dognovel Chapter 1193
Chapter 1193
He neither denied his own involvement nor did he attribute the main credit to Qi Mingyu. Even if someone brought up the argument later, he could explain it as a "minor misunderstanding in communication."
But to his surprise, a voice suddenly came from beside him: "Really?"
Captain Ma walked in at some point, looking at Liu Zhiming with a half-smile: "I heard that you were cursing Deputy Commander Qi today, saying that he issued the exercise order without informing you?"
Liu Zhiming's face froze instantly.
Captain Chen's gaze sharpened as he looked at Liu Zhiming: "Is what Captain Ma said true?"
Cold sweat beaded on Liu Zhiming's forehead, but he quickly forced a smile and said, "Captain, it's all a misunderstanding. Deputy Commander Qi told me that there would be drills in the next few days, but he didn't specify today. So when I first heard the alarm, I was a little anxious, and my tone was a bit harsh..."
He quickly changed the subject, praising Qi Mingyu: "But to be honest, Qi is quite promising for his age, and he's very decisive! Compared to me back then, he's got real guts! He's done a great job this time! I was just trying to play it safe, but in the apocalypse, playing it safe isn't enough. Sometimes you need this kind of decisiveness!"
Captain Ma stood aside, glanced at him indifferently, and said nothing more.
He had already heard the whole story.
In the morning, Liu Zhiming made a scene outside the command room, accusing Qi Mingyu of "acting first and reporting later," which was witnessed by many soldiers.
Now Liu Zhiming is trying to get away with vague answers, he's taking people for fools.
Actually, Liu Zhiming is quite capable.
He appears rugged, but is a brave and fierce fighter. Over the years, he has made great contributions to the fleet and is highly trusted by his predecessor, Captain Shang.
Later, after Captain Chen was promoted to captain, he also made several great contributions.
Especially on Island 1, before and after the frozen sea thawed, an earthquake struck the island. He risked his life to save more than a thousand people and evacuate them to other places, making a great contribution.
It was because of that achievement that he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and subsequently took charge of the fleet's defense.
However, Captain Ma never really liked him.
I always felt that he was somewhat arrogant and narrow-minded.
He tries to claim credit when it comes to achievements and shirk responsibility when it comes to tasks. Although his actions are not particularly outstanding, he is quite pragmatic. However, when it comes to managing the security of a base, character is also very important.
Now it seems that it is indeed the case.
Captain Chen looked at Liu Zhiming with deep eyes, but didn't say much.
He already understood about 70-80% of it.
"Alright," Captain Chen waved his hand, "Let's leave this matter at that for now. There are still many things to deal with after the disaster, so you should go back and make arrangements to ensure the safety and supply of materials in the future."
"Yes, Captain!" Liu Zhiming quickly stood up, saluted, and hurriedly left.
A moment of silence fell over the command center.
Captain Qin stroked his chin: "I'm not very familiar with this Liu Zhiming. He's one of your men, but..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Captain Chen gave a wry smile: "He's an old man left behind by Captain Shang, and his ability to get things done is beyond question!"
He turned to his adjutant, Yun, and instructed, "Go and quietly find out what's going on with this exercise. Why did Qi Mingyu suddenly decide to hold this exercise without discussing it with Liu Zhiming beforehand?"
"Yes, Captain." Lieutenant Yun nodded and immediately turned to leave.
Qi Mingyu has only been in office for a short time, and in principle he should be taking a steady and pragmatic approach instead of being so reckless.
And the timing of the drill—conducting it right before the heatwave arrives—is too coincidental.
Captain Chen wanted to confirm some things.
Not long after, Lieutenant Yun returned.
He walked over to Captain Chen and whispered what he had learned: "Captain, things are indeed as Captain Ma said. This morning, Deputy Commander Qi issued the exercise order directly. Liu Zhiming was very angry when he found out, and the two of them had a fight outside the command room."
"Why did Qi Mingyu do this?" Captain Chen pressed.
"I don't know." Lieutenant Yun paused. "By the way, I also found out that Dr. Zhou Shuwan went to see Deputy Commander Qi this afternoon, and the two chatted for a while. After that, Qi Mingyu said he wanted to conduct an emergency drill."
"Dr. Zhou?"
Captain Chen raised an eyebrow: "So, Xiao Qi only decided to conduct the drill after Dr. Zhou went to see him?"
Deputy Adjutant Yun nodded: "It is a bit sudden. But from Qi Mingyu's perspective, he has just taken office, and it's normal for a new broom to open up new possibilities. It's not out of line."
Captain Chen nodded.
Indeed, it is only natural for a new official to want to establish authority through certain measures.
He instructed his adjutant, "Don't tell anyone about this."
"Yes, Captain," the adjutant replied.
Meanwhile, Captain Qin returned to his office.
Lin Wei also came over to report on the damage to the research institute's equipment.
"The research institute has already checked it, and the main equipment is fine. It's just that some external lines were broken by the storm, and they are currently repairing them."
Just now, when the storm was at its fiercest, one of the institute's windows was blown out, and sand and salt spray poured in. Fortunately, it was sealed in time, and no major damage was caused.
"It's good that everything is alright." Captain Qin breathed a sigh of relief. "The equipment at the research institute can't malfunction; it's our hope for survival in this apocalypse."
"Did you see anything on the sea when you were at the research institute?" he asked.
Lin Wei nodded with lingering fear: "I saw it. The waves were at least ten meters high, crashing over like walls, and covered in a brownish salt mist. It was terrifying to look at."
Captain Qin sighed, "Fortunately, our men reached the fortress and rendezvoused with the Nanyang warship. Otherwise, encountering such a storm at sea, we would have faced a near-certain death!"
Lin Wei deeply agreed.
With no shelter on the open sea, and a Category 12 heatwave combined with brown salt spray, the fleet probably wouldn't last even ten minutes.
Captain Qin frowned slightly, recalling the conversation between Captain Chen and Liu Zhiming in the command room earlier.
Lin Wei keenly noticed the change in his expression and asked, "Captain, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Captain Qin hesitated for a moment, but still told them what had happened.
Lin Wei was taken aback.
In her memory, Qi Mingyu was not such a reckless person.
He is steady and reliable, always considers the big picture, and rarely clashes with his superiors. He would never do something like "acting first and reporting later," which could give others a handle to use against him.
Captain Qin also spoke highly of Qi Mingyu: "I've met Qi Mingyu twice, and he's quite a good army soldier! He's brave in combat and meticulous in his thinking. However, since he's suddenly in a high position, many people are dissatisfied with him, and he still needs a lot of training!"
Especially Liu Zhiming, who had been working in the defense department for many years, was suddenly parachuted in as deputy commander by Qi Mingyu, who also wanted to divide power in every way. Sooner or later, the conflict between the two would erupt.
This exercise was merely a trigger.
Lin Wei's eyes flickered.
Is that really the case?
She felt something was wrong.