Chapter 113 145: You Daddy-Complex, Hopeless Case.

Facts proved that Ritsuko Akagi's inclusion solved many problems. As one of NERV's core leaders, she knew too many secrets.

For instance, the hidden truth regarding the "Machine Spirit" was likely known only to her and Gendo Ikari. More importantly, Ritsuko Akagi was extremely loyal.

"Not bad. I truly did not misjudge you. Saving you from that man's hands was the correct choice."

Shinji nodded slightly. Such loyalty, such capability—her value had already surpassed that of Ryoji Kaji.

"I didn't misjudge you either, Shinji-kun. Your care for your comrades gives me a great sense of security."

Ritsuko Akagi nodded with a smile, exuding an air of elite professionalism.

"It's great that I can be of help. Do you need any suggestions?"

"No, I already have a plan. But the timing isn't right yet, and something is still missing."

"Can you tell me what's missing?"

"An Angel's blood."

Shinji lifted his chin. He was only one Angel away from achieving a qualitative change in his psychic powers.

"Then I shall look forward to seeing you display your divine might."

Misato looked back and forth between them. She didn't fully understand their conversation, but Ritsuko's attitude had shifted significantly. While Dr. Akagi had never treated Shinji like a mere child, she had once been quite arrogant about her own field of expertise; she would never have spoken in such a collaborative, subordinate tone.

'A sycophant, an obscure sycophant, always cleverly offering up flattery. How did I never notice Ritsuko had a corporate drone side before?'

Misato didn't quite get it, but she realized a problem.

The original "Iron Triangle"—how had they all become Shinji's loyal dogs? This wasn't right; they were supposed to be the reliable adults!

It was true: Misato Katsuragi, Ryoji Kaji, and Ritsuko Akagi—the three former friends, the three adults who effectively held the fate of the world in their hands—had all fallen, each performing their duties under Shinji's baton.

'So, what on earth happened between them?'

Misato tried to ask several times but found herself unable to break into the conversation. She felt a bit gloomy, but just then, Shinji looked over at her.

"Are you going to eat, or are you staying here to wait?"

"Wait? Wait for what?"

"A SEELE experiment. Don't look at me with that expression; there are some things you don't need to know."

Shinji said it blandly. Katsuragi Misato was different from Rei and the others, yet he had never actively hidden things from her.

'SEELE!?'

Misato's expression changed. She lowered her voice: "Are you finally going to let me in on the secrets?"

"I never intended to hide them from you."

"Then why didn't you say anything before?"

"You didn't ask."

Misato retreated into her own shell on the spot.

'He was right.' She hadn't asked. She only knew Shinji was pulling some strings in the shadows, but she had never asked him about it.

Her face darkened instantly. Even though she was teased daily about being "unqualified," this was truly her most "unqualified" moment yet.

"Don't overthink it. Think of it as a kind of silent understanding between us. You've warned me a few times and helped me keep an eye on others."

Shinji waved a hand. He was actually very satisfied with Misato's work.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, don't help where you shouldn't help. Perform your duties well. I believe that no matter what happens, or who you face, you will stand on my side."

His tone was sincere. When he had warned her to keep her distance from Kaji, if Kaji had acted against him, Misato truly would have had the resolve to go after him with a gun.

"Of course."

Misato's mood improved instantly. When she had gone to find Ritsuko a few days ago, she truly had been prepared to draw her weapon. "So, you intend to let me participate now?"

"It's not 'participating.' Your mission is, and always has been, to manage the Operations Department and assist me in combat. There is no need to exhaust your energy trying to uncover the secrets of the world. Knowing too much is actually a detriment."

Shinji explained. He wouldn't look down on anyone; he simply utilized their utility to the fullest.

"Then why did you tell me to wait?"

"I didn't tell you to wait; I gave you the choice. Don't interrupt later, listen to as much as you can understand, and put your main energy into strengthening Tokyo-3's combat readiness. The rest is none of your concern."

"Aren't you just calling me stupid? Saying I only have single-threaded processing power, right?!"

'Err... well, you're not as good at research as Ritsuko, and not as good at reconnaissance as Kaji. So, in that sense, you're not wrong.'

Shinji glanced at the digital clock. There was no time to soothe Misato's negative emotions, so he simply changed tactics.

"Obey!"

His tone was stern. Misato froze for a second, then pouted slightly.

"Fine. I'll listen to you."

'You really do treat a boy ten years your junior like your old man.'

Ritsuko Akagi, listening from the side, covered her face. Her best friend's father-complex was truly hopeless. No wonder Shinji wasn't afraid of Misato throwing a tantrum or spouting nonsense about him "not trusting her." He didn't need to explain anything; a single "Obey" settled it.

"Ahem, Kaji should be ready on his end, right?"

"What? That bastard is involved in this too?"

Misato blurted it out. Seeing Shinji throw a cold glance her way, she quickly lowered her head and began drawing circles on the floor with her toe.

