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

"Gold! These guys actually have so much gold in their collection!" It's said that women and dragons have something in common. When Isayama Mei saw the large number of gold bricks, she was momentarily unable to move her feet.

“It’s best not to take gold, because if we sell so much gold in such a short time, we’ll be caught soon. We only want cash.” Shinji Ikari shook his head, signaling them not to be foolish. “Priority is US dollars, euros, pounds, Canadian dollars, and Australian dollars, with Japanese yen as the last choice. Avoid taking rubles if possible.”

"I'll set up the teleportation array; one minute will be enough."

"Then stop talking nonsense! Run!"

Chapter 106 Ah, Woman

"I plan to put a toolbox here, and then I can take care of some simple repairs here." Ryuji Danma excitedly introduced his blueprint to Nagase Nagase. The shop was almost ready. In order to save costs, Ryuji Danma did most of the painting and cleaning himself. As of today, the shop has taken shape. As long as the latex paint is finished, it can be ready to install equipment. This gives Ryuji Danma a lot of motivation.

"Remember to have Shinji come and take a look, just like before, and do a simple renovation." Nagase Nagisa still has a deep impression of that haunted house. When she first moved in, Nagase Nagisa was quite worried. Now, she is already a little reluctant to sell it.

"Make sure to put up a huge poster at the door, and have Rei wear a bunny girl outfit and hold up a sign. Your shop will be trampled to pieces!" Kanzaki Reimi, who was still running around outside with Onizuka Eikichi late at night, said with a smile. Ayanami Rei looked puzzled, obviously bunny girl outfits were not yet within her knowledge. However, if it could help her older brother and sister, Danma Ryuji and Nagase Nagase, Ayanami Rei didn't seem to care much.

"Let's go, let's find a place to get something to eat," Onizuka Eikichi said with a grin. He had tricked many of his students into helping out at his friend's shop, so Danma Ryuji and Onizuka Eikichi's students had become quite familiar with each other. Of course, Danma Ryuji gave these kids pocket money and bought them drinks. The group of kids were clamoring for a discount when they bought motorcycles at Danma Ryuji's shop, and Danma Ryuji happily agreed.

"Ryuji..." Just as the group was making a ruckus and preparing to walk outside, Nagase Nagisa looked at the light that had appeared behind him with a shocked expression. This light carried a hint of obscurity and evil.

"..." Danma Ryuji glanced at them, then stepped forward with a grin and pushed Onizuka Eikichi and the others out, "Come on, come on, we're almost done! What ramen are we having for dinner tonight? Let's go have a good barbecue! Nagisa, could you please lock the door?"

"Oh... okay." Nagase Nagisa paused for a moment when he saw Danma Ryuji's serious expression as he turned around, but he quickly recovered and nodded rapidly. Then he turned around and closed the door. "I... I'll go home and get some things. Rei, you go with Ryuji. Don't eat anything weird!"

"Shinji... okay." Rei Ayanami, who seemed to want to say something, nodded after hearing Nagase Nagase's words and didn't say anything more.

"Are there any lights left on in the room?" Onizuka Eikichi looked back and noticed that light seemed to be coming through the window. He asked with some concern.

"A little gadget of Shinji's, for the old house, to ward off all the messy stuff." Danma Ryuji said casually. Onizuka Eikichi and Kanzaki Reimi took a few steps forward with some doubt, then looked at each other. The sudden tacit understanding made them turn around and rush forward at the same time, with wild smiles on their faces.

"Hey! You guys!" Nagase Nagisa and Danma Ryuji tried to stop the two in shock, but they were too fast, clearly exceeding their reaction time. Watching the two happily rush towards the door, Ayanami Rei sighed almost imperceptibly.

"Whoosh!" The moment the two pushed open the door, a gleaming blade flashed towards their necks, severing several strands of Kanzaki Reimi's long hair in the cold light. "If you want to live, get out." Isayama Mei's words were simple and direct, and the threat was equally blunt.

"Alright, Onizuka-sensei, this isn't the time to join in the fun. I'll come find you guys later, and we'll talk then. Ryuu-nii, tonight's on me. You need to get rid of the smell here tomorrow, right?" Shinji Ikari came out from inside to smooth things over. This wasn't the right time to dwell on things. They needed to quickly count the amount of money and find a way to exchange the foreign currency they had acquired for Japanese yen.

