Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 51: Compensation

Chapter 51: Compensation

There’s a saying: big bosses can be easy to deal with, it’s their assistants who are the real challenge. This sums up Lyra’s current predicament perfectly.

The school aimed to boost the skills of its students by letting the old oversee the young. The seniors had the power to deduct points and keep an eye on the juniors.

While this saved a lot of manpower and resources, it also meant students got a taste of harsh social dynamics even before stepping out into the real world. In a way, it was part of their training.

Lyra decided to keep her cool. "So, what do you want?" she asked, sounding like she was giving in.

Kylie sneered, her lips curling. She had thought Lyra was tough, but it seemed like she was scared after all. Yet, Kylie couldn’t think of a good punishment right then.

Irene, who had been beaten up earlier, suddenly had an idea. "Kylie, the fighting arena is a mess. It might be hard to get funds from the student council..."

Irene was mainly worried that if the council investigated, she would have to pay for the mats she had burned. These special mats were pricey, costing 2,000 astrocredits each at the school’s wholesale rate. Not wanting to foot the bill, she decided to pin the blame on Lyra.

Kylie’s eyes lit up, but she knew this could backfire, so she couldn’t use the council’s financial system. After a moment of thought, she looked down at Lyra. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

’Is it my imagination, or does she seem relieved? Does she really think she can get away with just paying a little money?’ Kylie shot a look at Irene. "You, go and count how much needs to be replaced, and be thorough."

Irene caught on quickly. To avoid paying herself and to make Lyra’s bill as high as possible, she counted everything very ’thoroughly’. "We need twenty mats and seven mannequins replaced."

Her voice was loud and clear, even including items with minor damage. ’Smart’, Kylie thought, giving her an approving nod. She then told Lyra, "Did you hear that? Each mat is 5,000 and each mannequin 2,000, totaling 114,000 astrocredits."

The others who came with Irene were shocked. That was a huge sum; their annual tuition was only 15,000.

Lyra’s expression didn’t change. "I’ll go to the finance department to pay tomorrow."

’What? She’s not even going to argue?’ Even Kylie was taken aback. She had expected Lyra to beg for mercy, giving her a chance to cut the amount a bit. But Lyra agreed so easily. ’Is she secretly wealthy?’

Kylie glanced at the surveillance cameras in the arena. They were off. She then checked her pocket for any bugs or recording devices and found none. She licked her lips. "I made a mistake. The 114,000 is just for materials. There are also transportation and labor costs, making it 200,000 in total."

Before Lyra could speak, Kylie opened her bank account on her opticomputer. "To avoid trouble, just transfer it to me now. I’ll give you a receipt tomorrow."

Revealing her true nature, the two other people beside her started sweating. ’She’s taking the money to herself? Isn’t that fraud?’

"Okay," Lyra said.

Lyra didn’t argue for even once. She was so calm it seemed like she didn’t realize she was being extorted.

DING! The money was transferred.

Seeing her account balance rise, Kylie smiled genuinely.

Lyra also smiled, looking pleased to have solved the problem.

"Kylie, may I go now?" Lyra asked.

At this moment, Kylie saw her as a walking money tree and waved her hand generously, "Go ahead."

After Lyra took a few steps, Kylie called out, "You know what to say if anyone asks, right?"

Lyra turned around, standing against the light, her expression unreadable. "I know."

’So she knows she was being extorted?’ Kylie glanced at her three confused subordinates and generously transferred each of them 10,000 astrocredits, smiling mysteriously, "Take this and have something nice."

The three students didn’t dare refuse, but they felt their opticomputers burning up on their wrists.

They were only sophomores, and dealing with this kind of situation almost astonished them. They were terrified it would be exposed.

But Kylie was experienced. The account receiving the money wasn’t in her name, so the transfer record was useless. There were no recordings or surveillance evidence either, and her subordinates’ silence was secured.

Thinking about Lyra’s indifferent attitude, she planned to extort her a few more times.

But she never expected a call from the student council’s monitoring department that afternoon. She thought it was a small matter until she saw all the higher-ups in the room waiting for her.

As soon as Kylie stepped in and saw their stares, her heart skipped a beat.

"Kylie Chilla, just tell us what you did now, or you’ll face strict punishment," one of the leaders, who was in the same year as her, subtly gave her a look.

Kylie’s heart pounded, and her mouth dried up. "I... I don’t know what you’re talking about." She reassured herself there was no clear evidence; they couldn’t do anything to her. While calming herself, she didn’t notice the guy’s resigned expression.

"Hmph." The student council president called out, "Come in!"

Three people, including Irene, who had been beaten by Lyra, walked in. They hunched their shoulders, avoiding Kylie’s gaze.

’It’s fine,’ Kylie tried to calm her heartbeat. Even if they testified, without key evidence, the student council couldn’t do anything to her.

"What did you see at noon? Tell the truth!" The three of them, never having faced such a situation, stammered and confessed everything.

Everyone present turned pale.

200,000 astrocredits—almost as much as the annual budget for the student council! And this amount came from extortion among students.

"Kylie Chilla, do you have anything else to say?" The president’s face was grim. He couldn’t believe such a scandal had happened under his watch. When asked by his superiors, he had broken out in a cold sweat.

With the council elections approaching, he just wanted to transition smoothly into his internship with the military corps, but this incident derailed his plans. He urgently gathered everyone to deal with it.

Kylie mustered up her courage. "I did transfer money to them, but it was out of care for my subordinates. It has nothing to do with extorting Lyra!"

BANG! The president slammed the table hard. "You don’t feel guilty at all, do you?"

Their monitoring teacher then sighed and said, "Call the police."

Kylie’s face turned completely white. ’Why are they calling the police over a campus matter?’

Once the police were involved, even if the account wasn’t hers, the fact that she had moved money through it would come to light quickly.

"Why? You don’t have any evidence!"

She was soon detained by the school, and only one of her higher-ups dropped by.

"Don’t you understand? Lyra went to the principal. Her recommendation letter was signed by Cohen Whyte, you know that? Doesn’t that family name ring a bell to you? Whyte? Admiral Whyte?"

Once the principal got involved, even without solid evidence, Kylie was doomed.