Chapter 333: Arrest! The Integration Nears Its End! Final Review!
"The overall situation is now under control. Inform headquarters that the mission has been completed."
Seated in the command center of the flagship Legacy, David gave his order to the communications officer after observing the aimless figure of Quintessa through the AI drone feed.
Their AI drones and assault craft had all reached position, and tens of thousands of aerial units had encircled Quintessa completely.
Even if she tried to escape, there was no way out of this steel jungle.
At that moment, completely unaware of the fate that awaited her, Quintessa fused herself with a piece of wrecked battleship debris.
She shut down all non-essential mechanical systems, allowing her entire metallic form to merge into the wreckage, as if she had melted into it.
This form of camouflage—akin to feigning death—was one of her few remaining survival tactics.
This high-level blending technique allowed her to become indistinguishable from the surrounding metal, effectively evading detection. If not for the AI drones tailing her without pause, Quintessa might have seemingly "vanished," leaving the Universal Megacorp at a loss.
[Even now, she's still trying to hide. What a childish trick.]
Watching the situation unfold on a hard-light screen at the Myriad realm Base headquarters, Li Ang shook his head and chuckled.
[If she had known it would come to this, she might've chosen differently. The so-called goddess of life in the cosmos—now reduced to a prisoner of the Megacorp .]
The Universal Megacorp had always operated on principle—especially when it came to dealing with powerful figures.
For strong enough factions or individuals, negotiating with the Megacorp and claiming their share of the pie had never been difficult.
Trading existing assets for the promise of greater future returns was almost always a guaranteed win.
In essence, Li Ang's unification of various multiversal realms over the years wasn't so much a conquest—it was financing.
From initial collaborations with military-tech firms and Neo-America, to forming the Universal Megacorp and subduing Pandora's planetary AI "Eywa," to allying with House Atreides from the Dune universe—everything had been a calculated trade-off.
Li Ang demanded absolute control, and those who followed him wanted tangible returns.
And so long as you followed the Megacorp , you'd eat well. This was a truth accepted by both the strong and the weak alike.
Rather than making enemies, Li Ang had spent his years forging partnerships, absorbing former foes to grow ever more powerful.
Examples like the Reaper civilization from Edge of Tomorrow, or the Prophets from Halo, were prime cases of this approach.
With Li Ang, if both parties could sit down and talk, unnecessary bloodshed could be avoided.
After all, theoretically, the Megacorp 's cake was infinite. With countless universes waiting to be developed, it would take billions of years to exhaust them all.
By that time, Li Ang would likely have transcended into a Supreme Being, plucking the strings of reality itself and forging cosmoses at will.
Quintessa, a demigod figure in the Transformers universe, a trusted confidante of the Primus, and a founding member from the ancient era of the Creator civilization, carried considerable clout.
She was such a heavyweight that she could freely run her own independent operation without backlash—her own civilization even humbled themselves to accommodate her.
Had she possessed the political foresight of someone like Duke Leto Atreides, things might have gone very differently.
Quintessa could have easily been appointed the Transformers universe's Sector Governor.
But now? She was a prisoner, not a partner. Even if negotiations occurred, the rewards she could obtain would be significantly reduced.
Her status would be the same as Megatron's—wearing the brand of guilt, and forced to earn redemption through merit.
"Boss, I recommend we immediately transfer Quintessa to Myriad realm Base and begin negotiating a tech exchange."
At this moment, Alt Cunningham , the head of the Megacorp 's R&D division, stepped up beside Li Ang with urgency in her voice.
As the Megacorp 's top scientist, Alt was naturally eager to obtain cutting-edge technology from Quintessa to fill their own scientific gaps.
In exchange, Alt was willing to offer various resources or technical secrets.
For example: the levitating minerals from Pandora, or even the World Seed left behind by the Forerunner civilization.
If the technology provided by Quintessa proved valuable enough, Alt would even consider sharing the manufacturing knowledge behind the "Little Doctor" device.
Ultimately, if Quintessa showed genuine interest in cooperating, a deal was inevitable.
After all, both the Universal Megacorp and Quintessa held irreplaceable advantages in their respective fields. When titans exchanged interests, their partnerships tended to be stable and long-lasting.
Unlike weaker factions, they wouldn't descend into petty squabbles over minor gains.
More importantly, in the Transformers universe, Quintessa was essentially the author of the textbooks on lifeform biology.
She dictated the physical form, behavior, and characteristics of entire species.
Bringing someone like that into the Megacorp fold would be an immense academic and technological asset.
Alt firmly believed that with Quintessa's expertise, creating a modified version of the [Seed] bomb would be a simple matter.
"Hm. I'll have David make the arrangements."
Li Ang nodded lightly. Now that they had captured Quintessa, the top priority was to extract the knowledge inside her mind.
But he also knew she wouldn't capitulate easily—he would have to speak to her personally.
Every living being had its needs. Li Ang was confident that even a demigod like Quintessa was no exception.
---
Meanwhile, on the solar system's outer battlefield...
