Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 180 Retribution Letter

Optimus Prime's voice came a beat late: "Guide vectors, confirm location."

Megatron followed closely behind: "I saw them return to defend."

The vector said, "This is not right."

When this message got out, due to water pressure and interference, all that remained was the word "no".

The vector frowned and cursed under its breath at what a terrible signal it was.

Megatron's Fusion Cannon blasted from afar, precisely shattering the red line that was attacking her; Optimus Prime arrived at the other side, and his Ion Cannon repelled the shark demon that was charging at him.

The main force was also approaching. Tongtianxiao led the Faheng Knights to suppress the outer perimeter, while Alita and the elite guard followed the light units led by Arcee to find the location of the vector.

Leviathan stopped at a higher level of the sea, cutting off the Quintesson's retreat.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted the channel.

"This is Smokescreen, Autobots channel, please respond. Repeat, this is Smokescreen, I'm currently... uh, maybe on the Nemesis? No joke, I hope this is a joke!"

The vectoring motion paused, and Optimus Prime also stopped for half a second.

Megatron's Fusion Cannon was still lit, but the processor crashed for a moment because of that sentence.

What the heck? A machine suddenly popped up in the Autobots channel, saying it's on the Nemesis?

The vector slowly blinked its optical lens: "What is that?"

Optimus Prime responded first: "Smokescreen, this is Optimus Prime, checking your status."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication line, and then the young voice was like a propellant that had been ignited.

"Optimus Prime! That's great! You're really online! I just found some logs saying you're still on the battlefield, but seeing the logs and hearing about you in person are two completely different things. I mean, of course, I always believed you'd be alright, but—"

Alita chimed in: "I know him. Smokescreen. He trained in the Elite Guard for a time before being transferred to Iron Fortress as Titan's close bodyguard."

The people on the other side of the smokescreen immediately became even more excited.

"Commander Alita? You're here too? Great, wait, does this mean things are really bad? Wait, let me report first. My last memory is being in Iron Fortress. Alpha Titanium called me over, and then I woke up in a small hibernation pod disguised as a giant energy cube. Everything around me is Decepticon-style. The evil Decepticons must have knocked me unconscious and shoved me in here!"

Megatron finally spoke: "...You're on my ship?"

The smoke screen was clearly blocked, and you could even hear his short, sharp breaths coming through the channel.

"...The Great Demon King himself?"

The vector couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Megatron slowly closed the optical mirror.

What the hell is this? A damn Autobot is calling him the Great Demon King in his communication system.

Starscream's voice was shrill: "What do you mean there are Autobots on the Nemesis?!"

The attitude of someone who had been knocked down and brought in, as if the whole world was about to face a catastrophe, was: "You'd better not have touched my polisher!"

Sound waves are far more practical than they seem: "Abnormal access confirmed. Source: Retribution Communications Array."

Smokescreen immediately said, "I didn't touch any polishing machine! I just found the communications station! And most of the ship is empty, so I guess everyone's out fighting, that's what the briefing said too. By the way, your communications system works pretty well."

Megatron coldly said, "Don't touch my system."

Smokescreen paused for half a second: "But I've already touched it."

"...Communication station only."

While evading the attack, the vector-like figure's smile hadn't quite faded: "Smoke screen, right?"

"Yes! Smokescreen, the Autobot Smokescreen, currently located on the Nemesis, possibly illegally, or possibly kidnapped? You are—"

He stopped abruptly at this point, and then the sound of the smoke suddenly rose in pitch.

"Wait, you're the Chief Justice of Cybertron?!"

Vector: "Uh, is that right?"

"You're awake?! I mean, of course you're awake, otherwise you wouldn't be talking on the channel, but you're really awake? Master Titanium has said it many times—no, he mentioned it, and it's recorded in the Iron Fortress archives—but you're really here now? Wait, have I missed a lot of things?!"

With a single stroke, the vector-guided sword severed the joint of the charging shark demon: "But you're now participating in the most crucial part."

Smokescreen was briefly stunned by those words, but then became even more excited.

"Hahaha! This is even more outrageous than waking up and finding myself on the Kombat!"

Megatron repeated in a low voice, his tone unusually tinged with disbelief: "You're on my ship."

Smokescreen cheered, "I know, this is the most outrageous part!"

The vector almost made him laugh again.

Optimus Prime quickly stopped the chaos from continuing: "Smokescreen, this is Cybertron's battle against external enemies. Can you reliably connect to the channel?"

