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

"Okay, I'm basically free the day after tomorrow. As for where to eat and what to eat, I think it's best not to leave Tokyo-3. I have a feeling that something bad will happen if I go out." Shinji Ikari took two big gulps of soda to make sure the food in his mouth went down smoothly.

"Fine, so you finally think it's your cursed nature?" Conan scoffed. This guy always joked that he was a Grim Reaper, that he'd stumble upon a murder wherever he went. But look at you! New Tokyo is practically overflowing with signs saying "Shinji Ikari Forbidden" hanging at every intersection. "Ran-neechan?"

"Conan! You're causing trouble for Shinji Ikari again!" Ran Mouri's voice came through the phone. "Hang up! Don't cause trouble for others."

"Okay, goodbye~ Shinji-nii-san~" Conan's deliberately cheesy voice made Shinji feel nauseous.

"I'm going to take a shower!" Before hanging up the phone, Shinji Ikari told you something that made him roll his eyes. Would Conan say no? Of course not, of course he'd loudly say yes!

Good grief! Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes and thought, I've been waiting for the day your true identity is revealed to Ran Mouri. Ran Mouri's karate is so powerful that it can break telephone poles. Neither Conan nor Shinichi Kudo could withstand a single blow.

"By the way," said Mei Isayama, who was also eating and sitting opposite Shinji Ikari, looking at Shinji, "I think you know about the things in the trunk of his car, right? How did you guess that these guys were up to something?"

“It was a big problem that told me…” Shinji Ikari leaned on the bench with both hands, looking helplessly at the sky. “When Sensui Shinobu left my safe house, she left some messages. My unfathomable master…” Shinji Ikari sighed deeply.

Before Shinobu Sensui left, Shinji Ikari gave him a card showing the location of the shelter that Ichiro Shin had prepared. Shinji had visited it and found that all the facilities were intact. After updating some food, water, and medicine, it was closed again, and most of the facilities were preserved in Ichiro Shin's style.

So when Shinobu Sensui opened the door to the shelter with the brass key Shinji Ikari had given him, intending to recuperate for a while, he suddenly froze. The furnishings in the room seemed to have traveled back in time, remaining in his own era.

Opposite the somewhat worn but seemingly unused sofa were a CRT television, a VHS projector, and dozens of movie tapes popular in that era. Next to the sofa was a very large green push-button telephone (the kind often seen in the entryway of vintage cartoons).

Looking at the setup, Sensui Shinobu picked up the receiver and listened. Surprisingly, it was still working. She then tentatively dialed a number, but unsurprisingly, she got a busy signal. Sensui Shinobu shook her head with a smile and put the receiver down. "That guy, I helped him for nothing! Shinichiro, you bastard..." She lifted the plastic sheet covering the sofa, sat down, and muttered to herself.

Sensui Shinobu, deeply moved, rested there for a few days before leaving. Before departing, she left Shinji Ikari with some information: large merchants were still supplying the human world with various special products from the Demon Realm, including many "slaves"! She also provided Shinji with some information about these merchants, including the Black Organization, which surprised Shinji.

Shinji Ikari was able to recognize the organization because Gin in the photo was too conspicuous. His image in a black trench coat made Shinji immediately realize that the organization was colluding with the Demon World. Naturally, after they ran into him, Shinji did not hesitate at all and simply took down everyone he could catch.

“Sen-sui Shinobu?!” Mei Isayama leaned back slightly. Although she had long known about the complicated relationship between Shinji Ikari and this traitorous Spirit Detective, this was completely different from Shinji Ikari admitting that his great-master was Sen-sui Shinobu.

This is so typical of Japanese manga protagonists! They all seem to come from humble backgrounds, but as the story progresses, one powerful force after another surfaces behind the protagonist... Shinji Ikari definitely seems to be following this path now! Oh, no, he's been open about it from the beginning. After all, he's never hidden the fact that he's the son of the Commander-in-Chief of NERV from anyone. But for a son of such a high status to end up in such a miserable state, having to work as an exorcist to earn a living, is truly something else.

"What kind of look is that?" Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes, feeling a little uncomfortable under Mei Isayama's sudden, pitiful gaze.

"So the information he gave you wasn't just this much, right?" Isayama Mei suddenly realized something, and his eyes suddenly became excited.

"...Indeed, it's more than that." Shinji Ikari took a deep breath, then fell silent. Wasn't Mei Isayama's intention obvious? It was nothing more than acting on behalf of heaven, robbing the rich to help the poor!

