Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 42: Cooperation

Chapter 42: Cooperation

Lyra’s unexpected compliment made Mandy blush. "R-Really?"

"Absolutely."

With practiced hands, Lyra picked up the Purpgecko’s tongue, using the suction cups to remove its sharp horns and back spines. These were the most valuable parts, and she handed them all to Mandy.

"You deserve them."

If they sold these, they’d fetch at least twenty thousand dollars. For Mandy, that was a good fortune. This time, she didn’t refuse. "Thank you."

Lyra raised an eyebrow and smirked. "We need to get moving, fast."

The noise they made might have drawn unwanted attention. Not long after the two left, a man and a woman, both wearing green face masks, arrived at the scene.

The man whistled. "Not bad for newbies, taking down a level-four Purpgecko so quick." He kicked the huge corpse, flipping it over with ease. "The skin’s still good. Want it?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Aren’t you embarrassed, scavenging after students?"

"Why should I be?" The man pulled out a knife and started skinning the Purpgecko. "We can’t even afford a piece of level-four armor on two months’ salary."

He skinned it quickly, then took one of its legs, slinging it over his shoulder. "The meat looks good. Let’s roast it."

His partner sighed, too tired to argue. "Are we still chasing them?"

"Chase? Nah, we’ll catch up with them tomorrow."

On the road, Lyra had no clue they were being followed. They lost time with the Purpgecko, and now they couldn’t stop for lunch. They pushed on, gritting their teeth.

When they couldn’t go any further, they paused to rest.

"Lyra, are you okay?" Mandy asked, leaning against a rock and panting, using her cane for support.

Lyra took a sip of water, her lips turning purple from lack of oxygen. "I can keep going."

As long as they used minimal energy, they could recover while moving.

Mandy wanted to say something but stopped. Looking at Lyra’s pale, tired face, she seemed like she might faint at any moment. Mandy couldn’t bring herself to ask the question she’d been hiding—how could a healer be so strong in battle?

Just now when they were fighting, she was too shocked to think about it, and now when she looked back, it just seemed unbelievable.

’No wondered her superpower scored 18,’ Mandy told herself.

As they neared their goal, more enemies awaited. Several times, they were almost caught, but Lyra’s quick reactions saved them.

By seven in the evening, they took a short break.

They ate a cold meal, not daring to light a fire. As more students gathered near the finish line, the enemy’s circle tightened, increasing the chances of being discovered.

Lyra climbed to a high spot.

Hoverboards and helicopters flew overhead, gathering near the finish line like bears waiting for fish to swim by, ready to pounce.

"I always heard our school don’t fair games," Mandy said, unable to fully express her anger but feeling it deeply.

Lyra swallowed some dry biscuits. "The rules don’t restrict them."

"What should we do?"

"In times like this, we can’t think like prey." She quickly packed her bag and closed her eyes to rest. "We’ll rest for an hour. Tonight, we keep moving."

Since the school allowed loose rules, they might as well take advantage of them.

Mandy didn’t quite grasp what Lyra meant by "not being prey," and before she could figure it out, they already started moving again, tired and exhausted.

Lyra led the way with a stick, and they used the faint glow from the Purpgecko horn for light.

"Lyra, why are we traveling now?" Mandy asked, panting.

"It’s the only way to survive."

Just then, a soft laugh echoed through the trees. "I thought I might run into like-minded people, but I didn’t expect it to be you."

The rustling of leaves made Mandy tense up. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened.

"The head student... What’s his name again...?"

It was Thierry and his teammate, Taryn.

Taryn frowned when she saw them and turned to Thierry. "I don’t think they’ll make good partners."

Mandy looked at Lyra, puzzled. ’What does that mean?’

"Taryn, you have to trust that any team that’s made it this far is worth working with." Thierry didn’t care if his teammate disagreed. He pushed aside some palm leaves and stared at Lyra. "What do you think?"

"Working with the head student? My honor," Lyra replied.

It was already 4 a.m. on the third day of pre-training. They agreed it was time to rest and climbed a tree to sleep.

Taryn seemed upset but didn’t dare oppose Thierry’s decision. She had seen his strength and admired him.

"The pre-training ends at 5 p.m. I think we should set out at noon," Thierry said.

"That sounds about right, but we need to consider the other teams’ speeds," Lyra added.

Mandy asked, "Why does it matter how fast the other teams are?"

Taryn rolled her eyes. "Don’t you get it? We need other teams to act as decoys to distract the instructors."

Seeing Mandy’s embarrassed face, Taryn realized she had been too harsh. "If you didn’t understand that, why are you traveling at night?"

"We wanted to get a head start and find allies before the instructors set up," Mandy said, twisting her fingers nervously. "I just follow Lyra’s lead."

"Lyra? The healer?" Taryn’s surprised tone made the other two people turn.

Mandy, now a devoted fan of Lyra, insisted, "Hey... she is amazing, alright?"

"That’s because you’re too weak, making her seem strong," Taryn retorted. She was increasingly doubtful about this partnership.

Thierry frowned. "Taryn, your comments are rude. Do you have a problem with my decision?"

"I...," Taryn felt hurt. After three days together, she thought Taryn would value her more than a healer.

"It’s all up you, BOSS," Taryn said quietly. She figured that if anything went wrong, Thierry would protect her first. After all, her failure would reflect poorly on his performance too. With that in mind, she felt more at ease. These two might be weak, but she could probably throw them under the bus when necessary.

Lyra didn’t say anything extra, just gave a look. Once things settled down, she put down her backpack. "Let’s get some rest."

"Wait, we need to take turns keeping watch. If the enemy gets close..."

"No need."

Before Taryn could protest, Mandy tugged on her sleeve and explained, "Lyra’s psychokinesis is very strong. We don’t need to keep watch."