After they stormed into the Evil Souls' cold storage, their division of labor was very clear. Maou Sadao immediately activated the magic circle, and the rest of them moved the money over. Then, after Maou Sadao successfully activated the magic circle, they immediately threw it inside. Although it only took a minute or two, with several people who were not lacking in physical strength carrying stacks of money and throwing them into the opening, the amount was not small.

Of course, the people who were only focused on throwing money around didn't care to carefully distinguish what kind of currency it was. They just grabbed whatever they could and threw it into the teleportation array. Fortunately, most of the money here was Japanese yen, and most of the remaining money was small amounts of US dollars, with not many other currencies.

Even so, Shinji and his group couldn't let what was there see in the light. They certainly hadn't expected Ryuji and the others to come. Therefore, Shinji completely understood Mei Isayama's violent expulsion.

"Okay." Danma Ryuji walked over with a grin, pulled Onizuka Eikichi and Kanzaki Reimi away from the edge of the naginata. Before they even saw each other, they had almost lost their lives. Onizuka Eikichi was a little unconvinced, but Kanzaki Reimi was already pale. This was the second time she had faced a life-or-death crisis.

"I'll punish myself with three drinks later, sorry, teacher." Shinji Ikari looked at the two people being dragged away by Ryuji Danma with a smile on his face and a helpless expression. He really didn't expect such a coincidence. The monks looked at Sadao Maou sitting on a pile of money and Izumo Okuni who was neatly stacking stacks of yen. "It was my oversight. I'll pay you hush money later."

"Are you sure their mouths are sealed tight? Even though Masao-san had already removed the teleportation array." Isayama Mei said with a smile, slightly nervous. She was very happy now. There must be a lot of money here, enough for her to make up for all her previous regrets.

“My teacher knows what’s important, but he still has to pay the proper compensation, or hush money, later.” Shinji Ikari shrugged. “As for Ryuji, we used his place, so it’s only right that we show some appreciation.” Because it involved Sadao Maou, Shinji Ikari felt that even if the Onmyōryō knew something, they would just ignore it.

Shinji Ikari felt that Sadao Maou's power had been greatly restored after his trip. Although he was still very greedy for money, it was clear that he posed a greater threat to Shinji. You can tell what was going on by seeing that Mei Isayama no longer considered him a target.

"So shouldn't we quickly tally up our gains for today?" Izumo Okuni smiled, realizing that this occasional deal was indeed worthwhile. To further destroy evidence, Izumo Okuni had already notified the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang). A commotion had broken out at the headquarters of the Evil Soul Group; the specifics were unclear, and it might have already been stormed.

"Count by hand? Get some money counting machines over first?" Shinji Ikari looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi, who was as big as a small mountain, and twitched his lips. Sure enough, the visual impact was completely at its maximum.

"No, no need for that. I'll just call a professional money launderer tomorrow, and then the money will be transferred to three private accounts." Izumo Okuni said with a smile. She was adept at social maneuvering and had connections with all sorts of people, so this was no big deal for her. Therefore, she simply decided to leave the matter to the professionals.

“No, we usually have someone specifically in charge of this matter, otherwise we would just give him a 100% commission.” Isayama Mei shook his head. His trust in Izumo no Okuni was no higher than that of a random person he met on the street. As for the rest of the matter, he still hoped that Aso Yuu would handle it. Aso knew people in this area and had already cooperated with them many times before, so he trusted them completely.

“No problem!” Isn’t it better to not have to do any work and just wait to get our share of the money? This woman in front of him was very cautious, and Izumo no Okuni immediately agreed with Isayama Mei’s opinion, “It’s only right that Aso Yuu put in more effort!”

"Then it's settled. Let's set up the security and have Aso send people over as soon as possible." Shinji Ikari made the final decision. This was a lucrative deal. Although it would only amount to about two or three million US dollars if divided among several people, it was still more than enough.

“It just so happens that I can take a day off tomorrow,” Maou Sadao said with a smile. As an energetic acting store manager, Maou Sadao had accumulated a long enough vacation days.