"We've successfully captured Quintessa."
The Astartes reported back in excited tones. After securing the chunk of debris she had merged with, they immediately notified headquarters.
"At the moment, her condition is a bit strange. She's completely unresponsive to external stimuli."
Using the assault craft's tractor beam, they slowly pulled the wreckage into the cargo hold.
During routine inspection, an engineer noticed that Quintessa seemed to have fully become part of the metallic slab.
Whether burned with flamethrowers or cut with saws, she showed no reaction at all. She refused to communicate with the Megacorp staff.
For a moment, the engineers even thought she might be dead—which would have been a mission failure.
Only a living Quintessa held value to the Megacorp . A dead one would bring nothing but political turmoil and potential war with the Creator civilization.
The Megacorp had no interest in launching an all-out assault on the Transformers universe—that was the last thing Li Ang wanted.
Sensing the confusion and concern of the frontline forces, David promptly spoke up:
[Quintessa has entered a unique feigned-death state. Just bring her back—for now, our R&D team will handle the rest.]
David knew this was Quintessa's last resort—a final act of defiance to avoid humiliation.
He wasn't sure if she could still sense the world around her, but one thing was clear: she was definitely still alive.
Upon receiving HQ's recall order, David immediately mobilized teams to secure and escort her back to Ideal City.
Meanwhile, other Astartes and Megacorp operatives had returned to their ships, relaxing and sharing idle chatter.
[Those bounty hunters came all this way just to throw their lives away? What a bore.]
[Come on, don't be smug. People will think you actually fought in a real battle.]
[That "Lockdown" guy? Total pushover. Two punches and he was done for.]
[I heard Transformers can shift into human forms. What do you think... would Quintessa look like as a woman?]
[Whoa! Don't tell me you're into that? You're one of us, huh? Finally found a fellow freak!]
[Huh? I was just joking, man. I'm into furries.]
[...]
Laughter erupted across the expeditionary corps' comms channels. Not long after, the victorious fleet began its return journey to the solar system.
The campaign incited by Quintessa had now officially come to an end.
---
Back at the Myriad realm Base Headquarters, in the Megacorp High Council Chamber...
"Quintessa's bounty hunter army really was a joke. Our expeditionary force barely even had a chance to show off any tactics."
"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
Jack Wells, one of the expansion directors, gave a helpless laugh. Naturally, he didn't want to see his subordinates injured or killed.
But fighting for the Megacorp was their duty, and casualties were always expected. He had mentally prepared himself for heavy losses.
He just hadn't expected Quintessa's raiding force to be so completely incompetent.
The Megacorp 's drones could obliterate their fleet with just a few beams of light. The disparity in power made any tactical coordination pointless.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Johnny Silverhand shrugged. "That's what R&D is for—to reduce unnecessary bloodshed."
This time, the Universal Megacorp 's expeditionary forces only used ten "Little Doctor" devices and spent just ten minutes to completely annihilate Quintessa's bounty hunter army.
The troops' only role was to carry the launch systems for those lightpoint bombs—then toss out a few charges, and that was it.
Although this campaign didn't showcase the intended tactical coordination, it made one thing very clear:
The Megacorp was moving away from traditional close-combat warfare. Against lower-tier opponents, it was all about ranged superiority now.
Unless both sides exhausted their arsenal and were forced into melee, the new norm in high-level interstellar warfare was to fight like "bomb-chucking maniacs."
"That's true enough. It's just a shame for that preacher guy. He sat around watching the show for ages and ended up with nothing," Jack remarked with a sarcastic chuckle.
Originally, the plan had been for the Preacher and his Prometheus Legion to spring in and arrest Quintessa the moment the FTL suppressor activated.
But unexpectedly, Quintessa just gave up on the spot, and the Megacorp only needed a few drones and assault craft to take her down.
"Now that Quintessa's sealed herself off, we've restricted her FTL capabilities with the suppressor. But I'm not convinced it'll hold for long," Alt Cunningham added, far less relaxed than Jack or Johnny.
As head of R&D, Alt was worried the untested FTL suppressor might malfunction.
To avoid surprises, she proposed using the Matrix to forcibly interface with Quintessa—and then work on optimizing the prototype suppressor for future use.
"Leave that to you, Alt. You have Matrix access," Li Ang agreed with a nod. The suppressor functioning properly was already a stroke of luck.
Letting it run too long would only increase the chances of something going wrong.
"Yes, sir!" Alt responded and immediately contacted the frontline troops via comms to prepare the Matrix integration equipment for a hardwired connection with Quintessa.
"Now that the so-called goddess of life, Quintessa, has been successfully captured, the only major threat in the Transformers universe—outside the Creator civilization—is no longer an issue,"
Inspector General V, who led the integration campaign, spoke with excitement. "I think it's time we start discussing our next development plans."
According to HQ's database, Quintessa had been considered the top villain of the Transformers universe.
She had tried to destroy the dormant Unicron at Earth's core in order to revive Primus on Cybertron. But now that she had been captured, that resurrection wasn't happening.
