Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 44

The cheers in the arena seemed to be about to overturn the entire arena.

Yin Vector stood high up backstage, surrounded by deafening roars that seemed to shatter the audio receivers, but she only stared at the deafening sound of Zhen Tianzun in the arena.

He was still standing there, but he was no longer the same as before, standing there with an arrogant smile and covered in energy liquid.

Not far away, Soundwave was kneeling on one knee, even this posture was difficult and forced.

The referee's announcement finally rang out.

The commentator's voice was on the verge of cracking, while the audience erupted in cheers.

The indexable vector remained unchanged.

In that instant, she instinctively took half a step forward, her foot already out of the way, before she abruptly stopped.

She can't go down now.

If she were to rush from backstage at this moment and be the first to help Zhen Tianzun in full view of everyone, then the already increasingly undeniable relationship between her and Zhen Tianzun would be laid bare before the management and the audience.

By then, those scum in the arena won't need to test her anymore; they'll simply side with Zhen Tianzun and target her more precisely.

The vector gripped the high metal railing tightly, shrinking the optical lens again and again, but in the end, it stubbornly nailed itself to the spot.

Wait a little longer.

She watched as Zhen Tianzun slowly took his first step amidst the roars of the crowd.

Then the second step, the third step.

He didn't let any machines get close, nor did he show any sign that he needed help. Under the watchful eyes of the entire stadium and the audience, he walked step by step towards the backstage passage.

Even if he wins by the last breath, he still has to walk this path himself.

This is fame, and it is also dignity.

Standing on high, she waited until the silver-gray figure finally disappeared from view of the arena before turning around and rushing towards the nearest passage backstage.

-

The area near the back-end entrance became busy.

Emergency medical officers from the standby area had arrived, and stretchers and mobile repair tables were being pushed out, with rows of identification lights illuminating. Knockout was also there, his red, white, and black armor standing out starkly against the cold lights, his movements more efficient than ever before.

As soon as the vector turned into the passage, it saw that Zhen Tianzun had already walked inside.

He looks worse now than he did on the field earlier.

Once removed from the audience seats and the lights, the forced sense of completeness immediately weakened.

The problem with the right shoulder joint was more obvious than she could see from above, and the position of her left hand holding the shield had also begun to sag. The cracks in her chest, abdomen, and side waist were spreading all the way down, and energy fluid was dripping down along the edge of the outer armor, leaving a trail of marks on the ground.

He was basically dragging the machine forward by sheer willpower.

Without uttering a sound, and without further thought, the vector charged straight ahead.

There were no audience members here, no eyes watching from above, and no need for her to act out any "don't get too close" trope.

She grabbed Zhen Tianzun's still-intact arm and used her shoulder to steady him.

Zhen Tianzun paused noticeably and looked down at her.

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, the vector said in a low voice, "Stop showing off, come a little closer."

Zhen Tianzun seemed to want to say something, but only let out a low groan, and in the end did not push her away.

This already speaks volumes, because if Zhen Tianzun were still stubborn as usual, he would never be so quiet.

Knockout had already arrived with two paramedics. After a quick glance at Zhen Tianzun's condition, the usual nonchalant smile on his face vanished, and he spoke decisively.

"Don't just stand there, take it inside first."

"Don't touch the left shoulder, put the weight on the right side, quick."

The two medical officers immediately stepped in to take over, and the vector force helped to shift the center of gravity of the Heavenly Venerable. The Heavenly Venerable was very heavy, and as the weight pressed down, even without the vector force saying anything, everyone knew what was happening.

He's really close to his limit.

-

Once the emergency room door closed, the room completely switched to the rhythm of the medical officers.

The vector didn't get in the way, which is a problem.

She's not completely clueless now. After learning from Red Spider for so long, she can understand the basic structure and local damage, and she can even lend a hand with simple disassembly and auxiliary calibration.

This isn't a routine maintenance check; this is an emergency, a race against time.

At times like these, what she knows is far from enough.

She stood quietly to one side of the door.

Sounds kept coming from inside the door: the soft clatter of instruments sliding, the rapid reporting of damage locations, the clicking of repair fluid and the connection of the damage control module, and the occasional command.

She stared at the lit sign outside the emergency room, the whole machine tense.

He had come out once after being knocked down, his outer armor edge smeared with fresh energy fluid, and he was holding a newly updated damage reading. As soon as he came out, he saw that the Graviton was still standing in the same spot, his posture almost unchanged.

He looked at her for two seconds, but tried his best to maintain his usual tone.

"The way you're acting right now," he said slowly, "is like you're putting pressure on the emergency room with your gaze."

The vector looked up at him, and the first question it asked was still, "How is he?"

He turned the data panel in his hand, not showing it to her, and simply replied, "Not dead yet. You can stop looking at that expression of wanting to rush into the resuscitation pod."

