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

"Ah Guo, aren't you being a little too hasty? This former ghost isn't stupid, he just doesn't want to use his brain. If you're too deliberate, he'll be discovered."

"Hmm... the day after tomorrow? After you leave? Shinji, you know, we have plenty of these where we are."

"more or less."

Chapter 230 The Interrupted Cultivation (5K views, please subscribe)

Although Shinji Ikari warned Izumo no Okuni not to rush into flirting with the former demon, the Onmyōryō (the Bureau of Onmyō) clearly didn't think so. They were already fed up with these Possession Fruits, and now that there was a former demon who could directly eat them, the Onmyōryō made a decision almost immediately to send ten to the former demon to satisfy his craving.

So the next morning, as soon as he got up, Shinji Ikari immediately had Misato Katsuragi gather all the NERV personnel, including Ayato Kanna, together to prevent any unexpected situations.

"That little guy is really energetic." Asuka yawned. Early in the morning, she heard Asuka yelling something. It seemed that there was some conflict between her and the little guy. Then there was a lot of chaos and noise, which made the whole NERV very happy.

“After all, the Renen family aren’t human…” After Shinji Ikari said this, Ayato Kamina gave him a look that said, “How could you say something like that?” Shinji Ikari shrugged. “The thing he’s eating as a snack is considered a highly threatening item by the Onmyōryō.”

"High threat? That thing from yesterday? It doesn't seem like a big threat to you at all." Ayato Kamina was somewhat surprised. While he was standing there watching, a group of burly men from the EVA Engineering Department who had suddenly become familiar with him in the bathroom the night before were muttering things like, "What... that's all the destructive power? It looks like it can't even penetrate a 30mm steel plate." Clearly, they were somewhat underestimating the Yin-Yang Bureau's trump card.

Then, after they returned yesterday, Misato Katsuragi called everyone together and had Shinji Ikari give a brief introduction to the former demon. Then, everyone, including Ayato Kamina, realized one thing: the former demon in front of them was still sealed and most of its power could not be used.

According to records in the Yin-Yang Bureau, the Former Demon possessed a weapon—an axe. With this axe and the assistance of the Go-Demon, he was able to break through his own rank and become the true "Sakura-gami" Former Demon! Even now, the Former Demon's strength should not be underestimated, as no one knows if he might unleash a powerful attack when he is low on health.

"The threat a creature poses to humanity isn't measured by the amount of power it possesses, but by the damage it can inflict. The Possession Fruit grows by absorbing the dark side of humanity, and no one knows where it will end. But we know that those with a dark side in their hearts will be drawn to the Possession Fruit, and then immense chaos will begin." Shinji Ikari sighed. For humanity, this troublesome thing was truly disgusting.

“Western countries reported an S-class evil spirit before. Its ability wasn’t strong; it just amplified people’s feelings of hunger. But after it grew, even various strange things were affected by it, and then an entire city was destroyed in an uncontrollable famine,” Izumo Okuni said softly. “However, this evil spirit itself was very weak, so weak that even a novice exorcist had a chance to kill it directly. But unfortunately, we never had that chance because no one could get close to it and still remain conscious.”

“This…” Ayato Kamina was stunned. He never imagined that such a thing could happen, that the weak and the strong could be united together.

"So our mission is very important." Shinji Ikari hooked his arm around Ayato Kamina's neck.

"Huh?" Ayato Kamina was somewhat surprised. If you were to say that Shinji Ikari is a hero, Ayato Kamina would actually have a feeling about it. He works at NERV during the day, defeats several giant Angels, and slays demons all over Japan at night. It's quite interesting. But clearly, the context of Shinji Ikari here includes him.

"We pilot EVAs to stand before all of humanity and fight against the giant Angels that will destroy all of humanity," Asuka said proudly, then glanced at Ayato Kamina beside her. "In a sense, you are in the same situation as us, piloting a giant robot, representing all of humanity, and fighting against aliens who pose an equally great threat."

