AllSpark, Canary Device Deployment Complete

"How did you get all this?" Optimus Prime stared down at Merlin, his voice low.

After Arcee sent them the data, they had no reason to doubt its authenticity. But how had a high school student like Merlin managed to obtain it?

"I hacked in and filtered it out, of course." Merlin handed a bottle of cola each to Megan and Sam, then pulled out a few buckets of engine oil. "Want some?" He ran a modification shop—if there was one thing he had plenty of, it was engine oil.

"Thanks!" Bumblebee grabbed a bucket with his hand.

"Hey, kid, you're really my kind of guy." Ironhide's attitude did a complete one-eighty as he cheerfully took one.

Ratchet nodded in thanks and accepted one as well. It couldn't replenish AllSpark energy, but as a drink, it wasn't bad.

"Thanks. What do you want in return?" Optimus took the engine oil, drank some, and then asked. He could tell this human was different from Sam and the others—evident from the engine modifications on Arcee and the network intrusion. Even the Decepticons hadn't found anything when they hacked the network, yet this guy had traced things from Arcee's words alone. That said a lot.

"Arcee, and the AllSpark."

The moment Merlin's words fell, the eased atmosphere instantly tensed up. Arcee, meanwhile, felt her head spin.

"Human, do you know what you're saying?" Ironhide leaned forward, his tone dark.

Optimus and the others fell into a grim silence. They had come to Earth to find the AllSpark—it was the last spark of Cybertron. There was no way they'd hand it over to an outsider.

"Whoa, easy, easy, everyone take it easy." Sam, sensing trouble, rushed over to calm Optimus and the others, then turned to Merlin with an anxious look. "Hey, buddy, are you crazy? That thing is their lifeline."

Merlin scratched his head. "Sorry, I didn't phrase that well. I meant after you retrieve the AllSpark, let me study it for a while."

Hearing the explanation, Optimus and the others visibly relaxed. Seeing the tension ease, Sam let out a sigh of relief.

"As long as you help us find the AllSpark, letting you study it for a while is fine. Arcee can stay behind to protect you." Optimus thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. They had finally found a lead and didn't want to give it up. Plus, Decepticons had already arrived on Earth—they had to race against time.

In the end, the deal was set: Merlin would help them locate the AllSpark, and once they obtained it, they'd let him study it for a period. As for who would ultimately claim the AllSpark, that remained to be seen. Arcee, meanwhile, would stay by Merlin's side to protect him.

"Merlin, can I get your contact info? You don't mind if I drop by your shop often, do you?"

As they were leaving, Megan suddenly leaned in and asked.

In the workshop, a modified Dodge Hellcat sat quietly under the lights. After the modifications, the front hood's exposed intake kit stood out prominently. Its sleek, muscular lines tugged at the heart. This was John's car, modified with inspiration from Dom Toretto. And muscle cars were exactly what Megan was most into.

"Sure, but make sure to contact me in advance—I might not be at the shop." Merlin gave a smile, then pointed at the rolling shutter door. "The contact info's on the door."

"Can't you just give it to me yourself?" Megan blinked, a little confused.

"He doesn't have his phone." Arcee suddenly cut in.

Megan paused, caught off guard by the hint of hostility in Arcee's tone, but eventually walked over to the door and jotted down the contact info.

After everyone had left one by one, Merlin closed up shop and rode Arcee home. The preliminary tasks were already set in motion—just waiting for the right moment.

A month later, nighttime, the Statue of Liberty.

A small truck slowly pulled up beneath the massive pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and stopped. In the driver's seat, a young man in gray work clothes pulled out his phone.

[Arrived at mission location. Please deliver the cargo.]

Seeing that he had reached the designated spot, the young man got out and set the crate from the truck bed on the ground.

[Cargo delivered. Congratulations, player, you have earned $300.]

The young man grinned excitedly at the 300-point increase on his R-Star platform. "This transport mission pays a lot. Too bad it's the last one." He shook his head, a little regretful. Normal transport jobs only paid thirty to a hundred, but every evolution mission transport paid over three hundred.

He'd made nearly three thousand dollars in just this week.

After dropping the goods at the designated spot, he drove off the scene with practiced ease.

Not long after he left, two massive lizard-like figures emerged from the Statue of Liberty and approached the cargo.

Peter opened the crate, saw the silver cylindrical launcher inside, and nodded.

"The launch parts are here. We can finish assembling the last Canary Device tonight," he said to Professor Connors beside him.

"Excellent. Assembly tonight, install the Regeneration Potion tomorrow, relight the Statue of Liberty's torch, and take the first step in human evolution!" At this moment, Connors could barely contain his excitement, his voice trembling slightly.

Over the past month, they'd moved through every mission marker in Apple City—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx... all the way to the Statue of Liberty's torch.

Finally, all six devices were assembled and installed.

Now they just needed to place the Regeneration Potion inside each device. Once atomized and sprayed, the entire Apple City would be covered.

"We'll be heroes for all of humanity." Peter's eyes gleamed with determination, his gaze full of hope for the future.

Merlin's Custom Shop.

As the rolling shutter rose slowly, Frank stepped inside.

"I heard my Wildfire is finished," he said, walking straight to Merlin, who was busy at the workbench in his coveralls.

"Don't move—the Railgun isn't installed yet." Merlin tapped Arcee softly, then glanced toward the fridge. The other man had already helped himself, grabbing a bottle and tossing one over.

"Yeah, but it still needs testing. Once the test flight goes smoothly, you can take it out." He caught the cola, took a sip, and nodded.

"Good. How's business here lately? I heard a lot of R-Star offline weapon shops and Car Kings got shut down." Frank looked around.

With the recent developments, all kinds of game vehicles were running wild in Apple City. Since the platform's source couldn't be traced, the police could only crack down on the shops selling the platform's weapons and vehicles.

"I'm fine for now."