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

Last night, a group of us had a late-night snack in Ryoko Sakaki's room. After the snack, we played cards and made a ruckus until almost dawn before finally falling asleep in one room. So, it would be a lie to say we're not tired right now. If we could hitch a ride instead of driving ourselves, that's for sure.

"Thank you for your hard work! See you later!" Shinji Ikari waved goodbye to his friends, winking at Ryoko Sakaki and earning a glare in return. After watching them leave, Shinji finally loaded his things into the car. Since he didn't have much, he casually tossed them into the back seat, said goodbye to the driver, and then, as if struck by lightning, went into sleep mode.

"..." But obviously, Shinji Ikari's sleep didn't last long before he was woken up, or more accurately, by the sound of a phone call.

"Hey, Misato-nee!" Shinji Ikari pulled out his phone, glanced at the name, and immediately said, "Is this an emergency deployment mission?"

"No, I need to confirm, are you in Shikoku?" Misato Katsuragi's voice was tinged with fear.

"I'm already... on the edge of Tokyo 3, about a ten-minute drive from my place." Shinji Ikari frowned. What had happened on his way back that he didn't know about? Wasn't this all too coincidental?

"You didn't know?" Misato Katsuragi was somewhat surprised. Even if Shinji Ikari had left Shikoku, he should still know about this, since the news about it was all over the media. "A police station in Shikoku was bombed and completely destroyed. At the time, a large warship was seen in the open sea."

"Huh?" Shinji Ikari was stunned. "A large battleship? Is it artillery fire or missiles?"

“There was no rocket trajectory seen at the scene, so it must have been artillery fire! I thought you would know something! Then hurry up and get to the base, it looks like something happened.” Misato Katsuragi shook her head. Since Shinji Ikari's safety was guaranteed, she no longer cared.

"This is really interesting." Shinji Ikari glanced at his phone and quickly started searching for news.

"Mr. Shinji, the news just reported an explosion, and the explosion occurred not far from our Suzuki Hotel," the driver whispered, revealing something Shinji was unaware of.

"Not far from the hotel?" Shinji Ikari's lips twitched. Was this a cover-up? Or revenge? In any case, wasn't the commotion a bit too much? "With such a large number of casualties, Tokyo must be in pretty bad shape by now."

“Yes.” The driver nodded. “Not only are the police busy, but the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military have also begun a joint search. Several warships are investigating in the nearby waters, but the news has not mentioned what has been found.”

"Perhaps... it might not be a ship after all." Shinji Ikari shook his head, looking at Izumo no Okuni, who had just sent him a message. The people sent by the Bureau of Onmyō and the Bureau of Anomalies hadn't even arrived yet, and the police station had already been destroyed in the explosion, so the investigation had been completely cut off. "What a ruthless bastard."

"Shinji-san..." The driver was about to say something, but just then they arrived at their destination. The car stopped in front of the small building where Shinji Ikari lived, and the driver immediately changed his words, "We've arrived."

"Okay, thanks for your hard work." Shinji Ikari shook his head. He'd go check on NERV later to see if they had any more detailed information. Oh, right, he also needed to secretly find Ritsuko Akagi. A test subject was about to deliver himself to their doom; he couldn't miss the opportunity.

"The Suzuki Hotel thanks you for saving our Ms. Sonoko. We wish you all the best."

"Thank you for your blessing and for your service. Please be careful on your way home."

"Yes!"

The Eighty-Eighth Palm: NERV Lacking Momentum

No one was home during the day. The employees of the intelligence department on the first floor nodded slightly to Shinji Ikari, indicating that there should be no problem above. Shinji Ikari nodded and went directly to the room in the backyard that had been renovated by Ryuji Danma. He quickly put down the things he was carrying, slung his bag over his shoulder, jumped onto the falcon that was perched nearby, put on his helmet, and rushed out.

"Shinji has arrived!" Not long after, Makoto Hyuga reported, "Recently, for some reason, there have been more people using the supply route. According to the defense department, this is not a good thing."

