Chapter 316: Raising the White Flag in Surrender! America's Path to Self-Destruction!
While Rita, the Master Chief, and the others were negotiating with the American government on the ground, far out in space aboard a spaceship, Megatronus had just encountered the few lucky Decepticons who had managed to escape.
From these battered and fleeing Decepticons, Megatronus learned of what was currently unfolding on Earth.
"What? There are other Transformer factions...!"
When he heard the subordinates below describe the Storm Crimson's appearance and abilities, Megatronus was stunned—could this be another of the original Primes?
After all, human civilization on Earth shouldn't be able to suddenly produce Transformers capable of forcing the likes of Megatron and Starscream to their knees in defeat.
"Damn it! Where on Earth did this so-called Universal Megacorp emerge from?"
Megatronus cursed through gritted teeth. But after thinking it over carefully, he didn't believe this Storm Crimson was some reappearing ancient Prime.
As the former leader of the original Thirteen Primes, Megatronus was intimately familiar with the abilities and traits of his fellow brothers. None of them matched this Storm Crimson Transformer.
With this reasoning, Megatronus concluded that Storm Crimson was most likely a Transformer independently developed by humans, or perhaps a weapon provided to them by some mysterious civilization.
Realizing the situation was critical, Megatronus addressed the remaining Decepticons: "We need to leave immediately. We can't stay aboard this ship any longer!"
Having experienced countless battles large and small, Megatronus quickly reined in his previous disdain for humans. Regardless of anything else, these humans had defeated Megatron, Starscream, and other formidable Transformers.
Moreover, Universal Megacorp had already breached their network systems and intercepted their communications, giving Megatronus a chilling sense of unease—as if the ship might already be under their surveillance!
In the next instant, Megatronus's form blurred and he appeared outside the ship. The other Decepticons also swiftly exited the ship's hold.
As the chief disciple of the Primus, Megatronus was one of the Transformer templates directly created by the Leadership Module.
Though he lacked transformation capabilities, his other skill points were formidable indeed!
For example, the short-range teleportation he had just demonstrated—similar to a "blink" ability—as well as his mastery over entropy, a chaotic force capable of destroying the universe's fundamental matter.
Put simply, Megatronus was like the Xiao Yan of the Transformers universe, one who could wield alien flames. This top-tier destructive power easily earned him the title of archvillain.
It was precisely because of this forbidden power that Megatronus's entire body appeared pitch black, like a constantly burning furnace.
In addition, Megatronus could open wormholes at will, freely traversing different universes and dimensions. At this level, his suite of abilities was practically unmatched.
However, even with a vast array of abilities, he still required sufficient energy reserves—or "mana"—to power them.
At the moment, having just been released from his stone coffin and previously having battled six of his former brothers before his imprisonment, Megatronus's energy reserves were nearly depleted.
Now, he could only use basic skills and was incapable of unleashing the powerful techniques needed to overwhelm human civilization.
To quickly replenish his energy, Megatronus needed to detonate a few stars, extract their energy, and restore himself to peak condition.
In his prime, Megatronus had casually used ultimate skills as if they were basic attacks. Now, though, he was reduced to trivial close-combat brawling.
Otherwise, he would have shown these inferior flesh-creatures exactly what an ancient Transformer Prime could do—with cosmic, apocalyptic force.
"Elder, what should we do next?"
At this moment, the remaining Decepticons nervously asked.
All the key Decepticon leaders—those with real status—had been captured by Universal Megacorp. The ones who escaped were mostly nameless underlings.
In terms of power and leadership, they were far inferior to Megatron and Starscream. Now they could only look to Megatronus for orders.
At this moment, Megatronus gazed thoughtfully at Earth.
Two options lay before him: stay and fight humans to the bitter end, or flee the solar system and search for a new refuge.
But Megatronus was unwilling to leave so easily—not after all the effort he had spent deploying his stellar demolition systems in the solar system. He had invested considerable energy into setting up those systems.
He had originally planned to extract energy from several stars and make a grand comeback. But just as he was about to act, his tools were forcibly confiscated.
