Chapter Seventeen: Sentinel Prime Awakens!

"Teacher, wake up!"

Inside the base, Optimus Prime held the Matrix of Leadership and plunged it firmly into Sentinel Prime's chest... Super-energon poured continuously from the Matrix, causing Sentinel Prime's body to tremble as if struck by electricity. His lifeless optical sensors slowly began to regain focus...

"Puff, cough, cough..."

The moment Sentinel Prime fully awoke, he lunged forward, knocking Optimus Prime to the ground. A blade snapped out from his wrist, pressing heavily against Optimus's head!

"Teacher, snap out of it! Wake up!"

"The war is over. You're safe now! It's okay, you're really safe!"

Optimus Prime offered no resistance, his gentle words of comfort finally causing Sentinel Prime to cast his gaze around the room... The unfamiliar surroundings eventually allowed him to calm down!

"Welcome back, Teacher. Relax, you are home!"

Sentinel Prime released Optimus Prime and looked around... Beside them, Sam frowned deeply. Why did he sense a trace of vigilance in Sentinel Prime?

Logically speaking, Optimus Prime was Sentinel Prime's student, and there were so many Autobots around... Why would Sentinel Prime display such defensive behavior? Could it be some kind of post-war trauma?

He wanted to warn Optimus Prime, but Sentinel Prime was an elder among the Autobots, and Sam loathed the Director of Intelligence, so there were certain things he didn't want to tell her.

He stood to the side, quietly waiting for the conversation between Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime to conclude, waiting for Optimus to find time to see him...

And then, Sam witnessed the direct confrontation between the female Director of Intelligence and Sentinel Prime!

"That is a technology beyond human comprehension, Space Bridge technology, capable of matter transportation. We will use it to transport resources and refugees..."

"Refugees? More likely armies, weapons, and war!"

"You must realize that the Decepticons have long coveted this technology. You must take it seriously and hand it over to me!"

"This is Earth! Any item with military applications requires customs clearance! That is also the fundamental difference between intelligent beings and animals!"

Sentinel Prime and the Director stood toe-to-toe regarding the ownership of the Space Bridge... Witnessing this scene, Sam's resentment toward the female Director suddenly vanished.

To be honest, after the death of the Chinese-surnamed man and the fact that Mikaela was unreachable, he no longer trusted Sentinel Prime either... The female Director was standing on the exact same front line as him!

After half an hour during which neither Sentinel Prime nor the Director could reach a consensus, the two temporarily declared a truce, and Sam followed the female Director into her office.

"Alright, spit it out, kid. What on earth did you discover?"

Perhaps exhausted from arguing with Sentinel Prime, the female Director had lost her previous sharp expression and demeanor, becoming somewhat... gentle?

Sam curled his lip. As expected, people working in government departments were all black-hearted! They were all seasoned actors!

"Director, do you know Mikaela and Haoyun?"

The Director frowned. She knew Mikaela—an American, possessing speed comparable to light, holding the rank of colonel, and a key subject of surveillance. But Haoyun Potts? It seemed she had never heard of him.

"Who is Haoyun Potts?"

"Huh? You actually don't know?"

Sam was stunned. She didn't even know the strongest human on Earth? Was she really the Director of Intelligence? You've got to be kidding me! Her intelligence-gathering capability was even worse than Colonel Lennox's!

"Is he important?" The Director looked at him doubtfully. "My only responsibility is to liaise with the Autobots and guard against them. As for anyone else, as long as they don't endanger the U.S. government, I don't care. Besides, Mikaela is already the superhero who protects Earth."

"Tsk tsk, no wonder you looked down on me just now, Director. It seems you had no idea that I went through two world-saving wars."

Sam looked at the Director with pity, as if she were a pitiful creature... The Director's expression turned extremely unsightly. It seemed there really were many things she didn't know!

"I'm all ears."

The Director didn't snap back, nor did she mention that she already knew his identity and the two battles against aliens... As the Director of Intelligence, snooping for information was practically her instinctual skill!

Now that someone was offering information she didn't know, she certainly wasn't going to stop him.

After that, Sam spent half an hour recounting his experiences through the two world-saving wars... Well, aside from slightly beautifying his own role, he honestly laid out the contributions of Mikaela and Haoyun Potts detail by detail.

After all, one was his uncle and the other was his ex-girlfriend; he didn't want his backside paddled!

Listening to the story, the Director's expression flickered with uncertainty... She roughly guessed the reason Haoyun Potts had been concealed from her. First, Mikaela already existed as a verified substitute with a clear identity; second, being of Chinese descent, he would inevitably face discrimination in America.

Unwilling to share the credit with Potts and thus covering up his existence—wasn't that standard operating procedure for the U.S. military to suppress individuals?

"So you came to me now because you discovered a problem?"

Silently noting the name Potts in her heart, the female Director fell silent for a moment before speaking up again.

"Yes, I discovered that I can't contact Mikaela anymore. No, to be precise, Mikaela's communications have been hijacked by the Decepticons!"

"What?!"

The Director's expression changed drastically! Disregarding any further talk with Sam, she bolted out of the office and immediately began dialing Mikaela's cell phone right in front of him!

"Beep... beep..."

"Hello, I'm Mikaela. Who is this?"

"I am the Director of Intelligence, Colonel Mikaela. Please report to XXXXX immediately. There is intelligence that requires your presence for verification."

The Director bluntly ordered her to come in person... She didn't dare test whether the person on the other end of the line was genuine. What if, just what if an accident had occurred?

She figured that with Mikaela's capabilities, the Decepticons would at most dare to intercept her communications and shouldn't be able to actually harm her, right?

"What did you say? I didn't catch that."

"I said, report here immediately..."

"What? You want me to take charge of the aerospace rocket launch? Oh, alright, I'm heading to the space center right now..."

With an ugly expression, the Director hung up the phone. With such completely irrelevant answers, how could she not understand?

Wait, no—how dared the Decepticons intercept her phone call?

Damn it, there was a traitor in this base! Sentinel Prime was compromised!

"Sam, you're nothing more than an errand boy, a courier with zero qualifications to participate in high-level U.S. military affairs!" The Director abruptly spun around. "Take your Bumblebee and get out of here right now! Immediately!"

"Director, you..."

Sam was dumbfounded by the sudden roar. She had seemed somewhat amiable just a moment ago; why now... the attitude shift was simply too drastic!

"Get lost!"

The Director bellowed!

Carly sensed something was amiss and tugged on Sam's sleeve...

"Sam, let's leave first."

"No, I..."

"Get out!"