Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Well, it seems I'm the only fool."

"Waaaaah."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Before the Decisive Battle

The process of obtaining the Source Matrix was actually quite unremarkable. Alice and Optimus Prime were both tacitly aware of each other's attitudes and positions, and in this situation, they were simply looking for something to do to kill time.

Alice taught Optimus Prime the basic principles and applications of magic, which is also known as information technology. In return, Optimus Prime also explained the Cybertronian writing system and historical traditions to Alice.

For Alice, this was a costless sacrifice. Unlike in the movies or setting books, Optimus Prime, while unwilling to hand over Cybertronian technology to humanity, didn't care much about history or written records.

Both sides gained a lot. And when the clock had deflected enough, the sun set, the moon rose, and the morning star appeared in the sky, the man and his car returned to the outskirts of the pyramids on time and noticed the three outer stars lined up in the sky.

The rest is self-explanatory. Unlike the original story where Sam was rejected by the Super-Leader and needed approval to use the Matrix of Leadership, Optimus Prime's personal intervention resolved the issue in one go—the Super-Leader had no reason to make things difficult for his already mature descendant. The delivery of the Matrix of Leadership thus concluded without any surprises.

Still no second part of the story missions triggered... What exactly does the Supreme God mean by this?

Alice thought to herself that she had noticed Patchouli's trial illusion as she approached the pyramids. Therefore, she was not particularly surprised when she saw Sam slumbering in the illusion and his unusually sharp and powerful aura.

"This is the kind of...information technology you were talking about?" Optimus Prime looked at Sam with obvious doubt. "I feel like something huge has changed about him. He looks...like a warrior now."

Are you unhappy about this?

“No, I don’t have that position.” Optimus Prime turned its massive mechanical head. “Besides, Sam’s growth isn’t a bad thing. Since he’s decided to participate in this battle, I should respect his decision.”

"I believe he changed voluntarily, and I also believe he was psychologically prepared to change himself."

"If you're worried about his mental fortitude, you can rest assured, I've already taken the necessary precautions," Patchouli's cool voice came through. "Once he wakes up, you can have a direct conversation with him, and then you'll know whether he's ready or not."

“Then I’m relieved,” Optimus Prime replied, and actually walked to the platform near Sam and stood there. At the same time, it sent a signal to Bumblebee and Ironhide, who had not yet returned, to tell the two guys who were still in the dark that the mission was over.

“Patch,” Alice glanced at Optimus Prime and walked over to Patchouli. “What stage are we at now? Is World War II over?”

“That happened an hour and a half ago.” Patchouli breathed a sigh of relief, leaning slightly against Alice. “He’s now in the Gulf War era. He’s learning to fly fighter jets. Once his spatial awareness is strong enough, I’ll arrange power armor courses. I believe she’ll be useful when the time comes.”

Their eyes met briefly.

Alice: [So, how are the experiments on unlocking the gene lock going?]

Patchouli: [Not ideal. No matter how intense the external pressure or emotional shock, he shows no signs of unlocking his genetic potential. Could it be that some prerequisites haven't been met?]

Alice: [His ability to be resurrected indicates his exceptionally strong fortune. Furthermore, he certainly doesn't lack the awareness of being human. Therefore, this level of experience can only be considered a life-or-death ordeal. After all, it's a virtual experience, not real, and such limited results are understandable.]

Patchouli: [However, there is one exception: his mental strength suddenly experienced a significant increase in the first era. This matches the state Zheng Zha described as 'mental power breaking through a critical threshold.' Therefore, this strategy is effective.]

Alice: [Alright, we can use this to train new recruits later. The veterans can also be strengthened...at least it's a good training method for those who haven't unlocked their genetic potential.]

Patchouli: [Understood, I'll be the one to make the suggestion from now on.]

This exchange of glances lasted only a fleeting moment; Optimus Prime, who was so close to Sam, didn't even notice it. At that very moment, the only human male present opened his eyes.

"My technique for short-range maneuvering is still somewhat lacking." Sam, upon waking, clenched his fists slightly, as if he were still gripping the control stick of a fighter jet. The first thing he saw upon waking was Optimus Prime, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Patchouli.

"Is this a temporary halt?" he asked.

"It's temporarily over. It's been going on for sixteen hours, and your mind is almost at its limit."

Patchouli closed the grimoire, and the magic circle surrounding the pyramid dissipated within a breath. "And Optimus Prime also has something to say to you; you should make some time for him."

“Optimus Prime.” Sam looked at the giant robot. At this moment, he didn’t need to think much to guess Optimus Prime’s general thoughts from the surrounding atmosphere and Patchouli’s conversation.

“I volunteered. I wanted to participate in this battle, and I felt it was a good thing. As a human being, I had no reason not to make a contribution at this critical juncture.”