If he abandoned the mission now, all that investment would be wasted.
As long as he could retrieve the Leadership Module—the "key" to activating those systems—Megatronus could instantly absorb vast amounts of energy.
With a shortcut like that available, why waste time slowly mining for raw energy?
Besides, Universal Megacorp had already infiltrated his ship. Megatronus couldn't immediately leave the solar system and could only issue a public signal to summon reinforcements—more Decepticons.
"Universal Megacorp…!"
Thinking of what had just happened, Megatronus felt a deep sense of foreboding. He knew nothing about this mysterious force.
From his previous conversation with V, it was clear that his opponent was human. What puzzled Megatronus was how these humans had acquired such advanced technology.
Their Transformers had been able to easily defeat Megatron and Starscream, who were now prisoners of the Megacorp.
'Could it be that humans gleaned technological data from the AllSpark?!'
According to the Decepticons' earlier reports, Megatronus knew that humans had studied the AllSpark for decades.
It was entirely possible they had extracted valuable information from it.
Because Universal Megacorp had used only its Hunter Mech squads in this operation, the Decepticons had only been able to provide Megatronus with limited intel about the company.
As a result, he still underestimated Universal Megacorp, believing it to be a human company that had simply gotten lucky by extracting tech from the AllSpark.
Even if they could build several Transformers like Storm Crimson, they surely couldn't match the Decepticons in numbers.
Once reinforcements arrived, victory would still be his.
"Those cunning human vermin probably extracted some information from the AllSpark, which allowed them to build that batch of Transformer units."
Megatronus's voice was deep and raspy, the crimson light in his eyes glowing ever brighter.
"I refuse to believe that the humans can field more Transformers than we can. When the time comes, I'll personally destroy those worthless scrapheaps!"
These words greatly boosted the morale of the remaining Decepticons. Their faction's combat effectiveness largely depended on whether their leaders could establish an early advantage.
Leaders like Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave were all top-tier combatants. If they gained the upper hand in battle, the other Decepticons would charge in with overwhelming momentum, turning the fight into a rout.
"Victory!!"
As the Decepticons rallied enthusiastically, filled with renewed vigor, they were caught off guard by Megatronus's next words—which instantly sent a chill through them.
"Now, I have a new mission for you."
Megatronus gazed at the dozen or so remaining Decepticons and issued an unquestionable command:
"Before he was scrapped, Megatron uncovered a lead on Sam. I'm transmitting the coordinates to you now. Your next task is to retrieve the Leadership Module for me!"
Hearing this, the Decepticons hesitated, exchanging anxious glances—none dared respond.
Weren't they supposed to wait for reinforcements before launching another assault? With so few of them, returning now would be like walking into a death trap!
It was nothing short of sending them in as cannon fodder.
"Elder, Earth is too dangerous right now. We don't have enough manpower."
"We should wait for reinforcements and then make a proper plan!"
"…"
Having barely escaped with their lives, the Decepticons had no desire to return. One typhoon Crimson could take out several of them—how could they possibly succeed?
"You will go. That is not a request!"
Megatronus's voice turned cold and tyrannical. His massive form radiated overwhelming pressure.
"I'm not negotiating—I'm ordering you!"
Megatronus knew full well this group was unlikely to succeed. But he couldn't afford to miss this window—without the Matrix, he couldn't regain his strength.
If draining these underlings' energy would help, he'd have done it himself. But for now, caution was paramount—he couldn't risk acting personally unless absolutely necessary.
Facing this threat, the Decepticons had no choice but to return to Earth. They knew Megatronus would tear them apart if they disobeyed.
However, instead of pursuing Sam as ordered, they headed for a bustling American city.
There, they cobbled together a white flag from items found in a department store—and surrendered to humanity.
Within ten minutes, news of their surrender spread throughout the United States.
Under normal circumstances, the Decepticons would never consider surrendering. But times had changed—even Starscream had capitulated.
Why shouldn't they?
It was a suicide mission anyway. Better to surrender and survive—if Megatronus wanted the Matrix back, he could come get it himself.
