Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Xianjue Tian spoke first: "You were able to enter with your complete consciousness this time because the conditions were different."

Master Titanium then explained, "You've already gotten close to the Magic Orb, which can help stabilize your consciousness. Besides, the information I left behind has also established a complete connection with you."

Yin Tianxing added, "Moreover, you actively followed the pull and didn't actually resist the summons."

Indeed, after she felt that pull, she followed it all the way to the underground of Kalon and took the initiative to approach the Magic Orb.

Strictly speaking, this could at most be considered an inducement into an unknown space.

Vector suddenly remembered something else and abruptly turned to look at Inspector Sky: "Was it you who brought me to Cybertron?"

Yin Tianxing readily admitted, "We did give you some possibilities."

"us?"

"I'm not the only one."

The vector's expression slowly darkened, his body tensing, almost in a state of battle readiness: "What about my death in the original world?"

The space, which had been filled with laughter just moments before, fell completely silent, and no one made any more jokes or banter.

Yin Tianxing looked at her seriously: "It wasn't our fault."

Vector's gaze remained fixed on him, unyielding: "You were able to bring me here from across the world, so why can't you influence things on my end?"

Master Titanium gently closed the covenant: "Because that is not our world. Your original world is not within the fate system that we can directly influence."

Yin Tianxing: "From our level of understanding, that dimension is even higher than this universe. We can only barely see a bit of your world when the boundaries occasionally overlap, but we cannot change cause and effect."

Xianjue Tian added, "That shouldn't have been done either."

Impermanence Heaven: "Your birth, growth, life, and death are not part of our plans."

As she listened, she breathed a sigh of relief when the question that had been lingering in her mind but which she had been unwilling to think about was finally answered.

"So my death..."

"It belongs to the fate line of your original world," Master Titanium said. "It has nothing to do with us."

The vector remained silent, then asked the next question: "Then why me?"

The twelve ancestors exchanged glances, and she was annoyed by the situation.

"Don't tell me you can't tell."

Yin Tianxing chuckled: "It's indeed not possible to say right now."

"I knew it!"

"But there's one thing I can tell you." He looked down at her gently, his eyes filled with a fondness she couldn't understand, "It wasn't a one-sided choice on our part. We gave you choices and opportunities, and you chose us, and you chose this world."

Yin Xiang stared at him: "When?"

No answer.

"How did you choose?"

So many machines ignored her, but Maxim opened his mouth, only to be stopped by Sai Tianjiao.

The vector's face turned completely black.

Jing Tianwei shuddered and whispered, "She's definitely keeping accounts."

Huan Tianling: "Don't remind her."

Vector: "I heard you."

Both founders fell silent.

She wasn't going to waste any more time on a question that couldn't be answered in a short time.

"So get to the point, what exactly are you trying to tell me this time?"

Xianjue Tian raised his head and looked at the fainter, intersecting star trails in the distance.

The expressions of the twelve ancestral masters all turned serious.

"The Cosmic Emperor is awakening."

Yin Xiang's expression changed instantly, and he stopped joking: "How long?"

Yin Tianxing shook his head: "It's impossible to make a precise judgment."

"A few days? A few years?"

"Anything is possible."

What's the difference between this and not saying anything at all?

But the vector also knew that these ancestors wouldn't deliberately pull her into the magic sphere just to scare her; now that they were saying this, it meant they were really close.

She asked, "How should we handle it?"

Xianjue Tian: "We cannot directly handle this for you. The rules limit our interference in reality, and the way the Cosmic Emperor exists is different from that of ordinary life."

The alchemical lens of the Heavenly Essence shone slightly: "You can understand the Earth as his physical body, but this is not entirely equivalent to his core, his physical body, and his extended will."

The vector is attempting to understand: "Like a body, a spark, and consciousness?"

Xie Tiancui paused for a moment: "Let's understand it this way for now, but we can't completely apply it to the life structure of ordinary Cybertronians."

She noted down the vector, but the sentence sounded too vague, and she wasn't sure if she understood it correctly. So she asked some more questions, but she couldn't get a clear answer from the ancestors.

They simply said, "Don't take any victory for granted and consider it the end."

