daily

Obey the commands of the shockwave.

The shockwave must not be damaged.

……like……

...

...

...

Steel Fork's life changed from wandering through ruins all day to staying in the base to repair things. The broken motor was just something Shockwave gave her to practice on.

Shockwave's goal was to successfully train Steel Fork to become his assistant, but merely possessing some knowledge and a usable program wasn't enough. Just look at what Steel Fork had done to him! He dared not let a disobedient, temperamental novice touch his sophisticated and invaluable experimental equipment, but on this desolate planet, there was no one more suitable than Steel Fork; he had no choice. Shockwave comforted himself, perhaps Steel Fork was a very promising seed worth nurturing.

Therefore, he needs to improve her skills and temper her temperament a little. Given how she's always focused on fixing broken motors, she might be able to take the job soon, if he just guides her a little, like a patient teacher guiding a naughty student...

Perhaps they are already teacher and student.

"So... is there anything else that needs fixing?"

Armed with fresh, fully-fledged knowledge, Steel Fork was finally able to recognize the structure of the motor, and also the uses of various other tools and devices. However, theoretical knowledge is not the same as practice, and she was still unfamiliar with many aspects of operating Steel Fork, even feeling a sense of unfamiliarity. Therefore, repairing the second motor remained a challenging yet interesting task for her.

After successfully repairing the second broken motor, a sense of accomplishment filled her heart, and Steel Fork demanded more damaged parts from Shockwave for further repairs. However, she would occasionally use the wrong tools or fail to diagnose the problems causing the motor damage. At these times, she would go to Shockwave, who was already in the lab conducting experiments.

The experimental parts that involve waiting for reagent separation or reaction completion are quite time-consuming, and during these parts of the experiment, Shockwave usually chooses to stay on the sidelines and observe. If Steel Fork comes to him for help, he doesn't mind leaving for a while to guide his future worker, since nothing unexpected will happen since no one is watching the reagents.

After repairing all the damaged parts caused by Shockwave, Steel Fork, feeling confident that he had been transformed into a repair master, asked Shockwave if there was anything else that needed fixing.

“No, there are no damaged components that need your repair. But you see, I have a new experimental project, and there’s so much to do. I need help,” Shockwave replied. He tentatively added, “You have new orders.”

He turned and pointed to the monitor in the lab, gesturing for the steel fork to look at the screen. "Help me clone the Giant Grimace."

The screen displayed a creature covered in sharp armor, with a long tail, four legs, a long neck, and a long mouth.

"What is this? I mean, of course." For some reason, upon hearing the word "command," the steel fork's body responded without hesitation, a strong, uncontrollable urge to obey Shockwave's "command." She had never heard anyone use the word "command" before; perhaps the word "command" possessed such magical power? Without thinking further, she was drawn to the image on the screen. The edges of the image showed the creature's height and length. She spread her arms and compared them to the indicated dimensions, finding her arm length insufficient. She then used the room as a reference to imagine how large the creature would be. "My God, what kind of creature is this? It's so big! And it looks so cool!"

The program appears to have run successfully.

Shockwave replied, “This is a Predacon, a creature from ancient times. Do you remember the day you met me? I discovered the Predacon's skeleton, and I believe we can extract 'a' from it to reconstruct this creature.” He then began explaining the Predacon's anatomy, “These are its wings, this is its torso, these are its limbs, this is its snout, this is its abdomen… It is speculated that it would…”

Because he was very interested, Steel Fork listened to Shockwave's long explanation, which was unusual for him.

Has your personality changed too?

“I have extracted enough α from the bones I collected earlier, and we can start the next experimental phase of cloning.” Shockwave paused. He had been working continuously for a long time to extract and decompose α, and he was a little tired now. Steel Fork had also not been charged for a long time, but she still looked full of energy, as if she had inexhaustible vitality.

However, having energy is a good thing, because not resting is not. Shockwave glanced at the time and continued, "It's time to recharge. Overworking will damage the body. Recharging on time makes sense."

And so, this is what life became of Steel Fork.

