The ultra-heavy truck that Attack had transformed into carried Sun Cheng forward, but after only four or five minutes, it stopped again.
From the driver's seat, Sun Cheng could clearly see a flash of ochre light pass over them. It was as if their truck had been covered in camouflage, blending completely into its surroundings.
"Here they come again, those damn carbon-based life forms..."
Attack cursed. He didn't need to say anything; Sun Cheng had already detected the optical scanning frequency coming from outer space.
Attack was clearly a very cautious person. Even after he sensed the optical scanning frequency disappear, he waited another twenty or thirty seconds before driving Sun Cheng toward their destination again. Only when they reached a point more than ten kilometers from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on the opposite side, did Sun Cheng feel the vehicle suddenly become weightless.
The next moment, he realized Attack had entered a tunnel.
"This is an emergency passage humans dug a long time ago, probably during one of their old wars. It's been abandoned for ages..." Attack explained. "After I found it, I made some modifications. Now I can use it to sneak into the base!"
Sun Cheng nodded. He had also found information about Attack in Frenzy's memory data, but unfortunately, Frenzy's former owner hadn't known him very well. All Sun Cheng knew was that Attack had once served as a combat adviser in the Decepticon Corps. Something of a perfectionist, he liked to draw up a thorough plan before a battle began.
Unfortunately, he had ended up among Decepticon warriors who would never follow his plans to the letter. So when Onslaught rose to prominence and became the Decepticon Corps' strategist, Attack gradually faded into obscurity.
In Sun Cheng's eyes, though, Attack was an oddity among the Decepticons. If Barricade were in his place, there'd be no question—he would charge straight in.
Seeing that Attack seemed easy enough to talk to, Sun Cheng had an idea. He cautiously asked, "Lord Attack, is there really nuclear weaponry stored at this base?"
"Yes!"
Attack's answer was firm. "Starscream once sent out the Camera Team to investigate. Although this is an aircraft graveyard, the base also has facilities for storing missiles. Some of them are nuclear warheads that this country agreed to destroy under a treaty it signed with other human nations. Apparently, those cunning humans secretly kept some of them instead. This is one of their storage sites!"
At the mention of nuclear warheads, Attack's voice was full of apprehension.
For powerful mechanical life forms like the Decepticons, it was rare for anything to pose a threat to them. Compared to their sworn enemies, the Autobots, the nuclear weapons invented by Earth's humans might pose an even greater threat.
Sun Cheng was speechless. He understood which treaty Attack meant: it was probably the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed by the United States and Russia.
Attack had clearly gone out of his way to research such matters. Otherwise, there was no way he could have known all this.
"But taking human nuclear weapons won't be easy..." Attack warned him. "The humans guard them around the clock. The base isn't just heavily defended; there's also a military base nearby that can send reinforcements in the shortest possible time!"
The vehicle soon came to a stop inside the abandoned passage. Attack didn't drive any farther. Instead, he transformed into his humanoid form right there in the tunnel, plopped down on the ground, and looked at Sun Cheng with keen interest. "You know, kid, when Starscream told me he needed nuclear weapons but could only send the Camera Team and Barricade to back me up, I racked my brains to come up with a plan to get in and out fast. But not long after, he told me the Camera Team couldn't come and he'd have to send Bonecrusher instead... Damn it, does he have any idea how much less useful Bonecrusher is than the Camera Team?"
Sun Cheng's eyes flickered. He was curious, too, about why Starscream didn't want to handle it himself.
With Starscream's strength, backed by Attack and Barricade, they would undoubtedly have had a better chance of taking the nuclear weapons.
He couldn't figure it out and didn't dare ask, so he deliberately changed the subject. "How many combat-capable aircraft are there at this military base?"
He felt that Attack, who was more cautious than the other Decepticons, would have done his homework.
Sure enough, as soon as Sun Cheng asked, Attack replied, "There are 117 combat aircraft at the base that can take off. Excluding the early-warning and transport aircraft, there are 79."
When he finished, he looked at Sun Cheng, his voice carrying a hint of approval. "I've seen your plan. It's quite good. Even I probably would have come up with something much like it, knowing you'd be joining the mission. So, what are you planning to do next?"
It seemed he was testing him.
"I don't know when Lord Starscream plans to act, but before then, I hope you'll let me sneak into the base and scout things out. That way, once the operation begins, I can cut off the base's communications immediately and help everyone disable some of the aircraft's electronic systems."
Attack considered it for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing. "Your Cassette Corps should be equipped with Insect Reconnaissance Drones, right? To keep the plan from being exposed too early, release them before the operation begins!"
"Yes!"
Sun Cheng wasn't disappointed. Frenzy carried more than a hundred sets of Insect Reconnaissance Drones. These ultra-miniature spy devices were easy to carry and highly inconspicuous. If they had a drawback, it was that their reconnaissance range was only about ten kilometers, and their internal batteries lasted just half an hour.
Attack soon projected several groups of diagrams onto the ground, signaling for him to come closer.
Sun Cheng went over and took a look. Some of the images were blueprints of abandoned underground facilities; others were aerial photographs of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He had no idea where Attack had gotten them.
After studying them for a while and committing them to memory, Sun Cheng released several groups of Insect Reconnaissance Drones. They flew off in different directions through the abandoned underground passage.
Before long, detailed information about the base's interior facilities, patrols, hangars, and ammunition depots began flowing into his Spy Template.
"The military base has 3,345 personnel, including 2,214 combat personnel. It has 64 F-15-series fighter jets, 15 MH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, and 18 M2A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles... The four ammunition depots are at coordinates xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx. Bombs can be planted there in advance and detonated before the operation. The missile storage facility is at coordinates xxxx. The guards rotate every two hours. There's strong electromagnetic interference nearby, and a trace amount of radiation has been detected. Cannot approach..."
After releasing more than a dozen groups of Insect Reconnaissance Drones and spending several hours mapping out the base's facilities and their distribution, Sun Cheng finally let out a long breath. He felt more confident about completing the mission. Now all that remained was to wait for the operation to begin.
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