Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 162 Opening the Bridge

On the fourteenth day, no one spoke in front of the third space bridge; all was silent.

All that remained was the low hum of the stable operation of the energy rails, the occasional brief notifications from the Crystal City relay station, and the deliberately muted metallic scraping sounds of a heavily armed team adjusting their weapons in the distance.

The support troops are all in place.

The home team is positioned closest to the Space Bridge.

The vector was at the very front, with Tongtianxiao a step to the side and the Law Balance Knights arrayed on either side. The mechanical dog was close to her feet, while AZ stood a little further away.

The double-edged sword of the Sky Enemy was tucked at her waist, the pale gold patterns hidden deep within the blade, not completely extinguished.

The Ark rescue team is on standby on the left.

The elite guard captain was quietly checking on the team members' status, while the Thunder Rescue Team prepared the evacuation equipment and temporary restraints. Rumble and Chaos were assigned to the communications support position, the two little guys occasionally whispering and teasing each other.

The right side is the heavy-armored suppression team.

The Steel Cable Squad remained there. Steel Cable kept his head down, his optical scope fixed on the main ring of the Space Bridge. Slag's forepaws left light marks on the ground, and Darts folded his wings. The hastily recruited Decepticon frontline fighters were scattered around them, silent and tense, but they did not retreat.

Further away, Black Widow and Hardshell, along with Insectoid King Kong, occupied the starting position for the underground team.

The insectoid gorilla lowered its body, while Black Widow looked like she was heading to a feast.

The technical and channel teams are on opposite sides.

Shockwave stood on the main control side of the space bridge, his single eye fixed on the jump point model. Jack crouched below the external energy tube, one hand pressing on the temporary lock, the other tightening the last fastener.

BICk0 stood ready in front of the control panel, with the Crystal City technical department and the judicial central dispatch group positioned behind her, and all the access chains were already lit up.

Crystal stood on the other side, her cold light reflecting off the edge of her shoulder armor, giving her a stern look.

Everyone knows that time is running out.

Finally, a low-power coded message appeared on the control panel, disguised as ambient noise from Aquitron.

BICk0 immediately looked up: "Aquitron, inside player."

The secret message displayed on the screen:

[36 minutes before the court session begins.]

The alarm system surrounding the courtroom has been desensitized. There is a five-minute window of inactivity on the internal patrol loop.

I've opened the access window.

The fourth line popped up a beat too late.

I need to go back to the Witness section.

After reviewing the vector, he immediately instructed: "Technical team, connect."

BICk0 had already made arrangements, starting the access control chain from the judicial central control console, with the Crystal City relay suppressing noise and stuffing the Cybertron signal into the gap left by the Jazz.

CrystalLens raised its hand to switch channels: "Relay avoids public frequency bands."

The shockwave is also adjusting the coordinate model of the main loop: "Matching the low monitoring point of Aquitron. The alarm system sensitivity has decreased by 47 percent and is continuing to be reduced."

The five-minute window given by the Jazz was quite tight.

Aquitron's alarms were internally tuned to be sluggish, prone to misjudgment, and prioritize ignoring low-level anomalies.

Cybertron must disguise the landing point of the space bridge as an environmental fluctuation that can be ignored by the system before it can react.

BICk0's fingers tapped rapidly on the console, sparks flying.

"Evacuation route ready."

"Aquitron alarm loop access."

"Low-level surveillance location being locked."

With each sentence she uttered, a cursor on the control panel turned green.

In the fourth minute, another text message came from the Jazz.

The patrol route was moved up.

Faster.

BICk0 was so anxious he wished he had three heads and six arms, so he immediately pushed up the backup permissions: "Crystal City Technical Department, replace the third layer of echo."

Crystalline: "Take over."

The oscillation simultaneously locks the coordinate model into the main loop: "A stable landing window is formed."

The jack, standing nearby, looked at the data: "Duration?"

"It is impossible to make an accurate prediction."

"That's great." Jack pressed his head with one hand, looking quite exhausted from the Space Bridge. "That's exactly what you should hear before setting off."

In the fifth minute, all the red alerts faded away simultaneously.

A line of text lit up in the center of the main control panel.

[The Aquitron alarm system has been successfully desensitized.]

[Low-level surveillance coverage access.]

The space bridge is ready to be activated.

The Jazz's last message then popped up.

You now have an entrance.

I'm going to the courtroom.

The vector only replied with one message: 【Wait for us.】

Before the jazz could reply, the signal was cut off.

Thirty-one minutes to go.

He turned around, looked at all the squads, and raised his hand to project the countdown onto all channels.

