Chapter Summaries

Sun Cheng considered the Decepticons’ divided efforts to rescue Megatron and lost contact with two satellites. Colonel Vasilyevich then brought him Russian satellite photographs showing Decepticons gathering near an Egyptian pyramid, leaving Sun Cheng suspicious of what lay there and of Russia’s motives.

• Sun Cheng concluded that Soundwave was leading a limited effort to rescue Megatron while Starscream withheld most of his forces.
• The base’s awakened satellite and an ocean meteorological satellite over New Zealand both went offline.
• Colonel Vasilyevich thanked Sun Cheng for sharing intelligence and gave him a storage disk with Russian satellite photographs from Egypt.
• Sun Cheng examined nearly a hundred photographs and spotted at least twenty Decepticons appearing around a pyramid, suggesting a nearby base and something unusual about the site.
• Sun Cheng realized the Russians had kept the photographs secret for more than two months and had revealed them only after he shared intelligence.

Sun Cheng reassured Colonel Vasilyevich that his forces would help Moscow if extraterrestrial forces attacked during its coming conflict with Georgia. After Pioneer reported that a major shipment had arrived, Sun Cheng inspected sixteen containers and reflected that returning to the real world was his only way to change his increasingly dangerous situation.

• Colonel Vasilyevich sought intelligence about the Decepticons' attack on the American fleet and asked Sun Cheng for a guarantee of support against extraterrestrial attacks.
• Sun Cheng promised Moscow that his forces would provide immediate aid if Autobots or Decepticons attacked during the conflict in South Ossetia.
• Pioneer reported that the items Sun Cheng had ordered from Base Two had arrived in four batches.
• Sun Cheng and Pioneer traveled to the Severodvinsk military port and inspected sixteen containers marked with Cybertronian script.
• Sun Cheng weighed the threats posed by the Autobots, Starscream, and the United States, and concluded that returning to the real world was his only way out.

Sun Cheng stored a shipment of supplies in his Spherical Space, prepared to research in his base, and returned to the real world after spending several months in the Transformers world. He struggled with an intensified alienation from his human body and went to answer the persistent knocking at his villa door.

• Sun Cheng inspected sixteen cargo containers, confirmed their contents, and stored them in his expanded Spherical Space while Pioneer and a Decepticon Engineer watched.
• Sun Cheng ordered Pioneer to prepare a laboratory and gather information on Decepticon operations in Africa.
• Sun Cheng returned to his villa in the real world and felt a stronger sense of rejection toward his human body than before.
• Sun Cheng nearly fell when he stood, startled Little Five into revealing its Decepticon form, then told it to keep watch.
• Sun Cheng waited for his body to feel less strange and stiff, then made his way to the door to answer the knocking.

After returning from the Transformers Multiverse, Sun Cheng struggled with his body and memories while Ye Qi cared for him. The next morning, he recovered and prepared to finalize Cybertron Technology’s deal with Panda Communications Group, intending to use real-world resources to create Decepticons.

• Ye Qi brought Sun Cheng freshly made fruit and vegetable juice after noticing he was drunk, and he explained that Panda executives had pressured him to drink at a business banquet.
• Sun Cheng sent Ye Qi away so he could rest and sort through his recovered memories, then fell asleep on the sofa.
• Sun Cheng woke the next morning feeling better and found the blanket Ye Qi had placed over him during the night.
• Sun Cheng recalled that Cybertron Technology was expected to sign its cooperation contract with Panda Communications Group that day or the next.
• Sun Cheng planned to use the deal’s influence and resources to build a group of Decepticons in the real world.

Sun Cheng met with Cybertron Technology CEO Wang Lu and discussed Panda Communications Group’s interest in the company. They concluded that Panda wanted Cybertron’s revolutionary storage technology, while Sun Cheng planned to build the company into a major semiconductor industry player.

• Sun Cheng arrived late at Cybertron Technology headquarters and apologized to Wang Lu for drinking too much at the previous night’s banquet.
• Wang Lu asked Sun Cheng what he thought of the banquet, and Sun Cheng said Panda had been reluctant to sign.
• Wang Lu explained that Panda chiefly wanted Cybertron’s new mobile hard drive technology and its potential profits.
• Sun Cheng and Wang Lu discussed how Panda might have recognized Cybertron’s future direction from its products.
• Wang Lu understood that Sun Cheng planned to use Cybertron Cloud Drive to attract users and expand into the DRAM industry, while Sun Cheng privately intended to gain influence and resources through the company’s growth.

