Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 94 The Holy Grail and the Golden Fruit

The vector did not leave Orion's house immediately.

It wasn't that she didn't want to leave; as soon as she stood up, Orion glanced at her.

They didn't stop me, nor did they say anything harsh, but the meaning was clear.

You'd better sit back down now.

Yin Xiang looked down at his still somewhat heavy leg joints, then at the half-empty cup of low-stimulation energy liquid next to him, and finally wisely sat back down.

To survive, sometimes you have to learn to bow to medical advice and reality.

Especially the ambulance doctor's orders.

That thing sounds like a suggestion, but it's actually more like an ultimatum that if you don't follow it, you'll be dragged to be inspected and dismantled.

Orian stopped staring at her and turned back to the outer room to work on his documents.

Megatron sat on the other side, with several layers of the Caron Military District's mobilization interface projected on his forearm terminal. The dense lines spread out, making the vector brain module, which had just recovered a little, want to go into hibernation again.

She sat by the guest room door, clutching the energy liquid, and watched them for a while.

Each of the three machines was busy with its own task.

Orion had information about Iron Fortress and leadership positions, Megatron had information about the Calon Military District and personnel changes, and she herself had a newly released announcement of the appointment of the Chief Justice, along with a bunch of rapidly updating public comments.

She didn't want to look, but her hands were more honest than her brain, and she had already clicked on it.

The first batch of comments was quite chaotic.

[Chief Justice? That key vector?]

Is it the same purple machine from before? The one that mentioned the administrator.

[She looks quite young in the photo.]

[Young? How did you figure that out?]

[Is the Caron Military District's supervisor Megatron? Isn't that the one in the arena?]

This announcement was so sudden.

[It's not sudden, is it? Something's been off with Caron lately.]

Who is that Chief Justice?

I don't know, but the photo is very impressive.

Yin Vector stared at the last sentence, hesitated for a moment, and couldn't resist opening the photo again for a second look.

It was indeed filmed with great flair, but the background was heavily edited.

She looked at the photo for two seconds, then turned it off, deciding to protect the health of her brain module.

Megatron didn't even look up: "Don't stare for too long."

The vector looked up: "What?"

"Watching too much nonsense on public channels will reduce processing efficiency."

The vector remained silent for a moment.

"Sometimes when you talk, it really sounds like you're cursing all machines."

"I'm just stating the facts."

Orian chimed in from the side, "Public channels do tend to generate a lot of emotional reactions. Since it's just been released, the content will be even more chaotic."

Yin Vector glanced at him: "That's a euphemism."

Orion thought for a moment and said, "Hmm."

Pointer vector: "..."

These two are just directly insulting each other, while one is packaging his insults before doing so!

She sat for a while longer, and after finishing the low-stimulation energy drink, the soreness and heaviness in her body finally subsided.

She moved her fingers around to make sure they were healed before standing up.

This time, Orion only asked, "Are you sure there's no problem?"

"I'm sure," said Vector. "If I sit any longer, I'm afraid I'll watch the whole public channel."

Megatron closed the interface and stood up.

He looked at her and asked, "Are you leaving too?"

"Otherwise what?" Megatron looked down at her, "To leave you here to continue causing Orion trouble?"

Vector's lips twitched slightly: "When I'm awake, I'm quite easy to manage."

Orion paused for a second.

Megatron sneered.

Vector immediately turned to look at Orion: "You paused."

Orion looked innocent: "I was just checking on you."

You absolutely are not.

You're overthinking it.

The vector stared at him for several seconds before finally giving up.

This machine has gone bad now, and it's bad even though it looks perfectly fine on the surface.

She walked to the door, but before leaving, she turned back to look at Orian one last time: "Thank you for your help yesterday."

Orion smiled and said, "No trouble at all."

Megatron gave a soft hum from the side.

The vector looked at him.

Megatron didn't explain, and she didn't bother to ask further.

On the way back, new announcements were scrolling on Caron's public screen, with Megatron's name and her own name appearing repeatedly, separated by a few lines.

