Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Bumblebee

Accompanied by the thunderous roar of a supersonic engine, Wang Jing soared into the sky aboard a stealth aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier. Maintaining full throttle in a vertical climb, he activated his teleportation ability. In the tranquil desert of the Transformers universe, a sudden swirl of sand erupted, and a uniquely designed small aircraft shot upward.

Through the canopy, Wang Jing gazed down at an American military base nearly razed to the ground. “That robot is truly formidable—how quickly it reduced an entire base to this!” The test pilot remarked, marveling at the fiery remains still glowing in the night below.

“This isn’t even the most powerful one. The real threat is inside the Hoover Dam,” Wang Jing replied, his thoughts complicated as he looked at the devastated base.

After reaching the designated altitude, the aircraft leveled out and flew toward the United States. Meanwhile, the American government had already received news of the attack on the Sanksen Air Force Base and was now on wartime alert.

After two hours of continuous flight, Wang Jing entered American airspace. Since there was no suitable landing site, he simply teleported back, donned a parachute, and crossed over with Liu Peiqiang and the others to the Transformers universe.

With Liu Peiqiang’s assistance, Wang Jing landed safely. Given the modern setting, the team members did not wear exoskeleton armor—the sight would have been far too conspicuous in a country whose technology still lingered in the 1990s.

After stowing the parachute, Wang Jing brought over a van from the main universe. Once everyone was aboard, he instructed Wang Lei, the driver, “Let’s head to Los Angeles.”

Turning to Li Yiyi, who sat nearby, Wang Jing said, “Search online for a seller named ‘Strongman217’—he’s auctioning a pair of glasses. I want you to buy them, preferably arrange a meeting with the seller.”

“No problem,” Li Yiyi replied. Knowing the name made things easy, and soon he found the glasses Sam was auctioning on eBay.

“How much should I offer?” Li Yiyi asked.

“One thousand dollars, but I must examine them in person,” Wang Jing replied.

Meanwhile, Sam, who had just received his very first car, returned home excitedly, planning tomorrow’s date. He opened the auction page for his great-great-great-grandfather’s relic.

Seeing someone willing to pay a thousand dollars for the glasses, Sam nearly jumped for joy. With that money, his chances of impressing his date would soar.

When he saw the buyer requested an in-person inspection, Sam was only slightly puzzled, but the lure of a thousand dollars quickly overcame any doubts, and he responded generously to the buyer.

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“We’ve got a reply!” Li Yiyi announced as soon as he saw the message, drawing everyone’s curiosity in the van.

“He’s asking when and where the transaction will take place.”

Wang Jing turned to Wang Lei, who was driving. “How much longer until we reach our destination?”

“About two more hours,” Wang Lei replied, checking the GPS on his phone.

Wang Jing glanced at his watch—it was already 7 p.m., and time was running short.

After a brief consideration, Wang Jing said, “Let’s schedule it for tomorrow morning at seven. Just pick a place where there aren’t many people.”

“Alright, let’s choose an abandoned factory,” Li Yiyi suggested.

Sam received the details for the meeting and, though he found the location somewhat suspicious, dismissed his concern. After all, who would bother trouble a nobody like him?

By 9 p.m., Wang Jing and his team arrived in Los Angeles and entered the prearranged abandoned factory. Wang Jing then teleported everyone, including the van, back to the main universe.

“Tomorrow’s operation is just me and Alice. The rest of you stay outside, ready to assist at a moment’s notice,” Wang Jing said to Liu Peiqiang upon their return.

“Are you sure you can handle it alone? Won’t there be any danger?” Li Xian asked, worried.

“Don’t worry, tomorrow’s task is perfectly safe. We’re just buying something from a regular guy. Oh, and,” Wang Jing suddenly remembered, turning to Song Guohua, “I’ll need a Porsche sports car first thing tomorrow morning.”

“No problem, I’ll arrange it,” Song Guohua answered with a nod.

The following morning, Wang Jing and Alice dressed in clothes that screamed wealth and privilege, then drove a Porsche 911 into the abandoned factory to await Sam’s arrival. Liu Peiqiang and the others, clad in exoskeleton armor, hid around the perimeter, keeping constant surveillance on Wang Jing and Alice, ready to draw attention and buy time for Wang Jing’s escape if necessary.

To ensure Wang Jing had enough power to teleport even without exoskeleton armor, the research department specially designed a compact, high-density battery containing enough energy for a single teleportation.

At 7:15 a.m., Sam finally arrived in the yellow used car his father had bought him the day before.

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Upon seeing the black Porsche parked on the empty lot, Sam couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy and a twinge of inferiority. He looked at his own battered old vehicle and sighed in resignation, picking up the glasses case from the passenger seat as he got out.

But just then, Sam realized his car door wouldn’t open, and the radio began crackling erratically. Panicked, he started pounding on the door—his dating funds were within reach, and if he lost the opportunity simply because he couldn’t get out, he felt almost desperate.

Seeing Sam locked inside, Wang Jing immediately understood what was happening. He opened the car door and stepped out.

Alice followed suit, stepping gracefully from the passenger side. For today’s mission, she had applied heavy makeup and dressed beautifully with high heels—her allure was striking, a world apart from her deadly persona in the Resident Evil universe.

Wang Jing strode leisurely toward the old yellow Chevrolet, which had transformed into Bumblebee. As he and Alice approached, Sam ceased his frantic pounding.

Reaching the car, Wang Jing ran his hand over the rough, rust-tinged paint, moving toward the driver’s window.

With a casual, devil-may-care expression, Wang Jing tapped on the window.

Nervously, Sam rolled it down and explained, “Sorry, this car is full of problems—I just bought it yesterday, and now the door won’t open.”

He quickly handed over the glasses to Wang Jing. At that moment, the car’s radio began to play automatically, prompting Sam to strike it repeatedly in frustration.

Ignoring the commotion, Wang Jing opened the glasses case, examining the cracked lenses within—it was exactly as he remembered, the pair worn by Sam’s great-great-great-grandfather, etched with Megatron’s navigation coordinates.

He passed the glasses to Alice, reached into his pocket for a thousand-dollar bill, and remarked offhandedly, “Stop hitting the radio. No matter how much you try, it won’t work. My father used to have a car just like this—same troublesome radio. I called it ‘Bumblebee,’ always imagining it would transform into a giant robot, just like the mechas in Japanese anime.”

Wang Jing handed over the thousand dollars, and as he spoke the word “Bumblebee,” the radio suddenly fell silent.

Sam took the money, and instantly all his worries melted away, a smile breaking across his face.