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

"Get out of the way!" Katsuragi Satomi shouted as she watched this scene unfold. But she also knew that at such close range, Shinji Ikari was waiting, and so was the Water Angel in front of her. A zero-distance energy impact.

"Hiccup..." For some reason, Shinji Ikari hiccuped at this moment... His body, which had already felt warm and cozy, seemed to have been warmed up all over, and at this moment it felt even hotter. "I didn't want to conduct the experiment so soon."

"Hmm? Data...abnormal?" Maya whispered, ignoring the unnoticed data. "High energy signal within the EVA!"

"Huh? Is it out of control?" Ritsuko Akagi looked down at the data in front of her. "This is impossible, all the connections are perfectly normal! Shinji-kun?"

"Hey!" Unit-01 executed a backflip, leaning back to the limit to dodge the energy impact, while a distant mountaintop was directly struck by the Water Angel's impact, the massive energy eroding a huge gap in the mountaintop in an instant.

Having dodged the attack, Shinji Ikari sprang into the air and plunged his metal spear into the Water Angel's body! The Water Angel's other arm instantly formed an energy sword, which swung towards Unit-01. Under Shinji's control, Unit-01, without any hesitation, kicked the metal spear's butt. With immense force, the spear pierced through the Water Angel's still-recovering body and embedded itself far into the mountain road, creating another earth-shattering sound. The Water Angel's attack, naturally, was distorted by this attack and completely missed Unit-01.

"Ora ora ora!" EVA Unit-01 advanced instead of retreating, its fists striking the opponent with a frenzied barrage that seemed to leave afterimages. The high-speed punches created a series of air explosions, like a barrage of heavy artillery. In the end, the Water Angel was almost floated up by the ferocious punches, and she was forced to retreat, her still-regenerating bone armor shattered by the scorching fists.

"What...what terrifying power is this? Unit-01 has such abilities?" Misato Katsuragi looked incredulously, then glanced suspiciously at Ritsuko Akagi beside her. She then saw a face that was also filled with a mixture of blankness and shock.

“We’ve got this in the bag…” The power that Unit-01 displayed seemed to give someone confidence, and Kozo Fuyutsuki turned his head slightly to look to the side.

"Yeah...we've got it all figured out..."

Chapter 59 The Invincible East Style! See you there! 2/20

"Hoo!" Unit-01 slowly stretched its leg and drew circles, then slowly retracted it. Following Shinji Ikari's slow exhalation (LCL fluid?), Unit-01 stood on one leg and assumed the starting stance of the Invincible East style. "Invincible East style, Hayashi... Shinji Ikari, here! Gundam Fight! Ready! Hmm... never mind."

"Gundam Fight? And this pose..." Misato Katsuragi covered her face, unsure of what to say. Are you acting in a martial arts movie from across the sea? And you're posing like this? But the chaotic attack just now had thoroughly thrashed the Fourth Angel, sending him flying. In any case, Rikuji should be trembling with fear right now.

This can be directly seen from the shocked expressions on the faces of everyone in the command center. They are among the people who have had the most contact with EVA. They never dared to imagine that Unit-01 could display such exquisite fighting skills, and the explosion just now, which sounded like a heavy howitzer, was truly awe-inspiring.

Ibuki Maya looked on in disbelief. "EVA, it can actually do this?" After all, not long ago, the Ground Self-Defense Force and the US military had suffered heavy casualties, and several battalions of troops had been completely defeated by the Water Angel. The thousands of casualties and billions of dollars worth of equipment losses proved the power of the Water Angel before them.

"Synchronization rate 59.7%... Shinji Ikari's synchronization rate! How terrifying!" Ritsuko Akagi stared at the scene before her in disbelief. Shinji Ikari was actually about to break through the 60% synchronization rate? This made her unable to believe her eyes. As one of the developers, Ritsuko Akagi's understanding of the EVA series far surpassed that of others, and clearly, what Shinji Ikari was doing was breaking through her comprehension.

After all, normally speaking, throwing a punch of that strength seems to be outside the structural limits of Unit-01. Its internal structure is not those machines, but muscle tissue that is highly similar to that of humans...

