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

"..." Rei Ayanami remained expressionless.

"Hmph..." Erina Nakiri snorted after they had just finished arguing.

"Hmm..." Alice Nakiri grinned mischievously and grabbed Asuka's lunchbox lid. "Shinji-kun, don't waste it!"

"No!" Asuka pressed her chopsticks down on the lunchbox! "I'm going to eat by myself!"

"Oh~"

"So I said... are you here to cause trouble, or to give me a recipe?"

"So you're planning to cooperate with my cousin now?"

"I never knew you were such a troublemaker, Alice."

"It's not too late to know now~"

I moved house today, the first time I've done any physical labor since Yang Kang. To be honest, this illness really has a big impact on my health. It's only been a short while, and I'm already so tired I don't want to move. I can't take it anymore. I'm taking a day off today, and I'll try to write some more tomorrow to see if there's any hope of two chapters. Having a troublesome person at home means I really don't have enough time to rest, which is really killing me.

Chapter 353 The Attacking Girl

“Gulp…” Alice Nakiri swallowed hard, then looked at Shinji Ikari sitting not far away with a pitiful expression.

"Slap..." Erina Nakiri slapped her forehead. She was good at cooking for people, but not for cooking for monsters! She originally thought that cooking for Himuro Kirie would be a huge trouble, but it turned out that the other party did not care about many things that they thought mattered. On the contrary, Himuro Kirie cared more about the chef's ability and the "experience" it brought her.

However, the handwritten physical examination form of Shinji Ikari that NERV presented made the two girls deeply understand what it meant to have a "monster" physique. Under the tempering of the two top-level fighting styles, the Invincible East Style and the Rending Fist, Shinji Ikari's physical attributes had already allowed him to break through from human to non-human.

"Calories, calories, calories..." Alice Nakiri quickly flipped through a few pages, muttering to herself. Shinji Ikari's metabolic rate, muscle strength, and a series of other indicators clearly showed how much he consumed every day. The fact that he could maintain his own needs was entirely due to Shinji being a chef himself, having ample experience and methods for feeding himself.

"Your body's calorie needs are terrifying... and your nutritional requirements are enormous..." Erina Nakiri glared at Shinji Ikari. "My suggestion is high-energy blocks plus concentrated nutrient solution! That will satisfy your energy needs most quickly." Shinji didn't like Erina Nakiri, so did she have feelings for him?!

"Do you think we didn't make this kind of thing?" Ritsuko Akagi reached out and took out two packaged items, then tossed them to the two girls in front of her. "High-calorie energy bars, with all the vitamins a normal person needs in two days. However, after Shinji ate it once, he immediately used it as a hidden weapon."

"Huh? A hidden weapon?" Alice Nakiri looked intrigued, but after seeing Shinji Ikari's deadpan expression, she curiously picked up the high-calorie energy bar, peeled off the plastic wrap, and took a bite... "Ugh... I need to file for workers' compensation!"

Well, to put it simply, this thing had no texture at all. The moment she bit into it, Alice Nakiri felt like she had bitten into a piece of hard cement. The sensation in her mouth was like a frozen, greasy lard. Not only was it salty and bitter, but it also had a chilling coldness. After that one bite, Alice Nakiri immediately felt like she had been drugged. She even thought she was hallucinating to some extent! What kind of deadly thing was this?

Shinji Ikari gave a wry smile. He remembered the expectant looks on the faces of the technical staff when he took the first bite. Shinji almost thought a SEELE assassin had infiltrated the technical department, planning to assassinate him! Was this even fit for human consumption? Who were they trying to kill?!

"Thank you! Shinji, you're such a good person." Shinji filled a glass with water and slid it over. Alice Nakiri immediately took two sips and casually slapped a "good person card" on Shinji's face.

This left Shinji Ikari utterly speechless. "That brat! I shouldn't have cared about her life or death! What does it matter to me if she's white-haired, red-eyed, and has special abilities? I didn't know before, and now she dares to act so recklessly? No way! Kurosawa Aise is watching me every second!"