Optimus Prime's many thoughts were stuck in his throat. In the end, he could only pat Sam on the shoulder, take the Matrix of Leadership from his chest and throw it to Alice, then walk silently to the outer edge of the pyramid.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked. “I feel like this has something to do with me.”

“It was just a bet.” Alice smiled slightly. “I bet it that you would surprise it when you returned to the pyramid. I won, so I’m lending it the Source Energy Matrix for two days to help us activate the Magic Furnace… which means enhancing our combat power. It’s that simple.”

"Can I ask for a share of the profits?"

“Of course you can,” Alice nodded. “Something that can help you will appear in your pocket. But for now, you need to get some sleep. Recharge your energy for the next stage of the trial.”

She then made a 'stop' gesture, ending the conversation.

Preparations are complete; all that remains is to let time refine each important step in the plan. And the estimated seven days is actually not much time.

The Autobot reinforcements arrived in the early morning of the fourth day, while the Cybertronian-specific flight components prepared by Patchouli's terrestrial nations didn't fully arrive until the sixth day. Meanwhile, the nations' power armor production lines were completed, and their elite forces had achieved a certain level of integration.

Although they were merely cannon fodder in Alice's plan, these preparations at least ensured they could fulfill their duty of drawing fire—and perhaps even have a slight chance of survival?

In short, when the dawn of the seventh day arrived and the shadow of the Retribution appeared in the telescope, everyone who needed to be prepared found their place.

Author's Note:

................................................

Now that it's confirmed that the BX banner will be released on the 25th, I naturally need to plan the storyline. Let's welcome BX's arrival with the climax of the story.

Of course, if they don't come...

If I don't come... _(:з」∠)_

Section 30 - Opening Ceremony

Above the sky, on the central bridge of the Retribution...

A silver-gray metallic giant looked down upon the azure land.

“Great Megatron, all warriors are ready.” A Cybertronian, slightly smaller than the giant but with an inexplicable air of cunning in his voice, approached it with heavy steps and bowed deeply.

"We can take over this tiny planet at any time. All it takes is your command."

“Don’t underestimate them, Red Spider.” The giant didn’t look at it, but continued to gaze down at the planet beneath its feet. “The last message the sound wave sent us told us that it died at the hands of those reptiles below. I find it hard to imagine that it would fall into the trap set by the reptiles due to carelessness. So there must have been some kind of change down there that we don’t know about.”

"Perhaps it's Optimus Prime? They always overestimate themselves and challenge us, but there's no denying that they do have a tiny bit of a chance of winning."

Megatron ignored his arrogant lieutenant—Starscream was accustomed to strategically underestimating his enemies. Whether this would backfire was another matter entirely. He had other concerns.

"Optimus Prime is definitely on Earth. All plans are subject to failure until we take him down. But this foolish guy is taking the carbon-based reptiles on this planet too seriously. So we'll have to rely on those reptiles to take him down."

It looked toward another Cybertronian on the bridge.

"Intelligence officer, how's the control of the electronic network going?"

"The humans are fighting desperately, Master Megatron." The Cybertronian replied tremblingly, "Their technology seems to have advanced a lot in the last few days. It will take at least a... a few hours to control their electronic network."

"Hmph, a death throes." Megatron turned his head. "Since we can't make it in time, so be it. Starscream, get Macrocannon ready. I'm going to destroy these reptiles' cities one by one until Optimus Prime shows up. This time, I'll destroy it along with its weak army, and then, my era will begin."

“As you command, Great Megatron.” Starscream bowed respectfully. “But what about the Lord’s orders? We still need to find the boy who came back from the dead and find the Source Matrix through his brain.”

“No need.” Megatron waved his hand sharply. “After Soundwave died, I thought a lot, and I finally realized that the only enemy I truly needed to deal with from beginning to end was Optimus Prime. Once we’ve dealt with him, we can spend hundreds of years slowly figuring out what we need.”

“Your will.” Starscream wouldn’t be foolish enough to question Megatron’s orders twice, so it withdrew and took Megatron’s command to the lower level of the bridge. Soon after, the Narrative’s cannons began firing, and the destructive power of the cannons rained down!

......................................................

“The nations on Earth are still hesitant, thinking they have a chance to coexist peacefully. How foolish.” Alice looked up at the sky, her gaze seemingly spanning more than two thousand kilometers, directly touching near-Earth orbit—of course, she couldn’t see that far, but radio telescopes that observe space could.

She had detected the Cybertronian cyber offensive minutes earlier. Naturally, a silicon-based civilization that had survived for so long couldn't possibly lack the tactical technology to counter electronic networks. And this technology was far superior to that of Earth, a civilization with only a few thousand years of history—if she hadn't forcibly cut off the electronic intrusion from the Retribution using the unique properties of information magic, the intelligence of the entire human society would likely have been completely exposed by now, and the outcome of the subsequent war would have been self-evident.

People tend to harbor wishful thinking, hoping that accidents won't happen to them. While this phenomenon may lessen when amplified to an organization or a country, it doesn't disappear entirely.