"Almost. The top-secret line should be ready as well. In one minute, the North American Branch will initiate the activation test for the Angel core and Evangelion Unit-04."

Shinji looked at the digital clock. This was the reason he had skipped class. Asuka's situation was merely an extra bonus.

'Activation test for an Angel core and Unit-04!? Have these people forgotten about the Second Impact!?'

Katsuragi Misato's expression turned instantly to one of rage.

'Isn't this just begging for death?'

She was about to start swearing when the screen in front of them flickered to life.

It was a massive laboratory—silver-gray walls covered in dense clusters of cables. In the center sat a purple-and-black painted EVA, its chest armor sliced open to reveal muscles that looked exactly like a human's.

"A Level-1 research facility modified by the North American Air Defense Command, codenamed α-170. Those old men really spent a fortune."

Ritsuko lit a cigarette and quickly pulled up the laboratory's data.

A giant hollow 300 meters underground, covered by 16 layers of 500mm high-strength alloy. Even a nuclear explosion inside wouldn't leak a single radiation particle. The project lead was Dr. William, a titan in the study of Angels and Negative-Universe domains.

"It seems SEELE also values security. Ryoji Kaji did well to hack into this lab's surveillance system, allowing us to see the entire experiment."

Shinji pulled up a chair.

"This is an ultra-secret research project. Theoretically, no one knows about it. Of course, they wouldn't have defenses against this."

Ritsuko exhaled a smoke ring. Based on her experience, this laboratory had been in preparation for over six months, and all participants were under strict surveillance. It could only be assumed that this information was leaked by a member of SEELE itself.

"They want to try and artificially create a god. If they succeed, the 'Human Instrumentality Project' will be much easier to complete."

"Does the ritual require a 'pseudo-god' as a sacrifice?"

Shinji turned his head.

"Yes. An EVA is only a semi-god because it lacks an Angel core—the Fruit of Life. Without it, it cannot link to the Negative Universe and thus cannot activate the S² Engine."

Ritsuko Akagi spilled the classified information as if it were worthless, explaining as she went:

"Aside from Unit-01, which is a replica of Lilith, all EVAs are replicas of Adam. SEELE has been searching for a way to perfectly deploy an Anti-AT Field."

"So Unit-01 was the sacrifice they originally chose?"

"It can only be called a backup. After all, Unit-01 also lacks the Fruit of Life, unless you have a way to seize an S² Engine from an Angel and allow Unit-01 to awaken as a 'God'."

Shinji pondered for a moment. Actually, SEELE had quite a bit of foresight—a backup plan layered on top of another. If he wasn't mistaken:

The artificial pseudo-god would fail, Unit-01 wouldn't awaken, and the core sacrifices would fall to Adam and Lilith, as the First and Second Angels held higher status. The difficulty, however, lay in the fact that their souls and bodies were already separated.

He turned back and looked at Katsuragi Misato. She was completely bewildered—the kind of look where you understand every word, but when put together, it sounds like absolute gibberish.

"Complicated, isn't it?"

"Yeah. What are you two talking about? Sometimes I really don't understand what kind of series we're in. How did we suddenly go from a Mecha-battle show to a theological one?"

Misato was frustrated.

'A robot fighting a monster—that's all we needed! Why all the stream-of-consciousness stuff?

Sacrifices? Rituals? Gods? Awakening? What the hell is that, and what's an Anti-AT Field?'

"It is a bit cluttered, but you can ignore the religious terminology."

Shinji didn't like this stream-of-consciousness garbage either. In the 41st Millennium, no matter how complex the plan or conspiracy, once you stripped away the keywords, only a few remained.

'Kill, Exterminate, Die.'

"In short: there is a group of human traitors who want to initiate a conspiracy to destroy the world. This destruction isn't a nuclear wipe; it's a method to dissolve the 'human' body and merge all souls into one. Hmm, think of it as a biological Exterminatus. Does that make sense?"

Misato thought for a moment. She didn't need to care about the method, and the "merging of all souls" was a bit abstract, but she understood the goal.

"So it's just a bunch of lunatics wanting to destroy humanity?"

Ritsuko wanted to say that it was far simpler than that—the "Human Instrumentality Project" was profoundly deep, involving destruction, rebirth, group evolution, and so on—but seeing Shinji nod, she kept quiet.

"Yes. They want to destroy humanity to achieve personal immortality. Does that make you angry?"

Misato took a deep breath. She finally understood completely. Ignoring the complex methods and obscure veneers, wasn't this just a common trope from the movies?

"So SEELE is the enemy of humanity, no different from the Angels!?"

"More or less."

"Then when do we destroy them?"

Misato's eyes were burning.

'Isn't Shinji just the savior hero? No—he already is.'

"It's not time yet. If I destroy them now, who will help me scout the path?"

Shinji propped his face in his hand, watching the dense crowds of researchers shuttling through the hall like demon-wolves hiding in the dark.

"Wait until I step on their heads and find a way to resolve the problem at the root. Then, they will be ready to die."

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