Even If Only 24 Hours Remained, I Still Wanted to Stay

"This presence… it was you…"

The Fallen’s eyes widened. He sensed the presence of the other Primes within Russell. Those six lingering bastards were coming for him.

He instinctively used telekinesis to resist, only to discover in horror that Russell’s telekinesis, which had been gradually weakening, had suddenly become active as if awakened by the AllSpark.

It was not Russell’s telekinesis at all. The six Primes were joining forces to pressure him!

It was not just telekinesis. The Fallen also found the Magnetic Field around him in chaos and the spatial strings disordered. His entire body had been locked down, and he could not activate spatial jumping.

"No! You can’t do this! I’m the last one left!"

"No—"

As death approached, The Fallen immediately let out a furious roar. But it was useless. The six guys had finally caught this chance—how could they possibly stop and spare him?

Russell: "…"

Russell stood there in utter despair. He wanted to lie down, but he could not. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the six Primes only he could see. The six dead gays surrounded him, some pressing down on his shoulders, others holding his hand. Their six pairs of eyes gazed at him affectionately as they urged him to stab.

Russell did not want to stab The Fallen to death, but his body was no longer under his control. The six Primes first lavishly praised his reverence for life, saying it was admirable that he was even willing to leave a path of survival for a villain like The Fallen. Then they said that since Russell was unwilling to kill, the six of them would bear the karmic consequences. Together, they pressed down on Russell’s hand, and with a clang, drove the blade down.

Crack!

A ceramic-like shattering sound rang out. The Fallen’s body jolted, and his scarlet electronic eyes flickered for several seconds before finally going completely dark.

Ding!

Host completed World Quest. Personally eliminated Cybertron mechanical lifeforms: 20/20. Calculating quest rewards.

...

Ding!

Rewards as follows: 6 Free Attribute Points, 40,000 Wealth Points, 3 Lottery Draws

...

Host: Russell

Strength: 55 (34+21)

Constitution: 70 (56+14)

Intelligence: 88 (69+19)

Wealth: 92,300

...

Ding!

Host has completed the World Quest. You may immediately end the world progression or remain in this world. Maximum stay time: 24 hours. Please make your decision as soon as possible.

...

A decision?

What was there to decide? Even if only 24 hours remained, I still wanted to stay!

Russell silently made his choice. At the same time, he took out the AllSpark fragment and loaded every bit of information within it into his body in one go. There was not much time left anyway. Learning even a little was better than nothing; wasting it was still better than having none.

The Fallen’s corpse lay limp on the ground. Russell put away his eight blades, deployed the weapons on his arms, and bombarded it relentlessly. He did not stop until it had been blown into fragments.

While he desperately sorted through the information in his mind, Optimus Prime suddenly rose from the sand. The Autobot leader had been useless the whole time. Russell rolled his eyes at him, then closed his eyes and quietly pondered.

The younger Skyfire had merged with Megatron, and the resulting Transformer was incredibly powerful. Its ability to load the AllSpark fragment’s information was absurdly strong as well.

With time running out, Russell treasured every second. Although retaining the information had nothing to do with willpower and was entirely beyond his control, making an effort to organize it was useless, but…

Humans were creatures prone to wishful thinking. Russell felt it was better to show the right attitude. Maybe the AllSpark information would see how diligently he was studying, decide he had potential, and happily stay behind rather than leave.

It was not impossible!

"Mr. Russell, you saved me once again. You also saved the universe from The Fallen." Optimus Prime glanced at the scattered remains on the ground. Though relieved, he could not help feeling wistful. The Fallen had indeed been utterly evil, but he also represented Cybertron’s former glory.

With his death, Cybertron’s glory had truly come to an end!

"Mr. Russell?"

Optimus Prime called out several times, but Russell gave no response. Alarmed, as if he had thought of something terrifying, he swung his fist and smashed it hard into Russell’s face.

Splat!

Russell felt a sharp pain in his face, then the world spun around him. He rolled who knew how many times before crashing heavily onto the ground.

"Fuck! Optimus Prime, are you insane?"

Russell poked his head out of the sand, spat out the grit in his mouth, and hurriedly backed away when he saw Optimus Prime approaching with his fist clenched again.

"Mr. Russell, just now… could The Fallen’s lingering consciousness have invaded your spark?"

Russell: "…"

Your imagination was wild!

Russell glared viciously at Optimus Prime, rubbed his face, and complained, "If you’d hit that hard earlier, The Fallen would’ve been beaten to death by you already."

With that single punch from Optimus Prime, at least half the information in Russell’s head was gone. He would not have been able to read even a tenth of it in 24 hours anyway, so it made little difference, but it still hurt to see it disappear!

"Mr. Russell, this is no time for jokes. Your condition is very dangerous…"

Russell raised a hand to cut Optimus Prime off and said bluntly, "Stop overthinking it. The Fallen was killed by the six Primes working together. Even if any lingering consciousness remained, it would be tangled up with the Primes."

