Over here—
Blackout swept through the surface defenses of the U.S. military base like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves.
Over there—
After seeing the terrifying scene in the surveillance room, the base commander grabbed the walkie-talkie and roared like mad: "Activate the dam defenses! Activate the dam defenses! Blast it to death! Blast this monster back into its mother's womb!"
"Don't worry about the surface base anymore!"
"Don't worry about the surface base anymore!!"
"We don't have a surface base anymore!!!"
That shrill roar brought a rapid cut in the scene.
The camera on screen moved to the northeast of the Hoover base. That was the Hoover Dam.
Yes.
The Hoover base was called the Hoover base because it sat beside the Hoover Dam.
Or rather, the greatest purpose of the Hoover base's existence was to protect the dam. A dam was an important piece of national infrastructure. If an enemy destroyed it during wartime, all kinds of problems would erupt.
However, with the development of the times and the advancement of technology, ground troops could defend against fewer and fewer threats in modern warfare. When enemies came from the sky or from afar, defense could only rely on other things — such as Little David.
Amid the base commander's shouting, a gigantic Star Destroyer-like cannon platform "grew" straight out of the mountain beside the dam. Its 36-inch muzzle aimed directly at the location of the base.
Then—
A sudden "buzz—" rang out!
The Star Destroyer cannon platform named Little David was instantly covered in electricity!
Countless streaks of blue light frantically gathered toward the muzzle!
Perhaps the sound of its "activation" was too loud.
Or maybe Cybertronian radar was simply extremely powerful.
Either way, Little David had only just begun to "charge up" when Blackout had already stopped attacking and looked toward it.
The moment that distant stare-off appeared, cries of surprise immediately rose throughout the massive theater.
"Did it sense danger?"
"It's not going to run, is it?"
"Is it that smart?"
"—"
"—"
At that moment, every audience member felt that "dodging" was the best choice when facing Little David.
Anything emitting blue fire was not to be messed with.
For example, a Gatling gun spitting blue fire.
Ahem.
Because the T-800 was also a conceptual god.
But the best choice in reality was not the best choice in a movie.
The audience outside the screen felt that the character inside the screen should dodge when facing a powerful attack?
Then as long as the character inside the screen chose to clash head-on, the audience would receive the greatest satisfaction.
That's right!
A lot of insane plots in movies were actually deliberate choices by the directors. It wasn't that they shoved their heads into a toilet, soaked them in shit and piss, and then started working. Film was the art of light and shadow, and the art of light and shadow often wasn't about logic — it was about looking cool.
So, facing Little David's lock-on, Blackout chose to stand still, lift its head, and puff out its chest.
Because there was a missile launcher on its chest.
It had heavy firepower too!
It could also exchange fire with others!
It—
Hm?
Masaka!
Just as Blackout was preparing to strike first and blow up the muzzle locking onto it, Little David moved.
"Buzz—"
With one enormous roar!
The muzzle, with a caliber of 910 millimeters! In other words, 91 centimeters! 9.1 decimeters! 0.91 meters! If you stuck heads into it, it could fit 36 big heads at once! It fired a deep-blue beam of light!
Like Master Roshi blowing up the moon!
In an instant, it swallowed Blackout, whose pupils had dilated and whose eyes glowed red!
"Oh my God! This is very cool!"
"This is so cool! This is so cool!! This is unbelievably cool!!!"
"Wow~ Wow~~ Wow~~~ This movie is shot so well!"
"So was Blackout taken out? Was Blackout taken out??"
"I don't think so. If a Transformer could be taken out that easily, Cybertronian life would be too trash, wouldn't it?"
"Compared to the Transformer, I actually want to know what weapon the U.S. military used. Is it a laser weapon?"
"It should be! Only a laser weapon could have that kind of power!"
"So American technology is already this advanced?"
"Although I don't want to admit you're right, I still have to say yes. America is the most powerful country in the world right now, bar none. Or rather, they might be the most powerful country in the entire universe, because they've already caught aliens and then burned those aliens' asses with cigarette butts—"
"What??? Americans burned aliens' asses with cigarette butts???"
"Yeah — they're the Darth Vader of this world, aren't they?"
Little David was actually a mortar developed by the United States during World War II.
At the time, the core purpose behind developing this thing was to blast the Siegfried Line away with one shot.