"..." Ayato Kamina felt as if he had been shocked. He actually carried such a heavy mission?

"So, cheer up. The hopes of many people rest on your shoulders. Whether it's TERRA or NERV, they are both UN agencies designed to address certain problems." After saying this, Shinji Ikari added in his mind, each sentence more off-topic than the last.

“Oh…” Ayato Kamina nodded. For the first time, he realized that he was also a “hero”, just like Shinji Ikari.

"Let's go, don't overthink it. It's time for morning training, but this time we don't have to walk! We just need to space out." Shinji Ikari said with a smile. He didn't directly say that he was meditating or anything like that. After all, for Ayato Kamina, a newcomer with no experience, understanding training methods was really too far-fetched.

“However, you cannot continue your training. We need to return to Tokyo-3 as quickly as possible.” Misato Katsuragi put down the phone.

"Looks like new trouble is on its way?" Shinji Ikari stretched. In the original anime, the changing seasons weren't really noticeable. Shinji was basically always wearing short sleeves, and there were very few scenes of him changing his clothing. Therefore, Shinji himself couldn't know the exact time of the Angels' attack in his memory. After all, he wasn't one of those frame-by-frame analysis enthusiasts, and his information in this area was very limited.

“Yes, US military satellites have detected something approaching the Japanese coast, and they are deploying warships to observe it.” As she said this, Misato Katsuragi turned to Ayato Kamina beside her. “Since it didn’t come from Tokyo Jupiter, you don’t really need to worry.”

"Is that so... We're going back already?" Ayato Kamina put his hands on his hips and looked at the mountain path behind him. He had been walking for a whole day. Originally, Shinji Ikari had told him that he was going to meditate under the waterfall, like a monk practicing in a traditional temple. Then, he would take a bath in the afternoon and have a simple dinner before they would take a car back to NERV headquarters.

But the thought of going back made him feel somewhat reluctant.

“Yes, because of the time constraints, we need to take a car to the road down the mountain and then leave by helicopter.” Misato Katsuragi quickly ruffled Ayato Kamina’s hair, then turned around with a smile to give orders to the other NERV staff. There were quite a few of them, and they brought a lot of things. Packing them up in a short time was a very troublesome task.

"Shinji, you guys just need to get your things ready. The helicopter is on its way and will be taking off soon, so hurry up!" Ritsuko Akagi gestured to Shinji, Asuka, and Rei Ayanami to quickly pack their things, as time was running out.

"When we woke up this morning, Shinji had already helped us pack most of our things." Ayato Kamina shook his head, indicating that they could leave at any time.

“Oh…” Ritsuko Akagi glanced at Shinji Ikari beside her, her eyes filled with doubt. “I didn’t expect you to have the ability to predict the future?”

“No, it’s just a professional habit. You can ask Mei Isayama; her pack should be ready by now.” Shinji Ikari pointed to Mei Isayama, who was standing to the side, stroking her smiling face, which looked even more gleaming after soaking in the hot spring yesterday.

"Of course it's packed, so it's easy to run away or move around at any time." Mei Isayama nodded. To be honest, this habit was formed under Shinji Ikari. When they are out and about, although they are not necessarily in danger all the time, as long as they are a little bit diligent, they will be grateful for their diligence when unexpected things happen.

"Good habit!" Ritsuko Akagi nodded. "Then take your bags and wait by the courtyard. The minibus will take you directly down."

"Okay!" Shinji Ikari and the others turned around and went upstairs to get their belongings.

"This is Red Hawk, we are approaching the target location," the pilot said quickly. The aircraft he was piloting was the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the world's top-of-the-line high-speed reconnaissance aircraft. His crew had been ordered to temporarily change their flight course and conduct reconnaissance of a specific sea area at an altitude of over 20000 meters.

On the surface, the mission didn't seem difficult. To the pilot, it seemed like they could simply take a detour and return to base to enjoy some pleasant beers at the bar. After all, it wasn't the old days anymore, and there was no stainless steel monster chasing them. All they had to do was fly over that sea at high speed.

