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

"If they insist on going, I'll keep an eye on them, you don't need to worry about that." Shinji Ikari shrugged. "But Yuu Aso, are you sure you're not going?"

"Of course not. There's nothing I particularly want to buy there, and the Evil Souls Group has many mysteries. Where did their methods of manipulating spirits come from? Although there are strong traces of the US military, we all know that the methods used by the Evil Souls Group are undoubtedly native Japanese methods, even if they look a bit...ancient." Aso Yuu spread his hands. Although he was not short of money now, and should even be said to be very rich, he had no intention of going on a shopping spree.

"Got a clue?" Isayama Mei, standing in the entryway, crossed his arms.

"The follow-up information from the Exorcist Goddess points to two places: one is an isolated island, and the other is near an abandoned dam, which seems to be a missing village," Asou Yuu said, recounting the information. "I plan to choose one place each with the Exorcist Goddess and go see what exactly happened."

"The village...disappeared?" Shinji Ikari frowned. "It sounds like we're in a maze." The dam, the vanished village—this series of messages gave him a bad feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll bring some family heirlooms for this kind of dangerous place. Trust me, I have experience dealing with these things," Asou Yuu said confidently. He was just going to investigate, nothing more. If he found something was wrong, he would just turn around and run away.

"Heh, you're quite the braggart. If it weren't for Shinji saving you, you'd be dead by now at the Himuro Mansion." Mei Isayama didn't hesitate to expose them. The three of them had entered the Himuro Mansion together, and two of them were seriously injured. It was only thanks to Shinji that they managed to escape. A whole summer had passed, and before they had fully recovered, news came that the evil spirits of the Himuro Mansion and the Gates of the Underworld had been appeased, which shocked the two of them.

"Likewise, Shinji, what's up? Is there anything you want to say?" Seeing Shinji Ikari frowning, Asou Yuu was quite serious. After all, normally, if Shinji Ikari finds something troublesome, then he's bound to encounter huge trouble. This guy may not have much else to offer, but his jinx is always right.

“My suggestion… you should do your preliminary investigation more thoroughly. Vanishing from the face of the earth isn’t common, let alone an entire village disappearing. Also, Mei Isayama and I will inquire carefully during the mountain god festival to see if we can find any useful information. We won’t repeat the same mistake we learned the hard way.” Shinji Ikari shook his head. He thought for a long time; in this supernatural version of the EVA world, he had become numb and had no idea what new things might intrude.

“Okay, before that, I’ll do some preliminary investigation.” Aso Yuu took a deep breath. Shinji Ikari was right. When they entered the Himuro Mansion last time, they weren’t prepared enough and almost got trapped. If Shinji Ikari could find some information from the Mountain God Festival this time, that would be even better.

"Then it's settled. By the way, I've heard about the exorcist goddess Yakushiji Ryoko causing quite a stir in New Tokyo lately." Isayama Mei pushed open the door, and his eyes met those of Rei Ayanami, who was heading to the bathroom. The crimson pupils made Isayama Mei, who also had red pupils, freeze for no reason. However, Rei Ayanami didn't pay much attention to them and went straight into the inner room, then closed the door.

"Shinji, why is it taking you so long to deliver someone? Don't be lazy, this is the trash to be thrown away today, hurry up." Ryoko Sakaki shoved a bag of trash into Shinji Ikari's hands with such ease.

"What a perfect family man!" Mei Isayama chuckled as he began to mock Shinji Ikari.

"You're saying that out of the three of us unlucky guys, it seems like you're the only one who's single? How about you find someone to date sometime?" Shinji Ikari was no pushover either, his retort was swift and accurate.

"Ha, I think you're asking for a beating!"

"Try going empty-handed if you dare."

"dream!"

Chapter 122 Finding Shinji is the right thing to do.

"TERRA's operation has begun." With his hands behind his back, Kozo Fuyutsuki said with a thoughtful expression, "Their first batch of infiltrators has entered old Tokyo. Their actions are much faster than we imagined. They have found a way to deal with the Tokyo Jupiter Space Fault so quickly."

