Chapter 817: Sentinel Prime Awakens (Part II)

On the dark side of the moon, Starscream looked at the line of Decepticon Warriors led by Onslaught, a joyful expression appearing on his face.

"Is this your new Combaticons, Onslaught?"

Inside that familiar outpost, five Decepticon Warriors stood in sequence; they were of different heights, yet their expressions were surprisingly uniform—all cold and indifferent.

Even though he was being stared at by their hostile and scrutinizing gazes, Starscream did not seem to feel uncomfortable in the slightest.

He even circled around the five Decepticons with great interest, nodding continuously as he did so.

Onslaught felt very uncomfortable being looked over like merchandise, so he gave a light snort and warned, "Starscream, per our agreement, I have already cultivated the Combaticons. As for the modification of Bruticus, how are things prepared on your end?"

The reason he had agreed to cooperate with Starscream, with whom he did not have a very good relationship, was entirely because Starscream had produced a bargaining chip that Onslaught could not refuse.

Who wouldn't want a Giant Combiner? Even an early-generation combiner like Devastator could leave a Leader-class Warrior helpless for a short time.

More powerful ones like Menasor and Superion were even comparable to an entire army.

Although Onslaught would likely join the ranks of Leader-class Warriors after completing his transformation,

Decepticons were all insatiably greedy beings; the temptation of being able to possess a Giant Combiner that obeyed his own commands was something Onslaught simply could not resist.

Starscream's eyes narrowed, the arc of his smile revealing his good mood at this moment.

"Rest assured, I have long since made preparations on my end. As long as you give the nod, the modification can begin today!"

Onslaught was taken aback. "So fast?"

Based on his understanding of Starscream, he had assumed Starscream would delay for a while, finding excuses to study the Combaticons first.

Meeting his scrutinizing gaze, the smile on Starscream's face grew even thicker.

"Time waits for no one; Sentinel Prime is about to wake up!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Onslaught's eyes narrowed as well.

Sentinel Prime was about to wake up!

Ironhide, the first Sheriff of New Iacon appointed by Optimus Prime, had personally announced this matter, and thus all the Autobots in New Iacon soon knew about it!

Inside the medical center, Ratchet and his assistants pulled out every single tube attached to Sentinel Prime.

Over the past three months, they had used these tubes to continuously pump high-purity Energy Liquid into Sentinel Prime's body, while using an external device to mimic a Spark to absorb and digest the energy within him.

Following this method, even without the Matrix of Leadership, Ratchet and his team could have eventually activated the Spark within Sentinel Prime through slow stimulation within a few more months, allowing him to wake from his dormant state.

However, Optimus Prime clearly could not wait for that day; he intended to use the Matrix of Leadership to awaken his teacher today.

"Leader, according to my investigation during this period, there are indeed many suspicious points behind the rescue of Leader Sentinel Prime."

"Several Autobots I have been focusing on monitoring have all received or sent out remote communications in the past period!"

"I also conducted a simple investigation of the moon. Although I didn't find much more, I accidentally found some photos and data taken during the former Soviet Union's lunar exploration period on an astronomy and aviation enthusiast forum on Earth, which were leaked when the former Soviet Union dissolved."

"Various signs indicate that after Leader Sentinel Prime's ship crashed on the moon, the Decepticons took control of the ship at the first opportunity and even transported away hundreds of Energy Pillars!"

"Since they could find the Energy Pillars located in the ship's warehouse, there is no reason they wouldn't have discovered Leader Sentinel Prime."

"It is very clear that they intentionally let us rescue Leader Sentinel Prime, and even awaken him."

"Because the available information is too scarce, I cannot yet determine what the Decepticons are planning behind the scenes."

"However, based on the known information, I have a not-yet-mature hypothesis!"

Inside the medical center, standing beside Optimus Prime at this moment was Goldbug, who had been given a second life after being reawakened.

After being awakened, Goldbug had briefly adapted to his new body before immediately slipping into the shadows to investigate the restless, fanatical followers of Sentinel Prime in the city; he had even briefly traveled to the moon to conduct a limited investigation.

As someone who was half-trained by Prowl, the now-transformed Goldbug relied on his more composed personality to quickly master all of Bumblebee's past skills related to intelligence and espionage.

Moreover, without the flighty personality of the original Bumblebee, the current Goldbug was clearly more hardworking and capable of handling infiltration and various tedious intelligence gathering and espionage tasks.

And so, although he still couldn't clarify whether there was any connection between Sentinel Prime and the Decepticons after about half a month of investigation,

he had managed to collect quite a bit of evidence from scratch, making the looming shadow of the Decepticons behind the scenes clearer.

It was just a pity...

Optimus Prime sighed. Looking at Goldbug, whose composure made his spark ache, he shook his head.

"Those Decepticons clearly calculated human nature; they calculated that even if we knew there was a conspiracy behind this, we would have no choice but to save him!"

He was indeed being manipulated by the Decepticons now. Over the past few months, the issue of Sentinel Prime's awakening in New Iacon had actually led some Autobots to dare to break the law, attack their comrades, and force their way into important research institutions.

Although Goldbug's investigation did show they were in contact with the outside world, without further precise evidence, even Optimus Prime could not deal with them.

Since the decision had already been made, Optimus Prime did not want to waste any more breath on this topic.

He changed the subject and asked, "Tell me your hypothesis!"

Goldbug nodded. "According to the intelligence I have gathered regarding Leader Sentinel Prime, he possesses a long-range transport technology called the 'Space Bridge.' I am wondering if the Decepticons want us to awaken Leader Sentinel Prime, and then, while he is still weak, forcibly control him to make him open a Space Bridge to Cybertron, so as to transport the Decepticon army over to attack Earth?"

Optimus Prime thought for a moment before shaking his head to reject the hypothesis.

"Impossible. Teacher is extremely hostile toward the Decepticons. Even if he fell into their hands, he would rather commit suicide than let the Decepticons control his will!"

Goldbug nodded and did not continue; after all, this was just a guess of his.

"Leader, we are ready!"

Not far away, Ratchet and his team had quickly finished the final preparations for the awakening.

Hearing this, Optimus Prime nodded slightly. He pressed a catch on his chest, and after the armor retracted, the Matrix of Leadership immediately flew out from within his body.

He grabbed the Matrix of Leadership, which had become much dimmer in color than when he had first obtained it.

Optimus Prime then walked in front of Sentinel Prime, looking at the exposed Spark within Sentinel Prime's chest cavity, which Ratchet and his team had opened.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately activated the Matrix of Leadership, letting the miraculous energy transform into azure jumping arcs that shot out from the Matrix and struck Sentinel Prime's Spark.

The moment the arc hit Sentinel Prime's Spark, Sentinel Prime, whose injuries had long since been fully healed, felt his body tremble violently.

The next moment, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and two azure beams of light shot into the sky.

Sentinel Prime, the Leader, had awakened!