harleyscars Chapter 110 Aftershocks
Chapter 110 Aftershocks
As she left her residence, she walked very fast, feeling that if she slowed down even a little, those images from before would catch up with her from behind.
The streets at night are cut into segments of cool colors by low-brightness light strips, and public channel screens scroll silently in the distance.
When she came out of Megatron's place, the sensation from his touch still lingered on her body.
She didn't look back; she can't, and shouldn't, break down now.
We must not, at least not, until we figure out just how bad things really are.
She stopped in the shadows at a corner, leaned against the wall, and turned on her terminal.
The first connection is to take him down.
Who removed the sound wave emotion module?
The knockdown came back very quickly.
[Shockwave.]
I was responsible for the integration of the outer armor and the adaptation of the transmission ports.
The vector looked at it for a while, and then asked a few more questions after a few seconds.
Have you tried to persuade them?
The takedown paused for a moment.
[I've already reminded you.]
He said it was necessary.
"Necessary" again—these two words seem like a disaster prefix that is very much in line with Cybertronian characteristics.
After closing the optical lens for a long time, Yin Vector typed again: "You know, I'm not just angry."
After a long pause, the person on the other end finally replied with just one sentence: "I know."
This time, he unusually refrained from rambling.
-
The second one is shockwave, which she expressed very directly.
Did you remove the sound wave emotion module?
The shockwave's response was also very direct: [Yes.]
Vector: [Risk Assessment?]
The main system is stable. No collapses were observed in the logic processing chain after the emotion module was removed. Residual fluctuations still exist at the seed level.
Looking at these words, Yin Xiangfu both cried and laughed, not even knowing what kind of expression he had.
I didn't ask if I could survive.
The shockwave returned after a moment: [Insufficient data regarding psychological continuity and individual emotional expression ability.]
Calm, accurate, and utterly uncomfortable.
She really wanted to ask, "How dare you proceed with this despite insufficient data?"
But she already knew the answer.
Executable does not mean it should be executed.
Unfortunately, it seems the Decepticons are getting increasingly adept at skipping the second half of a sentence.
She didn't continue arguing with the shockwave; arguing wouldn't yield any results, only more cold, hard data.
It's like someone put a plate of unseasoned metal scraps in front of her and says, "This is dinner, it's nutritious, don't be picky."
She turned off the frequency and continued verifying.
-
Red Spider knew about it relatively late.
But when he found out, his reaction was very much like Red Spider's.
I didn't participate in that boring self-disassembly ritual.
The vector looked at it and sneered: "You're really good at summarizing."
Red Spider: [Does this need a summary? Breaking yourself down to become more like a tool of the faction sounds stupid.]
Surprisingly, these words, coming from Red Spider's mouth, weren't as offensive as they'd been for once.
Vector Typing: [How many Decepticons consider this loyalty?]
Red Spider didn't reply immediately this time; he sent it a while later.
More than you want to hear.
She felt a bit cold again.
Red Spider added: "But don't put all the machines in the same metal bucket."
The Red Spider is usually as annoying as a poisoned file when it talks, but occasionally it can hit the nail on the head with a single sentence.
She replied: "I know."
The reply from the other end of the line was even shorter: "I didn't expect him to actually do it."
The replies from Tianzhen and Haiyi were more organized.
[Not participated.]
[This is already known.]
The roadblock side replied after a while: [Many of the planes on Caron's side feel this is extreme loyalty.]
Looking at that sentence, Yin Zongxiang felt a dull ache in his heart again.
The problem has never been just sound waves; it's just that sound waves were the first to bring that knife upon themselves.
She didn't ask any more questions; she was already overwhelmed with answers tonight.
-
Finally, she switched to the ambulance's frequency.
She only wanted to ask about the consequences of removing the ambulance, but as soon as she explained the situation, the ambulance crew immediately erupted in chaos.
What did he pick?
Vector: [Emotion Module.]
Can you just pick that thing?
She could picture the ambulance's expression without even hearing its sound.
The next question popped up immediately: [Who did this?]