“I’m fine anyway.” Mei Isayama followed up with a smile. If Mei Isayama’s trust in Izumo no Okuni was at the level of a stranger, then her trust in Maou Sadao was at the level of a negative number. She would definitely keep an eye on these money until Aso arrived with his men.

"I've already told Aso to buy more paint and stuff. After all, we've taken up their space, and we can't leave them with a mess later." Shinji Ikari closed his phone. Aso Yuu said he'd take care of all the latex paint Danma Ryuji needed for painting the walls. "I'm going to find Onizuka Eikichi and the others now." Shinji Ikari picked up a small bundle of Fukuzawa Yukichi's paint from the ground. "What about you guys?"

"What else can I do? They both stayed, so I have no choice but to stay too!" Izumo no Okuni shrugged. "Go ahead, Shinji. I'll take care of your share."

"This is none of your business," Isayama Mei said dismissively.

“Heh, I knew Shinji long before you did…” Izumo no Okuni retorted without holding back.

"Have these women always been like this?" Sadao Maou felt a sense of déjà vu about this scene.

I thought you should understand.

"Actually, I don't understand."

"So, women."

"Yes, woman!"

Chapter 107 The Countermeasures Bureau's Strike

"I really didn't expect this to happen, I'm so sorry." The old man Shinji Ikari had seen before was now having a video call with someone, looking completely speechless. His tone was obviously very humble, even a little low. "I will make up for the shortcomings as soon as possible."

"Old man, rules are rules. I won't give you what you want until I get the money, unless you're willing to sign a contract. Otherwise... this matter ends here. The down payment you made is the penalty for breach of contract. It's all clearly written in the contract." A man whose appearance could be described as handsome, dressed in the attire of a nobleman, sat cross-legged on the ground, waving a fan.

“Lord Daikin… it’s not that we can’t pay, we just need a few days to get some funds.” The old man said, bowing and scraping. He knew very well that Lord Daikin was unlikely to give him such leniency; his stinginess and gambling were equally notorious.

"Heh, who are you trying to fool? It's pointless to say that. If you continue to deceive me, I'll have to lower your credit rating." The one called Daio is not human, but a yokai that has lived for an unknown amount of time. After reaching an agreement with humans, the Japanese government allows them to move freely in human society as long as they stop devouring humans.

"You're already under attack from the Spellcaster Association and the Onmyoji Bureau. Even your vice president received a food battle from the Totsuki Culinary Group. By the way, they seem to be planning to hold it directly at the Mountain God Festival." Oolong, or rather, the fox spirit who called herself Oolong, grinned mischievously. "So, is there any medicine to replenish? I can pay you for the information!"

"..." The cousin of the leader of the evil spirits group seemed to freeze, his expression stiff. He originally thought that Lady Ookin wouldn't find out so quickly, but now, how much time had it taken for them to know? Were the intelligence efficiency of these monsters so terrifying? "But that doesn't mean we have no way to pay, does it, sir?"

“Oh! Yes, yes! You have a lot of good payment methods! I almost forgot. But... can you still deliver?” Akane touched her smooth chin, her expression becoming a half-smile. “Although I’m very interested in this deal with you, you don’t have much time left.”

"What do you mean?" The old man frowned. As an elderly person, what he feared most was what others said about him not having much time left.

“Hey, you all say that sorcerers are the best fighters, but we all know that the most terrifying thing is the Countermeasures Bureau…” Akane said with a grin, “because they are a bunch of lunatics. They don’t want to talk to us at all. If you make a mistake and get caught by them, they will rush up and try to kill you, no matter how many people die or are injured.”

"..." The old man's face was ashen. Without a doubt, this person had revealed who his enemy was: the madmen of the Countermeasures Bureau were already on their way! The old man hesitated for a long time before asking one last question, "Why?"

"Why? You still don't know? No way, you don't even know what you've done? I must admit, what you've done is incredibly impressive. To be honest, human creativity always amazes me. Perhaps it's this creativity and drive that allows you to gain an advantage over us, who are far more powerful than you, isn't it?" Akane said with a smile.