"Understood... Activate your detection equipment, maintain flight path stability, and ensure data link stability." The clear instructions came back from the command center.

"What the hell is that?!" Before the pilot in front could answer, he could already hear the horrified voice of his buddy in the back seat.

"Maintain course, Red Hawk, you are flying at an altitude of 20000 meters. Based on past experience, as long as you don't disturb it, this thing won't attack you." The command center's orders remained calm and unwavering, continuing to issue commands in a cold manner. At the same time, they had begun receiving data transmitted back from the precious Blackbird fighter jet via data link.

"So what is this thing? It must be over 200 feet tall, at least 250 or 260 feet?" Hearing the "heartwarming" reassurance coming from the control tower, the guy in the front seat clearly didn't feel relieved. He muttered under his breath, "So what the hell is this thing?"

"More than 200 feet?" The pilot in the front seat was also stunned. More than 200 feet is the size of a skyscraper. What the hell are they investigating?

"This is truly unbelievable; there's something this huge," the guy in the back seat muttered to himself.

"Keep the communication clear, and could you adjust the image clarity?" The command center was somewhat annoyed by the pilot's muttering in the back seat and directly asked for silence.

"Okay...okay..." Then, the co-pilot removed his oxygen mask, tapped the back of the person in front of him, and after the pilot turned to look at him, he made a few hand gestures. The pilot in the front seat nodded slightly. Their long-standing tacit understanding allowed them to quickly reach an agreement. The huge figure in the sea in front of them had made their reconnaissance mission more than just a simple reconnaissance mission. Leaving this sea area with unknown dangers as soon as possible was the wise choice.

"The picture is very clear... It looks like this opponent is a little special... Red Hawk, maintain your speed and don't speed up!" The pilot's little trick was immediately recognized by the rear, and they began to ask them to slow down.

"Okay." The pilot reduced the speed back, but it was still much higher than before. He turned to his partner behind him and gave him a thumbs up. They were very familiar with this little trick, but when he turned around, he didn't see his partner give him a hand signal. He seemed to be observing something intently!

"Damn it! Get out of the way! What kind of crap would attack us?! Dodge!" The guy in the back seat suddenly yelled in a panic. The guy in the front seat, who had been his longtime partner, almost instinctively turned the rudder. At high speeds, they couldn't make quick turns like a nimble propeller fighter jet, but because of the high speed, even a slight change in angle could cause them to deviate a huge distance in an instant.

“Red Eagles! You must…” The command center seemed to have other ideas.

But the pilot in the back seat immediately cursed, "Damn bureaucrats, go to hell!" and cut off the communication. At worst, the base would put them in solitary confinement or retire them. They were just reconnaissance pilots, not fighter pilots!

"Buddy, after this, we can really start thinking about retirement." Watching the first beam of energy glide past, the SR-71 only trembled a few times before the experienced pilot regained control. He muttered to himself, "Disobedience on the battlefield can be a big deal or a small one, but this thing is clearly very important. Their disobedience might..."

By this time, the pilots naturally realized what kind of monster they had encountered. Near Japan, there was only a kind of evil thing called the Apostle that would continuously attack from above. Previously, a huge number of American fleets and Japanese troops had suffered heavy losses due to the attacks of this thing. The enemy would basically destroy anything that hit them, without any chance of repair. This unexpectedly boosted the arms industry of Japan and the United States.

"It's not over yet! Get out of the way!" The guy in the back seat had been watching the other person with his surveillance equipment. Seeing that his colleague seemed to be relaxing a bit, he quickly reminded him!

But it was too late to say anything then. A second massive beam of light ripped through the sky, and the two pilots were shot dead without a trace of pain, in a state of terror...

"Beep..." The video abruptly stopped as the glow filled the field of vision. All the NERV executives and the three EVA pilots watching the video understood the fate of the two disobedient pilots. They were also grateful that they had not turned off the reconnaissance camera equipment on the SR71 aircraft at the very end, so that this piece of information that carried humanity's initial understanding of this Angel would not be lost.