At the start of each cycle, Shockwave would call him online to complete the tasks he assigned. If he failed, Shockwave wouldn't get angry; he'd usually give Steelix two choices: either continue with the remaining tasks in the next cycle, or accept punishment. The punishment was to memorize various documents. Steelix might memorize them quickly, but the documents were voluminous and difficult to understand. Watching Steelix suffer while memorizing, Shockwave would unexpectedly recall his own school days—a truly happy time, free from the worries of survival. He remembered how close he, Ratchet, Orion, and Soundwave were back then, before the distinction between Autobots and Decepticons. Although they were in different schools, they often gathered to joke and play, or discuss astronomy, geography, biology, mechanics, literature, intelligence and communications, and a tiny bit of politics. Their Cybertronian identity generously granted them time to discuss these topics. Soundwave was poor then, and the four of them would each contribute some of their own Energon cubes to help him, but Soundwave was strong and independent, secretly going to the arena to earn Energon cubes. Shockwave remembered that Soundwave was once injured and unable to fight, so he secretly went to sell hooks. If it weren't for Shockwave, Ratchet, and Orion finding Soundwave outside a brothel and stopping him, who knows what Soundwave might have done for a few energy cubes! Poor, stubborn brother! As for Soundwave's later suspension from school for making inappropriate remarks, his dedication to the arena, his meeting with Megatron, and his subsequent joining the Decepticons—that's all later…

"That equation is... is..."

"It's Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation," Shockwave, unusually in a good mood, offered a slight reminder. "It's a very simple equation; it should be easy to memorize."

Steel Fork retorted defiantly, "My processor burned out! It's been so many pages!"

“It’s a temporary storage device,” Shockwave corrected.

"Aaaaaaah, temporary storage! Temporary storage!" Steel Fork was on the verge of collapse; she didn't want to see Shockwave again! She wanted to get rid of him, so she casually pointed to a random test tube rack on the table. "Shockwave, go check that test tube; the color seems off!"

He glanced at the red light bulb from afar; everything seemed normal. Didn't he know the solution he'd prepared himself? He asked, "What color should the test tube be?"

"Um...white?"

Your answer is illogical.

Shockwave turned around and walked towards the table with the test tube rack. Before leaving, he said, "Come on, let's carry it all the way here."

The two machines continue their experiments or other activities. When the time is almost up, the Steel Fork will be urged to charge by the Shockwave. If the Steel Fork sees that the Shockwave hasn't started charging, it will pull the Shockwave to charge as well. The two machines will then engage in a back-and-forth struggle over who should charge. Ultimately, the Shockwave is often swayed by the Steel Fork's logic. The idea of ​​"being logical" means that it has lost this tug-of-war. The Shockwave must charge whenever the Steel Fork charges. Before entering deep charging mode, the Steel Fork will constantly monitor the Shockwave's movements to prevent it from charging on its own.

During the charging process, a door opened in the dimly lit corridor. A purple, phantom-like figure slowly emerged, his footsteps silent. The machine was adorned with terrifying fluorescent light, and an ominous red glow flickered from its head sculpt.

However, this purple, shadowy creature seemed to be afraid of something.

Don't charge it... Absolutely do not listen to her. Don't charge it!

Suddenly, a figure flashed by at lightning speed, blocking the passageway and the entire space.

Youying realized that this space had been occupied, and he was surrounded by a figure, with no way out!

...

...

...

The lights came on.

"Didn't you say you were going to charge it?" Steel Fork stood there with his hands on his hips, looking furious.

The light shone on Shockwave's purple paint job, and also into his despairing heart. "I remembered there's a data point that seems off; I need to check it."

"Huh, really?" Steel Fork blinked. She felt this was an excuse. Her emotions told her that there was no problem with the data, but her rationality said: What if it is true? After struggling with both sides, she finally said, "Let's go and take a look together."

Going to charge makes sense. But why doesn't he want to charge? Shockwave almost started to complain about Steel Fork; the word "rebellious psychology" immediately came to mind. If Steel Fork hadn't dragged him to charge, he might already be comfortably on the charging bed. But, having believed a casually made-up lie, Shockwave felt a little guilty. He felt himself sigh again.

"I remember now, that data is correct. Let's go back and charge it."

Are you sure you're not mistaken? What if you are?

What if?

The two machines eventually went to the lab together to check the data.

The data showed a slight anomaly, or rather, a change; the monstrous figure seemed to have a heartbeat.