Nine Ren High, One Basket Short

Egypt!

The vast desert lay in dead silence, as if time itself had stopped here. As far as the eye could see, an endless sea of yellow sand stretched all the way to the golden horizon.

Beneath the blazing sun, the monotonous yellow never changed. Scorching heat waves swept across every inch of land, and the desolation of death was suffocating, creating a despair that made it seem impossible to ever find a way out.

Boom!!!

A thunderous crash shattered the eternal silence, and several towering mechanical figures appeared in the middle of the sandy sea.

Ironhide crawled out of the sand, spat the grit from his mouth, and, without bothering to complain about the bumpy transport passage, hurried with Ratchet to dig Optimus Prime out from the sea of sand.

"How is it? Is Optimus Prime’s body all right?"

"No problem. I repaired it very securely."

"That’s good!"

Only after confirming there was no danger did Ironhide turn to look for Skyfire. He had an MMP he needed to say to the old man’s face.

But when he saw Skyfire planted headfirst in the sand with only his legs twitching in the air, he swallowed those words back down. Covering his face, he called Jazz and Sideswipe over to drag him out.

"Aha, my back, my back… Couldn’t you be gentler?" Dragged out by his legs, Skyfire was full of complaints. Old age had made him terribly talkative, and he muttered nonstop.

Ironhide and the others ignored him outright and began contacting Bumblebee, giving him their coordinates so they could rendezvous. Beneath the Decepticons’ noses, they had to be cautious beyond cautious. At the same time, they had to race against the clock to revive Optimus Prime.

"The transport location is awkward. We and Bumblebee are on opposite sides of the pyramid. It’ll take them some time to go around it."

"That’s troublesome. Time is what we lack most right now."

"But we can’t let them take risks either. We can only wait."

"Skyfire, can you transport us there?"

"I’m not that accurate!"

Ironhide cursed his bad luck inwardly. Several Autobots dragged Optimus Prime to the foot of a rocky hill, using the shadows for concealment.

The Autobots set up defensive positions around the rocky hill. During that time, Skyfire volunteered to patrol, only to be firmly shot down by Ironhide and the others.

They had no choice. Skyfire was too old, his entire body covered in patches of rust, and even transforming was extremely difficult for him. If they truly let him go out on patrol, he would surely end up like Optimus Prime.

As one of the oldest Transformers, Skyfire was from the same era as The Fallen. He possessed many pieces of equipment that the younger generation lacked. With that equipment, he could perform spatial transfers, making him immensely valuable from a strategic standpoint.

Precisely because of that, after discussing it with Jazz, Ironhide was even less willing to let Skyfire join the battle. They regarded him as the final safeguard protecting Optimus Prime.

"How many times have I told you not to underestimate me? If we really fought, I could blow you little brats apart with one hand." Upon learning of Ironhide and Jazz’s arrangements, Skyfire immediately flew into a rage. They actually wanted him to lie down beside Optimus Prime—this was the gravest insult to a warrior’s dignity he had ever suffered.

Ironhide snorted. "You could blow us apart with one hand because we know how to respect the elderly. The Decepticons don’t. They’ll beat you to death."

"That’s right. They’ll smash you into scraps until all that’s left is one limp, flexible fuel hose." Ratchet added, making no effort to hide his deep resentment.

"Just you wait. When the Decepticons show up, I’ll let you see what I’m capable of." Skyfire huffed as he left the tactical meeting. It took him half an hour to walk over to Optimus Prime, and then… he lay down right there.

"Let’s make this clear first. I just want to rest because it’s too hot. It’s definitely not because I’m tired."

No one paid him any attention. Jazz gave Sideswipe a look, telling him to keep Skyfire company so the old bot would not truly fall asleep and never wake up. Ratchet would have been better suited to the job, but Jazz simply could not relax—he was afraid Ratchet might lose patience and quietly euthanize Skyfire.

