Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 158 The tiger enters the spider's lair

The vector looked at the unfamiliar private frequency band and asked, "Who are you?"

A soft chuckle came from the other end: "Chief Judge, you just woke up, and your memories haven't fully returned yet?"

AZ stood to the side, his voice low: "Black Widow."

Yin Xiang's eyes darkened. She knew this name; it was in the sealed system.

The partition contained death records, vague battlefield reports that made the machine uneasy to read, and her "collection."

Black Widow. Spider-like form, dangerous, cunning, and a skilled hunter.

The vector is straightforward: "Location".

Black Widow was amused: "So fast?"

"I don't like guessing riddles across frequency bands."

"That's direct," Black Widow said softly. "I'm starting to understand why so many people are after you."

The vector reiterated, its tone somewhat cold: "Location."

There was a half-second pause on the other end, followed by a set of coordinates.

AZ glanced at it: "Old incubation area, near the collapse zone of the second space bridge."

Jack looked up from the side and said, "That's not a suitable place for friendly talks."

"She doesn't seem like the right person for friendly talks either," Vector said.

BICk0 immediately said, "I suggest bringing at least one small team."

"Need not."

Tong Tianxiao frowned: "You are not suitable to contact high-risk targets alone right now."

"I don't intend to be alone." Vector looked at AZ.

AZ raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile playing on her lips: "Me?"

"You know her."

Knowing doesn't mean I want to see her.

"I don't want to either," Vector said, "so let's suffer together."

AZ laughed: "Accept the pain."

The mechanical dog stood up and quietly walked to the feet of the vector.

Yin Zong looked down at him: "You're going too?"

Mechanical dog: "Hmm."

She did not refuse.

-

Black Widow was in an abandoned incubation silo area after the war. It was originally an underground structure, which was partially collapsed by the aftershocks of the second space bridge and then torn open by Insectoid King Kong.

The walls bear the marks of scorching and irregular scratches, while the ground shows signs of repeated trampling by heavy, armored feet.

The further you go, the more metallic dust there is in the air. Fine white threads begin to appear between the beams and pillars, like metal fibers stretched to their limit, hanging in the dark, reflecting light slightly.

The mechanical dog walked close to the ground, its nose brushing against the threads, without immediately issuing a warning.

They ventured deep into the incubation chamber, where things were already moving around them.

A deep, grinding sound came from the darkness, and an insect-like giant emerged from the shadows.

It is taller than a regular insectoid gorilla, with a thick back and shoulders, claws that are close to the ground, and red optical lenses that shine like fire in the dark.

For now, it's just blocking the middle of the passage, staring at the attraction vector.

AZ whispered, "Hard Shell, the strongest among Insect King Kongs."

The hard shell then opened, its voice rough, like metal blocks grinding against each other: "Chief Judge."

"Hard shell".

Hearing its own name called, the optical mirror flashed with surprise: "You've come to collect the swarm?"

"Temporary dispatch".

Hardshell doesn't seem to like the word: "He doesn't like being dispatched."

"So you want to continue staying here doing nothing?"

The hard shell remained silent; it probably didn't immediately understand the idiom "doing nothing," but it grasped the tone.

A soft chuckle came from the shadows: "Don't tease my little bug."

The Black Widow finally appeared, slowly descending from the spider silk hanging down from above. Her slender spider legs spread out segment by segment, her purplish-black exoskeleton appearing sharp yet silent in the dim light, with a few golden parts like a splash of vibrant color unique to the predator.

She landed on several intersecting metal wires, sitting with composure.

More insect-like creatures emerged from the darkness, their outlines appearing silent, restless, and suppressed.

They cannot express themselves as clearly as a hard shell, but they are all waiting.

Black Widow's gaze slowly swept over the vector, as if examining its hardness, toughness, and what kind of expression it would reveal when cut as a specimen or collectible.

The vector didn't follow her line of sight at all, nor did it move backward.

Black Widow said softly, "You're colder than the rumors say."

Vector: "You're even less suited to be released than the records suggest."