“The Babem Group’s methods are indeed astonishingly sophisticated, but it’s not a big problem. After all, it’s SEELE who should be having a headache in this regard. We don’t need to worry too much. Terra’s actions will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention from SEELE, making it easier for us to do things.” Gendo Ikari seemed somewhat pleased with this outcome. “We all know that some of SEELE’s facilities are on the moon, which are beyond our reach.”

“Indeed, but according to the intelligence we have now, TERRA seems to believe that the Ayato Kamina they are trying to rescue is a key that, from their perspective, can solve all the current problems. What do you think I’m thinking?” Fuyutsuki Kōzō stared at Ikari Gendō, his expression very serious.

"If a country is in dire straits and wants to completely improve its situation, there is only one thorough reform. In the process of reform, all obstacles created by old interests must be eliminated in order to solve the problem." Gendo Ikari said this in a seemingly plausible way. If he were a Japanese government official, then after this was exposed, it would not be a matter of simply bowing down and resigning. He might face suppression from all sides and even be hunted down.

"Hey, then why don't you seem worried at all?" Fuyutsuki Kozo looked at Ikari Gendo, who remained calm and composed, with a smile. "Judging from the actual results, he might actually be our competitor."

"If it were that easy to become our competitor, that would be wonderful," Gendo Ikari said with a sneer. "We don't have much information at the moment, but one thing is certain: TERRA themselves don't even understand what they're facing, who exactly is behind Tokyo Jupiter, or even the purpose and significance of the other party establishing this closed community and spending so much money to maintain it. To rashly break into the restricted area, even for the sake of this chosen one, humph... what they should be paying more attention to is the actions of their supporter, Babem."

In front of Gendo Ikari were several photos. These were the scenes observed by the unusually diligent NERV intelligence department when they inadvertently followed the female leader of the Babem Group who had been pushed to the forefront. In a huge construction site, countless excavators were digging something, and a dark, egg-shaped object was clearly visible in the photos.

“A group of people who have been used will naturally not notice the sharp knife behind their backs, and we can still be proud of that.” Kozo Fuyutsuki shook his head. “Shinji Ikari is going to the Mountain God Festival. I have approved his leave. However, Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi both want to go with him. I don’t think it’s appropriate. What do you think?”

“Ritsuko, we still need combat duty at the base. Prepare a helicopter, ready to go and bring Shinji Ikari back at any time.” Gendo Ikari glanced at another report on the table. Shinji Ikari planned to go to the Mountain God Festival to watch the food battle between Gin Dojima and Yamato Morishita. “Misato won’t be able to see anything there, but Ritsuko might be able to find something.”

In the previous missions led by Shinji Ikari, NERV made considerable gains in researching some supernatural things. Although they didn't develop any particularly special technologies, the technology department and engineering department have recently come up with many new technology development blueprints, which can be considered as the result of drawing inferences from one another during the research process.

This might explain why Gendo Ikari supported Shinji Ikari taking Ritsuko Akagi to the mountain god festival. Some things, if done behind closed doors, are very likely to lead to a dead end and a dead end.

“Teacher Fuyutsuki…” Fuyutsuki Kozo nodded, then turned and walked outside. At this moment, Gendo Ikari called out, “Please remember why we made this decision, and that we have no way back.”

“Yes, I know very well that we have no way back.” Standing in front of the electronic door, Fuyutsuki Kozo turned to look at Ikari Gendo, who sat alone in the empty office. The two of them were accomplices! What they were plotting was the fate of this world! They wanted to liberate humanity from its destiny!

However, while speaking, Fuyutsuki Kozo emphasized, "We... yes, the only ones with no way out are the two of them, not NERV, and certainly not the ordinary people in NARV who tried to stop the world from ending, and of course not... Shinji Ikari, who has somewhat changed NERV!"

"..." The electronic door closed, and Gendo Ikari was once again plunged into darkness. It was unclear what he was thinking or what he planned to do, but there was no doubt that Gendo's disregard for TERRA had clearly caught the attention of Kozo Fuyutsuki, the vice-commander of NERV. Fuyutsuki might use some of his power to carry out some work. Especially regarding the Mountain God Festival mentioned by Fuyutsuki, for some reason, Gendo had a bad feeling, as if a demon was murmuring a name, "Shinji Ikari..."

