Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

"Attack him with beams from a distance; his AT field is limited." The technician, who was currently attempting to launch a siege against Unit-01 using water-based Angels, shouted loudly. He looked nothing like a technician but rather a gamer grinding for points in a team fight. "Fire at him! Don't hold back your energy!"

The light spears rained down like a storm, the barrage striking Unit-01's AT field and scattering sparks like a dense flower, with a new wave every few seconds, transforming into a dense, platinum-gold rain. This gamer, disguised as a calculator, didn't hesitate, because he knew perfectly well that if he hesitated even a few seconds, the Angel he controlled would be killed.

But his words came too late; in the brief gap between the light gun rotations, Unit-01 had already escaped. At that moment, alarm bells rang in the mind of the technician controlling the Angel, but the next second he saw the yellow-glowing mechanical head of Unit-01.

He had just experienced the speed of Unit-01's attack firsthand, even though he was also a simulator pilot. He couldn't even see Unit-01's movements clearly, let alone dodge them. One moment he saw the core of the Angel beside him crack open, the next he was pierced through a vital spot—it seemed there was no time interval whatsoever.

"Game over."

Misato Katsuragi looked at her friend beside her and smiled broadly, making a victory sign.

Although the number of virtual water apostles is close to double digits, only the two controlled by the technical developers are truly flexible and adaptable. With these two being successively defeated, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the AI-managed water apostles are killed.

Chapter Fourteen: Asuka, Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari

It's only a matter of time before Shinji Ikari wins, and this gap—

“You seem even happier than Shinji Ikari about his outstanding performance,” Ritsuko Akagi said, looking at her friend and college classmate.

“Of course, I’m his operations commander, and I share half of his glory.” Misato Katsuragi winked at Ritsuko Akagi, perhaps having been around Shinji Ikari for so long, she had also caught some of his chuunibyou vibe.

Terra, chivalry, honor, responsibility and duty, emperor... these are all words that exude a high level of sophistication.

“But I heard that you applied to your superiors to live with Shinji Ikari,” Ritsuko Akagi suddenly brought up another issue.

"Oh, this? The Commander-in-Chief approved it too..."

For some unknown reason, when Katsuragi Misato spoke about this, her voice suddenly dropped a few decibels, sounding somewhat weak. Akagi Ritsuko, who had only mentioned it casually, looked at her friend with some suspicion.

She waved her hand with a fawning smile, adding with a laugh, "Yes, of course! Don't worry, I would never mess around with a little kid, that's illegal!"

"Nonsense! Don't even say things like that!" Ritsuko Akagi retorted angrily.

The whirring sound from the steam horn interrupted the conversation between the two ladies. The engineers in charge of the final adjustments stood up, jogged away, and took the elevators located in various corners to the aerial platform.

This signified the official end of the simulation training, and the staff gathered below. They spared no effort in giving the third eligible candidate a thunderous round of applause for their outstanding performance.

After all, the staff and their families also lived in Tokyo-3. If something truly terrible were to happen during an attack by the Angels, they could very well perish as well. Shinji Ikari's outstanding performance as the pilot of Unit-01 undoubtedly provided them with a strong sense of reassurance.

Shinji Ikari emerged from the cockpit wearing a bodysuit made of some kind of black fiber. This black fiber was extremely elastic, clinging to his body like another layer of skin. Its true purpose was to improve the synchronization rate between the pilot and the EVA, but Shinji's suit was a special model whose primary function was to enhance stability.

However, the handsome boy standing under the warm-toned lights, wearing a black jumpsuit and with wet, straight hair, was quite surreal for a moment.

Misato Katsuragi looked up at her colleagues. People in mid-air were holding onto the iron railings, looking down at the boy who stepped out of the cockpit. "Ritsuko-chan, don't you feel like this fortress city is like a giant arena? The audience has placed their bets and is waiting for the outcome. And the one who decides the fate of humanity is just a fourteen-year-old boy."

“Shut up, I don’t want to talk to that perverted bottle opener, it’ll spread germs,” Ritsuko Akagi replied coldly.

"Seriously, you should really develop a sense of humor." Misato Katsuragi blinked.

It was still Misato Katsuragi, the operations commander, who was in charge of escorting Shinji Ikari. She skillfully handed the boy a towel so he could dry his hair.

"First of all, congratulations, Shinji! Your performance is outstanding. In a five-minute annihilation battle, you completed the complete annihilation in just four minutes and nineteen seconds," said Misato Katsuragi.