"Honestly... Shinji, that brat, is always causing trouble for everyone." Katsuragi Misato said irritably. Although it was mostly Akagi Ritsuko who had to work overtime because of Shinji Ikari, Katsuragi Misato was also occasionally forced to work overtime for some reason, and even spent more time sleeping at the base. Katsuragi Misato crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Is it because Shinji Ikari didn't invite you to the beach in Shikoku?!" Ritsuko Akagi, standing beside her, continued working, rapidly reviewing the pages of data scrolling by. They had been urgently analyzing the battle analysis data between EVA and Angels sent by Shinji Ikari from various institutions. After learning about this, Kozo Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari read in detail the original documents submitted by Shinji Ikari and the reports analyzed by Ritsuko Akagi and the others.

Their previous analysis has been postponed, and now Ritsuko Akagi is busy with that, while also watching the follow-up investigation of what just happened in Shikoku from the command center.

"Hmph! That little brat, he's always trying to provoke me with his trip to Shikoku! Hmph! I'm so happy he couldn't even last two days and had to come back!" Misato Katsuragi tossed her head and made an extremely childish statement. Although Japan has many famous beaches, and Shikoku's beaches aren't the absolute best, they are still top-tier well-known beaches. Moreover, the trip included a pleasant one, with the Suzuki Hotel providing full accommodations and a luxury cruise overnight. How could she have missed it!

Although Misato Katsuragi was well aware that if the trip were to follow Shinji Ikari's itinerary, it would take far too long, and NERV would never allow her, as the commander, to be away for such a long time, so she could never be a part of the trip, knowing this did not prevent Misato from harboring resentment towards Shinji Ikari.

"It really does have its advantages for Shinji Ikari to have so many friends!" Ritsuko Akagi frowned as she looked at a message that Shinji Ikari had forwarded to her, then said jokingly.

"What's wrong!?" Misato Katsuragi tilted her head and looked at Ritsuko Akagi's screen. "Has anyone arrived at the scene yet?

"The local Yin-Yang Bureau discovered an enormous amount of resentment here, and at the epicenter of the explosion, they found a gasoline drum filled with cement. Even with the corpses inside exposed to the sun, the resentment hadn't dissipated. The site has been classified as highly contaminated. Although it sounds unbelievable, it seems that the attack wasn't carried out by a warship from some country, as many people imagine. There really are capable people in this world." Ritsuko Akagi narrowed her eyes, but unfortunately, this area was beyond NERV's operational range.

"Huh?" Misato Katsuragi was stunned. Wasn't this a top-tier anomaly of S-rank or higher? "An anomaly directly attacking the police station?" Misato Katsuragi leaned closer, somewhat incredulously, to look at the document in front of them together with Ritsuko Akagi.

The computer screen was playing an edited clip, showing a crucial 10 seconds of footage. It was magnified and played repeatedly, showing a distinct black dot plunging into a police station. In the next instant, the not-so-large station was completely destroyed, the billowing black smoke almost engulfing the entire facility. However, this footage was taken from another location, and because it wasn't some kind of high-definition camera, the image was quite blurry; you could only make out a vague outline of what it was.

“This power is wrong…” Katsuragi Misato looked at the footage. As a military commander, she immediately made a judgment: if it really was a charge the size of a gasoline drum, the explosive power… would definitely be much more than this. “The house is basically undamaged? But everyone inside is dead?!”

"Yes, that's exactly what happened. All the thirty-odd police officers present at the scene, as well as the hundreds of lower-ranking members of the Evil Souls group that I took down last night, were killed. None of them survived." Shinji Ikari arrived, his expression somewhat grave.

"The Demon Souls Group?" Ritsuko Akagi paused, suddenly realizing that this wasn't the first time she'd dealt with them. "Kintokiyama?"

“Yes, it was those bastards.” Shinji Ikari nodded. “I was attacked by them on my trip.”

"Hahahaha..." Misato Katsuragi burst into laughter, completely losing her composure. This was absolutely fantastic! Serves you right for not taking me with you! You deserved to be attacked! This is just too good!

"You were the target of their attack? So it was revenge?" Katsuragi's laughter made Shinji Ikari and Ritsuko Akagi roll their eyes in unison, and then Ritsuko Akagi quickly asked the question.

"The target was the Suzuki family. Initially, it seemed their goal was to kill most of the Suzuki family members, thereby controlling the remaining heir and stealing their wealth." Shinji Ikari frowned. "But after that failed, they suddenly decided to kidnap Sonoko Suzuki, the young lady who, while favored within the Suzuki family, doesn't have much real power. I'm just collateral damage." Shinji shook his head. Too much had happened, and after the Suzuki family patriarch found out, he insisted that Sonoko return to New Tokyo. So, in their haste, they seemed to have missed some crucial details.