"Shinji!" Coincidentally, Kozo Fuyutsuki, who had just left, was also muttering this name. For some reason, he felt a sense of high hope for Shinji Ikari. Then, a bitter smile appeared on his lips. No one had expected that this pilot of Unit-01, who was initially not highly regarded, would bring about such a subtle change that surprised everyone. Even the engineering department's sudden surge of enthusiasm made Kozo Fuyutsuki feel as if he had been transported back to Japan decades ago. "Will you be a hope?"

"Hey, Shinji!" A familiar voice came through the receiver with enthusiasm. "How have you been lately?"

"I'm dying soon. Do you have time to offer incense? Director Tasaki." Shinji Ikari said weakly as he got dressed and stepped off the operating table. Today was another day of battling the medical department.

"Hahaha... I have heard that things have been quite busy over there lately. Is it very tiring?" Director Tasaki sat in his agency and laughed loudly. Shinji, this little guy, is indeed very interesting. "Although it's a good thing for young people to have dreams, if NERV is really too hard, you can totally become a full-time actor! I'll help you find a good agency!" People who are so good at fighting and also good-looking are too rare these days, and Shinji Ikari's delicate appearance is also a very good selling point.

"No, dealing with people is too troublesome. It's much easier to deal with demons and monsters. My current boss is a stunning beauty with a golden figure of 83-60-82!" Shinji Ikari whispered, and Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi, who were watching from above, immediately showed different expressions.

Ritsuko Akagi was drinking the extra milk tea that Shinji Ikari had brought to offer to her older sister when she heard Shinji's words. She chuckled, then choked and pounded her chest with difficulty.

"That little brat!" Misato Katsuragi frowned, her forehead creased in a cross shape. Kids these days seem pretty good at talking, huh? Wait, does this guy know he can hear me? Is he asking for a beating?

"Oh! Really! Really! Let's get to know each other sometime!" Director Tasaki, a greasy middle-aged man, said in a tone that everyone understood. In the tokusatsu industry, you always need to have a bit of an otaku vibe, otherwise you can't capture that feel. Naturally, when he heard Shinji Ikari mention the beautiful woman, he immediately got into character...

"Then next time we meet, let's skip the picnic and just go to a barbecue restaurant by the seaside! I'll ask her to come along, but I can't guarantee it." Shinji Ikari continued to mutter, looking like he was trying to sell his boss for a good price. This woman dragged him to NERV headquarters first thing this morning, ignoring his plans to do his morning workout with Ryoko Sakaki. He had to get his revenge right away!

A group of medical staff, doctors and nurses in white coats, looked at each other. They were all quite professional; at least they knew to turn away if they wanted to laugh. But a few young girls were probably too young; what was with them shivering all over? Was the air conditioning too strong?

"A yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant? There's a pretty famous one in Tokyo-3! That sounds good!" Director Tasaki understood immediately. "It's decided then! The money saved on equipment will let us have a nice meal!"

"Alright, then I'll obediently wait here and see." Shinji Ikari nodded with a smile, and even waved to Misato Katsuragi who was watching from above. The blatant provocation made Misato Katsuragi twitch her lips a few times, while Ritsuko Akagi, who was next to him, had already put down her milk tea and was looking at her with a half-smile.

"By the way, there's something else I'd like to ask for your opinion on. We're currently making a suit, and we've seriously considered your previous suggestions. So now we'd like to ask about something: because the Eternal Emperor is so popular, we've been discussing in our company meeting whether to resurrect him. What's your opinion?"

"My opinion?" Shinji Ikari was taken aback. Why don't you ask the scriptwriter? I'm just a stuntman, a suited fighter. "I don't know about other things, but from a money-making perspective, there's no doubt that the Eternal Emperor not being dead will be a great selling point and make more money. But isn't it a bit too fast to release him immediately? After all, the previous scenes were so spectacular. Would the audience not be able to accept his immediate resurrection?"

