Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

boom!

The swarm of insects collapsed towards the center simultaneously. The first layer collided and was squeezed to the innermost part, while the second layer covering it was also flattened. More iron-eating insects poured in from all sides, and the magnetic attraction controlled the iron-eating insects to squeeze into an ever-growing metal mass.

There were no gaps or escape routes inside; one layer pressed down on another, and finally, suspended in the center of the base was a gigantic, terrifying solid metal sphere.

The entire sphere was wriggling, and the outermost layer of iron-eating worms were squeezed tightly together.

The mechanical legs twitched, the outer shells rubbed against each other, and even more terrifying were those mouths.

They sensed the gravitational vector, the Cybertronian life form that was full of energy, blazing with fire, and with a metal structure so complex it resembled a deluxe meal.

So all the iron-eating insects in the ball frantically turned towards her, their mouthparts opening and closing, their fine, sharp metal teeth spinning rapidly in circles.

Buzz—click click click click.

The iron-eating worm was unable to move even a centimeter because it was controlled by magnetic attraction.

The vector mustered its courage and glanced over: "Aaaaaah, why are they all looking at me?!"

Hiding far behind the smoke, he spoke before he thought: "Maybe you look more appetizing?"

"smokescreen!!!"

Smokescreen immediately shut up.

Meiqi tilted her head back and said, "Their teeth are still turning!"

"Don't describe it to me!!!"

The vector doesn't want to hear anything right now.

Based on her previous life's human experience, this was a sphere made up of thousands of giant, flying metal cockroaches that would devour your flesh, entrails, and bones from the inside.

And every single one of them was looking at her!

That's absolutely disgusting!!!

-

"Optimus Prime and Arcee are still in the polar region! Cryo protection has a time limit, and communications and the land bridge are down!"

The ambulance driver quickly alerted the system, and the vector signal immediately opened the internal judicial channel: "97!!"

You weren't going to a meeting—

"Don't ask questions yet! I'll send you the coordinates! Optimus Prime and Arcee are stuck in the Arctic, just open a bridge and take them to the judicial liaison point!"

When Jiuqi heard that her voice was cracking, he swallowed back his other questions.

A land bridge was immediately built at the judicial liaison point.

In the polar ice and snow, Optimus Prime and Arcee's protective layers were just approaching their limit.

The moment the blue-green channel appeared, both machines looked up simultaneously.

Ninety-Seven's voice came from inside: "Come in quickly!"

Without delay, AZ immediately began repairing their cryogenic damage upon entering the judicial liaison point.

Before 97 could even ask what had happened at the Autobot base, he received another application for a land bridge.

The communication system of the vector generator exploded with a bang: "Clear the base!!!"

97: "?"

-

The temporary judicial liaison office was rushing to catch a flight, and the rumbling engine was still on the table: "Why?"

Confusion caught the sharpness of the vector voice: "Don't ask, just run."

AZ looked up briefly, and the circular sawbird opened its optical lens; the mechanical dog had just come out of the oil bath.

The next moment, the judicial land bridge opened, and the first sound to be heard was the scream of the vector.

"Get out of the way, everyone!!!"

She charged through, dragging behind her a huge, pitch-black, constantly writhing solid iron-eating worm ball, and just like that, she forcefully crossed the land bridge.

The judicial liaison point fell silent instantly.

97&AZ&Boom&Confusion: "..."

The mechanical dog stiffly took a step back, and the circular saw bird spread its wings and soared to the highest point.

Then all the machines crashed at once.

"What is this thing?!"

"Don't come any closer!!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

"They're moving!!"

"I know they're moving!!!" Vector's voice was almost hoarse from shouting.

Pointing at the ball, Jiuqi couldn't believe her optical glasses: "Why did you bring this back from a meeting?!"

Optimus Prime and Arcee were still in the medical area when they heard the commotion outside. They came out at the same time and then stopped together.

The magnetic field vector stood in the center of the contact point, its face pale, its fins fully erect, struggling to maintain the magnetic field.

The worm ball next to her, larger than several machines combined, kept wriggling, and countless iron-eating worms on its surface were all opening their mouthparts towards her.

Optimus Prime instinctively activated his battle mask and instantly stood up: "I'll do it—"

"How are you going to help me?!" The voice cracked completely.

Optimus Prime: "..."

Indeed, you can't just pick him up and carry him; that would be like him delivering food.

Nine-Seven stopped Arcee, who also wanted to help: "You two are still repairing the hypothermia damage, go back!"

The two machines could only stand there, looking at the vectoring force with dread that they were about to explode.

-

The vector has dialed Cybertron headquarters: "BICk0!!!"

The secretary's face appeared on the screen: "You again—"

The scene shifted to the insectoid sphere, and BICk0 remained silent for several seconds: "...What is this?"

"Ironeater!"

The secretary sat up straight, her voice cracking as she asked, "How much?!"

"I don't know! There are just so many!"

Just as the vector was coming up with a solution, another communication came in.

"You're late for the energy briefing. What happened?"