Some passing machines stopped and looked up, while others whispered among themselves, and a few immediately lowered their voices after recognizing Megatron.

The vector looked at those eyes.

She had been targeted before, by various parties, but it was never the same as now.

Now someone is putting her name on the list and saying: Look, this is her! Chief Justice.

After the two planes returned to their lodgings, Megatron didn't say anything more. He simply projected the multi-layered troop movement map of the Caron Military District. For him, the announcement was not the end.

The vector sat on the other side and also brought up its own process file.

She fell silent as soon as she opened the first document.

a lot of.

Much.

There were so many that she wondered if the parliament had included a graveyard of documents in the appointments.

Megatron didn't even look up: "Don't wander around lately."

The vector gesture paused: "Did you often say this before?"

"You run around quite often."

"I called that a necessary action."

"Then you'd better not take any action today."

After thinking about it, the vector decided to keep quiet.

She was just about to start reading the shortest one when a notification popped up on her private channel.

unfamiliar.

The vector motion is delayed.

Her private frequency band access wasn't completely blocked, but it was definitely not something any random machine could access.

Especially after all those messy things that happened before, she added several layers of protection, so ordinary and unfamiliar frequencies couldn't even touch this place.

She frowned and clicked on it.

There is only one message.

The ID was not hidden.

Enemy of the Heavens.

Yin Vector stared at the name and remained silent for two seconds.

Megatron looked up from the other side: "Who?"

The vector projected that message onto a corner of the screen.

"The Enemy of the Sky".

The air pressure in the room plummeted, and Megatron stared at the name, his red optical glasses turning cold.

Vector didn't rush to scold her; she was too lazy to even think about how Sentinel Prime had sneaked in.

If she really wanted to get her hands on him, there were too many ways to do it. If she checked every single one of them, in the end she would only find out that he was incredibly annoying and capable.

She turned on the frequency band.

Sentinel Prime: [The photos are pretty well edited, aren't they? At least they look better than the scene.]

Yin Xiang stared at that sentence, his lips gradually curving into a smile.

Megatron glanced at her: "Don't go back."

The vector character has already placed their hand on the input box: "Just reply."

Megatron: "..."

She looked at it for a while before slowly typing.

[You guys can even turn ruins into a backdrop; your skills are truly impressive.]

After a moment, the other side replied.

Ruins should not be part of the system presented to the public. Order requires stability, not the display of cracks as spoils of war.

Yin Vector looked at this sentence and sneered.

He wasn't even denying it; he just felt he shouldn't be seen.

"You must have had a lot of trouble repairing it, considering there were so many cracks."

There was a few seconds of silence on Yutiandi's end, then new words popped up.

[On his first day in office, is the Chief Justice already eager to prove he's not yet suited for the position?]

Yin Vector leaned back and tapped his fingertip on the table.

He wanted to shift the topic from "parliament embellishing the truth" to "whether she is fit for the position".

Old man, so annoying.

No rush. The spot is already mine. Whether it suits you or not, we can take your time to see.

This time, the other side stopped for even longer.

Before even looking at the vector, I quickly scanned the official process that the titanium technician had sent me.

She doesn't intend to waste all her time on Sentinel Prime, even though the machine is indeed very suitable as a daily blood pressure trainer.

A few minutes later, a new message appeared.

I'll watch how you sit on it securely.

After reviewing the vector, his gaze turned a bit cold.

Then you'd better look carefully, so you don't miss anything.

After I sent that message, the other party didn't reply.

The vector stared at the blank space for two seconds, then slowly gritted its teeth.

Sentinel Prime didn't come to argue; he came to tell her that he was watching and that he had no intention of hiding.

She added all the messages to the locked history and sent a brief reminder to Orion and Titanium Master respectively.

Sentinel Prime has infiltrated my private channel.

[No ID was hidden.]

I have saved this.

Orion replied very quickly.

I saw it.

Don't ignore this; he won't contact you for no reason.