"It's alright, after all, the actual combat power of the AI-simulated virtual Water Apostle is only one-third of that of the real Water Apostle. Breaking through that so-called Crimson Core is much easier." Shinji Ikari handed the towel to Misato Katsuragi.

Misato Katsuragi took it and obediently stood behind the boy, wiping his hair.

"But don't get too cocky. Let me tell you, there's a qualified candidate in Germany who's just as good as you, or maybe even better."

"Oh, what's his name?" Shinji Ikari raised an eyebrow.

"—Langrey, you did a great job."

In Berlin, Germany, during a simulated training exercise, a young girl in a red training uniform climbed out of the cockpit. She expertly accepted a towel from the operations commander and dried her hair.

Asuka Langley Soryu, the dedicated pilot and Second Child of EVA Unit-02. She grew up in the United States but is three-quarters German and one-quarter Japanese. Her name is known throughout the Western world's powerful figures, as she is hailed as the most outstanding pilot.

A child prodigy who graduated from university at the age of fourteen, she speaks English, German, and Japanese. She has always considered herself the best EVA pilot, but that pride has been shaken today.

"Sir Tiffany, is there any other mission?" Asuka wiped her golden hair, her gaze sharp as she stared at the operations commander beside her.

The gaunt-faced duchess handed her the notebook. "This was sent from headquarters in Japan. Take a look at this combat data first."

Seeing the serious expression on the operation commander's face, Asuka realized that the documents might be very important. Without bothering to dry her hair, she simply fiddled with the computer a few times, and her originally nonchalant expression became even more serious.

"This is the combat data from Unit-01 of the Japanese headquarters regarding the encounter with the Water Angels. In this battle, the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, piloted Unit-01 for the first time to attack the Water Angels, completing the mission in just three minutes. Furthermore, the neuronal synaptic level was stable at a synchronization rate of 287% during the battle. As for the AT field data, headquarters did not send it over, but this is his combat data..."

At this moment, the lady standing beside Asuka completely ignored the increasingly gloomy expression of the second child beside her, or rather, she was deliberately using the outstanding performance of the third child from Japan to suppress the overly arrogant attitude of the second child under her command.

"Such amazing results, he is probably the most outstanding EVA pilot, even more outstanding than you," Sir Tiffany sighed softly.

Almost as if they were telepathically in sync, Misato Katsuragi in Japan and Sir Tiffany in Germany both tried to use the excellent results of other pilots to suppress the arrogance of their own pilots. But compared to Shinji Ikari, who was extremely confident in himself, Asuka glared angrily at the battle data in front of her.

But what truly dealt Asuka a critical blow was the next sentence from her own operations commander.

"By the way, starting tomorrow, we will re-plan your training program based on the combat data provided by headquarters."

"I don't need it! Let me emphasize again, I don't need this so-called combat data at all!" Asuka threw off the towel and jumped off the platform. "So what if you defeated an Angel? So what if you got there first? That's just because I wasn't serious! Just you wait and see!"

Sir Tiffany, holding a notebook, watched the girl's retreating figure with a broad smile.

Chapter Fifteen: On the Verge of Losing Control

Meanwhile, on the other side, the same simulation training is underway.

Rei Ayanami skillfully lay down in the cockpit, quietly waiting for the permission to connect to the spinal catheter system.

In terms of pure EVA piloting experience, Rei Ayanami, as the pilot of Unit-00, is the senior. When Shinji Ikari appeared, Asuka Langley Soryu, the second Child, was furious like a lion whose territory had been invaded, but Rei Ayanami simply waited quietly for docking, her face expressionless. It's been like this ever since I met her; this girl seems never to be nervous, never to worry, and never to truly care about anything.

No one knows what she's really thinking.

But in reality, she was the first eligible pilot, the first teenage girl, and the designated pilot of EVA Unit-00, as recognized in the Marduk Research Institute's report. Her past was a blank; all records had been erased.

Standing in front of the bulletproof glass on the third floor, the staff member making experimental records glanced sideways at Commander-in-Chief Gendo Ikari beside him. He knew that it was this man who had deleted the First Child's records, and if anyone was connected to her past, it was only this man.

Or is it true, as rumored, that Rei Ayanami is his illegitimate daughter?

This is just an internal monologue during work; many employees have made similar assumptions. But it has nothing to do with the work at hand.

At this moment, Rei Ayanami, lying in the cockpit, felt the cockpit moving slowly, just now receiving permission from the spinal catheter system.

Many people privately call her a puppet, but she was actually thinking about something, or rather, having a dream.

Regarding the Third Child, Shinji Ikari.

Actually, there was something she had never told anyone: before she met the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, she had seen him in her dreams.