It was Megatron who belatedly realized that she should have finished attending the Autobots' report today and then gone to the Decepticons to hear their production report.

"Ahhh! We'll talk about that later!" The brain module, focused on the phage sphere, collapsed, and then took over the other party's video call.

Megatron stared at the giant metal sphere that was writhing and crackling, its shape resembling mouthparts, and was momentarily stunned into an indescribable awe.

Then, as if struck by this bizarre sphere from afar, he let out a terrified roar that hardly befitted a tyrant: "GRRRRRRRRAAAAA! The spark of the god Pu! What the hell is this?!"

On the Retribution, Megatron, who was sitting in the control room, suddenly stood up and jumped.

The red spider next to it was so startled that its wings trembled. The sound waves silently recorded the sound, and the shockwave also turned its single eye.

"What are they all doing?!" Megatron turned to Soundwave. "Where are you? Soundwave! Open the land bridge!"

"Ahhh, no no no no, don't pick me up! Open the space bridge! K0! Give him the coordinates of the smelting furnace! Drive directly from the judicial liaison point to Cybertron!" The gravitational vector screamed in terror as it issued its last shred of rational command.

The sound waves quickly established a space bridge for teleportation. Starscream glanced at it after Megatron opened the public chat, then froze, followed by a scream that shook the heavens and earth.

"Aaaaaah!!! What are you doing?! Are you selling phage worms wholesale?!"

Starscream, disregarding everything else and Megatron's glare, darted into the screen: "Don't let go!! Don't let go!!!"

The assistant was frantically accessing permissions and coordinates, and the sound wave processing was establishing a space bridge at the fastest speed ever.

Red Spider screamed and scolded, ordering her to live in a shrill tone. Shockwave was rapidly analyzing the plausibility of the Iron-Eating Bug Ball and whether the Graviton could survive throwing the ball into the Space Bridge.

"Waaaaaah!! Soundwave, hurry up! Do you think I'd dare let go?! I tried my best!!!"

The vector let out another wail, feeling as if all it could hear were sounds, which became increasingly chaotic as they mingled with the chewing sounds of the iron-eating worms.

All the machines were on high alert. 97 and AZ, suppressing their fear, activated the space bridge mode of the judicial liaison point, locating it across Earth and Cybertron. The sound waves broke the fastest record, establishing the space bridge passage within ten seconds.

The target is a smelting facility that has long cooperated with the judicial authorities to process high-risk metal waste. The staff has been quickly evacuated, and the giant molten pool has begun to heat up rapidly until the metal inside turns into an incandescent fluid.

The assistant and the sound wave simultaneously sent messages: 【Bridge can be opened; smelting area has been cleared.】

The space bridge opened instantly, and a smelting furnace, almost white with intense heat, appeared at the end of the passage, making the gravitational vector feel a sense of familiarity for the first time.

After sensing the high temperature at the other end of the space bridge, the insect ball struggled even more frantically.

The entire metal sphere was vibrating slightly, and countless mandibles remained locked onto her, their buzzing, spinning fangs resembling sharpened bean pellets.

Vector's face contorted again: "Don't look at me!!"

The sphere creaked under the magnetic force, and the iron-eating insects inside were compressed even more tightly, like the filling in a sandwich sphere, only it was made of metal.

The magnetic force, having accumulated power, pulled the massive solid phagocytic sphere outwards.

"All of you, go, die, me!!!"

The sphere passed through the space bridge and crashed straight into the Cybertronian smelting furnace, creating a spray of incandescent metal. The bridge immediately closed, and the protective doors of the smelting area locked.

Several tens of seconds later, the result was finally displayed on the screen.

[Life response of the phage: 0]

All the captains breathed a sigh of relief, and the vector seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon, collapsing limply to the side of the table.

"Are you alright?"

Many voices overlapped, including those of 97, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Arcee, and Little Secretary.

After asking the question, Boom Boom cautiously peeked out and asked, "Is it over?"

The vector generator abruptly stood up, its last ounce of strength propelling the machine forward as it roared, "Scan!! Scan all directions!! Scan both bases! Don't miss a single spot! Until then! I'm staying at the Retribution Ship!!"

Megatron had no objections whatsoever and fully supported the wise decision of the chief judge. Even if the other officers had objections, they wisely refrained from raising them at this time.

The ambulance arrived breathlessly from the Autobot base, its vision blurring as it saw the mess at the judicial liaison point.

In the end, they still had to check each machine on site one by one.

-

After barely managing to get things sorted out, everyone huddled in different spots, finally able to let out a smile of relief at having survived the ordeal.

Meiqi suddenly moved quietly next to the vector and whispered in a not-so-quiet voice, "You were shouting really loudly just now."

Vector reference: "...Meiqi".

"Um?"

"forget."

Jack said quietly, "You once said that knowing a secret isn't illegal."

Why is this kid learning so fast?!

The chief judge managed to salvage some of his dignity, but the vectoring fins were still not completely relaxed.

Iron-eating worms, like cockroaches, are practically illegal creatures!