“Yes, the final battle cost so much money! You mean…” Director Tasaki nodded. Shinji Ikari’s explanation was much more substantial than what the others in the company discussed, with all sorts of bizarre investigations, but in fact, everyone knew what was going on.

"He can be resurrected, but it'll be placed at the end of the movie, as something like... Americans really like to put it on after the credits," Shinji said with a smile.

"Oh! An Easter egg!" Director Tasaki suddenly had an epiphany. This way of adding the Easter egg would not only not make the audience feel disgusted, but would also make them look forward to it. This idea is fantastic. "Change the script so that the villain claims to be the Eternal Emperor, but it is discovered that he is fake. However, he does not die in the end! This is fantastic. Just imagining it makes me think it is amazing."

"So... the real and fake Monkey Kings?" Shinji Ikari hesitated for a moment. What Director Tasaki said was so familiar that he blurted it out without thinking.

"That's fantastic! The whole script is right in my head right away! Shinji! Calling you was the right decision! Let's meet next Wednesday! Bring your beautiful boss! We'll have a good chat then." Journey to the West is a well-known book in Japan, and the scene Shinji mentioned is a famous one, so Director Tasaki immediately imagined the entire plot.

No need for any further storytelling; it can be picked up right after the previous movie. The protagonist, having finished the battle, enjoys a few days of peace and quiet, only to discover that the villain is still alive. Then the story unfolds step by step, and in the end, the villain is found to be dead but not truly dead. In fact, the Eternal Emperor even provides some assistance to the protagonist along the way. Isn't that fantastic?

Chapter 123 The Resilient Aso Yuu

After confirming that Shinji Ikari was alright, Ryoko Sakaki was taken back to Totsuki Academy by Nagase Nagase after getting up in the morning. Nagase Nagase teased Ryoko a bit, saying things like, "It's amazing that Shinji Ikari could get up in the morning. Did you two really just sleep peacefully all night?" And why do I see the lights flickering?

Ryoko Sakaki blushed and said the room was drafty! The two women continued their banter until they got on their motorcycle. Actually, Ryoko Sakaki, like Shinji Ikari, was full of complaints about Misato Katsuragi calling early in the morning to disturb her sleep. However, out of modesty, she couldn't grumble like Shinji did, and instead encouraged him to do his best.

For the next two days, there wasn't much to say about Shinji Ikari's life. In order to be able to go to the mountain god festival to eat and drink in three days, Shinji Ikari had to finish the projects that might be delayed later in these three days. Of course, the most important thing was to fight with the medical department.

Besides this, there's also the recent incident of picking fights with Misato Katsuragi. To make things difficult for Shinji Ikari, Misato even staged an underwater simulated battle. EVA is such a big thing, and if it were to fall into the water with such a heavy weight and without any additional propulsion device, it would definitely sink to the bottom. She even suggested that Shinji Ikari be beaten up by something that looks like a giant killer whale, which left him completely dizzy and disoriented.

However, besides that, Misato Katsuragi did encounter some things that surprised her greatly. She discovered a sea of ​​blood and a giant nailed to a huge cross in the underground of NERV, which made Misato Katsuragi's teeth ache.

While pretending to fool around with Shinji Ikari, the two exchanged some information. Due to the passage of time, much of what Shinji remembered and the information in the analysis posts he had read had become a thing of the past, and he could no longer recall many details. However, Misato Katsuragi's discovery allowed him to have some fragmented memories, which seemed to Misato like some strange prophecies, although many of them were just vague guesses.

"Shinji!" Shinji Ikari, riding his motorcycle for a while, sped from Tokyo-3 to the meeting place with Mei Isayama—a thriving car service area. Mei Isayama, dressed in a sharp outfit, had arrived earlier and was already waiting for Shinji. As soon as Shinji stopped, Mei Isayama immediately asked, his expression slightly tense, "Did you get through to Yuu Aso on the phone?"

