Chapter 771

When the main gate outside the lounge was knocked upon, Sun Cheng was reviewing the current combat readiness data for Base No. 2.

At the same time, he was also considering whether he should make another trip to Mars to send more resources, along with Decepticon Engineers and Workers, to ensure his forces would not be completely wiped out in a war that might break out at an unknown time.

As it turned out, the knocking interrupted his train of thought.

"Come in!"

Sun Cheng responded, and only then was the lounge door pushed open, and Leiting walked in.

"Master, the warehouses over there are already full."

"I know!"

Following the heavy damage suffered by the military forces of the troublemaker—the United States—during the Decepticon invasion a few months ago, some forces on Earth have entered an active period.

Due to various considerations, the demand from various countries for the various mechanical equipment produced by the Black Market on Trindade Island has also greatly increased.

Therefore, almost every month, as soon as new goods land in the Black Market Mall, they are immediately swept up by the various national forces stationed on the island.

In order not to affect the handover of goods, all kinds of scarce metals and materials are being sent to the Black Market in an almost endless stream.

The number of warehouses on the island currently used for storing trade goods has increased to fourteen, but at best, they can only store about a month and a half's worth of the current trade goods on the island.

Sun Cheng rose and left the lounge; he needed to go to the warehouses to load the piled-up materials into his Spherical Space to stockpile them for a rainy day.

In the blink of an eye, the Black Market had been in existence for nearly half a year.

As the year 2008 AD in the Transformers universe reached its final month, the speed of changes in technology and politics in this world made even Sun Cheng feel unable to control them.

There are more and more humans on the island; besides the service team of over three hundred people—who are service personnel such as chefs, bar staff, hotel staff, translators, etc., hired by Yuri through shell companies via legitimate channels in nearby Brazil with high salaries—there are over two thousand other permanent office personnel from various countries on the island.

Among them, personnel from some European countries and forces are the most numerous.

Old Europe can be said to be the biggest beneficiary since the appearance of the Black Market, followed by the United States.

The Black Market is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, which is within the coverage area of the forces of Old Europe and the United States.

With the main force of the U. S. Navy having been attacked, for at least the next two years, the invisible alliance composed of the five traditional European powers—Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—will temporarily replace the United States as the most powerful voice on the Atlantic Ocean.

It is not that Decepticons or Autobots had never been discovered within the borders of several Old European countries, but in the past, when the NEST unit was still around, hindered by the powerful and overbearing nature of the United States, some Old European countries could only turn a blind eye even if they sensed something strange, allowing the U. S. military to conduct exclusionary exercises within their borders.

Later, with the Decepticon invasion, the aliens suddenly appeared in the field of vision of all countries on Earth.

After discovering the powerful technology and intelligence of these aliens, even the most die-hard lackeys of the U. S. in the past could not help but harbor some small ulterior motives.

The two traditional European powers, Britain and France, are the forces most eager for alien technology; the reason they pulled in Italy, Spain, and Germany was merely to jointly squeeze out more competitors.

Among the five Old European powers, Britain and France are traditional naval powers and major colonial nations, possessing significant global influence and national heritage.

Germany does want to accomplish something, but their status is very awkward.

After World War II, Germany's military equipment was strictly restricted for a long time; even more than half a century after the end of World War II, Germany's current navy only has a good reputation left in the world, a navy composed of a few frigates and a small number of conventional submarines that can only play the role of minesweepers whenever they encounter exercises.

Their awkward international status, combined with their relatively advanced domestic industrial equipment manufacturing capabilities, meant that although Germany joined the Old European alliance, the reality was that they had little interest in the equipment sold at the Black Market on the island.

If they could snatch it, they would be happy to take it back to study, but if they couldn't get it, it didn't matter.

In at least over a hundred major industrial equipment manufacturing fields, Germany firmly occupies the top three in the world; this is the source of their confidence.

Italy and Spain were purely pulled in to make up the numbers; there is news indicating that these two Old European powers, whose industrial systems have basically declined, have actually started the business of being middlemen, reselling the advanced equipment they managed to snatch from the Black Market on Trindade Island at high prices for huge premiums in U. S. dollar foreign exchange to other countries.

Among them, the United States and a certain island nation in the Far East are their biggest buyers.

Yes!

Because when they first made contact, the U. S., accustomed to throwing their weight around on Earth, was clearly spoiled by Optimus Prime's concessions when dealing with the Autobots in the past, and actually wanted to show their tough attitude toward Sun Cheng and Xianxingzhe.

And so, the first batch of representatives sent by the U. S. to the island were directly picked up and thrown into the sea.

Afterward, under the deliberate arrangement of Sun Cheng and Xianxingzhe, in the Black Market trades for three consecutive months, even if the representatives sent by the U. S. managed to snatch orders, they were forcibly voided.

At the same time, some of their rivals globally, even by offering relatively lower prices, obtained a batch of the most urgently needed advanced industrial equipment.

After several months of tossing and turning, these guys with their eyes on their foreheads finally softened.

And later, under the secret manipulation of Sun Cheng and Xianxingzhe, the several Old European countries were always able to snatch more equipment, and they even secretly traded some technology with the "European Double Waste" using uranium-rich ores that are difficult to enter the circulation market.

After receiving some hints, Moscow and Beidu were also happy to play the role of being squeezed out on the island.

Their chances of snatching advanced equipment and machinery were far below those of the several Old European countries and the United States.

However, the equipment trade conducted directly within their countries continued, and Sun Cheng did not even give the two allies a chance to make trouble, directly upgrading the quality of the equipment and machinery originally sold to the two countries by about a generation, while the price only rose slightly.

The island is becoming more and more lively; many humans who saw Sun Cheng from afar all wanted to get close to strive for a chance to have a private talk with him.

However, not all countries can produce what he wants; Xianxingzhe has already proven this with facts.

During the time he managed the Black Market, there were not a few countries and forces that contacted him and had private talks, but when faced with the things the Decepticons needed, very few could produce them.

Therefore, Sun Cheng did not care whether anyone would stop him to request a private talk.

Those who landed on the island could indeed obtain many advanced pieces of equipment and even technology from him; correspondingly, if they wanted to exchange for these things, they had to pay a large amount of rare metals, ores, and materials.

After spending some time, he collected all the various materials piled up in the warehouses on the island into the Spherical Space.

Sun Cheng did not return to his lounge on the island, but instead came to the data receiving center of the Sub-base.

There had been no movement on the Moon for some time; recently, Base No. 2 had successively launched more than ten satellites to monitor everything on the Moon.

Walking into the data center, while reviewing the lunar data sent back by the satellites, Sun Cheng pondered.

"Calculating the time, the preparations over at Base No. 2 are almost ready! Xianxingzhe should be able to change into a New Body very soon!"

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