Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Unit-01 during the Spirit Awakening Era

“Yes, I asked around among the motorcyclists here, and this is a place you can’t miss,” Danji Ryuji said with a smile. Although it was a bit early for lunch, there were already quite a few people inside when they went in. The entire barbecue restaurant was filled with the sizzling sound of meat on the grill, the rising smoke from the grill, and the mouthwatering aroma of meat.

"Welcome, are there four of you?" The restaurant owner, who was serving the food, greeted Shinji Ikari and his companions immediately. Their restaurant was quite popular, so as soon as they heard a motorcycle stop in front of the store, the manager would open the door to greet the customers.

"Yes, four yakiniku (grilled meat) sets." Danma Ryuji looked around the restaurant, found a seat, and ordered. He had already asked his wife and the other motorcyclists there while they were chatting. The most popular item at this restaurant was the 3000 yen yakiniku set, which included rice and a pitcher of beer. It basically included various kinds of meat, such as beef and lamb, as well as a small portion of lettuce and kimchi. One set was enough to fill up a strong man, and it was satisfying and plentiful, which is why it was so popular.

As for how quickly Ryuji Danma was able to become friends with them, it was really thanks to Shinji Ikari. A high-performance GSX1300R Falcon with many battlefield scratches was very eye-catching. As soon as the group of riders saw Ryuji Danma stop, several people gathered around to look at it. As someone who had personally repaired and maintained the motorcycle, Ryuji Danma naturally knew almost everything about it.

To be fair, for businesses, such set meals are easier to prepare, and profits can be flexibly controlled. They can simply give fewer slices of expensive cuts of meat and replace them with cheaper ones. Although it may seem like you get to eat all the cuts, the seller is always more shrewd than the buyer. However, for most cyclists, having drinks, meat, and some casual conversation is enough; they don't really care about the cuts of meat.

"Hey! Four barbecue sets!" The shopkeeper nodded and left. He then quickly turned on the electric grill for the four of them and brought them beer and various dishes from the set meal.

"Do you have any drinks, sir?" Shinji Ikari slid his beer toward Ryuji Danma, who caught it without refusing. Shinji then naturally asked the manager who was bringing out the food.

"What would you like to drink, sir?" The shopkeeper immediately nodded to indicate that he had something.

“Cola, right? Isn’t Shinji’s favorite drink?” Nagisa said with a smile. As her husband’s “secret” partner, Nagisa knew some of Shinji’s little habits.

“No, that doesn’t seem to go well with barbecue, so…” Shinji Ikari’s eyes darted to the freezer next to him, “Do you have oolong tea?”

"Oolong tea?" Nagisa looked at Shinji Ikari with some curiosity; this was truly a rare treat.

"Yes, there are!" The store manager smiled and turned to leave.

"Oolong tea is better at cutting through the richness!"

Chapter 32 Mutation

Thinly sliced ​​lamb sizzled on the grill, dripping with oil. The marinated lamb slices emitted an enticing aroma. Shinji Ikari, holding a bowl of rice in one hand, used his chopsticks to scoop meat from the grill into his bowl, then wrapped a mouthful of rice in it and put it in his mouth. As the tenderness of the meat exploded in his mouth, he couldn't help but let out a satisfied hum.

Onizuka Eikichi and Danma Ryuji, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, seemed to have endless topics to talk about. After all, the friendship forged in their youthful days and back-to-back battles was not something that could be easily erased.

"Eat more!" Nagisa happily added meat to Shinji's bowl. Half of the four-person meal ended up in Shinji's stomach. Nagisa genuinely treated the young Shinji as her younger brother, especially since he had been very helpful to them. Not to mention the house they bought before, he was the one who helped their parents when they got into trouble. The fact that her family could accept Ryuji now was entirely because of Shinji.