Vector felt they were starting to use riddles again, but it didn't seem intentional; rather, it was something that couldn't be explained clearly.

She changed the subject: "Then the dark super-energy entity?"

Wuchangtian: "It's his blood."

The vector had been suspected for some time, but after confirmation, it remained silent for a moment.

Wuchangtian continued: "All dark super-energy entities carry the power characteristics of Unicron himself. The deeper he sleeps, the weaker the connection; the more completely he awakens, the more dangerous this connection becomes."

Recalling the dark super-energy entities Megatron had brought back and his eventual abandonment of the project, he felt only relief that the creature was useless: "Can you control it?"

"It's possible." Wuchangtian didn't rule it out completely. "The kind of deep contact that enters the energy cycle can create a long-term bond with the body, but don't misunderstand the Dark Super Energy Body as a one-sided borrowing of power."

"If you touch his blood, he might use that connection to reach out back."

The vectoring fin flapped slightly, a hint of tension in its voice. The question, harsh and dangerous, was: "What else can it do?"

Zhen Tianzun spoke: "Drive the dead."

"A true resurrection?" "No."

Rui Tianxiao: "The spark has left, leaving behind only re-driven bodies and individuals who, due to contamination, cannot return to the spark's source."

"We call them Fear Beasts, but in human terms, they're probably like zombies."

The vector grew increasingly silent, and a growing sense of dread crept into its heart. The inability to return to the AllSpark, the zombies—every possibility sounded extremely ominous.

"Is there anything else?"

Sai Tianjiao smiled and said, "Let's get down to business."

The vector looked at her warily.

Xie Tiancui approached first, his alchemical lens refracting a strange light: "The alchemical lens can see the essence of things."

The vector's eyes lit up: "For me?"

"cannot."

Her brighter optical glasses died again: "Why are you telling me you can't use them?"

Xie Tiancui: "Because the gold-plated lens is essentially my optical lens, even if I take it off and give it to you, you won't be able to use it."

The vector remained expressionless: "Thank you for your completely unhelpful introduction."

"We have a way."

Wei Tianxing approached, a stone with constantly changing luster floating in his palm. "This is a chimera stone, which can establish energy connections and also amplify energy."

She looked at the chimera stone, then at the Heavenly Essence: "So?"

MicroStar: "We will connect your optical mirror and the gold-plated lens together once, across time and space, to appear at a future moment when needed."

The vector immediately asked, "Can I control when it activates?"

Both founders shook their heads in unison: "No."

Here we go again!

"How do I know it won't activate when I'm in hibernation or discharging waste?"

The space fell silent for a moment, then Sai Tianjiao burst into laughter, nearly causing Master Tai to pluck out several of his own beard hairs.

Xie Tiancui explained somewhat awkwardly, "Normally, that wouldn't happen."

"I'm still worried."

MicroStar: "It only connects at the most critical moment, only once, and for a short duration."

"Alright."

Xie Tiancui and Wei Tianxing simultaneously placed their hands on her shoulders, the chimera stone lit up, and the light flowed through the alchemical lens.

Bright energy briefly swept across the edge of the vector optical mirror, disappearing in an instant.

Just then, a few of the pale golden specks that had been drifting around quietly approached and landed near the vector shoulder armor, fins, and fire seed pod.

She looked down, but there was nothing there.

"Was something just now?"

Sai Tianjiao said nonchalantly, "Light."

Yin Xiang gave her a suspicious look, but having failed to find any evidence, he had no choice but to give up.

Yintian walked over: "Have you studied what I left you before?"

"I tried it once secretly."

"Can it be used?" "Probably."

Yin Tianxing nodded with some relief: "That's good."

Yin Xiang frowned: "Was that thing borrowed from me, or...?"

"It's yours," Yin Tianxing answered decisively, "and it will remain so in the future. I won't take it back."

The riddle machine finally gave a clear answer.

"Then I'll accept it."

"It was originally meant for you."

-

Next to emerge was Zhen Tianzun, with Sai Tianjiao beside him.

The two planes exchanged a glance, both conveying a sense of relief and determination.

Zhen Tianzun's hand transformed into a gigantic weapon.

