Waiting for Action

The super-heavy truck that Onslaught had transformed into carried Sun Cheng forward, but after driving for only four or five minutes, he came to a stop.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Sun Cheng could clearly see a flash of earthy-yellow light, as if the vehicle had been coated in a layer of camouflage, blending perfectly with the surrounding environment.

"Here they come again, these damned carbon-based lifeforms..."

Onslaught cursed. Sun Cheng did not need a reminder; he had already detected the optical scanning frequency coming from outer space.

Evidently, Onslaught was a very cautious individual. He remained steady, waiting a full twenty or thirty seconds after the optical scanning frequency vanished before continuing toward their destination. It was only when they reached a point over ten kilometers away from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in another direction that Sun Cheng felt the vehicle suddenly lose its sense of gravity.

The next moment, he realized that Onslaught had entered a tunnel.

"This is an emergency passage humans once carved out, probably built during a previous war. It has been abandoned for a long time..." Onslaught explained to him. "After I discovered it, I modified it. It allows me to sneak into the base undetected!"

Sun Cheng nodded. He had also found information on Onslaught in Frenzy's memory data, though the original owner did not know much about him. He only knew that Onslaught was once a combat strategist for the Decepticon Corps, and his perfectionist nature meant he always liked to draft a flawless plan before a war began.

Unfortunately, he was surrounded by Decepticon warriors who could never execute his plans seriously. Thus, following the rise of Onslaught and his subsequent role as the military advisor for the Decepticon Corps, Onslaught had gradually faded into obscurity.

However, in Sun Cheng's view, Onslaught was an anomaly among the Decepticons. If it had been Barricade instead, there would be no need to think—he definitely would have charged in head-on.

Seeing that Onslaught seemed easy to talk to, Sun Cheng had some thoughts and tentatively asked, "Lord Onslaught, does this base really store nuclear weapons?"

"It does!"

Onslaught's answer was very certain. "Starscream once sent the Camera Team to scout. Although this is an Aircraft Graveyard, the base also contains facilities for preserving missiles. Among them are nuclear warheads that this country was required to destroy under agreements signed with other human nations. Clearly, those cunning humans secretly kept some of the undeclared ones, and this is one of the storage bases!"

Whenever nuclear warheads were mentioned, Onslaught's voice was filled with wariness.

For powerful mechanical lifeforms like the Decepticons, there were indeed things that could threaten them. Compared to their arch-enemies, the Autobots, the nuclear weapons invented by humans on Earth were perhaps even more threatening.

Sun Cheng was speechless. He understood the agreement Onslaught was referring to; it was likely the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed between the United States and Russia.

Clearly, Onslaught had specifically looked into such information, otherwise, he would never have known these details.

"But seizing human nuclear weapons won't be that easy..." Onslaught reminded him. "Humans keep a twenty-four-hour guard on them. Not only is the base heavily defended, but there is also a nearby military base that can arrive to provide support in the shortest possible time!"

The vehicle soon stopped within the abandoned tunnel. Onslaught did not continue driving; instead, he transformed into his robot form right there in the tunnel, sat down on the ground, and stared at Sun Cheng with interest. "You know, little one, when Starscream told me he needed nuclear weapons but could only send the Camera Team and Barricade to assist me, I racked my brains to come up with a blitzkrieg plan. But not long after, he told me the Camera Team couldn't make it and that he was replacing them with Bonecrusher... Damn it, doesn't he know that Bonecrusher is nowhere near as useful as the Camera Team?"

Sun Cheng's eyes flickered. He was actually quite curious as to why Starscream was unwilling to do it himself.

Otherwise, with Starscream's strength, combined with the support of Onslaught and Barricade, the probability of stealing the nuclear weapons would undoubtedly be higher.

Unable to figure it out and afraid to ask, he took the initiative to change the subject. "How many combat-capable aircraft are in this military base?"

He felt that with Onslaught's caution, which set him apart from other Decepticons, he would have investigated thoroughly.

As expected, as soon as Sun Cheng asked, the other replied, "There are 117 combat aircraft in the base capable of taking off. Excluding early warning aircraft, transport planes, and others, there are 79."

After saying this, he looked at Sun Cheng, his tone carrying a hint of favor. "I have read your plan, and it is quite good. Even if I had drafted one after knowing you were joining the mission, it would likely have been the same. What do you intend to do next?"

This seemed to be a test of his abilities.

"I don't know when Lord Starscream intends to act, but before then, I hope you will allow me to sneak into the base first to scout the situation. This will ensure that once the operation begins, we can immediately cut off the base's external communications and coordinate to destroy some of the aircraft's electronic equipment."

Onslaught considered for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing. "Your Cassette Corps should be equipped with Insect Reconnaissance Drones. To ensure the plan isn't exposed prematurely, deploy the drones before the operation begins!"

"Understood!"

Sun Cheng was not disappointed. Frenzy carried over a hundred sets of Insect Reconnaissance Drones. These ultra-micro spy devices were not only easy to carry but also highly stealthy. If there was a drawback, it was that their reconnaissance radius was only about ten kilometers, and the internal batteries could only last for thirty minutes.

Onslaught soon projected several patterns onto the ground, signaling him to come closer.

Sun Cheng leaned in and saw that some were diagrams of the abandoned underground facilities, while others were aerial photographs of the interior of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He had no idea where he had obtained them.

After studying them carefully and memorizing the details, he immediately released several sets of Insect Reconnaissance Drones, which flew out along the abandoned underground tunnel in various directions.

Before long, clear information regarding the base's interior facilities, patrol patterns, hangars, and ammunition depots was fed back into his Spy Template.

"This military base has a total of 3,345 personnel, including 2,214 combat troops. It is equipped with 64 F-15 series fighters, 15 MH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, 18 M2A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles... The four ammunition depots are located at coordinates xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, and xxxx. Bombs can be planted to destroy them before the operation. The missile storage vault is at coordinate xxxx. The guards rotate every two hours. There is strong electromagnetic interference nearby, and trace amounts of radiation have been detected, making it impossible to approach..."

After releasing a dozen sets of Insect Reconnaissance Drones and spending several hours mastering the facilities and distribution coefficients within the base, Sun Cheng finally let out a long breath. His confidence in completing the mission had increased significantly, and now, he simply waited for the operation to begin.