"Give me the information. How can we miss such a good opportunity?" Mei Isayama laughed. Shinji is really smart now. He's just lying down and following me! "It's been a while since we've had a proper fight. It's time to get moving."

"Let me make this clear first, there are quite a few troublesome people inside, so you should think carefully before you decide what you want to do." Shinji Ikari zipped up his combat suit, stood up, and prepared to participate in the synchronization experiment.

"It's alright, it's alright! Although Asou Yuu isn't traveling with us, he's free right now and can always help us analyze the data." Isayama Mei clapped his hands. "The experiment went smoothly!"

"Get lost!" Shinji Ikari gave him the middle finger.

It's this late, and I'm still struggling with the text. I really don't want to stay up until 2 a.m. like I did yesterday. I can't take it anymore. I've been in a daze all day. I'll try again tomorrow.

By the way, it seems like there's going to be a cold snap in the south. It feels colder these days than during the Spring Festival. Everyone, please keep warm. Your health is your own responsibility, so take good care of yourselves.

Chapter 378 Time is running out for the future

"The Babem Foundation wants to reconcile with us, or at least suspend the war." At the SEELE Supreme Conference, several figures were talking amidst the colorful light projected into the darkness.

"I really didn't expect that this group, which caused us so much trouble, would actually turn its own pawns against us because of its own actions. We have to admit we misjudged them; Winged God Shion's combat power is truly formidable." Under the dim light, another person said somewhat leisurely, "They only deployed a dozen or so units to destroy one of our bases, and we lost more than half of them. But so far, more than 20 Vamilian units have been destroyed. That out-of-control Ayato Kamina has shown terrifying aggression. If he weren't so wary right now, we should have made contact with him."

"We went, and we failed." Gendo Ikari said succinctly, his hands clasped under his chin. After the great battle between Shinji Ikari piloting Unit-01 and Sion the Rising Sun, he had already arranged for people to monitor Sion's movements, and he had contacted him as soon as he arrived in Mexico.

As a result, after they learned that they were from NERV, they didn't want to communicate with them much. They only showed a relatively strong attitude, and then Ayato Kamina knocked them down and disappeared in Mexico City.

"Oh? What was the reason for the failure?" Hearing Gendo Ikari's words, everyone in SEELE was very interested. After all, the reason they prevented the Babem Foundation from acquiring EVA was that they did not want the Babem Foundation to have too much power, as this would not be conducive to them making everything unfold according to their script, which was not what they wanted.

"Although NERV's North American branch was destroyed, the wreckage is still there. Shinji Ikari told him the reason for Unit-3's berserk behavior, so he knows that the Barbem Foundation's power has infiltrated NERV." Gendo Ikari sneered. Did he have no interest in the power of Ryougi Shion? Of course he did, he was extremely interested, but it was pointless. The way Shion looked at NERV was only slightly better than Barbem. The only reason he was willing to listen to their nonsense was because of Shinji Ikari. As for cooperating with them?

Ha, now that he understands the relationship between TERRA and Babem, what else doesn't he understand?

No large organization is purely black or white; they all have their own original sins! This is true for TERRA, and it is also true for NERV.

After this incident, and after Ayato Kamina matured rapidly following the death of his girlfriend in front of him, he understood all the seemingly inexplicable things Shinji Ikari had said before!

"Shinji Ikari?" The old man sitting at the head of the table stared at Gendo Ikari on the screen. "I hope you understand that we cannot make the same mistake as the Babem Foundation." Then, as if he had lost interest in the meeting, he directly announced its end, and the projected figures quickly disappeared.

“They’ve been sidelined…” Fuyutsuki Kozo’s lips curled into a mocking smile. How long had this meeting lasted? Such a short time was simply not enough for them to discuss all the important matters, not to mention that many related matters at NERV headquarters had not been discussed after being reported. This was quite obvious.

"It's alright. Although we don't have any trump cards we can control, I'm sorry to say, but this trump card doesn't belong to them either," Gendo Ikari said expressionlessly. Ever since SEELE used NERV headquarters' infiltrators to try and attack Shinji Ikari, the relationship between SEELE and Shinji Ikari was completely over; they were now enemies. In a sense, SEELE's greatest asset to the Babem Foundation had, unfortunately, become their enemy precisely because of their own actions.

