Chapter 102 134: Flowering from the Center?

"Ritsuko, that workaholic, actually took a day off today?"

At that same moment, Misato Katsuragi was spinning incessantly in her office chair, a perfect personification of the phrase "ignorance is bliss."

She knew nothing, and had no need to know. Thus, while Ritsuko Akagi was burying her face in her hands and weeping as her Heart's Wall completely collapsed, Misato was wondering what the cafeteria was serving for lunch, her lips soon pouting.

"It's so unfair. Shinji makes bento for those two, but never for me. Why? I'm the one paying for the water, electricity, and gas!"

"Maybe it's because NERV has a cafeteria? The food here is actually pretty good," Ibuki Maya replied, turning back from her keyboard.

"It's leagues apart. The cafeteria food can't even be compared to Shinji's."

"Is Shinji-kun's cooking really that good?" Hyuga Makoto, wearing his glasses, looked over with a face full of curiosity. He truly couldn't imagine that iron-willed youth wearing an apron.

"Of course. Don't let that icy exterior fool you; he's actually quite considerate and gentle. No wonder he's so popular."

Misato sat astride her chair, staring at the ceiling, when she suddenly felt the atmosphere shift.

Hyuga, Aoba, and Maya were all staring at her blankly, looking like they were scrutinizing a criminal.

"Mi-Misato-san, you seem to have... gotten younger."

"Is that so? Must be the nutritional supplements Asuka gave me. No, wait—I wasn't old to begin with!"

Seeing the teasing looks of her subordinates, Misato instantly turned fierce. "Hurry up and write those reports! Honestly, I don't want to work overtime today. I have to go back for dinner."

"But some of this data is only understood by Dr. Akagi. Without her guidance, we can't finish."

"Good grief, for that workaholic to take a leave now... she couldn't be jealous of me, could she?"

Misato grumbled to herself and looked at a subordinate. "Still no contact from the Security Department? Tell her to get her butt back to work. How can NERV's chief scientist be a tax thief?"

'You slack off all day; you're the last person who should say that' the subordinate thought, before replying: "No. Dr. Akagi's phone is off, and her locator is inactive."

'Could something have happened?'

Misato grew slightly tense. Just then, her phone vibrated. She pulled it out, and while she sighed in relief, her expression grew puzzled.

It was a message from Asuka, reporting that Shinji had skipped school today to go to Headquarters with Dr. Akagi.

'Strange. There's no login data for Ritsuko entering the GeoFront? What have she and Shinji been doing so mysteriously these past two days?'

She sensed something odd but hesitated for a moment and decided to let it go.

'Shinji probably has a reason for not letting me know. I'm not a child like Asuka; I won't be petty.'

"Forget it. I'll just consider it helping her out. Maya, let me see that data."

She rolled her chair over. The screen was filled with dense data, with several sections highlighted in red. She looked out the window at a giant, half-submerged torso soaking in fluid.

The giant was headless, covered in a maze of cables. Unlike the EVAs, it had no armor plating, allowing the clear muscular contours to be seen. This was the EVA Simulation Body.

The Technical Department was conducting data tests on the Simulation Body, hoping to increase sensor sensitivity and obtain accurate data.

"Here, here, and here. The sensors are all showing data anomalies. Strange... Shinji-kun and the others aren't even here, so how are we picking up synchronization rates?"

Misato looked at the curve representing the sync rate and narrowed her eyes. She wasn't the "disqualified adult" Rei claimed she was; her professional skills were top-tier, and she saw immediately that this was irrational.

"Source? Use MAGI for auxiliary calculations."

"Yes. MAGI auxiliary calculation in progress."

Ibuki Maya tapped the keys. With the help of the supercomputer, the cause was quickly found.

"Block B, Area NO. 87. Contamination source detected. Humidity anomaly, oxidation reaction present."

She rattled off a string of professional terms, but in plain English: something was rusting. As a man-made facility, NERV HQ's building materials were all shipped in; it was normal for the civil engineering guys to make a few mistakes.

MAGI projected the contaminated area as an image. Some spots could be seen on the pipe walls, but—

"The contamination source is spreading explosively. It is proliferating."

"What?"

Misato looked at the red dots spreading across the image. They were merging from points into planes, sprawling out frantically. Without asking, she knew where the thing was heading.

"Here! It's trying to erode the Simulation Body? Waveform analysis! Prepare laser purge!"

Following her orders, everyone moved methodically. Instruments extended from the vats, firing dazzling beams at the walls. Misato squinted and saw large polygonal patterns appear on the walls, reflecting the lasers away.

"An AT Field?"

