Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 34 Can't Sit Still Anymore

After pausing for a moment, the vector immediately retrieved the piece of metal fabric, took a half step back, but did not leave.

She and Zhen Tianzun were indeed now bound together, and she subconsciously felt that she shouldn't back down at this time.

Zhen Tianzun clearly noticed this. He didn't look away, but he stood up without making a sound, blocking half of the view from the other side, and just enough to block half of the gravitational vector.

The leader of the group looked at Zhen Tianzun with a businesslike smile on his face.

"You played beautifully tonight," he said first. "The off-court stats are great, and the audience reaction was as enthusiastic as ever."

Zhen Tianzun didn't bother with any nonsense, his expression showing no mercy: "Speak your mind."

The man's smile remained unchanged, as if he didn't care at all about being disrespected.

"Since you're being so direct, I won't beat around the bush either," he said. "The management has been paying close attention to you lately. Your current performance, popularity, and the betting odds and attention you've generated are no longer at the level of an ordinary gladiator."

Zhen Tianzun asked calmly, "And then?"

"Then, the arena is willing to give valuable players better positions," the player said slowly and deliberately. "Higher prize money, better scheduling, more concentrated exposure, and even more resources that you wouldn't normally have a chance with. As long as you understand where you should really focus your energy."

That was a beautifully crafted statement. Even the vector standing beside him could sense the unsettling undertone of feigned support in it.

It's just empty promises from the leadership.

To put it bluntly, it's about getting Zhen Tianzun to tone it down, to rein in his increasingly obvious speeches and stances, and to focus on being a popular gladiator who can make money and bring them traffic and revenue.

Stop overstepping boundaries and stop making sure the audience can actually understand what he's saying.

Zhen Tianzun looked at the other party and finally smiled.

Indifferent, devoid of any warmth.

"Are you scared?"

Na Ji's expression remained unchanged, and his tone remained dignified.

"The word 'fear' is too exaggerated. We just feel that an arena is, after all, an arena. The audience comes to watch the competition, not to listen to anyone making challenges after the match."

"Oh." Zhen Tianzun glanced down at the energy liquid that was still not wiped off his forearm, and said in a low voice, "So you finally understood."

The moment those words were uttered, the air grew quiet and tense.

The fake smiles on the faces of those machines opposite were still there, but something was beginning to show beneath that pretty facade.

"You're very smart." Naji stared at Zhen Tianzun. "You should know what you can say and what you can't continue. If you stir things up in the audience, it won't benefit anyone."

"And there are a few betting odds you've been leading us astray lately," another machine finally spoke up. "Some of your winning strategies are too arbitrary, which isn't good for the overall operation of the betting platform."

The vector was standing at the back, and it almost made him shift uncomfortably as he listened.

really.

Market manipulation, speeches, control, and co-optation—all these things are intertwined.

Their words sounded reasonable, but they were actually warning Zhen Tianzun that he should stay in a subordinate position.

Moreover, if we can't hold him down—

The vector glanced at the machines that had just passed through its line of sight—they wouldn't mind attacking from somewhere else.

Like her.

This realization made her subconsciously tighten her shoulder line even more.

The next second, Zhen Tianzun spoke first.

"The betting odds are your business." He looked up, his voice icy. "They're not mine."

"As for what I say," he paused, and as he spoke, you could see his shark teeth peeking out, "you're meddling too much."

The leader of the group stopped laughing.

"The person next to you," his gaze finally fell on Yin Xiang again, "has been appearing backstage quite frequently lately."

The guide fins on the back of the vectoring device couldn't help but tremble with anxiety.

coming.

Before she could speak, Zhen Tianzun interrupted her, saying, "If you have something to say, say it to me."

The machine looked at him, as if it was reassessing something.

"Just a reminder that many things in the arena are not single variables. Being too high-profile and out of control may not be good for yourself or for the people around you."

This statement is almost an explicit statement.

The vector fingertip silently retracted.

She didn't speak, nor did she move from her spot.

A sense of crisis hit her head, and she almost instinctively tried to deform the blade on her left arm.

Before she could think any further or make any move, Zhen Tianzun stepped forward a little further.

This made her even more completely covered up.

Then he looked at the machines opposite him, his tone becoming colder and more angry.