[Shockwave.]
There was a few seconds of silence on the ambulance side, which was even more terrifying than being yelled at.
【Where are you?】
Vector glanced at the empty night road: [On the road.]
Come to me.
She paused for a moment: "I'll go find Optimus Prime first."
The ambulance didn't return for a long time, and then there was this sentence:
Don't try to shoulder the burden yourself.
As Yin Xiang looked at this sentence, his vision suddenly felt a little blurry.
She replied: 【I know.】
I don't really know, but I have to go this way first, otherwise the ambulance will most likely rush out and take her for repairs.
-
When she contacted Optimus Prime, he was already on his way to Iron Fortress.
The terminal screen was lit up. She stared at his name for a long time before finally typing:
【are u there?】
The reply came quickly: [Yes.]
As she looked at that word, she suddenly had the illusion that the processor had finally been reconnected to the main circuit.
She continued typing: 【I'm coming.】
Optimus Prime: [What happened?]
She wanted to write things concisely and clearly, but her fingertips hovered over the input box, and she could only type one sentence after a long time.
[The sound wave module has been removed.]
There was a pause on the other end; he understood the weight of those words.
Optimus Prime: [Where are you now?]
[On the road.]
Optimus Prime: [Is it safe?]
The vector stared at this sentence and suddenly stopped.
I didn't ask her anything else, I just asked if she was safe.
The edge of her optical lens was getting a little hot.
How annoying! She's already in a mess today, and now her emotional system is making things worse.
She replied: 【Safe.】
It's not entirely true, but she didn't have the energy to think about that much.
Optimus Prime quickly replied: "I'll wait for you."
-
The lights were still on in the temporary operations room at Iron Fortress.
It was late at night, but there were clearly still people working inside.
As soon as she reached the outer passage, the jazz saw her first.
The jazz man seemed about to say something, but stopped abruptly when his gaze fell on her.
He wasn't joking, which in itself shows that the situation is very serious.
"He's inside," Jazz said, then added in a lower voice, "Alita made you some energy tea; she said you might need it."
The vector nodded.
The news about the ambulances came out almost simultaneously.
I know you've arrived at Iron Fortress.
They'll come to check later.
This is not a suggestion.
The physician's pursuit, though delayed, has finally arrived.
Before she even returned, the door was already open.
Optimus Prime came out, just him, and parked at a spot not too far from her, knowing that she needed peace and quiet tonight, not more attention.
His blue optical glasses looked at her, first sweeping over her shoulder, then down to her waist.
The vector subconsciously tensed up for a moment.
Optimus Prime did not approach or reach out.
He only asked, "Are you hurt?"
She answered quickly: "No."
Optimus Prime looked at her: "This isn't a non-existent state."
The vector was speechless for a moment.
She was able to check each frequency band one by one just now, asking Knockout, Shockwave, other Decepticons, and even replying to Starscream.
But upon hearing those words, she suddenly felt unsteady on her feet.
She looked down at her hands, which were still trembling slightly, and hid them slightly to her side.
Optimus Prime saw it, but didn't say anything.
"Come in," he said. "It's quieter inside."
She followed him into a small conference room next door.
Once the door was closed, the sounds from outside were shut out.
The room was lit only by a small nightlight and a still-steaming cup of hot energy tea.
Optimus Prime stood by the table, neither of them sitting down.
The two machines were silent for a moment, and finally the vector generator spoke first.
"The sound wave has been removed."
Optimus Prime said in a low voice, "I understand."
"Megatron knows."
"What did he say?"
Yin Xiang gave a very slight laugh, though she knew it was just a habitual expression.
He said it was determined by the sound waves.
Optimus Prime remained silent; he had already understood everything that wasn't explicitly stated.
She continued, "He said Soundwave chose to make himself a better fit for the Decepticons."
Optimus Prime's optical lens dimmed slightly.
Vector looked up at him and said, "I told him I could never join the Decepticons."
This time, Optimus Prime instantly looked up and stared at her intently.
He certainly understood the weight of those words.
"You're serious."