"No... the proportions of what you made are okay, but... ugh!" Erina Nakiri also made a disgusted expression. This greasy, bitterly salty, and unpleasantly cold food, despite being a perfect product according to the Technical Department's assessment by God's Tongue, was nothing but industrial garbage in the chef's eyes! "Ugh..."

"Rinse your mouth!" Shinji Ikari slid another cup over, but his tone was noticeably more impatient than when he spoke to Alice Nakiri, clearly a very obvious difference in treatment.

"Hmm?" Although she rolled her eyes at Shinji Ikari, Erina still poured the water from the cup into her mouth. She originally just intended to rinse her mouth, but in the next instant, Erina Nakiri froze, looking at the cup in front of her with disbelief. Then she tilted her head back and drank the whole cup down. "I never thought you guys would be so extravagant."

"Oh, so Shinji wasn't lying to me after all..." Ritsuko Akagi crossed her arms and struck a pose like Gendo Ikari. Her glasses reflected the pale white light of the incandescent bulb, instantly exuding the aura of a schemer, making the two girls in front of her feel a little uneasy.

Of course, Rei Ayanami remained expressionless, calmly watching them. Asuka sighed, while Shinji Ikari looked speechless. "Ritsuko, if you're really not planning to be a villain, you'd better not imitate that jerk's pose. He's itching to punch you."

“Although it contains only one ten-thousandth of the so-called blood of the gods—of course, it’s just the blood of an apostle—you were able to taste it directly. That’s really interesting…” Ritsuko ignored their reactions and looked at Erina Nakiri with great interest. Undoubtedly, this was an extremely rare ability. Just by tasting it with her tongue, she could obtain monitoring data comparable to that of a precision instrument?! As a scientist, and someone who had been very interested in these mystical things lately, Ritsuko was also very interested.

As for Shinji Ikari's somewhat speechless expression and clenched fists, Ritsuko didn't care at all. She leaned back in her chair, revealing her still perfectly proportioned waist, and said, "Don't worry, while I'm very curious about your abilities, I would never do anything rude. Of course, if you're willing to cooperate with me on some experiments, that would be the best." Ritsuko was spouting nonsense that even she didn't believe…

If Conan were present, he would definitely express his disdain. Although she only came twice, each time she was in a state of deep anesthesia and unconsciousness, every time she woke up, she felt a deep-seated fear when facing Ritsuko Akagi, and this fear was completely uncontrollable.

"I refuse!" Despite a slight twitch in her expression from the "praise" of the energy bar, Erina Nakiri rejected Ritsuko Akagi's suggestion without hesitation. She simply didn't believe what the woman in front of her said. Although she was certain that because the Totsuki Group and NERV had a very good relationship, Ritsuko Akagi wouldn't actually cut off her tongue for research, the thought of him doing something to her still disgusted Erina Nakiri. With her pride, she would absolutely not allow anyone to study her like that.

“Okay, let’s get back to normal… Shinji, what are you doing?” Ritsuko Akagi was about to say something when she saw Shinji Ikari throw the high-energy bar produced by the Technical Department, which then hit a steel plate not far away.

Well, what's the situation on site...?

"We failed to penetrate the enemy's armor!" After a loud impact, only a shallow crater remained on the steel plate. The energy bar shattered like a grenade, and many of the nearby instruments were covered in it.

"Demonstrating the correct way to use this thing," Shinji Ikari said with a smile. He had been forced by Ritsuko to eat a whole piece of this industrial garbage! The texture was like cement, and the taste was like icy, tooth-grinding Russian salted pork (I heated this up in Russian military rations and took a bite, God... what a hellish recipe)! They even added a lethal dose of mint as a pretentious touch, making it so inhuman that it was impossible to swallow.

Across from Shinji Ikari, Alice Nakiri clapped her hands excitedly, while Asuka beside her looked speechless. She had tried this stuff before, but she wasn't as strong as Shinji, who managed to force a bite. Nor did she have the professionalism of the two female chefs in front of her, who could force themselves to swallow it. She spent a long time cutting it with a knife, then ate a small piece before hugging the trash can and vomiting.