"Drink!" With Shinji Ikari's furious shout, Unit-01 delivered a flying kick that sent the Water Angel flying off the ground. Then, with a powerful slam, it sent the already unsteady Water Angel flying. Shinji Ikari decisively followed suit, raising his fist and preparing to deliver a heavy blow.

"Thump!" A dull impact rang out as Unit-01 unleashed its powerful punch. Even before the fist arrived, the surging wind from the punch was already howling. No instruments were needed to detect it; everyone could see with their own eyes that the strange power around Unit-01's punch was causing the air to churn and ripple. The turbulence was so intense that it was as if space itself was vibrating. Half of his arm became blurred in the turbulent air.

This punch slammed into the core of the Water Angel. If the Water Angel hadn't managed to close the outer layer of bone armor at the last moment, the battle would have ended instantly if it had taken the full force of the punch!

However, the Water Angel was also badly hurt. The bone armor outside its core cracked and shattered completely in an instant. A small vortex first rose on its back, followed by an instant explosion. A large amount of flesh and blood tissue was blown to pieces everywhere. The entire building was drenched in the blood of the apostles and turned crimson red.

"How did he do that!" Misato Katsuragi looked at Ritsuko Akagi in shock. She simply couldn't believe that EVA could do that. She could understand things like creating a sonic boom, but what was this? Compressing air to increase the destructive power of a punch? Was this something EVA could do? Was this a technique that EVA could demonstrate?

"Huff..." The Water Angel's body, which had not yet recovered, was now like a tattered sack, with blood flowing down its body. However, it seemed to feel no pain at all, or perhaps it was simply a beast whose ferocity had been aroused. It unleashed the energy swords in both hands and slashed wildly at Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari.

"Shinji! Watch out! It..." Misato Katsuragi was about to warn Shinji Ikari to be careful.

"Ah, I understand, I understand perfectly. Even a cornered beast will fight to the death. I need to be even more cautious now." Shinji Ikari's lips curled up. He was all too familiar with this scene! How long ago was it that when he followed his former master, the Sensui Ninja, whom he wanted to guide back to the righteous path, to fight against all sorts of demons and monsters from the Demon Realm, these guys, after being severely injured, loved nothing more than this kind of desperate, life-for-life battle?

There's nothing else to it. I already know I'm going to die, but I'm going to take you with me!

At that moment, the scene on the command center screen showed Unit-01 performing a backflip and then rapidly retreating to avoid the Water Angel's frenzied slashes. This retreat was very timely, and the enemy's attacks failed to even glancing at Unit-01. However... the cables that swung up as Shinji Ikari leaped were helplessly struck and cut into several pieces by the Water Angel's chaotic slashes.

"Switch to internal power, 5 minutes of extreme activity time, nearby charging stations are ready!" With Hinata Makoto's rapid operation, the armor plating on the surface of a building quickly fell down, revealing the charging stations hanging behind it.

"Miri! Cut the original cable! I can use it!" Shinji Ikari said quickly the moment Unit-01 landed, and then reached out and grabbed the original cable.

"Detonate the detonator and cut the cable!" Shinji Ikari's request was immediately granted. As Misato Katsuragi gave the order, the operator below smashed a panel with his fist and pulled the red control lever on it. The directional explosives that were originally fixed to the building were instantly detonated, severing the cable.

Unit-01 lashed out, and the cable that was already dangling in mid-air was instantly and forcefully lashed out at the Water Angel who was charging forward. The power supply for Unit-01 was of course not made with any shortcuts, and it was quite heavy! Moreover, it was extremely resilient to deal with EVA running around in the city, making it a perfect whip. The two lashes made the Water Angel's body sway.

"This works? Should we prepare more cables for Shinji next time?" Makoto Hyuga muttered under his breath as he watched the Fourth Angel being lashed out by the cables, retreating all the way out of the city. He never expected that Shinji Ikari could use cables like this, and he never expected that cables, which were originally just tools, could unleash such terrifying destructive power in Shinji's hands.

