Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 72

The roar from the audience erupted simultaneously with the muffled bang, and the guards on the outer edge of the VIP boxes subconsciously shifted their gaze downwards.

In that extremely brief instant, the gravitational vector shifted.

She took a half-step forward, following the shadow on the outer edge, and flipped her right hand to reveal the short-term jammer Red Spider had given her. The device was barely noticeable when activated, emitting a very faint vibration beneath her fingertips. The row of security lights at the top of the corridor flickered briefly before turning back on as if nothing had happened.

That's enough for her.

"Sound waves".

A voice came through the comms: "Left guard moves first."

The vector's gaze shifted, and it was seen that the guard on the far left had instinctively moved a little further away from the fence due to a new impact from the arena below.

The next second, her entire machine, like a tightly wound string suddenly released, flew out directly along the inside under the magnetic attraction.

Before the first guard could even turn its head, her left hand gripped the back of its neck. The energy blade didn't fully extend, only reaching its narrowest length, making a clean cut. Electricity and energy beams erupted simultaneously from the side of its neck, and the machine went limp without even sounding an alarm.

The second machine reacted faster than him, but only by half a beat.

He had just raised his hand to call the alarm when, taking advantage of the momentum of the first guard falling, the vector thruster pushed off the ground, and his right-hand pulse energy cannon fired a low-power shot at close range. The shot hit the joint of the opponent's arm, knocking his entire arm off course, and the alarm signal was immediately cut off.

She almost bumped into the other person's arms, her left hand not holding back this time. The energy blade extended and stabbed diagonally into the junction of her shoulder and neck, then pressed down hard.

The second one also collapsed.

The whole process was so short it was like two shadows flashing by in a row.

A louder roar erupted from the audience below, completely drowning out the two relatively soft thuds from the other side.

Without looking at the two machines on the ground, he flicked the remaining electrical sparks off the energy blade and looked ahead.

The outer gate is just ahead.

"Where's the lock?" she asked in a low voice.

Shockwave continued: 'Double layer. Outer layer is an identity lock, inner layer is a mechanical safety mechanism. Your current access only allows you to bypass the first layer.'

Orion immediately followed up: "The permissions I gave you are now working. Keep refreshing, don't stop."

The vector sensor had already reached the door, and with a flick of its wrist, the identification tag was attached.

The first verification light flashed for half a second, and it opened as expected.

The second layer remained untouched.

The door wasn't fully open; it only opened a very narrow gap in the middle, as if testing who dared to go any further.

The vector stared at the crack, not in a hurry to reach out.

Red Spider suddenly spoke up: "Now it's my turn."

Then the signal shield on the inside of her left wrist warmed slightly, and a tiny, almost invisible arc of electricity flashed through the crack in the door.

The second mechanical safety finally released with a very soft click—the door opened.

The vector didn't waste a second and slid in sideways.

The private room was brighter than she had imagined.

It's not glaring, but it's expensive, luxurious, and very classy. The long table, the floating screen, the transparent viewing window, the seating for the accompanying observation team, the internal servants' seats, and even the containers for the energy liquid are as exquisite as relief sculptures.

At this moment, none of the machines in the entire room had reacted yet.

The first to look up were the two inner guards closest to the door. Then, the two accompanying observation team units also turned their heads, and even the administrator at the very back, who was looking down at the live projection of the arena, was a beat behind before raising his face.

The vectors didn't give them time to see the situation clearly.

She kicked the nearest guard in the chest, sending him crashing into the seat behind him. Then, she swept her right pulse cannon across, firing two low-power shots that knocked over another guard and a companion aircraft that had just gotten up.

Chaos erupted in the private room.

"Who are you?!"

"Guard! Guard—"

Before he could finish shouting, he was interrupted by an even louder thud. The vector-guided robot had already vaulted over the edge of the table, raising its energy blade in its left hand, aiming straight for the middle row of seats. Just as the two accompanying observation team units were about to block it, a more subtle interference wave entered from outside the door.

Soundwave and Red Spider attacked simultaneously.

The alarm screens that were prepared to be sent from inside the private room all flashed and went black. At the same time, some unnatural noises came from the outer corridor, as if someone outside the door was deliberately diverting another group of people's attention.

Jazz's voice came through the communicator quickly, accompanied by static: "I've diverted the group outside for you, don't delay."

"Know."

The vector responded and had already passed the last two machines blocking its way.

She's not exactly relaxed right now. But the rhythm, the route, the recoil control she's developed over the past few days, and the fire she's been suppressing all this time—all of it has come together at this moment.

Fast, accurate, and ruthless, leaving no room for error.

By the time the middle manager finally realized something was wrong, the vector was already standing in front of him.

They are very close.

He could even see the bluish-green light emanating from the edge of the energy blade in her left hand, and the chilling expression on her visor that was anything but reasonable.

"you--"

He had barely uttered a syllable when the vector lifted his hand and grabbed his neck.

She pinched him hard, giving him no chance to back away. The manager's entire machine was lifted half an inch from his seat, a sickening metallic squeezing sound coming from his throat, and his expression immediately changed.

"Don't speak." She looked at him, her tone cold and indifferent. "I probably don't want to hear a single word you're about to say."

The remaining members of the observation team and their attendants inside the compartment were in complete chaos. Some tried to rush out, some tried to use the backup alarm, and others tried to take a shortcut from the other side. But Soundwave and Red Spider were controlling the circuits and signals simultaneously, and those outside had already pressed all the buttons they needed to.

The vector is completely irrelevant.

She smoothly raised the energy blade in her left hand and pressed it against the administrator's throat, her eyes clear.

"You are the manager."

The voice on the phone was distorted by her choking, and the dignity on his face shattered instantly. The first thing he instinctively wanted to say was to beg for mercy.

