Chapter Sixteen: Charging into the Base!

Escaping the office building, Sam Witwicky drove straight to his girlfriend Carly's side and headed directly to the human base that concealed the Autobots.

"This is private property. Trespassers will be prosecuted!"

The guard blocked them, but Sam was in no mood to deal with small fries like him.

After all, he was a man who had saved the world twice!

"Quickly fetch Colonel Lennox. The Decepticons are back, and Mikaela's phone is tapped. I can't reach her at all!"

"Sir, this is private property. I have no idea what you are talking about."

The guard was clearly playing dumb, and his delivery was so unconvincing that even Sam's girlfriend didn't buy it.

Since when did guarding private property involve carrying M16 rifles? And don't think I didn't notice the artillery barrel poking out from behind that tree!

"Do you want me to spell it out? Where did you get those guns? With security this tight, are you guarding a major financial mogul or the President in the White House? At least put some effort into your cover story..."

"Sam, Sam, are we sure we're in the right place?"

Carly, who had once served as a presidential secretary, had her suspicions and dared not let Sam continue antagonizing them.

Unfortunately, the man who had saved the world twice knew no fear!

"That's right, it's here. I know this place well!"

Patting his girlfriend's hand to reassure her, Sam turned back to the guard blocking his path: "Either you call Colonel Lennox out right now, or I'll call someone myself!"

"Ha? You're going to call someone? Who do you intend to call?"

The guard flashed a look of contempt. The U.S. government had suppressed the news of the previous two world wars. These guards knew they were guarding aliens, but they had no idea humanity had already thrown down with extraterrestrials twice!

Naturally, their regard for the savior of the world wasn't nearly as high as that of the soldiers who had actually participated in those wars.

"Don't believe me? Heh!"

Sam sneer-laughed and pulled out the communicator Bumblebee had specifically given him upon parting: "Bumblebee! I'm at the gate. Come out and pick me up right now!"

"Vroom!"

With a muffled roar of an engine from deep within the base, a yellow-striped sports car smashed through the gates with a loud bang, tore onto the courtyard, executed a sharp drift, and immediately transformed into its bipedal robot mode to stand guard before Sam.

Its cannons charged up, every inch of its frame radiating hostility toward the surrounding guards!

"Stand down! Stand down! Colonel Lennox invites you inside!"

A soldier rushed out from the base, shouting at the top of his lungs to prevent chaos... The U.S. military didn't dare roll the dice on whether Bumblebee would actually open fire; they had to intervene immediately.

Compared to the U.S. military, which had spent years trying to extort technology from the Autobots, Sam held infinitely more weight in the eyes of the Autobots!

After all, he was the man who had personally retrieved the Matrix of Leadership and saved the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime!

"Sam, you can bring your girlfriend in."

"Good. Remember to fix my car!"

Sam cast a disdainful glance at the guard who had just tried to stop him: "Heh, private property? Guarded?"

That smug expression made the guards want to pull their hair out...

"Let's go, Bumblebee. I have something very important to tell Optimus Prime!"

......

Walking into the base, Lennox came forward to greet them.

"Sam, shouldn't you be looking for a job? What's the matter, is the work not to your liking, so you want to pull strings with the government?"

Colonel Lennox walked up, pulled Sam into a hearty bear hug, and clapped him on the back, teasing him without a trace of awkwardness.

The two shared life-or-death camaraderie; unlike the distant familiarity in the original timeline, the current Sam had plenty of military brothers!

Brothers who could entrust each other with their lives!

"Lennox, we've got a major problem. I'm certain the Decepticons are on the move again!"

Sam handed him the documents the Chinese man named Wang had given him: "This was handed to me by a Chinese man named Wang, who told me to deliver it to Optimus Prime no matter what."

"Just for this?"

Lennox glanced at the contents of the files—the dark side of the moon, the lunar landing news... Tsk, wasn't this the exact location they had gone to a couple of days ago to retrieve Sentinel Prime?

"You know about Sentinel Prime too? The one we hauled back a couple of days ago—the Autobot scientist, Optimus Prime's mentor?"

"There's a Transformer like that? Then I need to warn you, Sentinel Prime has been targeted by the Decepticons!"

A flicker of realization stirred within Sam, and he began analyzing the situation on the spot: "Sentinel Prime must have something the Decepticons desperately need. They're hunting him, and they even went so far as to kill people in broad daylight in the city, and cut off Mikaela's communications!"

"What?!"

Colonel Lennox, who had been somewhat dismissive moments earlier and thought Sam was just being overly neurotic, instantly turned dead serious.

Mikaela and Hao Yun Potts were humanity's strongest powerhouses and the foundation of their alliance with the Autobots! But what had he just heard? Sam couldn't reach them?! Even their communications had been severed!

Well, this had just escalated into a massive crisis!

"Come with me, I'll take you to the Director of Intelligence! She's currently in charge of all matters concerning the Autobots."

Lennox abandoned any further pleasantries, leading Sam and his girlfriend Carly deeper into the interior of the base.

Three minutes later, Lennox brought Sam before the Director of Intelligence!

"Director, this is Sam, the hero who saved the world twice. He has critical intelligence to report."

"Sam? Heh, a man who can't even find a job—what kind of intelligence could he possibly have?"

The director's face was painted with contempt. "Speak."

"Pardon me, I don't know you. I only know the Autobots."

A flash of anger crossed Sam's eyes, and he retorted without a moment's hesitation!

The female director gritted her teeth and glanced at Lennox... Unfortunately, compared to the reputation of the intelligence agency, Lennox clearly trusted Sam far more.

"Director, you know how it is. The Autobots trust him more!"

"Fine, I'll make sure you learn who I am!"

With no other choice, the female director had no option but to lead Sam inward. And no, it definitely wasn't because Bumblebee was lingering right behind Sam!

Presently, everyone arrived at the central core of the base.

At that moment, Optimus Prime was standing before a massive Transformer, drawing the Matrix of Leadership, preparing to awaken it...

"Is that Sentinel Prime?"

Connecting the dots with Lennox's earlier words, Sam guessed the identity of the dormant Autobot.

"Uh-huh. Optimus Prime brought him back to Earth personally. The super energy inside him has run dry, and he needs the Matrix of Leadership to recharge and awaken."

"Wait, is it really a good idea to just wake him up like this?"

Sam hesitated, wondering whether he should tell Optimus Prime about the Chinese man's warnings before the awakening process completed.

"We brought that up too, but Optimus said he is his mentor. He staked his own life on the guarantee that Sentinel Prime is an exemplary Autobot."

"Alright..."

Having fought alongside Optimus Prime many times, Sam also trusted his judgment... Yet for some reason, his heart wouldn't stop pounding anxiously.

Perhaps it was the inability to reach Mikaela that had stripped away his sense of security?