"In short... what we know so far is that the enemy can launch two energy shocks in a short period of time, which is extremely dangerous. Moreover, according to the US military's own estimates, although this energy shock is much weaker than the previous Raikou, once it hits, given the strength of EVA's AT field, it will most likely cause serious damage..." Ritsuko Akagi first mentioned some known information, but this known information was definitely not good news.

“But he still only has one… If possible, I will launch an attack with three EVAs simultaneously, using Unit-00 and Unit-02 to attract its attention, and then Shinji will deliver the final blow.” Stroking her chin, Misato Katsuragi seemed to want to replicate the successful operation against the Angel of Thunder from the previous battle.

"..." Shinji Ikari sighed as he looked at the enormous Angel image on the screen. Misato Katsuragi's plan was correct; in fact, this combination of attacks would be quite effective against most Angels. However, it wouldn't work against this one. Misato Katsuragi didn't know much about the Angel before her, but Shinji knew its name: "Angel of Music"...

What impressed me about him was not anything else, but the part where Shinji Ikari and Asuka were required to wear matching gymnastics outfits and train in sync on a gypsy machine, just like Ryoji Kaji did.

One thing must be admitted is that for someone to come up with such a ridiculous idea, it's no wonder that Misato Katsuragi has her eye on this man—he's crazy enough! And to think of using Twister for special training, Shinji Ikari also has no hesitation in thinking that Ryoji Kaji is a complete and utter pervert!

"We need to be cautious. After all, the fact that it can release two energy shocks in such a short time is suspicious." Shinji Ikari could only hint at this.

"Are you scared? Leave this guy to me and Unit-02!" Asuka rolled her eyes at Shinji Ikari, clearly very dissatisfied with his retreating words.

"come on!"

"Humph!"

Chapter 231 Preparing to Strike

Shinji Ikari, wearing his battle suit, glanced at Rei Ayanami on his left and then at Asuka Langley Soryu on his right, both wearing devices on their heads for some unknown purpose. One looked playful, the other cute, but it was just his own peculiarly silly hat...

"Stop thinking about what's on your forehead!" Katsuragi Misato's voice clearly showed that she had noticed Shinji Ikari's gaze as he observed the head accessories on Asuka and Rei Ayanami's heads. Her voice suppressed a laugh. She was all too familiar with Shinji's little habit of looking around. Almost every time he wore this combat suit, he would show extreme dislike for the communication device he was wearing.

"Focus your attention. You've all seen the intelligence about this thing. Because of the heavy losses in the previous battle against the Angels, neither the US military nor the Self-Defense Forces have been able to send out large numbers of troops to fight back. So you are humanity's first and last line of defense, so you all understand your responsibilities, right?" Misato Katsuragi took a deep breath and continued speaking over the communication.

This was not her deliberate slander, but rather the reality of the situation. Following the previous Apostles and the Tokyo Bay incident, and even the TERRA operation which inadvertently dealt a heavy blow to the UN Navy, including the remaining main battle ships of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, almost all of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's warships were destroyed. The Japanese Navy hastily placed orders for additional shipbuilding, which almost filled all of Japan's spare large slipways. Even with this wartime-like construction, replenishing the navy's ships would still be a long process.

The situation was similar for the United States. In order to quickly replenish their fleet, they even had to go to their naval graveyards to unseal old warships that had been stored away. Even so, the construction of new ships was put on the agenda in large numbers.

In contrast, while the construction of ships and aircraft might be able to make up for some losses within six months to a year after accelerated progress, the number of people operating these technological weapons cannot be made up for so easily! An excellent fighter pilot must go through a series of steps at a flight school, including learning flight-related knowledge, primary trainer flight training, advanced trainer flight training, and then specialized aircraft type adaptation training, accumulating hundreds of flight hours before he can be considered a pilot who can independently fly fighter jets soaring in the blue sky.