It doesn't matter, they'll realize their mistake soon enough.

She murmured a soft lament for the lives that were about to end, and through the radio telescope, she could clearly see a dazzling gleam shining from the muzzle of the gun at the bottom of the Retribution.

Then, a blood-red meteor suddenly fell!

Its target was Central Asia, and its final destination was a small country perpetually embroiled in war. As the meteor streaked across the sky, burning a fiery red trail through the atmosphere before crashing into a city within that small country, even from a distance of thousands of kilometers, Alice could clearly feel the raging waves crashing beneath her feet!

Earthly nations once researched a space-based weapon called the "Rod of God." Essentially, it involved transporting hundreds of kilograms of tungsten carbide alloy rods into orbit, where they were carried by satellites to directly bombard the ground from near-Earth orbit—a high-intensity kinetic energy weapon. The principle was similar to the macro cannon, but its scale and effectiveness were vastly different.

A single shot from the Staff of God, at its maximum, can only destroy the ground equivalent of a town, and even then, due to an unsuitable landing point, it might penetrate the rock layer, ultimately leaving only a small crater in the ground. The Macro Cannon, on the other hand… can directly destroy the earth's crust itself.

That city has disappeared from the world.

It wasn't destruction, nor was it reduced to ruins; it was utter and complete disappearance from the world, leaving not a trace. The instant the cannonballs struck, the shockwave, covering hundreds of kilometers, tore apart all living things in the city. And immediately afterward, the earth's crust, tens of kilometers thick, followed suit.

A massive rift was torn open in the ground, the barrier between the atmosphere and the asthenosphere brutally broken. Internal pressure generated from within the planet forced hundreds of millions of tons of molten magma out of the asthenosphere, engulfing the entire city in half a second and igniting a rapidly erupting volcano. Deadly clouds of scorching dust billowed into the sky, forming a dark, persistent cloud covering hundreds of square kilometers at the lower atmosphere, which continued to expand over time.

There is no longer any need to search for the wounded or prepare for reconstruction. The millions in that city have all been reduced to molecules. And the name of this land and the customs that once walked upon it will become a line in history books... if humanity still has history books in the future.

She immediately transmitted the satellite-detected and recorded imagery to the governments and people of those nations. Seconds later, she sensed the global outcry and fear sweeping across the world via the satellite network.

There was no longer any need to delay. The aliens in orbit were undoubtedly the mortal enemy of all humanity. The most urgent countermeasures were immediately activated. Parameters were set, and the missile base, concealed in the mountains, slowly unfolded. The bright red intercontinental ballistic missile slowly rose.

How many big red buttons had been pressed? Alice didn't really care. All she needed to know was that the prelude to this war had begun, and countless lives would be lost. And this was just the beginning.

She saw white lines rising on the horizon—nuclear weapons, capable of striking directly into orbit from the ground, the only means by which the nations of the earth could retaliate before encountering Alice. And in a few more minutes, these instruments meant to ensure global nuclear peace would prove their worth.

"If this solves the problem, that would be perfect." Alice took out the phone with only one number saved on it and dialed that single number.

"Optimus Prime, are you on your way?" she asked softly.

Immediately, the Autobot leader's resolute yet angry voice came from the other side.

"Megatron must pay the price for what he has done."

"Really? Then I wish you a safe journey. I'm about to set off as well."

Alice hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket.

She glanced at the pyramid beneath her feet, then gently pushed off with her feet, and the resulting anti-gravity field lifted her into the sky. Heading towards the sea.

[The preparations on the ground are now in your hands, Patchouli.]

The nearby seas surged as a ballistic missile, its warhead removed, burst forth from the ocean, heading straight for the sky. It met Alice's flight path precisely at an altitude of about one kilometer above the ground.

“This is Egypt, and we should be using Egyptian mythology. But…” She climbed onto the missile, and the force field she deployed isolated the dissipating airflow around her.

"Ishtar is the goddess of war and the ruler of the heavens." A blurry goddess image appeared behind her and merged into her body. Immediately following, the anti-gravity field that surrounded her as a barrier and aided missile propulsion suddenly increased by nearly half. In an extremely short interval, this propelled the flight speed, which was originally insufficient to reach near-Earth orbit, to the critical point of the second cosmic velocity.

The war has begun.

Section 31: Contact Warfare

"A futile struggle; resistance of this magnitude is utterly worthless." Megatron's electronic eyes flashed with disdain as he looked at the countless white lines rising from the ground.

It certainly knew what this was. Although it had been dormant on Earth, other Decepticon members would gather intelligence and present it with the compiled data. As a competent leader, it would never leave such important documents idle for long.

“Great Megatron, the Nemesis is perfectly capable of withstanding these fission bombs,” Starscream said respectfully beside Megatron. “But too many fission bombs still pose a possibility of damaging the Nemesis's outer armor. Should we take countermeasures?”