vncnus Chapter 128 Big Fish Eats Little Fish
Chapter 128 Big Fish Eats Little Fish
The Thunder Rescue Team was deployed to Tagan Heights so many times that they practically lived there.
Battle reports from Tagan Heights were always brief and concise.
[Mission Complete.] [Position Recaptured.] [Team Members Damaged.] [Awaiting Repair.] [Replenishment Required.]
Jack commented directly: "The battle report is written as if it's deliberately trying to save storage space."
The partition was attaching temporary fasteners to the crack in the wave-shaped fuselage when he heard this. He glanced at him and asked, "What do you want them to write?"
Jack pulled the knife behind his back and patted the green grenade at his waist: "At least you have to write that we're cool."
Pello let out a short laugh, but was startled into silence by the sound of the wrench being slammed onto the repair table by the ambulance.
The ambulance driver didn't even look up: "If anyone in the repair shed keeps talking about how handsome they are, I'll make them use a faceplate to repair the transport bridge!"
The repair shed immediately fell silent.
"His temper is getting worse and worse," the jack whispered.
The waves replied softly, "You made a significant contribution."
The jack pretended not to hear.
In the distance, a new red marker appeared on Tagang Heights, and Tongtianxiao's transfer order soon arrived.
[Thunder Rescue Team, preparing to relocate to the south side of the Broken Ridge Battery.]
-
The Decepticons also saw this constantly tearing battle line.
Megatron stood in front of the strategic projection, watching the map of Tagan Heights change color continuously between red and purple and red and blue.
One relay station was recaptured by the Autobots, two Decepticon mines were lost, three transport bridges were blown up by the Autobots, and another Decepticon turret was activated.
Red Spider stood to the side with his arms crossed, his tone clearly impatient: "Continuing to fight like this will only waste our troops in those mines and broken bridges."
Shockwave's monocular optical lens reflects the war zone data.
"Correct assessment. The Taggan Heights are currently in a prolonged stalemate. The effectiveness of conventional troop deployments is declining."
Red Spider looked at him, his opinion of Shockwave running high ever since the Qingqiu City incident: "Finally, you're going to tell the truth?"
Shockwave ignored his sarcasm: "A larger, sustained suppressive force is needed."
Megatron pondered, knowing full well that the problem with Targon Heights was that it had too many weaknesses.
Each position can be breached, yet none is sufficient to determine the entire battle line. Regular troops that capture one position will quickly be overtaken by another. Tank convoys can break through local defenses, but cannot maintain control of an entire high ground for long.
Greater and more direct measures are needed to prevent the front lines from repeatedly bouncing back.
The shockwave brought up another set of files—the gladiatorial record, the championship match, Hercules.
Red Spider's gaze paused slightly.
Soundwave stood in the shadows, and Laserbird appeared as a normal piece of armor on his chest.
In the projection, an old image of Hercules flashed by.
That was a record from a long time ago. The arena lights, the deafening cheers, the massive machine, the heavy impact as it crashed through the barriers, and the sound that shook the entire arena when it finally fell.
Megatron stared blankly at the video footage. She was still by his side then, before the war even began.
The sound of the shockwave rose steadily, interrupting his thoughts.
"Hercules' remains are preserved in the deep armory of Charon. The structural strength remains higher than expected. If reconstructed using combiner technology, it can be used as a heavy breaching unit."
Red Spider raised an eyebrow, then abruptly turned to look at him: "You're going to turn a corpse into a weapon?"
Shockwave's tone remained icy: "The wording is inaccurate. It should be 'recover high-value combat structures.'"
Red Spider sneered, "That sounds much more civilized now."
Megatron stared at the Devastator projected on the screen for a long time.
"Execute," Megatron said finally.
Shockwave nodded slightly: "Received."
Sound wave recording command.
The projector was turned off, and the light in the command room dimmed.
Red Spider crossed his arms, the wings were a little taut.
He certainly wouldn't stand up for a corpse, but for a moment, he realized that the war had begun to move beyond just the living soldiers.
-
Hercules was restarted, and the sound of mechanical arms moving echoed in the deep armory of Charon, with welding lights flashing again and again.
Shockwave is responsible for overall reconstruction, sound wave is responsible for data synchronization, and knockdown is responsible for external armor integration and transmission port adaptation.
Knocked down, standing at the edge of the repair platform, looking at the massive armor plates being reattached, the resentment on his visor was impossible to hide.
"This isn't even a repair."