She snapped her gaze to another screen. The waveform analysis was complete. "Pattern Blue? It's an Angel???"

Everyone was shocked. How had an Angel bypassed the EVAs and reached the heart of Headquarters? They looked out the window and saw distinct crimson light spots appearing on the back of the Simulation Body.

"Simulation Body synchronization rate rising. It's starting up."

With a series of mechanical clacks, the muscular giant slowly raised its hand and clenched a fist. Misato didn't hesitate; she smashed the emergency abort glass and pulled the handle inside.

Snap.

The explosives buried within the Simulation Body detonated. The vital equipment, worth tens of billions of dollars, disintegrated on the spot. But Misato didn't have time to worry about the report; the fluid was now filled with dazzling spots of light.

They looked like bacteria, clinging to the shattered fragments of the Simulation Body. The walls were turning red, spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Maximum laser power! Issue Angel Alert!"

Two commands were issued in succession. The lasers fired with blinding intensity, this time piercing the AT Field and clearing a large area of spots, but it was still a drop in the bucket.

"It's not working. The Angel is still spreading."

There was no need for a report; the entire vat was contaminated, and even the tempered glass in front of them was glowing. It seemed any organic matter was a host for this Angel's infection.

The piercing alarm blared. Everyone was terrified; they had never imagined an Angel would appear right in front of them.

"All personnel evacuate! To the Central Command Post! Physically blockade Block B facilities! Seal all blast doors!"

Misato's roar finally snapped everyone back to their senses. They scrambled to flee. Simultaneously, the glass shattered, and a massive amount of fluid poured in.

It was a race against time. The blast doors in the corridors slammed down. This underground HQ was a fortress with countless high-strength alloy doors, completely isolating Block B.

"What's the situation?"

Misato ran into the Central Command Post. Only Fuyutsuki was there, and the giant screen already told her the result.

The blast doors had limited effect. The Angel was spreading along the walls like proliferating moss, having completely moved from Block B into the main NERV HQ.

"Is it heading straight for Terminal Dogma?"

Misato caught her breath. The blast doors, which Angel beams could barely scratch, were being directly eroded. At this rate, it would reach the Adam below in less than a day.

One fell from the sky, and the next one flowers from the center?

She finally understood why Shinji was always so serious. You couldn't predict these Angels with common logic; they could be monsters as large as mountains or organic matter as tiny as bacteria.

"Where is Ritsuko? That idiot took a leave at a time like this? Get her over here to analyze the Angel's characteristics!"

"Stop shouting. I'm here."

An elevator rose, and the blonde woman in a white coat appeared in the command center. Her eyes were red, as if she had just finished crying. Behind her stood a youth.

"Shinji!"

"Hey, weren't you just looking for me?"

Seeing Misato's "now it's fine" expression, Ritsuko felt a bitter pang in her heart. None of these people treated her like a human being.

She was still crying just moments ago when the alarm sounded. Shinji had immediately picked her up with one hand and slung her over his shoulder to carry her to the command center.

Just as Asuka said—he has no class at all.

Ritsuko rubbed her aching ribs and looked back with a grudge, only to see a face of absolute seriousness.

Shinji wouldn't give her time to adjust her emotions. The sound of battle alarms was ingrained in his marrow; whether he was on the latrine or minting currency for the Emperor, when the alarm sounded, he entered combat mode immediately.

"What are you standing there for? Report the situation."

He strode past Ritsuko, ignored Fuyutsuki, and listened to Misato's report with a deep frown.

To be honest, Shinji hadn't expected the Angel to play this hand—shrinking to bacterial size and using a contaminant to bypass the EVAs and invade NERV HQ directly, spreading from the inside to achieve a "center-flowering" objective.

"I have to admit, we still know too little about the Angels. This intrusion bypassed all our preparations."

As a "Mecha series," it had been high-intensity clashes between giant robots and monsters until now, a contest of AT Field strength and firepower. He hadn't expected the Angel to flip the table this time, choosing its time and place perfectly.

It had cowardly avoided Unit-01, choosing to spread from the newly built Block B while the three pilots were absent. Before the event, there had been nothing but a bit of rust.

A sneak attack? With such a fragile AT Field, he could have used an EVA to create a sealed space and annihilate it before it spread, but it was too late now.

He looked at the growing infection zone. The three EVAs could no longer seal such a large area—and even if they could, how would the dozens-of-meters-tall EVAs reach their positions within this steel fortress?

Shinji didn't panic. Since this was unconventional warfare, the first step was intelligence gathering. Fortunately, he had just had an "in-depth exchange" with an expert in this field.

"Go, Dr. Akagi. The opportunity to prove your value has arrived."

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