"It's just that I'm surprised that such a grand goal suddenly turned into that of robbers. I even suspect that the first group of people were someone else, and the Ghost Group was just pushed out to take the blame." Shinji Ikari took a deep breath and said with some helplessness. It seems that he wasn't the only one who discovered this, but everyone was too tired after so many things had happened to investigate further.

"And now it seems that the matter of the Evil Soul Group has become impossible to prove." Ritsuko Akagi leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, picked up her coffee, and pointed to the screen in front of her.

"Are the original perpetrators you mentioned still around?" Misato Katsuragi tilted her head and looked at Shinji Ikari. "If you think the two groups aren't the same, then you can find the answer by looking at the person who did the first thing!"

"At first, he was taken back, and it was indeed intended to be handed over to the police, and then the Suzuki Foundation would use its influence in various aspects to kill anyone who dared to come to their door." Shinji Ikari took a deep breath; things became particularly interesting from this point on.

"The members of the Evil Souls Group rushed up impatiently and then ran headfirst into your hand?" Misato Katsuragi came to a very reasonable conclusion. "It looks like they were in a hurry to die, and all the people who were caught died. Very good, it's confirmed."

"Oh, and by the way, that Suzuki family young master who was acting strangely at the beginning died in prison." Shinji Ikari turned his phone around and showed it to Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi who had come over. "The timing was almost synchronized with the shelling. This huge accusation has been firmly pinned on the Ghost Group. Even if the Suzuki Foundation has some suspicions, they have to kill the Ghost Group first, otherwise trouble will keep piling up on the Suzuki Foundation."

"A perfect frame-up. Although everyone knows something's wrong, all the leads have been cut off?" Misato Katsuragi nodded. "So all of this probably has little to do with us, right?"

"Are you sure?" Shinji Ikari looked at Misato Katsuragi with suspicion. "I thought NERV would definitely try their best to intervene in the incident, after all, there is a very simple thing in this matter."

"That ship that fired shells containing resentment? Or something like that?" Misato Katsuragi immediately realized what Shinji Ikari was talking about. "You mean to use EVA to deal with those two things?!" Shinji Ikari's words caught the attention of both of them, since this was indeed a feasible plan.

But here's the problem: why would NERV get involved in this mess between the Suzuki Foundation and the Demon Souls? After all, they weren't causing trouble in Tokyo-3, and the Suzuki Foundation hadn't invited NERV to meddle. Especially since this matter had already involved a police station, and the Metropolitan Police Department was furious. If NERV rashly got involved, it was very likely that it would end up doing more harm than good.

"Let's put aside all that nonsense about financial resources and goodwill with the Suzuki Foundation. Aren't you interested in the technology the Ghost Group has? To be honest, the Onmyoji Bureau, the Jujutsu Masters, and the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau have probably already started discussing this matter." Shinji Ikari shrugged. "Of course, if you're not interested, just pretend I didn't say anything."

“Indeed, I am very interested in the technology they possess. What they have accomplished has surprised me greatly. I must admit that the technology they have demonstrated in this incident has exceeded our expectations. But it is rejected!” Katsuragi Satomi shook her head, even crossing her arms in front of her chest. “We are an organization that deals with the Angels. Unless we receive an invitation to cooperate, we cannot send out EVAs for combat without authorization.”

"It's up to me, whether you want to or not is fine. Of course, if you don't put in the effort, you won't get any decent returns." Shinji Ikari shrugged. "By the way, Ritsuko-nee, may I speak to you in private?"

"Oh? Why are you being so mysterious?"

"After facing a crisis in life, it's necessary to have a good chat with an understanding older sister to help young people resolve their troubles!"

"Ha! Shinji, I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

"Miss Misato, your displeasure is written all over your face!"

Chapter 89 Ritsuko Akagi Agrees to Help

"So what do you want to ask?" Ritsuko Akagi didn't believe the words Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi used when they were arguing. Shinji had called her out because he needed to talk to her face to face, and he couldn't say it directly in public. It either involved him or his friends. Shinji was quite cautious in this regard.

So she took Shinji Ikari directly to her private laboratory and listened to the questions he wanted to ask her. Little did she know how shocking the questions Shinji would ask next would be.