Shockwave's left cannon was pressed against the corpse, while his right hand operated: "Define as Reconstruction."
He looked at him coldly and said, "Do those logicians think that simply changing a word can make things less ugly?"
"Accuracy in vocabulary contributes to work efficiency."
He scoffed, "Then I'll be precise, this thing is hideous."
The main body of Hercules was reassembled, and the whole structure was even taller and larger than before. The ground of the entire armory trembled slightly, as if a tomb had been dug up and reused.
The sound waves transmitted the synchronization result.
The assembly structure is now complete.
Heavy suppression mode is available.
[Residual self-awareness: Low.]
Knocked down, he raised his head, stared at the few lines of data for two seconds, and his face turned ugly.
-
When Hercules was first deployed to Tagan Heights, the Autobots' northern mine tunnel defenses were completely overwhelmed and had no chance to fight back.
Hercules was simply a moving engineering disaster.
It raised its hand to dismantle the ridge gun emplacement, flattened the remnants of the transport bridge that had been repeatedly contested, and then tore off the entire metal canyon wall, directly covering the Autobots' makeshift defenses.
On the map of Tagan Heights, several red dots that had been contested for a long time were simultaneously turned into Decepticon colors.
"Withdraw from the north mine tunnel!" Ultra Magnus rarely shouted in the channel, "Don't engage it in a direct confrontation!"
The jack looked up from another broken passage and saw the huge silhouette advancing through the fog and gunfire in the distance.
He paused for a second: "...What the hell is that thing?"
A voice came from beside him through the partition: "Looks like Hercules."
In the distance, Hercules slammed his fist into the defensive line, causing the entire high ground to tremble violently.
The jack gripped the knife tightly: "This isn't a good story."
The Thunder rescue team was forced to withdraw from the position they had captured in less than thirty cycles.
This is completely unwinnable.
Individual firepower was utterly ineffective against a combined force of that size. Explosives capable of breaching ordinary defensive walls merely tore a few shallow marks on the Hercules's outer armor.
Roadhog's heavy cannon hit its shoulder, creating a burst of fire.
Hercules only veered slightly before continuing his advance.
Parrow dragged an injured team member out of the collapsed mine tunnel, his voice coming through the intermittently on the channel.
"It ripped up the entire passageway!"
The whirlwind swooped down from the sky, attempting to distract Hercules, but was nearly slammed into the mountainside. The firing pin risked its life to rush forward and use a demolition device to blast a section of the supporting beam, buying the evacuating team a few seconds.
Tong Tianxiao stared at the area on the tactical screen that was rapidly turning red, his fingers gripping the control panel tightly.
"All units retreat to the second line of defense!"
The jack's voice immediately rang out: "We can blow up its knee joint from the side."
"Shut up! Obey orders! I'm concerned about whether you can come back after this!"
There was a moment of silence in the channel. Jack gritted his teeth, suppressing something, and said stiffly, "Received."
-
With Hercules entering the fray, the situation on Tagan Heights instantly shifted.
The Decepticons seized several key opportunities in a short period of time.
The Highland Transport Bridge was cut off again, the northern mine tunnel was sealed off, and the Broken Ridge Fortress fell into Decepticon control.
The Thunder's injury record is starting to look increasingly bad.
Sometimes it's a serious injury, sometimes it's damage to the machine that requires long-term repair, or sometimes a name disappears from the battle roster for three Star Weeks, only to return with a newly repaired suit of armor, and the first thing they say is that the medical rack is too hard.
But the number of empty spots in the queue began to increase.
The jack no longer always jokes at the first sign of trouble, and the partition no longer says "We made it out alive."
Saying things like that too often is gambling, and sooner or later the stakes will be repaid.
The Autobots quickly realized that their conventional defenses and the Thunder Rescue Team alone were no match for Devastator.
Thus, the Guardian Angel Project was forced to proceed.
-
The appearance of the guardian deity did indeed stabilize the defenses.
Hercules and Guardian clashed in the center of the highlands, their fists colliding, instantly shattering three sections of abandoned transport bridges. The top of the old mine tunnel collapsed, and energy pipelines were torn open, spewing blue-white sparks.
The Thunder rescue team evacuated the injured from the perimeter.
Looking up at the two massive combined machines pinning each other down on the high ground, Jack muttered, "Aren't we escalating the war further?"
The partition carried a wounded soldier backward: "Now is not the time to talk about these things."