Sun Cheng and Wang Zilong signed an agreement to establish UMI Technology, with Panda holding most of its shares, while Sun Cheng refused Panda’s offer to buy a stake in Cybertron Technology. He focused instead on acquiring Panda Weiyun’s personal cloud storage business, seeing room to improve it through Cybertron Cloud Drive.

• Sun Cheng and Wang Lu reviewed Panda’s contract with Cybertron Technology’s legal team, then signed it before a notary.
• Wang Zilong congratulated Sun Cheng but remained disappointed that Panda could not buy a stake in Cybertron Technology, and planned to report back to the group’s board and shareholders.
• The agreement established UMI Technology to develop and operate the localized UIMI Android system, with Panda holding 70% and Cybertron Technology holding 30%.
• Sun Cheng accepted Panda’s majority control of UMI Technology because its revenue potential was limited and Google controlled Android’s patents, while its development could train Cybertron Technology’s programmers.
• Sun Cheng valued Panda Weiyun’s personal cloud storage business, noting that its limited free storage and strict copyright rules had kept it behind competitors despite Panda OO’s large user base.

Cybertron Technology acquired Panda Weiyun for 7.2 billion yuan, arranged payment through discounted server equipment, and renamed it Cybertron Cloud Drive. After news of the deal leaked, Panda and Cybertron Technology announced it publicly on the final day of June.

• Sun Cheng rejected Panda's demand for Cybertron Technology shares, and Panda agreed to sell its consumer-facing Weiyun operations and transfer its Shenzhen-Hong Kong staff for 7.2 billion yuan.
• Cybertron Technology agreed to supply Panda Communications with server RAM storage equipment at a discount instead of paying the entire price in cash, while Panda OO kept an access portal to the renamed Cybertron Cloud Drive.
• Cybertron Cloud Drive rapidly gained downloads and paid members, helping Wang Lu secure favorable terms in negotiations with Panda Communications.
• A Panda Weiyun programmer's Moments post about the sale and staff relocation spread through the media and online forums.
• Panda and Cybertron Technology agreed to respond to the mounting coverage, and Panda posted a notice to users on its official website and Weiyun's homepage on the final day of June.

After the acquisition of Panda Weiyun was announced, Sun Cheng handled the growing demands on [Cybertron Technology] and planned its next steps. He prepared to approach New Sea Technology, accepted an invitation to his graduation ceremony, and turned to retrieve his spy robot from the Southern Capital Supercomputing Center.

• Panda announced that [Cybertron Technology Co., Ltd.] had acquired Weiyun's private cloud drive business and outlined the service transfer.
• Sun Cheng left media inquiries to Wang Lu, who was in Shenzhen-Hong Kong coordinating Weiyun's servers, data, and staff relocation.
• Sun Cheng selected New Sea Technology as a potential domestic storage-device manufacturer and considered using advanced production equipment he had brought back from the Transformers Multiverse.
• Sun Cheng accepted Nanjing University of Technology's invitation to attend its July 9 graduation ceremony for student entrepreneurs.
• Sun Cheng prepared to retrieve the spy robot he had placed in the Southern Capital Supercomputing Center.

Sun Cheng returned to the Southern Capital Supercomputing Center to retrieve ai-001, the spy robot he had sent to infiltrate the military-focused North Wind supercomputer and collect data. After ai-001 reported its mission complete, it made its way back to Sun Cheng and Revenge, who drove away with the data.

• Sun Cheng parked near the Southern Capital Supercomputing Center and asked Revenge to check ai-001’s status.
• Revenge displayed a map of the center and tracked ai-001 as it headed toward them.
• Sun Cheng ordered ai-001 to return after it reported that its mission was complete.
• Ai-001 crawled through the car window, transformed into a USB flash drive, and joined Revenge.
• Sun Cheng drove away with ai-001’s collected data.

