Chapter 2247 Shi Ming Clarifies the Mysteries

"What happened... to your eyes..."

Shi Ming frowned deeply, staring suspiciously at the person he had just helped onto the medical bed. At this moment, Zhao Yiming appeared extremely weak and powerless, his eyes tightly closed, his face as pale as a sheet of paper, and fine beads of sweat constantly beading on his forehead. Seeing this, Shi Ming's heart clenched; he knew things were bad. However, he didn't panic. Instead, he quickly took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and decisively reached out his right hand to grab the strangely shaped, somewhat mysterious hood from beside the bed. Undoubtedly, this hood was meticulously crafted; its size was perfect, fitting Zhao Yiming's head perfectly.

Shi Ming gently and carefully placed the hood on Zhao Yiming's head, only letting out a sigh of relief after ensuring every detail was handled properly. Then, he strode quickly towards the large, advanced medical instrument located beside the hospital bed. This instrument was covered with a complex array of buttons and knobs, which might be bewildering to an ordinary person, but to the experienced Shi Ming, these were simply familiar tools.

All one could see was Shi Ming's incredibly nimble hands moving back and forth among the rows of buttons and knobs as if he were performing a beautiful and captivating symphony.

Just then, a faint yet clearly audible buzzing sound suddenly arose, followed by the enormous display screen instantly lighting up without warning. It then began flashing a dazzling, overwhelming, and densely packed string of data and images, like countless stars. Although this complex data and images would be incomprehensible to the average person, Shi Ming, with his extensive experience and profound knowledge accumulated over many years, was able to easily and accurately extract the most crucial information from the seemingly chaotic data and images after only a quick glance.

At this moment, Shi Ming was completely focused, his eyes glued to the screen in front of him. Meanwhile, his hands were also busy, rapidly tapping and swiping across the screen. However, his composure quickly vanished, replaced by a barely perceptible hint of irritation creeping onto his brow.

Zhao Yiming's eyes are gone!

In the end, Shi Ming could no longer suppress his anxiety and abruptly stopped the series of operations he was performing. He frowned deeply, turned his head sharply, and stared directly at Zhao Yiming lying on the hospital bed. He asked Zhao Yiming a question again in a tone full of doubt and worry.

Modern medicine has advanced dramatically compared to the past. While restoring damaged tissue without warning remains extremely difficult, creating two prosthetic eyes that perfectly fit Zhao Yiming's eyes is not a challenge. At this moment, the headgear on Zhao Yiming's head is conducting a comprehensive scan of his eye sockets, meticulously sculpting and crafting a pair of artificial eyeballs that Zhao Yiming can immediately use without any discomfort, based on data such as the intricate blood vessels and delicate, sensitive nerve pathways within them.

Thus, seeing the light of day again was only a matter of time. However, when faced with Shi Ming's question, Zhao Yiming fell into deep silence. He truly didn't know how to respond to Shi Ming's question—should he tell Shi Ming the truth, that he was filled with fear deep inside? Or should he frankly tell him that they had no chance of defeating that guy named Kak? Or should he urge Shi Ming to simply give up the futile struggle and join him in persuading his former comrades to surrender to the enemy camp...? All sorts of thoughts churned in his mind, and in the end, Zhao Yiming pursed his lips, unable to utter a single word.

"Speak up! Are you mute?"

Shi Ming's eyes were wide open, as if they were about to burst out of their sockets, his face filled with uncontrollable anger and anxiety. He stared intently at Zhao Yiming, who stood motionless and silent like a statue, his anger surging like a flood, wave after wave.

He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palm, blood trickling down his fingers and dripping onto the ground, forming gruesome blood flowers. However, Shi Ming was completely oblivious to the excruciating pain in his hand. His attention was entirely focused on Zhao Yiming, and only one question echoed in his mind: "What on earth is going on?"

He simply couldn't understand why a perfectly healthy, living person would suddenly become so strange. On the surface, Zhao Yiming seemed to have only suffered an eye injury, which shouldn't have resulted in such a severe trauma. But strangely, no matter how Shi Ming pressed him for answers, Zhao Yiming kept his lips tightly shut and remained silent, as if he had been frozen in place.

Could it be true, as Shi Ming had previously suspected, that the Zerg had used some form of mind control on Zhao Yiming? But if that were the case, then Zhao Yiming should already be a puppet of the Zerg, obeying their manipulation and commands.

All these bizarre phenomena intertwined, like a complex spider web, trapping Shi Ming within it and leaving him utterly perplexed.

As time ticked by, Zhao Yiming stood motionless, like a silent statue. His deep, empty eyes seemed to have transcended the boundaries of time and space, lost in endless darkness. Finally, after a long wait and inner struggle, Zhao Yiming could no longer suppress a heavy sigh.

"Perhaps we should really give up...that might be the wisest choice..."

"?"

However, at this critical moment, those words suddenly exploded like a bolt from the blue, deafeningly loud! It was as if a sharp sword had ruthlessly pierced Shi Ming's eardrums, plunging him into extreme shock. He froze on the spot, like a statue, completely still.

