EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 32 31. I want to eat with everyone

Unit-01 is being transported to the surface.

Shinji Ikari listened to the report on the communication channel.

It was not a good idea for him to answer Asuka's question at this time, and say something high-sounding like "I drive the EVA to protect everyone". After all, everyone could hear it, and it would be too embarrassing to say something immature in public.

"Synchronization rate 68.3%."

It has risen again.

Shinji Ikari ignored the message.

Asuka's question made him a little hesitant. If it were usual, he would just say something that was absolutely correct about protecting everyone and safeguarding world peace and let it go.

But Shinji Ikari analyzed his own heart and asked himself:
Am I really just trying to protect everyone?
Maybe it was because of the thank you from Ayanami that night, maybe it was because of the admiration of the little girl named Suzuhara Sakura, maybe it was because of the classmates in Class 2A who could be called acquaintances...

Sometimes people really don’t even know what they are thinking.

Shinji Ikari thought quietly in Unit-01.

From darkness to light ahead.

The third New Tokyo City.

Forget about the sad thoughts and defeat the apostles first. A truly mature person can distinguish between the important and the urgent. However, as soon as Unit-01 reached the ground, Shinji Ikari felt a dangerous intuition beating. He subconsciously frowned and Unit-01 suddenly jumped to the side.

Only a belated voice was left in the communication channel——

"Quickly open!"

They launched the attack before Eva could even stand firm, just like a weirdo attacking a magical girl while she was transforming. How despicable. With such a high synchronization rate, Ikari Shinji could even feel the whistling wind. The light from the particle cannon penetrated several armed buildings behind him before being completely annihilated.

He dodged.

The unlucky one is the city.

But Shinji Ikari will not sit idly by because of this. If the building is destroyed, he can rebuild it. But if Unit-01 suffers fatal injuries, he might really die.

The No. 2 unit over there was hit on the side, and the entire body rolled over uncontrollably.

It is indeed a red paint job.

Although Asuka dodged the second attack quickly, being hit by it was not a pleasant experience. The red Unit 2 soon began to tremble. Under the condition of neural empathy, the girl should now be feeling the pain that he once felt.

"Asuka, are you okay?"

The female captain's worried voice.

This is the difference in synchronization rate.

Something to say.

The synchronization rate is like the delay in FPS games. The lower the synchronization rate, the higher the delay when shooting. However, this is reality and there is no delay compensation in the game.

"Don't... underestimate me—"

The sound of a girl gritting her teeth came from the communication channel.

The Octahedron Angel over there is still continuing its attack. It will not go easy on these two EVA machines. Unit-01 and Unit-02 are approaching it quickly, firing their particle cannons continuously in the middle of the journey. They arrive in an instant, leaving behind bumpy craters on the road.

Shinji Ikari observed the situation.

He was fine on his side, because the synchronization rate was high enough, and his dodging actions were timely in most cases. He was only scratched a few times, and the pain was not serious.

The situation of Unit 2 was a bit terrible.

The red paint on her body had begun to become a little patchy, and the outer armor was stuck to the surface of the organism inside like a melted candle. Asuka couldn't help but feel the pain on the communication channel. Her heavy breathing could be heard, but she never cried out in pain.

Amazing.

It was the first time that Shinji Ikari felt admiration for this girl.

No one knows better than him how much pain a pilot would suffer when the machine is damaged. Asuka doesn't look very old, and even if you know that she has been trained for a long time, you will subconsciously think that she is a little girl, and it is impossible to see her as a soldier. The two of them are already very close to the apostles.

AT force field neutralization.

He launched a few tentative attacks, but unfortunately they were ineffective. No one knew where the red core was hidden in the octahedron body. Moreover, in this face-to-face attack, the apostle didn't need to aim, and there was not enough space to dodge. He was hit by two or three shots in just a few seconds.

This is totally unacceptable.

Shinji Ikari thought with a headache.

Even his usual tactic of exchanging injuries for injuries didn't work. This thing was like a hedgehog that was hard to deal with. In comparison, the first two apostles were easier to deal with. At least their red cores were clearly exposed.

"Asuka, Shinji-kun, please retreat for now."

"Ok."

"Varied……"

Asuka seemed to want to say something, but she didn't say it out loud.

He probably understood what the girl was thinking. She came back in such a mess after her first attack. If he went up to her and mocked her again, saying things like "Isn't this the European ace Asuka-sama?" and "Why did you end up like this after your first attack?", this girl would probably not let him go.

The failure in the first battle was a heavy blow to this proud girl.

Hope nothing happens.

After Unit-01 and Unit-02 retreated.

Coming out of the cockpit, Shinji Ikari and Asuka came into the command room.

"There is a new battle plan next."

"You guys should rest for a while first."

Misato Katsuragi seemed to have some new ideas. She gave some instructions to the two of them and walked out.

I don’t know where she is going at such an urgent moment.

Asuka, who couldn't even stand steadily, snorted coldly, and no one knew who she was competing with.

The girl turned and left.

Shinji Ikari sighed quietly.

It’s a pity that there is no psychological counselor from Kassel Academy here, otherwise he would definitely recommend Asuka for treatment. That person’s psychological counseling is top-notch.

He also had no intention of staying in the command room.

Come out of it.

Shinji Ikari originally wanted to go check on Unit-01 and try to "cultivate" a relationship with the machine spirit. It wasn't seriously injured and should be repaired soon.

But someone stopped him.

He turned around and saw Rei Ayanami.

The experiment of Unit 00 had been completed long ago, and she came over in the pilot's combat uniform. At this time, Shinji Ikari remembered that he had never paid attention to the color of her combat uniform before. Now he saw it, it was the crystal white color of the snow, pure and flawless.

The beautiful girl was waiting for him there. When she saw Shinji Ikari coming over, her ruby-like eyes stared straight at him.
"Ikari-kun."

"Ah Ayanami, what's wrong?"

"Come on," she said, "and have dinner with everyone."

This sounded too much like a flag. If it were the former teammates, they would have laughed and punched her. This girl couldn't conjure up a bat that would catch the ball 100%, nor could she control whether it would rain or be sunny tomorrow. She looked too ordinary. But gently, Ikari Shinji felt something in his heart being touched. He smiled gently and said yes.

It's a little later, recast... Okay, I can't recast. Li has so many more likes in the character column than Asuka. I declare that the Ayanami party has won. Surrender, surrender.

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(End of this chapter)