She replied: 【I know.】

The last update from Master Titanium was very short.

[Proceed according to the original plan.]

I can handle external permission issues.

Looking at these, the vector felt more at ease.

She has to take office today, and the procedures will proceed as scheduled.

She closed the screen and prepared to leave.

Megatron also put away those layers of military region interfaces.

He looked at him and asked, "You're going too?"

"I'm not going in," Megatron said. "I'll take you to the outside of the judicial center."

"It's not like I don't know the way."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing?"

Megatron looked at her calmly and said, "Let those who should see see."

After a moment of hesitation, Yin Xiang quickly understood.

The announcement had just been made when she went to the judicial center to officially take over the position, attracting countless eyes along the way.

Megatron is making a statement.

She stood up and said nothing more: "Let's go then."

On her way to the judicial center, she noticed a significant increase in the number of people watching her.

Some machines would immediately look away upon seeing her, while others would stare at her mech and visor, as if trying to match the photo in the announcement with her in real life.

Several staff members from the judicial system stood at a distance, their expressions upright and their posture very standard.

Megatron walked beside her the whole way, neither slowing down nor concealing his aura.

Some of the gazes that were originally fixed on the vector quickly turned to him, and then obediently withdrew after meeting his red optical glasses.

"Your deterrent is really convenient," said the vector in a low voice.

Megatron glanced at her and said, "You can learn it."

"My body type doesn't support it."

"Then use something else."

She didn't respond to that sentence, but she memorized it in her brain module.

Outside the main building of the judicial center, Megatron stopped and did not go any further inside.

The vector also paused for a moment and looked up at him.

Megatron said, "Process complete, frequency band transmission."

"Know."

"If Sentinel Prime contacts you again, send it to me too."

Yin Xiangzong's lips curled slightly: "He contacted me right next to you."

Megatron said coldly, "So he had better continue to be so audacious."

It sounds like a death omen.

He didn't continue with the vector reading and turned to enter the judicial center.

Master Tai was already waiting for her inside the main building.

He stood in the light and shadow, his outer armor old yet neat, his posture steady. Ancient wisdom seemed to be condensed within him, as if he had known this day would come all along.

The vector walked over: "Am I late?"

"No," said Master Titanium. "You've come at the perfect time."

He spoke calmly, with a weight that had settled over a long period of time.

The vector followed him inside.

"Following the announcement, your basic permissions have been granted," said Master Tai. "Today's completion is the internal binding. Hearing oversight, review of major disputes, independent rulings, and core access to judicial files will be granted sequentially."

Vector looked down at the interface: "Is this sequential connection to prevent the system from crashing, or to prevent me from crashing?"

Master Titanium glanced at her: "I have them all."

Vector: ...This old man is too honest.

The doors in front opened one by one.

Instead of taking her to the usual deliberation rooms and public passageways, Master Tai led her deeper into a quieter area.

The light here is lower than outside, and the walls are a deep metallic color, with occasional glimpses of ancient Cybertronian script embedded in them.

The words lit up slightly as the Titanium Master passed by, then quickly went dark again.

She glanced at the vector twice, but the titanium master didn't explain, and she didn't ask either.

Halfway there, she couldn't help but ask the surface-level question: "What do these words mean?"

"Early judicial oaths"

"Could you translate this into a version I can understand?"

Master Titanium's gaze fell on the wall and paused for a moment.

"The adjudicator must not disguise personal anger as justice, nor the will of the superior as order."

The vector was a beat behind, while the titanium master continued walking forward.

"Well written," she said.

"Yes," Master Titanium said without turning around. "Whether it can be defended is another matter."

They finally stopped in front of a door.

The door was narrower than the outside one, and its surface had no extra decorations except for a very faint emblem in the center.

The Holy Grail holds a golden apple.

Master Titanium raised his hand, and the emblem on the door lit up briefly before opening to both sides.

It wasn't the grand hall she had imagined; the room was small, even rather empty.