“This contains the vengeful mushrooms from the Himuro Mansion… but the amount is too much, and it hasn’t been seasoned. If you feed this to people, they’ll die!” Erina concluded first, then turned to Shinji Ikari beside her. “If it were this guy, he’d probably only get diarrhea at most.”

"He didn't have diarrhea. On the contrary, his energy replenishment was about what we expected, and the effect was quite good. However, we are not chefs, so we really don't have any methods when it comes to seasoning, so..." Ritsuko Akagi shook her head. If it were just ordinary seasoning, they might have some methods, but since it was to replenish Shinji Ikari's energy and various trace elements, and even to restore his ki and spiritual power, they really didn't have a better way. They could only use the simplest method of piling up ingredients to achieve this.

As for why so many vengeful mushrooms were added, one reason is that these things are indeed quite effective. After comparing the ingredients of the wine made by Ryoko Sakaki and the liqueur-filled chocolates made by Shinji Ikari using Ryoko Sakaki's wine, they confirmed that this is the thing that can restore spiritual power. Although there are some side effects, it is an emergency. What use is it if you don't restore your power as soon as possible?

As for the other reason for adding so much of this stuff... these researchers discovered that, after adding a certain amount, the resulting taste impact would overwhelm the complex and unpleasant flavor of the energy bar, making the taste relatively more acceptable to the consumer...

"So you want us to improve this energy bar?" Alice Nakiri looked at Ritsuko Akagi, her eyes filled with conflict. In her mind, this thing was already old enough to be easily removed. Although it could indeed be improved somewhat, but...

"Wait a minute, my nutritional meals don't necessarily have to be emergency foods like energy bars." Shinji Ikari stared with dead fish eyes. He really did just chew on that industrial garbage and swallow it whole back then. That day, after leaving the technical department, Shinji went to the cafeteria. Since it wasn't mealtime, there was nothing else available but NERV's standard nutritional meal (the kind of soup or gel + unknown drink + unknown paste + rice from the anime). Even that tasted incredibly delicious to Shinji!

"Uh..." The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Indeed, I’ve already prepared a basic menu. Now that I know the specific requirements, I just need to make detailed additions and subtractions.” Erina Nakiri waved her hand. High calories weren’t difficult; the challenge was providing Shinji Ikari with everything he needed beyond calories and nutrition in the five meals a day, including the three basic meals, afternoon tea, and midnight snack. Shinji Ikari’s rapid improvement was undoubtedly related to his ability to directly enjoy the gourmet meals prepared by the Totsuki Culinary Group’s chefs using special ingredients.

Mei Isayama envied this as well. She didn't have Misato Katsuragi's thick skin, and the high prices of the dishes prepared by the chefs of the Totsuki Culinary Group were also a major obstacle preventing her from enjoying such gourmet food.

Now, what Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri need to do is to turn these meals into recipes so that Shinji Ikari can eat them even on ordinary days.

“Shinji’s girlfriend actually did a pretty good job in this regard.” Alice Nakiri squinted and poked Shinji Ikari’s chest. This sudden intimate gesture made Asuka frown, and even Erina Nakiri looked suspicious.

However, Alice Nakiri did not make any further moves. She simply spread her hands and pointed to the remaining energy bar on the table, saying, "I can handle this. Just give me your ingredient list."

"..." Shinji Ikari sighed. Well, how should I put it? The girl in front of him, Alice Nakiri, had once been very unlucky. She was on a cruise ship when it was caught in a strong typhoon (actually caused by a sea monster, for a simple reason... time to eat). She was then rescued by Shinji Ikari, who was chasing a possessing evil spirit and accidentally boarded the ship. The two of them struggled at sea for three days before being rescued by a search and rescue ship. During those three days, Shinji Ikari, being a macho man, took good care of Alice Nakiri. The two of them also told each other a lot of stories to pass the time while they were adrift at sea.

At that time, the girl didn't seem to have met her own follower yet, and as a result, she seemed to have quite a good impression of Shinji Ikari. After going ashore, she clearly expressed her wish to take Shinji Ikari back to Northern Europe. However, Shinji Ikari had no interest in this kind of son-in-law scenario. In addition, Shinji Ikari had already established a relationship with Ryoko Sakaki and was in the midst of passionate feelings, so he simply rejected her.

