Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 97 Not Back in Place

After the live broadcast ended, the judicial center quickly resumed its normal operations, and she continued to uphold the law.

Just as she was about to catch her breath and not drown in the sea of ​​knowledge, her private channel lit up.

The vector motion paused.

Private channels that light up at times like these are usually not things that will make the machine happy. And as it turns out, she's becoming increasingly adept at predicting the mess that's going on on Cybertron.

Transmitter: Enemy of the Sky.

When Yin Zong saw that name, his forehead twitched violently.

Why is this machine so idle?

She clicked on it.

Sentinel's Enemy: [Have you finished watching the coronation ceremony?]

The vector stared at those words, and even briefly felt the urge to crush the terminal.

Of course, the terminal is innocent; Sentinel Prime is the one who deserves to be killed.

She replied expressionlessly.

[You were standing so conspicuously, of course I read it all.]

The other side responded quickly.

Sentinel Prime: [It seems your attention isn't entirely focused on the new leader.]

The vector gave a cold laugh.

There's no way around it, you were working so hard to act, it was hard not to notice.

After this message was sent, the other side paused for a while.

The vector could even imagine Sentinel Prime's haughty and indifferent expression when he saw those words.

Unfortunately, imagining things too clearly isn't a good thing either, as it can easily affect one's appetite.

Sentinel's Enemy: [The ritual requires witnesses.]

Your expression doesn't look like you're witnessing.

Using vector graphics makes typing very fast.

[It's like figuring out how to incorporate a sense of solemnity into a parliamentary press release.]

Sentinel Prime: [At least someone needs to ensure it doesn't turn into an emotional personality cult.]

Upon seeing this sentence, Yin Vector let out a cold laugh.

Don't worry, when it comes to personality cults, your council has certainly built plenty of idols for itself.

Sentinel didn't reply immediately; a new message appeared after a while.

Sentinel's Enemy: [You seem pleased that he got this name.]

The pointer paused for a moment.

This damn thing is testing her attitude towards Optimus Prime.

She stared at that sentence for two seconds, then replied:

What's it to you?

Sentinel's Enemy: [The Chief Justice's personal relationship with the new leader will influence your rulings.]

After those words were spoken, the vector suddenly calmed down.

She was angry, but she also knew that Sentinel Prime wouldn't bother her with pointless small talk.

Every word he uttered seemed to be searching for a crack, to see if she would reveal anything that could be exploited between her personal emotions, her legal status, and her relationship with the new leader.

They truly are disgusting elites nurtured by the old system.

The vector slowly returns:

If you have evidence, proceed with the formal legal process.

If you don't have anything to say, don't spout nonsense on my private channel.

Sentinel Prime: [You learned how to use this position much faster than I expected.]

You'll learn to get blocked by me much faster than I imagine.

Sentinel Prime: [You won't.]

She stared at those three words, growing more and more annoyed the more she looked at them.

He's right. She won't, at least not now.

Yutiandi is watching her, and she has to watch back. She needs to know when he reaches out, where he reaches out, what he's probing, and where he's going to strike.

You can't block someone you want to kill yet.

Yin Vector took a deep breath and replied with his last sentence.

Then you'd better not let me find anything that can be used in the official procedure.

This time, Sentinel Prime did not return.

Private frequency bands have become quiet.

She looked at the pile of regulations, then at the chat logs of the newly archived Sentinel Prime, and drew a very serious conclusion in her brain module.

She learned two things today:

First, the judicial system has a lot of regulations.

Second, the "Defender of Nature" is even harder to delete than the regulations.

The latter is more annoying.

-

When she came out of the judicial center, the public screens outside were still playing clips of the inauguration ceremony on a loop.

The image of Optimus Prime standing in the center of the platform was cut from several angles, and the headline on the public channel was changed again and again.

[The first officially recognized leader since the Golden Age has completed his succession.]

Optimus Prime: Cybertron should not maintain order through silence.

The public response continues to escalate.

As the vector descended the steps of the main building, it could be heard two machines nearby whispering to each other.

"It really is Orion Parkers."

"We shouldn't call him that anymore, he's Optimus Prime now."

"Isn't the leadership module still in place?"

"So what? The succession has been publicly confirmed."

Along the way, the name "Optimus Prime" was everywhere.

The name was rapidly overshadowing "Orion Parkers," so quickly that it made her uncomfortable.

-

When he returned to his residence, Megatron was standing in front of the main screen handling some business.

The Decepticon insignia was already etched on his chest, cold and hard, gleaming with a chilling light.

After the vector entered, Megatron glanced at her and asked, "All done?"

"No," Vector replied honestly. "I haven't finished reading the regulations. I'm doomed today."

Megatron's gaze returned to the screen: "Senator Prime is looking for you again?"

The vector paused, looking up at him: "How did you know?"

"The way you looked when you came back was like you'd just swallowed a whole book of parliamentary procedure law."

Pointer vector: "..."

"Actually, it's about the same."

She submitted that record.