"Is that enough? But order some more!" Ryuji Danma smiled. He had already decided to sign the NERV agreement. The Suzuki motorcycle dealership was something he might never achieve even with a lifetime of effort, but now! As for hiring some NERV family members, that wasn't a problem. As long as they were obedient, the skills could be taught gradually. And then there was the matter of making money. He had just glanced around and noticed that most of the motorcycles here weren't well-maintained. The dealerships that had opened nearby could make money even with just simple repairs.

"Hmm~ Don't worry, I won't hold back with you!" Shinji Ikari said with a smile. It wasn't that he felt he had helped him, but rather that Ryuji Danma was just that kind of person—a handsome, thirty-year-old man who cared about his family and was loyal. So, he would only be happy if Shinji ate more.

"Hahaha... Yes, let's have a go! Shinji, thank you so much this time. If I missed this opportunity, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life!" As expected, Ryuji Danma laughed heartily. Before, Ryuji Danma hesitated for a long time, after all, he really didn't have the confidence. But in the end, Shinji Ikari said that at most he would lose money and come back to open a car repair shop again. This made Ryuji Danma realize that the opportunity was in front of him, so what was there to hesitate about?

"Clink!" The two glasses clinked together, but Shinji Ikari's was a large glass of oolong tea. The bartender was very polite and cut two slices of lemon and put them in the glass. Like beer, it was half a glass of ice. One sip and you were instantly refreshed.

"So you're going to open a Suzuki motorcycle dealership around here?" Onizuka Eikichi was pleasantly surprised. "You're going to make a fortune!" There used to be motorcycle shops here because of the beautiful scenery, but they all moved away because of NERV's construction here. If Danma Ryuji opens a shop here, wouldn't he make a lot of money?

"Hahaha... not necessarily. There's still a lot to do, like choosing a new location. I might come here often after that." Danma Ryuji was clearly in a good mood. After clinking glasses with Onizuka Eikichi, the two laughed heartily.

"My upstairs is currently empty. If you need to come often during this period, you can stay there for now. If you want to rent a place, I suggest you go a little further away," Shinji Ikari said seriously to Ryuji in front of him. Ryuji Danma nodded to indicate that he would remember it.

"Got it! Cheers! Then we can all get together!" The four raised their glasses and clinked them together, laughing heartily.

"Buzz..." Just then, Shinji Ikari's phone rang. Shinji picked up the phone, glanced at it, shrugged, and gestured that he needed to go outside to take the call. The others nodded in agreement.

"By the way, is Shinji Ikari a very strong exorcist?" Eikichi Onizuka had been keeping this question in his mind for a long time. He had jokingly mentioned to Shinji that he wanted to join in to make money, since he was a bachelor and needed to save some money.

"I haven't asked in detail, but he should be very strong. Why do you want his help?" Danma Ryuji had no reason to hide anything from his good friend. "I think I've already told you before."

"Ah...yeah!" Onizuka Eikichi spread his hands on the table, looking quite helpless. "But I'm really envious. I just lent him my motorcycle, and he gave me such a thick envelope when he came back!" Onizuka Eikichi frowned, pouted, and gestured the thickness of 20 Fukuzawa Yukichi bills. To be fair, Onizuka Eikichi didn't value money much, but he wouldn't refuse money either.

“Then your motorcycle must have been a big help to him.” Danma Ryuji shook his head. Shinji Ikari wasn’t a stingy person, but generally he would give thanks according to the help he felt he had received. However, this time, Onizuka Eikichi was probably provoked.

"Ah, yes... That's great. The income of exorcists is truly enviable." Onizuka Eikichi leaned back in his chair, his face showing undisguised envy.

"But all of this is predicated on an extremely high mortality rate. Of the exorcists who complete their training, less than 80% survive the first year, and that's assuming they have a mentor. After five years, the survival rate drops to less than 60%! Veteran exorcists with over ten years of experience are probably only a handful, though many of them leave due to the immense pressure." Shinji Ikari said with a smile, then placed his house key on the table. "Something's come up at the company, I'll head over now. Here's the spare bedding in the closet!"