But at this moment, that sigh is a big problem! The girl is being affectionate, and you, Shinji Ikari, can't dodge it?! And then you sigh?

Including Rei Ayanami, who seemed to have no emotional fluctuations, every girl present was both sensitive and incredibly intelligent. With this sigh, everyone's gaze was fixed on Shinji Ikari, leaving Shinji speechless.

"It seems... you've known each other for a long time?" Finally, after seeing that Erina Nakiri's face was full of confusion and she didn't seem to want to speak, Ritsuko Akagi asked.

“Of course, a man and a woman together for three days and two nights~” Alice Nakiri dropped a bombshell, and although it was true, the way she said it was incredibly ambiguous.

"Shinji!" Asuka reached out and grabbed Shinji Ikari!

"I have nothing to do with her, Asuka! I have a girlfriend!" Shinji Ikari decisively denied the relationship and jumped back. However, Rei Ayanami, who was originally intended to be used as a shield, also took a step to the side, clearly not intending to help Shinji.

"That was truly a shocking statement." Ignoring the playful antics of the teenagers around her, Ritsuko Akagi looked at Alice Nakiri before her. "What a pity..."

"Ritsuko, don't make things worse!" Shinji Ikari shouted as he dodged Asuka's attacks. He was afraid that Ritsuko would join the fight and cause trouble.

"By the way, I'm also very interested in the hills of Hikami. When will you take me there?!" Then Alice Nakiri smiled and took the initiative to stir things up!

"Alice, that's enough! Are you trying to drive me to my death?!"

"Hey~"

Chapter 354 Food Tasting

"The taste is not bad..." Shinji Ikari's expression was quite conflicted. In front of him was a delicious-smelling three-course meal with soup, as well as a basket of sliced, toasted baguettes with the aroma of bananas. After tasting it, Shinji Ikari was quite certain that Erina Nakiri's cooking was quite amazing.

However, this pure deliciousness lacked a profound "insight." For Shinji Ikari, it was merely a supplement to the nutrients his body needed, unlike the other elite chefs at Totsuki Culinary Academy who could bring him sudden insights and achieve a leap forward.

Erina Nakiri was able to prepare the meal so quickly because she and Alice used the existing equipment in the NERV cafeteria. Although the food produced in the NERV cafeteria was not very good, their equipment was quite complete. With the addition of some support equipment from the technical department, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri saved a lot of trouble.

At the same time, the two girls had clearly prepared their own plans before coming. After discussing with Ritsuko Akagi the specific supplements Shinji Ikari needed, Ritsuko Akagi, who knew Shinji's physical condition best in every sense, gave them information that was far more shocking than the notes handwritten by the medical department, which greatly impressed the two girls.

After thinking for a while, the two began making their respective recipes. During this process, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri also collaborated on some projects and discussed them together. What the two said made the original chef of NERV, who was listening from the side, keep scratching his head, feeling like a complete novice. What kind of crazy theories were these? The seven or eight people were left bewildered by the girls' overwhelming presence.

As a genius chef who entered the Elite Ten of Totsuki Academy directly in her first year of high school and dominated the entire academy, Erina Nakiri created a menu that not only met Shinji Ikari's high-intensity energy needs but also provided excellent nutrition and even had a certain effect on promoting the training of Himuro-ryu.

Yes, currently, Himuro-ryu is a mandatory course promoted among elites within the Totsuki Group. It can be said that every elite chef has a copy. The enhanced physical strength, concentration, and even physical abilities brought about by the training are of great help to the chefs' daily work. Especially for those chefs who personally go out and actively collect all kinds of strange and unusual ingredients with special tastes and effects, Himuro-ryu is like a timely rain.

Recently, some people have even gone to the Himuro mansion to "train." Although it seems a bit strange for a chef to train in martial arts, it's clear that improving one's strength is crucial for further advancement in culinary skills. Meanwhile, within the Totsuki Culinary Group, Dojima Gin, who has the deepest foundation, and Nakiri Senzaemon, who received Himuro Kirie's gift, are progressing rapidly.

