Chapter One: First Meeting the Autobots!~

“Teleportation successful. Destination: Sam Witwicky’s home.”

Hao Yun looked around, especially at the Witwickys’ yard. He had no intention of looking for Sam just yet. First, he needed to establish an identity.

“Sunday, infiltrate the network and construct an identity for me.”

He raised his wrist and summoned the artificial intelligence Tony Stark had specially created for him. Ever since Galvatron had disappeared, Hao Yun had asked Tony to make him a portable nanotech intelligent robot for convenience.

It looked no bigger than a wristwatch, but it could transform into a computer, a phone, or various other devices at any time.

As for whether it might expose his ability to travel through time and space… Well, Kama-Taj could take the blame. At worst, he could simply say he had gone there to help save the world!

“Yes, Mr. Potts. Network infiltration successful. Your identity has been entered into the system. I also extracted ten million abandoned accounts and deposited one million dollars into your bank account. The current date is 2006 in the United States. No anomalies have been detected on Earth.”

Starting out with a million dollars felt pretty good. In 2006, it was more than enough to rent a small villa next to the Witwickys’.

That would also give him a much more convenient opportunity to get close to Sam!

After all, Sam was the protagonist, and he possessed the fortune of the entire world. Just look at Li Xiaoyao from the Legend of Sword and Fairy world. Even after keeping him far away, the man had still ended up sleeping with his own disciple.

This time, Hao Yun had learned his lesson. He had no intention of suffering a second incident involving one of his disciples being violated!

Whatever the protagonist wanted to do, he could go ahead and do it. Hao Yun would change the minor trends first, then the major ones. Like in Naruto, wouldn’t it be wonderful to take both protagonists as disciples?

So, taking the mission and his own objectives into account, he decided to play the role of a charlatan—and, while he was at it, become the savior of the Autobots!

Hao Yun spent the entire afternoon looking for a place to rent. Then, taking advantage of the custom of giving gifts to new neighbors, he successfully infiltrated the Witwicky household and became the perfect neighbor in the eyes of Sam’s parents!

When Sam Witwicky returned from school, he found his parents entertaining their new neighbor.

“Sam, you’re back! Let me introduce you. This is our new neighbor, Hao Yun Potts, a Chinese American from a mysterious ancient land. Oh, and he even bought you a present!”

Sam’s father cheerfully introduced their neighbor to his son and showed Sam the gift Hao Yun had brought.

It was a valuable ornament for hanging in a car, carefully selected by Hao Yun.

“Pleased to meet you, Sam.”

With a smile, Hao Yun personally placed the gift in Sam’s hands, then casually urged him to buy a car.

“Your father tells me you’re about to get your first car. This is a limited-edition Porsche ornament given to me by a friend. It isn’t particularly expensive, but I hope you’ll like it.”

A solid-metal Transformers pendant appeared in Sam’s hand. Hao Yun had to admit that it had been crafted with remarkable precision. It was a miniature Bumblebee that could actually transform!

“I love it. Thank you, Uncle Potts.”

Sam, who had dreamed of owning his own car for ages, happily accepted the pendant and fiddled with it several times, his face glowing with delight.

“It looks like I picked the right gift, then. Mr. Witwicky, I heard you’re taking Sam to buy a car tomorrow. Could I come along and see how it’s done?”

Hao Yun nodded with a broad smile and turned toward Sam’s father.

Mr. Witwicky put on a disappointed expression. “Oh, Hao Yun, you rascal. You’ve ruined the surprise I had planned for my son!”

“Really? Dad, you’re buying me a car tomorrow?!”

Sam was beside himself with excitement. Was he really about to have a car of his own?

“All right.” Mr. Witwicky spread his hands helplessly. “Since Mr. Potts has already told you, you can spend tonight thinking about which make would be best for your first car. But you’d better pay attention in class tomorrow. If your teacher complains, I might change my mind.”

After that, Hao Yun rapidly increased the Witwicky family’s friendship toward him. By the time he left, they practically regarded him as one of their closest friends!

Sam most of all. With the way he kept calling Hao Yun “Uncle,” he was no different from an actual nephew.

As Hao Yun prepared to leave, he gave Sam a mysterious look.

“Play around with the pendant I gave you. There’s a surprise hidden inside!”

“Thank you, Uncle Potts! I really love this gift!”

Sam toyed with the pendant. The little car on it could actually transform into a robot? It was the first toy of its kind he had ever seen, and he could hardly bear to put it down.

What he did not know was that, in just a few days, he would encounter a life-sized version of the pendant’s robot…

The next afternoon, after school, Mr. Witwicky did indeed bring Hao Yun along to pick up Sam.

“Are you buying me a car, Dad? A Ford or a Porsche?”

The moment Sam saw them, he eagerly jumped into the car and began asking questions.

As he spoke, he watched Mr. Witwicky drive straight toward a Porsche dealership!

Sam was ecstatic. Covering his mouth, he shouted in disbelief, “N-no, no, no… Dad, you’ve got to be kidding!”

Mr. Witwicky wore a mischievous grin, pressed down on the accelerator, and drove straight past the Porsche dealership.

“Of course I’m kidding. Do you really think I’d give a Porsche sports car to a high-school beginner?”

Hao Yun twisted the knife from the back seat. “A novice who’s just starting out should buy a used car. That way, it won’t hurt so much if he crashes it.”

“Oh my God! Dad, Uncle, I’m not talking to either of you for the rest of the week.”

Sam turned away in self-imposed misery and ignored them completely. Hao Yun and Mr. Witwicky exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

Teasing children really was the most entertaining thing in the world.

Following the plan, the sedan arrived at a used-car lot. Mr. Witwicky, accompanied by a completely humorless Sam and Hao Yun, followed the dealer around while inspecting the vehicles.

The management of used cars in the United States was genuinely quite impressive. By 2006, at the very least, the country already had a mature used-car market.

After walking only a short distance inside, Sam, just as in the original story, immediately fell for Bumblebee, whose body was painted with striking racing stripes.

Yes, this was the old version—the Bumblebee who had not yet transformed.

“This car looks pretty good. Is it a race car?”

Sam studied Bumblebee carefully. He liked it somewhat, but thought it looked far too battered.

Hao Yun leaned in through the window for a look. Sure enough, right in the center of the steering wheel was the emblem of Cybertron.

That settled it. This was definitely Bumblebee!

After that, Hao Yun could only watch as the dealer failed to recognize his own car, the negotiations broke down, and the parking lot descended into chaos and destruction.

“Four thousand, and it’s yours!”

The dealer had clearly sensed that something was off and sold the car to Sam with remarkable decisiveness.

The Autobots had gone to quite a lot of trouble to find Sam—aging the car, causing all that destruction, and everything else.