The cannon was ancient and heavy, its energy patterns resembling flames scorching the stars, even carrying a danger that caused surrounding light streams to avoid it.

The vector pointed: "Are you going to shove this into my hands?"

Zhen Tianzun: "You cannot withstand its full form."

"Then why did you take it out?"

Why do they all like to show her things that they can't give her?

Sai Tianjiao walked to the Soul-Soothing Cannon and gently stroked its barrel: "It was born to fight against the Cosmic Emperor."

"We'll leave you a way out." Zhen Tianzun followed Sai Tianjiao's hand, turning his head to look at Sai Tianjiao: "You agree?"

Sai Tianjiao gazed at the Soul-Soothing Cannon, which she had personally forged for him, yet which had also claimed her life here: "I agree."

The power of both machines was simultaneously injected into the Soul-Soothing Cannon, and the energy patterns on the surface of the massive weapon lit up. Then, a portion of it seemed to be drawn away, transforming into a stream of light interwoven with dazzling white and gold.

The vector force naturally raised its right arm, and the light flow immediately wrapped around it.

The original pulse cannon was completely encased, and every line inside the right arm was recast at high temperature, yet there was no pain.

The light lasted for a few seconds, then sank into the right arm, and the appearance returned to normal.

The vector moved its fingers slightly: "No change?"

Sai Tianjiao: "It will awaken when you face the Cosmic Emperor."

Zhen Tianzun: "High-concentration dark super-energy bodies can also trigger this."

"power?"

Sai Tianjiao looked at her with a smile: "Very big."

How big?

Zhen Tianzun: "Don't try it here."

The fact that none of the other progenitors refuted this suggests that its power was indeed immense.

Xie Tiancui reminded him from the side, "The energy consumption is also very high."

Zhen Tianzun: "Continuous use will overload your right arm, and extreme output may even cause the pulse cannon to lose its combat capability for a short period of time."

The vector nodded, "Everything has a price."

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

Sai Tianjiao waved his hand and said, "Don't thank me too soon."

As he stared at her, Yin Xiang suddenly remembered something else: "By the way, what was that spark you shoved on me last time?"

Sai Tianjiao blinked through his optical glasses: "You found out? It's okay, you'll find out later."

Vector: ...She wants to hit her again now.

"Have you all received some kind of standardized training? Was the content just teaching you how to be a riddle solver?"

Maximo said slowly, "No, that relies on talent."

"Like you?"

Maximo smiled: "Like Master Titanium."

Master Titanium: He doesn't know how many times he's felt tired of being with this group of original masters.

-

Titanium Master was still approached by the vector generator: "You should explain this too."

"What do you want to know?"

"Are you the recorder of history?" "Yes."

"Can the Covenant predict the future?" "Inaccurate."

Master Titanium spread his hands, revealing a quill pen: "This is a quill pen used with the Covenant. It can record history that has already happened, and it can also write down things that have not yet happened."

Yin Vector raised an eyebrow: "You're in charge of writing it?"

Titanium Master paused: "Sometimes."

"How am I supposed to understand that?"

"I don't know either."

This answer surprised the vector.

Master Titanium looked at the quill pen: "Sometimes, I just hold it, and my hand writes sentences I can't understand, not even in any language I know."

Yin Xiang frowned: "So, is it you writing this, or is it someone using you to write about themselves in the future?"

Titanium Master: "I also asked this question, but I didn't get an answer."

How come even the riddle teller himself doesn't know the answer?

Titanium Master: "However, I prefer the latter. There are many possibilities for the future, and the quill pen just occasionally allows some of those marks to be written on paper in advance."

Yin Xiang felt this explanation was much more comfortable than "I can control the future." She disliked the idea that a god held a pen and decided the fate of other lives.

Master Titanium opened the Holy Covenant, where large swaths of characters she couldn't understand flowed slowly across the pages.

"I have written down a lot of things that I myself cannot understand, but I can recognize a name."

Titanium Master's gaze fell on her: "Vector."

"This name appears between words I cannot understand, sometimes in the past, and sometimes in unfinished paragraphs."