However, this matter is... rather useless for Shinji Ikari, because all the dishes made by Erina Nakiri seem to have the potential to help him break through some of the bottlenecks and constraints of the Himuro style. So the problem lies here: they are good things, but Shinji Ikari is not trained in the Himuro style!

"Is there a problem?" Erina Nakiri asked with a frown, looking impatient at Shinji Ikari's reaction. As a chef, she had provided the best solution she could, and theoretically, she was absolutely capable of meeting all of Shinji's needs.

This is Erina Nakiri's pride as a chef, although she and Shinji Ikari really have a bit of a grudge. Back then, after Erina Nakiri criticized Shinji, was he just a nice guy who obediently accepted the criticism? Of course he retorted! The two of them had a huge argument right there at the school festival, leaving Ryoko Sakaki completely dumbfounded. It seemed like these two had a deep-seated hatred between them.

"I have no problem with nutrition and calories. Just eating it makes me feel warm all over. The seasoning of the recipe is also very good, far above my level." There is no need to say more about Erina Nakiri's level. She is at least at the level of the Elite Ten of Totsuki, while Shinji Ikari, back then, was only said by Senzaemon Nakiri to have the potential to enter the level of the Elite Ten of Totsuki.

To put it bluntly, although Shinji Ikari's protagonist persona might be so strong that he learns everything at lightning speed, his skill level improves rapidly, there's no doubt that talent is indeed limited. A multi-talented warrior is something that exists only in mythology. At least Shinji Ikari feels that he can see the end point of his growth in this area. Therefore, Shinji Ikari did not choose to continue down the path of a chef. So, he doesn't feel any psychological pressure in acknowledging that Erina Nakiri is much stronger than him.

"So... is it a problem with Himuro-ryu? My recipe has been proven effective at the academy!" Erina Nakiri naturally had a very clear understanding of the function of her dishes and immediately made an accurate guess.

“But that’s aimed at Himuro-ryu, and obviously I’m not just Himuro-ryu…” Shinji Ikari sighed. His power system wasn’t complex, but the relationship between Himuro-ryu and him was complicated. Himuro-ryu originated from the Master Asia style, and it was a specialization of that style for wider application. But without a doubt, there were differences between the two. Erina Nakiri’s recipe was an example…

“You’re overdoing it~” Alice Nakiri complained to her cousin as she placed four pure white pastries in front of Shinji Ikari. “Try mine! This is a product that has been greatly purified, and I’ve tried my best to season it to your liking.”

Erina Nakiri turned to look at Alice Nakiri, her face full of suspicion. What's going on? There were some minor issues with the details of my dish, and yet you've produced a product that looks incredibly polished?

"Okay." Shinji Ikari didn't doubt it, picked it up and stuffed it into his mouth without any hesitation. After chewing a few times, Shinji Ikari moved his hand, and two of the remaining three plates slid to Asuka, who was sulking with her arms crossed, and Ritsuko Akagi, who was taking notes on something.

This action made Erina Nakiri's eyes twitch. Without a doubt, Shinji Ikari's act of putting it directly into his mouth without thinking represented a very high level of trust, completely different from her own cautious attitude of first smelling the flavor and then taking a small bite. She looked at Alice Nakiri.

“If you’ve been at sea with him for three days, and then he catches live fish, tears them apart by hand, and stuffs them into your mouth without any seasoning, you’ll probably have developed a very high level of understanding with him,” Alice Nakiri said with a smile. Yes, and then, as she was gagging at the edge of the lifeboat, she found Shinji Ikari chewing on fish innards and bones.

"So you retaliated by making this thing taste like fish?!" Shinji Ikari wiped his mouth. Alice Nakiri's skill was truly remarkable. This thing tasted like fish, soft and chewy with a slightly gelatinous texture. However, the abundant calories surprised him somewhat. Moreover, it contained trace amounts of special ingredients to stimulate the central nervous system, making it a rather good wilderness survival food.

As they spoke, Shinji Ikari handed the last plate to Rei Ayanami behind him. Rei didn't take the plate; she simply put the small piece of pastry into her mouth, chewed it briefly, and gave the same simple evaluation: "Delicious." And that was all.