Black Widow's smile deepened: "So you still came?"

"I'm short of troops."

"It's so sincere it breaks my heart."

"You won't be sad."

"Maybe I will."

The vector stared coldly at her, and Black Widow smiled: "Alright, no."

AZ stood slightly behind, watching quietly. His gaze swept over the spider silk high above, the insectoid giants on either side, and the spot where Black Widow had landed.

Black Widow glanced at him.

"AZ is here too." She said softly, "Did you follow her into my network today out of loyalty, or curiosity?"

AZ smiled: "Work."

"When did you become so boring?"

"today."

The vector interrupted their nonsense: "Can Insectoid King Kong be used?"

Black Widow turned her gaze back: "Yes."

"cost."

"Don't rush," Black Widow said. "You haven't asked me why I'm willing to help you yet."

I have limited interest in your motives.

Black Widow paused for a moment.

She suddenly found it amusing. The vector wasn't being stubborn or putting on a show. When she looked at her, she didn't see her as someone to bewitch, nor as a monster. Nor was it some self-righteous gaze attempting to judge her with superior pity.

The chief judge looked at her as if she were a dangerous but useful entity that needed to be restricted and reviewed later.

This kind of gaze was more novel to Black Widow than to her disgust.

She gently moved one of her spider legs, and fine silk threads silently fell from all around.

One branch draped over the predator's shoulder, another wrapped around her back, and several others climbed up from cracks in the ground. The hunter first determined the size of the prey's skeleton.

The mechanical dog emitted a low mechanical sound, and AZ's hand instantly fell beside the weapon.

The magnetic vector didn't move, still coldly watching Black Widow, before the magnetic ring on its chest lit up.

Immediately afterwards, the metal wires throughout the entire incubation chamber vibrated simultaneously.

The spider silk that was originally hanging down was pulled by the magnetic field, its direction suddenly changed, and it instantly became taut in the opposite direction, stretching into dozens of cold and bright lines against the wall, beams and the ground.

The black widow's spider legs, which she had spread out, were forced to stop.

Several insects that got too close together were pressed by the magnetic field, causing their joints to make short, grinding noises.

The four claws of the hard shell dug deeply into the ground, forcefully resisting the pull, while the shoulder and back armor sank, and the optical lenses shone even brighter.

The vector glanced at him: "Not bad."

The hard shell growled softly.

Black Widow's smile widened as she looked at the countered spider silk and then at the gravitational vector.

She was no longer prey; she finally realized that.

This is something that can turn the entire net upside down and strangle its owner.

Dangerous, beautiful, but not suitable for collecting.

Black Widow slowly retracted her webs: "Is this how chief judges negotiate deals?"

Vector: "No."

"Then I'm honored?"

"You're a nuisance."

The Black Widow's laughter echoed through the empty hatchery, and the restlessness of the insect swarm subsided.

The gravitational vector tightens the magnetic field, but doesn't completely loosen it: "You don't need to repent; you can be of use to me for now."

Black Widow's optical glasses shone even brighter upon hearing this: "How indifferent."

"I remember about the partition."

Black Widow's smile faded slightly: "You're already bringing up old grievances as soon as you wake up?"

The vector said, "It's just a temporary suspension of the trial."

She walked forward step by step, stepping over the loosened threads on the ground: "The Quintessons have a higher priority now, but that doesn't mean your account is gone."

Black Widow remained silent, while several insectoid gorillas around her lowered their bodies and glanced at her.

The vector continued: "Your insectoid gorilla needs a hunting ground, and I have one."

"You need a reason to stop them from biting around inside Cybertron, and I have one too."

"Besides, you just tested me."

She stopped not far from Black Widow.

The Black Widow sat among the spider silk, looking down at her.

This distance is ideal for Black Widow to make a kill.

For the vector, it would also be suitable to pull her down from the spider web.

Both sides understood this, so neither side took any action.

"You want to use my little bug?" Black Widow squinted through her purplish-red optical glasses.

"Temporary dispatch".