"Mr. Russell, if our position is exposed and the Decepticons find us before we rendezvous with Bumblebee and revive Optimus Prime, I hope you will immediately relocate Optimus Prime’s body. He is the leader of the Autobots. We cannot lose him."

"It’s fine. The most dangerous place is the safest place. The Decepticons definitely won’t know Optimus Prime is right beneath their noses." Seeing that several Autobots seemed to be entrusting him with their last wishes, Russell hurriedly waved his hands and urged them to think positively. "The key to this battle is still The Fallen and the Energy Matrix. As long as we deal with those two, the remaining Decepticons are nothing to fear."

Before they set out, Skyfire had already explained the Energy Matrix’s capabilities. The reason the Decepticons had occupied the pyramid was obvious: the Energy Matrix was hidden inside it.

At the same time, this intelligence had been relayed to the American government. If they did not want to lose their Mother Sun, they had better hurry up and find a way to blow up the pyramid.

Egypt had already become a fence-sitter, so no one cared about its opinion. Russell guessed America had already begun preparing to level the place with nukes. When that country went crazy, it even dared to bomb its own New York; flattening Egypt would be no pressure at all.

The other four hooligans would surely vote in favor as well. After all, it was not their country being bombed… Ahem. After all, some sacrifices were unavoidable for the preservation of human civilization.

Of course, voting was one thing. They still had to put on a show of condemning American hegemonism!

Russell gazed toward the sky above the pyramids and said quietly, "What worries me most right now is Bumblebee’s side. I just hope they’re careful and don’t let the Decepticons catch their tail…"

As for the AllSpark Key turning to sand, Russell was not worried in the slightest about what seemed to be the most unsolvable problem. The AllSpark Key turned to sand once it left Optimus Prime because the six Primes had obviously tampered with it. They would not let Optimus Prime remain dead forever. Otherwise, no one would be left to stop The Fallen, and they would not be happy about that either.

Three days later, a thunderous blast sounded in the distance. A small sun slowly rose, releasing all its energy to its heart’s content.

Then…

Then there was nothing. The intercontinental missile carrying the nuclear warhead was intercepted. It had barely left the sea and had not even entered Egyptian airspace before the Decepticons destroyed it, maliciously setting off its warhead in the process.

Soon after came two more disturbances no less massive than the first. As the three nuclear strikes failed one after another, the human side finally settled down.

To avoid leaving any traces that might alert the Decepticons, the Autobots had cut off contact with America as soon as they arrived in Egypt. Thus, Ironhide and the others had no idea what the situation was over there.

Just as the human side desperately wanted to destroy the Energy Matrix, the Autobots’ first priority was reviving Optimus Prime. They had never been on the same path to begin with. Expecting mutual trust and loyalty between them would have been utter nonsense.

"They’re here! Bumblebee and the others are very close!"

At last, around noon on the fourth day, Jazz’s excited voice reached everyone’s ears.

Russell reminded him, "Be careful. Watch out for a Decepticon trap."

Nine ren high, one basket short!

Countless people fell at the final step before success. Until victory was firmly in their grasp, they could not afford even the slightest carelessness—especially now, when it was easiest to let their guard down.

Jazz suppressed his excitement and nodded calmly. He sent Bumblebee a message, telling them to circle around nearby for now and only proceed after confirming there were no pursuers.

Because of how precious the AllSpark Key was, there were quite a few Autobots assigned to protect it: Bumblebee, Mudflap, Skids, Jolt, and the famous Arcee sisters.

Arcee! Chromia! Elita!

According to Jazz, the three female Autobots took the form of motorcycles on Earth. The red one was a Ducati 1098S, the purple one was an Agusta F4RR, and the dark blue one was a Suzuki B-KING 1300.