This isn't like in a game where every time a fighter jet is produced, a pilot is immediately assigned to it. That's why there's the saying: "The training cost of each pilot is equivalent to its weight in gold." Moreover, the pilots who died in the previous phase were elites with long flight hours, and such losses were enough to cause the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the US military immense pain.

Even if we were to replace them with rookie pilots, it would take years (have you seen Top Gun 2? I haven't, mainly because I heard it's become a nostalgia movie, and the mighty American imperialists, the US Air Force that relies on high technology to fight, are actually starting to talk about... using spirit to make up for technological shortcomings! Ah... when are you going to have "monthly water, fire, wood, wood, metal, metal"? How can you have spirit if you're not in a good mood!). These losses are real, irreplaceable resources in the short term.

The situation on the naval side is even more exaggerated. Each ship has several hundred people, mostly technical personnel. Not to mention the captain, first officer, and chief officer, even basic positions like radar and sonar operators are not something that just anyone can do. There is no doubt that the ship has suffered a major blow.

"While I can understand, it basically means that this time we can only rely on ourselves, right?" Shinji Ikari sighed. The first time, both the US military and the Ground Self-Defense Force fought the hardest, wanting to prove that they could defend their own territory. But after that, they were less and less effective. During the last invasion of the Raeangel, the Ground Self-Defense Force basically only dared to send some small units and long-range forces to make a token effort. And this time, the result was that NERV headquarters had fully activated its long-prepared defense system.

However, Rai once again proved one thing: when you have a powerful AT domain, you can do whatever you want without any shame. Even if you hit a stationary target, you will be killed by the stationary target!

"That's the situation, so now the three of you have become everyone's hope." Misato Katsuragi sighed. After the last encounter with the Rai-Angel, the surface defense facilities of the entire NERV headquarters could basically be summed up in four words: "evaporated on the spot"! They were basically completely destroyed, and now the NERV headquarters is simply unable to provide enough support for the EVAs that have launched their attacks.

It must be said that the Angel, a cannon-like Angel, was a real headache for NERV. Fortunately, Shinji Ikari's final, all-out attack destroyed the Angel in one fell swoop, otherwise NERV headquarters might have suffered a real blow! Such a heavy loss almost did not cause the slightest damage to the Angel, almost making the engineering department of NERV headquarters begin to doubt the meaning of their work.

Then Shinji Ikari said, "Huh? Isn't your main job to keep rebuilding Tokyo-3?" This immediately broke her defenses, and she and Shinji Ikari started bickering for a while.

"The enemy is close to the coastline. The long-range missiles launched by the Ground Self-Defense Force and the US military are completely ineffective. The enemy's AT field looks as strong as his energy shock." Hyuga Makoto adjusted the image, and the scene observed by a remote observation station was projected far away. A huge figure was struggling to move on the water.

"We can utilize its speed..." Shinji Ikari narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scene before him. This guy was troublesome. They needed to force it to its first form, and only after this brat split into multiple forms could the real battle begin. But all of this was something Shinji knew only to himself, and he couldn't say it...

"..." Rei Ayanami turned her head slightly and looked at Shinji Ikari. She could sense that, just as Mei Isayama and Yuu Aso, Shinji's teammates who knew him best, had said, Shinji habitually hid a lot of secrets. And until the very end, he would carry all the pressure of these secrets alone.

However, she was willing to believe in Shinji Ikari! In that dark little house, it was Shinji Ikari who rescued her! It was a true face-to-face encounter on a soul level. Shinji Ikari saw her, and she saw Shinji Ikari in return. Moreover, in terms of their personalities, only Rei Ayanami herself probably knew who had seen whom completely. Therefore, she was willing to believe in Shinji Ikari unconditionally!

"Attack..." Gendo Ikari, sitting high above, silently issued the order, "Three against one, there is no reason to lose."

While Gendo Ikari was speaking, Shinji Ikari squinted at Gendo's surrender. He hadn't changed out of his blindfold yet. Because Misato Katsuragi had already confirmed that Adam was in NERV's basement, Shinji was certain that what his nominal father had received from Ryoji Kaji was not some sealed Adam specimen, but something else entirely.