In the center was a low inkstone. There were no screens or seats on the surrounding walls, only a thin, cold light rising from the edge of the floor. Directly in front hung a three-dimensional emblem, the same as the one on the door.

It was so quiet here that even the sound of her own energy circulation became noticeable.

"This is the Chief Justice's internal printing room," said Master Titanium.

She walked in, and the door closed behind her.

The titanium master retrieved an access key and connected it to the inkpad.

"This mark is not just for decoration," he said. "It will bind your identity, permissions, core identification of the judicial system, and a portion of independent adjudication channels. In the future, your rulings, hearing certificates, and seizure orders can all be verified through it."

The vector looked at the floating emblem: "It sounds important."

"It's important anyway."

Master Titanium looked at her and said, "If power makes you feel light, it usually means it has been misplaced."

The vector fell silent for a moment.

This was neither a reprimand nor a reminder, but it was etched in her heart.

"Stand in front of the inkstone," Master Titanium said.

Do as directed for the vector.

The emblem above the inkstone slowly sank, and the light fell on her chest.

She instinctively lowered her head.

The outer layer of the chest flame compartment remained closed, with only a small inscription area specifically designed to hold the mark emerging from the surface of the outer armor.

She hadn't noticed that piece of metal before; it seemed to have always been hidden within the outer texture, only to be awakened by the system at this moment.

The voice of the Titanium Master came from the side.

"Confirm binding, Chief Judge, referencing vector."

The inkpad lit up.

A thin, steady beam of light descended, first outlining the Holy Grail on her chest, then gradually etching it into her outer armor, before slowly forming the shape of a golden apple within the chalice.

The vector didn't move, and it didn't hurt, but it was definitely heavy.

It was as if a vast system had connected with her at that moment, despite the barriers of armor, permissions, and markings.

The numerous channels lit up for only a moment before being quickly sealed back into their respective positions.

She heard her system skip over a dozen permission confirmations in a row, only to archive them all the next second.

The lines of the Holy Grail were completed, and the golden apple in the cup shone slightly before settling into a very light golden luster, embedded in her breastplate, positioned just above the outer layer of the fire seed chamber.

It's not an exaggeration, but it's quite obvious.

Once you see it, you won't mistake it.

The vector looked down at it and remained silent for a long time.

The titanium master pulled out the access key.

"From this moment on, this mark will only respond to you."

The vector rises to the top.

"Unless you die, step down, or are stripped of your chief judge status through a full and legal process, no institution can replicate it," said the chief judge.

"Not even Parliament?"

"It's not possible due to institutional constraints."

The vector understood his phrasing: "And what about in reality?"

Master Titanium looked at her.

"It actually depends on how much you can hold on to."

Vector looked down again at the Holy Grail and the golden apple on his chest.

"I understand," she said. "The law is well-written, but the problem is there's always someone trying to circumvent it."

Titanium Master did not deny it.

"Therefore, we need both executors and gatekeepers."

At that moment, her terminal suddenly lit up slightly.

She knew without even guessing who it was, and she looked down and tapped the screen.

The new information about Sentinel Prime lay there quietly.

Congratulations. Now you look even more like a target.

When Yin Xiangli saw this sentence, he didn't get angry immediately. Instead, he raised the corners of his mouth and slowly typed.

"Then you'd better not miss."

send.

She closed the interface and looked up at Master Titanium.

"How much of the process is left?"

Master Titanium glanced at her, already guessing what she was thinking from her reaction, but didn't ask any further questions.

He opened the next level of the permissions list.

Three whole pages.

As she looked at the densely packed confirmation items, the Holy Grail and the Apple of Gold that had just been printed on her chest hadn't even had a chance to bring her much solemnity before reality slammed her back into the hell of paperwork.

She paused for two seconds, then asked earnestly, "Can a chief judge resign?"

Master Titanium looked at her.

"Can."

The vector was taken aback.

The titanium expert continued, "It won't pass."

Pointer vector: "..."

She closed her optical glasses.

That's brilliant; the ultimate end of power really is filling out forms.