Ignoring his teasing remark, the vector continued to stare at him.

Knocked down, she clicked her tongue softly under his gaze, and finally said something serious.

"I was badly injured, but I pulled through," he said. "This match wasn't meant to end gracefully anyway, so it's already absurd that I was able to walk backstage standing up."

The guiding flame dipped slightly, and he whispered, "I know."

"I know you're still standing here like you're trying to stare the door through."

As he spoke, the light mirror swept across her face, his tone still arrogant, but a little softer than usual.

"Don't worry. Although your guy has a foul mouth, is annoying, and always acts like the whole world owes him a fusion cannon shot, he's actually pretty hard to kill."

Pointer vector: "..."

She was still holding back her anger, but the phrase "your man" made her swallow back some of it.

"Could you please stop using such inappropriate language at a time like this?"

"No," Knockout answered smoothly. "Besides, it's too late to worry about that now."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at her again and finally said something that could only be considered a consolation: "If there were really a problem, I wouldn't have time to waste talking nonsense with you right now."

That statement is really useful.

With the vector in place, the entire machine finally relaxed a little.

He knocked her down and didn't say anything more to her. He turned around and went back into the emergency room.

-

The vector was pulled a little while later.

The lights in the emergency room were still on, and the noise inside hadn't stopped.

As she stood there, the tension in her brain module eased slightly, and she finally remembered something else.

Sound waves.

She glanced instinctively at the other side of the medical area.

The emergency room over there wasn't as busy as this one, and it was much quieter.

He stood there for two seconds, then finally turned around and walked away.

She wouldn't suddenly be overcome with sympathy, and those earlier, irritating tests and erratic behaviors hadn't been completely erased. But she knew that the sound waves had indeed compensated her, reminded her later, and offered help at certain times. Besides, in today's match, he too had been forced into it by those brain-module-saturated people in the arena.

She wouldn't insist on dividing her emotions too rigidly at a time like this.

So she went anyway.

The emergency room door had just opened once, and the medical staff inside had already moved back quite a bit, indicating that the most dangerous stage had passed.

Yin Vector stood at the door and glanced inside.

Soundwave lay on the repair table, the cracks in its outer armor already partially sealed, but the chest and side armor still bore obvious signs of recent repairs. Laserbird wasn't there; it had probably been sent away for separate treatment. The light shone on its dark-colored body, making it look as if the entire machine had been disassembled and reassembled.

She didn't go inside; she just stood at the door for a moment.

Just as she was about to look away, the screen inside suddenly lit up.

The sound waves awoke.

He wasn't fully awake, but briefly regained consciousness from his semi-recovery state. When he turned his gaze and saw her, his screen-like facial structure showed no additional reaction.

The vector remained unchanged.

The two machines, separated by a not-so-distant distance, glanced at each other.

No one spoke, and there was no further explanation.

But in that one glance, they both understood something.

You saw me, and I saw you.

The vector first looked away, without going in or lingering, and turned back to Zhen Tianzun's side.

-

When they returned to the emergency room of Zhen Tianzun, it was no longer as chaotic as before.

After being knocked down, it came out again. This time, there was much less energy liquid on its outer armor, and the machine finally calmed down a bit from its busiest period.

He raised an eyebrow as soon as he saw the return of the gravitational vector.

"So you finally decided to come back," he said. "I thought you were going to take care of the other one too."

Vector's lips twitched: "Stop being sarcastic."

Knockdown gave a soft hum and didn't tease her about it for too long, only saying, "It's almost stabilized. We can transfer to the recovery pod in a while."

"May I come in?"

"Yes, you can. But don't cause trouble."

"When have I ever caused trouble?"

He looked at her, then actually thought about it seriously for half a second: "Your very existence is sometimes quite chaotic."

Pointer vector: "..."

She's getting more and more used to these guys' annoying remarks all the time.

By the time Zhen Tianzun was transferred to the recovery pod, it was already very late.

The main event was originally a night show, and with all the commotion beforehand, by the time the emergency treatment, initial repairs, and basic stabilization were completed, the entire arena outside was already mostly quiet.

The audience had long since dispersed, and the backstage area was no longer as hot and humid as it had been in the front; only the lights of the night shift and a few staff members coming and going remained.

The lights in the recovery chamber were dim, and the light from the repair fluid swept across the translucent walls, making the lines on Zhen Tianzun's face appear softer than usual.

He still looks quite badly injured.

Most of the outer cracks have been sealed, but the internal linkages and wear and tear cannot be completely corrected so quickly. The position of the shoulder line and left arm is still a bit unnatural.

The vector sat down beside him, quietly keeping watch.

She kept watch until the night was almost over.

