strokinit Chapter 124 Old Grudges Between Two Cities
Chapter 124 Old Grudges Between Two Cities
The conflict between Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City existed long before the war.
Xuanji Lake City possesses an energy cooling system, a high-purity energy processing platform, and several important scientific research arrays.
Qingqiu City controls a high-altitude airspace, as well as a large number of resources for training, maintaining, and resupplying trackers.
One side felt that the other side always relied on its air force system to act recklessly, putting airway and training needs above urban safety.
Another person felt that the other party was using scientific research regulations, cooling resources, and boundary rules to restrict their authority, as if the entire sky had to revolve around their experimental platform.
There are many old issues—the ownership of airways, resource allocation, flight training permits over the lake area, border maintenance costs, and several long-standing urban arbitration cases.
These conflicts never really erupted in the past.
It's not that the two cities suddenly learned to understand each other; that would be too much of a luxury.
However, the judicial center remained standing, with city dispute ordinances, college neutrality agreements, and a series of civil arbitration procedures that were later implemented by the referent.
At that time, both cities knew to file a complaint first, and then hurl insults at each other.
These efforts became less effective after the outbreak of war.
-
After the battle of Kalis, Shockwave set its sights on Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City.
For the first time, the Autobots truly pushed the front lines back.
This wasn't a fatal loss for the Decepticons, but it was enough to force several power lines within the organization to recalculate.
Red Spider's assessment of Kalis's battle report was quite brief, and his tone was as if he were evaluating a malfunctioning tool that had nothing to do with him:
"The Chaos Leopard is unstable."
Shockwave stood in front of the tactical projection, but the one-eyed optical glasses didn't look at him.
"The synchronization issues can be corrected," he said, "but the team exhibited a high degree of disruption and low sustained control at Kalis."
Red Spider turned his head: "What do you mean?"
"More stable urban control samples are needed."
Red Spider chuckled softly.
"It sounds like you're already prepared to put that unlucky place on the lab bench."
Shockwave raised his hand and switched the projection.
The 3D images of Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City appeared simultaneously.
Red Spider's smile immediately faded a little.
Qingqiu City—one of the Tracker's strongholds, a crucial source of air power, and an area where he originally wielded considerable influence. Many flight units trained, maintained, and resupplyed there, and airspace control and high-altitude flight paths were long intertwined with his system.
The fact that the shock wave chose it is no coincidence.
The red spider lowered its wings slightly, its tone becoming more tense:
"Airspace control for Qingqiu City falls under the Air Force system."
The shock wave responded coldly and steadily:
"The current problem is not a single airspace dispatch, but rather the imbalance of resources across cities, disputes over the lake area cooling system, and the stability of the remaining front in the east."
"Quite the talker," Starscream murmured, squinting at Shockwave. "He can reach into someone else's hangar and make it sound like he's organizing public documents."
The shockwave has stabilized.
"All military resources are under the overall strategic command of the Tyrant Tigers."
"Including trackers?"
"Including trackers."
The optical lens of the Red Spider cooled down.
The other machines in the command room wisely kept silent.
Those who survive these days aren't necessarily smart, but at least they know when not to interrupt.
Megatron sat in the main seat, looking at the projection: "Continue."
The shockwave retrieved data from both cities.
"Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City have a long-standing dispute. Under the circumstances of war, both sides are significantly more sensitive to energy, airspace and border security."
On the projection, the waterway between the two cities, the cooling pipelines, and the resource boundaries of the lake area lit up one by one.
"If existing contradictions are used appropriately, intervention can be completed with low consumption."
Red Spider coldly replied, "Use it properly?"
"Structured guidance".
Red Spider sneered.
Shockwaves continue:
"By reviewing border documents, identifying resource scheduling errors, issuing airspace security warnings, and releasing materials related to historical disputes between the two sides, the two cities can be persuaded to request external arbitration. The Decepticons then take over critical systems under the pretext of maintaining order."
"That sounds really clean."
"Lower losses than a direct attack."
Red Spider looked at Megatron: "He wants to interfere in Qingqiu City."
The shockwave turned to him: "Qingqiu City is not personal property."
Red Spider's expression instantly turned ugly, and he raised his arm, his finger almost touching the missile trigger.
Megatron finally spoke.
"Alright."
Both sides fell silent.