Shinji Ikari wasn't entirely clear on the value and capabilities of that thing, but judging from the result, it gave Gendo Ikari, a middle-aged man, the ability to fight against Shinji Ikari, a young man destined by fate. That was quite exciting. Unit-01 and Unit-13 fought each other fiercely for an unknown period of time.

Normally, there are almost no opportunities to see Gendo Ikari, so now that he has the chance to see Gendo, Shinji Ikari can't help but take a few more glances. However, Shinji's staring reaction naturally reminds the entire NERV of that not-so-happy (not really) statement. Shinji was quite thoughtful back then.

"Ha! Since it's a beach engagement, be careful with the distance!" Misato Katsuragi's eyes narrowed. There was very little information about the thing in front of her. The information that the SR71 pilots had risked their lives to obtain only told NERV that, like the Water Angel, it possessed a considerable energy impact and seemed to be capable of rapid-fire, or rather, firing two shots in quick succession. This was quite important information.

"Understood." Shinji Ikari didn't have anything to say. The requirement in the anime was that after this thing splits apart, two real cores would be revealed, and that would be the time to truly destroy it.

"Hi!" Rei Ayanami maintained her usual serious expression, seemingly oblivious to anything else, keeping everything buried deep within her heart.

"It will all be over soon!" Asuka said with a vivid expression and a proud look on her face. Although she had been numb by Shinji Ikari's test data, Asuka still firmly believed that she was excellent, the best! She was willing to become an EVA pilot for NERV because, here, she could realize her value.

"Hmm... EVA Unit-00, Unit-01, and Unit-02 have passed through passages 2, 34, and 41, and are finally preparing for sortie at exit 27!" Misato Katsuragi said quickly. Although as the commander, she wanted to gather more intelligence before sending out EVAs to engage the enemy, the die was cast, and she had no choice! "Initiate ejection!"

The three EVAs—yellow, purple, and red—were successively transferred to the ejection track. Time was running out, and there was no more time left for Shinji Ikari. Once the EVAs reached the ejection position, they were split open and launched.

"Did you bring everything I gave you?" Shinji Ikari asked suddenly with a smile as he launched himself.

"I brought it!" Rei Ayanami reached into her pouch and pulled out a packaged solid substance.

"Yes! I've got it!" Asuka happily took it out as well.

"Then let's give it a try!" Shinji Ikari laughed. This was a combination of his and Ryoko Sakaki's skills, because neither Rei Ayanami nor Asuka Langley Soryu had the physical limits to withstand it, and they couldn't compare to Shinji Ikari or Yusuke Urameshi. To be precise, Yusuke Urameshi, who was currently training, couldn't take it anymore because he drank too much in one gulp...

So Shinji Ikari tried to turn the sake brewed by Ryoko Sakaki into liqueur-filled chocolates. Although some of it evaporated during the process, according to Mei Isayama's tasting, the stuff was quite effective. He even took her prototype and sold it as a stimulant in her black market shop. Then, the Onmyo Bureau found out and sent Raiko to buy it all.

Then Raiko took it back and fed half to her shop manager, who knows what she was thinking. As a result, this reduced-content version of the liqueur-filled chocolate became a simple "dessert" for Maou Sadao. There was absolutely no other reaction. However, as an aside, when Ae found out, she rushed over and angrily tore Raiko's face off.

Now, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu had torn open the wrappers of the two liqueur-filled chocolates one after the other. Even in LCL, they could clearly smell the sweet aroma and faint scent of alcohol emanating from the chocolates. Asuka sniffed and popped one into her mouth. The thin, crisp chocolate and the shell made of crushed nuts provided a rich texture. Then, in the next instant, the overwhelming aroma of alcohol hit her head like a battering ram!

"Hey! When did you do that?!" Misato Katsuragi was completely shocked. They were all used to Shinji Ikari pulling out his liquor bottle from his pouch; in fact, it was a problem if Shinji hadn't even pulled it out. But what Rei Ayanami and Asuka were doing right now was truly an eyesore to them.

