Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Yin Vector felt that his spring was just around the corner, and the inquiry finally came to the last name.

smokescreen.

-

As the office door opened, a cloud of smoke peeked in through the doorway, half of a head visible, and the optical lenses shone as if they had just been fully charged.

"Chief Justice! I've arrived!"

The vector looked up: "I saw it."

The smoke screen immediately stood up straight:

"I arrived early. Actually, it wasn't particularly early, but I was afraid of being late, so I waited at the entrance for a while! BICk0 sent me the inquiry process instructions, and I read them all. I even read two sections twice."

BICk0 calmly added from the side, "He walked back and forth outside the door four times."

Smokescreen looked a little embarrassed: "I was confirming the route."

Vector: "Sit".

"good!"

Smokescreen sat down with a thud, sitting very upright, but less than two seconds later, the wing couldn't help but twitch slightly.

The command retrieved the following log: "During the underwater battle at Arquitron, you suddenly accessed the Nascent Soul's communications. The situation was urgent, and there wasn't time to ask detailed questions. We've also received a follow-up review from the Autobots, but the Justice Center needs to confirm it separately."

Smokescreen tried to look serious: "I understand."

"Why are you on the 'Karma' ship?"

Smoke opened his mouth and said very frankly, "I don't know either."

Vector wanted to facepalm again, and BICk0 looked over expressionlessly.

Smokescreen immediately added, "It's not that I don't want to tell you! I genuinely don't know!"

He spoke quickly, but also very earnestly:

"When I was in Iron Fortress, Master Titanium asked me to go to the archives, saying he needed to talk to me. I thought it was some important information, an escort mission, or that he needed me to deliver a message."

"Then?"

"Then I woke up in a hibernation pod."

The vector looked at him, and the smoke screen looked at her.

A few seconds later, he whispered, "There really isn't any in the middle."

"Don't you remember why you fell into a coma?"

"I don't remember." Smokescreen shook her head. "I think it was either a Decepticon raid or something happened at the archives. When I woke up, I was in a small hibernation pod, disguised as a large energy cube."

He thought for a moment and then added:

"But later, when I looked at it from the outside, I realized it looked like an energy block, and the inside was just a cramped space. It was in the Retribution Warehouse, and I almost hit my head when I woke up."

The vector gesture indicated that he should continue.

Smokescreen said, "When I opened the hull, I found myself surrounded by Decepticon markings, and I almost thought I was still asleep. Later, I wandered around the warehouse and found the bridge's communications area. I heard your communications from Aquitron were intermittent, so I managed to get back in."

He sat up a little straighter.

"I didn't really think too much about it at the time. I just wanted to report that the communication array of the Retribution ship was still working, so I gave it a try."

"You did a great job."

The smoke screen froze.

The vector explanation states:

"The underwater situation was chaotic at the time, and it was crucial that communications were re-established. Although you didn't know why you were on the Narrative, you made quick judgments after waking up, first reporting the situation promptly, and then helping to restore contact."

The optical mirrors of the smoke screen were noticeably brighter, the car door flaps were thumping, and finally, a soft cheer escaped: "I'm so happy!"

Vector felt that this kid was a bit too honest, but quite likable.

She continued flipping through the notes: "You just said that Master Titanium sent you to the archives?"

"right."

"What do you remember after you saw him?"

Smokescreen recalled seriously: "He told me to come closer and that he had something to give me. I was quite excited at the time, since Master Titanium rarely called me over directly. I thought I finally had an important task."

He paused for a moment: "And then I woke up."

Yin Vector pressed her finger on the table and couldn't help but sigh. She was starting to have some doubts about Master Titanium, but looking at the clear optical lens of the smoke screen, she didn't say anything in the end.

Master Titanium has returned to the source of fire; the deceased will not come back to explain.

She couldn't just label him without evidence, but she did sense something was off.

"This part will continue to be reviewed by the judicial authorities."

Smokescreen nodded: "If you need my cooperation, I can come anytime!"

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but couldn't help but start explaining how he avoided the surveillance cameras, found the communication interface, and almost got himself stuck behind a row of energy boxes after waking up.

The vector started listening.

Later, she slowly frowned.

When the smoke screen speaks, the magnetic field remains active, clear, and clean.

But beneath that vibrant surface, something is amiss.

Very subtle.

If the gravitational vector weren't inherently sensitive to magnetic fields, it might have been mistaken for a minor anomaly left over from the Battle of Aquitron.

Yet it remained so stable that it didn't seem like part of the smoke screen itself; something seemed to be sleeping peacefully deep within its chest.

The vector's gaze fell upon the smokescreen's chest.

The smokescreen continued, "Then I thought, if I could get in touch with the Retribution Number's communications, maybe I could—"

He suddenly froze, because the gravitational vector suddenly stood up.

