Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 78: A Worthy Opponent

Chapter 78: A Worthy Opponent

Today, Lyra made a choice that left everyone in the arena surprised—a sleek, upright mecha shaped like a lizard. It was armed with a staff, an energy shield, and a laser beam.

"It seems like Lyra’s aiming for a fast-paced strategy today," the commentator observed. "But it’s strange she went with a staff and an energy shield. Sure, the energy shield recharges quickly, but it’s not as reliable as a metal shield, which you can use at a moment’s notice."

The commentator’s tone grew more measured, matching the growing tension in the crowd.

"Let’s check out how she’s set up her controls. Wait a minute!" The commentator squinted at the screen. "She’s got the buttons spread across the left, center, and right panels. Looks like she’s trying to avoid any mix-ups during the fight."

"If she doesn’t switch up her tactics soon, this is going to get boring!"

"She did switch, but does she even know how to work it? If she’s not on point, she might as well stick to the basic moves."

"So what if she switches? Robin’s still going to crush her. His matches barely last five minutes unless he’s up against someone like Thierry."

"Come on, Lyra! We’re rooting for you!"

Lyra’s live stream was buzzing with more energy than Robin’s official broadcast. She had made her control panel viewable to everyone, adding an extra layer of excitement.

Behind the scenes, Morrison kept an eye on the viewer count. His nerves kicked in as he opened his comms to talk with Sean and the rest of the team. "Keep close tabs on Lyra’s stats."

"Relax, I even got some outside help," Sean assured him. They knew that competing in this high-stakes AI showdown needed more than just experience—it required an edge.

"Alright, we’re counting on you."

Sean cracked his knuckles, adrenaline kicking in. Lyra had promised them a 10% bump in their research budget every month if they pulled off a win.

Meanwhile, in the event’s tech department, fifty top-tier technicians were on high alert.

"The other side has brought in reinforcements too. Stay sharp—we can’t let Lyra win!" the planning manager barked, pointing fingers at the team.

This rubbed the head of the tech department the wrong way. They were supposed to be patching up data vulnerabilities, not rigging the match. But he also knew that failure wasn’t an option if they wanted to keep their jobs.

In short, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

As the countdown ticked down, both competitors launched into action, and the tech teams went into overdrive.

On the battlefield, Robin’s mecha Thunderhawk, its wings as sharp as blades, cut through the air like lightning. Its arsenal included wing blades, electric shocks, and missile barrages, all designed to counter Lyra’s close-combat tactics.

Thunderhawk suddenly dove, its wings morphing into long, deadly blades ready to cleave anything in their path.

Lyra’s Lizard mecha, an easy target, quickly ducked to avoid the strike. As they crossed paths, Lyra activated her energy shield, blocking the electric shock Robin fired at her.

Lyra’s fingers flew to the center panel, aiming to ground Thunderhawk, but the command wouldn’t go through.

Someone had tampered with the system again.

With a frustrated click of her tongue, Lyra switched to the right panel. She swung her staff with a fierce force, cutting through the incoming missiles.

Then, she darted through the smoke to hide, but her path was blocked, and Lizard took a blow to the head.

In a matter of seconds, the battle had everyone on the edge of their seats, their excitement palpable.

However, few of them were aware that Lyra’s energy shield had been tampered with, causing a one-second delay in the command response.

"That’s odd. Lyra hesitated there—was it a glitch?" the commentator wondered aloud as he replayed the footage. "It looks like she was trying to fire the laser beam, but nothing happened. What went wrong?"

The viewers were quick to chime in on the chat, "She probably messed up the command. That’s what happens when you switch mechas and aren’t fully familiar with it."

"The command was spot on! Are you even paying attention?"

The commentator caught Morrison’s glance, who subtly nodded for him to keep going.

Shifting the conversation to potential match manipulation was too risky now, so it was better to focus on the ongoing tech duel between the teams.

"Sean..." the commentator began, hesitating.

"I’m on it!" Sean barked, his eyes glued to the screen as he shouted at the guy on the other end of his opticomputer. "Bro! C’mon, man! Can’t you take your opticomputer to the bathroom and get the job done already?"

In a dark room lit only by the glow of ten overlapping screens, a raspy voice replied, "The situation’s changed. Recommend me to your boss."

Sean nearly choked on the code he was typing. ’Is this shut-in actually considering a job offer?’

"Fine!" Sean agreed, a bit thrown.

The sound of a toilet flushing echoed through the speakers as a tall, lanky figure sat at his keyboard, yawning and cracking his knuckles. In no time, the code on his screens began to flow like a river.

Soon after, Lyra noticed that her skills were back on track. Despite the relentless onslaught, Lizard spun around and hurled its staff toward Thunderhawk.

As Robin dodged, Lyra unleashed a fully charged laser beam, striking Thunderhawk’s left wing!

The hit threw the Thunderhawk off balance mid-flight.

In the control room, the planning manager, nearly tearing his hair out, turned on the tech department head. "How did she recover?"

The tech department head, frantically patching up the altered code, snapped, "Can you just shut up for a second? Do you know how many people are they running on their side? Their speed is insane!"

Back in the dim room, the young man’s body started to morph—two long arms sprouted from under his armpits, and an extra set of eyes appeared at his temples.

With mechanical precision, he hammered away at the keyboard, muttering about how much fun he was having...

On the battlefield, Lyra began to turn the tide with her sharp, calculated moves. But the data tampering had already taken its toll—her mecha was heavily damaged, leaving her no room for mistakes.

The Thunderhawk was still flying, and aside from her laser, she had no way to bring it down.

Then, Robin dropped two missiles—one in front, one behind.

Lyra quickly sidestepped, narrowly escaping the blast, and fired a laser beam, but Robin dodged it with ease. As he charged up for an electric attack, Lyra swiftly input the command for her light energy shield.

To her surprise, Robin canceled the electric attack and dove straight at her instead. The electric charge had been a fake-out!

With no time to react, Lizard swung its staff, knocking Thunderhawk out of the sky, and then flipped it over, pinning it to the ground.

The crowd was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"How did that happen? She was still inputting the shield command!" the commentator shouted. He replayed the footage and exclaimed, "She entered the staff command at the same time as the shield!"

Lyra had timed it perfectly, canceling the shield command just as she ordered Lizard to leap onto the Thunderhawk’s back.

Just as Lyra canceled the light shield command, she input the directive for her Lizard mecha to leap onto the Thunderhawk’s back.

’She saw through my move,’ Robin thought, his frown deepening as he commanded Thunderhawk to ascend and roll, trying to shake off the Lizard.

But before he could execute the maneuver, Lizard fired its laser, piercing straight through the Thunderhawk’s power core.

Though the attack landed perfectly, the force threw Lizard mecha off balance.

Warning lights blazed red, and alarms screamed in Robin’s cockpit as he quickly commanded an electric shock attack.

Amidst her own fall warnings, Lyra swiftly reacted—her left hand deployed the light shield to block the incoming electric attack while her right hand input another command.

As missiles closed in, Lizard swung its staff with precision, deflecting them just in time.

With two thunderous crashes, both Lizard and Thunderhawk slammed into the ground.

The match was over.

For a moment, the entire arena, along with the viewers on the livestream, was enveloped in stunned silence. Everyone tried to process the incredible maneuvers they had just witnessed.

"Winner: Lyra."

The commentator, barely able to contain his excitement, pounded his desk as the crowd erupted into a wild frenzy.