"This is troublesome!" Nagisa looked at Ryuji Danma, who nodded. Nagisa nodded to Shinji Ikari, then took the key. She also considered in her mind that she might be living here for a short time in the future, so she should make some preparations later.

"Then I'll take my leave!" Shinji Ikari nodded to the three of them. Since Ryuji Danma was providing the meals, she didn't need to worry about splitting the bill. She turned around, went out the door, walked to her motorcycle, put on her helmet, and quickly drove off.

"So, you understand?" Taking a sip of beer, Danma Ryuji reassured Nagisa, who was a little nervous about hearing about the high mortality rate of exorcists for the first time, and then turned his head slightly to look at his best friend.

"But seeing my students rushing into dangerous places is very painful." Onizuka Eikichi held his wine glass, his eyes lost in thought. "Let's not think about that anymore. It's been so long since we last met! Cheers!"

"Yes, okay, tell him to come down as soon as possible. Shinji Ikari has arrived!" Misato Katsuragi answered the phone, listened for a few moments, said "I understand," and then turned to Ritsuko Akagi beside her.

"I really didn't expect something like this to happen." Ritsuko Akagi covered her forehead, looking very troubled. In her hand was not anything else, but Rei Ayanami's medical record. Not long ago, Rei Ayanami had been recuperating at the base due to a synchronization experiment and hadn't gone to school for the past few days. Everything was fine until an experiment started in the afternoon, when her condition began to deteriorate rapidly. What was originally just a minor injury was undergoing a strange change.

"But why do you believe that Shinji Ikari might know what happened?" Misato Katsuragi asked thoughtfully. Shinji's movements during this period seemed perfectly normal, except that he would text people late into the night every day. The intelligence department had checked the number and found that Shinji was with a girl named Ryoko Sakaki. Could she be the girlfriend he was talking about?

"Rei Ayanami's condition has deteriorated! The medical team is preparing for emergency treatment!" Makoto Hyuga, who was supervising the data, shouted quickly. Shinji Ikari had just arrived at the elevator when this bad news came: Rei Ayanami's condition had suddenly taken a sharp turn for the worse.

"What about the previous medical treatments?" Ritsuko Akagi gritted her teeth. She really hadn't expected that what was happening now would become so troublesome.

"No, because no problems were found with Rei Ayanami's body. The previous treatment plan was mainly to put Rei Ayanami into a stable sleep state, but in fact, this has worsened the situation..." Makoto Hyuga said with a regretful look. This is also why Ritsuko Akagi approached Shinji Ikari.

"Can we get in touch with Shinji Ikari?" After glancing at the surveillance video, Ritsuko Akagi made a decisive decision. Shigeru Aoki quickly connected the communication and then indicated to Ritsuko that it was all done.

"What's the situation now?" Shinji Ikari's phone rang. He glanced at it and saw that it was an internal communication number. Shinji answered immediately. Before rushing here, Shinji had only heard that Rei Ayanami's condition was abnormal and that he was expected to come to the base to check on her. Now that the phone call was coming, it meant that the situation had changed even further.

“Li’s condition has worsened; her heart rate and brain waves are very abnormal. The data is very similar to when EVA Unit-00 went out of control,” Ritsuko Akagi explained simply.

"...What about Unit-00?" Shinji Ikari hesitated for a moment before asking a question. In this chaotic world, it was impossible to judge things using common sense!

"Unit-00's situation?" Ritsuko Akagi was taken aback, then quickly turned to look at Makoto Hyuga on the other side. "Unit-00's data!"

"It's alright... Huh? Huh!" Hinata Makoto pushed up his glasses. Unit-00 hadn't been activated, so what could be wrong? However, since the monitoring equipment was always online, it didn't seem like a problem...

"So...did you guys take good care of the things you brought back that day?!" Shinji Ikari looked speechless.

"Bang... Does the Technology Department have any experiments today?!" Ritsuko Akagi looked speechless.

