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

"...What is this? A mother who abandons her child and runs away?" Gojo Satoru looked at the spirit enveloped in a ball of spiritual energy, a look of utter amusement and exasperation on his face. How could he possibly take care of a child! "Hmm...it seems I'll still have to trouble Shinji!" Yes, Gojo Satoru's integrity...is questionable!

Chapter 130 The Unfamiliar Ceiling

"Ugh..." Shinji Ikari opened his eyes, then twitched his lips. He was lying in the NERV infirmary again, but this time he wasn't in a coffin. He was just on a regular hospital bed. The hard mattress made Shinji Ikari a little uncomfortable. He rolled his eyes and thought for a moment, "Hmm, an unfamiliar ceiling? Again?"

"Awake? Shinji-kun." Rei Ayanami's somewhat cool voice came from the side. Shinji Ikari turned his head slightly, and the blue-haired, red-eyed girl was sitting next to him. "You've been unconscious for 61 hours. Ryoko returned to the Totsuki Group yesterday afternoon. This is a note she left for you." Rei Ayanami took out a letter from a small bag beside her (the same style as Shinji's, blue and white), which had Ryoko Sakaki's delicate handwriting on it.

"Oh, thank you." Shinji Ikari propped himself up, feeling warm all over, without any strong physical discomfort. This surprised Shinji somewhat. Had Himuro Kirie gone too far? Based on his understanding of Himuro Kirie, she was truly angry this time. Shinji estimated that he would have to stay in bed for at least a week.

"Tsk, so it's already been offered to Kirie-nee." Shinji Ikari sighed. He did manage to get a bite of Morishita Yamato's food, but he didn't get to taste Dojima Gin's curry lobster seafood risotto! But Shinji Ikari understood that he definitely wouldn't get to eat it. After all, he had been unconscious for so long. No matter how good Dojima Gin's skills were, wouldn't the seafood risotto have gone bad?

However, after rubbing his stomach, Shinji Ikari still felt waves of hunger. He really wanted to eat—curry lobster seafood risotto! Although Yamato Morishita's grand dish had given Shinji a taste of middle-aged regret and the melancholy of fleeting time, to be fair, that dish was more understated and sophisticated. But Gin Dojima's cooking was nothing like that! That aroma that permeated the entire venue… s ...

"Yo! You're awake! You look pretty good! Your Kirie-nee wasn't too ruthless, was she?" The airtight door to the infirmary hissed open, and Mei Isayama walked in to Shinji Ikari's surprised gaze. She waved to Rei Ayanami beside her, then put her hands on her hips, "Rei, you spoil him too much! You've been watching over him all day, even though he's perfectly healthy! To hell with him!"

"Has it been a day? Rei, you need to get some rest." Shinji Ikari reached out and ruffled Rei Ayanami's hair; it felt wonderful.

Rei Ayanami tilted her head slightly, seemingly feeling strange. She didn't say much, but just narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression very cute, and smiled as she stared at you.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" Shinji Ikari looked at Mei Isayama. Although NERV wasn't exactly a deadly place, it didn't seem like a place where an outsider like Mei Isayama could just come and go as he pleased.

"My egg has arrived! Nekobozu is keeping its promise!" Mei Isayama, in high spirits, flashed a V-sign at Shinji Ikari. Upon arrival, NERV's technical department practically took over the responsibility of raising the egg, providing some very precious materials to create its own incubator.

"An egg soaked in LCL." Rei Ayanami said simply. LCL is a rare thing, rarely seen outside of NERV. Although NERV can manufacture it, they still don't understand what it is used for. Currently, it has two uses in NERV: first, to soak EVAs; second, to soak EVA pilots.

At least it is known that LCL fluid has a good ability to repair biological tissues, and its nourishing ability is much stronger than that of sheep placenta extract, so it is quite understandable to try using LCL fluid in the first stage.

"So the egg you bought for ten million is now in the hands of NERV's technical department?" Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes. Once it's in the technical department's hands, how could it possibly return to you? Sigh, you paid to give it away. However, Shinji could understand why Mei Isayama made such a decision. If even a professional like Nekobozu didn't have a good solution, Shinji, at least in the short term, didn't know any way to save the egg.

