A Stunning Shot

The group quickly drove out of the missile depot and headed for Starscream's base.

Sun Cheng looked out through the windshield and couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

He had always thought the Decepticons' combat strength was absurdly overpowered. Now, seeing the devastation inside Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, he could only suck in another deep breath.

Barricade was one thing. Having originally defected from the Autobots to the Decepticons, he clearly had not fared as well as one might have imagined.

That was not hard to guess. Even the low-ranking Decepticons in Camera's trio were equipped with heavy firepower, yet Barricade had none. His weapon covered in steel spikes was certainly indestructible, but in terms of destructive power, it was far inferior to Onslaught's.

The miserable, hellish base before them had been ruined mostly by Onslaught. That terrifying heavy gun of his, with a rate of fire undoubtedly exceeding the speed of sound, was practically comparable to the legendary railgun. Every shot exploded on impact. He was simply a humanoid self-propelled artillery piece.

"Trouble..."

Onslaught suddenly projected the image of a rough-looking, burly middle-aged white man dressed in denim overalls and a filthy undershirt onto the driver's seat. His brows were tightly furrowed.

"Lord Onslaught, what's wrong?" Sun Cheng asked curiously.

"Bonecrusher sent a long-range distress call. He's been intercepted by human reinforcements and is currently fighting hard..."

Onslaught sounded irritated. The personnel arrangements in the plan Sun Cheng had proposed earlier had actually been made by him.

If they had followed Onslaught's plan, sending the faster Barricade and Beam Splitter to tie down another military base while he, Bonecrusher, and Sun Cheng acted together, they would have had a much better chance of avoiding being pinned down.

Sun Cheng's heart sank. He had long since learned from Onslaught that Bonecrusher could transform into a heavy armored mine-clearing vehicle, making him far slower than Barricade or Onslaught.

Now that he heard Bonecrusher had been pinned down, he immediately realized the severity of the situation. If no one went to support him, that guy was probably done for.

"What about Beam Splitter? Does Lord Barricade know?" he hurriedly asked.

"Beam Splitter? That disgusting bug ran off the moment he saw things going bad..." Onslaught's tone was heavy. "I've already informed Barricade. He refuses to mount a rescue and wants us to get the nuclear warheads back to base as soon as possible!"

That certainly fit what Sun Cheng knew of Beam Splitter and Barricade!

Still, Sun Cheng remained deeply hesitant about whether to return to Starscream's base with Onslaught and Barricade.

Anyone who had dealt with Starscream knew what kind of person he was. He was an ambitious, proud, and arrogant warlord. He had repeatedly dared to betray Megatron, the former Decepticon leader. Perhaps Starscream trusted no one but himself.

He had gone to such painstaking lengths to seize several nuclear warheads from the humans. Sun Cheng did not need to think very hard to know that he had some major objective in mind.

Now that he had helped Starscream complete the mission, even though Starscream ostensibly already knew that Soundwave had stabbed him in the back, there was no guarantee that Starscream would not discard him once he had served his purpose.

The more Sun Cheng thought about it, the more convinced he became that he could not hand all four nuclear warheads over to Starscream.

He immediately probed, "Then, Lord Onslaught, are we returning to base now, or are we going to rescue Lord Bonecrusher?"

Onslaught fell silent for quite some time before suddenly asking, "Since you're here, does that mean Soundwave has reached Earth too?"

"Lord Soundwave is still at the base on the Moon, but he sent Laserbeak to contact me two days ago!"

"Oh?" Onslaught looked surprised, then understanding dawned on his face. "So Starscream wasn't lying to me. The [AllSpark] really is on Earth!"

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "I don't know what Starscream wants the nuclear warheads for, but nothing good can come from letting that madman get his hands on weapons of such destructive power! I'm going to rescue Bonecrusher, and while I'm at it, dispose of two nuclear warheads!"

His tone carried an indescribable meaning by the end, but unfortunately Sun Cheng could not read into it and had no idea what he was thinking.

However, Onslaught's intention to make a break for it coincided perfectly with Sun Cheng's own thoughts. He immediately agreed, "Lord Soundwave previously sent me to assist Lord Barricade in searching for information on Leader Megatron and the [AllSpark]. This operation for Lord Starscream has already delayed me for quite some time. Since Lord Onslaught intends to rescue someone, please take me with you!"

Worried that Onslaught might refuse, he added, "I can contact Laserbeak and have him come help!"

Ever since arriving on Earth two days ago, Laserbeak had been trying to contact him.

Following Starscream's arrangements, Sun Cheng had sent out the information that his base was located in Tucson.

Knowing Laserbeak as he did, Sun Cheng was certain that before finding him, the fellow would be lurking somewhere nearby.

And though Laserbeak, like him, had suffered at Soundwave's hands, he had retained his ability to fly after being revived, and speed was his specialty.

Sun Cheng had no doubt that if he sent out a signal now, Laserbeak would arrive in the shortest possible time.

Sure enough, after considering it, Onslaught did not refuse to take him along.

He first sent a communication to Barricade. Then, ignoring Barricade's objections as he repeatedly changed lanes in an attempt to stop him, Onslaught directly turned the vehicle around and drove toward the direction from which Bonecrusher's distress call had come. He left Barricade behind, angrily transforming back into robot mode and standing there for a while. Only when Sun Cheng and the others were almost out of sight did he transform back into a police car and carry the two stolen nuclear warheads toward Starscream's base.

Once Barricade was no longer visible in the distance, Sun Cheng greeted Onslaught, then sent Laserbeak a long-range communication and told him his current location.

Three or four minutes later, a shrill electronic sound suddenly came from the sky. Sun Cheng looked up and, sure enough, saw a gigantic bird-shaped robot with two machine guns hanging beneath its belly flying above Onslaught.

"Lord Onslaught, please open a door so I can get up there!"

Onslaught readily opened a hatch above the cockpit, allowing him to leave it. Upon seeing Sun Cheng, Laserbeak, whose expression was somewhat unfriendly, circled hesitantly for a while before landing beside him as well. He asked Sun Cheng through encrypted communications, "Why did you wait until now to come see me...?"

"Starscream may have noticed when I sent the interstellar transmission. After that, he kept Barricade watching me. I only found an opportunity to get away after helping him finish his mission just now!"

"What mission? Who is he?"

"This guy is Onslaught. Starscream wanted human nuclear weapons! We seized four in total. Barricade took two away, while the other two are in his custody now!"

"..."

Laserbeak was about to ask more questions when both his and Sun Cheng's expressions abruptly changed. One spread his wings and shot into the air, while the other leaped frantically off the hood.

The next instant, a laser blast struck beside Onslaught, who had made an emergency evasive maneuver, blowing an enormous crater into the asphalt road.

"Enemy attack!"

Onslaught roared as he suddenly transformed back into robot mode, pulled out his heavy gun, and fired a fierce shot into the distance.

Sun Cheng, who had rolled across the ground several times before getting back to his feet, hurriedly looked in the direction of the shot. He could only vaguely make out a bright yellow figure speeding away into the distance. It seemed to be a sports car?