Mm.
You read that correctly. America developed Little David because they wanted to blow away the Siegfried Line — built with 9.31 million tons of concrete and 350,000 tons of steel — in a single shot. Who knows what the Americans were thinking.
But this thing had only just been test-fired when the Siegfried Line had already been breached by conventional forces.
So the Americans wanted to take this thing and use it against the Japanese.
Since Little David could fire a 3,650-pound shell — about 1.66 tons — in one shot, the Americans were confident they could flatten Tokyo within ten shots. After all, Fat Man was only 4.9 tons, and Little Boy was only 4.5 tons.
Put Little David on a battleship, and it could lob lightweight nuclear bombs around like firecrackers!
Unfortunately, the idea was beautiful, but reality was bony. Before Little David could show its power, Japan had already surrendered.
"—"
Because Henry Stimson had thrown out Fat Man and Little Boy first.
Since Little David had never been put into actual combat, it was normal for many people not to recognize it.
And because Little David's design was extremely cool, with a crescent-shaped tail used to adjust its firing direction and elevation, Hollywood movies drew inspiration from it for their Star Destroyer cannons.
Then—
A quick aside.
The battleship Trump wanted was actually a battleship equipped with Little David.
Or rather, the large-caliber artillery most beloved by those old white men who had experienced America's golden age was Little David.
Because when they designed this thing back then, the conventional firepower they set for it was one-third of a Little Boy.
Just imagine: when you exchange fire with someone, one shot from you wipes out half of Hiroshima. How fucking satisfying would that be?
With this thing in hand, you wouldn't even need to consider accuracy. Just blast the hell out of them and be done with it!
Back to the main topic:
Blackout's disappearance meant the end of the action scene and the beginning of the dramatic scene.
Perhaps it was because the base was too far from home.
Or maybe laser weapons didn't cause violent explosions and only quietly dissolved their targets.
Either way, David did not immediately notice that something unusual had happened at his workplace.
As the scene rapidly cut, he opened the door to his house and welcomed two beautiful women inside.
On the surface, it looked as though he had hired prostitutes. But in reality—
"Knock, knock, knock—"
"Zoe."
"Can I come in?"
He knocked on his daughter's bedroom door.
"No!"
"I'm already asleep."
The stiff reply reached his ears.
His daughter's words made David glance at the floor.
The warm orange light was like a mischievous spirit, trying hard to pass through the narrow gap under the door.
It seemed to want to escape the room's restraints and embrace greater freedom.
"But your light is still on—"
"Click."
The light went out.
Her refusal to talk left David not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He sighed softly and continued, "Zoe, I don't understand why you suddenly got angry, but I want to say that I'd like to talk to you about something serious right now."
"When I left the base, I already booked a stylist and a makeup artist for you."
"They'll help you choose your outfit for tomorrow's prom and do your look for the night."
"They're already here, so—"
"Can you let them in?"
"They're very expensive."
The careful exchange showed a father's love for his daughter.
Unfortunately, even though David appealed to her emotions and reason, Zoe inside the room gave no response at all.
But just as David, standing at the door, looked regretful and was about to accept his failure and send the stylist and makeup artist back home, there was a "creak—" and the tightly shut door opened.
Zoe was wearing a blue T-shirt, barefoot, standing on the floor.
Her smooth blond hair fell casually around her, making her face look especially small and delicate, and giving her figure an unusually pure look.
Her eyes stared straight at her old man.
Although she still didn't say anything, after pausing for a second or two, she tilted her head, lifted her chin, and moved aside. That small act of making space had already, invisibly, caught the hug coming from her old man—
"Oh! That's Margot Robbie, right? Why do I feel like — she's so pretty?"
"Yes! That's Margot Robbie! The girl who competed against Isa in the final battle of The Voice! The girl who played Dwayne Johnson's daughter in The Game Plan! The girl who acted opposite Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls! She's always been pretty! She just hasn't acted in that many movies!"
"Right, right, right! She looks great! She's really pretty!"
"The reason she isn't that famous and gets overlooked is actually simple! She's an actress under Isa, and she's also Isa's personal assistant! When every appearance she makes is connected to Isa, her fame won't increase just because her exposure increases!"
Although Margot had already acted in several hit movies and had already been the lead several times.