Why does it feel so familiar? Well, I've been beaten up by my master's belt so many times that I've learned how to use it by watching! That thing is clearly just a piece of cloth, yet it can split mountains and shatter rocks, and even kill MS without batting an eye.

“It’s not that the cable is powerful…” Ritsuko Akagi’s eyes flickered. Just then, Unit-01 leaped high into the air, and the cable in her hand, like a venomous snake that had come to life, enveloped the Water Angel diagonally below. The Water Angel tried to glare at Unit-01, but was whipped and its body was tilted, directly causing havoc on a nearby hill.

Shinji Ikari's performance has completely exceeded everyone's expectations. The combat power displayed by Unit-01 is simply too shocking. That punch just now completely broke through Ritsuko Akagi's understanding of EVA. It can be said to be a mind-blowing act. Shaking the air? What kind of mythical thing is this? Ritsuko Akagi made up her mind that after the battle, she would ask Shinji Ikari how he did it.

But a moment later, when Shinji Ikari told her, "I didn't think much about it, I just used my usual way of exerting force," Ritsuko Akagi immediately broke down. She gripped her writing pad tightly with her fingers, and if she hadn't thought she might not be able to beat Shinji, she would have really wanted to hit him.

"Tsk..." Shinji Ikari looked at the Water Angel who had been whipped countless times, cut his own cable again, and the cable in his hand was too short to continue whipping the thing. Shinji Ikari sneered, threw down the cable in his hand, casually pulled out the charging plug from behind his back, grabbed the other one that had been waiting for a long time, and directly inserted it.

"Power intervention! Emergency charging!" Misato Katsuragi was overjoyed. The combat power of Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari, was absolutely sufficient. However, after the cable was cut, everyone felt an immense sense of urgency as they watched the countdown timer rapidly drop (the feeling of a new energy vehicle with its battery energy reserves almost reaching zero). Everyone felt that Shinji Ikari was sure to win, so no one wanted to see him give up his impending victory due to insufficient power.

So when Shinji Ikari found an opportunity to re-plug Unit-01 into the power supply, many people in the command center breathed a sigh of relief, and even Kozo Fuyutsuki clenched his fist slightly.

"Let's go!" Shinji Ikari closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath. At this point, there seemed to be no point in holding back! Just then, after a battle, the effects of the special rice wine that Ryoko Sakaki had brewed for him had fully taken hold! His mind and body were entering their peak state, so it was time to end it!

"Synchronization rate rising! Breakthrough at 60%! 61%, 62%, 63%, 65% stable!" Maya Ibuki's eyes widened. Such a synchronization rate had never been seen since NERV was founded! She hadn't stopped listening!

Seeing Shinji Ikari holding his breath on the screen, everyone subconsciously held their own breath. They all knew without a doubt that Shinji's next attack would likely be all-out, and even if he couldn't kill the Fourth Angel in one fell swoop, it would still determine the outcome of the battle.

Shinji Ikari flicked his wrist, and the charging plug in his hand was suddenly thrown around. Then, in the next instant, Unit-01, which was standing and confronting the Fourth Angel, suddenly sprinted forward, and the entire ground shook violently at the moment Unit-01 sprinted forward!

Without hesitation, the Water Angel aimed her energy sword at the direction from which Unit-01 was charging, intending to pierce right through Shinji Ikari's Unit-01!

"Got you!" The insertion plug was flung over and wrapped directly around the Water Angel's arm! Unit-01 pulled hard! And threw a punch! Aiming at the Water Angel's bone armor, which was trying to launch another attack!

Chapter 60 Victory is calling me! 3/20

"Whoosh!" A huge black shadow flew over the low rooftops again. The cables on the utility poles were blown by the strong wind like waves. Even the corrugated steel sheets on the roofs of some buildings were rattling. Several vans parked in an open area could not withstand the strong wind and were simply overturned to the ground.

"Thump!" A heavy impact slammed into the nearby hillside, snapping countless trees in an instant. The massive impact sent plumes of dust billowing up, subjecting the town, which had just weathered a storm, to another fierce blast of wind from the opposite direction.