"Um... I'd like to ask, what do you think about the idea of ​​rejuvenation? From a scientific perspective?" Shinji Ikari said with a smile. He didn't even need to ask a scientist; he knew this question was incredibly stupid, and if you asked it, you'd almost certainly be ridiculed.

“If someone else had asked me this, I would have laughed at them mercilessly. After all, it’s completely impossible. Human growth is not a reversible process. It’s the ultimate dream of many people, a subject that humanity has been exploring and researching for hundreds of years. In the end, even something as simple as limb regeneration hasn’t been solved. What you’re talking about—rejuvenation—is simply an impossible dream.” Ritsuko Akagi shook her head. The question Shinji Ikari asked was, well, almost impossible to achieve within the realm of science. But that’s the problem: what if we abandon science?

“But we all know that since the Second Impact, this world has become very different from the world we originally knew, so…” Ritsuko Akagi looked at Shinji Ikari with curiosity in her eyes, “Have you discovered something interesting? Or have you discovered your friend…” Ritsuko Akagi waved her hand, indicating to Shinji Ikari that he had encountered the problem she wanted to talk about, “Every woman is very interested in this question. If you have really discovered something, I would be happy to help.”

"We actually ran into one." Shinji Ikari shrugged, then proceeded to give Ritsuko Akagi a straightforward overview of Conan's situation. "Have you heard of the high school detective Shinichi Kudo?"

“…” Ritsuko Akagi shrugged. “I don’t have time to be that bored, especially after you came.”

"Well, he was recently turned into a schoolchild, alive, because he was meddling in other people's business." Since he was communicating with Ritsuko Akagi, who was a scientist, Shinji Ikari felt that he only needed to be concise and to the point, without going into lengthy explanations.

"...How did he do that?" Ritsuko Akagi's pupils contracted. Damn it, it really did unfold like this! Shinji Ikari really is her angel! This opportunity actually came right in front of her!? Mind your own business? No, no, no, this is practically God poking a hole in the gate of truth! A perfect sample that no one can resist! And it's alive!

“She was drugged.” Shinji Ikari shrugged. “So it seems to fall under your category, Ritsuko. Otherwise, I would probably have sent her directly to the Onmyōryō (the Bureau of Yin and Yang), or if that didn’t work, I would have sent her to the Himuro mansion to see if my sister could find out anything.” He said something terrifying, but for some reason, Ritsuko Akagi wholeheartedly agreed, especially after visiting his house so many times to freeload cakes, she found that her taste was very similar to Himuro Kirie’s.

"...Medicine? Can reverse aging be achieved simply by relying on medicine? Even rewriting at the genetic level is impossible!" Ritsuko Akagi typed rapidly on the keyboard, gathering a series of possible technical data. After all, this wasn't the Marvel Universe, where quantum mechanics could be activated at a moment's notice, age could be changed at will, and one could become as old as desired! It was practically mystical technology.

"So I recently invited them to visit NERV?" Shinji Ikari said with a smile. "While it's impossible for you to detain them directly, keeping some samples shouldn't be a problem."

"Interesting!" Ritsuko Akagi stopped her calculations. "You probably don't know about the drugs you forced him to drink, but you should know something about the forces that gave him those drugs, right?"

"Yes, I don't know. The only thing I know about these guys is their codenames. Like, the one who runs the distillery... the leader's nickname is Gin. I basically don't know anything else." Shinji Ikari leaned against the table, his eyes somewhat unfocused, then sighed. Gin, the most tragic leader in history! The whole nation is waiting to see when Vodka will reveal his true identity.

"..." Ritsuko Akagi, of course, had no idea what Shinji Ikari was sighing about. She thought he was sighing because of his friend's plight. She thought there was nothing to sigh about. How many people would want to be in such a situation but couldn't? Although going from a high school student back to an elementary school student was like starting all over again before even having enjoyed life, which seemed a bit tragic, it wasn't a bad thing.

"Then it's settled. I'll call him over and hope you can help me. If possible, please help him get back to normal," Shinji Ikari said with a smile. The reason he was willing to talk to Ritsuko Akagi about this was, frankly, just a fleeting moment of his childhood memories. He was willing to lend a hand to this seemingly endless anime, hoping that Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri's long-distance relationship could at least reach a finish line sooner.

