Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 46 Must Go

She went to Iron Castle much less often.

Yin Xiang really wanted to go, but lately she couldn't afford to spend large chunks of time outside as freely as before. Although she wouldn't admit it, she knew very well that this place needed her more than ever before.

Especially since Zhen Tianzun is still in the recovery period.

So her contact with Orion gradually shifted from face-to-face interactions to back-and-forth exchanges on private channels.

At first, she was just asking about the paths to and access to information.

Gradually, it became Orian who took the initiative to search for things for her, looking up things that she couldn't easily find herself. On several occasions, she simply sent over her question, and after a while, he not only organized the relevant catalog but also sent over the old annotations and supplementary entries that were most likely to cause problems.

Some of this content, in principle, should not be directly distributed externally.

The vectors were clearly visible, so every time she opened those documents, she would feel a jolt of surprise.

Orion is a very disciplined person, but he still made the move.

She stared at that old wartime compatibility note, which clearly had higher access levels, for a long time, and finally couldn't resist typing: "Can you send this directly?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the channel before a reply came through: "Strictly speaking, it's not very likely."

She stared at the sentence for two seconds, hesitated for a moment, and then replied: 【Then why did you send it?】

Orion stopped for a little longer this time.

Then new messages pop up.

You're not available to come right now.

But you clearly need these now.

In just two short sentences, without any further explanation, he calmly stated the facts.

Yin Xiang sat in front of the terminal in the second-floor study, staring at the two lines of text, his fingertips hovering over the interface for a long time.

Orion has always been very sensible, and his initiative at this moment makes it all the more clear.

Her final reply was simply: "Thank you."

Unlike Red Spider, Orion didn't immediately respond with a "thank you," but instead replied with a very gentle remark.

As you mentioned before, I can help in any way I can.

After a while, another one appeared.

Therefore, this does not constitute crossing the line.

Looking at that sentence, Yin Zongxiang suddenly felt like laughing.

Even if someone wants to help, they have to explain the boundaries to her first.

It's really rare to find something so normal.

She replied: "Okay."

I'll treat you to a meal later, otherwise I'll feel bad.

The reply came quickly: "Okay, I'm looking forward to it."

After reading this sentence, the unease and gloom that had been weighing on Yin Xiang's heart were relieved a little.

-

On the other end of the sound wave, it was she herself who couldn't help herself.

Two days later, Zhen Tianzun's condition stabilized a bit. After finishing the set of compatibility logic sent by Red Spider at night, she leaned back in her study chair and suddenly remembered the moment when Soundwave looked up at the entrance of the recovery area that day.

That glance was ultimately etched clearly in her mind.

Vector stared at the private frequency band of Soundwave in his terminal for a long time before finally clicking on it.

She originally wanted to write casually, not as if she were specifically concerned.

After deleting and revising for a long time, what was sent out was still a very dry sentence.

How are things on your end?

After sending it, she paused for three seconds to be quiet.

Then I cursed myself in my heart.

...The way you're asking this sounds too much like a follow-up call.

It was too late to back down, so she could only wait with her arms crossed. After a short while, the other end of the frequency finally lit up.

The sound waves returned in their usual style.

【Stablize.】

After a one-second pause, another one appeared.

[Undergoing recovery.]

As Yin Xiang looked down at those two sentences, the spark that had been hanging in the air slowly died down.

She casually replied: "That's fine then."

After sending the message, she was about to close the interface when a new message popped up on the other end.

You took the initiative to contact them.

The vector was stunned for a moment.

She stared at those five words, and a question mark popped into her mind.

The machine on the other end probably really didn't expect her to ask that question first.

She gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth and replied without much politeness.

What else?

You're so badly injured.

This time, the sound wave did not respond immediately.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the frequency band before a sentence slowly emerged:

【receive. 】

...That's it?

I almost laughed when I saw the vector.

She stared at those two words for a long time, then finally sighed softly and rubbed her head.

That's incredibly sonic.

-

By the third day of his recovery, Zhen Tianzun was able to leave the repair pod and move around slowly in the underground training room.

My movements haven't fully recovered yet; my left arm and right shoulder haven't returned to their original state, and the newly sealed area on my chest and abdomen is still in the adaptation period. But at least it won't be like the previous two days, where I would feel noticeably sluggish when I stood up.

The attitude of the vector is quite clear on this matter.

"You can move, but don't go crazy."

After listening, Zhen Tianzun looked down at her and said, "You're getting more and more nosy."

Vector was sitting on a metal box next to the training room, looking down at the data sent by Orian, and didn't even look up when he heard this.

"It's not that I'm being nosy, it's just that your self-awareness has always been inaccurate."

"Where is my understanding inaccurate?"