Soon, the Decepticons' activity in the city alarmed the highest levels of the U.S. government.
At first, officials thought it was fake news—Decepticons had never surrendered before.
But now, here they were. Though it was obvious the Decepticons were surrendering to Universal Megacorp, that didn't stop U.S. politicians from claiming credit.
In Washington, officials were practically popping champagne—finally, victory was in sight!
The Autobots were allies, but since Optimus Prime refused to share their tech, the U.S. had been unable to benefit.
But if the Decepticons surrendered, America could freely exploit their technology.
This could fuel another American renaissance—ensuring global dominance.
A century ago, the U.S. had reverse-engineered Megatron's tech to become the world's superpower.
But that reliance had stunted their own innovation—without more Cybertronian tech, progress had stalled.
"Send forces immediately to secure these Decepticon prisoners—don't let them escape!"
Washington gave the order, eager to capitalize—regardless of how talks with Universal Megacorp were going.
But events soon took an unexpected turn.
The Decepticons were highly wary. When they realized the agents approaching them weren't from Universal Megacorp, they attacked—obliterating local soldiers and agents.
Then they issued a blunt warning to the U.S. government:
[Who do you think you are? We demand to see someone from Universal Megacorp!]
Clearly, they knew who had truly defeated them.
This left U.S. officials stunned. They had yet to finalize talks with Universal Megacorp, and now the Decepticons were surrendering publicly.
Everything was happening too fast—Earth's power dynamics were shifting by the hour.
Desperately, the U.S. began scouring all available systems for info on Universal Megacorp.
They tried to find footage of the Typhoon Crimson vs. Decepticon battles.
But with Universal Megacorp controlling Earth's networks and satellites, the Americans found nothing.
---
Washington, NEST Military Base HQ
Not long ago, the head of the U.S. Special Service Bureau had met briefly with Rita.
After hearing her request, he immediately contacted President Barack and relayed the message.
"Mr. President, I regret to report that we couldn't extract any information about Universal Megacorp from them."
"They only made one request—to host a global summit at NEST HQ."
"Should we agree?"
Privately, the Bureau chief hoped the president would say yes—NEST's secrecy had already been compromised by Megatronus's broadcast and Universal Megacorp's hacks.
But the real issue wasn't NEST—it was that U.S. leaders would surely try to monopolize any contact with Universal Megacorp to maintain global dominance.
If other nations gained access to this tech, the U.S. advantage could vanish.
"Don't agree yet."
Sure enough, President Barack wanted to test Universal Megacorp's resolve.
"We'll tell them that any such summit requires our approval—otherwise, it violates U.S. sovereignty."
Hearing this, the Bureau chief wanted to advise caution, but could only reply:
"Yes, Mr. President."
Afterward, the president summoned the editor-in-chief of The New York Times.
Since the arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons, this conflict had become a key factor in presidential approval.
Whoever secured the most benefit for America would win reelection.
Now, the president planned to use media spin to boost his standing.
"Universal Megacorp? Once they're here, they'll play by our rules."
He gazed out over the White House lawn, imagining his moment of triumph.
---
Ideal City, Universal Megacorp HQ
At the central command console, holographic screens displayed the faces of department heads.
Using intel relayed by Rita, Li Ang had convened a meeting to discuss America's response.
"Hosting a global summit on their soil—and they want to vet us first? That's a refusal!"
It was Jack Wells, head of the Iron Hand Legion, who spoke first. He couldn't believe the U.S. president's audacity.
The other department heads nodded. America's leaders were clearly overstepping.
They had chosen U.S. soil for the summit only because America was the world's dominant power.
But that didn't mean Universal Megacorp would tolerate such arrogance.
There was a massive star fleet in Earth's orbit—did the U.S. president not see it, or was he just used to bullying smaller nations?
This kind of primitive arrogance wouldn't be tolerated.
Some hawkish department heads even suggested deploying WMDs to eliminate Washington's leadership in one strike.
More moderate voices argued for an all-out assault on the entire U.S. leadership instead.
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