"The Primes…" Optimus Prime slowly nodded. "No wonder you were able to kill The Fallen. So the Primes acted personally."

Optimus Prime did not question it. Clearly, he knew the Primes still existed.

"Mr. Russell, did The Fallen reveal where the Energy Matrix was hidden before he died?" Optimus Prime abruptly changed the subject. "As long as the Energy Matrix exists, the Decepticons’ ambitions will not be extinguished. We must destroy it."

"The Primes acted too quickly. The Fallen did not even have time to leave last words. As for the other Decepticons…" Russell tapped his chest. "Megatron has already merged with me. With the Decepticons having lost their leader, they will fall into internal chaos for a long time. The time has come for you Autobots to strike back."

Optimus Prime froze. He stared blankly at Russell’s chest, his eyes filled with confusion. For a long time, he could not say a word.

"Also, I probably won’t be able to help much from here on out." Russell shrugged. "The Sorcerer Supreme sent me a message saying my vacation is over and ordering me to return within 24 hours."

"What?"

"Once I leave, I may head straight into another dimension. Because of turbulent space-time currents, I don’t know when my next vacation will be. It might be tens of thousands of years from now." Russell patted Optimus Prime on the shoulder, spouting nonsense. "If Cybertron’s civil war still hasn’t ended by then, and you’re still alive, I’ll consider lending the Autobots a hand."

Optimus Prime did not know how to respond. "That… that would be…"

"Oh, I suddenly remembered something." Russell’s expression turned serious as he said solemnly, "Although I did not obtain any information about the Energy Matrix, when I fought The Fallen, I unexpectedly learned of another plot involving him and Sentinel Prime."

"What was it?" Optimus Prime’s breath caught. The Fallen’s misdirection really had been concealing another scheme.

"The Space Bridge!"

"Could it be that Sentinel Prime…"

"Sentinel Prime has colluded with the Decepticons. He plans to use the Space Bridge to transport Cybertron to Earth and turn Earth into the Transformers’ new habitat."

Optimus Prime’s eyes flew wide open, blue light blazing within them. "This is bad. The Fallen delayed us for so long. Sentinel Prime may be close to succeeding already."

He could not imagine what would happen if the Space Bridge was completed. Countless ferocious Decepticons would descend upon Earth—what kind of tragedy would unfold?

"We must stop him!"

Russell asked, "Based on what you know about Sentinel Prime and the Space Bridge, where would he choose to act?"

Optimus Prime thought for a moment, then shook his head dejectedly. "I’m sorry. Sentinel Prime created the Space Bridge. Before it was ever used even once, he vanished with it. You could say that no one on Cybertron knows exactly how the Space Bridge works except Sentinel Prime."

"Then can you sense Sentinel Prime’s presence?" A sharp gleam flashed in Russell’s eyes. There were only 24 hours left. He had to farm a few cards. Sentinel Prime, Soundwave, and Shockwave were all prominent figures—surely they could trigger Lottery Draws.

"I can, but only within a limited range. He is too far away right now."

"Okay, then let me help you one more time!"

Russell placed a hand on Optimus Prime’s shoulder. Electric Arc surged as he began activating spatial transfer.

It did not matter that he did not know Sentinel Prime’s exact location. Russell had a rough idea. He had already developed a pattern for events like aliens invading Earth.

First, it had to be somewhere in America. No doubt about it!

Second, America had many cities, but there were really only New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—the top three major cities in America. If aliens were invading Earth, it was basically going to happen somewhere within that range.

---

New York!

Fifth Avenue! The Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Three Transformers robots, each around ten meters tall, stood facing each other. The red Autobot was Sentinel Prime, while the other two, Decepticons radiating cold air, were Soundwave and Shockwave.

As two of the Decepticons’ three giants, Soundwave and Shockwave were just as cold and ruthless as Starscream, but they were fundamentally different from him.

Loyalty!

The two were Megatron’s right-hand men. One handled intelligence, while the other was responsible for scientific research and military command. Though they did not get along particularly well, they would not hesitate to give their lives for any order from Megatron.

Sentinel Prime coldly glanced at the two, knowing they were monitoring him. "All the transmission pillars have arrived at their designated locations. We will rebuild Cybertron on this planet. So… exactly when can we begin?"

Soundwave did not like talking, and Shockwave was even colder. The two remained silent for a long time before Soundwave finally spoke. "Megatron has not sent word yet. We must wait until The Fallen obtains the Matrix Key. Until then, all you need to do is wait."

"Hmph! Don’t get one thing wrong!"

Sentinel Prime snorted. "I am cooperating with you for Cybertron’s sake, but I will not follow your arrangements. Remember that clearly."

Another stretch of silence followed. The two masters of awkward silence exchanged looks for a while before Soundwave spoke again. "We are cooperating with you for Cybertron’s sake as well. Otherwise, why do you think you can still stand here alive?"

"That is for the best. Otherwise, I might feel reluctant when I crush your sparks." Sentinel Prime said bluntly, "At most, I’ll wait one more hour. I will not keep waiting after that!"