"Thump!" Shinji Ikari slammed his severed arm to the ground. Just now, in order to increase the force, he grabbed the other's arm with the cable connected to the plug and punched it hard. But he didn't expect that the Water Angel would also "glare" at him.

There's not much to say then. Under Shinji Ikari's control, Unit-01's fist aimed directly at his bone mask and slammed down. However, he used too much force, and the Water Angel's arm snapped before its body could hold on, and its body flew out like a broken string after the heavy blow.

At this moment, the Water Angel was completely unrecognizable and in a terrible state. Originally in a recovery state, the Water Angel was brutally beaten by Unit-01. Although there were no bruises on its body, its body was covered with real fist marks!

The bone mask that had been replaced due to corrosion—a mask that defies easy categorization as a face or something else—was now completely shattered. On the fragmented mask, a bright fist print clearly told the story of who had caused this horrific disaster.

At this moment, the water angel struggled to her feet. She slowly rose, but her severed arm could no longer provide her with sufficient support, and besides…

"Thump!" Unit-01 jumped up and delivered a powerful downward tomahawk strike! It smashed its other visor, which was not fully healed to begin with, cracking it open. Blood gushed out from under the shattered visor, spraying blood like a fountain across the entire hilltop.

"Hiss..." Everyone in the command center frowned. Just looking at such an attack was painful. The collapsed AT field was completely unable to stop Unit-01's attack, and the nearly broken limbs had essentially rendered the Water Angel unable to move.

"It's time to end this!" Shinji Ikari said, pointing his fingers together as if they were a sword. Then, steam began to rise rapidly from the surface of Unit-01, and the surrounding air began to distort under the high temperature.

"Huh? High temperature warning! Extremely high temperature is appearing on the surface of Unit-01's palm! This..." Hyuga Makoto looked at the monitoring data in surprise, his face full of disbelief, "Unit-01 itself has not suffered any damage."

"This is impossible!" Ritsuko Akagi rushed to the control panel and looked at the data in front of Makoto Hyuga with shock on her face. She felt like she no longer recognized the EVA she had helped build!

"Crack!" With the Explosive Flame Finger's thrust, the surface bone armor, which was already cracked from the previous series of heavy blows, shattered completely. The Water Angel's core, which was struck by the Explosive Flame Finger, cracked instantly, with fine cracks spreading across the entire core.

"Whoosh!" The Water Angel let out a sharp screech! Clearly, it knew its end was near! Shinji Ikari's attack was about to take its life!

"This..." Just as everyone in the command room was about to celebrate Unit-01's initial victory, the Water Angel suddenly changed its form, almost instantly transforming into a fleshy ball that enveloped Unit-01's upper body. Ritsuko Akagi immediately had a terrible thought, "Masaka!"

"Self-destruct!? Shinji!" Misato Katsuragi immediately realized what might be happening in front of her! Shinji Ikari was actually able to push an Angel to this point? Well, considering the miserable state of the Water Angel with both arms broken and covered in fist marks, everyone seemed to think it was just as expected.

Kozo Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari remained very calm. After all, the Angels themselves had just proven one thing: Angels with AT Fields have very high resistance to explosions. So, EVAs, who also have AT Fields, are naturally in a similar situation. Moreover, Shinji Ikari's synchronization rate is off the charts right now, so there is no doubt about the strength of his AT Field.

"Heh!" Shinji Ikari laughed. He had to keep a low profile under everyone's watchful eyes, but now, it was perfect for Unit-01 to cleanly and efficiently finish it off! With a glint in his eyes, he silently pushed the control stick, and instantly Shinji's entire body began to stir, causing the LCL fluid in the insertion bolus to surge. "Victory is calling me!"

As a result, an even more terrifying heat erupted from the palm of EVA Unit-01 in an instant. The scorching red light even shone through the back of the Water Angel, which had turned into a sphere. Perhaps only a fraction of a second later, the Water Angel's core pierced through its body in the high temperature and was torn off by Unit-01's force!