"You even wanted to adjust the gravity parameters of the training platform yourself yesterday."

He remained silent for two seconds without refuting it, because it was true.

He had indeed just come out of the repair pod yesterday and was trying to walk towards the training platform. The vector immediately stopped him and even bluntly commented, "You're not even walking smoothly yet, don't rush to throw your repair progress back."

Zhen Tianzun's expression wasn't good at the time, but in the end, he didn't go over.

After returning the data, he finally looked up at him.

Zhen Tianzun was standing next to the repair pod. Most of the outer armor had been reworked, and the cracks were much better repaired than they had been two days ago, but the marks of the injury were still there.

She looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly said, "You've been quieter than usual these past few days."

Zhen Tianzun looked at her: "Aren't you used to it?"

"A little," the vector said honestly. "I find it strange that you don't insult me."

A faint smile flickered in Zhen Tianzun's eyes.

"Then your brain module must not have passed quality inspection when it left the factory."

She rolled her eyes at him, but let him have his way because he was injured.

Zhen Tianzun watched her continue processing the data, and though he didn't say anything, he knew in his heart that he was quiet because he was really enjoying himself.

He enjoyed having her by his side, enjoyed her managing the recovery rhythm, enjoyed her wandering back and forth between the underground training room and the second floor whenever she had time, and even enjoyed her complaining that he was annoying while clearly arranging the high-concentration energy liquid, repair parameters and rest time.

Tsk, he's living a life where he has to worry about him.

-

On the fourth day, news suddenly came from Red Spider's side.

There is only one sentence in the private frequency band.

Come to Qingqiu City tomorrow.

When Yin Xiang looked down, his brow immediately furrowed.

She replied quickly.

[Wasn't it said that we'd be doing remote work for now?]

This time, Red Spider replied almost without hesitation:

[It's been changed now.]

You must come.

The tone was too harsh, unlike Red Spider's usual "I'm too lazy to explain, so I'll just give the order" style. It seemed more like this time she really had no room for negotiation.

Yin Xiang stared at those two lines of text, and the feeling that had been slightly calming down due to the recovery period was suddenly tightened again.

She continued typing: 【Why?】

This time, the other side paused for a moment.

After a while, a message popped up: "You'll know when you get here."

The next one is even more direct.

Don't ask.

You absolutely must come this time.

The sensor fins on the top of her head throbbed nervously.

wrong.

This wasn't a typical "come to handle work" situation, nor was it that Red Spider simply wanted to drag her back to the tech area to be his slave. She was all too familiar with Red Spider's impatience.

This time, the matter was already settled; she was just the last to be notified.

Yin Vector slowly lowered the terminal and stood quietly in the second-floor study for a few seconds.

The sky outside the window had already darkened considerably, and the light from the city of Calon spread from afar, casting layers of shadow between the metal buildings and making the entire lower city area appear even darker.

The unease in her heart gradually surfaced.

She felt that leaving this home and leaving Zhen Tianzun's side now was too untimely.

The arena has been unusually quiet lately.

After the management came to her door, they didn't take any further action and didn't do anything openly, which made her feel that those rusty integrated circuit companies were still waiting for her.

At this time, she was summoned to Qingqiu City...

It was so coincidental that it was hard for her to believe there wasn't some other arrangement involved.

She stood still, and her brain quickly pieced together the threads of recent events.

If they could just pick the perfect moment when she was away, that would be the perfect opportunity for them to strike.

Yin Xiang lowered her head and looked at the few lines of text on the terminal again. The flame in her chest slowly sank.

I was most likely sent away this time.

Behind the arena, a massive spiderweb awaits its prey.

She stood in the study on the second floor, motionless for a long time.

Until the voice of Zhen Tianzun came from behind.

"You've been standing there for a long time."

The vector paused, then turned around.

Zhen Tianzun was already standing at the doorway sometime earlier. His left arm and right shoulder were still moving a little awkwardly, but his posture was much more stable than a couple of days ago. He looked at her, his light blue optical glasses expressionless, but he had clearly seen through her earlier state.

"Red Spider?" he asked.

The vector looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and finally turned the terminal away.

Zhen Tianzun glanced at the few lines of text, his expression remained unchanged, but his gaze darkened.

The room fell silent.

What was originally just her own unease circulating within the brain module has now, like something finally landing, become something that can be seen by both machines simultaneously.

The vector opens first, and the sound is not loud.

"I have to go."

Zhen Tianzun hummed in agreement: "I know."

"But I really don't like this time of year."

Me too.

The two machines stared at each other for a while, but neither of them said anything more.

The vector head lowers, and the terminal is slowly retracted.

She knew that the few days of relative peace were about to end.