[31 minutes until the official court hearing]

"Final confirmation for each team."

Tong Tianxiao immediately took over the tactical channel: "Main team, after entering, prioritize confirming the safety of the landing point, then advance towards the flank of the Inquisition. Law Knights, maintain double ranks and do not leave the main team unless the commander-in-chief changes the order."

The Knights of Justice responded in unison: "Confirmed."

"Ark Rescue Team, second batch enters. After confirming the landing point, proceed directly to the base area and restricted area. Do not linger in the main battlefield."

Elite Guard Captain: "Confirmed."

Jack raised his head: "Thunder Rescue Team confirmed."

A low rumble: "Rescue team confirmed."

Confusion: "Confirmation via communication assistance."

Tong Tianxiao continued: "Heavy armored suppression team, third batch. Once inside, immediately expand the outer defensive line and cut off reinforcements from the perimeter."

Steel Cable: "I understand."

Although Ultra Magnus was skeptical of Grimlock's expression, he continued his instructions: "Swarm underground squad, fourth wave. Once inside, cut into the lower-level maintenance structure according to the predetermined coordinates. Black Widow, you're in charge of the boundary."

Black Widow chuckled: "I'm still very reliable."

The vector gave her a long, lingering glance.

Tongtianxiao finally looked at the Technology and Tunnel Team: "Shockwave and Jack's escort team will enter after the main team, keeping the Space Bridge site more advanced. BICk0 and Crystal Prism will stay behind to maintain the evacuation tunnel and the second bridge opening."

BICk0 & Crystal Edge: "Confirmed."

Countdown 30』30』』.

The main ring of the space bridge has begun to increase its power.

Light rose layer by layer from the bottom of the ring, passed through the temporary welded support structures, and finally converged in the center. Space was torn open with a vortex-like opening, and the fluorescent energy layer rotated inward, its depths unfathomable.

Tong Tianxiao looked at the main ring and suddenly said, "The commander-in-chief shouldn't be the first to enter the unknown landing point."

He said this on a private frequency.

Vector looked down and checked the energy blade on his left arm, then confirmed that the double-edged sword at his waist was securely fixed.

Finally, she turned her gaze to the center of the space bridge: "But I'm the most suitable one."

Tong Tianxiao turned to look at her.

"If the landing point is off, I react the fastest," said Vector. "If the channel is locked, I'm most likely to hold out until the transmission is returned. If there are traps inside, I'm also the best suited to be the first to deal with them."

She paused for a moment: "And I'm the commander-in-chief."

Tong Tianxiao frowned: "This is not a reason for you to take on additional risks."

"This is my responsibility."

A brief silence in the frequency band.

AZ's voice gently interjected, "I can go in at the same time as you."

"No," said the vector. "You're second. Once the landing point is stable, immediately follow the main team. Most importantly, you still have maneuvering privileges."

AZ paused for a second, then finally conceded, "Understood."

The mechanical dog's tail swept past her legs, as if it wanted to say something, but she interrupted it by touching its head.

"No. You're too small; if you land in the wrong spot, it'll be hard to catch."

The mechanical dog whimpered twice but then silently loosened its tail.

Everyone seemed to still want to persuade her, but they also knew that she was indeed the most suitable person to be the first to cross the space bridge.

High mobility, rapid response, magnetic attraction, independent combat capability, chief judge authority, and overall command and decision-making authority.

Tong Tianxiao: "If there is no confirmation within fifteen seconds of entering, we will proceed with the backup plan."

Vector: "Thirty seconds".

Tong Tianxiao stared at her, then sighed and conceded, "Twenty seconds."

Tongtianxiao: "Okay."

Countdown 30』05』』.

The space bridge is now completely stable.

The vector continued forward without looking back.

She suddenly remembered the moment last night when the sword in front of the tombstone lit up again.

Cybertron has many unrepaired rifts, and now the Quintessons are tearing them even bigger.

Countdown: 30 minute.

She stepped onto the space bridge, and light engulfed her.

The space around her stretched and compressed, as fleeting as a wondrous fall.

The next second, she landed.

Beneath my feet was a dark metal platform. The air was damp, rusty, and carried an unfamiliar smell. In the distance, there were blurry buildings overhead, pipes running down the walls, and low-brightness guide lights, modified by Jazz, stretched towards the courtroom.

There were no alarms or patrol units.

She steadied herself and heard the sound of water in the distance, so soft and gentle as if it came from a faraway place.

The vector paused for half a second, and the dark patterns on the double-edged sword at the waist lit up for a fleeting moment.

She raised her hand to connect to the Cybertronian channel.

【arrive.】