"This stuff is incredibly filling!" Asuka looked at the plate in front of her, and although she snorted, she still put it in her mouth with considerable satisfaction. After she swallowed it, Asuka was shocked.

Yesterday's battle took a toll. Although Asuka did eat something after returning to base, she still underwent intensive training following Mei Isayama's instructions after completing the basic check-up. So, while Asuka wasn't exactly hungry, she was able to eat quite a lot.

However, after eating this piece of pastry, Asuka's initial slight hunger immediately turned into a feeling of fullness. If she really wanted a quantitative comparison, Asuka felt as if she had just eaten a McDonald's Super Satisfaction Meal (limited to Tokyo 3, 1200 yen). You know, this meal includes an Australian beef burger that is almost the size of a Big Mac, fried chicken nuggets, chicken drumsticks, a large order of fries, and a large Coke or equivalent. Not to mention an ordinary girl, even when Shinji Ikari treated Eikichi Onizuka's henchmen to this meal, two of them finished it: Eikichi Onizuka himself and Kunio Murai.

"It is indeed a surprising product and its level of completion." Ritsuko Akagi did not swallow it whole like Shinji Ikari and the others, but took a small bite. It was indeed similar to what Shinji Ikari said. She could even taste a bit of fish. Moreover, it must be said that the girl in front of her was very skilled. Many of her instruments and equipment were obtained from the technical department and had nothing to do with the kitchen in terms of their use.

Undoubtedly, in a sense, Alice Nakiri possesses exceptional knowledge in chemistry, botany, and other fields. The emergency food she presented fully demonstrates her expertise; not a single gram of it contains any identifiable food, it's all about technology and ruthless skill.

"Oh! Almost there! Wait!" Alice Nakiri seemed to remember something, turned her head and took a plate from an icebox next to her. The moment she lifted the lid, a large amount of nitrogen gas overflowed out... A cold wind blew past everyone. "NERV's engineering department is quite skilled. I just told them the design of the vessel I wanted, and an hour later, the finished product was made."

"So this was frozen?" Shinji Ikari looked at the thing in his hand that now looked like a frozen cookie, tapped it lightly twice, and it made a crisp sound. "So this is another form of this thing? A dehydrated cookie?!"

“Yes! This form preserves more and for a longer time. Try the taste.” Alice Nakiri nodded.

"..." Shinji Ikari glanced at the few cookies on the plate, then looked at the other women beside him.

Asuka decisively shook her head, clearly not interested. She was already quite full from the pastries and naturally couldn't eat anymore. Ritsuko Akagi also indicated that she wasn't hungry at all and wouldn't eat either.

"We need to cook an offering tonight." Rei Ayanami's refusal made Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri's eyes light up at the same time. You should know that in the Totsuki Culinary Group, only the most elite chefs have the opportunity to offer food to the two fierce gods, Himuro Kirie and Kurosawa Ayase. It is an honor and a recognition.

In particular, after returning from the Himuro Mansion, Tsukasa Eishi's culinary skills completely surpassed those of all other students of the same level in the Totsuki Culinary Group. This was evident in both his Himuro-ryu fighting techniques (the ladies of the Onmyo-ryu guild who trained him at the Himuro Mansion would give him sparring sessions in their spare time) and his understanding of culinary arts. However, for some reason, while he originally focused on bringing out the original flavor of the food, his recipes became extremely adept at utilizing the Himuro Mansion's specialty ingredients. Perhaps he simply used too many of them?

This result directly led the patriarch of the Totsuki Group to consider having the Totsuki Academy's Elite Ten reside permanently at the Himuro Mansion and Mount Hikami, but unfortunately, he didn't have the final say on this matter.

"Shinji-kun!" Alice Nakiri pouted, looking at Shinji Ikari with longing eyes.

"...Alright, looks like Nagisa and the others are in for a treat. Rei, tell Nagisa she doesn't need to cook." Shinji Ikari sighed, shook a cookie at the whining Asuka, and received a huge eye roll in return.

