Being Set Up

"Who are you?"

Donnie sent back a message, quietly waiting for a reply. This faction had sent people during the chaos just to give him a contact phone.

He wouldn't believe it if there wasn't a reason. Why give him a phone during the chaos? Those people didn't even stop to help him, showing no concern for his potential death.

It was like a diversion, trying to conceal themselves in the 'chaos'... No, it was more like it was intentional. So many factions were watching at the time. Someone who appeared out of nowhere, brazenly handed Donnie a phone, and then left... If they didn't see that, then those factions were all fools.

Soon, another message came back: "Someone wants to kill you."

Donnie scoffed and sent back "Putting on a show," tossing the phone aside.

Plenty of people wanted to kill him, did they need to tell him that?

Many people were watching him, some to recruit him, others to kill him. He could accept either. If Donnie himself didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, and coupled with warnings from several major powers, they would be hesitant to act rashly.

"I need to increase my combat power. One Optimus Prime can't carry the load alone."

Donnie muttered to himself. His AllSpark could control vehicles. While the efficiency of modification was questionable, controlling several Transformers at once was not a problem.

Before he possessed Vibranium or Adamantium armor, his combat power was destined to lean towards the Transformers, taking the path of a large-scale war legion.

Without Vibranium and Adamantium armor, he could only fight by covering himself with various Transformers. Whether he could withstand a large-scale missile attack was still a question.

Spark Energy could enhance Donnie's physical fitness and self-healing abilities, but it couldn't make him unkillable, like Wolverine, who could withstand nuclear radiation and heat. It was incredibly extreme.

Donnie's combat power was actually quite considerable. As a Level 3 combatant, he had an overwhelming advantage over most Level 3 Mutants. Figures like Mystique were completely outmatched by Donnie.

Donnie's AllSpark ability destined him to take the legion route in the early stages. If he were fortunate enough to obtain the Mind Stone, Donnie would embark on a new journey as a Creator. As long as he lived, he would create a Transformer race.

He might even rebuild Cybertron one day.

But that was a very distant future. Just ensuring his own survival was incredibly difficult. Countless bloody battles lay ahead, gods would fall, and anyone could die.

The difficulty of obtaining the Mind Stone was also astonishingly high. Few people wouldn't be tempted by such a treasure that controlled minds.

Regardless, Donnie had to strengthen himself, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to survive the great calamities of the future.

Donnie first drove to a junkyard in the suburbs. After looking around, he was greatly disappointed. Not only were many of the cars here abandoned, but the ones that could run also had questionable quality.

He finally grudgingly selected a nearly abandoned sports car. It was evident that this sports car had been quite glorious years ago, but even the best cars eventually get scrapped. Not to mention, the wealthy didn't lack luxury cars; they only relentlessly pursued the latest models.

This almost-scrapped sports car cost Donnie thirty thousand dollars because the administrator refused to lower the price, claiming that the car originally cost tens of millions of dollars. Even though it was old and nearly scrapped, it still had the foundation of a luxury car.

Donnie couldn't be bothered to argue further and paid directly.

There were too few vehicles here that were battle-worthy, and many would require extensive repairs, making it not worth the effort.

In the future, when Donnie's abilities improved, this would be a good place to quickly assemble a massive army. If quality wasn't a concern, there were too many cannon fodder here.

But not now. His Spark Energy was limited, and he couldn't control many Transformers. Naturally, he had to strive for perfection, preferring quality over quantity.

Donnie stopped the administrator and asked him where to find top-quality motorcycles.

"Motorcycles? You can go to Harley-Davidson. Harley motorcycles are popular worldwide and have the highest recognition," the administrator said, wearing a wrinkled shirt and smoking a cigarette with a somewhat cynical air.

"I want the strongest motorcycles, the ones with the highest performance."

Donnie directly stated his requirements. Only motorcycles modified by experts were truly surprising, and that's what he needed, not mass-produced products anyone could buy on the market.

"You must know many modification experts. If you take the scrap cars from here every year and have them modified, you could probably sell them for a lot of money," Donnie said.

The administrator looked at him, whistled, and went back inside to make a phone call. When he came out, he gave Donnie an address.

The administrator's expression was playful as he told Donnie to go to that place, where the master modifier was.