I knocked him down twice in the middle, checked the parameters and recovery rate, and when I came back for the last time, I saw that the index vector hadn't moved yet, so I finally made a sarcastic remark.

"You haven't closed your optical glasses all night, have you?"

"no."

"How touching." Knockout's tone was laced with a lazy, teasing tone. "Anyone who didn't know better would think that the recovery pod contained your tinder container."

Vector didn't bother arguing with him and simply asked, "When can he leave?"

He glanced at the parameters screen and said, "Theoretically, it would be more stable if it stayed here a little longer. But do you think it's the kind of machine that would stay here obediently until dawn?"

The vector remained silent; the answer was obvious.

Knocked down, he knew it too, so he just shrugged and said in a light tone, "Once he recovers enough to stand on his own, he'll probably start complaining about the poor environment, the noisy equipment, and the annoying medical staff, and then he'll insist on going back to his own territory."

He paused, tilted the mirror towards her, and smiled with a hint of amusement.

"Then it will be your turn to carry this powerful weapon back."

Yin Vector glanced at Zhen Tianzun, who wasn't fully awake in the recovery pod, paused for two seconds, and finally said honestly, "I think I might really have to tough it out."

Knockout was amused by her answer and didn't continue to tease her. He lazily added, "Then make sure he doesn't fall on the way. Although he's not as heavy as usual, it'll still hurt you for a while if he falls."

-

Around midnight, Zhen Tianzun finally woke up.

The walls of the recovery chamber slowly opened, the repair fluid receded, and his first reaction upon opening his optical glasses was to frown.

Clearly, he wasn't satisfied with the fact that he had spent so much time in the arena's recovery pod.

Before Yin Xiang could say anything, Zhen Tianzun spoke in a low voice.

"go back."

Just two words, and the meaning is very clear.

The vector looked at him: "Are you sure you can recover on your own in your current state?"

Zhen Tianzun propped himself up on the edge of the cabin, his movements were noticeably sluggish, but he still managed to sit up.

"able."

The vector stared at him for two seconds, and finally gave a very blunt assessment: "What you're saying doesn't sound very credible."

Zhen Tianzun looked up at her, his optical glasses still carrying a hint of the lingering chill from when he had just woken up.

"That's still better than staying here."

……Fine.

This was the Zhen Tianzun she knew.

She stepped aside slightly to wait for him to emerge from the recovery pod. When Zhen Tianzun landed, the entire machine shook slightly, but it didn't tip over, and he didn't appear too disheveled.

The next second, Yin Xiang naturally stepped forward and supported him.

Zhen Tianzun looked down at her, as if he wanted to say no.

The vector spoke first: "Shut up, lean against me."

Zhen Tianzun: "..."

This time, he actually didn't say anything, probably knowing that if he continued to talk back, it would only slow him down further.

So the two planes slowly moved outwards.

The arena was quiet in the early hours of the morning. Most of the arena was already dark, with only the guide lights in a few corridors still on. Along the way, we occasionally encountered night shift staff, who, upon seeing Zhen Tianzun and Yin Vector, wisely refrained from asking any questions.

The return journey was quite long.

Given that Zhonya's current state wasn't suitable for him to be in any vehicle form, he was simply thrown back. Vector practically half-carried, half-lifted him all the way home.

As the door closed, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders and back.

After finally managing to safely drag this incredibly heavy weapon of mass destruction back to their own territory from the arena, the breath that had been clenched was finally able to be released a little.

There was already a repair pod in the underground training room.

The vector was familiar with that area, and the Thunder God himself knew how to get there. The two machines slowly descended to the basement, and by the time they finally placed him back into the repair pod, it was almost dawn outside.

The cold white restoration light swept over his wounds and structural lines again.

As the vectoring unit stood by the cabin, the entire machine belatedly realized that the fatigue from not resting all night was beginning to creep up its joints.

She didn't leave; she just stood there, watching the repair chamber slowly start up, the optical mirror reflecting layers of lit parameter lines.

Zhen Tianzun half-reclined into the cabin, glancing at her before closing his eyes.

"You didn't get any rest all night."

Yin Xiang leaned against him, his voice lowering: "You haven't had a quiet night either."

Zhen Tianzun snorted softly, clearly lacking the energy to argue with her any longer, and simply said, "Go upstairs and sleep."

"I'll go once things are settled here."

"……trouble."

"Is this the first day you've met me?"

Zhen Tianzun did not answer again.

The repair bay walls slowly closed, and through the semi-transparent material, she could still see the horribly damaged, yet still victorious, silver-gray aircraft inside.

The vector stood still, looked around for a while, and finally exhaled a breath that was a mixture of exhaustion, lingering fear, and a bit of breath that had finally been allowed to surface.

Fortunately.

Damn it, thank goodness I came back alive.