"Do you think it's possible for the Babem Foundation and SEELE to reach an agreement?" Kozo Fuyutsuki looked at what resembled the office of the highest leader of an organization, more like a religious shrine, his face still expressionless, but his tone already carrying a hint of sarcasm.

After all, the environment in front of you is filled with mystical paintings, whether it's the ceiling or the floor. No one who walks in would feel that this is an office at first glance.

"A contract? It's just a temporary ceasefire agreement. There's no room for negotiation between them. Anyway, it won't have much to do with us in the short term, so we might as well focus on what we've seen on the moon," Gendo Ikari said quietly.

On the moon, far from human influence, there was a massive base. When they went there, they were met with a firm refusal to enter, but even just a few glances from afar provided them with a wealth of information.

The shirtless boy sitting on the steel of the base, and the enormous giant lying in the crater, undoubtedly represent an EVA that is not under the control of the Federation and is under construction. Moreover, this EVA already has a pilot assigned to it.

“Yes, if there are no surprises, this EVA that we saw, which is not on the construction plans of various countries, should be a preparation made to target us.” Kozo Fuyutsuki smiled, but he didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.

"Ah, but in fact it's aimed at us, or rather... Shinji." Gendo Ikari seemed quite frank, after all, this situation wasn't hard for him to guess. Shinji's strength had attracted too much attention to what he was preparing, making it easier for him to do what he wanted, which was good news for Gendo Ikari.

That's why Gendo Ikari was so tolerant of Shinji Ikari's various actions, and even quite casual about Ritsuko Akagi's research and her and Misato Katsuragi's various leave slips for Shinji Ikari, hardly ever stopping them.

"Hmm, should I go and remind him?" Fuyutsuki Kōzō heard Gendo Ikari's words as he walked to the door, and was somewhat surprised, so he took the opportunity to ask his question.

"Thank you for your hard work..." Gendo Ikari's response was very simple, almost without any hesitation, as if he had planned that Kozo Fuyutsuki would say this here. Of course, Kozo Fuyutsuki couldn't see the smile that appeared under his hand.

"..." Fuyutsuki Kozo didn't say much and left directly.

"Shinji, we don't have much time left. Are you ready with your answer?" Gendo Ikari said quietly after the sensor door closed, his eyes unexpectedly softening. Yesterday, he had stood silently in front of Unit-01, their eyes meeting for a long time as Unit-01 was immersed in LCL.

"Yui, do you approve of him too?" After an hour of silence, Gendo Ikari finally spoke, his voice surprisingly low as he asked the question.

Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 displayed combat power that shocked and terrified everyone. At NERV, both headquarters and branches believed one thing: as long as Unit-01 was put into battle, everything would be alright!

Putting aside the malicious jokes, the combination of Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 has never disappointed. Shinji Ikari and Unit-01 have never been defeated in battle, whether facing Angels or various large monsters! The image of Unit-01 roaring and radiating golden light is an insurmountable mountain for them.

And this, it seems, has now become a problem that many people have to face. This problem was evident in the scene of the battle between Ryūgen and Unit-01, where a single energy wave shattered the entire environment near Lake Ashi, and the terrifying heat and impact directly dried up the lake. The investigation team urgently dispatched by the NERV headquarters engineering department is continuously transmitting various shocking data back to the rear.

Gendo Ikari knew very well that SEELE's meeting today was the result of them seeing this data, and they could no longer sit still! The fact that Unit-01, which was not in their hands, plus a NERV commander-in-chief they roughly understood to be treacherous, meant that they could really orchestrate the situation and make the script proceed smoothly?

However, neither Gendo Ikari nor SEELE may have a completely correct understanding of Unit-01. After all, they had some misconceptions. Many reports were handwritten by Ritsuko Akagi, who, as the highest-ranking person in NERV's technical department, had the authority to "correct" all the data. Therefore, what they saw was somewhat "distorted".

Moreover, for ordinary people, what is a synchronization rate of over 300%? A synchronization rate of 90% seems easier to understand. After all, this is a replica of the body of a "god," so a synchronization rate of 90% is enough to terrify them. As for Gendo Ikari, he may have seen some more internal data, but it was just a description submerged in embellishment and data. Although it is closer to the truth, it is still just... "approaching" the truth.

“Yes!” Gendo Ikari turned around and looked at the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. From his office, one could see the vast space inside the NERV headquarters.

