Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 7 Her Spark

The next day, she had just finished eating the energy cube when she was stopped by Zhen Tianzun.

"come over."

"sit down."

"Don't move."

The vector instinctively sat up a little straighter.

Zhen Tianzun stood in front of her, his gaze sweeping from her arms and fins down to her leg joints, as if he were reassessing an old part that could barely still function.

"Raise your left arm."

"Move the dorsal fin."

"The fins on the side of the head are swaying."

"Lift your right leg."

The vector control system works in coordination throughout the process, and in a sense, it also provides an opportunity to re-familiarize itself with its own body.

In some cases, it would take her half a second to realize where he was referring to and how to move.

Zhen Tianzun observed very closely; the pale blue optical lens almost never left the oldest and most unnatural connections on her body.

The vector would occasionally glance at him, and it was quite obvious that the other person was not simply "looking" at him, but rather making a judgment.

Under investigation.

It's like disassembling your own body piece by piece with your eyes.

Zhen Tianzun then looked at her left leg.

That seam near the knee, which became even more noticeable after being washed, should not exist like that on a normal body.

"Raise it a little higher."

Do as directed for the vector.

Zhen Tianzun stared at the crack for two seconds before saying:

"The connections here are crooked. It makes a creaking sound when you walk, and it's not just because the metal is old."

He then raised his hand, gesturing for her to unfold the fins on her back a little.

"And here too. The edges have already started to corrode."

She instinctively tilted her head to look, but from her own angle, she couldn't see anything at all.

"Is it serious?"

"It's more serious than you think."

Zhen Tianzun spoke in a flat tone, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact.

"The fact that your mech could make it to the arena and come back alive shows that your fire is incredibly strong."

After that, she cooperated by looking at many other parts of her body that had obviously aged to different degrees and were in a very bad state.

When the other person once again spotted her physical problem at a glance and pointed it out incisively, she couldn't help but think:

This guy is not only terrifying in appearance and has great brute strength, but also has a good brain module and sharp and keen eyesight.

Zhen Tianzun didn't immediately look away. Instead, he continued to stare at her left leg, as if trying to connect the external problems he had just encountered with something else.

"Have you been this hungry lately?"

The vector was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was asking about his eating energy bars.

"It's pretty much like this after I go online. I feel a bit better after I eat. I'm not craving food, I just get hungry really fast."

Zhen Tianzun looked up at her: "Are you full, or just not free enough?"

After thinking about it carefully, Yin Xiang said, "It's not about filling it up. It's more like something was put in, but not filled completely."

Zhen Tianzun remained silent.

"What about hibernation?" he asked after a moment. "Wouldn't hibernation make things much better?"

"It will be a little lighter," Vector answered honestly. "The joints are less stiff, and the body feels a little lighter, but it's not completely fine."

She paused, then added, "It's still empty."

The optical mirror of the Heavenly Venerable paused on her for two seconds.

"Besides the left leg, where else is it most obvious?"

"The fins are moving a bit awkwardly too." Vector thought for a moment, "I felt a sudden throbbing in my chest before."

Zhen Tianzun's expression finally changed slightly: "Jump?"

"Just... suddenly." Yin Xiang subconsciously pressed his chest. "Like something inside suddenly contracted, or flashed brightly."

She paused for a moment as she said this: "I even poked it once before."

Zhen Tianzun looked at her.

Feeling a little guilty under his gaze, the vector still forced himself to finish: "Then the whole machine felt like it was being electrified."

Zhen Tianzun stared at her without saying a word for a moment.

Her body is in a ridiculously bad state.

The old, damaged seam on the left leg should have given way long ago, and the fins on its back are far more than just "not moving smoothly." As for those worn-out joints, the fact that they can still function is a testament to the embers of life stubbornly holding on.

The vector felt a little uneasy under his gaze, and after a while, it couldn't help but want to say something.

Then he finally spoke.

"Open the ignition chamber."

The vector instinctively touched its chest, and even the optical mirror contracted for a moment.

"...Why? Why do we have to watch this?"

Zhen Tianzun looked at her.

"The external issues cannot explain your current situation."

"Open."

She paused for two seconds, then finally placed her hand on her chest.

As his consciousness pressed down on that familiar sense of control, the barrier separated layer by layer, just like before, revealing the quietly burning flame inside.

Zhen Tianzun's gaze finally settled there.

That wasn't the usual light blue.

The flame was more bluish in color, so bright it almost had a cool green tinge, but its edges were tinged with a very faint white.

In such an old, sluggish machine that seems off in almost every way, it appears too bright, too stable, and too full of life.

It was as if something inside was burning quietly and stubbornly, holding the entire shell up from collapsing.

Zhen Tianzun stared at it for several seconds.

Something deep in my chest trembled very slightly, so briefly it was almost an illusion.

He let out a very low hum.

"...No wonder."

The vector was still feeling uneasy under his gaze, and almost instinctively closed the fire seed pod again: "Did you see that? Is there a problem?"

"Yes. It's a big problem."

Zhen Tianzun's gaze remained fixed on her chest, which had just closed.

"Your spark shouldn't be in this kind of machine."

Zhen Tianzun finally shifted his gaze to her face, his tone low and flat.

Subconsciously, Yin Vector shifted his position on the stool.

Zhen Tianzun looked at her.

"Your spark is far more complete than your physical body."

The vector was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, given the condition of your mecha, you shouldn't have lasted this long," Zhen Tianzun said. "The seam on your left leg, the pair of fins on your back, and those overly worn joints—any one of these would be enough to cause serious problems for a normal mecha."

"But you can still move, think, speak, and stuff eleven energy blocks into your mouth at once."

He paused for a moment: "What's keeping you from falling apart isn't these broken outer parts."

"It's this one."

The vector was silent for two seconds, its first thought being: "So it's not just that I have a big appetite?"

Zhen Tianzun glanced at her.

"At least not entirely."

Pointer vector: "..."

She felt that this conclusion was not reassuring at all.

"What should we do? We won't have enough to repair the machine, will we?" She slumped back, her entire machine pressed against the chair back.

Zhen Tianzun snorted coldly: "Repair the outer layer first. At least make this shell more worthy of it."