"Pretty much, but the results are quite good." Isayama Mei shrugged. She didn't know how to incubate eggs, so a thousand dollars was just a gamble. If it succeeded, she'd make a small profit; if it failed, it would be a huge loss, nothing more. Isayama Mei was quite clear-headed, and it seemed that the technical department had indeed found a good method. After soaking the egg in LCL fluid, more than ten liters of LCL fluid were extracted in just a few hours, which greatly interested Akagi Ritsuko.

By the way, after closely observing the powerful evil god Himuro Kirie's appearance, the quasi-evil god Tomichiko's slaughter of the entire mountain god festival, and the devastating lightning punishment, Ritsuko Akagi seemed to have received a mental shock. A large number of novel ideas burst into her mind, and she has been completely stuck in the laboratory for the past few days.

"Is that so? I'm glad you're happy. Well, then there's another question: how did things go after the Mountain God Festival?" Shinji Ikari rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit hungry. Rei Ayanami pushed a simple plate of food over from the table: mashed potatoes, sliced ​​bread, jam, and a small bag of green mixed fruit juice that didn't look very appetizing.

“Shinji wasn’t physically injured. He ran over there and didn’t even lift a finger; he just got beaten up.” Mei Isayama’s face showed a mischievous smile. “You should have Dr. Ritsuko Akagi give you a thorough check-up later to see if your IQ is still above average. After all… your sister really doesn’t hold back when she gets going.” Mei Isayama placed a bag of light meals with the McDonald’s logo on the side of the plate, and like a scholar studying Kirie Himuro, reached out and flicked Shinji Ikari’s forehead hard. Then, unable to hold back her laughter, she turned away and laughed.

"..." Rei Ayanami looked at the scene in front of her with a puzzled expression. Was it so funny to flick Shinji Ikari's forehead?

Of course, she didn't know that after Himuro Kirie came out of the Divine Mirror that day, she looked at the lightning punishment brewing in the sky with a shocked expression, and then when she looked down at Shinji Ikari, she grabbed him and started yelling "Ora! Ora! Ora!" without giving Shinji Ikari a chance to explain. Everyone present was dumbfounded, especially Ritsuko Akagi.

They might not know, but Ritsuko Akagi certainly does. Not to mention Shinji Ikari, even Ryuji Danma and the others now consider this fierce goddess a member of their own family. Every day when they cook, they offer a portion of their food to Kirie Himuro. Kirie Himuro doesn't pick and choose; at most, if she doesn't really want something, she'll just give it to the ghost car next to her. It's known that Kirie Himuro doesn't seem to like carrots very much. Even when Shinji Ikari cooks, the carrots will be picked out and thrown back into the bowl.

If she weren't a fierce goddess, and physical attacks weren't her forte, everyone present would have suspected that Shinji Ikari would have been beaten to death by this fierce goddess with her sleeves rolled up. Even Michiko, who was busy slaughtering mountain gods and offering sacrifices to monsters on the other side, took a few more glances at the scene.

In the very end, Shinji Ikari was so badly knocked out of his body by a sharp flick on the forehead that he fainted. So, Shinji really doesn't know what happened after that.

"This is a huge problem. The entire yokai community is going crazy. Many powerful yokai are coming out to demand an explanation from the Totsuki Culinary Group. But everyone knows that the real trouble isn't with these limited number of powerful yokai at the top, but rather with the most troublesome group below. This mountain god festival was originally a gathering of yokai from all over the country. After being slaughtered in one fell swoop, at least 30% of the yokai in Japan will be gone." The figure that Mei Isayama gave shocked Shinji Ikari. 30%?

This is no small number. Despite their frantic business efforts and being criticized as the most hardworking group in Japan, they have only really cut back on the branches. They are truly getting straight to the point.

“If Morishita Yamato were alive and could keep Michiko under stable control, the Countermeasures Bureau would definitely be willing to do anything to protect them.” Isayama Mei sighed. “Not to mention anything else, just the deterrent power alone would be enough to make these so-called great monsters behave much better.”

"So these bastards have forgotten that my sister is still here..." Shinji Ikari snorted coldly, wanting to humiliate the Totsuki Group? Although he didn't know his sister's opinion, after all, the dishes from the last two sides of the Food War ended up in Himuro Kirie's stomach, so Shinji Ikari didn't need to guess that Himuro Kirie was very satisfied with the Totsuki Group's offerings, not to mention Sakaki Ryoko, who was also from the Totsuki Group.

