Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 22: Level-seven Peculiar

Chapter 22: Level-seven Peculiar

Masked men with weapons roamed the cabins. They checked each passenger while holding up a photo of a woman.

They kicked open doors, asking, "Have you seen this woman?"

Their mission was straightforward. As long as no one resisted, they left the passengers unharmed.

When they burst into Lyra’s cabin, she eyed their weapons but held back her urge to fight.

"Seen this person?" one asked, showing a bright, smiling photo of Zinnia.

"No," Lyra said, lowering her eyes, playing the scared passenger.

Given their numbers, she knew it was best to wait for a chance to escape.

"Out!" one man barked, motioning with his laser gun towards the hallway.

In the corridor, many passengers were already being herded towards the main hall, guns aimed at their heads.

Outside, the starry expanse should have been mesmerizing, but it was obscured by a ship with hidden markings, likely aiding the terrorists.

More masked men scoured the ship, all focused on finding Zinnia.

"Is everyone here?" one of them called out.

A group of three men and women huddled together in the main hall.

Lyra quickly recognized a short, fat woman with distinctive explosive curls.

She was one of those from 27th Street.

This woman had faked her death with her superpower and escaped.

Despite being wanted all over the Alliance, she had brazenly boarded the ship to stage a kidnapping.

The Rymes family had made plenty of enemies, and these criminals were taking their chance for revenge.

When the woman glanced over, Lyra crouched down like everyone else, hands over her head, hoping to avoid recognition.

Her small size made her look like a child, and someone kindly nudged her into a corner.

Soon, the captain and crew were also dragged in, some with bloodstains.

Lyra figured some crew members had been killed while resisting.

But Zinnia was nowhere to be seen.

The leader kicked a speaker on the stage and shouted into a microphone, "Zinnia Rymes, I’m counting to three. If you don’t come out, I’ll kill someone every minute."

They were confident, having clearly studied their target’s behavior.

A terrified flight attendant was at the front, screaming for help.

"Let me go! Help!" she cried.

The plump woman slapped her hard. "Shut up, you little vixen!"

The man started counting, "One, two," his snake-like eyes scanning the room, sending chills down everyone’s spines, "three!"

He drew his gun instantly.

"Wait!" a girl’s angry, reluctant voice rang out. "I’m here."

The vent cover was kicked down, and long legs appeared first. Several armed terrorists immediately surrounded her.

"Don’t touch me. I can walk myself!" she snapped.

Lyra discreetly lifted her head and spotted a few passengers showing clear signs of anxiety. They were likely undercover guards sent by Zarek to protect his sister.

Zinnia turned away, pretending to be angry, but she was really signaling the guards to keep the passengers safe.

"Haha, got you," the masked leader sneered, rushing forward and kicking the girl hard. "Damn you, you made me lose everything!"

He followed up with a brutal punch to her face. If Zinnia hadn’t been physically tough, her head might have been knocked clean off. Her cheek quickly swelled and bruised.

"Ugh!" She spat out a mouthful of blood and two teeth. Despite the pain, she didn’t provoke her captors further.

One of the guards tasked with protecting her shifted slightly, catching the sharp eye of the leader.

The leader grabbed Zinnia by her short hair. "Bring those people over here."

The plump woman started to move, but Zinnia interrupted.

"Aren’t you here to capture me? What else do you want?" She glared at them, breathing heavily.

"Capturing you is the main goal, but there are plenty of other goods here," the leader sneered. "I brought a ship specifically to stock up."

As if on cue, his men pounced on the crowd like wolves, pulling out women, children, and even attractive men to stand aside. Among them were two guards.

The group was completely scattered.

The traffickers continued their search for victims and quickly reached Lyra.

Upon seeing her, one of them shouted, "We’ve got a real gem here!"

Another trafficker laughed, "Selling her at auction would cover half a month’s work for us."

Hearing this, the leader’s eyes lit up. He released Zinnia and approached. "Let’s see what treasure you found."

Several men surrounded Lyra.

Zinnia panicked. "Don’t you dare touch her!"

The plump woman slapped her again. "Stay quiet!"

"Keep away from her! Come at me!" Zinnia, seemingly numb to the pain, began to struggle. At this moment, she received a steady, deep look from Lyra through the crowd.

Feeling a sudden sense of clarity, Zinnia calmed down.

The plump woman, seeing her subdued, leaned in to look at the so-called treasure. As soon as she saw Lyra’s face, she screamed, "Clive, watch out!"

In an instant, a blinding green light flared up, temporarily blinding the leader.

In the chaos, green energy tendrils whipped out like wild snakes, striking and destroying the traffickers’ weapons.

This was a good chance for fighting back.

As the traffickers fumbled to draw their guns, Zinnia’s undercover guards quickly drew their weapons and retaliated.

In the blink of an eye, eight traffickers were down.

Zinnia’s entire body suddenly gleamed with golden armor. She shook off her captors violently, knocking them out one by one with powerful punches.

Several level-three Peculiars among the passengers also rose up and fought back.

Lyra seized the momentum, severely injuring several nearby enemies. Just as she was about to continue, a red laser beam shot toward her.

Despite that she had formed a light shield, it was instantly pierced through.

They were too close!

Lyra instinctively raised her hand and grabbed the beam. The impact was brutal, but it slowed enough for her to dodge the fatal blow at the last moment.

A level-seven Peculiar, with the power of manipulating light.

Everyone, including Lyra, felt their hearts sink.

Zinnia, encased in her mecha, charged forward like a cannonball. But before she could get close, Clive’s laser pierced her shoulder armor, dimming the glow of her suit.

Lyra unleashed her superpower again, but Clive was ready. His laser came even faster, puncturing her shoulder just inches from her heart.

The gap in their levels was too vast.

The residual beam hit the ship’s wall, triggering a sharp alarm.

Clive, undeterred, fired off more lasers, causing several small explosions around the ship.

The fat woman’s face turned pale. "Clive, if you keep this up, the ship will explode! Our men are still on board!"

Clive finally stopped, glaring coldly at Lyra. "Stay put, or I’ll shoot straight through your heart."

The traffickers regained control.

Two undercover guards were dead, and the rest were captured.

The ’goods’ selected by the traffickers were moved to their ship. During the process, cries from women and children echoed, only to be abruptly silenced by Clive’s lasers.

A series of dull thuds followed, and the room fell quiet.

After the traffickers’ ship moved a safe distance away, it turned and fired a laser at the passenger ship, which exploded in a fiery blast.