Megatron pointed at the two cities projected on the screen: "Target?"
Shockwave's answer:
"Control the core systems of both cities. Preserve their research, cooling, training, and supply value. Reorganize the Qingqiu City Air Force resource register. Establish direct oversight authority over the Decepticons."
Red Spider stared at him, her teeth slowly clenching.
This statement sounds unremarkable, but if it were to be implemented, it would be equivalent to stripping Red Spider of a significant amount of power within the Qingqiu City Air Force system.
Megatron could tell.
Shockwave knew he could hear it.
Red Spider knows that now he can only hope that the tyrant he most wants to replace will uphold justice for him.
The command room suddenly became very quiet.
Megatron concluded by saying, "Execute the control plan."
Shockwave nodded slightly.
Red Spider didn't refute anymore, only looking at the projections of Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City, his optical glasses carrying an inescapable cold sarcasm.
"Control scheme".
-
The first document in the control plan was an application for review of the old border of Xuanji Lake City.
The document itself is reasonable, but the submission time was brought forward, the supporting materials were rearranged, and several old records that are unfavorable to Qingqiu City were placed in the most conspicuous position.
The second notice was received by the Qingqiu City airspace safety department regarding flight restrictions.
The notice indicates that Xuanji Lake City has requested the temporary closure of three training air routes over the lake area, citing experimental risks.
The third document is a table of adjustments to energy cooling quotas.
The version received by Qingqiu City shows that Xuanji Lake City requires priority to be given to ensuring the scientific research cooling system, and to reduce the maintenance share of the tracker training ground.
The version received by Xuanji Lake City shows that Qingqiu City attempted to bypass the arbitration process and forcibly increase the priority of air force maintenance resources.
Both sides felt that the other had made the first move, so old grievances were brought up again.
Public channels erupted in arguments, city officials blamed each other, and the Lake District Patrol and the Airspace Patrol briefly confronted each other near the border.
Several young trackers deliberately flew low over the training flight path, skimming past the outside of the research tower in Xuanji Lake City, the air currents causing the observation windows to make a sharp, whistling sound.
Xuanji Lake City immediately shut down a section of the cooling distribution valve, and the maintenance station in Qingqiu City sounded an alarm.
Both sides claimed they were merely defending themselves, and both felt they had a valid argument.
The shockwave initially only allowed more files to continue flowing.
An old arbitration case, a meeting record with the first half of the sentence cut off, and a set of clarification announcements that were slowed down by three stars.
A tiny deviation can shake up two cities.
Therefore, on the fifth Star Moon Festival, airspace control was implemented in the Qingqiu City area.
On the seventh Star Moon, Xuanji Lake City closed two cross-city energy cooling channels.
By the ninth Star Moon, both cities simultaneously requested external arbitration from the Regional Security Center under the Decepticons' jurisdiction.
When Red Spider heard the news, his face turned so ugly that Thunderclap and Chaoshen didn't dare to say a word.
"Regional security center?"
He looked at Shockwave and said, enunciating each word clearly, "When did you set this up?"
Shockwave replied: "After the fall of Hydra Plateau, it was used to handle disputes over temporary control zones in the Eastern Hemisphere."
"So thoughtful."
"necessary."
Red Spider stared at him.
There was no way to dodge the shockwave.
He did a good job on the surface, and Red Spider couldn't find any fault with him for the time being.
-
Upon hearing the third switchover announcement on the Qingqiu City public channel, Jiuqi realized something was wrong.
At first, she repaired an old adapter socket in her own home.
The alarm went off twice outside, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
War has broken out everywhere, and air raid sirens have become the new background noise on Cybertron. They sound once, stop for a moment, then sound again. The city is in a state of disrepair, but it's not dead yet.
Until the public channel began broadcasting the indictment materials against Xuanji Lake City.
She looked up and glanced at the screen.
On the screen, a representative from Xuanji Lake City is giving a lengthy accusation against Qingqiu City for its long-term encroachment on the lake area's airspace, interference with the calibration of the research tower, and even attempts to intercept cooling resources during wartime.
After looking at it for a few seconds, Jiuqi frowned: "What kind of nonsense is this..."
She tried to laugh, but couldn't.
The channel was switched quickly.