Sun Cheng watched Ye Qi’s livestream while considering how to protect her from wealthy admirers, then turned his attention to the data AI-001 had stolen. The chapter ended with Revenge organizing the files into 137 folders, including several concerning military research and simulations.

• Sun Cheng connected AI-001’s USB drive to Revenge and waited while it read and organized the stolen data.
• Sun Cheng used Little Five to watch Ye Qi’s livestream and grew jealous of viewers claiming her as their wife.
• Sun Cheng considered investing in Moon Laurel Net and using a technology category to promote his company, since Ye Qi had refused to work for him.
• Revenge finished processing the data and displayed 137 organized folders, including files on North Wind Data, nuclear test simulations, electromagnetic simulations, and fighter wind-tunnel simulations.

Sun Cheng reviewed the North Wind Supercomputer files that AI-001 had stolen and realized they contained the system architecture and other secrets needed to build a powerful supercomputer. He planned to use the files with Decepticon-made processors and storage devices to develop artificial intelligent lifeforms in the real world.

• Sun Cheng ordered Revenge to open the North Wind Data folder and began reviewing its files.
• Sun Cheng used his computer knowledge to examine the North Wind Supercomputer's architecture, operating system, and communications systems.
• Sun Cheng recognized that AI-001 had uncovered the supercomputer's closely guarded system architecture and considered the files a major gain.
• Sun Cheng recalled his concerns about controlling Decepticons in the real world and his plans to cultivate more loyal artificial intelligent lifeforms.
• Sun Cheng planned to combine the stolen files with the processors and storage devices kept in the Spherical Space to build a powerful supercomputer.

Sun Cheng reviewed ai-001’s stolen files and found the military’s experimental Air-to-Ground Multi-Point Precision Attack Bomb especially valuable for his own missile research. The missile was still under development, with its designers struggling to improve the power and accuracy of its tiny submunitions.

• Sun Cheng examined the North Wind-class Supercomputer files and found that most of the military test data had little use to him.
• Sun Cheng became interested in the data on a new cluster bomb being developed for use against the Soviet Union.
• The chapter explained how the missile combined cluster-bomb design with precision-guided technology so fighters could carry it in quantity.
• The military-affiliated laboratory struggled to make the smaller submunitions powerful and accurate enough, and used the North Wind-class Supercomputer to test possible solutions.

Sun Cheng developed a plan to improve the military’s precision cluster missile with Cybertronian metallic hydrogen explosives and smart submunitions. After Phantom saved his ideas, it reported that surveillance had spotted a suspected stalker near Ye Qi, leaving Sun Cheng to investigate the threat.

• Sun Cheng identified ways to improve the new missile by using metallic hydrogen explosives and miniature chips to guide its submunitions.
• Sun Cheng asked Phantom to save the missile data and check the security of his home.
• Phantom reported that surveillance had captured a suspected stalker near the residential complex when Ye Qi went out the previous day.
• Sun Cheng’s gaze turned cold when he learned about the suspected stalker.

Sun Cheng reviewed surveillance footage showing a man following Ye Qi and connecting to a suspicious black GM sedan, then ordered security upgrades. Revenge traced the car to a bar called [By the Danube] and found signs that someone regularly copied and deleted its surveillance data.

• Sun Cheng ordered Revenge to review the footage and reassess the residence’s security.
• Sun Cheng watched surveillance footage showing Ye Qi entering the complex, a man repeatedly glancing toward her, and a black GM sedan arriving afterward.
• Sun Cheng recognized the sedan’s passenger as the man who had followed Ye Qi and decided not to dismiss the connection as coincidence.
• Revenge confirmed the residence was secure and traced the rental car to [By the Danube] in Ningjiang District.
• Revenge reported that [By the Danube] had unusually complex computer security and that someone regularly copied and deleted its surveillance footage.

Sun Cheng suspected that the CIA might be investigating him after their agents were killed in South Capital City, so he ordered Revenge to keep watch on a suspicious vehicle and bar. He inspected the completed safe house beneath his villa and opened its concealed elevator.

• Sun Cheng reasoned that the CIA might have linked him to the agents who disappeared in South Capital City and kept him under investigation.
• Sun Cheng ordered Revenge to infiltrate the city's traffic system and internet access points, track a black GM vehicle, and watch a bar.
• Revenge told Sun Cheng that the safe house beneath his villa was complete, and he went to inspect it.
• Sun Cheng used his fingerprint to gain access, and Revenge opened a concealed elevator behind the fire hydrant cabinet.

