Chapter Thirty-Nine: Shameless America and Angry America

Skyfire had barely managed to pick himself up from the ground when the Fallen charged from behind and delivered a brutal kick that sent him crashing through a wall, only coming to a stop with a face-first skid. Spitting out a mouthful of sand, Skyfire looked up just as the Fallen, spear in hand, descended from above. Instantly, Skyfire fired the thrusters on his knees, launching himself out of harm’s way.

The Fallen’s strike missed its mark, but he wasted no time and lunged again at Skyfire, who was retreating at high speed. As he backed away, Skyfire continuously fired missiles at the Fallen, but every last one was effortlessly batted aside, exploding harmlessly to the flanks—he couldn't even buy himself a moment.

Soon, a wall blocked his retreat, and his missiles were spent. With the Fallen bearing down on him, seething with malice, Skyfire stood, drew the long sword from his back, and charged headlong at his foe.

Just as they were about to collide, Optimus Prime, having risen from the battlefield, charged in from the side. With a thunderous blast, he knocked the Fallen off balance to the left. Skyfire seized the moment; his sword flashed and swept toward the Fallen’s waist.

Seeing the strike coming, the Fallen hurriedly brought his spear to block. A metallic clang rang out, sparks flaring at the point of contact. But Skyfire did not relent—the blade angled upward, and with a deft motion, traced along the length of the spear.

At that instant, Optimus Prime, wielding his searing blade, closed in. In the split second that stole the Fallen’s attention, Skyfire’s sword sliced across the Fallen’s fingers gripping the spear. The pain of severed digits stunned the Fallen just for a heartbeat, but the shadow of death snapped him back—too late.

The Fallen barely managed to throw his head back, dodging being run through. But Optimus’s blade still scored a line across his chin.

Before the Fallen could counterattack, Skyfire grappled him tightly from behind. Realizing escape was impossible, the Fallen howled in terror, “No, Optimus!”

Optimus Prime did not hesitate. He circled behind the Fallen, gripped his sword with both hands, and with one fierce pull, severed the Fallen’s head from his shoulders.

Instantly, blood as hot and thick as molten lava gushed from the stump. The head tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop.

Exhausted, Skyfire finally let go of the limp carcass, collapsed backward, and sighed with a broad grin, “It’s been so long since I’ve had such a satisfying fight!”

Nearby, Optimus Prime sheathed his blade, picked up the lifeless head, and strode to the frontlines where the Decepticons still fought. He raised his voice: “The Fallen is dead! Lay down your arms and surrender!” With that, he flung the Fallen’s head at their feet.

Staring at the terror-stricken, dead face that rolled to their boots, the surviving Decepticons lost all will to fight. Most scattered and fled; some dropped their weapons, raising their hands in surrender.

Ironhide wanted to give chase, but Optimus held him back.

“Clear the battlefield. Continue dismantling the pyramid,” commanded Optimus.

The Decepticons who surrendered were shackled with iron chains and escorted to the Resident Evil world, where they would serve as laborers helping to build new cities. As for the Decepticon corpses, they were divided between the main world and the Wandering Earth world.

With the arrival of many new Autobots, the dismantling of the pyramid proceeded at a much faster pace. By the next day, the entire interior machinery was stripped. Wang Jing then teleported the centuries-old device to the main world, placing it in a specialized warehouse, awaiting scientific study.

The events in the Transformers world stunned the entire globe. Shock mingled with a newfound fear of the Transformers among ordinary people.

The United States, in particular, responded swiftly, announcing within days the formation of a special unit dedicated to hunting Decepticons worldwide. They claimed it was for world peace, but those in the know understood this was simply America’s attempt to reassert its status as global hegemon.

In contrast, under the guidance of their governments, Chinese and Russian citizens gradually overcame their fear of the Autobots. This had much to do with the Autobots’ cooperation: not only did they give interviews, but they also shared fascinating stories of Cybertron and the causes behind the civil war on news programs and popular variety shows.

These shows, especially, became wildly popular, with ratings so high the network executives could hardly contain their glee.

Meanwhile, Wang Jing traveled from country to country, teleporting supplies to the Wandering Earth and Resident Evil worlds. For his protection, Optimus Prime’s team accompanied him everywhere, which drew journalists like sharks to blood.

After all, the sight of Chinese media reaping such rich rewards had left foreign journalists green with envy.

Thanks to the combined efforts of capital and the Autobots, public opinion of the Transformers improved dramatically around the world. People’s fear of them gradually faded. After all, fear stems from the unknown, and when people saw Autobots who shared the same emotions as themselves, the prejudices born of ignorance vanished instantly.

Bumblebee, in particular, won hearts everywhere with his childlike personality.

Of course, the Autobots’ appearance also played a crucial role; their looks matched humanity’s inner ideals of goodness and decency. In an age where appearance counts for so much, if you had a face like Megatron’s, even if you saved the world, people would still suspect you of ulterior motives: “You just don’t look like a good guy.” This was true on any version of Earth.

Not every country’s dealings went so smoothly, however—especially Russia and the United States.

Russia, with its chronically low grain yields, simply could not supply the promised provisions. Still, unwilling to go back on their word and eager to maintain good relations with the two alternate Earths behind Wang Jing, the Russian government began negotiating with China to exchange energy for food.

The United States, on the other hand, sought to avoid payment entirely. Fortunately, the exoskeleton manufacturing blueprints remained password-locked until the deal was finalized.

Although America failed to obtain the exoskeleton technology directly from Wang Jing, they managed to acquire it through espionage in other countries.

Wang Jing, however, was not the least bit angered by this shamelessness. After all, good or evil, all must answer for their deeds—heaven spares no one. Besides, Megatron was still alive.

As for the United States in the Wandering Earth and main worlds, they were both furious and embarrassed by their counterpart’s shameless actions in the Transformers world. Everyone knew that once, their own America had been just as brazen, but circumstances had forced them to unite with the rest of the world.

Seeing their alternate selves exposed in such an unflattering light for all to see was mortifying—especially now that they had supposedly turned over a new leaf.