The Qingqiu City management announced a temporary airspace control order, prohibiting all unauthorized flight units from taking off. Tracker maintenance stations were put into wartime registration, and some training grounds were closed.
Now, the neighborhood began to stir.
There are too many pursuers and too many flying units in Qingqiu City.
For many aircraft, being unable to take off is not just a transportation issue; it's as if a part of their aircraft is directly pinned to the ground.
Jiuqi walked to the window.
At the end of the block, several Decepticon patrol planes were setting up a temporary checkpoint. Trackers flew low overhead but were quickly ordered back to their designated flight paths.
Organic cursed from downstairs.
Looking at the patrol signs, Jiuqi suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.
She opened her terminal, the contact list lit up, and her finger hovered over the name of the vector.
Actually, she didn't know what she wanted to say—she could curse a few times, or say that things were in chaos in Qingqiu City.
Or she might just be complaining that she's a bit annoyed right now, not knowing who she's annoyed with, and even more confused about how this mess suddenly ended up at her doorstep.
She used to always be able to say it.
She has a lot to say.
It's a mess, incoherent, nonsensical, and probably not even useful.
She remembered that the vector was now in Crystal City, asleep, and that she would not receive a reply if she sent it.
The terminal screen remained lit for a long time before finally going dark.
No message was sent out in 1997.
Outside the window, the new traffic control notice rang out again.
She stood there, feeling inexplicably that she had nothing to say.
-
The situation in Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City was "stabilized" in the eleventh Star Moon.
The Decepticon forces entered the outer perimeter of the two cities.
The units dispatched by the shockwave only occupied the key nodes.
The main control console for energy cooling in the lake area, the airspace dispatch tower in Qingqiu City, the tracking maintenance station registration system, and the cross-city arbitration database—the management of both cities were forced to accept temporary control.
The public channel is uniformly connected to the Decepticon Regional Security Center.
To prevent the escalation of cross-city disputes, Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City have entered a temporary stabilization period.
[College, medical, and civilian evacuation systems remain operational.]
Non-combat units must not be used as military targets.
[Tracker flight permissions need to be re-registered.]
The lake area's cooling system has been incorporated into a unified resource scheduling system.
When Red Spider saw the fourth one, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and exploded: "Re-register!?"
Shockwave stood aside, offering no response.
Red Spider turned to look at him, took a few steps to stand in front of him, and his wings trembled.
"You're such a good writer!"
"In chaotic situations, resource re-registration helps reduce air force scheduling conflicts."
"Air Force dispatch is under my control!"
"After re-registration, the ownership will be clearer."
Red Spider wasn't buying it, and almost laughed in exasperation: "Clearer?"
"Yes."
"Do all machines have to go through your system first?"
Shockwave did not deny it, but only said: "System efficiency is higher than individual scheduling."
Starscream's finger was already on the trigger again, glaring at Shockwave's single red eye:
"You'd better remember whose territory you've disturbed."
Shockwave said indifferently, "Qingqiu City is under the control of the Tyrants."
Red Spider's finger twitched, and in an instant, the atmosphere in the command room became so tense that it felt like it might break at any moment.
In the end, however, he did not take action.
With Megatron here, this isn't the place to start a fight, and taking action now would be admitting that Shockwave has targeted what he truly cares about.
He gave Shockwave a cold look, then turned and left.
The shockwave has been used to re-evaluate the control measures in the two cities.
All critical nodes are within the green zone, the control plan is successful, and the losses are lower than expected.
The Red Spider air force system's influence has decreased by 13.7%.
The resources of the Qingqiu City trackers will be incorporated into a higher level of supervision.
The cooling system of Xuanji Lake City is complete.
The college remained open, the medical network remained open, and the civilian mortality rate was below the lowest expected level.
All the data is good.
This almost proves that his plan is completely correct.
But Shockwave didn't immediately shut down the screen; instead, he opened another hidden layer—the Destruction Plan.
On the model, Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City are marked as two different red areas.
If the lake area cooling system is detonated, causing the Qingqiu City trackers to misjudge that Xuanji Lake City will attack first, and then the arbitration channel between the two cities is cut off, the conflict will escalate within four Star Months.
The research tower complex in Xuanji Lake City will collapse due to overload of the cooling system.
The air force maintenance chain of Qingqiu City will be affected by the counter-explosion blast.
The trackers lost two-thirds of their training ground.