His own reflection was mirrored in the glass window. He reached out and touched the sunglasses that looked remarkably similar to those worn by Cyclops Scott Lang in Marvel movies. After a moment's hesitation, he took them off. Where his eyes had once been, a cross had appeared, reflecting light...

"We're running out of time with SEELE in front of us." Gendo Ikari's reflection in the glass, and the shadow slowly rising behind him, gave a faint smile. "Fuyutsuki-sensei, the backup plan isn't just something you have..."

At that moment, Shinji Ikari had just returned to his residence on his motorcycle. As soon as he stopped, he noticed that his small courtyard seemed to be very lively. He looked at the NERV intelligence department staff who were sorting goods in front of the door with a puzzled expression.

"Your classmates are here, and..." The person in front of him didn't try to hide anything, "Asuka was also brought by Rei Ayanami."

"Rei? Bring Asuka here?" Shinji Ikari was very surprised when he heard this. If you were to say Asuka brought Rei Ayanami somewhere... it didn't seem like a likely scenario. "What kind of bizarre situation is this?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Oh, by the way, they're having a barbecue party in the yard. Since you're here, you can bring the drinks they bought from me." The intelligence officer also expressed his incomprehension, but since it was just a normal social activity, they didn't intend to stop it. At most, they'd just add a note about it tomorrow.

“Okay.” Shinji Ikari carried a box of orange juice in one hand and walked into the yard with the other hand on his motorcycle.

"Oh! Shinji is back!" Eikichi Onizuka had already heard the sound of the motorcycle. As a former biker gangster and now a super teacher, he was naturally quite sensitive to the sound of motorcycles.

"Is it really okay for you to have such a large group of people drinking like this?" Shinji Ikari looked at the group of people gathered around two newly built fire pits, grilling and teppanyaki, and eating quite well with both meat and vegetables. However, smelling the alcohol in the air, Shinji Ikari shook his head and began to complain about the bad behavior of a certain sadistic teacher.

"Hahaha, your girlfriend brought this rice porridge. Thanks to Ryoko Sakaki for the good stuff!" Eikichi Onizuka said with a big laugh, completely unconcerned.

"Oh! Thank you, Ryoko-nee!" The students naturally erupted in cheers.

"Ryoko?" Shinji Ikari put down his orange juice, turned his head to look around, and then found his ear being tugged. "Hey? Aren't you spoiling them too much?"

"Hmph, if it weren't for Rei's help, you wouldn't even know to treat your colleagues and classmates to a meal. I don't remember anyone from Totsuki being this stingy." Ryoko Sakaki handed a plate of marinated skewers with various seasonings to the young people in front of her.

"Did you ask Rei for help?" Shinji Ikari took the plate and asked in a low voice, then frowned inexplicably. When did Ryoko Sakaki and IU start caring about these things?

"Hmm!" Ryoko Sakaki said with a smile, "And you didn't even notice that your colleague had some kind of unresolved issue, how incompetent of you is."

"Asuka?" Shinji Ikari was taken aback. He was quite surprised. Unit-02 performed very well in Neo Tokyo, so it was impossible for Asuka to have the scene in the original TV series where she felt she had lost her purpose.

"Go and comfort people. If you try to enter someone's heart again, my kitchen knife will have a different purpose! Understand?"

"Uh, okay."

Chapter 379 She Needs a Direction

"Your girlfriend is here, and instead of caring about her, you come here to see me?" Asuka glanced sideways at Shinji Ikari, this guy who was almost dazzling but completely indifferent, someone she had been constantly compared to even before she came to Japan. "Don't blame me if you get kicked off tonight."

"She's the one who asked you to come..." Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes. Ryoko Sakaki was getting more and more into playing her cards open, acting all high and mighty! I'm Shinji's girlfriend. Even if Shinji has a fiancée I can't afford to offend, in the end, it's still me who will wear the wedding dress and walk down the aisle with Shinji! At most, there might be one more person attached to me!

With such awareness and sacrifice, Ryoko Sakaki became even more untouchable for Shinji Ikari. After all, Ryoko's deep affection had completely transcended his own life, and he could not betray her.

At this moment, Shinji Ikari glanced at Asuka, whose face clearly showed a hint of sullenness. Then he looked at another person, Rei Ayanami, who had a blank expression. Yes, it just so happened that NERV's three EVA pilots were sitting in a row.