Her actual standing in the industry was only around B+.
There was no other reason. It was purely because her commercial value didn't match her fame.
Yes!
Although Margot was currently the actress with the highest return on investment in Hollywood, her total career salary hadn't even reached ten million, yet her cumulative career box office had already exceeded five hundred million.
A fiftyfold return on investment was something even Isabella couldn't achieve.
But everyone knew that her projects and resources had all been given to her by Isabella.
When Isabella was like the reincarnation of Lady Luck, succeeding at everything she did, Margot having a box office return ratio of fifty times?
That could only prove Isabella had a good eye!
The logic here was simple:
If Margot's success had all come from her own efforts, her current popularity would definitely be explosive!
Matching Isabella might have been a fantasy, but crushing everyone her age should have been only natural!
But the reality wasn't like that.
So, with Margot's fame not even outstanding among people her age, her achievements also had a lot of padding.
But all of that was already in the past!
Because now, she had acted in Transformers!
"Don't you think you should thank me properly?"
The discussion in the audience made Isabella quietly start talking to Margot.
Margot understood what Isabella meant and smiled. "No."
"Hm?" Isabella raised her brows.
Using the dim light from the screen, she glanced at Margot.
Just as she was about to say Margot was an ungrateful little brat, Margot had already spoken first. "Because I already renewed my contract with you for another twenty years! By the time that contract expires, I'll be forty!"
"How many forty years does a person have in their life?"
"I've already sold the first half of my life to you. Isn't it only natural for you to support me?"
"Haha—" Isabella laughed.
Margot was the first artist signed by Marmot Agency.
Although the original contract had been for six years, which seemed like a long time.
Wasn't time the sort of thing that disappeared in the blink of an eye?
It was already 2007 now!
Once next year passed, Margot could be free!
But she herself didn't want to leave. As early as Christmas last year, she had already made a wish, saying she wanted a lifetime contract with Marmot.
So Isabella renewed with her for another twenty years.
Uh—
To be honest.
In Margot's life game, there was actually no longer any option called freedom.
Because she knew a little too much.
Once she had chosen her faction in this game called Earth, unless she deleted her account—
She could only walk this path to the end for the rest of her life.
The dramatic scenes in Transformers were actually arranged very simply.
All the conflict, tension, and growth revolved around the father-daughter relationship.
Because of that, when Zoe, the heroine of the story, accepted her father's care on screen, anyone with eyes could tell the reconciliation between father and daughter was only temporary. They would definitely fall out again.
As for the reason—
Very simple.
First, if they didn't fall out, the movie would have no way to continue.
Second, the writers had already prepared the reason for their falling out.
And the truth was—
Exactly that:
The scene flashed, and Zoe, now finished with her outfit and styling, appeared at school the next day with her father.
Her youthful, beautiful figure made Zoe the most eye-catching presence in the entire school.
David's company gave the girl something to rely on even more.
Yes.
The plot here had also been changed.
In the script Isabella had read earlier, this section was supposed to show David, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, embarrassing Zoe completely. But in the story's setting, David was only a tech nerd — not an idiot.
So during the actual filming, director Michael Bay and lead actor Tom Cruise had optimized this part a little.
Although her father's company made Zoe feel happy, this happiness didn't last very long. Just before the prom was about to begin, David suddenly received a call from the base.
His colleague told him the base had been attacked the night before and had suffered heavy losses.
And the one who attacked the base seemed to be the same kind as the big fellow they were studying.
Although the base had used the Star Destroyer cannon and repelled the enemy, everyone who understood the cannon's power also understood its limits. So they didn't know whether it had affected the big guy inside the base.
Because David was the person on Earth who understood mechanical life best—
"David, can you come back now?"
"I know you may be attending your daughter's prom right now, but — we need you."
"We need you to check whether anything's gone wrong with that big guy. Because when we used Little David yesterday, we drained the entire base's electricity. We also need more information related to that big guy."
"Of course, what we want to know most is actually how that big guy's kind found it."
"And we also need to know why that big guy's kind is looking for it."
"You seemed to say before that they — are fighting among themselves?"
"..."
The sudden, explosive news stunned David!
Although he loved his daughter deeply, at this moment, he still embraced his work!
Or rather, he chose the career he loved!