"We've made contact. He seems to have discovered something. That place looks like a very high-level spirit realm. After he ran out, he found that he had lost all his memories." Shinji Ikari sighed. He really didn't expect that compared to his own bad luck, Asou Yuu's ghost-seeing ability was even better! When he made the call this morning, he could feel Asou Yuu's bad luck just by listening to his voice.

It was a village that had vanished from the map, a place that had disappeared into the shadows. Minakami Village—just hearing the name sent chills down Shinji Ikari's spine. Wow, it's a miracle you escaped unscathed...

The only trace left by this village in the world is the dam mentioned in the information that Aso Yuu had previously obtained. This dam is called Minakami Dam. Only the elderly can barely understand why this dam is called that. It is because there was a village nearby that suddenly disappeared.

Aso Yuu originally didn't plan to conduct an in-depth investigation; he was just gathering some peripheral information near the dam. However, due to Shinji Ikari's strong insistence, he brought extra equipment. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to have gotten in or disappeared without anyone knowing how.

Just a second ago he was taking out some water quality testing equipment to check the situation near the dam, but when he looked up, a dark and secluded path suddenly appeared in front of him. This was really too exciting, but Asou Yuu didn't panic. After all, the three of them had seen a lot of storms, so they immediately began to try to save themselves.

However, the method that works in most places like the Hidden Lands—moving backward without looking back and keeping your feet on the ground—failed immediately in this Hidden Land. After moving a distance, Asou Yuu found herself back at the starting point. This was a disaster! Asou Yuu immediately realized that the level of this Hidden Land was exceptionally high, and it was clearly deadly.

After that, her memories were shrouded in a thick fog. Asou Yuu had no idea what she had done inside. In the very end, she finally managed to escape from the underground passage. Lying on the roadside, panting, Asou Yuu felt a splitting headache. Looking back at the dark jungle behind her, she couldn't remember what she had just experienced. However, when she opened her waist pack and counted her tools, she found that several of her life-saving items were gone, and the film she usually used for exorcising spirits was almost completely used up. This surprised Asou Yuu.

As Yuu Aso looked back at the forest, she received a call from Shinji Ikari at that moment. She told him about her situation and accepted Shinji's advice: the best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee. Since she had escaped, it was clear that she could not solve the problem represented by this hidden place, and she had used up a lot of life-saving items, which meant that the danger was extremely terrible. Since she had escaped, she should not let her mind go haywire.

"This sounds like a disaster..." After listening to Shinji Ikari's summary, Mei Isayama could hardly believe it. Although Yuu Aso wasn't particularly good at fighting, his reasoning ability was more important than Shinji Ikari and Mei Isayama's combat prowess in many supernatural cases that required thinking. He seemed to have a talent for accurately finding the core of the entire supernatural event from countless clues, as well as the solution to that core. At the very least, he could, like today, use the various registration gadgets that Shinji Ikari brought back from the Bureau of Onmyō to help the two of them escape.

“Yeah, with Yuu’s level, he’d probably lose a bunch of life-saving gadgets if he went in, and it could also obscure his memories. It looks like it’s extremely dangerous inside.” Shinji Ikari sighed. “I’ve already notified the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang) to have Yuu do an evaluation, to make sure he doesn’t bring back anything unclean, and then to seal off the area near the Minakami Dam.” Shinji Ikari scratched his head.

According to his memory, the second part of the "Zero" series, Zero: Crimson Butterfly, was almost the pinnacle of horror in the entire series.

Well, the Breast-Jiggling Shrine Maiden is another peak... but it's clearly not in the realm of horror. To be honest, those vengeful priestesses in it... wow, next-gen console performance is amazing! Look at those lines, look at those outlines, look at those effects, tsk tsk, the official release of swimsuits, this is a horror game, you'll believe it if I tell you.

"What a...unexpected morning. Why can't I get through to him?" Shinji Ikari's words shocked Mei Isayama. He rubbed his forehead. Unbeknownst to them, Yuu Aso had almost been taken away in one fell swoop. This was truly unexpected. Fortunately, the guy was lucky and managed to escape by consuming a bunch of items. He was really tough.

