Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 117: No One Died

Chapter 117: No One Died

After Lyra finished talking, she activated an energy shield, expanding it little by little. And then she took the leap, diving down first.

Behind her, Caesara raised a hand. "Alright, guys, follow me!"

Their crew responded with howls like wolves, wielding clubs as they charged down the light shield after her.

The staff, already frozen in shock, didn’t move until the crashing sounds snapped them out of it. "What the hell are you doing?"

The leader of the Channing family stepped forward. "What is this? Stop them!"

Before he could finish, a silver blur shot forward, grabbed him, and slammed him hard into the ground.

"Who are you planning to stop, exactly?" came a cold voice from the Lyra.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air toward her, but Lyra didn’t flinch. The space beside her twisted, and the attack was deflected.

Caesara landed in front of Lyra, facing off against their opponent—a level-seven Peculiar. "Hey there, your fight’s with me!"

Bernard Channing, the second son of the Channing family, had always lived a cushy life.

People were either respectful or careful around him, so getting attacked out of nowhere like this? Completely new experience.

When Bernard hit the ground, he struggled to fight back, but the silver-armored Lyra stomped him down, her boot pressing his face into the dirt.

Bernard’s bodyguards rushed to help, but they were quickly tied up by bands of light. Then, they were slammed into the ground like ragdolls, bleeding from their heads.

Sean, who had been burning with anger, found himself speechless. He edged closer to Morrison. "Why’s SHE here?"

"Special training," Morrison said, waving a hand in front of Sean’s face as he stared at the chaos. "Any injuries? Any equipment busted?"

"Nah, we didn’t even try to fight back. We’ve got so few people here." Sean glanced at the fight again, swallowing nervously. Yep, this definitely felt like something SHE would do.

Bernard couldn’t even get a word out, only managing weak groans.

The others fared even worse. This wasn’t Bernard’s whole squad, and most of his crew were just staff—no match for the wild bunch from Voidstar. Within half an hour, all the equipment had been trashed.

Their leader was a wreck, and even the level-seven was taken down, courtesy of a surprise kick from Lyra while he was locked in battle with Caesara.

Bernard, bruised and barely standing, pointed a shaky finger at Lyra. "You witch! Give me your name!"

"You’ve been gunning for us and didn’t even bother finding out who are we?" Lyra pulled back the elastic metal around her, revealing her small frame.

The sight made a few onlookers blink in surprise.

"Channing, come at us again, and I’ll take one of your arms," Lyra warned.

He let out an angry laugh. "I know you! You’re Lyra of Voidstar, right? You know I’m a Channing and you’re still threatening me like that? You’ll never make it out of Wyrmtrace, I swear!"

Before he could finish, his vision blurred, and a fist sank deep into his stomach.

The level-seven next to him tried to step in, but Caesara’s spatial powers pinned him down. She casually flicked one of her braids. "Bigwigs are talking. Stay quiet."

Bernard hunched over, his hair yanked by slender fingers. As he stared into Lyra’s cold, calm face leaning in close, a chill ran down his spine. "Let’s see who won’t be leaving."

He wanted to throw out some tough words, but nothing came.

In the end, Bernard and his crew limped away in defeat, their caravan speeding off as cheers erupted from the victors.

Lyra told the team to get back to work, ramp up the mining, and then she headed inside the tent.

"Boss, are we gonna get in trouble for all this?" Sean asked, adjusting the equipment with a worried look. He had been pumped about all the new materials they were gathering, perfect for research.

"If we don’t do this, we’ll be in way bigger trouble," Lyra answered, sounding completely unbothered.

The Channing family might have serious power on Elden Prime, but chasing her down after they left Wyrmtrace? That was a long shot.

And here, in Wyrmtrace? Even less likely. Anyone who set foot here needed proper ID, and it wasn’t a place where they could just sneak in extra people. If it were that easy, the whole secret of Wyrmtrace would’ve been blown wide open by now, and space pirates would be all over it.

The only reason they were even there was because of the Mendez ship and Cohen’s connections.

So, Lyra wasn’t losing any sleep over revenge from the Mendez family.

With that thought, she casually shot a message to Cohen.

Cohen, meanwhile, was enjoying his lunch—until Lyra name popped up on his screen, instantly ruining his appetite. "Why are you contacting me on your own? What did you do this time?"

Lyra blinked innocently at the screen. "Not exactly a good thing, so I figured you’d appreciate a heads-up."

By the time evening rolled around, helicopters were buzzing in the sky—some from the Mendez family, others from the military.

Erin, leading the Legion Skywalkers, had surrounded the tents, forcing the machines to stop working.

Moments later, Lyra stepped out, locking eyes with Cohen, who trailed behind her. He kept a straight face, but he was gritting his teeth. ’Why is it always ME cleaning up her messes?’

Erin’s temper flared the second she saw Lyra. ’Why is she still alive?’

"Lyra, did you and your team destroy the Channing caravan and injure their workers?" Erin asked, her hands clasped behind her back, trying to look all high and mighty.

Lyra didn’t even hesitate. "Yep."

Bernard, freshly healed, jumped in like he was waiting for this moment. "Lieutenant Commander Shedd, she’s confessed! Arrest her!"

Erin nodded. "In that case, we’ll need you to come with us."

Zorion, standing nearby, signaled his men to move in and arrest Lyra.

"Hold up." Lyra’s cold stare landed on Zorion, stopping him in his tracks. Then she turned back to Erin. "Isn’t this just a dispute between business groups? What authority do you have to get involved?"

"We’re responsible for maintaining order on Wyrmtrace, so yes, I have the authority," Erin said firmly.

Lyra gave a knowing "Oh" and waved to Morrison, who then played a recording of a previous conversation. In it, Erin’s dismissive attitude was on full display, a sharp contrast to her current righteous act.

Lyra’s mocking voice cut through the air. "Makes me wonder what kind of relationship Lieutenant Commander Shedd has with Mr. Channing to be throwing her weight around like this. Imagine if this little comparison went viral—could spark some serious chatter, don’t you think?"

Erin’s eyes darted around, realizing too late that someone was recording the entire scene.

At that moment, Cohen sighed and finally stepped in. "Lieutenant Commander Shedd, this is a little... inappropriate, don’t you think?"

Erin’s hand, hidden behind her back, tightened into a fist. She hadn’t realized she’d walked straight into Lyra’s trap.

"You’ve gone too far!" Erin snapped.

"No one’s dead," Lyra said casually. "But if you’re that worried, next time I’ll heal them up after I’m done."

Caesara, who was always terrible at keeping a straight face during tense moments, couldn’t help but burst out laughing—way too loudly.

The tension in the air thickened, and the whole scene felt like it was about to explode.

Erin had fallen into a trap—if she arrested Lyra, she’d look biased, and if she didn’t, she’d appear weak. Just as the situation became awkward, the ever-reliable "mediator" Cohen stepped forward once again.

"I’m sure Lieutenant Commander Shedd was simply misled by someone else," Cohen said, smoothing things over.

He glanced at the still fuming Bernard. "From what we can see, the Mendez caravan was the first to detect and begin development. Mr. Channing, we’ve already spent significant manpower and resources dealing with the beasts here. I hope you won’t make things harder for us."

Cohen had figured it out—Lyra brought him along just to embarrass Erin. Without a neutral party, if Erin insisted on arresting her, there wouldn’t have been much they could do.