“Although it’s just the usual tactic of asking for the moon and then haggling, it doesn’t stop them from wanting to make a well-known wealthy organization like the Totsuki Group bleed a little.” Ritsuko Akagi walked in. “All your physical indicators are good. If you can stand up and walk a few steps without any problems, go get a synchronization test, and then you can go home!” Ritsuko Akagi nodded to Shinji Ikari. She didn’t know if it was because she had boldly followed Shinji Ikari to eat a bite of shrimp sashimi that day, but Ritsuko Akagi felt refreshed and didn’t look tired at all after several days of busy work.

“We just happen to have a baseball practice match against Nakiri Academy.” Shinji Ikari stroked his chin, a smirk playing on his lips. “Why don’t we just go to Totsuki Academy?” His smile was utterly unrestrained.

“As your supervisor, I’ll go too.” Mei Isayama knew perfectly well what Shinji Ikari was thinking: let Kirie Himuro make an appearance, have the Totsuki chefs serve her some good dishes, and then as long as Senzaemon Nakiri doesn’t act up, and the Totsuki Group makes regular offerings, let’s see who’s got a death wish and tries to mess with the Totsuki Group.

Chapter 131 Opening a Shop, Having a Meal, and Parcels

"Shinji, do you dare to calculate your attendance rate lately? As a student, not a teacher, I'm going to scold you, but lately..." Onizuka Eikichi loudly scolded Shinji Ikari, then slurped up the bubble tea that Shinji had made for him.

"There's been so much trouble lately, I don't even know how many." Shinji Ikari finished washing the pot used for brewing black tea, glanced at the direction of the shrine, which had already been taken away. It seemed that Kirie Himuro wasn't angry enough to ignore him, which was a good thing. Before, he didn't even have the courage to open the Divine Mirror, simply because he had been beaten up by the fierce god. Anyone would be terrified. "Sorry, things have really been..."

"Either in the infirmary, or on his way to the infirmary..." To everyone's surprise, Rei Ayanami suddenly said something so sarcastic that Shinji Ikari found it impossible to refute.

"Wow! Rei, you're actually being sarcastic now?" Kanzaki Reimi, who was next to her, was shocked when she heard what Rei Ayanami said. She even choked a little.

“Misato Katsuragi said it.” Rei Ayanami betrayed the real person without hesitation. It was a few days ago, when Shinji Ikari was doing a synchronization test, that Misato Katsuragi said to him. Rei Ayanami remembered it. Thinking about it carefully, after the Ghost Ship in Tokyo Bay, things came rushing in like a tide. Others might not know, but Rei Ayanami often heard Shinji Ikari riding his motorcycle at night and knew that he often set off at night.

"That Misato guy, shot me in the back!" Shinji Ikari said irritably. How could he be so harsh on me? That's too much! He usually acts like we're best buddies, always teasing and mocking the Intelligence Department together, but this is how you talk about me in front of outsiders?

"By the way, Shinji, what are your plans for this weekend?" Danma Ryuji asked with a smile. After more than a month of ups and downs, his motorcycle shop was finally almost finished with renovations, and he planned to open for a trial run this weekend.

Since Suzuki motorcycles started being unloaded at the store, many people have been asking about the prices of their motorcycles. In fact, because of the good opening promotion prices, even though the store hasn't officially opened yet, they have already received deposits of 300,000 to 400,000 yen. Moreover, they have recently helped several people repair and adjust their motorcycles, which has basically covered their food expenses for this month. This has given Ryuji Danma and Nagase Nagase a lot of confidence in the future.

Therefore, happiness needs to be shared. Danma Ryuji had already spoken to Onizuka Eikichi, who naturally agreed with a smile. He was quite envious of Danma Ryuji, who already owned his own motorcycle dealership; the dealership license alone was a considerable sum. However, Onizuka Eikichi wasn't jealous, as his own profession was quite successful.

"This weekend is fine, but I'm going to Nakiri Academy for a training match next weekend, so I'll be helping out at the opening this week!" Shinji Ikari said happily. "Rei will be there too, right?" Shinji Ikari smiled. He naturally had to get involved in Danma Ryuji's important matter. After all, the people who had helped him the most in the past were Danma Ryuji and Yukihira Joichiro. The uncle who ran a restaurant in a small town obviously didn't need his help.

