the first batch of Engineers to land on Mars, Lord Atlas and the others have specifically trained us for Mars!"

He extended his right hand, his five fingers slightly curled, and a virtual projection of a fiery red planet was generated above his palm; it was Mars.

Sun Cheng controlled the pilot's seat to turn around, looked at him with interest, and signaled slightly, "Continue!"

Prometheus looked at Adam with some jealousy, and Adam was also very excited, but this did not affect his desire to perform in front of Sun Cheng.

With a thought, a bright spot appeared on the virtual projection of Mars projected from his palm.

The location of the bright spot was at a huge scar on Mars; seeing that Sun Cheng was intently watching the bright spot, Adam controlled the Mars projection to rotate, bringing the bright spot to face Sun Cheng.

Only then did he continue: "The atmosphere of Mars is very thin, and the intense temperature difference between day and night causes wind pressure to form. According to the Mars exploration data collected by Earthlings at Base No. 2, hundreds of terrifying storms occur on Mars almost every year."

"Although these storms are, in a sense, conducive to the concealment of our base, they also result in a large number of robots being unable to normally conduct mineral exploration, excavation, and outdoor operations."

"In the initial stage of the base's establishment, in order to minimize the impact caused by these unfavorable environmental problems, we finally chose Valles Marineris and are preparing to build the Mars Base within the canyon!"

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