EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 179 177. Unit-, attack!

In the headquarters of New Tokyo City.

Ikari Gendō received the news from Matsushiro, and Fuyutsuki Kozo reported on the side:

"Unit 03 has been parasitized by the 13th Angel, and the life and death of the pilot inside is unknown. Ikari, trouble is coming."

"Is Shinji back?" he asked calmly.

"We are already arranging a special plane to return."

"The pilot of Unit-02..." Ikari Gendō seemed to have thought of something. He paused and said, "Equip Unit-01 with a puppet system."

Although there was an accident in the last machine exchange experiment, it was generally successful. At least it verified the feasibility of clones driving machines. The puppet system was installed on Unit-01 just for some kind of protection. If the pilot of Unit-01 was soft-hearted... Ikari Gendō's eyes turned cold. It was precisely because of this possibility that he temporarily installed the puppet system.

The journey from Matsushiro to Tokyo is not far.

Under the escort of a special plane, the group quickly returned to the underground city.

At this time, in the command room, Ikari Gendō was sitting on the high platform, and Vice Commander Fuyutsuki was standing beside him. It was rare to see both commanders present. Normally, even if there were an apostle attack, they would not be seen, and all the responsibilities were handed over to Katsuragi Misato and Akagi Ritsuko. Ikari Shinji sometimes felt that his father might just be a mascot, like a doll placed in front of a snack shop to attract customers.

While he was thinking about these things, Ritsuko Akagi looked over there, didn't say anything, but began to try to rescue Asuka.

"Send the signal to eject Unit 3's cockpit."

When in Matsushiro.

Unit 3 disappeared in an instant.

Akagi Ritsuko plans to have Tokyo send a signal to Unit-03 to see if the cockpit can be taken out first. As for the Angel, she doesn't think it's that important. In the end, it will be defeated by Shinji's Unit-01.

"The signal command cannot be recognized, and the ejection fails."

"Where is the driver?" Ritsuko Akagi asked in a deep voice.

"Although we can still detect the driver's breathing and heartbeat, I'm afraid..."

This is troublesome.

Even Misato Katsuragi frowned at this. Asuka was still in Unit 03, and many combat plans could not be implemented because of the fear of harming the opponent. Now Unit 03 parasitized by the Angel was very close to Tokyo, and they needed to find a solution as soon as possible, otherwise they would have to start a war in the city.

But then someone suddenly said:
"From now on, completely abandon EVA-03, identify it as the 13th Angel, and completely destroy it." It was Commander Ikari, who gave the order directly, "Eva-01 and Eva-00 attack and destroy the Angel."

Ikari Shinji didn't move.

Rei Ayanami next to him subconsciously wanted to move, but after seeing his reaction, the girl secretly stopped. Ikari Shinji glanced at Katsuragi Misato, but Miss Misato seemed to be still immersed in the order just given by Ikari Gendō. The female major rarely asked:
"Commander Ikari, this..."

When Ikari Gendo heard the question from his subordinate, he felt inexplicably unhappy.

what happened?

He is the commander! Why do the pilots only listen to the orders of Katsuragi, the head of the Operations Department? Could it be that without his knowledge, the commander and deputy commander of NERV have become Katsuragi Misato and Akagi Ritsuko? The middle-aged man had to repeat his words again.
"Didn't you hear me? I said to attack and completely destroy the apostles."

Katsuragi Misato seemed to want to say something, and Ikari Gendō felt that his patience was quickly running out. At this moment, someone stepped in and gave orders:

"Can you remove the neural connection between Unit 03 and Asuka?"

"No, I still can't cut it off."

The staff member did as he was told subconsciously, and the data on the screen lit up. Then they realized that the order came from the pilot of Unit-01, Ikari Shinji, and not Commander Ikari on the platform. The staff member secretly glanced at Commander Ikari's face, and seeing that he looked gloomy, they couldn't help but feel a pang in their hearts.

not good!

Am I being dragged into the power vortex of the headquarters? Which side should I choose? Should I buy insurance in advance? Oh no, I have already bought it, on the day the first apostle invaded Tokyo. The staff couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

None of his colleagues have as rich an imagination as he does.

The atmosphere in the entire command room suddenly became depressing.

"If we attack like this, what will happen to Asuka inside?" Ikari Shinji took the initiative to raise this confusing issue.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

The father and son looked at each other again.

Shinji Ikari's eyes were extremely calm, but they were faintly burning with anger. Gendō Ikari on the high platform looked at him calmly. When he was helping Kirishima Mana before, Shinji Ikari was still lamenting that the missile and the robot's pilot were destroyed together. He didn't expect that it would be his turn to make a similar choice. Life is really unpredictable. He continued:

"No need to destroy it completely, I will rescue Asuka."