Master Titanium closed the sacred covenant: "You were written by fate, yet you have always been changing it."

The vector was silent for a moment: "So I'll win?"

Master Titanium shook his head: "I don't know the answer, nor can I predict the final outcome, but I believe you will get there."

The vector was somewhat speechless.

Master Titanium's tone was light yet solemn: "This is simply my trust in you."

Her anger, which had been building up, suddenly subsided considerably: "I won't follow up with that punch."

-

Maximo watched for a while before finally speaking, "My turn?"

The vector scanned him up and down: "What do you have?"

Maximo shrugged: "I'm not giving you weapons."

He slowly approached, unusually refraining from saying anything rude or offensive: "I only have one thing to remind you of."

"Even the mighty Unicron possesses a will. With a will comes bias, which means that even he has a part that can be manipulated."

"Is that considered a weakness?"

Maximo laughed: "All I can say is that any life that believes it can never be defeated has a hidden weakness."

This statement seems to actually be somewhat useful?

"I've got it."

Just as Maximo showed a satisfied expression, she continued:

"So, were you like that yourself before?"

Maximo: "..."

Sai Tianjiao laughed and pointed at Maximo, shouting, "You've finally met your match!"

Maximo sighed, "I shouldn't have spoken to you seriously."

-

Having largely finished explaining everything, the Vector of Induction stood in the void and asked one last time, "Anything else?"

The twelve ancestral masters shook their heads.

"Can I go back now?"

Yin Tianxing: "Okay."

The vector immediately took a step forward, but then suddenly stopped: "Wait, how much time has passed outside?"

The ancestors fell silent again, and she felt something was very wrong.

"say!!"

Yintianxingdao: "Time flows differently here than in reality."

"I've experienced it, so how long?"

"There is no accurate judgment."

Vector's face darkened again: "Where's my mech?"

Titanium Master: "He was taken away."

"Who?"

A blurry figure appeared in the pale golden light, reflecting reality, as BICk0 aggressively dragged her away from the vicinity of the Magic Orb.

Vector: "斯…"

She looked at the secretary's face and then at the way the secretary was so angry she was practically fuming.

"She found me? You let her in?"

The silence of the twelve ancestors reignited her anger: "So you can actually open that door!?"

Maximo took a step back, and Sai Tianjiao suddenly found something interesting about the soles of his feet.

Yin Tianxing said gently, "She found the vicinity of the entrance, and we didn't stop her much."

Yin Xiang stared at them, no longer asking any more questions, afraid that asking more would make her angry and upset.

At that moment, space began to tremble, and a powerful pull was instantly formed in reality as the magic orb began to rebuild the connection between her consciousness and her body.

Yin Tianxing: "The time has come."

Xianjue Tian: "Make preparations."

Impermanent Heaven: "Do not underestimate the Dark Super-Energy Being."

Rui Tianxiao: "Never underestimate death."

Xie Tiancui: "You will see when it is time to see."

Sai Tianjiao waved to her: "See you next time."

The vector immediately crossed his arms: "There better not be a next time!!"

Maximo laughed: "That statement usually doesn't work."

Zhen Tianzun remained taciturn: "Don't waste it."

Master Titanium approached last and said, "No matter where you come from, the path you're walking now belongs to you."

She was slightly taken aback, but Master Titanium simply patted her gently and said nothing more.

Yin Tianxing still had that gentle demeanor, but Yin Yixiang was getting a little angry: "I'll find out why it was me sooner or later."

Yin Tianxing smiled, his eyes narrowing: "You'll find out."

White light enveloped the entire space, drawing consciousness back to reality.

Finally, the vector saw the twelve progenitors standing in the light stream, along with the enemy of the heavens.

He stood by with his arms crossed ever since he was used as a shield, his face as sour as ever.

Suddenly, Yin Vector remembered he was still there: "Shoehorn!"

Sentinel Prime looked at her warily and speechlessly: "...What?"

Through the gradually closing white light, the vector gestured with his fist at him: "Your knife is very useful."

Yu Tiandi was stunned for a moment, and before he could say anything, he watched helplessly as she disappeared into the white light.

-

In reality, the vector was in a coma for 27 days before waking up.