If the old man had been willing to hand over that terrifying technology a few days earlier, he would have been willing to offer a good price that would benefit everyone. In fact, even if the goods were used to offset the loss, I would still have to pay him a large sum of money.

But now it's not all. The Yin-Yang Bureau has its eye on him, the sorcerers have their eye on them, and the Countermeasures Bureau has lost over a hundred people. A group of madmen have already decided to use their heads to pay tribute to their fallen brothers. Oh, and even the real organization behind the Rikuji and the Evil Soul Group has their eye on them. After all, what they revealed this time was just too deadly!

The Ghost Ship's shells, though their explosive power is extremely weak, can still annihilate all life within a radius of tens of meters with a single shot. Such destructive efficiency is enough to move any large organization. In order to obtain the salvaged fragments, NERV headquarters will even receive an epic upgrade, and another EVA is about to be transported here.

"Sir..." Several henchmen rushed over, their ferocious expressions indicating the urgency of the situation.

"..." The old man glanced one last time at Ringo, who was still smiling. "Looks like I'll be going first. Enough said. Good luck!" With that, he raised his cane and slammed it hard on the screen in front of him. His expression turned ferocious, and he was so gloomy that he seemed to be emanating black energy. "Everyone, prepare to engage! Countermeasures Bureau? Hmph, let them know that we're not just playing around. Release all the goods in the basement."

"Are we really going to release them?" A group of usually fearless gang members instinctively shrank back upon hearing the order. What was in the basement? Goods—whose goods? They didn't know, but they knew what the goods were! In a sense, the latest generation of super soldiers…

"If we don't survive today, we'll all die, so what are we hesitating for? Release them all!" The old man took a deep breath. What he didn't say was that once they were released, there would be no room for maneuver for him. This kind of thing was, after all, something that couldn't be exposed. Once it was revealed, even the people behind him would decide to kill him! But he wasn't afraid. He had already made preparations. The battle here was just a way to attract attention. As long as he hid in South America, he could still enjoy the wealthy life brought by the huge fortune he had accumulated over the years.

“Anger… How boring. Come on, pack up all the goods ordered by the Evil Soul Group and prepare to take them to the Mountain God Festival.” Ringo shook her head, feeling utterly bored. Despite being disconnected, Ringo wasn't angry; instead, she calmly began arranging her business. The Evil Soul Group used to be a valuable client, and the disappearance of such a client made Ringo… very happy! Not only could she pocket a third of the payment already made, but this batch of goods, without a doubt, was highly sought-after!

"So the only remaining question is this one." Having changed into a coat, intending to try her luck today, Ringo smirked. "Who dared to touch my money!" Although the money hadn't been paid and the goods hadn't been delivered, Ringo still considered it her own! "Don't let me know! Otherwise, you'll have to compensate me!"

"It seems the other side is already prepared." The head of the Countermeasures Bureau, sitting in a wheelchair, stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression. Yesterday, the Onmyoji Bureau hurriedly mobilized manpower to the headquarters of the Evil Soul Group, but inside that building, the Evil Soul Group had already made preparations.

Although some fires had occurred, they had been extinguished. All the potentially dangerous items had been evacuated by the time the Onmyo-ryo arrived. Looking at the empty room, which still retained a disgusting atmosphere, the Onmyo-ryo members could only sulk. After all, they were neither prosecutors nor police officers. Although they could use the pretext of an investigation to demand cooperation, they had no good solutions in the face of this situation.

Of course, after losing a lot of money, the Evil Souls Group transferred all the remaining cash to other safe places. Although they usually had many disagreements, the safe places prepared by Vice President Morishita Yamato are now places that the Evil Souls Group, which is in a precarious situation, has no choice but to use.

Naturally, none of the companies have been able to find the hiding places of the cash in the short term. They can only search everywhere for possible locations, which will take a long time.

The reason this was exposed is both simple and complicated. In fact, it's quite simple: Japan's population is shrinking, and many small towns already have very few people. The sudden arrival of a large group of people immediately made the locals very sensitive. After reporting to the local police station, the police station, as usual, reported it to higher authorities. This led the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, which was conducting an investigation, to discover their whereabouts.