Immediately, Unit-01 exerted force with its palm, and the fine cracks on its core rapidly exploded, instantly crushing the entire core! The shattered core, dull and lifeless, turned into fragments scattered on the ground! Reflecting the crimson light on Unit-01's palm, these fragments fell to the ground, kicking up large clouds of dust.

"Water Angel Core shattered! Complete silence!" Hyuga Makoto's eyes widened, his face showing a look of relief. Unit-01 had almost been hit by a point-blank self-destruction. They didn't know whether Unit-01, piloted by Ikari Shinji, could withstand such an inevitable earth-shattering explosion.

"Thump..." The already shattered shoulder armor of the Water Angel fell to the ground. After its body contracted, the Water Angel suddenly exploded into a pool of crimson blood, like a blood rain, washing over the ground and flooding the entire urban area of ​​Tokyo-3. Of course, it was also washing over Unit-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari. Its originally purple body was now completely blood-red, and the lingering heat on its hands made Unit-01 stand upright in the boiling blood mist, like a standing demon god.

"It really is... a familiar feeling." Looking at the blood-red landscape before his eyes, Shinji Ikari smiled. Yes, this feeling of being covered in blood in battle, with the enemy's blood mixed with his own, was just like the days when he fought alongside Sensui Ninja, slaying demons and monsters, countless times bathed in rain of blood and battling terrifying creatures, ultimately crushing everything.

"Shinji!"

"Shinji!"

"Hmm?" A somewhat dazed Shinji Ikari barely snapped back to reality at the call over the communicator. He shook his head. "I'm here. Phew, I'm a little...shocked. So, can anyone tell me if this counts as resolved?"

"Congratulations, Shinji!" Upon hearing Shinji Ikari's response, the entire command center finally erupted in cheers! Yes, this was their victory, and humanity's first victory in battle! Humanity had won its first complete victory against the seemingly invincible Angels! The Angels, almost impervious to bullets and blades, completely ignoring the attack power of most human weapons and equipment, were defeated by EVA Unit-01, which humanity itself had built.

"Yes, where do I return from?" Shinji Ikari looked around and sighed. Although he had won, and the battle had only taken place on the edge of the city, his fight with the Water Angel had still shattered the city's outskirts. The Water Angel, standing there like a fixed turret providing firepower, easily destroyed large areas of the city. He couldn't imagine what the consequences would have been if the civilians hadn't been evacuated in time, or if the battle had been fought directly within the city as depicted in the original story.

"It's marked ahead. Take the elevator directly back into the base," Ritsuko Akagi said, covering her ears.

"Okay!" Shinji Ikari looked around the entire battlefield. Under Shinji's control, Unit-01 made a hand-on-hips gesture, then looked back one last time at the hillside that had been blasted into a crater, the crater filled with blood. Shinji smiled and shook his head. It was a close call, but a battle of considerable scale.

"Is this Shinji's fighting power?" Fuyutsuki Kōzō looked at the scene before him. "Whether it's SEELE or anything else, after today, we will never see him again."

“That doesn’t matter. We can be sure he won’t like SEELE’s decision either, right?” Gendo Ikari stood up. “He’s a perfect cover for our plan, isn’t he?” After saying this, he turned and walked towards the elevator.

"So, Gendo Ikari, do you really understand what he's thinking?" Kōzō Fuyutsuki watched Gendo Ikari slowly disappear, straightened up, and looked at the projection screen not far away. Shinji Ikari, who had already reached his position, unplugged the power cord, replaced it with the power cord on the elevator, and then silently let the elevator's fixed components secure it, slowly sinking into the base.

Just as Fuyutsuki Kōzō looked up, the armor plate had just lowered to expose only the head. Fuyutsuki Kōzō nodded at the close-up of Unit-01's head, "Well done, Shinji! Yui, you have a good son."

"I thought I was going to die!" Izumo no Okuni gasped for breath, then bent down to brush the dust off his legs.

"Impossible, impossible, you were the fastest one, how could it be your turn?" A masked person stood to the side, lazily stretching. "An Apostle... what a terrifying thing."

