Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 38: Surviving The Wild

Chapter 38: Surviving The Wild

The night before they were supposed to leave, Lyra got a message from Liliana.

Over on Voidstar No.2, it was broad daylight.

"A guy with a military background showed up today. He started asking questions about you after getting off the ship, so we detained him," Liliana’s voice sounded a bit rough. "He mentioned someone named Jorath sent him. What should we do with him?"

Lyra smirked. "If he’s military, just check in with his superior. Not my problem."

She watched the screen, noticing the bruises on Liliana’s face and the bald patches in her hair, signs she hadn’t had an easy time.

"Got beat up again?"

Liliana’s face tightened for a second, but she quickly put on a charming smile. "Oh, Lyra, if you keep showing concern like this, I might just cry," she joked, trying to cover the bald spots with her red hair.

Lyra, with her black hair framing her face, spoke almost like casting a spell, "Liliana, crying isn’t cute."

"You’re still so cold," Liliana teased, pretending to clutch her chest in pain. Then she changed the subject, "I’ll talk to Snakehead and handle it like you said."

Lyra nodded and ended the call. The night wind made her throat feel dry, so she headed to the living room for some water.

The room felt off.

Mandy was sitting on the couch, looking like a statue. She bit her lip and furrowing her brows, clearly on the verge of tears.

"I can’t even wash dishes, and I can’t tell vegetables apart. What am I gonna to do?"

Zinnia tried to comfort her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "This isn’t a camping trip where you have to cook. We won’t be washing dishes or sorting vegetables."

With her sharp instincts, she knew the real challenge would be avoiding the instructors—or rather, the enemy.

Vivian, wearing a face mask, looked up from her conversation and casually said, "Just hope you draw a strong guy for your team."

But when the draw happened the next day, Mandy, holding a slip with the number five, looked at Lyra with almost teary eyes. They ended up paired together.

"Lyra, you okay with this?"

Lyra glanced at Mandy’s terrified expression. "Maybe I should be asking if you’re okay."

Though Mandy seemed fragile, her reaction felt a bit much.

Jorath, who always had his eye on Lyra, couldn’t resist a snarky comment, "Two weaklings paired up. Why don’t you just skip the trip and take a penalty?"

The girl partnered with him rolled her eyes and moved away, thinking if it wasn’t for the no-switching rule, she’d want nothing to do with him. He was like a bothersome louse.

"Jorath, you really love picking on girls," someone shot back. "Always calling others weak, but who got dragged into the woods and beaten up?"

Mandy and Lyra’s pairing did seem like an easy target, but no one was dumb enough to openly mock them since it wouldn’t win them any favors. Still bitter from his past beating, Jorath sneered, "I’ll say what I want. What’s it to you?"

He acted like he was above it all, knowing his family connections would get him into the corps after the four years were up; he didn’t feel the need to compete with anyone else.

As they boarded the helicopter, Lyra walked up to Jorath and whispered, "I heard you sent someone to Voidstar No.2 to snoop around about me?"

Jorath assumed she was anxious and sneered, "Just wait, I’ll expose your true nature soon enough!"

To his surprise, Lyra gave him a look like he was clueless. "You do know the military can’t go there without permission, right?"

For years, there was a delicate balance between the military and Voidstar. Both sides had to notify each other before entering the other’s territory. By sending someone in without clearance and asking about her, Jorath had probably stirred up suspicions with Blackheart and Snakehead. This could spell trouble.

Jorath felt a flicker of unease but quickly brushed it off. "That’s supposed to scare me?" he scoffed. It was just a simple visit, right?

Lyra responded with a cold laugh.

Everyone was decked out in camouflage gear, backpacks slung over their shoulders. All electronic gadgets were confiscated, and they were dropped off in groups onto a deserted island.

As they geared up to land, Mandy, parachute on, clung to the helicopter door, her face pale and eyes wide.

"Lyra, what if we get separated when we land?" Mandy asked, her voice shaking.

All of them had tracking devices; Mandy was just worried she’d run into an enemy before she even met Lyra.

Seeing her panic, Lyra thought for a second. "If that happens, stay put. I’ll come find you."

"Okay," Mandy agreed, feeling a bit more at ease. She wasn’t strong, but she was willing to follow instructions, which could be useful.

"But... I’m scared to jump..." Mandy hesitated.

Lyra sighed, "Just hold onto me. I’ll let go halfway, and then you open your chute."

But before she could finish, someone behind them pushed her out. "Stop wasting time!" they yelled.

"Lyra!" Mandy, forgetting her fear, jumped right after her.

Lyra quickly adjusted as she fell, the wind roaring around her. She caught sight of Jorath’s smug face at the helicopter door.

"Jorath, if anything happens to Lyra, you’ll regret it!" Zinnia shouted, her voice barely audible over the chopper’s noise.

"That’s too much! What if she doesn’t react in time?" Thierry frowned, "I’m reporting this to the instructor."

Jorath just shrugged, muttering, "Isn’t that what the parachute’s for?" secretly thinking it wouldn’t be the worst thing if she got hurt.

Down below, Lyra and Mandy managed to open their parachutes, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The helicopter moved away as Lyra landed in a tree. She then worked to untangle her parachute cords. She started calculating where Jorath might land.

Maybe she hadn’t hit him hard enough last time.

But first, she needed to find Mandy since their team’s score would hinge on the lowest-performing member. If Mandy failed, they’d both score zero, and Lyra wasn’t about to let that happen.

She put on her electronic glasses to locate Mandy.

Following Lyra’s advice, Mandy stood still on a mountainside. Not the best spot, as it was easy for enemies to spot her.

To save energy, Lyra used her superpower to create glowing bands, swinging through the trees like an ape.

Halfway there, she noticed the red dot on the tracking device moving erratically, as if Mandy was trying to avoid something.

Lyra frowned—Mandy had been spotted.

Luckily, Mandy had her wits about her and headed straight toward Lyra. Lyra took a quick look around the forest, pieced together a plan, and then touched down to set it in motion.

Sunlight streamed through the trees, creating long shadows across the decaying forest floor.

Mandy looked over her shoulder and cranked up her superpower, speeding up.

Two instructors in green masks were hot on her trail, closing in from both sides to trap her.