Chapter 33 The Inner World of a Girl

"Emergency move Unit 0 to the storage warehouse, emergency injection of coagulation fluid!" Having received confirmation, Ritsuko Akagi immediately gave the order. Her technical department's experiment had definitely encountered a problem, and it was clear that if things went wrong, it could easily escalate into a major incident.

"Forget about the solidification liquid. Can we add enough restraint components? I reckon those things aren't qualified to touch Unit-00." Shinji Ikari muttered. Mysteries also have levels, and the things NERV retrieves, unless they're externally damaged, are probably not properly stored, or perhaps they just think they've stored them properly. Overall, it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong.

"That makes sense! Install all the restraint devices that can be added!" After Shinji Ikari spoke, Ritsuko Akagi immediately realized that possession was not something that any level of spirit could do. In most cases, these spirits could be corrupted, but if you wanted to further control them, could you...? Make a key?

Given Shinji Ikari's profound understanding of the mysterious level of the EVA series, even a super-powerful demon like Kirie, who is capable of suppressing the gates of the underworld, would not be able to directly possess and manipulate the EVA's body. After all, in a sense, it represents the end of the old world and the reshaping of the new world. Its status is so high that it can probably be described as a creator god. Therefore, it is by no means something that these small fry are qualified to touch.

"What about Rei Ayanami?" Ritsuko Akagi nodded. Although Unit-00 had some issues with the data, there was no doubt that it was not out of control and remained stable. Shinji Ikari was absolutely right. Now it was just a matter of installing more securing equipment to prevent any localized problems from occurring.

"Get me the elevator ready, I'll get there as soon as possible." Shinji Ikari glanced at the slowly descending elevator and sighed. "I told you, you guys will be killed by this elevator sooner or later! Is there an emergency exit? The kind that leads directly to headquarters."

"Yes! After the elevator stops, walk to the left and follow the passage straight ahead. That's the emergency evacuation route! You can go directly to the core area. Once you arrive, I will arrange for someone to take you to the internal elevator."

"Understood!" Before Shinji Ikari could put his phone away, the elevator stopped. Under the headlights, he could indeed see an emergency escape route. Without thinking much, Shinji drove his motorcycle inside.

“This kid…” Ritsuko Akagi watched the figure flash by on the surveillance equipment. Speeding through the emergency evacuation route? What a reckless person.

"Screech..." With a rapid screeching sound of wheels on the ground, Shinji Ikari's motorcycle swerved and came to an abrupt stop. There was no road ahead; they had clearly reached the end of this emergency passage.

"Shinji, this way!" Makoto Hyuga led the two of them and opened the door. "Because it only opens during emergency evacuation, this passage is the first to be closed if it is invaded, so it can only be opened manually." Makoto Hyuga led Shinji Ikari into the elevator.

"This is Rei Ayanami's current physical monitoring report." Makoto Hyuga tried to hand the data panel in his hand to Shinji Ikari.

"It's no use. Take me to see him in person. I can't understand this anyway." Shinji Ikari shook his head. He knew nothing about modern science. Only by seeing Rei Ayanami could he know what had happened.

"Okay! This way!" The moment they stepped out of the elevator, Makoto Hyuga led Shinji Ikari to the emergency room in the central building, where Rei Ayanami was lying.

"The body temperature is rising, but there is no infection, no virus, and the heart rate is too fast..." As he approached, Shinji Ikari could already hear the doctors' noisy voices inside, and of course, he also saw the girl writhing in pain on the hospital bed.

At this moment, Rei Ayanami was drenched in sweat, and her already fair skin was now almost transparent, devoid of any color.

"..." Shinji Ikari sighed. It really was true... when scientists get going, you can't stop them. He reached into his pouch, took out a talisman, and stuck it directly to Rei Ayanami's chest. Rei's pained expression quickly subsided, and the constant buzzing around her almost instantly calmed down. A group of doctors and researchers in white coats exchanged bewildered glances.

