Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

Choi Myung-jung stood by the window of the command room, gazing absently at the distant ruins, pondering the follow-up work. When he turned and saw Shinji Ikari knock on the door and walk in, a clear look of surprise flashed across his face, and his tone was tinged with doubt: "Shinji, why aren't you in school? What are you doing here?"

Shinji Ikari was taken aback by the question, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he scratched his head awkwardly, stammering, "Um, Mr. Choi Myung, I want to help... I want to do something for you, I don't want to be protected by everyone all the time."

"Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Before he could finish speaking, Cui Ming interrupted him sternly. The surprise on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness. His eyes were sharp as he stared at Shinji Ikari in front of him, and his aura became fierce, completely different from his usual gentle demeanor.

"The adults aren't all dead yet, what do you children need to do!" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority, each word resounding and causing Shinji Ikari to subconsciously lower his head.

Choi took a step forward, looking down at Shinji Ikari. His tone remained serious, but with a hint of barely perceptible concern: "Remember, this kind of mess is not your responsibility as children, nor is it your place to be responsible. Unless it's absolutely necessary and all the adults are powerless, I will not let you children get involved, absolutely not."

This is Cui Ming's most basic and firm belief—children should act like children and should not be involved in these cruel wars and conspiracies.

Sending children to the battlefield to face deadly monsters and unknown dangers seems to him like he's insane!
EVA is the most typical example! This thing is completely heretical!

Sacrificing a mother, sealing her soul inside an EVA, and then letting an innocent child pilot this machine that carries pain, to fight desperately and to die—what an absurd and cruel thing to do.
Holy crap! What are these people thinking?

Are all the adults dead? If sacrifices are truly necessary, why don't you sacrifice your own mothers? Why should these innocent children bear the consequences that should be borne by the adults?
Shinji Ikari lowered his head, listening to Choi Myeong's stern reprimand without arguing back, but a warm feeling welled up in his heart—he knew that Mr. Choi Myeong wasn't really angry, but was worried about him and didn't want him to get hurt.

After being sternly reprimanded by Choi, Shinji Ikari lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes. After hesitating for a long time, he finally raised his head and stammered, "By the way, Mr. Choi, I..."

He wanted to say that his mother's phantom was always by his side, and he wanted to thank Mr. Choi Myung for taking care of him, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to express them, and he seemed extremely awkward.

Looking at his appearance, Cui Ming glanced at the pale white shadow that was invisible to ordinary people beside him. Before he could finish speaking, he slowly opened his mouth, his tone much gentler: "I can see what happened to your mother."

Shinji Ikari looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes—he hadn't expected that Mr. Choi would be able to see his mother's phantom image.

Cui Ming's gaze fell on Yui's phantom image, his eyes calm and without the slightest surprise. He said softly, "Forget it. You're just a mother who wants to protect her child. You don't need to get involved in what's going on here. Just stay with Shinji."

Hearing Cui Ming say this, Yui Ikari's phantom nodded slightly, a hint of gratitude flashing in her eyes, and said sincerely, "Thank you. Please rest assured, I have no objection to what you have done! Please do your best to protect Shinji."

No one noticed that deep within the eyes of this phantom of Yui Ikari lay an intense, unyielding hatred, the target of which was none other than Rokubungi Gendo. Indeed, as the World Consciousness had previously told her, she had seen clearly every absurd thing Rokubungi Gendo had done over the years within the core of Unit-01, without missing a single detail.

It would be a miracle if someone didn't hate Rokubun Gigendo!

She was willing to sacrifice herself to enter Unit-01, claiming it was to protect her son Shinji Ikari and to give him a stable future. But what happened? That bastard (Rokubungi Gendo) was self-righteous, single-mindedly pursuing his own ambitions, even willing to drag the whole world down with him, completely using her sacrifice as a tool to achieve his own plans, and utterly disregarding Shinji's safety.

She just couldn't understand it. If she hadn't entered Unit-01 back then and hadn't cooperated with his plan, would all of this have been avoided? Was Rokubungi Gendo really out of his mind? Why didn't he cherish his perfectly good son and live a good life instead of doing those absurd things that would destroy the world?

Oh right, we can't call him Gendo Ikari anymore—from the moment he became obsessed and utterly enslaved by ambition, he no longer deserves that name. Now, he only deserves to be called Rokubungi Gendo! A selfish, paranoid, and insane madman!

Looking at the hatred in Yui's phantom eyes, Cui Ming nodded gently: "I know. Don't worry, I will protect Shinji. I will also make Rokubun Gigendo pay the price."

After nodding in agreement to Yui's phantom image, Cui Ming turned his gaze to Shinji, who was still bowing his head beside him. His tone softened completely as he reached out and gently patted Shinji's shoulder with moderate force, conveying a sense of reassurance and expectation.

“However, what you need to do now is very simple,” Cui Ming said gently but with an undeniable firmness, “go to school and live your life properly. Fighting and those messy conspiracies are not your responsibility, nor are they your responsibility.”

Shinji Ikari abruptly raised his head, his previous unease gone, replaced by determination and seriousness. He straightened his back forcefully and replied loudly, "Yes! Mr. Choi!"

"Very good." Cui Ming nodded in satisfaction, a faint smile playing on his lips. He waved his hand gently. "Go on, hurry back to school, don't fall behind in your studies. Ignore that idiot Sextant, we adults will handle his problems. Also, be careful on the road, that's all."

"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Choi!" Shinji Ikari nodded vigorously again, a relaxed and grateful smile on his face. He bowed deeply to Choi, then turned to look at the phantom of his mother beside him. After receiving a gentle nod from his mother, he turned and ran towards the door of the command room.

Running down the corridor, Shinji Ikari couldn't help but glance back at the command room, his heart filled with emotion, his eyes slightly moist—from childhood to adulthood, he had never been protected so firmly, never had any adult explicitly told him "the battle is not your business," and had treated him like a real child to be cared for.

This is a real, reliable adult. Unlike Sextant, who only uses him as a tool and puts him in danger, Mr. Choi will scold him, worry about him, and shield him from all darkness and danger, allowing him to be a child in peace, to go to school and grow up in peace.

Yui's illusory figure silently followed beside him, smiling gently as she looked at the warmth and determination in her son's eyes—with Choi's help, Shinji could finally stop bearing burdens that weren't his. (End of Chapter)