Rei Ayanami glanced at Shinji Ikari and nodded slightly, indicating that she understood. She was sure Shinji was right and she would go. Although Shinji had taken her out of that terrible place at NERV, it was actually Ryuji Danma and his wife who had given her a sense of family during this time.

After all, Nagase Nagase himself often jokingly says that when they're together, it's like an older brother leading a pair of younger brothers and sisters—the younger brothers are very capable, and the younger sister is incredibly beautiful! Recently, using Rei Ayanami as a clothes hanger has become Nagase Nagase's latest hobby. Rei Ayanami doesn't seem to dislike it, though.

“Okay! That day looks like it’s going to be very busy. The workers I hired aren’t fully trained yet.” Danma Ryuji said with a grin. The workers are all family members of NERV. They are all honest and hardworking people. There are no troublemakers who think, “NERV pays my salary, so who do you think you are?” Basically, the only problem is that most of them know very little about motorcycle repair.

It's okay if you don't know anything; you can start from the basics, like cleaning up dust and dirt. Didn't Ryuji Danma learn everything by himself, by consulting books, little by little? So Ryuji Danma didn't see this as a problem. After spending some time with these future employees, he got along quite well.

"The director is coming." Rei Ayanami suddenly gave a simple reminder. She had overheard this while listening in. Shinji Ikari hadn't kept the phone call a secret from anyone, and within a few days, the news had spread throughout NERV. Everyone knew that Shinji was taking Misato Katsuragi to meet with the director of the new script he was starring in, and to attend a grand barbecue party. The lead actors from the new movie might also be there, which made many people very excited.

Especially for those who love tokusatsu (special effects) shows, Makoto Hinata really wanted to go, but obviously he didn't have the opportunity. He could only ask Shinji Ikari to help him get autographs from the director and actors. Makoto even tried to sound out Kozo Fuyutsuki, to see if he could invite the director to visit NERV, even if it was just a brief look around, not to go into the core area.

Kōzō Fuyutsuki sighed. Lately, thanks to Ritsuko Akagi's leadership in the technical department, they were practically on their way to godhood. Meanwhile, the equipment department was swamped with work, trying to build some suitable gear for Shinji Ikari. "And you're even planning to have someone visit NERV? You clearly don't have enough work! You're too idle!" Without further ado, Kōzō Fuyutsuki dumped a mountain of work on Makoto Hyuga, leaving him still working overtime.

"Ah... I almost forgot! Sorry, it looks like I need to go eat this barbecue first, and I'll come help after I finish eating!" Shinji Ikari clasped his hands together and apologized to Ryuji Danma.

Danma Ryuji wasn't angry. After jokingly scolding him a few times, he told Shinji Ikari to properly entertain the guests. After all, in Danma Ryuji's view, the Angels, who could attack at any time, would eventually come to an end. When that time came, if Shinji Ikari didn't plan to continue working for the Onmyōryō, then he would need to consider whether he should seriously think about how he would support himself in the future. Becoming an actor, even a suit actor, was a good option.

Of course, Ryuji Danma also knew very well that Shinji Ikari was not the kind of person who would obediently clock in and out at work. His future might be even more brilliant than he imagined.

"Suit actor?" Although Ryuji Danma already knew, Eikichi Onizuka was hearing for the first time that Shinji Ikari had this side job. "Wow, Shinji, I really didn't expect that. You have so many jobs! You even do tokusatsu dramas! Oh right, I saw the last movie too. That female villain, the one with the really big one! Ouch! Reimi, what are you doing! It hurts so much!"

Eikichi Onizuka screamed as Kanzaki Reimi forcibly plucked his fur with tape. She was clearly very dissatisfied with Eikichi Onizuka's lecherous behavior towards another woman, so she decisively took advantage of Eikichi Onizuka's lack of reaction and struck him deadly.

"Hahahaha..." The students, led by Murai Kunio, had just shown envy, but after seeing Onizuka Eikichi's miserable state, they immediately chose to laugh loudly.

"Hehehe..." Kanzaki Reimi made a face at Onizuka Eikichi without hesitation. She was not afraid of Onizuka Eikichi's revenge at all, and might even be a little looking forward to it. After all, Kanzaki Reimi had recently stopped trying to hide her true feelings.

"If you really want to go see it, that's fine. When necessary, you can just play the role of passersby. Oh, the pay is just meals and some drinks." Shinji Ikari shrugged. Such laborers would definitely be welcome anywhere. The only problem is that these guys might get too excited and not do things according to the director's requirements, causing the filming to be redone, which would be very boring.