"Help? Shinji, let me say this first: even if I could extract some drug residue from his body, the most I could do was replicate the drug, the kind that makes him return to adulthood overnight... I hope you can be more rational. Even cold medicine can't cure everything instantly, let alone your situation. Just hearing about it makes me feel like it's beyond the realm of science." Ritsuko Akagi shook her head. She was very interested, but to be honest, it was very difficult.

Ritsuko Akagi understood Shinji Ikari's meaning. He wanted her to help his friend return to his natural state. However, this was obviously not easy. In fact, this was the first time Ritsuko Akagi had felt something beyond the limits of her abilities. "Of course, if you can get me the original data, there might still be a little hope."

"Uh... okay!" Shinji Ikari thought to himself, the original data is out of the question, but there might be a slight chance if we get the developers later. After all, Ai Haibara also joined the ranks of those who were abandoned not long after.

"Any other surprises?" Ritsuko Akagi nodded. She was very surprised and satisfied with the news. She even felt a little impatient to start the work. Perhaps she could start preparing in advance? Although this was a question that no woman could refuse! After all, Ritsuko Akagi herself was very interested in being able to regain some of her youth.

"Your willingness to help is already far beyond my best expectations, considering how heavy your workload is, Ritsuko-nee. Thanks!" Shinji Ikari nodded. "I reckon he'll be eager to come see me in the next few days. To avoid suspicion, I hope we can conduct a physical examination on everyone who comes, so it won't seem too abrupt."

“No problem, leave this to me. We can do it anytime.” Ritsuko Akagi didn’t take Shinji Ikari’s little request to heart at all. It was just a matter of checking things out. The equipment was more than complete. There were some special tests that could be performed. In the meantime, Ritsuko Akagi had already developed some new equipment based on the samples provided by Shinji Ikari.

"That's troublesome!" Shinji Ikari nodded. "If there's nothing else, I'll be off!" Shinji Ikari clasped his hands together and addressed Ritsuko Akagi.

"Go ahead and tell your friends that if NERV needs to be deployed, please come and assist as soon as possible," Ritsuko Akagi said with a smile, clearly very satisfied with the news from today.

"I will pass on your opinion, but that thing needs to break through the US and Japanese naval forces first. If it gets caught, it might be dealt with directly by the fleet." Shinji Ikari said this, even though he himself didn't believe it, and then walked out.

“This little guy.” Ritsuko Akagi laughed, her face full of satisfaction at finding a treasure. According to her guess, the person Shinji Ikari was talking about was one of the people who had traveled with Shinji Ikari this time, so after finding out about this, this little rascal also planned to see if he could help.

"Oh~ weren't you supposed to be on a date with Ritsuko? What, you got dumped so quickly?" Shinji Ikari had just come out of Ritsuko Akagi's place when he unexpectedly ran into Misato Katsuragi in the elevator, and was then shamelessly harassed by this unscrupulous adult.

“Ritsuko-nee is very welcoming, we had a great chat.” Shinji Ikari tilted his head and looked me over. “So you were waiting for me?”

"Oh dear, I've been seen through!" Misato Katsuragi covered her face and chuckled. She had just asked Ritsuko Akagi if Shinji Ikari had come out yet, and when Shinji Ikari went out, Ritsuko Akagi told Misato Katsuragi, and Shinji happened to catch up with Misato Katsuragi as she came down in the elevator.

"The matter you mentioned last time has made some progress. If there are basically no surprises, I congratulate you," Misato Katsuragi said seemingly out of the blue.

"Did I guess right?" Shinji Ikari shook his head. "I'd rather be wrong about this news. So what are your plans now?"

“Now that I know and have confirmed it, I plan to continue the investigation.” Misato Katsuragi took a deep breath; this almost shattered her worldview… NERV’s purpose, their objective! It was actually like this?!

Chapter 90 Rei Ayanami Makes a Good Friend

"So this is the news you found over there?" Shinji Ikari led Rei Ayanami back to his residence, then listened to Nagase Nagisa's roguish whistling from upstairs. He looked up and glared at Nagase Nagisa, who was waving at him. He heard that Nagase Nagisa might be changing her name to Danma Nagisa soon, because it seemed that Nagase Nagisa was already trying to conceive.

