Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 58: Trouble

Chapter 58: Trouble

"I found out it was the Mendez who were behind this. The landlords of both the lab and the factory are so scared of them that they’d rather pay us double compensation just to get us out. The landlord of the lab even showed up in the dead of night to lock the door, but Sean caught him in the act."

"And now the suppliers are backing out of their contracts with us!"

Lyra sat in her dorm, listening to Sorren rant while skimming the progress report he’d sent her. She quickly devised a plan.

"Send over the first batch of goods to the school. Have the medical devices been shipped?"

Sorren hesitated, looking a bit guilty. "Uh... Blackheart didn’t agree..."

SNAP!

The pen in Lyra’s hand broke, and Sorren flinched as if it were his own neck that snapped. He didn’t dare to meet her eyes.

"I told you to handle that two days ago, and now you’re telling me he didn’t agree?" She leaned back, arms crossed. "If I hadn’t asked, when exactly were you planning to bring this up?"

"I-I-I was just about to tell you, I swear!"

He stumbled over his words, but Lyra only responded with a cold laugh. Then, she glanced at the report. "Who put this together? It’s actually decent."

Not sure why she was suddenly asking, Sorren thought she might’ve let the issue go. He brightened up.

"Remember you asked me to get some help? I rounded up some people I used to know, even got a few with college degrees, to help out..."

"Alright, I got it." She tapped the table thoughtfully. "For now, work overtime and turn all the materials we have into finished products. I’ll find new spots for the factory and lab."

"But the landlord is pushing us to leave."

"We’ve got a signed contract. He can’t just push us out like that. Even if we have to move, we’ll take our sweet time packing." A sharp glint flickered in Lyra’s eyes. "Sorren, even though we’re on Planet Nagano, Voidstar’s way of doing things doesn’t change. Get more people and secure the doors, the power, the water valves—everything."

Sorren got the hint immediately. No matter how much the landlord pushed, he’d use the excuse that they weren’t done packing. And if they tried to force them out? Let’s see who’s tougher.

Take it to court? They broke the contract first. And it was not like they were refusing to leave—just taking a few extra days.

Hearing the machinery roaring inside, the landlord had no choice but to report back to Alon.

The polite, well-mannered young man just smiled after hearing the news and then asked if the landlord needed more muscle, subtly suggesting he might need to be tougher.

The landlord wiped the sweat off his brow and said he understood.

On the last morning of pre-training, before the sun had even risen, Lyra was jolted awake by a call from Sorren.

"Bad news! Someone set fire to our factory, and a lot of materials were stolen! The lab got hit too—equipment’s been smashed!"

His anger was real—he’d spent two weeks setting those places up, and now it was all in ruins.

And the culprits were pros—they even cut the surveillance, leaving no trace.

Lyra felt a wave of darkness cloud her vision as his furious voice echoed in her ears. She rubbed her temples. "First, give me a report on the losses, and show me the data on the finished products."

She stepped out to grab a glass of water, just as Vivian emerged, humming a tune and flashing her a triumphant smile --’Think you can beat me?’

There was no way she’d let Lyra win.

Indeed, Lyra faced a significant setback during her first attempt to establish herself on Planet Nagano. But instead of letting it get to her, she took it as an early lesson.

She knew that once she started gaining traction, competitors—Vivian’s Mendez family or not—would try to push her out.

Dealing with this now just gave her a chance to rework her strategy.

The most urgent issue was fulfilling the school’s order. Sorren’s report was both a relief and a headache: they had enough anti-surveillance smart machines ready to go, but the medical devices wouldn’t be finished in time.

Lyra realized she had no choice but to visit the principal again.

Usually, he greeted her with a warm, cheerful smile. This time, though, the smile had a hint of caution.

As he handed her a cup of freshly brewed green tea, he said, "I’ve heard about what happened. Miss Shedd, I must say, the agents you chose didn’t do a great job, letting the factory catch fire in the middle of the night."

The principal knew full well that the Mendez were behind it, but by blaming her team, he was making it clear that he wouldn’t get involved.

Lyra didn’t expect the school to fight her battles over "a few goods," but she knew those "few goods" mattered a lot to them.

"So, when can we expect the items we ordered to be delivered?"

As expected, the principal wasn’t cutting her any slack.

Lyra rubbed the smooth porcelain cup in her hand, thinking carefully. "The anti-surveillance machines will be delivered this afternoon. As for the medical devices, since the materials were destroyed in the fire, I’m hoping the principal can grant us a one-week extension."

Even with a dedicated transport ship, it would take five days just to get from Voidstar No.2 to Planet Nagano. With only a week left of the original ten-day deadline, she needed extra time to account for shipping. This would give her nearly ten days to work with.

But the school wasn’t in the business of charity.

"Miss Shedd, as I mentioned before, the customized medical devices are for the joint exercises of the military academy graduates. Every year, some students get injured, sometimes severely. That’s why these devices are so crucial."

The principal sighed, clearly troubled. "It’s not about being lenient; I need you to speed things up."

"There are still twenty days until the joint exercises."

"But the students don’t have much time to get familiar with new medical devices, do they?" The principal’s expression hardened, but then he softened his tone. "Let’s do this—three days, at most."

Lyra’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the teacup, but she managed to reply, "Three days it is."

As she left, she left behind a cup of tea, still steaming.

"Quite the sly one," the principal chuckled, realizing what she’d been up to. But as he recalled the background check on this student, something didn’t quite add up.

Three days was Lyra’s bottom line. She’d purposely asked for seven days to negotiate with the principal. Now, she was in a tight spot, with problems closing in from all sides.

To secure things, she contacted Blackheart directly and asked bluntly, "Are you planning to stop doing business with us?"

Blackheart was lounging with Liliana, one hand caressing her while holding a glass of liquor in the other. He spat a mouthful of alcohol at the screen and sneered, "Pah! Looks like you’re the one who doesn’t want to work anymore, trying to go solo. Do you even have the basic respect for me as your business partner?"

He didn’t get the name Blackheart for nothing—his greed knew no bounds.

"From the start, we agreed that I would only provide the ’core’. It’s mine, and I’ll decide how to sell it—not you," Lyra stated firmly. "I was initially trying to do you a favor by making a deal with the school for the medical devices, but if you don’t want it, that’s fine by me."

It wasn’t entirely out of goodwill, though. Lyra had hoped to earn some favor with the school and maybe pocket a bit of commission on the side.

But Blackheart, despite his lack of business savvy, wasn’t easily fooled. He sneered and mocked her, "You really thought you could use my stuff to cozy up to the school? You’re dreaming!"

Lyra kept her cool. "Blackheart, let’s see who comes begging a year from now."

The ’core’ she left behind was only good for a year. She was eager to see who would be laughing when the time came.

Blackheart raised his glass, pointing a finger at the screen with a cold smile. "You won’t have to wait a year—you’ll be crawling back to me in no time."