"What if I can't do it?"

"I can do it." Ikari Shinji repeated, "I will definitely do it." "You..."

"You said there was no way, didn't you?"

Shinji Ikari interrupted Commander Ikari before he could speak, but the middle-aged man on the platform did not seem annoyed at being interrupted. He just stared at him. "Do you have the confidence? Can you ensure that New Tokyo will not be threatened by the Angels? What can you guarantee?" Gendo Ikari said nothing, but just stared into his son's eyes.

"I'm going."

Said Shinji Ikari.

The two of them didn't continue to be angry.

Because at this time, you shouldn't continue to be angry. Ikari Shinji thinks he is not a willful person. It would be easy for him to say "If you don't agree to XXX, I won't drive it", but he is not a person who will give up. Besides, without Unit-01, how can we rescue Asuka and eliminate the apostles? After he left, Ayanami Rei, who was hiding beside him and trying to reduce her presence, finally took action. She carefully glanced at the command room, and then cast her eyes on the boy she liked.

The two of them headed towards the locker room to change into their combat uniforms.

But this time Asuka is not fighting alongside him.

There was a long silence in the command room.

The staff didn't even dare to breathe. Phew, fortunately, it was just a family drama, and it hadn't reached the stage of power struggle. It was a blessing in disguise. Is this what it means when the fire breaks out in the city gate and the fish in the pond are affected? If I speak loudly in the command room now, will I be fired by the commander tomorrow just because I step into the headquarters with my left foot?
"Prepare Unit-01 and Unit-00 for battle."

After a long time, it was Ritsuko Akagi who broke the deadlock.

The staff in the command room finally dared to speak, but they reported the data in a low voice, for fear of disturbing Commander Ikari who seemed to be dozing on the podium.

In the hangar.

Unit-01 and Unit-00 are being transported to the surface.

After reaching the ground, they will be pulled to the path of the Thirteenth Angel by a special transport plane. Ikari Shinji is in the cockpit at this time, thinking about how to fight. Although he boasted, he only had a vague idea about the battle. Asuka's cockpit is still in the parasitic No. 3 body, which is equivalent to saving innocent hostages from the hands of terrorists.

This is not American rescue.

Besides, there is another very important issue.

Unit 03 was parasitized by the Angel during a synchronization experiment with Asuka.

If the neural connection cannot be cut, that is to say, the damage done to the 13th Angel will most likely be felt by Asuka inside. And the news, which is not sure whether it is good or bad, is that the synchronization rate between Asuka and Unit 03 should not be very high... It would be better if it could be lower.

This thought suddenly arose in Shinji Ikari's mind.

If the strong-willed Asuka knew this, she would definitely be angry with him. But if the synchronization rate was as high as his, Ikari Shinji didn't know if he could still bear to do it. I don't know if this German lady has ever experienced such pain, well, some kind of menstrual pain doesn't count.

Asuka...it's okay if it hurts, it's better than dying.

"I'll visit you in the hospital."

Shinji Ikari first put his hands together and apologized to her in his heart. The Executive Department had emphasized to this group of trainees that the hybrids who turned into dragons were no longer on the human side. He had witnessed some such things in the past, and they were very similar to the current scene. The only difference was that there was still hope of rescuing the hostages. He might feel sad in his heart, but he would never be unable to do it.

Unit-01 could already see the black machine approaching from a distance in the sky. Of course, this was not the battlefield as planned—there were no armed buildings nearby, and naturally no power cables for the machines.

By the time the apostles entered the preset battlefield, more than ten minutes had passed.

Unit-01 and Unit-00 stood in front of it.

It's dusk again.

The fiery clouds dyed the sky blood red.

In general combat, Unit-01 or Unit-02 is the main attacker. Unit-0 is a prototype, and Asuka is right. Unit-0 is not suitable for frontal combat, so it has always been a supporting role. At this time, Unit-02 cannot go into battle due to lack of a pilot, so the main attacker position naturally belongs to Shinji Ikari.

He observed the location of the cockpit of the black machine.

In short, the mission this time is to eliminate the Angel without seriously harming Asuka, and any attack needs to avoid the cockpit.

Can he do it?
"——Unit-01, attack!"

Shinji Ikari said this in his heart, cheering himself up.

The Thirteenth Angel followed the gaze of the First Angel Adam and suddenly stopped, seeming to realize that the two machines in front of it would stop it. Almost at the same time, Unit-01 and Unit-00 raised their assault rifles and aimed at the Angel that parasitized Unit-03, intending to use long-range attacks to expose its flaws.

The Apostle has not yet demonstrated the AT force field.

The battle is about to break out.

(End of this chapter)