Transformers: Survival of Defective Products

Chapter 176 Noise

Fourteen minutes before the courtroom completely collapsed, Optimus Prime and Jazz left the front lines.

They didn't dive quickly; that route doesn't allow it right now.

The Quintesson's courtroom still stands, beneath which lie a collection of old-fashioned surveillance cameras, abandoned gates, and half-dead control nodes, all still in operation. Perched between the building and the sea, a single misstep could trigger a deafening alarm.

Jazz walked ahead, his shoulder light on, the dim light cutting through the water and barely illuminating the broken pipe and sediment ahead.

Not far behind him, Optimus Prime stood guard on the outside, while two other Autobots who recovered quickly kept watch on the outside, keeping an eye on the way and the noise from behind.

The sounds of artillery fire on the front lines were barely audible.

Occasionally, short commands for vectoring could be heard on the channel, but more often, only the sounds of flowing water, the faint noise of metal structures, and an echoing noise coming from deeper within could be heard.

The Jazz stopped, and the three planes behind it also came to a halt.

The echo was slow and heavy, like something enormous striking the seabed in the distance.

Jazz placed the two audio clips he had just recorded on the inner screen and lowered the volume.

"It is definitely not noise."

He stared at the waveforms and tapped the terminal twice with his finger: "There are duplicates."

But they still don't know what the repeated parts mean.

Optimus Prime looked up, gazing deeper into the distance: "Continue."

They continued downwards.

The lower waterway became narrower and narrower, and the markings of the five-faced monster began to appear on the walls. Some of them were severely corroded by the seawater and had peeled off, leaving only shallow dents.

The deeper they went, the heavier the water pressure became, which slowed their movements and made the channel delay more and more obvious.

Jazz rarely joked along the way. At each fork in the road, he would release a miniature detector and wait for it to complete a full circle in the water to confirm that there was no danger before continuing.

He stopped abruptly in front of the seventh abandoned gate: "Found it."

Behind the gate is a metal wall that has sunk into the seabed rock layer, covered with thick sediment, and appears to have been abandoned for many years.

When the jazz hand touches it, an echo comes from inside, very close, and the palm can feel a slight vibration.

Several machines prepared their weapons and locked on, Optimus Prime's ion cannon was deployed, and they were ready to engage in combat.

"Find the lock first."

Jazz crouched down and ran his fingers along the lower part of the wall.

After confirming that the metal wall was indeed a disguise, he grabbed a mechanical cover plate that was almost integrated with the rock strata and pulled it outwards, but it didn't budge.

Jazz looked at it for two seconds and then turned his head: "This thing has a Quintesson vibe, ugly and insidious, and it's very good at hiding."

Optimus Prime reached out and grabbed the edge of the cover, and both machines exerted force simultaneously.

The cover was finally pried open a crack, revealing a dark red lock cylinder inside.

As soon as the Jazz connected to the hacked signal, a series of backlash warnings popped up on the screen.

The echoes in the distance suddenly subsided, as if something behind the wall had noticed them touching the lock.

Optimus Prime: "Can it be opened?"

Jazz stared at the lock cylinder, his brow furrowing. "Yes, but this thing is a real pain to set up."

Suddenly, a muffled tremor came from the water layer in the distance, from the direction of the first battlefield.

The courtroom is tilting.

The dark red light on the lock cylinder flashed, and Jazz immediately noticed the change.

"The upper-level control panel is offline, but both sides are connected."

Optimus Prime looked up, a barely perceptible smile on his visor: "Pulse Vector."

"It's probably her," the jazz said. "And maybe Black Widow too; both ladies have very unique ways of taking things apart."

The lock cylinder flashed again, this time the light was weaker, and Jazz quickly projected the data in front of Optimus Prime.

"There's a window, but it's very short. We can follow what she's doing over there."

Optimus Prime nodded, his finger hovering over the decryption signal, ready at any moment.

They waited for the next shock.

The moment the lock cylinder's brightness decreased, Jazz fired, accurately hitting two auxiliary nodes on the side of the lock cylinder.

After Optimus Prime input the decryption signal, he raised his arm, and the ion cannon blasted into the outer layer of the main lock.

The wall shook violently, and dark red electricity spread outwards along the gate.

Optimus Prime put away the ion cannon, and with his other hand, he launched an energy blade, piercing into the blasted crack.

The lock cylinder emitted a sharp noise, and the echo in the water suddenly carried a painful sound; something behind the wall was struggling.

Optimus Prime stopped immediately, and Jazz also put away their weapons.

"This thing seems to have a backlash effect."

Optimus Prime's energy blade was still stuck in the lock, and the current surged along the blade to the outer armor of his arm; he did not pull it out.

"Try communicating with them."