"He's a very talented modification master," the administrator said. "He's a well-known figure, and many racers seek him out for modifications. Modifying your motorcycle will be a piece of cake for him."

Donnie nodded, found a rope, tied it to Optimus Prime and the sports car, and then had Optimus Prime drag the sports car towards the city.

That modification master was indeed in the city, at an obscure little bar.

Donnie pondered as he drove the car onto the road. He wanted to find a truly powerful motorcycle to create Arcee.

Motorcycles were relatively small and could be easily tied to a truck. They could transform instantly when needed, becoming another combat unit.

It's worth mentioning that the motorcycle originally belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D. had been absorbed by Optimus Prime. Unnecessary wiring and other components were removed, making it a complete part of Optimus Prime.

This caused Optimus Prime's size to increase slightly.

Whoosh!

Boom!

From the side of the road, a group of people suddenly rushed out, all armed with heavy weapons. Some even brought out Vulcan cannons and began firing wildly at Donnie's vehicle.

Donnie wasn't surprised at all. He controlled Optimus Prime to transform partially, assembling several Gatling guns and unleashing a barrage of fire towards the enemies.

The rapid firing was incessant.

Bullets pierced the dirt mounds and struck the bodies, creating bowl-sized holes. Blood flowed like a stream, and they were clearly on the verge of death.

"What's the point of this kind of ambush?"

Donnie killed them and drove his car over, intending to pick up the heavy weapons they left behind.

Boom!

There were explosives buried underground. As Donnie drove over, a massive explosion occurred. Although the power was immense, the modified Optimus Prime could withstand it completely.

His Transformers weren't afraid of explosive attacks. What they feared were attacks that could penetrate their outer shell, and what they feared most were attacks that first pierced the armor and then exploded.

After confirming it was safe, Donnie hid all the heavy weapons left by the group inside Optimus Prime and continued driving towards New York City.

He first parked the abandoned sports car at a storage facility, then headed straight for the place where the customizer master was located.

The bar was too remote, and the traffic in New York was truly terrible. Donnie drove for over two hours before finally arriving.

The houses here were rather dilapidated, with numerous small advertisements plastered on the walls. It seemed no cleaning staff had been here for a long time, and the area was deserted, as if deliberately ignored.

This was truly surprising in the prime real estate of New York City, almost incomprehensible.

Even Hell's Kitchen was dozens of times livelier than this place.

Donnie observed cautiously and walked to the entrance of the bar. The people guarding the door stared at him, their gazes like those of livestock about to be served.

"You want to go in?" the doorman asked, his gaze strange as he looked Donnie up and down.

"Is the customizer master here?" Donnie asked calmly.

"Customizer master? We have all sorts of masters here!"

The doormen burst into laughter, moved aside, and gestured for Donnie to enter.

"The master you're looking for is inside, kid. Have a safe trip," one of them threatened Donnie.

Donnie felt a bit uneasy, a sense of doubt rising. He felt like he was being set up, but he clung to a sliver of hope, comforting himself that he couldn't be that unlucky to be tricked just by asking for directions.

Walking into the bar, after passing through a narrow corridor, he immediately arrived at an underground bar much larger than he had imagined!

Countless people were swaying wildly under the dim lights to the deafening music. There seemed to be a kind of magic here that could drive people into a frenzy.

Donnie walked to the counter and directly called the bartender over, "Is the customizer master here?"

The bartender was an older man with slightly graying hair. He said, "We do have a master at customizing vehicles here, but this is not a place you should be. You should go back."

The bartender urged Donnie to leave quickly and not linger, his tone very urgent.

Donnie looked around and happened to see a patron turn around. Noticing Donnie was a completely unfamiliar face, the patron leaned in and asked in a strange voice, "Who are you? Are you new here?"

Like a bolt of lightning, Donnie's enhanced eyes caught a tattoo on the patron's neck the moment he turned. Combined with the strange glances he'd received along the way, Donnie understood everything.

"Ha-Ghost Clan? Are you all servants of those vampires?"

Donnie's face darkened slightly. His intuition told him he had stumbled into new trouble. Venturing into vampire territory like this was no small matter; it could have disastrous consequences if he wasn't careful!

Getting bitten by those things would be the end!

This damn world was too treacherous!

"I was cautious and guarded against everything, but in the end, I was still tricked! Don't let me find out who's been scheming against me!"