"Ah, yes, it seems you've made quite a few preparations. Huang Quan, can you handle this?" The chief looked at the high school girl beside him, his expression seemingly completely unconcerned.

“No problem, these villains should have been punished long ago.” Isayama Yomi, the adopted daughter of the head of the Isayama family, is a woman full of heroic spirit.

"Oh, by the way, it seems that Isayama Mei has been discharged from the hospital. The day before yesterday, she even participated in the battle to attack the Evil Soul Group's factory." The head of the Countermeasures Bureau tucked her long hair behind her ear. To be honest, if possible, she would very much like Isayama Yomi to recruit her relatives, but it seems that Isayama Yomi has no intention of doing so at all.

"This is one of the few good news I've heard today," Isayama Yomi said casually. Isayama Mei was somewhat dissatisfied with her future inheritance of the Isayama family, and then, for some reason, decided to start her own business. This was obviously a sign of his disapproval of her, and the two seemed to be competing with each other.

"It seems they still want to make a last-ditch effort."

"They won't leave here alive."

Chapter 108 Ocean Current Anomalies

“After deducting all expenses, each person would earn an average of about 8 million yen, a sum that an ordinary person would hardly earn in a lifetime.” Shinji Ikari sighed. As a result, none of them went home last night and stayed up all night. When Yuu Aso arrived with the professionals at dawn, the group had already drunk coffee cans all over the floor.

It must be said that professionals are professionals. In the short time that Shinji Ikari and the others were silent, the underground bank staff, who worked almost like an assembly line, had already counted all the money in just a few hours. It didn't even interfere with their lunch break. Well, 2:30 pm should count as lunch.

"The remaining ten million yen is for renting the venue. Have you thought about how to explain it to your friend?" Aso Yuu said calmly. After the inventory and division of the spoils, everyone agreed to make an arrangement: although Danma Ryuji was not directly involved, in the end, he would still have to borrow the venue of his future shop.

"There's no need to give it to him. That would only cause him trouble. I'll just pay off NERV's money for him." Shinji Ikari shook his head. If he gave it to Ryuji Danma, Danma would usually refuse, so it's better not to say anything and just pay off the money for him. Besides, this is an internal NERV transaction, so it won't be so conspicuous.

"Good idea." Aso Yuu nodded roughly. This way, the target is indeed much smaller, and it will basically not attract too much attention. After all, it is unlikely that outsiders can check NERV's accounts, right?

"Then I'll leave things here to you." Izumo no Okuni stretched. "I'm going to find a place to get some sleep now. If there's nothing else, it's best not to wake me. I need to get a good night's rest."

“Me too!” Mei Isayama stared with dead fish eyes. “Shinji, book me a room.” As a teammate, Mei Isayama felt no guilt whatsoever when it came to taking advantage of Shinji Ikari.

"Oh, the Suzuki Hotel? I want one too!" Izumo no Okuni immediately demanded that everyone be treated equally, and that he also stay in a luxury hotel.

"...I'll book a double room and pay for your buffet dinner tonight, okay?" Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes. You two are practically financially independent after today, yet you still want to take advantage of me. Is it really necessary?

"Alright, still a long way to go. Next time you have a chance to rip off a big spender, be sure to call me." After seeing that Shinji Ikari had sent the message, Mei Isayama jumped onto Shinji's motorcycle without thinking. Shinji waved, and Mei tossed him the keys. Then, Okuni Izumo didn't say much and jumped onto the back seat. The two beauties hugged each other, looking quite stunning. "I'll just leave them here later, right?"

“Yes.” Shinji Ikari nodded. “It seems that ever since I transferred here, I’ve been skipping classes and asking for leave every few days, and my homeroom teacher never talks to me.” After saying that, Shinji Ikari suddenly realized that his homeroom teacher was Eikichi Onizuka.

Last night, when he and Kanzaki Reimi each received 50 yen in compensation, or rather hush money, they were both quite surprised. Almost simultaneously, Kanzaki Reimi and Onizuka Eikichi both exclaimed, "Is it really that easy for exorcists to make money?"

Shinji Ikari shrugged, not saying much. He had already analyzed it with Eikichi Onizuka. Wouldn't it be better to just be a teacher? Look at Reimi Kanzaki next to you, and think about that Fuyutsuki-sensei. Wouldn't it be better for him to be a teacher? Why risk your life to eat this bowl of blood-soaked rice?