Looking back, they were all scattered fragments of memory. Perhaps it was being in a hospital room surrounded by a hazy mist, holding the woman who was calling out the names of Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, or perhaps it was looking at him with his own eyes in a state like that of a newborn infant in the huge, blood-red eyes.

But she had never met him before.

He even harbored some resentment towards him because of his sarcasm towards the Commander-in-Chief.

But just as the cockpit slid completely into the spinal cannula, an unprecedented sharp pain shot through her mind. Then, three seconds later, a rapid alarm blared throughout Hakone and echoed across NERV headquarters.

"A major error has occurred during system startup!"

"Phase 3 routine failed to run!"

"Nervous system malfunction! Circuit cannot start, system unstable!"

"Nerve impulse flow is in reverse! It cannot be stopped!"

Countless staff members sitting in front of their computers reported the system malfunction until the computer screen suddenly went black. A transgender female staff member sitting on the right suddenly stood up and reported to Ritsuko Akagi and Commander-in-Chief Gendo Ikari on the other side.

"Pass-through monitor cannot be connected!"

Shinji Ikari, who was sitting in front of the railing drinking specially supplied electrolyte water, suddenly noticed that Ritsuko Akagi's expression had changed drastically, and she was pressing her right earpiece with a slight frown.

"What? The insertion plug is not at an unstable depth and is being sucked into the EVA?!"

Hearing the serious keywords, Misato Katsuragi turned to look at him. "What happened?"

Ritsuko Akagi looked at her friend beside her and nodded. "For some reason, Unit-00 has gone out of control." She had only just learned of the news and couldn't explain it to Misato Katsuragi, but she quickly relayed the order to the staff on the other side: "Stop the contact procedure and shut down circuits one through six immediately."

Although we haven't experienced an EVA out-of-control incident, we have prepared the necessary contingency plans. Simply put, it's about unplugging the power. Even if it goes out of control, Unit-00, unable to connect to the circuitry, can only activate the backup power supply, which only provides enough power for five minutes. In other words, the maximum damage can only last for five minutes.

At that moment, the alarm sounded, and Ritsuko Akagi received the latest news.

"Commands cannot be executed, information transmission failed, and control of Unit Zero has been completely lost!"

"How could this happen?" Misato Katsuragi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Or let me do it. I'll stop Unit-00. To prevent that emotionless girl from suffering further harm." Shinji Ikari tossed the water bottle precisely into a trash can some distance away and said calmly.

"How are you going to stop it?" Katsuragi Misato asked, then realized she had said something pointless.

Shinji Ikari was seen retracing his steps, standing before the massive purple ultimate weapon of war, his hands outstretched.

"—Of course, it's piloting Unit-01."

Meanwhile, at Test Site No. 2, the completely out-of-control Unit-00 broke free of its restraints and roared to the very center of the test site. The pilot, Rei Ayanami, buried deep within, had lost contact and stood erect on Test Site No. 2, her body parts opening and closing automatically, hot white steam billowing from her shoulders.

Heavy footsteps echoed repeatedly, and armor clashed against the walls with dull thuds. The air pumps groaned. Those who had not yet retreated saw this scene and felt as if they had entered either heaven or hell—certainly not of this world.

However, compared to that, it's more likely to go to hell.

"Unit Zero has switched to backup power and is attempting to force a system shutdown!" the staff reported.

Ultimately, the simplest approach is the best approach. Whether it's a simple home computer or a seemingly impressive 80-meter-long ultimate weapon of war, the methods for operating it after it crashes and displays a blue screen are essentially the same two.

Unplug the power and force shutdown.

The former, being a physical operation, proceeded smoothly. However, the latter did not respond; Unit-00, like a haughty goddess, ignored all instructions from the staff.

At that moment, a security guard in an orange security uniform ran up to Gendo on the third floor. "The failsafe system has not been activated yet. Unit-00 is out of control. Commander, please come with us to take shelter!"

But the moment the words were spoken, a tremendous sound reverberated throughout the entire command room.

A massive iron fist, large enough to occupy the entire field of vision, slammed into the bulletproof glass of the command room. If the glass had not been made by Seris of the Western Continent, this single blow would likely have taken down half of the NERV headquarters' senior management and technical backbone.

However, the glass had already cracked, and if it weren't for the frame supporting it, it probably wouldn't have been able to withstand more than a few hammer blows.

The suffocating feeling of death pressed down on everyone's chest like a hammer, and as they watched the fist approaching again, some even let out sharp cries of despair.

Until, accompanied by a deafening roar, a giant purple god suddenly appeared and gripped Unit-00's wrist.

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