Chapter 959: Tacit Understanding

As if they had received some sort of notification, shortly after the Golden Eagle Armed Transport Ships descended upon Cairo, the Autobots led by Optimus Prime re-entered the city.

Sun Cheng had received notice a bit earlier; after all, several satellites they had launched were currently hovering over the African continent.

He instructed the Decepticons under his command to continue transporting the batch of Advanced Replica Warriors they had selected in advance, along with the relatively intact corpses of Quintessa Civilization soldiers.

Sun Cheng temporarily ceased his processing of Sentinel Prime's Memory Data and, accompanied by Frenzy and the others, awaited the arrival of the Autobots.

"Lord Frenzy, long time no see!"

Optimus Prime had arrived even faster than expected; he had likely begun his return to the city shortly after Hailishi and the four Arsenal Ships ceased their bombardment of Cairo.

Sun Cheng nodded slightly in greeting, "My lord, we have no intention of interfering with the Autobots' control over the African region. It is just that the portal opened by your side's former Leader, which brought about the actions of suspected Quintessa Civilization soldiers, caused great unease on Earth, leaving us no choice but to act!"

Optimus Prime did not believe a single punctuation mark of this statement.

But, clever as he was, he did not expose the other party's rhetoric.

After entering the city, Optimus Prime had already noticed that although there were many Autobots who had died in battle, they were those who had been unwilling to retreat.

There were also many Autobots who had been severely injured in the previous bombardment, but judging by the fact that they were currently only knocked unconscious rather than killed, most of the dead Autobots must have fallen at the hands of the Decepticon Legion's Replica Warriors or the Quintessa Civilization soldiers.

Although those Autobots did not obey him, Optimus Prime, as the Leader of the Autobots, still possessed the necessary magnanimity and perspective.

Frenzy and his group had already shown sufficient goodwill, and when it was necessary to play dumb, he had to play dumb.

"Many thanks, Lord Frenzy!"

Optimus Prime nodded in greeting.

Watching the Decepticons loyal to him load the relatively intact corpses of Advanced Replica Warriors and Quintessa Civilization soldiers onto the dozen or so Golden Eagle Armed Transport Ships parked on the ruins of the city, Optimus Prime could not help but feel a sense of envy.

Having awakened the memories of his previous life, Optimus Prime could now strictly be considered an ancient sage born during the era of the Cybertronian Elder Council.

His experiences across two lifetimes had given him a keen eye.

Naturally, it was not hard to see that this type of small armed transport ship did not actually possess a high level of technical complexity; given the Autobots' level of technology, they could easily design and build similar, or even more advanced, spacecraft.

But having the technology and manufacturing capability was one thing, while having sufficient resources to begin construction was another.

The Autobots had not long ago established New Iacon within Africa, and the mere construction of that military fortress-style new capital had consumed a significant amount of resources.

Unlike Frenzy, who had already monopolized nearly an entire continent, Optimus Prime had always adhered to a certain belief, doing his best not to interfere with the humans in the African region or step into their areas of activity.

This decision resulted in the Autobots only being able to choose to develop mines that humans had not yet discovered or were located in remote areas and difficult to excavate.

Coupled with the fact that more and more Autobots were beginning to gather on Earth from all corners of the galaxy, their daily expenses were also an astronomical figure.

With the gains and losses balanced, the Autobots now had the technology and ambition, but were constrained by limited resources, and would have to continue living a tight life.

The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt; Optimus Prime had never expected that one day, he, the Leader of the Autobots, and the Autobots loyal to him, would end up living worse than a faction that had defected from the Decepticon Legion.

He could only sigh inwardly, preparing to begin taking over the batch of mines that Frenzy had previously handed over to them once the turmoil in Africa subsided.

"My lord!"

Optimus Prime suddenly asked, "The former Autobot Leader, Sentinel Prime, previously opened a portal without authorization, transporting a large number of Quintessa Civilization soldiers to Earth. At present, they should all still be concentrated in Africa causing chaos. What is your take on this?"

Sun Cheng looked at him with a calm expression and replied without any hesitation, "According to our previous agreement, Africa belongs to the Autobots' sphere of influence. If it were not for the concern that the situation in Cairo, if allowed to continue, would likely incite hatred and malice from human nations on Earth toward us outsiders, and the fact that soldiers suspected to be from the Quintessa Civilization appeared, I would not have intervened in the affairs here!"

He paused, "As for the future, if the Autobots need help, we will not hesitate to extend a helping hand."

Sun Cheng's implication was already very clear: they had no intention of interfering in the subsequent affairs in Africa.

However, regarding the operation to wipe out those Quintessa Civilization soldiers and Decepticon Replica Warriors scattered across Africa, if the Autobots needed help, they would be willing to assist.

As the Leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime naturally understood the meaning behind his words.

While pleased, his expression was unusually serious.

He nodded and said with a grave expression, "Please rest assured, the chaotic situation here in Africa was caused by our former Leader. From here on, we Autobots will take on the responsibility of ending the turmoil. If we truly need help, we will notify your side in advance!"

The blue light in Sun Cheng's eyes flickered, and he nodded slightly without further comment.

Optimus Prime's response was within his expectations; this new Leader of the Autobots had clearly undergone some changes.

He was no longer as dogmatic as when they had first made contact; although he still adhered to certain principles, he had indeed begun to stand more in the position of an Autobot Leader, considering the interests of the entire Autobot race.

And monopolizing the resource-rich African region was clearly very much in the interest of the entire Autobot faction.

Therefore, he was willing to take the initiative to handle the Quintessa Civilization soldiers and Decepticon Replica Warriors scattered across Africa, and did not wish for others to interfere in the matter.

With this unexpected second meeting with Optimus Prime and the deepening of their previous tacit understanding, everything that followed went much more smoothly.

The Autobots noticed that the corpses the Decepticons were hauling away all belonged to Decepticon Replica Warriors and Quintessa Civilization soldiers.

Because there were no Autobot corpses among them, and from beginning to end, Sun Cheng and his group showed no interest in the corpse of Sentinel Prime.

Therefore, even though they were very disgusted by the possibility that they might use these corpses to conduct some inhumane experiments,

neither Optimus Prime nor any other Autobot was tactless enough to stand out and obstruct them from transporting their spoils of war.

As the corpses were loaded onto the Armed Transport Ships, Sun Cheng and his group did not stay long in the city of Cairo, which was now no different from a ruin; they soon took off, crossed the African continent, and flew toward the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.