Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 62: Calling The Police

Chapter 62: Calling The Police

"So, you’ve been hiding in the jungle ever since you escaped from Bengal?"

In the small, dimly lit room of the Investigation Bureau, a frail-looking girl sat slumped in a large chair, clutching a cup of herbal tea.

Every now and then, she coughed. Her pale face was barely visible through the rising steam, making her look vulnerable as she answered the investigators’ questions.

Outside, the Bluewater Investigation Bureau was buzzing with chaos.

An intense battle between interstellar pirates from Voidstar No. 2 and military personnel had left no survivors.

This wasn’t just any case—this one had the military, the Bureau, and the police all working together. And the girl sitting in front of them, a student from NMA, was the one who had tipped them off.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"And why were these interstellar pirates after you?"

"Because I know how to create elastic metal, a low-grade kind, of course. They kept trying to make me give up the secret, but there’s no way I’d help space pirates. My goal is to get into the military academy, so I used my studies as an excuse and managed to escape from Voidstar No. 2..."

This was unexpected, and the investigator paused his note-taking. "How do you know how to make elastic metal?"

Lyra, with her short hair framing her face, answered coolly, "That’s not relevant to this case."

The investigator glanced at his notes, deciding not to push further, and moved on with his questions.

"What was your relationship with the deceased, Jorath?"

"We were classmates, but we didn’t get along. You can ask our instructor and the other students..."

The list of things they needed to verify kept growing.

Meanwhile, Cohen and the others were busy gathering evidence at the crime scene.

Until they figured out what really happened, Lyra was stuck at the Investigation Bureau, barred from seeing anyone.

Zinnia had even pleaded with her brother to intervene, but all she got was, "Stay out of it."

"Why? Lyra’s a victim! What if they don’t even feed her during the investigation?"

Zarek couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "If she’s innocent, they’ll let her go. Listen, this case involves high-ranking military officials and Voidstar No. 2. Don’t make trouble for your brother, okay?"

...

Tensions were sky-high on both sides. If things got worse, Ansel Shedd might even send a battleship to Voidstar No. 2.

As everyone kept a close watch on the situation, things were tense on Voidstar No. 2 as well.

Caesara, who usually stayed out of such matters, wasn’t sitting back this time. She arranged a meeting with Snakehead and stormed into the Blackheart Legion, where she didn’t hesitate to confront Blackheart.

"I should’ve known you’d screw this up! You really messed up, killing Ansel’s grandnephew and his adjutant!"

Caesara was livid. She’d never wanted to get involved in the conflict between the settlement and the military, but now, thanks to Blackheart, she had no choice. His crew had attacked the admiral’s star base and killed military personnel right under their noses.

She slapped Blackheart hard—twice—and yanked on his beard, shouting, "You idiot, if you can’t fix this, I’ll tie you up myself and hand you over to the military!"

Blackheart was furious too. What was supposed to be a simple capture had turned into a catastrophe. But now wasn’t the time to be angry. Caesara was right—if he couldn’t smooth things over with the military, he was finished.

"I have no idea what that fool Bengal did, but I’m working to fix it now. Let go of me!"

Snakehead swung his steel club, sending Blackheart crashing to the ground once more. He had hoped that even someone as dense as Blackheart wouldn’t stir up trouble on Planet Nagano, yet here they were, stuck in the aftermath.

Regret wouldn’t fix anything.

"Listen up. You need to prepare at least 100 million astrocredits and send a message to the military. Tell them Bengal has already defected, but since he used to be under your command, you’ve arranged compensation to avoid any misunderstandings."

The plan was laid out clearly, aiming to keep Blackheart from digging himself into an even deeper hole.

"That’s it?" Blackheart asked, still skeptical.

His hesitation earned him another hit from Snakehead’s steel club. "I still need to gauge the military’s stance. Like Caesara said, if this goes south, we’ll both tie you up and throw you on Planet Nagano!"

Blackheart had no choice but to swallow his anger. He knew that Snakehead and Caesara had already made up their minds.

Unlike Blackheart—a free-roaming interstellar pirate—Caesara’s regiment and the trade guilds were firmly anchored in Voidstar No. 2. They weren’t about to start a war with the military over this. If the negotiations fell through, they would definitely sacrifice him.

Besides, he was stuck now, tied down by the massive profits from the healing device.

In the end, he muttered, "Fine."

Blackheart felt like the real victim here. He had lost a level-six superpower deputy commander, several level-five squad leaders, and now he had to pay compensation.

And to top it all off, he hadn’t even captured a single hair of Sis Marv!

Seeing that he wasn’t planning on confronting the military directly, Snakehead and Caesara finally walked away, still fuming.

Just before getting into their vehicles, they both paused.

"I still think something’s not right," Caesara said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering one to Snakehead. "No matter how stupid Bengal is, he wouldn’t be dumb enough to go head-to-head with the military on Planet Nagano."

She took a long drag. "And the military isn’t full of idiots. If they were losing, they would’ve retreated. How is it possible that not a single one survived?"

Snakehead couldn’t make sense of it either, but one thing was clear—Lyra had a role in all of this.

Through the haze of smoke, his round face looked both troubled and unreadable. Caesara gave him a sidelong glance. "What do you know?"

"Sigh, might as well tell you. The military will find out soon enough anyway." Snakehead didn’t hold back. "Blackheart was chasing Sis Marv, but that young woman is now tied up with the Whyte family kid."

He kept it vague, but Caesara quickly caught the underlying meaning.

She flicked her cigarette away, grinding it out under her heel. "Damn it, Blackheart’s slow brain and bottomless greed will get himself killed very soon."

She spat at Snakehead before hopping lightly into the driver’s seat. "I don’t care what you guys do, but if this mess lands on my doorstep, we’re going to have a problem!"

"Don’t worry, Sis Marv knows what she’s doing."

Snakehead smiled as he watched her drive off, lost in thought as the dust settled. He only let go of his cigarette when it burned down to his fingers.

’Does Lyra really know what she’s doing?’ He used to believe Lyra was smart, that she always made the most calculated choices. But now, he was starting to think she might be too smart for her own good.

"Todd, did you ever tell Lyra Blackheart was after her?"

"No."

’So she really had planted spies among us.’ Snakehead sighed, squeezing his bulky frame into his Lev. "Then who told her the Shedd family kid was going to make a move on her?"