Hercules's powerful blow missed its mark and instead collapsed an abandoned relay station.
The guardian spirit pushed it back to the other side of the ridge, blocking it from continuing to approach the medical transport line.
Tong Tianxiao issued one order after another.
"Guardian deity, restrict Hercules's advance."
"Thunder Rescue Team evacuates the wounded from the west side."
"Do not allow combat zones to approach temporary medical stations."
"Repeat, do not approach the medical station."
Finally, Tagan Heights became a real winch.
The massive weapons were mutually restraining each other.
The squad salvaged positions, dragged back the wounded, and reconnected power sources at their feet, before withdrawing before the next round of artillery fire.
War begins by creating larger bodies, which are then used to crush more small lives.
-
Master Titanium quickly found Optimus Prime.
The fire source protection room deep inside the Iron Fortress was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Battle reports kept coming in from outside: Tagang Heights, Divine Grace New City, Xuanji Lake City, Qingqiu City, Cloud Mist Mountain City, and many more small battle zones flashing on the edge of the map.
A soft light shone here, and the source of the fire hung there, its light flowing slowly.
Cybertron still has a heart that hasn't been completely tainted by war.
Optimus Prime stood beside Master Titan and remained silent for a long time.
Master Titanium looked at the AllSpark: "The Decepticons are gaining the upper hand."
Optimus Prime did not refute.
The Autobots resisted; they held Kalis, halted the destruction of Cloudhill City, withdrew most of their non-combat units from Divine Grace City, and did not completely lose Tagon Heights.
But the truth is, the Decepticons are pushing the war to an even larger scale.
More and bigger weapons, longer periods of attrition.
Master Titanium continued:
"If one day the AllSpark falls into the hands of the Decepticons, or is contaminated by war, the future of Cybertron will no longer be just a matter of winning or losing. We should consider the continuation of Cybertronian life."
Optimus Prime stared at the ball of light, remaining silent for a long time.
After a moment, the titanium expert continued, "Just because it can be protected now doesn't mean it will be in the future."
Optimus Prime understood that the war outside was gradually wearing down everything that was "possible".
The spark is the source of future life.
If even it gets involved, they will lose all the opportunities that haven't been created yet.
Master Titanium turned to Optimus Prime: "We must prepare to send it away."
Optimus Prime stood there, his entire machine radiating weariness and silence.
"Send Cybertron away?"
"Yes."
Optimus Prime gazed at the AllSpark.
They sent away the spark, acknowledging that they could no longer stake their future on a burning planet.
Master Titanium said in a low voice, "This isn't about running away."
Optimus Prime looked at him.
Master Titanium said:
"We want to send the future out."
-
After Knockout, Barricade, and Black Widow's first encounter with the Combiners at Tagan Heights, they head to Crystal City.
Strictly speaking, they didn't make the appointment together.
Knock out the first one to arrive.
He looked very grumpy when he went through the neutrality protocol scan.
He had just returned from the frontline repair area in Tagan Heights, and a few small scratches remained on the surface of his armor, which put him in a bad mood.
"The only stabilizing effect of war is that it makes all machines look uglier and uglier."
He muttered to himself that the system was not responding, which made him even more unhappy.
When the doors of the Crystal City Medical Tower opened, barricades were already standing at the other end of the passageway.
Upon seeing him, she raised an eyebrow: "You're here too?"
The roadblock nodded: "Mm."
"What a coincidence."
The roadblock looked at him: "Don't you think it's a coincidence?"
Knockout chuckled: "You're as uncooperative as ever in social situations."
A third set of footsteps came from behind.
Black Widow emerged from the shadows of the passageway, her movements slow and deliberate, like a hunting spider.
His expression immediately turned cold: "What are you doing here?"
Black Widow smiled. "A visit."
"Are you two very close?"
"Not familiar with them."
"Then let's go back."
Black Widow seemed to have heard something amusing: "Only those familiar with the place can come and see it?"
He looked at her, his face cold and stern: "Try treating this place as your collection room."
The roadblock finally spoke: "Don't touch anything once you're inside."
Black Widow turned to look at him: "So serious."
The roadblock didn't avoid her gaze: "I'm serious."
Black Widow's smile deepened slightly: "Then I'll try my best to be polite."
He coldly said, "That sounds awful, shut up."
The three machines entered the hibernation chamber.
A rumble and a confusion: one sat in a vector hibernation pod, the other munching on an energy block that the maintenance crew had casually given them.
