Covering the Female Autobot's Escape

"Mr. Rumble, General Starscream said he's been away from the main battlefield for too long and doesn't know how the battle is going. He hopes you can get him the latest battle report. He said he wants to study the situation!"

Following Starscream's plan, the female Autobot easily fooled Rumble into leaving. Only two rookie Decepticons who looked like tractors were left guarding the door stupidly.

"Big brothers, I suddenly remembered there are quite a few good things in here. You transforming vehicle warriors could definitely use them. Why don't you take them all back with you?"

According to the escape plan she had worked out with Starscream earlier, once Rumble had been sent away, it was time to get rid of the two guards. As first-generation Decepticon robots, their components were fitted with the lowest-grade configurations. Using good equipment to lure them in was the best option. Still, these two were not very bright, and it seemed they would not be so easily fooled.

"Wouldn't that violate the rules? How can we just take things from here?"

The one standing on the left said so, while the one on the right kept nodding in agreement.

"What are you afraid of? General Starscream already approved it. Just take a little—no one will know!"

"Ah, since the general permitted it, then we can take some!"

These two stubborn blockheads finally caught on, and followed the female Autobot into the warehouse, one after the other.

But it was strange. Why was the warehouse so empty? Shouldn't a big guy like Starscream be here?

Before the two dim-witted tractors could figure out what was happening, the one walking behind suddenly found his body hanging in midair. No—he had not flown up himself. Someone had grabbed him by the head and lifted him up.

Then—then there came a crisp crack, and an irregular sphere rolled onto the ground. It was the head of the Decepticon at the rear, forcibly torn from his body. Pale blue sparks still flickered from the torn connection at his neck. What a brutal method.

After losing its head, the robot body staggered forward a few steps unconsciously before collapsing limply onto the warehouse floor, reduced to a pile of scrap metal and electronic components.

"You... Lord Starscream, this... incomprehensible, my lord, you..."

Perhaps the gap in intelligence really was too great. After witnessing his companion's horrible death, the remaining low-ranking Decepticon immediately spotted Starscream hovering near the warehouse ceiling, yet failed to understand the logic behind it. Only when the female Autobot smashed the back of his head with a hard chunk of iron did he realize he was under attack.

"Autobot ambush! Lord Starscream has betray—Aah!"

How could Starscream possibly give him the chance to activate his communicator? The moment the female Autobot struck the remaining Decepticon in the back of the head, he launched his attack from the ceiling. The towering Decepticon general grabbed one of the fellow's legs as if he were lifting a chick, yanking him upside down and slamming his head viciously into the floor. Then, with his other massive steel arm, he tore out the fuel line and communications antenna hidden behind the fellow's back armor. Thick black gasoline immediately poured down his back with a rush.

Next, Starscream snapped his steel fingers near the fellow's fuel line. A tiny spark flew, and the unlucky Decepticon was turned into a blazing fireball.

The entire sequence took less than ten seconds. Every move flowed together as though he had rehearsed them countless times!

Amazing. What an exquisite killing technique!

The female Autobot beside him was completely stunned.

Was this really the idiot Starscream from the Autobots' memory banks? The Starscream who could not hit a target even if it stood still and let him shoot? The Decepticons' second-in-command who argued with Megatron every day? So he had been playing dumb all along. But if he truly was an undercover agent sent into the Decepticons by the early Autobot elders, then everything he had done before made sense. In fact, it all made perfect sense!

"Hey, hey, hey, Miss Autobot, Miss Autobot, what are you thinking about? Why are you so absorbed? The trouble has been dealt with. To be safe, let's dismantle these two into parts and extinguish their sparks completely. Want to lend a hand?"

Seeing the female Autobot staring blankly ahead, Starscream urged her from the side.

The danger had not completely passed yet. They had to handle this as cleanly as possible—destroy the bodies and erase all traces, making these two Decepticons seem as though they had vanished into thin air. But this place was close to the front lines, and they could encounter a Decepticon patrol at any time, so they had to move quickly.

"Ah? Oh, oh, sorry. I got distracted watching you. Your technique was just too..."

"Don't dwell on it. Once we finish this, we have to leave immediately. Tonight may be your last chance to return to the Autobots. It may also be my last chance to reconnect with the organization!"

Once upon a time, Starscream had always given others the impression of being the Decepticons' useless teammate. But today, he casually showed off his skills before one of his own kind. Those few moves just now were so smooth that even some of the Autobots' top warriors might not have been able to pull them off.

Moreover, Starscream's overall strategic awareness was extraordinary. Who would have imagined that on such a dark, windy night made for murder, a traitor would emerge from the Decepticons' upper ranks? Not only had he killed his own "brothers," he was helping an Autobot girl escape. Was this some kind of undercover drama?

Of course, this was not the time for sentiment. These two had been lucky: the front line thundered with cannon fire tonight, and both Decepticons and Autobots had focused all their attention on the battlefield. Who would notice the small movements in the rear?

"We'll be crossing a section of abandoned Decepticon trenches shortly. If we run into any inspectors, you'll need to cooperate with me. I may have to get a little handsy with you—like pulling out your fuel line or high-level data cable, or something like that. Miss Autobot, please don't take it too..."

Decepticons, you know how they were—always doing things like bullying men and abusing women, especially those in the upper ranks. Since there were few female Decepticons in their faction, after occupying most of the Autobots' territory, male Decepticon soldiers had often committed inappropriate acts against female Autobot prisoners. This was no longer anything particularly unusual between the two sides, so Starscream planned to use it as a cover...