"Help me, help me get her up." Shinji Ikari gestured for them to lend a hand. The moment they helped lift Rei Ayanami's body, Shinji Ikari sat cross-legged on the hospital bed, leaning back to back with Rei Ayanami.

"This is... recording data!" Although she didn't know what Shinji Ikari was doing, Ritsuko Akagi knew that this was an opportunity she absolutely couldn't miss! She immediately gave the order to record the data here, because the information contained here was extremely valuable.

By standing back to back, Shinji Ikari's spiritual power and energy began to slowly seep into Rei Ayanami's body. Originally, Shinji Ikari only wanted to help Rei Ayanami cleanse the pollution in her body in this way, but something unexpected happened.

A sudden resonance of souls occurred, and as Shinji Ikari opened and closed his eyes, he found himself in a dark, cluttered room. The room was simply furnished, almost completely empty. A pure white humanoid figure was crouching in this almost ghostly world, hugging its legs and curling up.

"What is Rei waiting for?" Shinji Ikari walked over and did something he had wanted to do the first time he saw this scene: he pulled open the curtains. "Light, you know, if you close off your own world first, it won't shine in."

"..." Shinji Ikari's words seemed to touch Rei Ayanami somewhat. At the same time, the sunlight shining behind her caused her to slightly raise her head and look at Shinji. "Why..."

"I don't know either. Everything that exists has its reason, I guess. But it looks like my spiritual power is almost exhausted! Let's talk after we get out!" Shinji Ikari smiled, then his figure disappeared from the room. Only in Rei Ayanami's eyes did the previously tightly closed door in the distance slightly open a crack… "Commander Ikari's son, Shinji Ikari?"

"Huff..." With another blink, Shinji Ikari's consciousness returned to the real world, followed by a terror far exceeding the gap between life and death. Shinji gasped for air. Oh my god, he had been too reckless. He had actually forgotten that Rei Ayanami was, in a sense, Lilith's human form, and had even sent his own spiritual power into it, almost being drained to death in one go.

"Are you in pain?" Rei Ayanami looked at Shinji Ikari with a slightly concerned expression.

"I'm quite exhausted. Are you alright?" Shinji Ikari asked, panting heavily as he took a wet wipe from the medical staff next to him and wiped his face. His hair was soaked with sweat.

"Yes!" Rei Ayanami nodded, her expression still slightly stiff. "There's no need for that."

“No, it’s necessary. Everyone has their own story, and so do you.” Shinji Ikari shook his head. “I just bought the ingredients. I’m going to make milk tea tomorrow afternoon. Come and have some if you’re free.”

“Okay.” Rei Ayanami nodded and accepted Shinji Ikari’s invitation.

"You get some rest. I'll go see what caused this." Shinji Ikari took a deep breath. Although NERV didn't cause too much trouble in the movie and just played the villain honestly, they caused a lot of trouble in the TV version, hiding it much deeper than in the movie. So Shinji Ikari almost directly suspected that his cheap, unscrupulous father was up to something again. In a sense, his father was comparable to Danzo Shimura. Anyway, if there was any blame, Gendo Ikari would probably have to take the fall.

From this, we can infer that perhaps someone was expecting all of this to happen. But who is that person? In any case, Shinji Ikari now feels he has a reason to punch Gendo Ikari in the face again—for his childhood goddess!

"What's wrong with Rei Ayanami? What just happened to you?" The moment Shinji Ikari stepped out of the room, Ritsuko Akagi stopped him.

“We’ve been tricked.” Shinji Ikari shrugged. “It touched on something at the soul level. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’ll tell you when I figure it out.” Shinji Ikari shook his head. “Take me to your testing grounds and let me see just how many basic mistakes you’ve made.”

“It failed…” Fuyutsuki said expressionlessly, looking at the screen. “But they were probably just trying it out as a side project.”

“Ah…” Gendo Ikari maintained his classic pose as he looked at everything in front of him. “After all, for them, achieving results is a pleasant surprise, and if they don’t, then they have no loss.”

