"But," Lyu whispered, "what do you predict as the worst-case scenario now?"
"The worst-case scenario," Yang Ming sighed softly, "is if the Valkyrie quickly collaborates with the Empire, and their invincible fleet comes directly for me. They'd lock me in a nutrient tank filled with waste, never to see daylight for a while, until the Valkyrie devours me."
Lyu cautioned, "But we have the bio-shield device."
"If the Valkyrie mentions the name Yang Ming, our base, including the Dark Star, would be destroyed."
Lyu muttered, "Then we could just keep the bio-shield device on all the time and become interstellar pirates."
"If, in ten or twenty years, my family finds out I'm doing so poorly, I'd rather be locked in a nutrient tank.
"There's always a chance the equipment could malfunction.
"And it's hard to guarantee that the mysterious force that made the colorful crown for the Valkyrie wouldn't just feed me to it directly."
Yang Ming silently tugged at his hair.