"Yes." Smokescreen immediately became serious, still excited but speaking at a slower pace. "The Nemesis communication array works. I just used it to amplify the Autobot channel signal, so you can hear me. Strangely, the latency here is very low, much better than your underwater channel."

The vector optical mirror lit up slightly.

Megatron also realized what was happening.

The Retribution is not below the seabed, so there's no need to go through the underwater node of the Aquitron Quintant that AZ stole.

The Decepticons' communication system was designed for long-range tactics, with strong signal penetration. Furthermore, the Nemesis was within the Aquitron combat zone, allowing it to bypass some local underwater interference.

The vector immediately said, "BICk0, can you hear me?"

BICk0: "We can hear them, they're cursing the signal quality. Who was that Autobot who just used the Nemesis as a makeshift broadcasting station? We didn't pick up its name."

"A smokescreen," Vector said. "Could you bridge this for us using the Retribution array?"

Smokescreen immediately chimed in, "I can open the communications array, but I need permission. Uh, theoretically this is a Decepticon ship, so I'll use it very politely!"

There was a brief moment of silence in the channel as everyone briefly turned their gaze toward the Great Demon King himself.

Megatron's fusion cannon blasted the shark demon that was approaching the Graviton, who then gently pushed him from behind with magnetic force. Megatron said in a hard tone, "Granted."

The sound waves then took over.

"Temporary authorization, restricted level. Smoke screen. Do not touch weapons, navigation, main control, tactical database, power core, or any non-communication systems."

Smokescreen: "Understood! Communicate now!"

He coldly replied, "And my polishing machine."

Smokescreen: "Oh my god, Pluto! Don't move, don't move!"

The Ark came aboard at that moment.

The signal was initially a bit unstable, but quickly stabilized. The Thunder Rescue Team, which remained on the Ark, completed the repair of the long-distance communication array, and the amplified signal from the Retribution was steadily received by the Ark, becoming even stronger.

Crystal Prism said, "Ark array access."

BICk0 took over the protocol bridge in a flash, speaking at a rapid pace, like a fast-paced clapperboard.

"The Nemesis, Ark array, and Cybertron relay are in operation. Underwater channel reorganization is underway, and the Aquitron node is being removed."

The operation behind the smokescreen was incredibly fast.

"I've opened up the relay of the Retribution Number to you... Wait, it has so many layers of encryption, I'm getting dizzy. Why does Tiger like to hide things so much?"

Red Spider: "That's basic safety protocol!"

Megatron: "Stop arguing! The password has been sent!"

The static in the channel began to subside, and Tongtianxiao's instructions finally arrived on time.

"The home team awaits instructions."

Alita: "We're fine."

Sound wave: "The number of observable enemy units has been reduced to thirteen percent of the initial value."

BICk0: "Communication latency has decreased."

The smokescreen whispered from the other end, "I helped as soon as I woke up, didn't I?"

Optimus Prime's voice softened: "Well done, Smokescreen."

The vector simultaneously praised, "It's incredibly busy."

The smoke couldn't contain his excitement: "That's fantastic!"

The vector lowered its head again, looking at the quiet "seabed" beneath its feet.

After communications were restored, she synchronized her magnetic field markers with all teams.

"This shouldn't be a natural seabed," she said.

Smokescreen asked curiously, "There's more down there? Are you guys going to fight under the seabed?"

The vector couldn't respond because the Quintesson seemed to have been pushed to the brink and was launching a frantic counterattack.

She squatted down, pressed her left hand against the surface of the seabed, and felt the magnetic attraction pull her down from her palm.

The seabed is thick and solid, yet it doesn't seem to have formed naturally. Beneath it lies a cavity, and something deep within, constantly responding to her magnetic attraction and the spark within.

Her magnetic attraction reached the center of the "seabed".

Optimus Prime aimed his ion cannon at his feet, while Megatron's fusion cannon was fully charged.

The left arm of the vectoring device connects to the right arm, and the muzzle of the long-barreled sword cannon is aimed at the center of the seabed.

The smoke screen tensely suppressed the sound as the Ark and Retribution maintained the battlefield channel together.

The countdown to BICk0 sounded crisply and clearly.

"three."

The five-faced judge lunged forward with all its tentacles at once.

"two."

Alita and Ultra Magnus's team managed to stop the Quintessons' retreat.

"one."

"Fire!"