"Forget it then. There's no salary, and we might not even get an autograph. What's the point?" Perhaps they were infected by Shinji Ikari's habit of always calculating money, but when Onizuka Eikichi's followers heard that there was no pay and they could only get two meals, they lost all interest.

"Speaking of which, Shinji, a package for you has arrived!" Nagase Nagisa suddenly remembered something. Actually, the package had arrived two days ago, but Shinji Ikari had been either hospitalized at NERV or busy with other things these past few days, so the package had been in the hands of Danma Ryuji and the others for a while. Nagase Nagisa remembered it at this moment and quickly ran to the storage room to get it.

"My? Package?" Shinji Ikari was a little surprised. In Japan, online shopping is not very popular. People still prefer to go to stores to buy things. Therefore, Japan has all kinds of shopping streets, and there are even shops that specialize in selling second-hand appliances. This is something that can no longer be seen in some fast-paced countries.

"Yes! This is it!" Nagase Nagisa took it out. It was clear that Nagase Nagisa had quite good arm strength, as he took out this small item with ease.

"Huh?" Shinji Ikari was immediately taken aback. The director had said he might send him a sample to take a look. It would have been better if Nagase hadn't brought it out. Today, he was probably going to be bothered to death by these bastards.

"Eternal Emperor!"

"Oh! You're actually the suit actor for the Eternal Emperor."

"Put it on! Put it on!"

The jeers immediately erupted, and Shinji Ikari put on his mask of pain...

Chapter 132 Director Tasaki's Small Request

"Oh! Shinji-kun!" Director Tasaki led a dozen men and women into the yakiniku restaurant where Shinji had made a reservation in advance, and waved happily to Shinji. "Oh, is this the incomparably beautiful NERV Operations Chief, Misato Katsuragi? She is indeed surprisingly beautiful!"

"You're too kind." Although Misato Katsuragi was dressed in casual clothes, the clothes accentuated her curves perfectly. Her perfect curves made the female protagonist next to her subconsciously puff out her chest, while the female villainous executive tugged at her collar. The beauty of Misato Katsuragi's boss was indeed somewhat overwhelming.

"By the way, Shinji, the combat suit has arrived, right? Have you tried it on?" Director Tasaki greeted him as soon as he sat down, and quickly served him some oolong tea. The sweltering summer heat was not a comfortable time for a normal person; walking under the sun felt like torture.

"Received it. To be honest, this suit is really well made, and it's much more flexible than the previous one. But why wasn't it used in the last movie?" Shinji Ikari said with some curiosity. He glanced sideways and found Misato Katsuragi chatting happily with the handsome male lead.

Ha, carnivorous woman.

"That was the original plan, but the production was delayed a little, so in the end we could only use the old suits that we modified to fit in. But according to the new script, making him look tattered and worn out seems a bit..." The props team member scratched his head, his smile somewhat awkward.

Shinji Ikari smiled but didn't expose the truth. That wasn't the case. The creation of this movie stemmed from the director's obsession. Previously, due to the poor ratings of the previous TV series, the original director was dismissed and replaced by a new one. However, the budget was cut, so the director gritted his teeth and simply cut the series to maintain the production cost of each episode. This greatly offended the higher-ups at the TV station.

However, because the script was well-prepared from the beginning, and the filmed series had a tight pace, the story was very engaging. This was in stark contrast to the previous series, which had a drawn-out episodic plot and a slow-moving main storyline that barely progressed, all in an attempt to sell the film.

Of course, there is a price to pay for doing this. Because we put a lot of effort into character development, there are bound to be fewer characters in the show. This will naturally offend the main sponsors of the tokusatsu series, the various film manufacturers. After all, if there are only a few characters in the show, how can they sell their film?

The entire television station was under immense pressure, which naturally put even more pressure on the director. However, what was unexpected was that the director, who was temporarily replaced, was incredibly stubborn. He gritted his teeth and refused to change the script or add any more people, and managed to finish filming according to the original script.

The only difference is that the protagonist's original suit, which only had one sound, was modified by adding some odds and ends, creating one, two, and three Super Race... I mean, Rider transformations. The matching motorcycle was also given a new set of fancy moves, and the Eternal Emperor, as the villain, became incredibly popular.