The vector nodded: "Mm."
She paused, her voice becoming very soft: "Today, I saw in the sound waves what that road would become."
After she finished speaking, the room remained quiet for a long time.
Optimus Prime didn't rush to comfort her; any lighthearted words of comfort would seem cheap now.
Finally, he simply said, "You can sit down first."
The vector twitched the corner of its mouth.
"If I sit down now, I might not be able to get up again."
Optimus Prime looked at her, and then said, "Then I'll stand here with you for a while."
This statement was so gentle that it didn't sound like a judgment made by a leader.
Orion finally couldn't help but let out a small sound from beneath that calm shell.
The vector remained silent, simply standing there, and Optimus Prime did not urge him on.
After a long pause, she finally asked, "If one day, the Autobots also needed a machine to cut off a part of themselves to prove their loyalty, would you stop them?"
Optimus Prime answered quickly: "Yes."
She looked at him.
He added, "I will do my best to prevent the Autobots from getting to that point."
He knew that camps would change, systems would change, and as a leader, he would be dragged into increasingly heavier responsibilities.
What he can do is first set a line for himself that he cannot cross.
The vector-guided downward optical mirror said, "Then remember this."
"I can."
Her shoulders relaxed a little, as if she was finally admitting that she was too tired to hold on any longer.
"I almost..." she paused for a long time, "didn't recognize them today."
"They" were not specified—Soundwave, Megatron, Decepticons, and perhaps even herself.
"You don't need to figure everything out right now," Optimus Prime said.
Vector slowly exhaled: "But I need to think about it tomorrow."
Optimus Prime gazed at her intently, his blue optical glasses reflecting suppressed, restrained, and now surging emotions.
"Then at least not tonight."
The vector head is raised.
They stared at each other for a while, and then there was a long silence.
The terminal lit up briefly at that moment.
The vector head is lowered.
Enemy of the Heavens.
The review scheduled for tomorrow can be postponed. You do not appear fit to continue handling official business tonight.
This statement is very polite, even resembling a gesture of concern.
Yin Xiang stared at the message, his initially gentle gaze gradually turning cold.
Optimus Prime also saw the message, and his expression turned serious.
"Don't watch it tonight."
"I know," Vector said in a low voice, "but I want to go for a walk."
Optimus Prime looked at her: "It's too late now."
"I know."
"I can stay with you."
She shook her head: "I just want some peace and quiet."
After those words were spoken, the room fell silent.
Optimus Prime did not immediately agree.
He certainly didn't want her to go out alone, especially after hearing the news about Sentinel Prime.
The vector also understood his meaning.
She raised her hand to bring up the terminal map and pointed to a few road sections: "I won't go far, I'll just go around along this main road. It'll take at most half a loop."
She paused for a moment, then added, "If I don't come back by then, come and get me."
Optimus Prime stared at the route, his brow still furrowed.
But he didn't stop her. He didn't want to use his leadership judgment to pressure her, nor was he worried about keeping her.
He just stood there, silent for a few seconds, and then added, "The frequency band is on."
Then, he very gently and carefully reached out his hand.
He looked down and saw his hand covering his face.
Optimus Prime's hand was much bigger than hers; when his palm landed, it could almost encircle her entire hand.
The force was gentle; she could pull away whenever she wanted.
The vector did not move.
Looking at the two hands intertwined, she suddenly felt that the pain that had been pressing against her chest all night finally stopped stabbing deeper for a moment.
Optimus Prime whispered, "Don't go too far."
She lowered her glasses and replied after a few seconds, "Mm."
He released his grip without hesitation or lingering for even a second longer.
The vector turned off the terminal and turned to walk away.
Optimus Prime stood still, listening to the soft "click" as the door closed.
Only his silent energy cycle remained inside the room.
After a long while, the jazz musician walked in from outside, unusually without a smile: "She left alone?"
Optimus Prime said in a low voice, "She needs quiet."
Jazz looked at him, seemed about to say something but then stopped, while Optimus Prime's gaze remained fixed on the closed door.