Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 77 The Demonic Wind Blows

In the following days, many things seemed to be the same as before.

Shops remained open, roads continued to be traversed, and supplies continued to be sold. After the old management was removed from the arena, things quieted down for a while.

But the vector could sense that the air was different.

She went to buy some daily necessities, and the two people in front of her in line chatted quietly for a few minutes.

She stood next to the supply rack picking out energy bars, and across a row of shelves, she could hear Organic mentioning "that day," "high up," and "managers."

Some spoke with a fierce tone, some with a heated tone, and others simply said a word in a low voice.

"So it really is possible."

No one raised their voice intentionally; it was silent, yet it penetrated everywhere.

She usually pretended not to hear. After all, if she stood there for a while, people around her would inevitably have a chance to look her over. The gazes weren't exactly offensive, but they were quite obvious.

The vector had no choice but to turn around and leave with its belongings, sighing in its core as it went.

She still couldn't get used to fame.

⸻

97 is one of the most familiar machines that came to us directly in the past few days.

That guy talks a big game all the time, but once things calm down at the bar, his private channels start popping up.

Are you still alive?

Looking at the vector, you can see that the fingers are moving very quickly.

[Alive.]

Didn't I just reply to you a couple of days ago?

The 1997 response was also quick.

That's different.

A few days ago you were a "living opportunity to become famous," today I want to check if the "living opportunity to become famous" is still around.

The vector's lips twitched.

【exist. 】

Are you sick?

[There is a point.] 1997 was perfectly justified.

[They even had the nerve to ask me today if I was always this crazy.]

She looked down at the sentence and laughed in exasperation.

And then what did you say?

I said you usually look like a normal machine with a fairly complete brain module.

They didn't seem to believe it.

Even the vector could conjure up that image, and his temple twitched slightly.

Are you feeling like you have too much free time?

A few seconds later, 97 sent another message.

【without.】

It just suddenly seems pretty outrageous.

[When you were here before, I never imagined you would do that kind of thing.]

She looked at the terminal and slowly replied:

I myself hadn't noticed it before.

This time, Jiuqi didn't answer immediately; he sent a message a while later.

However, I did take some of what you said that day to heart.

She glanced at it for two seconds, then replied: "Which sentence?"

It seems like Jiuqi is too lazy to pretend with her anymore.

Don't give me that.

[Just that one line.]

All machines deserve to be treated well.

She stared at the words and couldn't quite catch them.

He usually speaks casually, but when he gets serious, he becomes even more direct.

After pausing for a moment, the vector finally typed only one sentence: 【Oh.】

97 replied quickly:

What did you say "oh" about?

I'm telling you this very seriously.

She stared at the message, her fingertip brushing against the edge of the terminal, and replied after a few seconds:

【understood. 】

I just never thought I'd actually have the chance to remember it.

This time, things will be quieter over 1997 for a little longer.

It will happen.

Not every machine is just there to watch the show.

The vector didn't reply, but its gaze lingered on that sentence for a longer time.

⸻

Of course, not all contacts made her feel comfortable.

There have been far more unfamiliar frequency bands appearing these past few days than before.

Some started off normally, offering a few compliments and exclamations, but then they started subtly asking if she'd been spending a lot of time with Megatron lately, if there was any news from the Supreme Council, and some even came up with the question of whether she needed a "reliable partner."

If you only see half of a vector, just cross it off.

Their intentions are too obvious; they simply want to take advantage of the current trend and stick their head out to test the waters.

She had no interest in playing along with this kind of act.

There is another type of connection, which is more subtle.

She didn't know him, nor was he trying to get close to her; he was someone whose identity was unclear and whose tone was unusually cautious.

There was a frequency band she didn't recognize at all, and the first message the other party sent was very short.

I heard what you said that day.

Yin Vector looked at that sentence, frowned, and didn't reply immediately.

The other side seemed to realize that their move was too sudden, and quickly added another message.

I'm not here to cause trouble, nor am I here to inquire.

[I just wanted to say that I always thought there was no chance they would actually throw these words in their faces.]

She stared at the two lines for a while, and finally replied: "We have them now."

They replied after a while.

【Um. 】

So I just wanted to thank you.

Yin Vector looked at the terminal, his finger hovering over the top of the screen, not moving for a mere two seconds.

These words are so direct, so sincere, so heartfelt; you can feel it even through the communication barrier.