"Hmm?" At this moment, Makoto Hyuga, who was on duty at NERV headquarters, noticed some abnormal fluctuations. He frowned and said, "Shigeru, the ocean earthquake data today seems to be wrong."

"What's wrong? Another earthquake? The events of 13 years ago were serious enough," Aoki Shigeru muttered, then slid his chair over to Hinata Makoto and glanced at him. That one glance made him frown. "Wait, wait... so these ocean seismic detectors detected drastic changes in ocean currents?"

"Yes... the direction of this ocean current has been changing continuously. Although it hasn't pointed towards us yet, it's now almost certain that it will head towards Neo-Tokyo." Hinata Makoto quickly typed a few words on the keyboard and then gave an explanation that even he found strange.

“It might be some kind of large creature. Anyway, it’s not the first time, but this time…” Shigeru Aoki adjusted the scale, “Have we ever recorded a creature this large?”

Large monsters in the ocean are not news, but for a long time, if the creatures in the sea are too arrogant, they will often be surrounded and killed by the navy, so they are generally not particularly terrifying in size.

"Even that evil warship in Tokyo Bay didn't cause such a terrifying ocean current disturbance before." Hyuga Makoto frowned and typed rapidly on the keyboard. Now that he had observed it, he would start to carefully analyze this ocean current disturbance caused by some unknown thing, which might even attract the attention of seismic detectors.

Because of this unknown force, it changed direction several times in the Pacific Ocean, and it was moving against the normal ocean currents. Normally, it is impossible for the natural water flow to cause any changes, so it is natural that something is causing trouble again.

"So what do you think it is?" Hinata Makoto didn't expect any good deductions, after all, the range of the disturbance it caused was quite large, and the speed was also quite fast.

"Let's report it first. By the way, when will EVA Unit 2 be delivered? It shouldn't cause any problems, right?" Shigeru Aoki frowned. The thing that Shinji Ikari killed in Tokyo Bay had caused a scramble among various parties. In order to eliminate NERV, which theoretically had ownership of the spoils, in advance, the United Nations agreed to send another EVA Unit 2, built by the German branch in Europe, to NERV headquarters.

However, this decision was only made a few days ago. In theory, EVA Unit-02 should still be in the packing process. After all, it is an 80-meter-tall behemoth, equivalent to sending a skyscraper directly from Europe. Therefore, there is still a lot of preliminary work to be done, and in theory, it cannot be done so quickly.

“The communication was from 3 hours ago. The Germans have gone home. The packaging plan will probably be ready by the day after tomorrow at the earliest.” Hinata Makoto shrugged. The Germans’ displeasure was obvious. Originally, according to their plan, NERV Europa branch would be equipped with a separate EVA series combat model No. 2, which was completely independently designed. They even built a whole set of facilities based on EVA No. 2 as a system to support EVA combat, similar to the fortress in Tokyo-3.

As a result, when the fortress was almost finished, they were suddenly notified that their second unit was to be shipped to Japan. Their dissatisfaction was understandable. So don't expect them to actually demonstrate the so-called German efficiency. On the contrary, they only demonstrated the German "meticulousness" at this time, wanting to discuss how many turns every screw should be tightened.

"I've already reported the situation. Hopefully, it will attract attention." Hinata Makoto shrugged and sighed.

After the last invasion by the apostles, the entire Japanese army, navy, and air force were somewhat terrified. Dozens of fighter jets and their pilots were lost, several large destroyers arrived, and a large number of Ground Self-Defense Force troops were easily wiped out by the enemy, who did not even manage to stop their advance.

Although the final N2 mine successfully inflicted some damage on the opponent, the damage was actually very limited and did not strip them of their combat capabilities. The opponent continued to engage in a fierce battle with Unit-01, which belonged to NERV. Judging from the performance in the battle, the Fourth Angel's combat power did not seem to have been weakened at all. If Unit-01 had not demonstrated combat power exceeding expectations, humanity might have faced its final fate that day (just kidding, since Yui isn't online, does she mean she doesn't exist?).