"It sounds like a term that the judicial system would use to cover up misappropriation."

"It seems you're adept at concealment."

Black Widow laughed out loud: "You're really unlikable."

"Then you refuse."

"What if I really refuse?"

"I'm dismantling this net," Vector said. "I'll separate you and Insectoid and take you back to the judicial center. Hardshell will be kept in separate custody, while the other Insectoids will be placed under triage. You'll see the interrogation room first, then the pending trial record."

Black Widow calmed down; she wasn't frightened, but she needed to recalculate.

The vector continued, "If they agree, the swarm can also see Aquitron."

This made Hardshell look up: "Battlefield?"

The vector turned to it: "Yes."

"enemy?"

"The Quintessons and everything that's preventing us from bringing the Cybertronians back."

Hardshell growled, "Autobots?"

"Don't touch it."

"Decepticons?"

"Can't."

The hard-shelled claws tapped the ground: "So many can't move."

"Learn to be more precise," the vector said. "You'll have plenty more to tear apart."

Hardshell stared at her for a long time, then he turned to look at Black Widow.

Black Widow rested her chin on her hand, contemplating this game of light and shadow, which was even more intriguing than she had anticipated.

She loves collecting—beautiful, sharp, broken, and useful things.

She enjoys watching hard objects get entangled little by little by spider silk, observing when the other party realizes that it can no longer escape.

Unlike other vectors, she made the silk thread itself both evidence and constraint.

This made Black Widow both unhappy and excited.

She wanted to keep her; the thought was crystal clear.

But it's a bit of a waste that we can't keep it now.

Black Widow relented, her spider legs outstretched but no longer probing: "I can make the swarm of insects under your command."

Vector: "Condition".

"I'll go too."

AZ slightly raised his eyes from behind; the mechanical dog was already prepared to pounce and bite.

The lead question was: "How about expanding your collection?"

"That's one of them; it mainly depends on how you judge God."

"Proclaiming himself a god."

"You really know how to interrupt me."

"You're really wasting my time."

Black Widow's spider legs were covered in silk threads.

"Alright," she said. "The shell and the swarm are temporarily under your command. As for me, I will follow your instructions, but I am not part of your judicial system."

"You will be placed on the pending review list."

"It's already there, isn't it?"

"Priority will be updated."

"It's an honor."

Yin Xiang looked at her, his tone calm and restrained: "Don't treat this as an honor."

The Black Widow smiled but did not answer, and the spider silk began to unravel one by one from above.

The hard shell emitted a roar, and the insects in the darkness moved accordingly. They no longer surrounded the vector, but instead, like a living tide of shells, slowly retreated outwards, revealing the way out.

Black Widow fell from the height and stood in front of the gravitational vector.

She was thinner and more dangerous than the vector had anticipated. The spider legs slowly closed behind her, like a cage that could reopen at any moment.

"I've thought about it," Black Widow said. "It would be a bit of a waste to leave you here now."

Vector: "Stop imagining."

"It's a bit difficult."

"effort."

Black Widow chuckled, watching the vector turn and walk out: "I'll meet you in Crystal City tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting."

AZ followed the vector and looked back before leaving the incubation chamber.

Black Widow still stood in the shadows, her spiderwebs hanging down again, like a deadly invitation that remained.

The hard-shelled creature, carrying a swarm of insects, left through another passage, its heavy footsteps echoing across the ground.

They didn't stop to rest until they stepped out of the old incubator and felt the cold suburban wind.

AZ looked at her.

Along the way, he did not see a chief judge who was simply gathering troops.

She organized everything that was out of control into ways that could be named, held accountable, and used.

The Elite Guard, the Steel Cable Squad, and Shockwave are examples of this, and now even Black Widow and Insect King Kong are.

She saw the danger, but still reached out to grab its edge.

AZ slowly came to a stop, the optical mirror firmly locking onto the attractor vector.

There are some things that need to be said.

Drawing, painting, creating, etc. are all allowed, but you're not allowed to feed it!