Chapter 1313
Children Don't Need to Go to the Battlefield!
Cui Ming deactivated his transformation, and his figure reappeared in the corridor of NERV headquarters, still smelling of sulfurous lava and warm from the battle. As soon as he pushed open the door to the infirmary, a red figure pounced on him.
"Ah! Cui! You didn't even call me! My Balam is..."
Asuka glared at him, her blue eyes filled with grievance and resentment. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking like a cat whose food had been stolen.
She had prepared for this battle for a long time, adjusting Balam's condition to its best, but this guy went off to fight the Apostles and otherworldly beings without even giving her a heads-up.
"Alright, this time the enemy is in lava, which is troublesome."
Cui Ming rubbed his temples, then reached out and touched Asuka's head. The warmth from his palm made her pause for a moment. His fingers ran through her orange-red hair, gently stroking her soft scalp, his gesture tinged with a weary yet tender affection. The high temperature was too much of a burden on Balam, and he didn't want her to take risks with enemies of the Mazar's caliber. He made her swallow her words.
Asuka opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but under the caress of that large hand, she swallowed back the words that were on her throat. She awkwardly turned her head away, her cheeks slightly flushed, and muttered softly, "...You have to take me with you next time, you hear me..."
"Teachers, could you please not do this in the infirmary?"
A weak voice came from the other side of the hospital bed. The class president lay pale on the white sheets, a fever patch on her forehead, staring blankly at the ceiling. Why was she so unlucky? She got her period… She was waiting for school to end, but Asuka had come straight to Mr. Choi's death…
No! Even though I know your relationship and that your identities are fake, could you please tone it down a bit?!
Hikari was internally ranting, her stomachache and headache intertwined, making her want to bury herself under the covers. Watching the two lovebirds oblivious to everyone else, she felt like a superfluous third wheel, the kind that was about to burn out.
Only then did Cui Ming notice that there was another person lying on the hospital bed. He turned to look at Dong Muguang, his brows furrowing slightly: "You look so pale? Where is the other teacher in the infirmary?"
"I...I went to a meeting..." Hikaru Toki answered weakly, clutching his stomach and curling up in a ball. "Just let me...let me lie down for a while..."
Asuka then realized that there were outsiders present, and quickly broke free from Choi Myung's embrace. She cleared her throat and tried to regain her usual haughty demeanor, but the blush on her face had not yet faded, making her look even more suspicious.
"Anyway! You must inform me of the next battle!" She said this, turned to leave, and then turned back to glare at Cui Ming at the door. "And! Wash your hands! You smell of sulfur!"
Cui Ming watched her figure disappear at the end of the corridor, shook his head helplessly, turned around and rummaged through the cabinet next to him to find a hot water bottle and painkillers, and walked to Dong Muguang's bedside to hand them over.
"Take your medicine first, I'll go get you a glass of hot water."
Hikaru took the pills, watching the legendary acting commander's busy figure, and the little complaint in his heart unconsciously dissipated a bit. Although it was indeed quite excessive for this guy to flirt with Asuka in the infirmary...
But she is quite attentive when taking care of people.
As for Cui Ming's identity... there's nothing to hide. Everyone knows about the operation against the Angels; everyone in NERV, from top to bottom, is aware of this acting commander's abilities. The surveillance footage and battle reports have long been circulated internally. Others also know that Cui Ming is Storm One; the true identity of that silver giant has never been a secret to the core members of headquarters, it's just that everyone tacitly avoids discussing it in public.
Hikari had also witnessed Choi Myung shoot an alien on the street. That day, she had just finished school and was passing through a shopping street when she saw a suspicious-looking man suddenly pull out a weapon. Choi Myung rushed out of a nearby convenience store, didn't even need to aim, and fired three shots in quick succession. The alien instantly exploded into particles of light, dissipating without leaving a trace. The whole process took less than three seconds. Before the passersby could even react, Choi Myung had already put away his gun, turned around, and gone into the convenience store to pay for the instant noodles he hadn't paid for earlier.
Although it was quite frightening—the murderous intent and decisiveness of that instant made Hikaru stand still for a long time, his heart pounding as if it would burst out of his chest, his palms covered in cold sweat—he also felt very safe. As long as this person was there, those monsters lurking in the shadows didn't seem so scary anymore; after all, he wouldn't even give them a chance to blink.
Holding the hot water bottle, Hikari watched Choi Myung's retreating figure as he rummaged through the medicine cabinet, and the cramps in her abdomen seemed to lessen considerably. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back.
"What's wrong?" Cui Ming seemed to notice her gaze, turned his head, and frowned slightly. "You're still in a lot of pain even after taking the medicine?"
"N-nothing..." Hikaru quickly shook his head, burying his face further under the covers, leaving only his eyes showing. "It's just... I just thought... Mr. Choi Myung was... pretty handsome just now..."
She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth; her cheeks instantly burned, hotter than if she had a fever.
Cui Ming paused for a moment, then smiled helplessly and placed the thermos on the bedside table: "Watch less of those messy TV dramas and drink more hot water. Ring the bell if you need anything. Now that Asuka's gone, let's talk about other things."
"Ok!"
The two turned and walked towards the door, their shadows stretching long in the setting sun.
Hikaru Toki watched the retreating figure, clutching the hot water bottle tightly to her chest. The irritability and resentment caused by menstrual cramps were unconsciously replaced by a sense of reassuring security. Although this acting commander could be quite frightening at times, the smell of disinfectant permeating the infirmary didn't seem so cold anymore.
Hikaru Tōki greatly admired adults like Choi Myung, after all...
Cui Mingke said: "The adults are not all dead yet, what kind of nonsense is it to send children to the battlefield?"
Those words struck Dongmu Guang's heart like a hammer blow.
She had never thought about this question before.
Adults always say things like, "This is your mission," "Only you can pilot EVA," and "For the future of humanity," dumping all those heavy, bloody, and deadly responsibilities onto the shoulders of these children. Commander Gendo Ikari never asks Shinji if he's in pain, Fuyutsuki only records data, and the researchers treat the pilots like experimental subjects.
But Cui Ming is different.
He said that the adults weren't all dead yet, and children shouldn't be sent to the battlefield. When he said this, he wasn't putting on a show or offering comfort; he was angrily rebuking, defying, and building a wall in his own way, trying to keep out the suffering that shouldn't belong to the children. Later, Dongmu Guang heard that Cui Ming, in order to reduce the number of times pilots were deployed, single-handedly shouldered enormous pressure from above, even slamming his fist on the table and hurling insults at the representative sent by SEELE, almost drawing his gun.
A man like Cui Ming is truly reliable. (End of Chapter)