Megatron looked very quickly, and the further down he looked, the colder the red optical mirror became.

When they saw Sentinel Prime's words, "You won't," the atmosphere in the room suddenly plummeted.

"He's right," Vector spoke first. "I won't block him for now."

Megatron looked at her.

"I know," she said. "It sounds infuriating, but I have to keep an eye on him. Titanium Master has already filed it up."

Megatron did not speak immediately.

After a while, he said, "Don't let him lead you into his rhythm."

"I know." Yin Zong leaned back in his chair. "He's really good at testing patience."

Megatron coldly replied, "Then don't hold back."

Look at him using vectors.

"Your suggestion doesn't sound very ethical for a chief judge."

"I am not the chief judge."

"I can see that," Vector said. "You're more like the type who would just throw away all professional ethics."

Megatron snorted and did not refute.

She stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly remembered that slightly awkward segment after the live stream.

The air fell silent naturally. Vector raised his hand and turned off the recording of Sentinel Prime, his gaze falling on the public channel playback that hadn't been completely shut down yet.

The camera stopped right at the moment when Optimus Prime was standing in the center of the platform.

She glanced at it, then looked at Megatron.

"You really only think the ceremony is nice?"

He moved the military region's dispatch map aside slightly, his tone indifferent: "Otherwise?"

"That sentence of yours—"

"Optimus Prime has completed his inauguration," Megatron interrupted. "The ceremony proceeded without issue."

The vector paused for a moment: "You changed your tune pretty quickly."

Megatron glanced at her: "The system has confirmed it."

This statement sounds like a fact, but Vector felt that he said the name in a somewhat stiff way.

She placed her hand on the back of the chair, thought for a moment, and then said, "Orion did a great job."

"I didn't say he did a bad job."

Now, she was stuck.

The fact that his statement was so accurate, and that he wasn't belittling him, made the whole thing even stranger.

Yin Xiang looked at him and slowly said, "So what exactly are you unhappy about?"

Megatron finally stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her.

"I'm not upset."

Pointer vector: "..."

She was expressionless.

"Your statement is highly unreliable."

Megatron sneered: "You've been watching too much public broadcasting today."

"You've been acting rather sarcastic today."

"Have you been talking to Sentinel Prime for too long?"

"Don't lump me and him together in one sentence."

"Then stop mimicking his way of speaking."

He almost made the vector man laugh out loud.

"Okay, now you're changing the subject."

Megatron looked at her, his red optical glasses revealing little smile, but he wasn't truly angry either; only the suppressed emotion remained, like a fire that didn't want to be named.

The vector did not press further, knowing that Megatron would not speak directly at this moment.

He couldn't bring himself to say it, nor could he allow himself to say it.

So she changed direction.

"Anyway, from today onwards, he is Optimus Prime."

Megatron looked at the main screen.

"Institutionally, yes."

The vector stopped sharply.

"What do you mean?"

Megatron's gaze fell on a corner of the playback, where the line that had appeared during the system confirmation was displayed.

[Leadership module: Not in place.]

He said in a flat tone: "The leadership module hasn't been put in place yet."

The vector frowned.

"Master Titanium said that's another matter."

"That's certainly another matter," Megatron paused, "and also a more important one."

The room was silent for two seconds.

Vector looked at him: "Are you interested in the leadership module?"

Megatron's expression didn't change much.

"The whole of Cybertron will be interested in it."

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

Megatron looked at her.

"So what do you want to hear?"

Why is it this same sentence again, exactly the same as the one in the previous frequency band?

The vector was blocked for a moment, and she couldn't figure it out; she just felt that the taste was wrong.

When Megatron mentioned the leadership module, it wasn't like he was simply analyzing the situation; it was more like he was seeing something that no one had truly grasped yet.

Something that can change the situation.

She said slowly, "I just felt that when you mentioned it, your tone didn't sound like you were simply discussing a systemic issue."

Megatron remained silent for a moment.

"Optimus Prime now has a publicly recognized canon."

"But the true symbol of leadership has not yet fallen into the hands of any machine gunner."

The vector understood part of it, but only part of it.

But this part alone was enough to make her feel uneasy.

"What exactly do you mean?"

Megatron looked at the "Not Back in Position" message on the main screen and slowly said:

"What is truly important will not automatically belong to whoever stands on the throne first."

The vector was completely silent this time.

She stared at him for a long time until he turned his head away because she was staring at him.

She opened her mouth, but in the end only managed to utter one sentence: "Megatron."

He was looking up at her.

What I'm trying to say is, don't turn this into a competition between the two of you to see who gets something first.

The words were already on the tip of her tongue, but then she suddenly felt that saying them was wrong.

Megatron wouldn't consider this a competition. If she said that, she would only downplay the situation.

So she swallowed that sentence and replaced it with a slower one.

"This thing...is more than just a symbol."

Megatron looked at her.

"Of course not."

"So, if you're looking for it, what's the purpose?"

Megatron neither laughed nor avoided her gaze, but ultimately he did not answer her at all.