Research Base (Begging for Votes, Follows, and Tips)

Once again woken from his sleep, President Cheney's face darkened unpleasantly. However, he did not fly into a rage. He merely put on a robe in silence and walked out.

"Tell me. What is it this time?"

He asked his secretary irritably. Though he had tried hard to control his emotions, there was still a trace of anger in Cheney's voice.

Every U.S. president had several secretaries during their term. Some handled press affairs, some managed social engagements, some organized documents, and naturally, there were also confidential secretaries responsible for reporting important events.

Segers, recommended by the National Security Council, was Cheney's second confidential secretary.

Seeing Cheney's sour expression, Segers acted as though he had not noticed. He took a document from the encrypted briefcase he carried, respectfully handed it to him, then stepped back and waited for Cheney's instructions.

Cheney hurriedly flipped it open and glanced through it. He could not help but viciously fling the document onto the desk beside him. "Sector Seven was infiltrated too? Bannejack made me a promise just moments ago, and then this happened?"

He could not help being angry. Although his recent contact with Sector Seven had let Cheney learn of its history, significance, and contributions to the United States, no American president would willingly allow such a highly secretive special agency—one the president himself could not easily interfere with—to continue existing unchecked.

In fact, Cheney had already begun preparing to deal with Sector Seven. In his view, it could remain, but it had to come under the government's direct control, and a large portion of its massive research base had to be split off.

Cheney simply could not believe Roosevelt had allowed Sector Seven to independently establish itself and recruit its own agents, security personnel, and guards.

When he learned that Sector Seven withdrew tens of billions of dollars from government appropriations every year under the name of special government funding, the thought of disbanding Sector Seven had become impossible for Cheney to suppress, despite the favorable impression Tom Bannejack, the head of Sector Seven, had left on him.

"Mr. President, it is obvious that Sector Seven's existence has been exposed. Should we transfer the important research materials inside...?"

Segers came from the National Security Council and was one of Cheney's key advisers as well as a member of his shadow cabinet. Thus, he had long since learned some information about Sector Seven from President Cheney.

"That will be difficult." Cheney shook his head. "Bannejack told me that the extraterrestrial meteorite at PB Laboratory possesses powerful radioactive energy. Once it leaves the laboratory specially designed for it, its energy will cause every nearby electronic device to go haywire. Then there's NBE-1. Sector Seven conducts a full inspection of it every year. They suspect that if the temperature or air pressure changes, that enormous extraterrestrial thing could very well lose control!"

"Still, we can't let them keep fooling around like this..."

This time, Sector Seven had also suffered an invasion by mechanical warriors suspected to be extraterrestrial lifeforms, giving Cheney an excellent reason to intervene.

He thought for quite a while before ordering Segers, "Go. Organize these materials into a report and send it to Secretary Voit at the Pentagon. Have him arrange for a military unit to be stationed in Sector Seven to ensure its security."

After a pause, Cheney continued, "If public opinion takes notice of this, announce that the Federal Bureau of Investigation received intelligence that terrorists who infiltrated the United States are waiting for an opportunity to bomb Hoover Dam!"

"Yes, sir!"

Segers quickly left to notify the Pentagon and the Secretary of Defense.

Realizing he had completely lost the desire to sleep, Cheney sighed helplessly. "Those damned extraterrestrial creatures—why can't they just behave themselves?"

Thinking of the four stolen nuclear warheads that were still missing, as well as the mechanical lifeforms hidden somewhere within the vast territory of the United States, he felt his head begin to ache again.

At one in the morning, in the outskirts of Saguache County in southwestern Colorado, at an abandoned underground launch silo for a United States Titan I intercontinental strategic missile.

The long-sealed silo hatch suddenly opened. Along with a surge of murky air carrying trace radioactive elements, a mechanical warrior covered in dark gray quickly leaped out from below the silo. It was none other than Sun Cheng.

"Night already? I really can't get used to living in a place like this. It feels like being a ground rat!"

Although he knew people rarely came here, Sun Cheng still cautiously looked around before muttering his complaint.

However, when he thought of what he was about to do, his face immediately broke into a wide smile.

He looked up at the sky and used the positions of satellites high in space to determine his bearings. Then he sprang into the air, transformed into a Reaper drone, and flew toward Colorado Springs.

Five days had passed since he infiltrated Sector Seven and withdrew. Although he had obtained accurate intelligence about the [AllSpark], he chose to keep it hidden and did not inform Starscream or Onslaught.

Sun Cheng had lived quite productively during those five days. He traveled around the vast United States before finally choosing an abandoned nuclear missile silo in the outskirts of Saguache County in southwestern Colorado as his residence. Like Onslaught and Starscream, Sun Cheng intended to turn it into his own base.

After obtaining the [Spark], Sun Cheng's speed had once again increased astonishingly. His current speed had already surpassed nine hundred kilometers per hour. Although Saguache County was a considerable distance from Colorado Springs, to him, it was no different from taking a stroll.

When he was still dozens of kilometers from Colorado Springs, Sun Cheng had already slowed down and become more cautious.

There were numerous air-defense-related military facilities near Colorado Springs, including Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and the headquarters of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The air-defense early-warning system here was fairly comprehensive. Even Sun Cheng had no desire to casually go head-to-head with the United States Air Force.

After disguising himself and entering Colorado Springs, Sun Cheng went straight into an old factory building in the suburbs. When he saw several cargo crates placed in the open space inside, his face could not help filling with an excited smile.

"They're here!"

He excitedly performed a backflip in the empty factory, unable to hide the satisfaction in his eyes.

Ever since following Onslaught and learning that most high-ranking Decepticons improved their combat power by constantly strengthening their own bodies, he had begun considering building an advanced laboratory for himself someday.

Although he could not obtain advanced machines from Cybertron from Onslaught or Starscream.

Sun Cheng was no pushover either. By infiltrating the American banking system, he spent only a little over ten minutes transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from tens of thousands of dormant accounts. Then, after laundering the funds through various shell companies registered online, he purchased large quantities of the advanced machinery, equipment, and raw materials he needed in the names of those shell companies, having logistics firms deliver them to factory buildings he had leased in several major cities across Colorado.

Sun Cheng had completed the entire process by contacting agents through the internet. Every link had been designed with great rigor. Even if one part went wrong, it would not affect the others.

This factory building in the outskirts of Colorado Springs was also one of his delivery locations.

A five-axis CNC machine tool, a metal laser cutting machine, and two diesel generators had already been received here.

Of course, he had also recruited the receiver online.

All Sun Cheng needed to do was take these machines back under cover of night, then use the special functions of the Decepticons to upgrade them and study how to further strengthen his body.

P.S.:

Thanks to reader "Dream Stardust" for the tip.