Chapter 1318
Here we come! Take the driver to the scene!
Rokubungi Gendo lay on the swaying transport plane, his body wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, his face swollen and shiny, his eyes narrowed into slits. He had no desire to go to the front lines. Shells were indiscriminate, and monsters were even more indiscriminate. In his current half-dead state, going to the front lines would be suicide.
“I won’t go… let me go back to the medical unit…” He gripped the edge of the stretcher with his unbroken hand, his voice muffled like a broken bellows, “This is an order… this is the Supreme Commander’s order!”
But no one paid him any attention. Cui Ming had already put on his combat uniform and walked towards the tarmac, his back as straight as a drawn sword. Two security guards roughly lifted him onto the transport plane, the straps making it hard for him to breathe.
“Even the acting commander went to the dangerous situation himself,” a security guard said expressionlessly as he fastened his seatbelt. “If you stay in headquarters, tomorrow the public will tear you to pieces, saying you are cowardly and unworthy of your position.”
Rokubungi Gendo had no choice but to follow, even if it meant gritting his teeth. Political considerations forced him to be on the front lines, even if it meant being just a figurehead.
He secretly plotted amidst the jolts. Once landed, he would assume command as Supreme Commander, send Cui's men as cannon fodder, and rebuild his authority. He squinted his swollen eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the stretcher, a chilling smile playing on his lips.
As soon as the transport plane landed, Rokufengi Gendo was completely dumbfounded.
In the temporary command post, the communications soldier reported the battle situation to Cui Ming: "The monster's energy reading in the third district continues to rise, and the target has been confirmed as a large creature!"
“I understand,” Cui Ming said, standing in front of the electronic sand table without looking up. “Have the first squadron seal off areas B3 to B7, with civilian evacuation as a priority.”
The operations staff huddled around the sand table, their fingers flying across the screen as they discussed firepower deployment. Even the water carrier walked right past the stretcher at Rokubungi Gendo, as if he were the very air the regiment needed to breathe.
“Hey…you guys…” Rokubungi Gendo tried to raise his unbroken arm, letting out a muffled sob, “I am…the Commander…I am the Commander of NERV…”
Nobody turned around.
Only Dongyue came over. His longtime deputy knelt down, looking expressionlessly at his disheveled former superior on the stretcher, his voice as calm as if discussing the weather: "What do you need?"
"Communicator...give me the communicator..." Rokubungi Gendo gripped Fuyutsuki's wrist tightly, his nails digging into the other's skin. "I need to take command...displace Cui Ming's men...this is an order! Do you understand!"
Dongyue gently pulled her hand away from his, stood up, and patted her crumpled cuffs: "The current encrypted channel uses the key system designed by Mr. Cui Ming. Even if you get the communicator, you won't be able to access the command network. The medical team is also under the direct command of Mr. Cui Ming."
After saying that, he silently retreated behind Cui Ming and joined the other staff officers around the sand table, never glancing at Liufenyiyuantang again.
Those former subordinates whom Rokubun-gi-on had personally promoted were now vying to ask Choi Myung for details of the operation: "Mr. Choi Myung, heavy firepower is in position and awaiting your instructions!" "Acting Commander, the Third Squad requests permission to depart!"
Rokubungi Gendo lay on the stretcher like an abandoned rag doll, finally understanding—he had been completely sidelined. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but a violent cough interrupted him; the wound under the bandage began to bleed again, staining the white gauze red.
No one turned around to look at him.
After checking his equipment, Cui Ming turned to leave. Ikari Yui quickly walked over, wearing a white lab coat, her long hair tied back in a ponytail, her face showing undisguised worry. She reached out and grabbed Cui Ming's arm, her fingertips slightly white, her voice so soft as if afraid of disturbing something: "Be careful... Promise me, don't fight recklessly. If it gets too difficult, come back. We're all waiting for you."
This almost made Sextant grind his teeth to pieces!
He lay in his wheelchair, watching this scene unfold before his eyes. His swollen, narrowed eyes widened instantly, almost bursting from their sockets. Why! Yui, you chose him!!! The woman who should have been his, the woman he longed for day and night, the woman for whom he would do anything, was now standing beside another man, speaking words of concern in a gentle tone he had never received before. Sextant's fingers gripped the wheelchair armrests so tightly that his nails dug into the metal. The wounds beneath his bandages throbbed with rage, but he paid no heed. He simply stared intently at Yui's retreating figure, a beastly growl escaping his throat.
However, Sextant felt that he could take advantage of this opportunity.
He narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. If he spoke now, adopting the posture of a wounded victim to evoke Yui's sympathy, or sow discord by saying that Choi Ming didn't care about his life or death, would he be able to change Yui's mind? Would he at least make her look at him again? He opened his swollen lips, gathering his lines, preparing to speak in the weakest and most tragic voice: "Yui... I..."
But the next second, Cui Ming pushed Sextant's wheelchair and rushed out.
Cui Ming grabbed the back of the wheelchair with one hand and gave it a sharp push. The wheelchair shot off like a wild horse towards the helipad, its wheels screeching against the ground. Sextant didn't even have time to react before he was thrown violently against the back of the chair by the inertia, his broken leg slamming against the metal frame, the pain making his vision go black.
Sextant screamed in agony, "You bastard! Don't do this! Aaaaaaah!!!! My legs! My back! Stop! Stop it!!! Yes! Yes! Help me!!!"
His voice, shrill and distorted, echoed down the corridor, accompanied by the clattering of the wheelchair as it jostled and fading into the distance. Yui Ikari stood there, watching the figure disappear around the corner, shook her head helplessly, and turned back to the control panel to continue her work, as if the person who had just been pushed away screaming was merely an insignificant wisp of air.
After all, Sextant is a rather annoying guy to everyone. He always had a deadpan expression when he was commander.
He always sat in his command room with a gloomy face, looking at everyone as if they owed him billions. Subordinates dared not breathe when reporting, afraid of saying the wrong thing and angering this devil. All the credit went to him, and all the blame went to others. He was stingy with resource allocation, and when problems arose, he only knew how to shift the blame. Under his leadership, NERV felt like a suffocating tomb. Now, seeing his miserable state, people felt not sympathy, but even a little bit of amusement—"So you've finally met your match?"
Cui Ming pushed the wheelchair and ran wildly, Sextant's screams echoing in the corridor.
"Aaaaaaah! Slow down! Slow down the hell!!!"
Hearing the sound, passing employees glanced at it, then lowered their heads and quickly walked away, pretending they hadn't heard anything. Some even took out their phones and secretly recorded this rare "victimhood of the former commander," intending to share it in the internal group chat for everyone's amusement.
Cui Ming kicked open the gate to the tarmac, the wheelchair slid across the metal floor with a screeching sound, and came to a stop in front of a transport plane that was about to take off. He looked down at Sextant, who was now slumped in the wheelchair, his bandages loose and looking like a lump of mud, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"We've arrived, Commander. Your command post is at the very front."
Sextant raised his head, his face, swollen like a pig's head, was covered in tears and snot. He pointed a trembling finger at Cui Ming, wanting to curse, but only a muffled sob came from his throat.
Cui Ming patted him on the shoulder, turned around and jumped onto his private jet, leaving only one sentence floating in the wind:
"Watch closely and learn how to be a commander who commands respect." (End of Chapter)