Red Spider needs to bear the political consequences of losing control of the Air Force's source region.
Shockwave can then assume responsibility for reconstruction and restoration of order, taking full control of relevant resources.
Short-term power gains: High.
Effectiveness against red spiders: High.
Long-term urban preservation value: Low.
Civilian wear and tear: High.
College system disruption: High.
The destruction of legacy judicial systems is irreversible.
The last line stopped on the screen.
[Affected area of vector-related legislation: Severely damaged.]
Shockwave stared at that line for a long time.
Then, he raised his hand and marked the destruction plan as obsolete.
The system prompted for confirmation.
[Reason for abandonment?]
Shockwave input: [Insufficient long-term returns.]
The cursor paused for a moment, and then he added another line.
Resource utilization is lower than the control plan.
confirm.
The destruction plan has been archived.
Shockwave turns off the screen.
From any auditable record, this appears to be a standard strategic decision.
He preserved two cities.
Destruction is not worthwhile; the resources still have value, and the college, medical, and civilian systems can continue to serve the stability of the controlled area.
These reasons are all valid, but they are not the whole story.
The shockwave knew that it had calculated another path, and it also knew that it had not chosen it.
Crystal City Neutrality Agreement, Academy Protection Clause, City Dispute Arbitration System, Non-Combat Unit Protection Regulations.
These things shouldn't have been given too much weight in war models.
But they exist, and they are effective.
After the vector goes dormant, the boundary does not disappear immediately.
This event itself does not conform to many early war predictions.
Shock waves record this phenomenon as:
[The vector variable remains in effect.]
-
After the temporary stabilization measures in the two cities were completed, the shockwave reached Crystal City.
Crystal City's scanning system paused on him for a long time, as if trying to determine whether the machine that walked in should be classified as a scientist, an officer, or some kind of overly dangerous mobile laboratory.
In the end, they let him pass.
The shockwave entered the hibernation chamber.
The silver-gray nameplate on the neck of the ignition vector had not been removed. Outside the ignition module, the magnetic core ring was glowing at a low frequency.
Shockwave stopped in front of the hibernation pod, raised its hand, and uploaded a report to the cross-archive area of Crystal City and the judicial sealing system.
[Temporary Stability Control Report for Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City.]
The city's core systems will be preserved.
The academy system remained uninterrupted.
The medical network remains uninterrupted.
[Tracker resources have been re-registered.]
The lake area's cooling system has been brought under unified dispatch.
The complete destruction plan has been abandoned.
The archive system receives files.
Shockwave looked at the confirmation message and then spoke.
"The destruction plan has insufficient long-term benefits."
His voice was steady, without any emotional fluctuation.
"Resource utilization is lower than the control plan. The reconstruction cycle is too long. It is unnecessary for the current front."
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and the processor automatically generated seven possible ways she might ask him questions.
The so-called "unnecessary" does not equal "wrong".
— Press him on why he initially considered destruction as one of the options.
—They might even question when civilian losses could be included in a model and calculated together with the benefits of power.
These problems are not difficult to predict; it's just that she can't bring herself to say them now.
So he remained standing there, and after a few seconds, he added:
"The vector variable is still valid."
Shockwave lowered his hand and glanced at the nameplate on the side of her neck—D-16.
He paused for less than half a second before looking away.
"The extent to which this variable affects Megatron still needs to be observed."
After saying that, he turned and left.
-
The city's nighttime public channel broadcast new regulations.
[Tracker flight permissions need to be re-registered.]
Unauthorized units are prohibited from launching aircraft.
During the temporary stabilization period, all cross-city disputes will be suspended from individual appeals and will be handled uniformly by the Regional Security Center.
Jiuqi stood in the crowd in the street, listening to those voices ringing out again and again.
There were murmured complaints from the surroundings, and also silence.
The patrol signs swept across the street corner, and all the noise quickly subsided.
The terminal of 97 suddenly lit up and remained on the unsent communication interface, still displaying the name of the vector.
She looked at it for a while, then closed it without sending it.
Jiuqi stood in the crowd, saying nothing more.
(A little background: Originally, Xuanji Lake City and Qingqiu City were destroyed by the power grab and experimentation of the shockwave, who took advantage of their contradictions to achieve his goal of seizing power and weakening Red Spider.)