"Wait, wait, listen to me—"

"No." The vector interrupted abruptly, its lips twitching slightly. "I've had enough of this nonsense these past few days."

Down on the other side of the field, another round of loud, resounding thuds erupted.

Without even glancing away, he pulled the machine a little closer to himself.

"Shanix," she said, "turn around first."

This caused not only the administrators to pause for a second, but also the accompanying machines that were still limp and not fully upright.

The vector is very clear.

She wasn't here just to finish things off with a single, decisive blow. This kind of thing has been in this position for so long, it's taken too much. Now that it's in her hands, it should spit some out first.

"What are you staring at?" She tightened her grip, squeezing his throat so hard it made a squeezing sound. "Aren't you the best at exploiting and swallowing money? Now show me what you've washed up."

The manager's expression kept changing, the terminal was slowly lifted, and the process was dragged out. Clearly, he was still trying to outmaneuver the system and cut corners.

He only glanced at the vector for two seconds before laughing.

"You're quite the actress."

"No, I was just doing system verification—"

"OK."

She lowered the energy blade in her left hand.

A very short cutting sound rang out from the private room.

The manager's right hand, which had been dragging its feet on the operation, along with half of its forearm, was severed cleanly at the root. Bright, scalding hot energy liquid splattered onto the table edge and the floor. The machine's entire face contorted instantly, a scream bursting from its throat. The machine jerked backward in excruciating pain, only to be pulled back by the vector force gripping its neck.

"Are you awake now?" She looked at him, her face expressionless. "I told you, don't waste my time."

This time, the other party really behaved.

Pain and fear surged up together, and his only remaining hand trembled as he readjusted the process, more than twice as fast as before. Before long, a cleaned Shaniks was transferred to the vector control.

She glanced at the payment confirmation and casually sent the record to Soundwave.

"The money has arrived."

The reply came almost instantly: "Received, continue."

"Permissions." She pressed the terminal back against the other person's chest. "Open it."

The other party was taken aback.

"W-what kind of permission—"

"You're already sitting in this position, and you still want to pretend you don't understand?" The vector force pinched inward a little more, and the energy blade slid lightly against the side of his throat. "Pull up everything you've moved in the past few days, everything you can open, and everything you've contacted recently."

This time, the manager didn't hesitate for long and immediately brought up the access levels.

The vector looked down and glanced at it.

She had a lot of authority, but her work was also very dirty, even uglier than she had expected.

"Sound wave, connect."

"Connected."

The records on the terminal interface, which were originally protected by access encryption and internal locks, were peeled back layer by layer. Recent communications, internal instructions, sources of transfers, and contact records with management and external systems were all meticulously reviewed.

I didn't rush to examine the vector closely; I just focused on extracting it from the outside.

"Copy all the data from the last ten solar cycles. There are also spare cables." She paused, then added, "There's usually more than one of these."

The manager's expression immediately turned even uglier.

Clearly, she was right.

"open."

The other party gritted their teeth and finally dragged out another layer of private communications that were hidden even deeper.

This time, even the sound waves that had been quietly receiving data added an extra comment: "The number of records is higher than expected."

The vector didn't say anything, it just transferred all those things out.

In the center of the arena, the fierce battle between Zhen Tianzun and Hercules has finally reached the point of a comeback.

Hercules dominated the early rounds, using his size, weight, and sheer force to drag the game into his signature deadly style. But from the middle onward, Zhen Tianzun became increasingly unwilling to follow his approach.

He's changing things, and he's also grabbing them.

The structural points that were accurately hit in the previous collisions—the Hercules' right knee armor, the left shoulder armor joint, and the angle of the heavy armor on the chest—had all been damaged in the previous impacts.

Hercules himself realized this, so his subsequent movements became increasingly fierce and urgent, as if he wanted to crush his opponent in one fell swoop before he could be completely figured out.

But if you rush things, you'll be exposed.

As another round of heavy pressure came crashing down, Zhen Tianzun didn't pull away as before, but instead slipped inwards, right in front of the impact. He didn't rush to fire the Fusion Cannon; he first dodged the heaviest blow from Hercules' right arm, then his entire machine passed through the shadow of the opponent's massive body, his retractable blade plunging directly into the knee joint connection that had already been blasted loose.

This cut was deeper than the previous ones.

Hercules visibly lurched, roaring as it swung its elbow back. The Heavenly Venerable didn't retreat; only then did the Fusion Cannon roar at extremely close range, completely shattering the already damaged section.

The audience erupted in cheers.

The supporters' frenzied shouts nearly lifted the entire arena. Even those who had bet on Hercules started to get heated up in this terrifying collision, the entire arena feeling as if it had been drenched in a pot of boiling energy.

With a successful strike, Zhen Tianzun gave Hercules no time to recover.

The current situation is one of suppression.

-

Inside the private room, the vector control team is almost done as well.

"The last three rounds of resource allocation," she said, staring at the administrator's terminal, "and your private connection with those machines above."

"I've given you everything—"

"You're only giving me the part you think I'll believe," she interrupted coldly. "Keep giving."

The manager's expression was no longer one of fear, but rather the stiffness of someone who had been completely seen through. In the end, he still dragged out the deepest-hidden transfer record.

This time, the vector took a look at itself and then remained silent for half a second.

It's so dirty that even comparing it to the sewers is an understatement.

She simply handed the entire record to Shengbo.

Backup complete. Sync complete.

Yin Vector looked down at the manager in his hand, who had been completely drained, and his expression finally changed.

She pulled him closer, then withdrew the blade from her left hand and instead used her left hand to hold him by the neck.

"Okay," she said. "Now, it's time for the final step."