"You monster from the Gojo family, does it make a difference whether you run away or not? By the way, where are the people from Totsuki Academy?" Izumo Okuni glanced back. Shinji Ikari had gathered quite a few people to watch, and he also needed to know the various factions' opinions on the Angels and perhaps EVA, which would be somewhat beneficial for his future actions. However, Izumo Okuni glanced around and noticed that several people were missing.

"They've gone down! This is a very rare ingredient. I'm quite curious whether they can actually cook it. I wonder if these guys will count it as Shinji's achievement points," the eyepatch-wearing man from the Gojo clan said with a grin. "But it seems like Shinji used some kind of ki just now?"

“Yes, it’s the breathing technique he left behind at Totsuki Academy that allows you to cultivate that feeling of Qi.” Izumo Okuni crossed his arms. “But he actually managed to use this technique on a giant humanoid weapon created by NERV?! It’s really quite unexpected.”

"Does that prove... that the essence of this so-called humanoid weapon is a living being?" the eyepatch-wearing man said with a grin.

"I don't know. By the way, how did you end up here?" Izumo no Okuni tilted his head and looked at the man beside him.

"It's my friend's first battle, after all. I have to come and watch, right?"

"So... given his personality, you're his insurance?"

"Sa, who knows?"

Chapter 61 Asking

"Good job, Shinji!" Misato Katsuragi said to Shinji Ikari with a smile. Her mind was filled with questions. What had Shinji done? Why did Unit-01 have such abilities? But she still felt that this should be considered a good thing in a certain sense. At least humanity could deal with such terrifying enemies as Angels.

"Not bad!" As the duty team opened the gate, Shinji Ikari stepped out of the insertion plug, still dripping some LCL solution from his body. Several staff members in hazmat suits handed Shinji a cloth for him to wipe himself off. Their faces were not very clear behind the hazmat suits, but what was certain was that their eyes were full of respect.

To be fair, all the NERV staff members were deeply shocked in front of their screens today. Shinji Ikari, a young man, actually piloted Unit-01 and beat an Angel to death. For NERV, whose mission is to achieve this, this is undoubtedly a commendable victory. It proves that when facing Angels, humanity is not as powerless as it was during the Second Impact.

"To be honest." After quickly rinsing his combat suit, he walked to the shower room next to the rest area, intending to take a quick shower to wash off the LCL. However, as he entered the bathroom and looked at the mechanical door closing in front of him, Shinji Ikari sighed, "This shower room is really damn uncomfortable." It was so cramped that it triggered claustrophobia. It was just a cylindrical room about two meters high and sixty centimeters wide, with twenty misting nozzles. This was NERV's minimalist shower room.

"Whoosh!" Warm water washed over Shinji Ikari. The strong but not stinging water made him feel comfortable. After 30 seconds, when Shinji felt that LCL was thoroughly clean, he started spraying a mixture of shower gel and water. He quickly wiped himself off and then caught the last spray of clean water. In no time, Shinji felt that he was almost done washing. After the strong breeze blew, Shinji felt quite refreshed as he stepped out.

"Beep! Beep!" Shinji Ikari had just finished putting on his coat when he heard the communication device in the room calling. Shinji Ikari had a speechless expression on his face. Were these guys in such a hurry? Although he had already understood when he returned that a lot of testing and questioning would be waiting for him, he did not expect it to start so soon.

"This is Shinji Ikari, please speak," Shinji Ikari replied simply.

"Shinji, come to command post," Kozo Fuyutsuki said gently. "Well done, Shinji."

"Is my father here?" Shinji Ikari asked calmly. If some things can be done at the same time, that's double the happiness, isn't it?

"Commander Ikari has already gone elsewhere to attend a meeting." Kozo Fuyutsuki's lips curled up. This kid is really persistent. Going to Gendo Ikari, the underground Final Dogma, it's obviously very unlikely that he'll be able to meet Shinji Ikari in a short time. "We'll be waiting for you at headquarters."