"Ah, but it seems Shinji Ikari has discovered something." Fuyutsuki Kozo looked at Shinji Ikari, who was communicating with Ritsuko Akagi after leaving the house. "After all, it's the core of the plan. If he's not happy about it, there will be some trouble."

"It's alright? It's a minor inconvenience, still within the scope of the plan." Gendo Ikari, Shinji's father and the de facto head of NERV, stood up with a serious expression. "Let's check on Unit-00 and Unit-01 and get them ready for combat as soon as possible. We may not have much time left."

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on those things, if necessary. The only problem right now is that Shinji Ikari’s situation is far more complicated than we thought; there are just too many people watching him.”

"This is a good thing; at least it confirms that SEELE is helpless against him."

Chapter 34 Making Offerings

"So last night was essentially a complete waste of time?!" Misato Katsuragi held her coffee, looking at Shinji Ikari with a puzzled expression. Everyone had worked overtime last night to prepare for the possible out-of-control rampage of Unit-00. They had even completed the maintenance of Shinji's Unit-01, making it ready to be deployed in combat at any time, in preparation to suppress Unit-00's out-of-control behavior if necessary.

Just as Shinji Ikari had guessed, although there were a few signs of contamination, that was all. The contamination on Unit-00 quickly began to dissipate, while the abnormality on Rei Ayanami persisted for a while before slowly fading away.

So Shinji Ikari, who had been busy all night, was now covering his face with a towel, looking like he didn't want to talk to anyone. "Yeah, the equipment is fine, the process is fine, the experimental design is fine, so what do you think is the problem?" Shinji tilted his head and looked at Misato Katsuragi, the woman who later revealed the truth, and in the movie version, she even shouted "Do what you want to do!" when facing the Angel of Power.

“…That really is a terrible deduction.” Misato Katsuragi turned her head slightly and glanced at Shinji Ikari. Shinji didn’t say anything. The idea that everything was your own deduction was truly a headache, but at least it provided a direction. “I’m starting to think maybe I should go see your father for you!”

"Miri-nee, you were indeed helping my father before," Shinji Ikari said irritably. This slovenly woman was indeed a traitor. But oh well, she was her boss after all. If he failed, he would really be in trouble.

"You're really not cute at all. By the way, what's your relationship with Izumo no Okuni from the Onmyōryō? It seems like you're on very good terms with the pillar of Izumo Taisha." Katsuragi Misato temporarily banished these random thoughts from her mind and inquired about something that had previously piqued her interest.

"Oh... Sister A-Kuni, what a tragic fate..." Shinji Ikari sighed deeply. Who knew that this damned woman would sneak up to his place in the middle of the night, climbing over the roof beams. He was caught red-handed muttering to himself because he couldn't calm down, and was beaten up on the spot, almost making him run naked at Izumo Taisha! What a crazy woman! But this experience also confirmed to him that this damned woman was hiding something deep. "In short, she's probably an investment partner with good potential."

"A promising investment partner? You?" Misato Katsuragi gave Shinji Ikari a very discouraging look. Although Shinji Ikari seemed quite formidable, and even Ritsuko Akagi directly sought his help in this matter, unfortunately, Shinji Ikari's face was quite deceptive. At least to Misato Katsuragi, Shinji Ikari was still a little brother she always wanted to tease.

"Shinji! Thanks for last night?" Ritsuko Akagi walked up to Shinji Ikari, thanking him with a cup of strong coffee in her hand. Her face showed signs of exhaustion, clearly indicating that the busy night had been a torment for her. "Do you need the school to help you get a leave of absence? You've been busy all this time."

"It's alright, no need to ask for leave. As a Japanese student, never skipping school is a breach of etiquette." Shinji Ikari shamelessly stated what was truly impolite. "I'm going to take a nap this morning, and I'll make milk tea this afternoon. Come over and have some if you're interested!"