This made it even harder for her to cope.

In the end, she only replied with one sentence:

I received it.

The other side didn't send anything else.

She leaned there, lost in thought for a long time.

⸻

On Orion's side, his name has been appearing more frequently than before, starting in the last few days.

Not everyone shouts his name, but occasionally when Yin Vector looks up, he can be seen in terminal push notifications, forum discussions, or in the hushed chatter of a few machines.

Someone is going through his old posts.

She clicked on the link and took a look, and found that quite a few had indeed been retrieved.

There are short video clips, audio recordings, brief analysis notes, and articles he wrote previously.

These things have always been there, but not many people have seen them.

It's different now.

Once the Calon incident broke out, many organizations were looking for explanations, directions, and someone who could clearly explain the problem.

So, things that Orion had said before were gradually brought up again, and the comments below grew as a result.

Some are saying, "He mentioned this issue before."

Some are saying, "The resource allocation was wrong a long time ago."

Some of them were clearly newcomers from the last few days; their tone was a bit rushed, but you could tell they were listening attentively.

The vector itself also casually clicked on a new audio file.

Orian's voice was still the same, unhurried and clear, always conveying a sense of composure when he spoke about such things.

He didn't follow the trend and say anything more inflammatory. Instead, he broke down the problem layer by layer, explaining why this incident had erupted, what it revealed, and why many ordinary Cybertronians had always taken the unreasonable as "that's how it should be."

After listening to the message, Yin Vector exited the chat and sent him a message.

A lot of your things have been dug up lately.

Orion replied quickly.

I saw it.

She raised an eyebrow.

How are you feeling?

They paused for a moment before replying:

Not surprising.

At this point, there will always be an opportunity to revisit things we didn't pay close attention to before.

Yin Vector stared at this sentence, thought for a moment, and then sent another message: 【Someone praised you for explaining things very clearly.】

The other side replied quickly.

At least my previous words weren't spoken in vain.

She looked at that sentence, rested her chin on her hand, and smiled.

Yes.

What I said before wasn't in vain; now it's being heard again.

⸻

Megatron's movements were more obvious.

He's been going out more often these past few days than before, sometimes coming back late, and sometimes leaving again shortly after returning.

The number of frequency bands popping up on the terminal is also more than before, coming and going.

I didn't ask about the vector in too much detail.

Asking him might not yield a complete answer, so it's better to see for yourself.

It's obvious that the machine is now in much sharper condition than before, and it even feels like it's finally on a track it's familiar with.

This is a form of integration.

The two people had different approaches, but both made sense.

At least that's how she sees it now.

⸻

I've been getting a lot of calls lately, some of them just casual acquaintances. And the way I look at her now has a more serious look in my eyes, a look that she doesn't quite understand yet.

Until one day, she went to a parts shop she didn't frequent but had seen a few times before. As the shopkeeper took the item from her, he suddenly lowered his voice and said:

"The customers who come to buy things from me these past two days have been talking more."

The vector looked up at him.

The other person paused, as if afraid she would find it abrupt, and added, "It's not a bad thing."

"It's that many things that machines couldn't say before, they can say now."

He handed the item back to her, speaking softly as if it were something very ordinary.

"The day before yesterday, a regular customer stayed here for quite a while. Before leaving, he suddenly said, 'So it's not that their lives are destined to be so bad.'"

The action of connecting the vector to the object paused for a moment.

The boss glanced at her and continued, "I'm not here to preach any grand principles to you."

"I just wanted to tell you that it wasn't just the people present who heard it that day."

She stood in front of the counter, paused for two seconds, and finally said, "Oh."

The boss almost laughed at her reaction, but still added seriously, "What you said has a lot of repercussions."

When the vector came out with the items, the wind wasn't too strong, and the public screen was still scrolling with follow-up news related to Calon.

She stood outside the store for a while, slowly going over those few sentences in her mind.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling; it wasn't smugness, nor was it particularly joy.

It's more like a vibration.

The vibration traveled from the audio receiver all the way to the spark.

⸻

In the evening, another new message appeared on the terminal.

It's not an official announcement yet, but the gist is clear. The Supreme Council will likely hold a special meeting soon to discuss the Calon affair; internal discussions have already gone through several rounds.

It's very close.

The vector stared at that line for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled.

She needs to make some preparations.

When a strong wind really blows, it's not just a simple breeze.