This left Russell deeply puzzled. Elita, one of the sisters, was Optimus Prime’s girlfriend, while Chromia had an ambiguous relationship with Ironhide. So here was the question: all three were motorcycles, and they were quite small after transforming. With bodies that size…

Half an hour later, after confirming that no Decepticons were following them, Jazz let out a heavy sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Rest assured, Mr. Russell. They are all battle-hardened warriors. They won’t give the Decepticons any opportunity to take advantage of—"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—

Before Jazz could finish, thunderous explosions erupted not far away. Russell’s sharp eyes caught more than a dozen mosquito-sized black silhouettes rushing in from the horizon. At their head was an F-22 Raptor; the rest were either Cybertronian jet fighters or F-16s.

Although the Egyptian Air Force used American-made equipment, there was no way they would have F-22 Raptors at this time, let alone Cybertronian fighters mixed among them.

There was no need to think about it. The F-22 was definitely an old acquaintance: Starscream, the Decepticons’ air combat commander.

"Damn it, it’s Starscream!"

Ironhide clenched his fists. He looked at Optimus Prime’s corpse, then at his comrades being bombarded in the distance, and said in a low voice, "Ratchet, the AllSpark Key is our only hope of saving Optimus Prime. Even if I have to give everything I have, I’ll bring it back. I’ll leave this place to you."

"Ironhide, without me on the battlefield, who’s going to give you—" Ratchet’s expression changed sharply. Just as he was about to say something, Ironhide interrupted him.

"Ratchet, you have a more important task!" Ironhide said unwaveringly. "You, Mr. Russell, and Skyfire will stay here. If necessary, relocate Optimus Prime’s body. Don’t argue. If I’m still alive, that means I’ve definitely obtained the AllSpark Key. I’ll need to serve as the contact and provide the coordinates."

"Then… be careful!" Ratchet’s clenched fist loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened again. In the end, he obeyed the arrangement.

"Jazz, Sideswipe, it’s time for us to show what we can do! Move out!!" Ironhide shouted. Transforming into a pickup truck, he charged toward the battlefield in the lead.

"Jazz received!"

"Sideswipe moving out!"

The three vehicles sped away without hesitation, leaving behind a cloud of dust rolled up by the yellow sand and Ratchet’s somewhat unwilling figure.

"Kid, if you want to go, I won’t stop you." Skyfire suddenly spoke. "I’ve been through this sort of thing too many times. I understand how you feel. If you don’t go now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!"

"No. I have a more important task." Ratchet glanced at Optimus Prime and spoke softly.

Skyfire put away his usual lecherous old-man act, his expression solemn. "You’re a warrior worthy of respect. So are they. You’re all good men."

At that moment, Russell suddenly stood up. His left hand curled slightly, and the silver Desert Eagle · Heavenly God with golden patterns appeared in his grip. He fired a Mana Bullet with enormous destructive power into the sand ahead.

Bang!!

"Ssssss! Kaka—"

The sand exploded into a huge crater, and a metallic Scorponok shot into the air. Its two massive pincers opened, firing repeatedly at Ratchet.

Scorponok!

A shield lit up around Ratchet’s body. The sudden attack blasted him backward and sent him tumbling to the ground. Scorponok’s cold electronic eyes swept over him as it prepared to launch a second attack.

Just as it was about to dive back into the sand and hide again, silver light flashed in Russell’s hand. The Adamantium Blade, coated in razor-sharp sword energy, pierced through both its shield and long tail, nailing it to the rock wall.

Crackle!!

Powerful currents surged through it. Scorponok’s entire body convulsed before it was paralyzed on the ground, unable to move. Skyfire roared, swung his fist at Scorponok’s head, and smashed it into the rock wall in a single blow, crushing it to pieces.

"Skyfire, when you were young, could you shoot down every one of those Decepticons in the sky?" Russell looked toward the distant battlefield and asked.

"Don’t underestimate me. I fought alongside the Primes back then. I don’t give a damn about this trash!"

"Then I’m relieved…" Russell held an AllSpark fragment in his palm and slowly drew out its energy. "System, use ‘Character Card: Skyfire’!"