When this happened, Zoe was completely dumbfounded — not only because she couldn't understand what kind of important matter had made her father decisively leave her prom, but also because the classmates around her all felt that David, moments ago, had been an actor.
"Zoe! Don't tell me you rented a father?"
"Exactly! In three years of high school, we've never seen your father come to school!"
"Did you think attending prom alone was too embarrassing? So you went next door to Hollywood and found an actor?"
"And then because your budget was limited and you couldn't pay the follow-up fee, you could only watch helplessly as he left?"
"Zoe, if you're that starved for fatherly love, you could have just told us!"
"That's right! We'd all be happy to be your daddy! You can call us daddy anytime, anywhere!"
"Including in bed—"
"Hahahaha!"
Her classmates' ridicule made Zoe furious! Burning with rage! Exploding with anger!
She screamed, "Aaaaaah—" and the skin all over her body instantly turned green!
Then, with just one punch, all the trash in front of her went to meet their great-grandmothers!
That's right!
Zoe's true identity was actually She-Hulk!
This was the Marvel world now!
Because the Transformers comics were drawn by Marvel!
Ahem, ahem, ahem—
All right, enough nonsense.
Her classmates' mockery made Zoe suddenly swing a punch. Then, tears streaming down her face, she rushed out of the school without looking back.
Right now, she had no mood to attend the prom anymore.
Right now, she only wanted to know why her old man had abandoned her.
So, driving the Chevrolet Camaro her father had given her, she headed to the base where he worked and began investigating.
Mm.
The meeting between the Autobots and the Decepticons was just that simple.
Once the dramatic plot and the action plot intersected and merged, the story that followed became extremely simple. During her exploration, Zoe came to understand her father's hard work.
During his pursuit of his dream, David came to understand his daughter's loneliness.
And while Zoe and David were reconciling, the Autobots and Decepticons, locked in a blood feud, were off fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting.
You fucking gouge out my eyes?
I'll fucking crush your balls!
You fucking strip off my underwear?
I'll fucking slit your throat!
Of course, not all the fight scenes revolved only around the Transformers.
In a movie like Transformers, humans were originally just background boards.
If no action scenes were arranged for them at all, humans would truly become background boards.
But humans couldn't become background boards.
Because the meaning of Hollywood's existence was that America wanted the whole world to know that the entire world, the entire universe, revolved around America! Without America, the entire universe would be destroyed!
So, after learning the importance of the AllSpark, the work of protecting it was always left to David and Zoe.
Car chases, parkour, dealing with little robots — all of it was thrown onto them.
At the very end, when the story reached its conclusion, Michael Bay even handed the job of killing Megatron to David.
"Zoe! Pretend you're taking the AllSpark and leave! Draw all the Decepticons away! Bumblebee, Zoe's safety is up to you!"
"What about you, Dad?"
"I'm going to take the AllSpark and find Megatron! Optimus Prime said that whether it's the Autobots or the Decepticons, none of them can absorb the AllSpark. So as long as it's shoved into Megatron's chest, Megatron will be destroyed by it!"
"But that's way too dangerous, Dad—"
"No, it isn't dangerous at all. Zoe! You have to believe in Dad! Dad will definitely come back alive!"
"Why?"
Zoe was already crying so hard she looked like pear blossoms in the rain. In her view, this separation might be farewell forever.
But David smiled, raised his hand, rubbed his daughter's head, and said very casually, "I think you should know I transferred to internal work because of your mother's death. Before I became a researcher, I was a field agent."
"Back then, my colleagues and I all called each other by code names. They called me—"
"Ethan Hunt."
"What?"
The sudden name made Zoe on the screen pause and stop crying.
Confusion flickered in her widened eyes, as though she didn't understand what her old man meant.
"What???"
The sudden name made the audience in front of the screen burst into cries of surprise. Everyone's mouths fell open as if they had seen a ghost, because—
"What did David say?? He said he's Ethan Hunt??"
"Oh my God — David is Ethan Hunt???"
"Damn — so Transformers and Mission: Impossible really are set in the same universe???"
"No way, right?? This shouldn't be real, right???"
"Oh, shit — I was wondering why David's movements were so agile when he was protecting the AllSpark just now! So he was actually Ethan Hunt? Then Megatron is dead! Megatron is definitely dead!"