However, everyone has to admit that this is a very clever idea. There is no doubt that Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu cannot drink the original pure liquor directly, but no one expected that Shinji Ikari would come up with such a roundabout way to achieve his goal. Chocolate filled with liqueur is indeed a very good choice.

"I need your help." Rei Ayanami tossed the food into the bowl without hesitation and chewed it quickly.

"The taste is still pretty good!" Having already swallowed Asuka, I'm starting to feel the heat all over my body.

"...The synchronization rate of all three is increasing!" Ibuki Maya stared at the data in front of her, her eyes almost glazed over.

"Shinji, you should still be at the base, right?" Ritsuko Akagi asked bluntly.

"Can we talk about it later? This thing isn't easy to make." Shinji Ikari sighed. It seemed that Ritsuko Akagi was already itching to search his personal locker. She had a particular fondness for the little cakes and desserts she made, and whenever he made them to offer to Kirie Himuro, she always got a share, even more so than Misato Katsuragi who came to beg for them!

“Okay!” Ritsuko Akagi nodded in agreement.

Chapter 232 A Setback? Not a chance.

"Thank you, Shinji Ikari and Raikou. This area was severely damaged before, and repairs are not yet complete. You only have one temporary cable, so please be careful," Ritsuko Akagi said, half-jokingly.

"What does this have to do with me?" Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes as he felt the cursor constantly tracing across his face in the tunnel. This time, it wasn't just Shinji Ikari feeling the rush of blood through his body, but it wasn't exactly the same for everyone.

If Shinji Ikari's blood was surging like a flash flood, Asuka and Rei felt as if their bodies were being washed by the high-speed flow of a river after a heavy rain. It was the first time the two of them had experienced such a sensation.

So both girls had slightly flushed faces and were completely silent. Even though it was just a liqueur-filled chocolate about the size of a Ferrero Rocher, it was already a bit too much for them. Their little minds were already starting to wander into all sorts of wild thoughts (especially Asuka's).

"Shinji, is this your usual fighting style?" Asuka couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, concentrate and feel it. Feel the rush of your blood, the call that urges you to victory.” Shinji Ikari raised an eyebrow, a rather arrogant smile spreading across his face.

Asuka was a little stunned by Shinji Ikari's unusually strong demeanor. She then took a deep breath of LCL and began to relax and experience her own feelings.

"EVA has arrived on the ground! Operation begins!" Without giving them much time to chat, Ibuki Maya quickly described the situation. As the elevator slowed down, the top armor plates opened, and three huge figures rose from below the ground, each about a hundred meters apart.

"Release the restraints, deploy the armor cabinets!" Misato Katsuragi immediately issued further combat orders, lowering the surface armor plates from several high-rise buildings not far from the three EVAs, revealing the weapons and equipment that had been delivered to them.

"According to your habits, Shinji Ikari uses an assault rifle, Rei uses a submachine gun, and Asuka uses a rocket launcher," Shigeru Aoki said quickly. The EVAs are enormous, and the weapons they use are not simply enlarged versions of human weapons (I couldn't find caliber information; if I did, let's assume it's a specialized modification. If we roughly estimate based on the muzzle size, EVA Unit-01 is 80 meters tall, which is 40 to 50 times the height of a human. So, if we scale it up proportionally, wow, even if we calculate based on 5.56 mm, the caliber of this gun would be 200 mm or more, a 200 mm rapid-fire cannon. Judging from the anime, the rate of fire is not low either; it's really quite absurd).

Simply put, if you were to scale up a 90mm assault rifle (its caliber and size explain why in the anime a single rifle can fire over 50 rounds in a single burst—I actually counted… what was I doing?), using the exact same materials, the bolt carrier and other critical components would be completely destroyed. Therefore, it was basically all handcrafted by the engineering department. In a sense, even if EVA doesn't qualify as an AT (Attack Power) weapon, fighting those combat robots from the Ground Self-Defense Force is really just child's play…