Jazz immediately switched back to the recording of the echo he had just made and tried to simulate the short, sharp signals emitted by the rhythm within it.

A suppressed groan came from behind the wall, its rhythm revealing their race—Leviathan.

The group paused, referring to Leviathan, a rare and aquatic branch of the Leviathan race.

After a moment's hesitation, they completely deactivated their weapons and turned their identification signals toward the wall.

"I am Jazz, a Cybertronian Autobot."

A long time later, an echo came from behind the wall.

The translator for the jazz barely caught a few snippets—Cybertron, late.

Optimus Prime walked to the wall and placed his palm on the cold metal.

"I am Optimus Prime."

The echo from behind the wall suddenly jolted, and the title was recognized.

Leader - Prime.

Jazz glanced at Optimus Prime, but Optimus Prime didn't take the opportunity to use the title again.

He simply said:

"I will not ask you to believe me because of this name."

"But please give me a chance to rescue you."

The water flow, carrying the vibrations of the second echo, surged into the translator - OK.

The red light from the lock cylinder dimmed again, and Jazz immediately raised his gun.

The locked entity finally responded and struggled from within.

Optimus Prime's energy blade pierced the final bolt, which was then pushed aside by the Leviathans locked inside.

Optimus Prime's leadership module glowed, and in that instant, the power of leadership suppressed the backlash from the chains.

Click.

The bolt finally shattered, and the metal wall collapsed completely. Jazz immediately raised his lamp and shone it inside, remaining silent for a brief moment.

Behind the wall lies a vast seabed rift valley.

Huge lock pillars protrude from the rock layers on both sides, and red control lines pierce deep into the ground like a spider web.

In the center of the rift valley, several massive machines were secured by chains.

They have a broad back, fin-like exoskeletons that lie close to the sides of their bodies, and a tail propulsion structure secured by giant locking rings.

They are serene and ancient, and despite their enormous size, they appear somewhat gentle.

The echoes came from deep within their chests.

The jazz finally found his footing: "This is the first time I've ever realized that Leviathan is this big."

The largest Leviathan slowly opened its optical mirror.

"Prime".

Its sound is like the whisper of an underwater mountain range.

"We've heard of this name before."

Optimus Prime took a step forward, but did not approach the range of the chains again.

Leviathan was watching him.

"The five-faced monsters have locked away our songs; we sensed your previous confusion at the bottom of the sea."

Optimus Prime paused for a second, looking at the enormous creatures trapped in the rift.

"But because the Chief Justice of Cybertron is lucid, and we have found you, the Inquisition is collapsing, and the Quintessons will enter the underwater battlefield."

The largest Leviathan did not answer immediately, but the younger Leviathan moved, and its chains immediately lit up red, causing it to let out a painful cry and freeze back in place.

The jazz's face darkened: "The lock isn't completely broken yet; we need to wait for the next shock."

"How much longer?" asked the largest Leviathan.

A distorted message came from afar on the First Battlefield channel: Black Widow's laughter and her words, "Time's up."

The jazz immediately spoke up: "Now!"

Optimus Prime's ion cannon operated at maximum power, and the two Autobots rushed towards the left and right control pillars respectively. Jazz quickly marked the vulnerable points for them.

Leviathan will not wait any longer.

The first massive machine exerted its power from the depths of the rift, tightening the chains and pulling cracks into the rock layers.

The control pillar attempted to suppress it in the opposite direction, causing a surge of red light. Optimus Prime shattered the pillar's stable core with a single shot.

The largest Leviathan roared, its massive whale tail thumping, and the chains snapped.

The enormous figures in the rift valley began to move one by one.

Deposits spread from their backs, revealing the original patterns on their dark exoskeletons. The propulsion structures at their tails glowed with a low blue light, and their fin-like exoskeletons slowly unfolded, creating huge whirlpools of water around them.

Jazz stepped back half a step, giving them space.

The largest Leviathan Kong turns towards Optimus Prime.

"What are you seeking here?"

Optimus Prime looked in the direction of the Quintessons in the distance: "Alliance."

Leviathan stared at him for a second, then slowly turned around, revealing its broad back armor to him.

"Get on top."

Jazz blinked through his optical glasses: "Really?"

Leviathan replied, "That's faster."

Optimus Prime stepped forward, grabbed the edge of the carapace, and stood firmly on it: "Thank you."

Jazz shrugged and jumped up as well: "I have to say, this is much more exciting than I expected."

Optimus Prime glanced at him, and Jazz gripped his back armor firmly: "OK, I'll be serious."

The Leviathans began to move.

At first, it turned slowly, then the huge tail thrusters roared, the water was torn apart, and they rushed out of the rift, their massive shadows sweeping past, stirring up sediment like an underwater dust storm.

The enormous figure pierced the deep sea, and the source of the echo swam toward the five-faced monster.