With both Unicron and Primus now linked to the Megacorp 's Matrix and under Li Ang's constant surveillance, it meant that the unification process was nearly complete.
It was time to finalize the ownership transfer for Universe 006: Transformers.
As for the Creator civilization? Their opinion no longer mattered. If talks broke down—then they'd fight. Li Ang wasn't going to lose sleep over it.
"First, we need to secure and upgrade the Seed technology used to create Transformium. That's our top priority."
"Whether we're talking about building a Transformers-themed War Moon, military fortresses, or giant battle mechs—everything hinges on this tech."
V began outlining a battle loot review, emphasizing points the Megacorp 's departments needed to prioritize.
With Universe 006 secured, Transformium had to become a core resource—just like the magnetic floating ore from Pandora. It was unique and irreplaceable.
Mastering the manufacturing of Transformium would revolutionize the Megacorp 's materials sector.
One-click Ideal City deployments, cosmic-scale Megacorp mechas, and fully morphing warships would all become a reality.
In the future, if the Megacorp wanted to establish a temporary forward base, it would just need a single command and enough Transformium to get the job done.
"In addition, we've extracted the memory data of Unicron and Primus using the Matrix,"
"But we'll still need AI decryption—or help from the Creator civilization—to actually understand the deeper layers."
"I recommend establishing a dedicated department within the Scientific Nexus to analyze and decode the knowledge contained in these two titans."
Just like the Halo universe's Think Tanks, Unicron and Primus—two sentient planet-level beings—held memory archives equivalent to enormous scientific databases.
But even with access, their data still needed to be decoded and interpreted, which was almost as difficult as inventing things from scratch.
Hoping to get these cosmic entities to voluntarily aid the Megacorp was wishful thinking.
At their current scale, the Megacorp didn't have much to offer them in return.
Unicron and Primus weren't just figures of legend—they were universal creator gods, apex beings.
In their prime, they tore apart spacetime, mastered divine laws, and transcended into higher dimensions.
For all we know, Unicron might've just finished terrifying Huozi in the Tales of Demonic Cultivation universe in the morning—shredding his Sanity with an alien aura—only to head to the Dragon Raja universe by afternoon to disembowel a few Norse dragons for lunch.
By evening, he'd be back in Swallowed Star, snacking on a few planets to recharge—then return to spar with Primus again.
For beings like that, perhaps only something like the Einstein Equator device could spark a flicker of interest—and even that was a stretch.
Of course, if Unicron and Primus ever showed interest, Li Ang wouldn't mind setting them up on a blind date with "Eywa."
But for now, they would remain under containment, until the day came when they could be leveraged.
"And as for the third point..."
Just as V continued delivering his strategic summary in the high council chamber, Quintessa, far away, was anything but quiet.
"Damn this Megacorp ! Damn these humans—!"
In a blank, infinite void, Quintessa seethed alone.
This was her consciousness domain—a private inner world where she had sealed away her perceptions, creating a mental sanctuary not unlike a cultivation realm in xianxia fiction.
It was a place for meditation, now turned into a storm of rage.
"Autobots... Decepticons... those worthless mongrels! They actually bowed to humans! Even Megatronus... that old relic submitted to the Megacorp ?!"
By tapping into ambient external comms chatter, Quintessa had pieced together recent events.
From the Autobots and Decepticons defecting, to Megatronus being tamed—she knew it all.
Learning that even Megatronus had been subdued left her genuinely stunned.
Though not close, they were of the same ancient origin. She knew the extent of his abilities.
Megatronus masterful command of Entropy Energy had once made him one of the most feared figures in the entire universe.
Even the proud Unicron had admired him, proof of just how talented and formidable he was.
And now? Subjugated. Tamed.
That could only mean one thing: the Universal Megacorp wasn't just some upstart civilization. They were outer-dimensional devils.
Quintessa wasn't naïve. She'd seen the weakened Unicron tear open dimensional rifts with his bare hands, devouring entire worlds to restore his strength.
She had witnessed Primus perform universal-scale sealing rituals, wreaking havoc across the cosmos to trap Unicron inside Earth.
She had not only seen these divine battles—she had participated in them.
She knew the secrets of the cosmos. She knew there were universes beyond universes—mere drops in the cosmic ocean.
The Megacorp ? These high-dimensional demons probably slipped in through one of the rifts Unicron left behind long ago.
In Quintessa's worldview, no upstart civilization should be able to leapfrog her own.
She was an original shareholder of the Transformers universe—part of the founding pantheon.
The only forces capable of challenging her should be her equals: other Creators, high-level ancient beings like Megatronus, or the missing Supreme Progenitor.
Not humanity. Not a species barely a million years old.
"If I had known those useless fools would crumble this easily, I would've handled it personally. I'd have succeeded already!"
Frustrated and furious, with no outlet for her rage, Quintessa could only blame herself—for underestimating the Universal Megacorp .
If she'd known they were high-dimensional threats, she should've contacted the other Creator leaders and banded together to eliminate them.
But now... it was far too late.
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