"Oh! Is it offered to Lady Himuro Kirie?!" Ritsuko Akagi had heard before that Shinji Ikari was going to offer milk tea to the person at Himuro's mansion, a fierce god whom the Onmyōryō (the Bureau of Yin and Yang) treated with utmost respect. This piqued Ritsuko's interest. What kind of milk tea could be a tribute that such a fierce god would like?

"Yes, Himuro-nee is easy to talk to, but it's not good to drag it out for too long. We've bought everything, so let's get started." Shinji Ikari said with a smile. Offering milk tea is no simple matter. He needed to purchase everything from cups to insulated containers, as well as the red beans, pudding, coconut jelly, and other fillings. This whole round of purchasing was finally completed before the synthetic spirits that were taken there as consumables were used up.

Speaking of the evil spirit car hanging on the gate to the underworld inside the Himuro mansion, the Onmyōryō (Yin-Yang Bureau) conducted some experiments after obtaining Himuro Kirie's consent. This thing can still devour some small evil spirits, and it seems that its existence time has been extended. In order to make their ancestor (referring to the evil god Himuro Kirie) more comfortable, the Onmyōryō took the initiative to capture some evil spirits to feed the car, in order to ensure that it can last a little longer on the gate.

"Okay! Let's go back quickly. I'll definitely be there this afternoon. By the way, is it okay to film?" Ritsuko Akagi was afraid that Himuro Kirie would misunderstand and kill her if she set up the surveillance camera, but filming a video like a friend shouldn't be a problem, right?

"As long as you don't go and film Kirie, I don't think you'll suddenly die." Shinji Ikari gave a rather reassuring conclusion.

"Understood! See you this afternoon!" Ritsuko Akagi said happily. "This review will be handled by someone else, and the rest... will be handled internally by the intelligence department."

"The Intelligence Department, huh!" Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi started making sarcastic remarks in unison, then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“You guys are about the same. We’re all colleagues after all.” Ritsuko Akagi sighed. Ever since Shinji Ikari’s messy affairs, the entire Intelligence Department has become a disgrace to NERV. Basically, no matter what happens, people will make fun of the Intelligence Department, making it the target of ridicule within NERV. This can be considered workplace persecution.

"That's settled then. I'll avoid any suspicion regarding the investigation. I'll be going now! I'm going to check on Rei Ayanami, and then I'll head back. But could you let me use the emergency exit...?" Shinji Ikari looked at Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi. Shinji Ikari had no interest in experiencing that elevator again, which took 20 minutes to move a third of the way. The time it took to go up and down was almost enough for him to make a round trip to Tokyo.

“Let’s use the transport corridor. Although we still have to go through an elevator, it’s much faster than the elevator.” Ritsuko Akagi sighed. Perhaps everyone had gotten used to it. Even if Shinji Ikari didn’t say anything, they all felt that this situation was acceptable. After all, everything in NERV revolves around EVA, so the massive size of the facility was necessary. However, this incident clearly made everyone realize that this was not a good thing when there was an emergency. “Shinji Ikari, give your card to Maya. Maya, take it to the management office to get her a permit to use the transport corridor.”

"Okay!" Maya nodded and stood up to handle it for Shinji Ikari, returning shortly afterward.

"That's fantastic!" Shinji Ikari exclaimed excitedly. "I'll be going now, see you this afternoon!"

"I want a double large cup of milk tea!" Misato Katsuragi said with a smile.

"So, big boobs?" Shinji Ikari brazenly circled his gaze around Misato Katsuragi's chest.

"Hey~ Shinji Ikari, you're so naughty!" Misato Katsuragi also joined in the charade, while Ritsuko Akagi sighed helplessly on the side. These two kids.

"Shinji! Why are you only coming back now?" When Shinji Ikari rode his motorcycle into the courtyard, he found Nagase Naruji's wife, Ryuji Danma, helping him hang things to dry in the yard. "The yard was a mess, so I tidied it up for you. You don't mind, do you?"