She walked around the table and stood in front of him, and he instinctively raised his optical glasses in response.

"Chief Justice?"

The vector didn't answer, but stared at his chest for a while.

The smokescreen door froze: "What's wrong?"

"Don't move."

The smoke screen immediately stopped moving, obedient but also stiff.

The magnetic force raised its hand, its fingertips hovering over the outside of his chest armor, carefully exploring with magnetic attraction.

The voice behind the smoke suddenly lowered: "Aren't we... a little too close?"

"fine."

The vector was completely focused on that strange magnetic field.

Smokescreen tried to act like a normal, mature Autobot.

The energy flow surged upwards from his chest, and the edge of his outer armor showed an unnatural blue tinge.

His brain modules were in complete chaos.

Too close! She was looking at his chest! Her hand touched it!

Should he say something? Would it make things even stranger? Could she hear his energy pump frequency?

God above, should he even breathe now?!

No, he's not an organic life form... That's even worse, he can't even relieve tension by breathing!!

Her brows furrowed more and more, and the magnetic attraction, as thin as a thread, probed into the gaps in the outer armor of the smoke screen.

Smokescreen was sitting down, but as she leaned over to examine her, the distance between them grew closer and closer.

He subconsciously raised his hand, then stopped, and finally very carefully supported her waist.

The force was so light it was almost imperceptible; he was trying to make it less noticeable.

The vector was of course ignored, and the smoke screen dared not move at all.

His brain module was left with only a few very immature messages colliding back and forth.

I touched it!!

They're so close!

She didn't push her away!

Is he going to be overloaded and sent flying?!?

BICk0 stood to the side, silently turning on the camera, his movements discreet and practiced.

The magnetic attraction of the gravitational vector has finally reached the deepest point.

The object was hidden inside the chest cavity, very close to the main energy pathway, yet avoiding locations easily detected by conventional scans.

It's like something that was deliberately placed there.

Yin Xiang's expression changed: "You have something in your chest."

Smokescreen: "Huh?"

"It didn't grow out; it's like it was stuffed in."

"ah?!"

The entire machine was stunned: "Something was stuffed in my chest? When? Who did it? How come I didn't know? This doesn't sound like something I shouldn't know!"

His voice rose as he finished speaking.

He withdrew his hand, his expression not good.

Her suspicions about Master Titanium grew stronger. She really wanted to ask him if he had been using the young machine as a portable safe.

She was very troubled, but she could roughly understand.

If that thing is important, needs to be avoided by the Decepticons, or must be left behind in some way, Alpha might indeed choose a method that no one would expect.

However, she still had the idea of ​​creating a powerful titanium master.

She grabbed Yanmu's wrist: "Let's go."

Before Yanmu could react, he asked, "Where to?"

"Infirmary"

"But the questioning isn't over yet—"

"it's over."

"Is it that sudden?"

BICk0 has begun contacting the medical center.

The ambulance has been received for emergency inspection.

The vector pulled the smoke screen out, causing it to stumble slightly before quickly catching up.

-

The ambulance had just finished a follow-up examination of one machine and was packing up its medical equipment.

The next instant, the door opened, and the vector pulled in a cloud of smoke.

The edges of the smoke screen armor still had a trace of lingering blue, and the door wings were stiff as if they were strapped to a fixed frame.

The vector expression is very serious.

When the ambulance driver saw this combination, the energy pump went cold.

"What's wrong now?"

"He has something in his chest," said the vector.

Smokescreen immediately added, "I just found out!"

ambulance:"……"

He slowly put down the tools in his hand.

Nothing related to the vector was normal or reassuring to him.

One, item, none, there.

"Get on the examination table," the ambulance driver said.

The smoke obediently climbed up.

The ambulance pulled up its scanning equipment, first glancing at the vital signs in the smoke screen, then at the gravitational vector.

"How did you find out?"

"The magnetic field is wrong."

"Are you using magnetic attraction to probe his machine again?"

"...I didn't pry."

The ambulance driver didn't bother arguing with her; the deep scan quickly revealed an unusual shadow deep within her chest cavity, hidden by smoke.

The ambulance driver's expression also turned somber.

Smokescreen looked at the scanned image: "So it really exists?"

"have."

Will it explode?

"have no idea."

Smokescreen: "...Ugh."

Vector: "Don't scare him yet."

The ambulance driver sneered, "I don't want to be scared either, but the fact that a young man has an unidentified object in his chest is very strange in itself."

The ambulance glanced at her again; her face looked even worse than before.

It's probably a headache of guessing the direction but not having any evidence yet.

Ambulance drivers are very familiar with this expression, and it usually means there's more trouble to come.

He closed the optical glasses.

Why didn't he take a day off today?