"She's probably exhausted. She should rest somewhere. After all, this whole night's ordeal was anything but relaxing." Shinji Ikari shook his head. He didn't even need to guess what Yuu Aso, who had survived the ordeal, would be doing. After rushing home, she would eat something and fall asleep, then wait for the Onmyōryō (the Bureau of Yin and Yang) personnel to come and check on her, and see if any exorcism rituals were needed.

“That’s true, shall we continue on our way?” Isayama Mei nodded. Since Aso Yuu was alright, let them rest well. When he woke up and saw her missed call, he would probably call back.

"Huh?!" Shinji Ikari suddenly frowned. He seemed to sense something, yet also seemed not to. He tilted his head and slashed at it. A bus drove past them. Shinji frowned. He had a terrible feeling. "I think you might not be able to buy anything good at this year's Mountain God Festival."

“This time… I suddenly had the same feeling too.” Isayama Mei watched as the car stopped in the service area. Several people with mismatched personalities got out of the car and walked into the service area. Not long after, they came out of the service area carrying a lot of bags and returned to the car.

"Yamato Morishita from the Ghoul Souls?" Shinji Ikari stared intently for a moment. To his surprise, he saw Yamato Morishita sitting upright in the back seat through the car window. Their engineering background hadn't been wasted; Shinji recognized one of the main characters of the Food Wars he was so eagerly anticipating at a glance.

This person wasn't driving himself; if it were his own car, it would obviously be better than the one he was in. The bus in front of them was clearly a vehicle belonging to the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang) or the Countermeasures Bureau. However, the fact that the other party had chosen a similar route to theirs left Shinji somewhat speechless.

However, what Shinji Ikari is most concerned about now is where that inexplicable feeling he just had came from? Where did this strange, somewhat familiar sense of fear come from?

"Morishita Yamato doesn't seem very strong, but he's managed to hold the second-in-command position in the Evil Souls Group. Aren't you curious about why?" Mei Isayama's expression also turned cold. He asked a very simple question, one that she was quite curious about.

"So maybe we can look forward to it and go check out the convenience store." Shinji Ikari was a little curious about what the other person had bought from the convenience store with all those bags.

"No need to go in. Doesn't the Yin-Yang Bureau provide food? It seems they've swept through the food and beverage counters."

"Huh? Is it really that serious?"

Chapter 124 Entering the Mountain Gate

"Give it to me." A somewhat listless man sat there, reaching out to Shinji Ikari. Behind him was a torii gate with peeling paint and moss-covered stone steps that led upwards, seemingly to an old shrine halfway up the mountain.

However, both Shinji Ikari and Mei Isayama knew that behind the torii gate was the real venue for the Mountain God Festival. Although it was called the Mountain God Festival, half of the mountain had been leveled to serve as the venue, making it a very large space. The food battle between Gin Dojima and Yamato Morishita took place in a corner of this venue.

The strangely-looking gatekeeper in front of them was clearly in disguise; he was a member of the Countermeasures Bureau. There were many of their people nearby, guarding against bored, suicidal backpackers looking to gain followers, or, more bluntly, those who, given the prevalent Japanese tendency to commit suicide in the mountains, would simply wander into this deadly place. After all, falling into the hands of these people, saying death was just the beginning wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"Here you go!" Shinji Ikari took out three invitations. He didn't need to buy them; he got them directly from Totsuki Academy. In recognition of Shinji's help, the Totsuki Group gave him several invitations. Ritsuko Akagi had already joined Shinji and the others; to be precise, Ritsuko Akagi arrived first.

The food battle between Totsuki Culinary Academy and Morishita-ya had already become a highlight of this year's Mountain God Festival, which was suddenly added to the event. Although most people would definitely not be able to eat it, it would still be great to see the legendary top chefs dueling.

"Mr. Shinji Ikari... be careful, Morishita Yamato and the others who just went up... there's something wrong with them." This agent from the Countermeasures Bureau looked at Shinji Ikari. He knew Shinji Ikari; his best friend had died in Tokyo. He saw Morishita Yamato's eyes were red when he went up, but Morishita Yamato's aura was clearly off. This guy had always been considered to have little real strength, but rather to be good at socializing, with a strong political background and a knack for winning over subordinates. He had a group of loyal followers, which was why he was able to secure his position as the second-in-command of the Demon Souls Group.