"give up?"

The word lingered in Shi Ming's mind like a curse, echoing endlessly. His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

At that very moment, Zhao Yiming's originally loud and powerful voice gradually lowered, as if suppressed by an invisible force, until it became so faint as to be almost inaudible.

"We have absolutely no chance of winning..."

It's easy to hear the deep despair and helplessness in his voice as he spoke. However, faced with such a difficult situation, Shi Ming did not react with the fury or panic that Zhao Yiming had expected.

On the contrary, he displayed extraordinary composure. Everyone was astonished to find that, despite the changing circumstances, he remained completely focused on manipulating the sophisticated medical instruments at his disposal. His movements were not only skillful and dexterous but also steady, precise, and ruthless, as if the external events were utterly unrelated to him. Suddenly, Shi Ming spoke, his voice like a calm, still pond, unhurried and measured.

"What exactly happened? Tell me every detail after you arrived at the Starship Kaker! Don't leave out any details! I'm extremely curious about what kind of overwhelming pressure could have scared you, the usually fearless Young Master Zhao, to such an extent!"

Upon hearing these words, a raging fire suddenly ignited in Zhao Yiming's heart, as if it wanted to burn the entire world to ashes! His heart was filled with anger and resentment; his fists clenched uncontrollably, his nails almost piercing his palms, but he felt no pain at all!

But in that instant, the rage vanished without a trace, as if extinguished by a bucket of ice water. Zhao Yiming knew very well what kind of person Shi Ming was. If he couldn't persuade Shi Ming to agree, then without a doubt, Shi Ming would become the first obstacle to stop him from moving forward!

Realizing this, Zhao Yiming tightly closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself down, but his heart was churning like a stormy sea. After a long while, his emotions calmed down slightly, and his body, which had been stiff with tension, began to relax. Finally, after a long period of thought and struggle, Zhao Yiming gritted his teeth and made a silent resolution: he must tell Shi Ming everything that had just happened...

Time ticked by, and after about ten minutes, Zhao Yiming finally finished his lengthy narration. Shi Ming stood frozen, like a statue, his eyes wide, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief, as if he had heard the most absurd thing in the world. He simply couldn't imagine that his family would do something so incredibly stupid—using them to sign that inexplicable gambling agreement with the insectoid and demon races! Moreover, this agreement was a complete gamble, with absolutely no chance of winning! Wasn't this tantamount to driving them to their doom?

After a long silence, Shi Ming finally came to his senses. He slowly raised his head to look at Zhao Yiming and asked in a low voice.

"So what are your plans now...?"

"Me? Heh..."

A mocking smile appeared on Zhao Yiming's face, but this smile could not hide the endless bitterness and helplessness deep in his heart.

"It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death!"

He sighed deeply, while Shi Ming spoke.

"But have you ever considered this? Some people would rather die than submit to the demon race or the insect race in order to uphold their beliefs. They regard integrity as their life, and they will never give up their sense of justice, even when faced with a desperate situation."

Shi Ming stared intently at Zhao Yiming, a serious glint in his eyes, and continued speaking.

"The reason we are so united today is because we share a common goal—to fight against external enemies. However, if a respected pillar and leader like yourself were to betray us first, it would likely trigger a brutal and bloody struggle within our ranks."

Zhao Yiming's heart skipped a beat, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He had never imagined things would develop to this point, and for a moment he was at a loss.

Shi Ming seemed to see through his thoughts and said earnestly.

“Kark is a ruthless and decisive man, and he expected you to encounter this kind of problem. But if you insist on joining him, you must first eliminate all dissenting voices on the starship. Only in this way can you ensure your position is secure and that no one will dare to challenge you easily.”

At this point, Shi Ming paused slightly, then emphasized his point.

"However, once you take this step and your hands are stained with the blood of your compatriots, there is no turning back. From then on, you will have to obey him for the rest of your life and become his loyal lackey."

At this moment, reminded by Shi Ming, Zhao Yiming suddenly realized, as if waking from a dream, the treacherous, cunning, and scheming nature of Carker! If he were to return as Carker wished and act according to his orders, then without a doubt, a wave of strong protests and resolute resistance would surge forth in the blink of an eye. This would inevitably place him in a dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place—if he were to truly harden his heart and use cruel and bloody methods to suppress those crew members and fellow travelers who dared to raise dissent and hold different opinions, then perhaps there would be no turning back…

"But what should we do now? The difference in strength between the two sides is far too great! With our current strength, we simply cannot win! So what can we possibly do?"

Zhao Yiming, his face filled with dejection and discouragement, asked Shi Ming, hanging his head in a slumber. However, faced with such a thorny, crucial, and extremely dangerous problem, Shi Ming was also speechless, standing there dumbfounded for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Yes, this was indeed an extremely troublesome and intractable problem! What should they do? How should they deal with it appropriately?