As for why Nagase Nagase is whistling now, isn't it because some rascal who theoretically has a girlfriend is riding on the back of Shinji Ikari's motorcycle every day with a young and beautiful "little sister" by his side? Motorcycles are different from cars. In a car, you sit on the passenger seat, and the two people are basically unrelated. But on a motorcycle, isn't Rei Ayanami practically lying on Shinji Ikari's back? That rascal is quite the ladies' man.

"Have you been enjoying school lately?" Shinji Ikari looked at Rei Ayanami, who had a calm expression, took off her backpack and handed it to her, a smile on his face.

"Lots of people, lively, not bad." Rei Ayanami's expression changed slightly. She thought of Kanzaki Reimi, who liked to pounce on her every day, rubbing her face against hers, and Kanzaki Reimi clearly knew that she didn't like it, but still did it all the time. What could she say? And those few people who were already on good terms with Shinji Ikari would also greet her warmly.

Once, Rei Ayanami forgot to bring her lunchbox and originally just planned to sit in the classroom until the afternoon. However, after a while, in addition to Rei Kanzaki trying to amuse her with bread, Kunio Murai and the others went to a nearby cake shop to buy her some food.

Although Rei Ayanami still didn't quite know how to deal with such an enthusiastic person, she had to admit that she was beginning to cherish this life, and every morning she would feel a sense of anticipation. "Could you please stop Kanzaki Reimi from sticking to me every day?"

"You rejected her." Shinji Ikari, who was about to push the motorcycle into the room, turned around in surprise. It was surprising that Rei Ayanami, with her aloof personality, would talk to him about this so seriously. This clearly showed that Rei Ayanami was quite resistant to this matter.

“…I won’t listen.” Rei Ayanami’s face showed a very serious and earnest expression.

"She and Kanzaki Reimi are such good friends! The day before yesterday, when Ryuji and I went to pick her up, Kanzaki Reimi stopped us! You know what? She stopped us, saying that it should have been a NERV car that came." Nagase Nagisa came downstairs at this time. To Ayanami Rei, Nagase Nagisa was like an older sister and a mother, so she was very happy that Ayanami Rei had a good friend. "At that time, Ryuji gave her a very fierce look, which made her even more determined, and she even asked a classmate to call Eikichi! And when she found out that we lived together, her expression was hilarious! Hahahaha..."

"No..." Seeing Shinji Ikari's gaze shift to her, Rei Ayanami shook her head in refusal. I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense, who's close to that troublesome girl! The expression on her little face unexpectedly became exceptionally vivid for a moment.

After all, Kanzaki Reimi is always trying to prank people or outwit her favorite homeroom teacher. Yes, even a naive girl like Ayanami Rei can see that Kanzaki Reimi has an extraordinary level of trust and attachment to Onizuka Eikichi.

She could have gone home to eat top-quality sushi delivered from a restaurant, but she refused. Instead, she would use her brains to extort money from Onizuka Eikichi, squander his salary, and then go out to eat a bowl of ramen on the street!

However, that time, when Kanzaki Reimi found out that she, Ayanami Rei, and Danma Ryuji lived together, she dragged Onizuka Eikichi over for a free meal. She was also curious about why Shinji Ikari's house had such a solemn shrine, and then she was frightened by Onizuka Eikichi making up ghost stories.

"Shinji's older sister lives inside." Finally, it was Rei Ayanami who couldn't stand it anymore. What kind of ghost story was this about Shinji Ikari slaying demons? Shinji has hardly ever killed any monsters lately. Doesn't he just throw them into the Mirror of the Gods? Rei Ayanami ate the small cake left by Shinji Ikari while tearing down Eikichi Onizuka's act.

"It seems... even scarier." Kanzaki Reimi knew, of course, that Onizuka Eikichi was talking nonsense to her in a serious manner, and she didn't believe a word of it! But the fact that Rei Ayanami was saying it so seriously made Kanzaki Reimi feel a chill run down her spine for a moment. It seemed so real that she couldn't accept it.

"That is indeed the place where Shinji worships his sister." Then Nagase Nagisa delivered a fatal blow, and Onizuka Eikichi and Kanzaki Reimi stared stiffly at the shrine in the corner. They had just been planning to open it to take a look (actually, it wouldn't have mattered if they opened it now, since Shinji had already taken the Mirror of the Gods)! However, the aura left by the Mirror of the Gods might have made them feel a chill down their spines.

