Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 85: The Third Mine

Chapter 85: The Third Mine

"Lieutenant Commander Whyte, what do you think we should do now?" After dinner, Erin and Cohen walked back to their quarters, talking about their next steps. "What exactly does Vice Admiral Minster mean?"

Without showing any emotion, Cohen replied, "The Vice Admiral already said that the danger might not be completely gone."

Both of them were experienced and understood the real reason behind the Oleg’s caution—if there were any more high-level beasts, they would have shown up by now. Apparently, Oleg just wanted to stay.

Erin and Cohen knew they should let him go; however, with a Vice Admiral leading a force of ten thousand soldiers, it wasn’t their place to tell him to leave. It was best to let him handle it with the higher-ups, and the two should just stand by and watch.

Wyrmtrace, the planet they were on, had a day that lasted thirty hours, so their bodies needed to adjust.

Once they arrived and got used to the day-night cycle, all the technical teams started working right away.

The base construction crew began transporting materials. Machines for analyzing minerals were set up, and experts started studying new plants and animals.

Lyra and the others were assigned to protect the technicians working on the mining operations. There were about seventy known mineral veins, and they were mainly focusing on the largest seven for research. This meant that the eight trainees had to split up and follow different teams.

Cuss, who couldn’t watch over everyone, reminded them before they set out, "The advance team cleared the area using satellite data, but there are still many unexplored regions on Wyrmtrace. Even though the satellites didn’t detect any danger, you are forbidden from entering undeveloped areas."

He added, "The maps on your opticomputers clearly mark these areas. If your location shows you’ve entered a red zone, it will be considered a violation, and I’ll immediately end your training."

In truth, they were mostly there as extra hands; the main force protecting the technicians was still the three military units stationed at the base. As long as these young trainees didn’t do anything reckless, they would likely return safely.

According to the plan, they needed to be divided into three teams. Whether by chance or on purpose, the NMA group of three stayed together, and so did the EPMA group of three. Unfortunately, Lyra and Kail ended up in the same team.

Cuss explained this by saying, "You two have the best teamwork among the trainees. Kail has the combat skills half of a level-six Peculiar, and Lyra, with your healing abilities, will work well with him."

Lyra suspected that their pairing might have been a decision from higher up, but she was sure that making Zorion the team leader was Erin’s choice.

Since Zorion had a relatively high rank, Cohen decided to add Kogar to the team to balance things out. In a way, this made their team the main force.

After confirming that the radar signals with the base were connected, the three convoys set out separately.

The planet’s atmosphere and water were suitable for human life, so aside from wearing protective suits to guard against unknown viruses and bacteria, they could be exposed to the elements.

With nearly seventy people in each team, they had to clear a path as they moved forward, and even with the most advanced tools, progress was slow.

Lyra sat in the back of an off-road truck, holding a particle gun and resting her eyes. Across from her, Kail stared at her intently. ’Why had she said those things before? —Where my sister was...? Did she know something?

During a break, he approached Zorion and angrily asked, "What is Erin trying to do? Does Grandpa know what she’s up to?"

Zorion was already frustrated with how to deal with Lyra, so when Kail confronted him, he impatiently pulled him aside. "Kail, what else can I do but protect you? Besides, how should I know what Erin wants to do?"

Kail didn’t trust Zorion’s words, especially after recalling Erin’s ruthless actions on the battleship. Remembering Lyra’s pointed questions, he decided that no matter what tasks Zorion gave to Lyra, he would insist on going with her. He didn’t believe Zorion would dare to harm him as well.

One day, Zorion called out, "Lyra, do you know how to operate a tree-cutting robot? The forward clearing team needs more hands. You go and take a shift!"

"Yes," Lyra replied without hesitation and jumped down from the truck, heading forward.

Seeing this, Kail quickly followed, jumping down as well. "The tree-cutting robot needs two people. I’ll go with you!"

The two of them climbed into the towering robot, nearly three stories high, equipped with a large chainsaw and lifting clamps.

Behind them, Zorion cursed under his breath, muttering an insult. Kogar was in charge of personnel allocation, and he overheard Zorion. The quiet young man glanced at Zorion, then looked away.

Though they were moving through an area that had been previously explored, small groups of low-level beasts occasionally migrated into the region over time.

These creatures, having never encountered humans before, attacked in groups.

Lyra controlled the robot, swinging the two-meter-long chainsaw with precision, cutting through the beasts like a ruthless butcher. Many of the technicians watching turned pale, some even vomiting at the sight.

As the beasts scattered, Lyra didn’t let up. She hunted down and killing several more adult beasts.

"They’re already running away. Is it really necessary to chase them down?" asked Kail as he sat in the passenger seat. He felt a bit alarmed by how Lyra didn’t even blink during the massacre.

"You’re too naive," Lyra replied. "If we don’t severely cripple the entire group, they’ll follow us for revenge."

On the other hand, leaving a few young ones alive would force the remaining adult beasts to hide away to protect their species. They’d avoid the area during the major development, and in a few years, their numbers would recover.

They pursued the beasts up to the edge of the forbidden red zone before returning with the robot.

When they got back, Zorion scolded them harshly. "You were supposed to clear the path, not chase after beasts! Did you really need to go that far?"

Meanwhile, the others were busy dismantling the beasts’ bodies, collecting useful materials.

Blood stained the yellow soil.

Some live young beasts were also captured and caged, ready to be sent back to the base as subjects for the biologists.

Kogar, having finished his tasks, walked over with a smile, trying to ease the tension. "They meant well. It’s their first mission, Lieutenant, so maybe don’t be too hard on them."

"If they hadn’t scattered the young beasts, we could have captured even more alive!" Zorion retorted.

Over the next few days, aside from a few minor incidents and some light injuries, the team safely reached their first destination—the third mineral vein.