Sun Cheng inspected the completed underground safe house he had built beneath his villa, which he planned to use as an emergency shelter and command center. He left satisfied with its defenses and space, intending to add combat robots and emergency supplies later.

• Sun Cheng and Revenge descended by elevator to the safe house thirty meters underground.
• Sun Cheng passed through two small, empty rooms designed to delay intruders and reached the main safe house.
• Sun Cheng inspected the spacious room, where crates of materials and fourteen engineering robots stood.
• Sun Cheng reviewed the safe house’s reinforced construction, independent power, and ventilation systems.
• Sun Cheng planned to deploy combat robots and store emergency supplies there so he could shelter for several months.

Sun Cheng inspected the completed Safehouse Three and confirmed that Safehouse Four connected to a second villa whose renovations concealed the underground exit. Uneasy that he had overlooked something, he opened a secured container of new combat robots in the safehouse.

• Sun Cheng stored the construction robots and crates in Spherical Space, then considered furnishing Safehouse Three for more than emergency storage.
• Sun Cheng scanned his eye to enter Safehouse Four and learned that its far elevator led to a second villa being renovated to conceal the safehouse exit.
• Sun Cheng returned to Safehouse Three, felt an unexplained unease, and brought out a specially made cargo container from Spherical Space.
• Sun Cheng ordered Revenge to open the container’s security lock, and Revenge revealed rows of new combat robots from Base Two.

Sun Cheng calibrated eight A2-series combat robots and assigned them to guard his safe houses while he tried to identify the source of a sudden sense of danger. As he lay down to sleep, he realized a state might be watching Ye Qi—or him.

• Sun Cheng had Revenge load his control programs from a chip and calibrate the eight combat robots.
• Sun Cheng pondered what had triggered his sense of danger but could not identify what he had overlooked.
• The calibrated A2-series robots confirmed Sun Cheng’s identity and received orders to perform standard sentry duty.
• Sun Cheng stationed two robots in each safe house, then returned to the villa with Revenge.
• As Sun Cheng was about to sleep, he remembered that a state might have its eye on Ye Qi—or on him.

Sun Cheng accelerated Cybertron Technology Company's expansion and recruitment while worrying that domestic intelligence agencies might uncover Defender's actions. He visited Nanjing University of Technology to advance a jointly managed Intelligent Machinery Laboratory that could help him understand Transformers technology and create obedient intelligent robots.

• Sun Cheng considered hiding Defender and the others in the underground shelter in case domestic intelligence agencies traced the CIA agents' deaths.
• Sun Cheng told Wang Lu to accelerate Panda Weiyun's integration, acquire New Sea Technology, and recruit extensively, assuring him that funding was available.
• Sun Cheng instructed Cybertron Technology Company's department heads to begin public recruitment and use headhunting firms to find senior staff.
• Sun Cheng drove to Nanjing University of Technology to move forward with the Intelligent Machinery Laboratory.
• Sun Cheng hoped the laboratory would help decipher technology from the Transformers Multiverse and enable him to develop intelligent robots, possibly Decepticons.

Sun Cheng met President Shen Peiyuan to learn that Nanjing University of Technology had approved in principle a partnership to establish an Intelligent Machinery Laboratory. He urged Shen to move quickly, explaining that Cybertron Technology needed continued research to preserve its technological lead.

• Sun Cheng visited Shen Peiyuan at Nanjing University of Technology and asked about the university's decision on establishing an affiliated laboratory.
• Sun Cheng outlined the proposed arrangement, under which Cybertron Technology would fund and manage the laboratory while the university supplied researchers and received attribution for research results.
• Shen Peiyuan told Sun Cheng that the university had discussed the proposal and that most administrators welcomed it.
• Sun Cheng said he would arrange follow-up discussions and asked Shen to complete the laboratory's establishment procedures quickly.
• Shen Peiyuan questioned the urgency after Cybertron Technology's acquisition of Panda Weiyun, and Sun Cheng replied that his company's storage technology was only about one generation ahead of major American competitors.