"It sounds... like you two have a pretty good relationship." Shinji Ikari, who was following Nagase Nagisa and the others upstairs to have a late-night snack before bed, was quite surprised. It seemed that Rei Ayanami and Reimi Kanzaki had become friends?! Ah, this... will Lilith come and push Eikichi Onizuka's head down later? After all, there have been several opportunities for Eikichi Onizuka to just kiss her, and his relationship with Reimi Kanzaki would be set.

"No." For some reason, Shinji Ikari suddenly wondered if it was because the stairwell lights were too dim, but why Rei Ayanami's eyes looked so dead fish-like at that moment... Impossible, impossible, how could my goddess sister have such a gloomy look?

"Ah~" When Shinji Ikari walked into the room, he saw Ryuji Danma drinking beer. The sooner he opened the door, the sooner he could make money. Ryuji Danma worked hard every day, which made him sweat a lot. After get off work, he would drink a 500ml beer first, and only then did he feel alive again.

"Ryuji, you should eat something first. It's good for your health. I've told you so many times." Nagase Nagisa rolled his eyes as he watched Danma Ryuji chugging from the refrigerator. He said it every day, and he did it every day.

"Nagisa-nee, you should prepare some sports drinks for him. That way, he can replenish his electrolytes while he's working, so he won't come back looking like a water buffalo every day." Shinji Ikari chuckled to himself. They had taken advantage of the supermarket discounts and bought over twenty cases of beer. They originally thought it would be enough for the river to get through next summer, but now it's being consumed at a visible rate. They'd probably be considered to have accomplished their mission if it could even get Ryuji Danma through this summer.

“He’s already finished the ones you put in the fridge. I’ve already asked the guys downstairs to get some next time they go shopping,” Nagase Nagisa said with a grin.

"Oh? The business downstairs is actually pretty good." Shinji Ikari shrugged. In this day and age, the old-fashioned snack shop, or rather, the kind of snack shop like Mimi shrimp crackers, is basically deserted. It's usually just a few old folks holding the fort.

However, perhaps because Onizuka Eikichi's henchmen came so often, this theoretically outdated candy shop (since the intelligence department didn't intend to make money from it, so it was very cheap) actually became a treasure shop for a group of young people to reminisce about their childhood. As a result, it became popular through word of mouth, and nearby schools all knew about it. As a result, a group of intelligence department agents watched with frustration as sales soared every day, and they had to restock frequently.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Shinji. I'll buy it back later." Danma Ryuji was a little embarrassed. He had been painting walls and sanding for the past few days. He was covered in dust, so he was fully armed with protective gear. He was drenched in sweat. He filled a large bottle with Shinji Ikari's sports drinks and gulped them down during breaks. Only in this way could he keep himself from fainting from heatstroke.

"Don't mention it, it's just a small amount of money. I'll definitely buy more next time, because this stuff really gets powerful when I drink it," Shinji Ikari said with a smile. Why did he buy so much? It's all because of the martial arts Shinji Ikari practices. Whether it's the Invincible East Style or the Holy Light Aura, they are techniques that consume an enormous amount of energy. He might be sweating profusely just from warming up his body, so replenishing water is essential. Otherwise, he might end up dehydrated after performing a set of punches.

"Go to bed early tonight! You seem to have had a very busy life these past few days! Do you like Ryoko's swimsuit?" Nagase Nagisa grinned mischievously, leaned close to Shinji Ikari, and asked in a low voice.

"Fantastic!" Shinji Ikari's face broke into a knowing smile. To be honest, just thinking about Ryoko Sakaki's swimsuit was enough to make him drool. And with a frame of reference, Shinji realized for the first time that Ryoko Sakaki, despite being a middle school student, actually had a thicker frontal armor than two high school girls. Coupled with her relatively mature-looking flag, when he stood next to Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, they looked like classmates.

Ryoko Sakaki has already made plans with Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri. Next time Shinji Ikari takes them on a tour of NERV, Ryoko Sakaki will also go, and she will use her carefully honed skills to cook a big meal for them.

Ran Mouri was still confused. After all, although her father had some fame and a little money, it was a completely different world from the high-end restaurants run by the Totsuki Group. However, the fact that her friend was willing to cook for her personally was already a great honor. She just didn't understand why Sonoko Suzuki was so happy.