"Hehe!" Alice Nakiri flashed a peace sign at Erina Nakiri, clearly delighted with the opportunity.

"But this thing... I might have some unexpected uses for it. Can you make a batch right away?" Shinji Ikari chewed on the freeze-dried product, his eyes flickering.

"Take him to the dream world?" Asuka was the first to guess Shinji Ikari's plan, because if he hadn't been forced to stay here as a taste tester, Shinji would probably have already gone off to try and solve Yuu Aso's problem.

"Okay, I'll go prepare it right away." Alice Nakiri didn't even ask Shinji Ikari why he needed it, and turned around to prepare it for him. Although making these cookies wasn't particularly difficult, it still took some time.

"Let's assume you do find this quite useful, regarding my recipes..."

"Remove those unnecessary features and just focus on ensuring the basic functions are up to par; your skill level is still lacking."

"...Is this revenge?"

"Somewhat."

Chapter 355 Entering the Dream (5K)

"Is this Aso Yuu, Shinji's good friend?" Nakiri Alice asked curiously as she looked at the young, handsome man lying in the sterile ward that Shinji Ikari had entered, his brows furrowed but his eyes closed.

"That's right, it's Shinji Ikari's companion, the inventor of the exorcism camera you're holding. He's now incredibly wealthy. Apparently, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he and his fiancée, Rei, were set to marry on the 3rd of next month, and they'd already booked a hotel." Asuka sighed. She'd also received Yuu Aso's invitation. Shinji had joked with Yuu that he could retire now and focus on being a stay-at-home dad taking care of Rei Kurosawa, but...

Asuka watched Shinji Ikari walk in and shook her head. To her, Rei Kurosawa was a very good older sister. Many times, she was willing to help others. Now, both her older sister and Yuu Aso had fallen into a deep sleep because of the Immortal Society. When she went to New Tokyo, Asuka specifically asked about the location of the Immortal Society, clearly intending to take care of it as well.

However, Asuka learned with great regret that the Eternal Life Society had been destroyed due to the battle between the two S-class powerhouses, which was extremely frustrating. Furthermore, the location where Unit-02 was deployed was far too far from the Eternal Life Society's position, which Asuka also regretted not having the chance to take advantage of the situation.

"Are all the monitoring devices turned on?" Ritsuko Akagi instructed her subordinates with a serious expression. A large group of technical staff were busy outside, while inside the sterile ward, many medical staff were watching.

Yuu Aso isn't in the medical room right now, but in a sterile laboratory in the technical department. The medical department has just moved some of the equipment over.

NERV's entire staff is now mobilized. The engineering department is nearby, planning to salvage the equipment... Even Fuyutsuki Kozo is in the next office, watching the experiment with his arms crossed.

Why is this the case? Because this is the first recorded direct clash between the powers of a malevolent god. Yes, Shinji Ikari's attempt to forcefully enter the dream world that Yuu Aso is trapped in is itself something worth observing. Not to mention, he's relying on the power of a malevolent god (Yoruzumi on Mount Hikami is basically sealed, and Aise Kurosawa is rolling up his sleeves, showing great enthusiasm), and the dream he's trying to enter is itself another being that is suspected to be a malevolent god, or at the very least, an existence possessing power close to that of a malevolent god through some special predicament. Therefore, the clash between the two is absolutely unprecedented.

Of course, what NERV didn't know was that in Shinji Ikari's dream, Kirie Himuro and Ayase Kurosawa had collided once, which was the first time they could observe it.

Shinji Ikari had no idea what the girls outside were whispering about, nor did he care much about what the people inside were busy with. He simply gestured for all the medical staff in the room to leave. If the combined forces of Ayase Kurosawa and Reika Kuze were to collide, even Shinji himself would be in trouble, let alone these ordinary people. They had been his colleagues for so long and had helped him many times; how could he possibly let them suffer?

“Three layers of insulation, the internal air conditioning has been set to the highest temperature, and all equipment has been turned on, but the low temperature tolerance may be a problem…” Several technical staff members on the side began to report. Nakiri Erina and Nakiri Alice, who were seeing such a scene for the first time, were somewhat inexplicably shocked.