Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 77: Teaching Them A Lesson

Chapter 77: Teaching Them A Lesson

In the official chat, tensions were running high.

"Officials, what’s the deal with the railgun’s power difference? We need answers!"

"Lyra’s fans are all over the place, whining about how she’s not charging enough power and accusing the officials of tempering with the data. Come on, Caleb would never stoop that low!"

"Shut up, you clueless fan! Do you even understand how the railgun works? It only fires when it’s fully charged. Clearly, one side’s stats are off the charts!"

As the chat exploded in chaos, there was another hiccup during the match.

It was the railgun again. For the third time, Lyra fired her railgun against the opponent, and for the third time, she got knocked down, awkwardly tumbling to the ground.

This was a stark contrast to her earlier performances. In previous rounds, she had been a master at timing her skills, outmaneuvering her opponents with precision. No one could touch her. But now? It was like she was fighting with one hand tied behind her back.

Even the spectators couldn’t stay silent anymore. Regardless of who they supported, everyone was outraged at what felt like blatant cheating.

The official chat was flooded with angry complaints, with fans threatening to report the organizers and demanding refunds on their bets if this turned out to be a fix.

People began to wonder if the other players who lost before had also been victims of some behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Under mounting pressure, the officials paused the match.

They explained there was a glitch in the backend data, which was causing the imbalance in attack power. Both players were asked to exit the match so they could reset everything.

Caleb, lips pressed into a thin line, walked up to Robin with a heavy sigh, "I think I’m going to lose this one."

"I’ve noticed," Robin replied calmly.

Lyra was starting to figure out his battle strategy. She could predict when he’d fire the railgun and even counter perfectly to meet his attacks. It was uncanny how well she was doing it.

"Her psychokinesis test score was 6000 units when she first entered the academy. Losing to her isn’t exactly a surprise."

Caleb knew it too. Adjusting his glasses with a bitter smile, he nodded. "Yeah, you’re right."

He had hoped his skills would bridge the gap, but the truth was, she was just on a different level.

Grains, who was listening nearby, was stunned. "6000? As high as Robin? Is she really that powerful?"

Caleb gave him a mocking smile. "She could probably take you down without breaking a sweat."

Grains ran his fingers through his unruly blond hair and sneaked a look at Lyra, who wasn’t far off.

Their eyes met unexpectedly, and he quickly moved closer to Robin, using his tall frame to shield himself from Lyra’s gaze.

In a low voice, he muttered, "Think I could take her in an offline fight?"

"Oh, and by the way, she’s a healer," Robin added, almost as an afterthought.

"What?" Grains, looking shocked, ran his hand through his hair again, this time in frustration. He strutted out a few steps, flipping Lyra off and mouthing the word, "Trash."

In an instant, a powerful wave of psychokinesis crashed down on him, forcing him to his knees.

"Grains!" Caleb gasped, wide-eyed.

Not far away, Lyra calmly raised her hand, her psychokinesis intensifying, pinning Grains to the ground.

Robin frowned and tried to counter with his own psychokinesis, but it was like hitting a wall; his power bounced right back.

Without even turning around, Lyra said coldly, "Keep your lap dog in check. Next time, I’ll break him."

Then she let her psychokinesis fade away.

Caleb broke out in a cold sweat—— Lyra’s psychokinesis was stronger than Robin! He had no hope of winning this time.

When the match resumed, everything was back to normal.

The organizers, having already stirred up enough anger, didn’t dare mess around anymore. They cursed Lyra under their breath for being so tricky but secretly hoped Caleb would come out on top this time.

But luck wasn’t on their side.

Even though both players used the same set of skills, Lyra’s speed and precision were on another level.

Her movements weren’t flashy, but they were incredibly efficient.

From the very start, Caleb found himself under her control. To the crowd, it looked like a fair fight, but Caleb knew better—Lyra had him locked down, predicting his every move.

After 25 minutes, Lyra secured what looked like a ’hard-earned’ victory in front of the audience.

After the match, Lyra headed back to the stands. Caleb approached her, clearly annoyed. "Miss Shedd, don’t you think it’s disrespectful to take the match so lightly?"

"I only respect profit," Lyra replied with a sly smile before leaving the arena with her teammates.

Helion, who had been completely ignored the entire time, dramatically clutched his chest, his heart racing.

Taking a deep breath, he exclaimed, "How can a woman be this captivating?" His eyes sparkled with a wild light. The idea of battling her, even if it meant losing, thrilled him beyond measure.

The next day, in the team competition, they faced off against an all-star lineup.

These were the top contenders from various mecha tournaments, coming together to grab some attention on social media.

Lyra and her team, however, saw through the hype.

Despite the big names, the other team lacked the skills to back it up, so Lyra’s team easily secured a decisive win.

"This wasn’t even as tough as fighting Helion and his crew," Zinnia remarked after catching on. "They’re just here to ride the publicity wave with the organizers’ help."

After they withdrew from the competition, Lyra pulled Zinnia aside. "Don’t leave the school until the tournament’s over."

Zinnia’s eyes widened in realization. "You think they’d really go that far?"

Would their opponents really stoop to threatening their safety just to keep them from winning?

"They absolutely would," Lyra answered.

They wouldn’t dare go after Thierry, but dealing with them? Easy. One had family too far away to help, and the other was all alone.

...

Just as Lyra predicted, a few shadowy figures appeared on the roof of the girls’ dorm that night, sneaking down toward their rooms.

As she lay in bed, Lyra quietly alerted the school patrol. Then, she transformed her Schedar into a baseball bat and waited by the window, holding her breath.

The moment the intruders touched the ground, she swung the bat, which lit up with a blinding green light, and sent them flying.

The loud crash caused a huge commotion, and the patrol team arrived in no time.

These intruders were highly skilled, and it took the chief instructor himself to finally take them down. When they searched the intruders, they found not only lethal weapons but also biochemical poisons, leaving everyone in shock.

The incident quickly made headlines across the Alliance. That night was pure chaos.

The next day marked the finals of the tournament.

Early in the morning, Lyra got a call from an unknown number. The voice on the other end was hoarse and dripping with anger. "I think you’re smart enough to know what happens when you go against the people in charge."

It was the event planning manager, who hadn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep since Lyra started making waves.

"I’m looking forward to the consequences," Lyra replied calmly. Her steady voice nearly made the man choke on his frustration.

"Then just you wait!" he barked before slamming down the phone.

As the three were prepping to log in the tournament system, they quickly realized something was wrong—Lyra couldn’t access the system!

No matter how many times she tried, even after switching to a different headset, she was still locked out. It was obvious that she was the only one being blocked.

"This is unbelievable! The organizers are being total scumbags!" Zinnia slammed the table, her anger palpable. "Aren’t they worried we’ll blow this up online?"

Thierry, always the skeptic, frowned. "If it’s just Lyra who’s locked out, they could easily spin it as an issue with her gear. They’ve got excuses lined up."

Lyra, her eyes fixed on the screen, didn’t flinch. "Are you ready yet?"

"Almost there!" Sean and the entire research lab team were working at lightning speed, fingers flying across multiple consoles, determined to force Lyra into the match.

"Boss, now!" Sean shouted.

Without missing a beat, Lyra clicked to log in, slipping into the system at the last possible second.

As the match countdown began, she confirmed her participation and entered the arena, just in time.

Her sudden entry sent the manager into a rage. He flipped his table over, the crash echoing in his office, panic quickly setting in.

"Get the tech department on this, now!" he screamed into the nearest intercom, realizing their plan to block Lyra had spectacularly backfired.