“I understand. This guy is acting strangely, more than just a little bit.” Shinji Ikari nodded. He had been thinking about this question all the way here. What other paths could Yamato Morishita take? His only remaining chance should be this food battle with Gin Dojima. But Yamato Morishita’s current state is like, “I’m not pretending anymore. I’m laying my cards on the table. I’m a big shot.”

"The atmosphere up there is a bit strange, so be careful," the agent from the Countermeasures Bureau said at the end, then tilted his head to indicate that they could go up.

“Okay! I understand.” Shinji Ikari nodded. The situation above was obvious to anyone with a brain. The fact that Yamato Morishita, who had been suppressing his power, suddenly made a move could only mean one thing: that he no longer intended to hide his strength. This basically meant that no matter who won or lost the Food War, the probability of an accident was almost 100%, which surprised Shinji.

The fact that this guy from the Countermeasures Bureau was willing to say this was already a great consideration for Shinji Ikari, because from their perspective, this damn mountain god festival should all be wiped out. They wish they could set up a huge cloud bomb below to send them all away in one go. If anyone could help do this, the Countermeasures Bureau would be willing to hand them a knife.

"Shinji-kun, is this... the mystical world you spoke of?" After following Shinji Ikari into the torii gate, Ritsuko Akagi looked at the mountain peak with surprise, because it... was gone!

“This is a kind of invisibility, the lowest level of illusion.” Shinji Ikari looked at the scene above. Although there was still a long flight of stairs from the torii gate to the official mountain god festival site, he could already hear some of the noise from the festival site above, unlike before when it was cold and deserted outside the torii gate, as if he had encountered a ghost. “Ritsuko-nee, do you remember what I told you yesterday? Mei Isayama and I may not be able to take full care of you.”

"Understood. No talking, no touching, no contact, no stopping, no worrying, just watching and recording." Ritsuko Akagi simply summarized the things Shinji Ikari had told her last night.

"Don't worry, she did take a few things from NERV, so I'll try my best to take good care of her." When Ritsuko Akagi learned that Mei Isayama had gone to Tokyo-3, she wanted to collect some comparative samples. So she gave Mei Isayama 1 million yen and a few NERV-made alloy weapons for Shinji Ikari to use, which were to be scaled up proportionally for Unit-01. This immediately won over Mei Isayama.

"Thank you very much!" Ritsuko Akagi said with a smile.

"Now, be on your guard and stay alert." Shinji Ikari looked at the place in front of him, which, while not exactly packed, was already quite crowded, and shook his head. There were three groups of people present. The first group consisted of all sorts of strange and unsavory characters, most of whom were eyeing Shinji and his group—a child and two beautiful women—with hostile gazes.

The second group consisted of personnel from various organizations sent to maintain order or minimize casualties. Besides the Onmyoji Bureau, the Countermeasures Bureau, and the Spellcaster Association, there were also organizations similar in nature to the Demon Soul Group. Upon noticing Shinji and his group, these individuals all took out their phones and sent messages. After all, Shinji and Mei Isayama's reputations were entirely built on fighting, a fact known to everyone present.

Meanwhile, Ritsuko Akagi, the head of NERV's technical department, also began to gain increasing fame with EVA's achievements. The reason was simple: under Shinji Ikari's piloting, the combat power displayed by EVA Unit-01 not only shocked various forces, but even the various NERV branches in different countries felt ashamed, realizing that the headquarters' technical strength was indeed formidable, capable of creating such a powerful Unit-01. It was not to be underestimated, not to be underestimated...

In a sense, the German branch was willing to give up Unit-02 because they felt that the combat capabilities that Unit-02, which was specifically designed as a combat-ready EVA, could demonstrate were a complete joke in front of Shinji Ikari. They looked at Unit-02, which could use various weapons very smoothly, and Unit-01, which was still struggling to adapt to its weapons. They also looked at the two Angels that Unit-01 crushed and the more than a hundred demons that were torn to pieces. These two were no joke; they were not even on the same level.