Shinji Ikari scoffed. The three main EVA pilots in the original EVA series were basically all mentally unstable. Shinji, the autistic protagonist, was a given; Asuka, seemingly strong but actually wavering between pride and insecurity; and Rei Ayanami, the most problematic, completely devoid of emotion, or perhaps observing everything with a detached, superior attitude. In short, NERV and humanity, relying on a bunch of problem children to save the world—this Earth might as well be doomed.

"So you're planning to comfort me with your pout?" Asuka looked at Shinji Ikari next to her with annoyance. He sat down next to her and seemed to be trying to comfort her, but his eyes kept wandering.

"I'm sorry, actually... I don't know what to say to comfort you..." Shinji Ikari shrugged. "We all know that many things are only known to oneself how painful they are. If you can't get over it on your own, finding a hundred so-called psychologists won't do any good. They'll just prescribe a bunch of medications for you." Shinji Ikari said with a wry smile.

"Hmph!" Asuka glanced at Shinji Ikari with a complicated expression. "It's nothing, I was just watching... never mind, it's not important." Asuka seemed to want to say something, but her strong-willed instincts ultimately turned her words into a soft sigh. What was there to say? This bastard was just someone who kept negating his own efforts with his actions.

Shinji Ikari frowned as he looked at Asuka's expression. Good, it wasn't a relationship issue. Another day of barely surviving in Kurosawa Ayase's shadow. Shinji had always wanted to ask a question he dared not: since Kurosawa Ayase had been possessing him all along, what about the relationship between him and Ritsuko Akagi…?

Hmm... I'd better not ask. When I was jumping around with Himuro Kirie, I might only get a beating, but with Kurosawa Aise, I might just experience drowning again. Wait... why did I add "again"?

Temporarily setting aside his fear of his fierce fiancée, Shinji Ikari first tried to sort out his thoughts. He roughly knew why Asuka was in low spirits, or at least what the reason was. Like Ayato Kamina, who was defeated by Yusuke Urameshi, she had misjudged her own strength.

Actually... Ayato Kamina's talent is quite remarkable. After all, how long has he been learning the Spirit Wave Fist? Just compare! He mastered it in such a short time! It's safe to say that most ordinary fighters are no match for him, even though these people have been training for years or even decades!

Ayato Kamina, however, did not realize this. He simply had a distorted understanding of his own talent because the benchmark he was comparing to was much more exaggerated than his own progress. He thought that was the normal growth curve.

Asuka encountered a similar situation. Her performance in Neo-Tokyo was quite impressive, but no one considered it powerful; at most, they offered a dismissive "not bad." Shortly afterward, a major battle erupted between Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 and Ayato Kamina's Rising Sun Sion near Lake Ashi in Third Tokyo, with both sides immediately beginning to alter the terrain!

Shinji Ikari's Blazing Finger began melting metal from a distance, while Sion's Arrow of Light left hundreds of craters twenty to thirty meters deep in the ground! The subsequent beam clashes were even more spectacular!

That's it! We're still saving those two mythical-level mechs!

Thus, in any corner of the base, one could hear others marveling at the terrifying combat power of Unit-01. Feeling powerless and insignificant, this proud and sensitive girl became depressed again...

"Don't spout nonsense like 'I did well this time too'! Mei-nee already mocked me. Not only were my movements distorted, but you had equipment that could defeat the enemy in one hit, yet you insisted on saving it for last. Were you just asking for trouble?" Asuka sighed, resting her chin on her hand. She recalled the embarrassing situation she had been in this afternoon during training, when Mei Isayama had easily taken her down. With Mei Isayama becoming stronger and stronger, Asuka truly felt nothing but powerlessness and fear in front of her.

"Hey!" Shinji Ikari shoved Asuka's head down. As Asuka angrily shook off Shinji's hand, intending to teach him a lesson, Shinji flashed a bright smile. "Congratulations on getting the first kill in the independent battle! It feels great to win, doesn't it!"

"You!" Asuka, who was about to lash out, was taken aback, then turned her head and exclaimed, "Baka Shinji!" But a smile had already unconsciously crept onto her lips.

"Here." At this moment, Izumi Naoko, a student from Class 4 of the third year, handed a few skewers of grilled meat to Asuka next to her. "Don't look so gloomy! We're all out here to get together! Cheer up! Let those bastard boys handle the mecha piloting and all that!"

"Don't just stand there daydreaming, Asuka! Join your classmates! Look at Fire Man! Watch my invincible six-shot combo!" Onizuka Eikichi held two fireworks in his hands and a firework in his mouth, and immediately began to act like a chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) like in a tokusatsu drama, which only made his students cheer.