So just when the TV station was about to permanently bury troublemaker like director Tasaki, they suddenly learned about a problem that left them speechless. Because of the unprecedented tense and exciting fight scenes, the 300 km/h car chase footage, and the excellent script, this short tokusatsu drama became incredibly popular. When the final episode, the crane battle, aired, the ratings set a precedent for subsequent tokusatsu dramas: "My ratings are here, you can see how far you'll go."

A rather ironic scene unfolded during this time: before the third-to-last episode aired, the rubber factory visited the television station. During their previous meeting, the factory's representative had been full of complaints, urging them to introduce more characters to boost rubber sales. Therefore, the television station took this very seriously, not only inviting director Tasaki to join them in being scolded but also respectfully preparing the finest tea.

The dialogue between the two parties then went as follows:

The television station representative said, "We are very sorry that due to Director Tasaki's stubbornness, we were unable to introduce more characters as requested by you. We apologize for this."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. We just have something we want to talk about."

The TV station said, "We are very sorry, but this is all due to Director Tasaki's stubbornness."

Director Tasaki: "...Our ratings have been pretty good lately."

TV station: "Shut up! Mr. Representative, please rest assured, we will definitely give Director Tasaki a good scolding, and such a situation will never happen again."

"that……"

The television station said, "Please believe that we absolutely stand with you."

"What I really wanted to say was, Director Tasaki, would you be interested in making a movie? We're willing to fund it."

TV station: "We'll definitely take this seriously...wait, what?"

"Finally, someone who knows its value!"

So, while regretting that a section of the script had been cut, Director Tasaki took advantage of the fact that the TV drama crew had not yet disbanded and the plot was being discussed enthusiastically to quickly finish filming a tokusatsu movie. From the start of filming to its broadcast, it only took half a year and achieved extremely high praise and revenue.

As one of the main action actors, Shinji Ikari is naturally someone that director Tasaki values ​​highly. The suit that Shinji is given now is one that cost a lot of money to make. It will hardly affect Shinji's mobility and will also allow him to use some custom-made props, such as the specially made, unopened blade.

"The clothes are nice..." That's what he said, but what Shinji Ikari was thinking about yesterday was how a group of kids screamed when they saw the Eternal Emperor's suit. Several of them wanted to try it on, but Shinji Ikari's comment that it cost about 170 million yen stunned them.

However, amidst the jeers of the crowd, Shinji Ikari had no choice but to put on the suit himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and returned to the crowd, where he heard a group of kids screaming. They rushed over to take pictures with Shinji, because in a sense, Shinji wearing the suit was the real Eternal Emperor.

Onizuka Eikichi did something quite simple: he drew his matching sword, checked that it wasn't sharpened, and placed it beside him, preventing his students from playing with it carelessly. Onizuka Eikichi knew very well that even without being sharpened, this thing could still inflict serious injury, and since the tip was still there, a well-placed stab could truly be fatal.

"I tried it on, and the mobility is great, but isn't the Eternal Emperor supposed to have a battle-damaged version first, and then an evolved version?" Shinji Ikari looked at Director Tasaki with a puzzled expression. This was the original design, in other words, the version that was knocked off a crane by the protagonist in the TV series and was half-dead.

However, according to the script Shinji Ikari received a few days ago, the Eternal Emperor initially approached the protagonist in human form and led him to investigate a series of events, eventually defeating the imposter. He intervened several times, but because the Eternal Emperor was almost dead in the previous movie, his suit was naturally badly damaged. When he first appeared to help the protagonist, he was in a battle-damaged suit, with only a few blurry shots of him killing a few grunts.

So theoretically speaking, the costume that the director brought out is completely useless in this movie, unless director Tasaki is willing to destroy the newly made prop costume in battle. Otherwise, this costume will really be useless.

Director Tasaki gestured to Shinji Ikari, signaling him to lean closer. Shinji complied. "This is for you to wear when you want to conceal your identity when you go out. Remember, if you see someone filming, just strike your signature pose." Director Tasaki added, "This outfit has already been sold as promotional attire!"

Shinji Ikari was completely stunned. What the hell was this?! He was supposed to go out and fight in a suit? Well… that didn't seem so bad. He moved closer to the director. “Shouldn’t my stunt fee go up? And could I have a full set of protagonist gear?”