“I never imagined… there would be so many on Japanese soil.” Ritsuko Akagi watched as a minotaur wearing sunglasses and dressed in a very American Western cowboy style walked past her. The man even raised his glasses and gave her an enthusiastic eyebrow raise, only to be glared back at by Mei Isayama.

"We'll have steak and grilled bone marrow for dinner." Just as this guy was about to say something, Shinji Ikari said with a half-smile. As someone who was almost blacklisted by the Mountain God Festival, Shinji Ikari's words here were rather unrestrained, especially after eating Chef Shinomiya's food. Shinji Ikari found that his bottleneck had been broken. Although he was a bit weak these past few days, he had begun to seriously advance towards a higher level, which surprised Shinji Ikari a lot.

"You brat, I think you want to..." The minotaur was immediately enraged. How dare he say that in front of him? But before he could raise his fist, he was pulled back by the person next to him. A man with a canine head looked at Shinji Ikari with a look of fear.

"Hey, really... why are you here again? Aren't you afraid of dying?" A somewhat shrill voice came, and a man with three wisps of mustache walked over, his large front teeth sticking out of his lips. "Long time no see, Shinji-kun, two or three years have passed in the blink of an eye!" He was accompanied by two beautiful young girls.

"Yes, the rats of Honganji Temple. It's a pity I couldn't get what you wanted. Theoretically, I came to watch the Food Wars, but this guy is harassing my colleague and clearly has her as his target, so don't blame me." Shinji Ikari lightly clenched his fist, then relaxed it. How did this bastard get here? Doesn't he care about his own shop? "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be busy in your own shop? Why are you meddling in other people's business?"

"Thank you, business is good, no need for me to worry. Also, let me see! Oh, that's right!" In the next instant, a tail that emerged from under the hem of the Mad Resentment Honganji Temple grabbed the minotaur's neck and hoisted him up. "This year, I have no choice but to play the bad guy, so... I hope you won't cause me any trouble, okay, Shinji-kun?"

"Don't worry, I'm just here to take a look. As long as I don't get into trouble, I won't bother with anything." Shinji Ikari shrugged, indicating that he didn't really want to cause trouble, but inwardly he sighed. So they really were targeting him? That damn thing, it seems like he can't deliberately cause trouble this time.

"Oh? Is that so? I told Ringo that you're not an unreasonable person, just a bit impatient. So now..." With a tightening of its tail, the minotaur was strangled to death. "No problem, right?"

"Yes, no problem. Go check out your shop later, and remember to give me a discount." Shinji Ikari narrowed his eyes. He'd actually been warned; unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough yet…

"Don't worry! I'll be waiting for you." Shinji Ikari's tactful response pleased the madman Honganji. After retracting his tail, he took his pipe from the girl beside him, took a puff, nodded to Shinji, and turned to leave.

Shinji Ikari, a troublemaker with considerable strength, definitely needs to be kept in check. After all… not long ago, the Sensui ninja, who possessed the inheritance of Holy Light Aura, had them so thoroughly defeated that they dared not show their faces. Realizing they couldn't win, they set a trap. When the Sensui ninja began their frenzied attack on the Spirit Detectives, they were practically celebrating with drinks!

But decades later, when the holy light flashed across Unit-01, all those demons and monsters could feel was fear…

Chapter 125 The Special Egg

"Wow, they really have everything!" Ritsuko Akagi's expression was quite varied as she watched Mei Isayama confidently buying things at the street stalls after making a fortune. Just by looking at the ground, there were quite a few plants that Ritsuko had never seen before. She even had Shinji Ikari buy a few plants that she clearly had never seen before, intending to cultivate them when they got back. As for the money, she would reimburse Shinji when they got back.

“It’s basically just… a place like a flea market.” Shinji Ikari looked at Mei Isayama, who had bought a piece of jade fragment of unknown origin for over 100,000 yen. “And most of the items are purely by chance. The shopkeepers don’t recognize them, and they can’t identify them at the time either. You might hit the jackpot, or you might just buy a bunch of junk.”