One blue and one red pair of optical lenses first spotted the knockdown, then the roadblock, and finally landed on Black Widow.
The hammer arm immediately rose with a thunderous roar.
Confused and slightly baring his teeth, he put down the energy block in his hand.
Knockout noticed, and the optical mirror moved slightly: "Does the sound wave know you're here?"
Rumble: "What's it to you?"
Confused, yet clutching the energy block, it looked ready to throw it.
The roadblock looked at them, its voice low and menacing: "Looks like knowing won't help."
It's a consensus that the Miniature Titans are becoming increasingly unruly; everyone knows it, but it's just an unspoken understanding.
The vector was lying in the hibernation pod.
He knocked her down and came closer, staring at her for a long time.
She looked taller, her body more complete, even with a metallic sheen.
"You've gotten more and more beautiful," he said. "It's so unfair. We're all out there worn out by the war, but you're lying here looking like you've had an absurdly long beauty treatment."
There was no answer, and he didn't laugh even after being knocked down.
He raised his hand and covered the outer layer of the hibernation pod, speaking so softly that Barricade and Black Widow could barely hear him.
"You'd better not complain about my poor armor condition when you wake up."
"I've been really busy lately."
The roadblock stood behind, silent for a long time, then he said:
"When she was standing still, she was more difficult to deal with than many armed machines."
Roadblock looked at the hibernation pod and muttered to himself, "I remember that time you dragged the administrator down in the arena."
At that time, like many others, he thought she was just another victim caught up in violence.
Later I realized that she was standing there like a bright, shining sun.
He didn't say anything about the roadblock; he wasn't good at openly expressing such thoughts.
But he did feel regret, and he also genuinely admired him.
Black Widow took half a step closer.
The booming hammer arm was already charging up.
Black Widow stopped.
She looked at the gravitational vector inside the hibernation pod, a dangerous interest flashing in her optical lens.
"it's beautiful."
The voice that struck her down instantly turned icy: "Shut up, don't talk to her like that."
Black Widow tilted her head: "I just admire it."
"Your way of appreciating things is usually unhealthy."
The roadblock said, "Don't touch it."
Black Widow watched him with great interest.
The roadblock simply said, "She is definitely not someone you can collect."
The temperature in the hibernation chamber was a little low.
Black Widow smiled, neither angry nor backing down.
"You're all very nervous."
He coldly glanced at her, saying, "Because our brain modules are normal."
Black Widow's gaze then fell on the vector.
"A sleeping chief judge. The neutrality agreement of Crystal City. Megatron, Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Shockwave, and you all, come see her."
She said softly, "It's hard not to be curious."
Knocked down, expressionless: "Your curiosity killed the machine."
Black Widow didn't deny it; instead, she chuckled, "Sometimes."
A low, rumbling, warning mechanical sound rang out, and Confusion was already rubbing its hands together in anticipation.
Black Widow finally looked away and took a half step back: "Alright."
She smiled and said, "I'm not touching it today."
The knockouts and roadblocks didn't seem to offer any comfort whatsoever.
After a moment of silence, Knockout retrieved a small micro-polishing disc for armor care from the storage compartment and placed it into the storage slot next to the sealing system.
The roadblock slowly and silently turned to look at him.
He retorted confidently, "She'll need it when she wakes up."
Black Widow chuckled, "How thoughtful."
His tone returned to coldness after being knocked down: "Shut up."
This time, Black Widow actually shut up.
The roadblock took one last look at the hibernation pod.
"Tagan Heights is being upgraded," he said. "The Combiners have been deployed to the battlefield."
He then added, "It's really ugly, you'd say it's 'hot optics'."
Black Widow said softly, "It's getting more and more interesting."
Both Knockdown and Roadblock looked at her.
Black Widow's smile remained unchanged, but she slowly changed her tone: "It's getting more and more dangerous."
As they left the hibernation chamber, Black Widow glanced back at him as she passed the door. Rumble glared at her and brandished his hammer arm in a defiant manner.
Black Widow twitched the corner of her mouth, as if she had remembered something.
Deep within Iron Fortress, Master Titan and Optimus Prime stood before the AllSpark.
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Further interaction adjustments: Short science articles/short replies will be at the end of the main article; long science articles/long replies will be in the author's notes (also indicated at the end of the chapter), and we will maintain zero spoilers.
/Quick Fact: The Tagon Heights have long been a tug-of-war with no clear one-sided conflict; the AllSpark is the life source of Cybertron./