"Okay." Shinji Ikari was somewhat uninterested. After hanging up the phone, he hesitated for a moment, but decided to go anyway. There was nothing else to do. If he didn't go, a whole bunch of inspections would be waiting for him. Even if Fuyutsuki Kozo just ordered him to go back and rest, that would be fine.

"Great job!" Shinji Ikari ran into Ritsuko Akagi as he stepped out of the elevator. Ritsuko nodded to Shinji, praising his performance today, which had completely exceeded her expectations.

Before Shinji Ikari arrived, Ritsuko Akagi and the others had a brief discussion and basically felt that Shinji's actions this time revealed more of EVA's mystery. Perhaps next time, they should let Shinji try to use his spiritual power.

Now it seems that EVA has a wider range of applications.

"Thank you!" Shinji Ikari nodded and thanked him very politely. His performance had indeed shocked everyone, including Shinji himself. After all, he hadn't expected that Unit-01 could respond to his Ki. To be fair, Ryoko Sakaki's sake had a strong aftereffect.

Ritsuko Akagi gave Shinji Ikari a deep look, said nothing, and walked directly into the elevator, brushing past Shinji as he came out.

"What did you call me here for?" When Shinji Ikari arrived, there weren't many people left at the command post. After all, most people decided to rest a bit after the combat was over. There was no doubt that a lot of things were waiting for them in the next few days. Just imagining the matters related to the reconstruction of the city was enough to make any NERV staff's scalp tingle.

"First of all, congratulations, Shinji. You did a fantastic job. I never imagined you could achieve this level of success," Kozo Fuyutsuki said sincerely.

"Is that so? And then?" Shinji Ikari shook his head, surprised himself. And then? That's it?

"The awards, bonuses, and vacations are all prepared, but I still have some questions I need to ask you, and I hope you can answer them truthfully." Fuyutsuki Kozo first said to Ikari Shinji with a smile, and then his expression gradually became serious.

"Please speak." Shinji Ikari stepped over a swivel chair and sat down.

"In the battle, you clearly unleashed combat power outside the normal combat scope of EVA, didn't you?" Kōzō Fuyutsuki looked at Shinji Ikari seriously. This was a very serious issue. Unit-01 needed to undergo a full set of tests. Ritsuko Akagi had already rushed there under the guise of maintenance to conduct a comprehensive examination to see why Shinji Ikari was able to generate such high temperatures on the surface of Unit-01 without damaging it.

"To be precise, I don't know where the limits of EVA's capabilities lie, and perhaps you don't either." Shinji Ikari shook his head. A mysterious mecha that's almost at the creation level—you're telling me where the limits are? Sorry, even after watching the anime, Shinji still said he didn't know. Especially in the latest theatrical version, Unit-01 almost single-handedly broke through its limits, completed its transformation, and became the key to triggering the Third Impact. If it weren't for Kaworu Nagisa's interruption, it might have already begun the next era, as Gendo Ikari wished.

"So, you just did it because you wanted to?" Misato Katsuragi shrugged. The result was not much different from what she had imagined. It really was Shinji Ikari's own decision, with almost no extra choices.

"Yes, after all, it was a bit difficult for Unit-01 to break through the opponent's AT field at that time. I almost instinctively started circulating my ki, since it was an inevitable action if I were to exert force later. And then... something I never expected just happened! I have to say, Unit-01 really has a lot of secrets." Shinji Ikari shook his head. Unit-01 itself definitely doesn't have ki, but rather some kind of conceptual simulation, which is very interesting!

Of course, Shinji Ikari didn't feel the need to say anything about this, otherwise he would most likely be used as a guinea pig for their research again, although in a sense, there wasn't much difference now.

"Is that so?" Fuyutsuki Kozo clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them, and pondered seriously. What Shinji Ikari said made perfect sense. Given his years of fighting against all sorts of monsters and demons, this kind of use of ki was already a habit of his. It seemed to be just a case of mistaken technique. "So, the high temperature that appeared on your palms later was also a technique of yours?"

"You mean this?" A sudden high temperature appeared near Shinji Ikari's hand, and the air became heated and swayed. "It is indeed some application techniques of ki, but the specifics involve sect secrets, so I cannot speak of them."