So for a long time afterward, besides a wave of retirements, the Japanese military was plagued by a somewhat paranoid and overly sensitive attitude, reacting to the slightest disturbance with extreme mobilization. Of course, this situation couldn't last forever, and after a while, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces quickly entered a period of burnout…

“Uh, Misato Katsuragi has given us her opinion. Although the intelligence has been shared with the United Nations, it’s hard to say how the Self-Defense Forces and the US military will react. So Shinji Ikari is on standby duty. Anyway, he didn’t go to school…” Shigeru Aoki was dumbfounded. Everyone knew that Shinji Ikari didn’t go to school. Anyway, his deviation score was high enough to get into the University of Tokyo. He was just playing around in junior high school.

After he brought people to conduct a physical examination, the entire technical department closed its doors and began research. Ritsuko Akagi almost never left the house to conduct her fervent research, which somewhat affected the serious research and development of EVA. This has already caused Vice Commander Fuyutsuki's anger bar to start accumulating.

"Then send out the message to have Shinji Ikari come to the base to stand by. Anyway, it seems like he's just standing by for now." Makoto Hyuga shrugged. This was Shigeru Aoki's job. After notifying Shinji Ikari that he had arrived, it would be Maya Ibuki's turn to be busy. After all, before each sortie, she needed to coordinate a large number of teams to prepare for the EVA's battle, ensuring that Unit-01 was in its best condition when it was launched.

"Hey! Shinji, are you still sleeping at this hour? Come to the base and sleep." Shigeru Aoki dialed the number directly to Shinji Ikari. However, upon hearing Shinji's sleepy voice on the phone, Shigeru Aoki laughed. This guy, he really is still playful. Even good students can't escape the temptation.

"Oh? What's wrong? Are we on standby duty?" Shinji Ikari was a little puzzled, but this wasn't the first time, so he didn't think much of it. It was just a change of sleeping place anyway.

"Yes, please come over as soon as possible."

Chapter 109 Minnesota

"So what happened?" Shinji Ikari was still yawning when he walked into the First Command Headquarters. His motorcycle had been stolen, and Nagisa and Ryuji Danma had gone back to their old house to get their things, so he simply asked the intelligence department staff downstairs to help him by driving the small truck they usually used to buy things to NERV headquarters.

Because everyone usually gets along well, Shinji Ikari always includes them in his sweets. So even though the Intelligence Department's reputation has been damaged because of Shinji, these individuals still have a pretty good relationship with him. Therefore, helping out at this time is not a problem for them.

Moreover, their vehicle was indeed registered and could directly enter NERV headquarters, so Shinji Ikari curled up in the back seat and slept soundly. After all, by the time the intelligence officer driving woke Shinji up, it was already almost an hour later.

"There's a clearly autonomous ocean current moving in the Pacific, its target is probably Japan." Misato Katsuragi had already arrived. Standing on the command platform, she explained with an air of confidence, completely unlike her usual somewhat slovenly older sister. "Shinji Ikari, what were you doing last night? You look like you didn't sleep well at all."

"Yesterday? I was led deep into enemy territory by two beautiful women, and after discovering their monstrous conspiracy, I also brought back a large sum of money." Shinji Ikari spoke the truth. He knew very well that no one would believe the truth he spoke in this state of mind.

"You braggart, go to the lounge and get some sleep. Keep your phone on and don't sleep too soundly." As expected, no one took Shinji Ikari's words seriously. Misato Katsuragi waved her hand, telling Shinji to go to his room and get some rest. In this situation, this level of vigilance was sufficient.

If things develop further, then Misato Katsuragi will have to pull Ritsuko Akagi out of the lab, who is obsessed with studying the various samples collected from a certain elementary school student. After all, with only Makoto Hyuga, Maya Ibuki, and some of the technical staff, it will be somewhat difficult to keep track of this ocean current.

However, for the time being, Shinji Ikari is still considering it as a backup force for the worst-case scenario. Misato Katsuragi has not yet thought about raising the combat readiness level of Unit-01, but the order to partially unseal EVA Unit-01 in combat mode has been submitted and is awaiting approval from Kozo Fuyutsuki or Gendo Ikari.