"Deal!" Director Tasaki said with a smile that there was no problem. This movie version was different from the previous ones. He had a very large budget, enough to support such extravagant spending. This was mainly because of the sensational reports in the media last time that Shinji Ikari and Yuu Aso were racing cars in leather suits.

So Director Tasaki, being incredibly clever, thought of this. Although he was an outsider, he didn't know that all sorts of mountain spirits and monsters had died at this mountain god festival, and even those ancient monsters with lifespans of thousands of years had come out to make their presence known.

"What are you whispering about? You're chatting so enthusiastically. If you don't eat soon, we'll be finished!" Katsuragi Misato said with a grin. She had a great time getting a free meal today, and most importantly, meeting people had greatly boosted her confidence. The protagonist's gaze, so kind!

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I've neglected our beautiful commander! Come on, let me toast you first!" Director Tasaki raised his glass with a grin. Because of his special status, when there was a barbecue, someone would always put the grilled food into his bowl. While he was chatting with Shinji Ikari, he had plenty to eat, but Shinji Ikari didn't have much to eat. There was no need to expect Misato Katsuragi to eat anything.

"Oh! Then I won't be polite either!" Misato Katsuragi also raised her pitcher of beer and chugged it down with Director Tasaki. She then let out a long sigh, which surprised everyone around her. They had never expected Misato Katsuragi to be such a generous person.

"Hahaha! Great!" Director Tasaki said with a smile. "It's a pity that a beauty like you works at NERV. Would you be interested in playing a supporting role here, like Shinji Ikari?" As soon as Director Tasaki finished speaking, the eyes of several people lit up. As NERV's operations commander, Misato Katsuragi naturally possessed a heroic spirit, a spirit that was very difficult for the actresses present to imitate.

So Director Tasaki's words immediately piqued the interest of the screenwriter and several others. The screenwriter even began to imagine what kind of identity could match the woman's status and aura. Of course, it also alerted several others, especially the female lead, who, although she was quite good in the TV version, received only "Where did the female lead go?" comments in the movie version. Her own screen time was already limited, and if it were further reduced, where would she go to complain?

"I'm sorry, I'm too busy with NERV. Thank you very much for your kindness." Misato Katsuragi waved her hand and politely declined. She came today partly to freeload a meal, and partly out of curiosity about what the people making the movie are like off-screen after the spotlight fades.

Now it seems that the group of colleagues who are familiar with Misato Katsuragi are no different. They chat and joke around, drink and talk, and no one talks about the script. The only people who probably talk about the script are the director and Shinji Ikari. After all, although Shinji Ikari is not a star, but just a suit actor, he is really the core. You can tell this by the fact that they always make time for Shinji Ikari to eat.

In order to study Shinji Ikari, the people of NERV have obtained a copy of the movie, which gives them a rudimentary understanding of Shinji Ikari's fighting skills. This guy's skills far exceeded their expectations, even to a degree that they could not have imagined.

This was naturally done to study Shinji Ikari's abilities and then design devices that could work in conjunction with his actions. For example, a few days ago, Unit-01 was equipped with a Tiger Finger set, which would allow it to deal more damage when it threw a punch. Although everyone knows that Shinji Ikari is now able to defeat the Angels by using some strange and unusual skills.

"That's a real shame, this was such a delightful meal!" Director Tasaki patted his stomach. His biggest achievement today was securing an agreement for Shinji Ikari to wear a leather suit when he goes out on missions.

Although the production team will definitely deny any relationship with Shinji, there is no doubt that Shinji's actions will generate huge news value. As long as he is filmed a few times, what does the little bit of stunt fee and two suits I paid matter?

You have to understand that during prime time on major TV news broadcasts, advertising during that time is paid for by the second! And without a doubt, Shinji Ikari did just that. The Eternal Emperor will maintain its popularity for a long time, which is much more cost-effective for their new movie than buying announcements or doing publicity. Anyway, in the end, these reporters will definitely come to interview him, right?

“Yes…” Shinji Ikari rubbed his stomach. He hadn’t eaten much, but seeing Misato Katsuragi wiping her mouth with a tissue, as if she were quite full, he felt inexplicably annoyed!

I was originally planning to force myself to write this, but I couldn't take it anymore. It's probably because I went for a walk after dinner last night and got all sweaty, and then came back and sat in an air-conditioned room with the fan on. My wife is in her postpartum period, and I've been in air-conditioned rooms too much. My physical condition is terrible...