"..." Asuka covered her face. I don't know this guy. My homeroom teacher isn't like this! How damn embarrassing!

Danma Nagisa, peeking out from the second floor, watched helplessly as her brand-new, unworn dress was struck head-on by several fireworks during Onizuka Eikichi's fireworks display. "Damn it! Eikichi, do you want to die?! My new dress! I'll kill you! Ryuji, you're still laughing! Ah!" The blackened Danma Nagisa ruffled her hair, and Yasha appeared, grabbing a baseball bat from the doorway and rushing downstairs to chase after Onizuka Eikichi.

However, if Danma Ryuji's street fighting skills are like having a full-fledged frontal assault, then Onizuka Eikichi is a master of counter-attacks!

Shinji Ikari smiled and tugged at Asuka, signaling her to pay attention.

Then Asuka was horrified to see Onizuka Eikichi dodging and weaving, even taking the time to light a cigarette and snatch the skewers from her student's hand.

"I guess only Kanzaki Reimi could handle this unruly bastard," Shinji Ikari said with a smile. Fuyutsuki-sensei was nice, but she couldn't keep Onizuka Eikichi in check, just like his previous girlfriends, who all left him with only one person.

Only Kanzaki Reimi, who can be as crazy as him and even crazier than him, can keep this unruly man in check.

"Onizuka-sensei..." Asuka was somewhat surprised. Danma Nagisa's attacks were fierce and powerful, clearly the work of a seasoned street fighter. His attacks were fast and ruthless. Asuka knew that if she were in his shoes, she would probably have been hit several times in a short time and collapsed without using her ki. However, Onizuka Eikichi in front of her had so easily dodged the attacks.

"Nagisa, stop! You know that's just how Eikita is, he didn't do it on purpose. Eikita, you should apologize already!" Ryuji Danma came over and hugged his wife, trying to calm things down. Nagisa Danma, looking resentful, swung his baseball bat and shouted, "I'll kill you!"

"I'm so sorry, but how about I alter it for you later? Don't worry! I'm known as the most skillful hand in Kichijoji!" Onizuka Eikichi, holding a pair of scissors that appeared out of nowhere, worked on Danma Nagisa's clothes, turning the long skirt into a short one that looked quite fashionable. "How about it? Isn't it great!"

"Hmph, fine..." Danma Nagisa, who was being held by Danma Ryuji, took the clothes handed to him by Onizuka Eikichi and snorted coldly, intending to let Onizuka Eikichi go. However, at this moment, Sakaki Ryoko, who was carrying the last plate of processed meat, spoke up.

"Who saw my scissors for cutting meat patties?" Ryoko Sakaki walked around with her plate, but couldn't find her scissors. As a chef, she had a very clear memory of where her kitchen utensils were located.

"Onizuka Eikichi..." Danma Ryuji and Danma Nagisa's foreheads were now covered with crosses, clearly their anger gauges were full.

"Ah... Hahaha... Ryoko Sakaki, here you go!" Eikichi Onizuka handed over the scissors, then turned and ran before Ryuji Danma could let go!

"Ugh... Can you make up for my shock?" Asuka covered her forehead. Well, this was still the same homeroom teacher she knew who always acted stupidly and dazedly. But for some reason, her mood had indeed improved a lot.

“Let me tell you something I recently investigated,” Shinji Ikari shrugged. “The answer you’re looking for might be inside Unit-02, though I’m not entirely sure.” Shinji shook his head. “I found what I was looking for inside Unit-01.”

"!" Asuka's pupils contracted, and she looked at Shinji Ikari in disbelief. "Are you serious?!"

“I’m not entirely sure either, but it’s just a deduction. You can give it a try,” Shinji Ikari said abruptly. “However, you might need to understand the essence of the soul before you can sense it.”

"Just like you did before?" Asuka's face showed a thoughtful expression. Shinji Ikari had met her in the consciousness space before, so Asuka roughly understood what Shinji Ikari meant. "My mother did participate in the construction project of Unit-02, and then..."

"So although it's an odd direction, work hard. Unit-02 might mean more to you than just a simple combat tool." Shinji Ikari smiled and shook his head. Theoretically speaking, both Unit-01 and Unit-02 have great potential! After all, Unit-02 entered a near-divine realm in later theatrical versions, which was quite unexpected.