"You'd better think this through," he said. "Are you standing here to negotiate with me, or are you telling me that you'll only target what you can do?"

The expressions on those machines finally turned ugly for a moment.

The vector stood behind, silent, but its posture was tense, ready to follow up and strike at any moment.

The passageway was quiet for a few seconds.

In the end, it was the leader who first pulled the almost completely cracked surface back onto the face.

"We're just reminding you, hoping you won't waste the position you worked so hard to achieve on something unworthy."

Zhen Tianzun looked at him and revealed a sharp smile, "What you fear most has never been my words."

He slowly took the piece of metallic fabric, still slightly damp with energy liquid, from the vector, folded it twice, and casually tossed it aside: "The machines below are starting to understand."

Now, the last bit of good looks on the faces of those machines on the other side is no longer holding up.

But this is still the backstage area, not a place where they can openly break ties.

So in the end they didn't say anything more, only gave Zhen Tianzun a deep look, then glanced expressionlessly at Yin Xiangzong standing behind them, before turning and leaving.

The footsteps faded away along the metal corridor until they disappeared completely, and only then did the tense atmosphere around us finally ease a little.

The vector stood still, not moving for a long time.

The bad feeling in her heart grew even stronger.

This conversation felt like the calm before the storm.

Oh right, it wasn't peaceful either; it was like the waves of a tsunami crashing against the waves before it was overwhelmed and crushed on the beach.

When Zhen Tianzun turned around, the first thing he looked at wasn't the direction the machines had left in, but her: "Scared?"

The vector immediately looked up, "No."

She replied quickly, subconsciously adding, "It's just that I find it really annoying that they've started scrutinizing who's standing next to you now."

Zhen Tianzun looked at her for two seconds: "Only now are you starting to feel this?"

"Before, it was just guessing," Yin Xiang said, frowning. "Today, they've confirmed it themselves."

That was the truth. He paused for a moment, then said, "If they come looking for you in the future, don't face them alone."

Vector was taken aback, then immediately realized the meaning of those words, his brows furrowing into a deep V-shape: "You really think they'd try to attack me from my side?"

Zhen Tianzun looked at her.

"Whether it's possible or not is one thing," he said. "Don't give them a chance to try."

This really looks like setting a flag.

She stood there, silent for half a second, and finally nodded: "Understood."

Zhen Tianzun glanced at her, then dropped the subject. He simply reached out and retrieved the metal cloth he had tossed aside, glancing at the nearly dried marks on it. "Weren't you still wiping it off?"

Pointer vector: "..."

She was still thinking about all the messy management issues when that comment jolted her off balance, almost causing her brain to malfunction: "You still have the mind to talk about this?"

"What else can I do?" Zhen Tianzun plopped down again. "Stand here and keep me company while I think about how annoying they are?"

Yin Xiang's forehead twitched, but he finally reached out and took the piece of cloth back: "Turn it a little."

Zhen Tianzun obediently shifted his body slightly.

Yin Vector lowered his head and continued to wipe away the scratches on the edge of his forearm and shoulder armor. His movements were not gentle, and he took the opportunity to retaliate by wiping away all the pent-up frustration he had been holding in.

Zhen Tianzun didn't dodge, but just looked down at her.

As they got closer, the vector could still feel the lingering heat from his recent match and the oppressive aura from their earlier conversation.

Halfway through wiping, she whispered, "They're starting to really deal with you now."

Zhen Tianzun hummed in agreement: "I can see that."

"Don't you find it annoying?"

"I think," Zhen Tianzun said calmly, "that's why they didn't get any pleasant words today."

Yin Xiang pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Zhen Tianzun wouldn't back down because of this, but knowing it was one thing, seeing the management's blatant punishment still felt different.

She was thinking, but her hands didn't stop. Only after wiping away the last bit did she toss the metal cloth aside and take a half-step back: "That's enough."

Zhen Tianzun glanced down at the cleaned edge of his shoulder armor and suddenly chuckled softly.

"You're starting to look like that more and more."

Yin Vector looked up at him: "In what way?"

"In many ways," said Zhen Tianzun.

After saying that, he didn't explain further.

Well, this damn machine is finally saying something nice?