Chapter 124 156: Praise the Omnissiah.

"You are not allowed to modify my Unit-02! I don't need any of those decorations!"

An hour later, Asuka, wearing her combat suit, sat in the cockpit and emphasized this for the Nth time. She finally understood why that idiot Shinji had had such a "I was just waiting for you to ask" expression earlier.

She could accept adding hardpoints and upgrading the armor, but she simply couldn't "get" Shinji's aesthetic.

"Ignorant. You aren't even qualified to wear the laurel yet. Considering you killed the Ninth Angel, at most, you could add an Iron Skull badge."

"I don't need that either!"

Shinji hummed softly. If she didn't want them, so be it. Funding was already tight, and he didn't have the resources to modify them anyway. Just then, a cold voice came over the communicator.

"Ikari-kun, you can modify Unit-00 however you like."

"Don't suck up to him!"

"What does my loyalty have to do with you?"

"Whatever, not allowed! What is going on with Commander Ikari? He's completely stopped caring, hasn't he?"

'Him? He's working overtime every day acting like a beast of burden.'

Shinji took a breath. The psychic seed was in its final stages. Gendo Ikari had completed his full transformation into a beast of burden—the kind who was unwilling and resentful, yet holding his breath, desperately wanting to prove himself.

'Hmm. If I hadn't served in the 40K universe, would I also crave his approval?'

Shinji was uncertain. Every time he thought about it, it felt comical.

Control over NERV had reached 90%. A vast amount of resources could be distributed according to his will. Maybe it was time to let Gendo Ikari apply for an infrastructure renovation budget to execute the "Comprehensive Loyalty Plan"?

The NERV Commander's office had to be remodeled. That massive room was empty and hollow, and the pattern of the Tree of Life on the ceiling was an affront; its existence was blasphemy. It should be converted into a chapel.

And the statue of the Emperor he'd been dreaming of needed to be scheduled. He should find a way to build a 50-meter-high one by the lake first, so the Emperor's gaze could watch over them at all times.

"Alright, you can stop releasing the AT Field now."

Ritsuko's voice interrupted Shinji's infrastructure plans. He came to his senses, looked at the data table that popped up, and nodded with satisfaction.

The high-capacity battery was similar to an electric car's; the consumption rate was proportional to the output. If it were just for driving the EVA's movement, it could support two hours of operation. As for releasing the AT Field, the energy required was terrifying.

Asuka and Rei's AT Field intensity belonged to the same tier. Maintaining it at full power could support them for 8 minutes. However, aside from the battle against the Tenth Angel (Sahaquiel), EVA units didn't usually deploy their AT Fields for long periods. So, averaging it out, 20–30 minutes of high-intensity combat was not a problem.

"Yay! Finally got rid of that umbilical cable!"

Asuka cheered. She particularly liked medium-to-close-range combat; the external cable was far too inconvenient. If she tripped and fell flat, wouldn't that be a massive loss of face?

"Tell Dr. Ito to shift the focus to the external armor; don't get stuck on trying to improve battery efficiency anymore."

Shinji wasn't overly excited; his brain was already thinking about the next step.

"You mean constructing a combat system outside the EVA, driven by an independent power source? What about the burden on the neural link?"

"Then don't use the neural link; just use mechanical devices. Isn't one of the research directions for the Jet Alone (JA) remote control? Don't waste it; we can focus it on a heavy-firepower module."

Ritsuko, in the control room, pondered for a moment and quickly scribbled it down. Shinji had opened another door to a new world for her—the fusion of JA and EVA.

While everyone else's attention was on the S² Engine, the boy had already sought a different path, looking for a way to solve their crisis through technology.

This was indeed a viable path. The S² Engine represented infinite energy—a domain of gods incomprehensible to humans. But if I can kill you within 20 minutes, why would I need an S² Engine?

"Shinji looks like he's fought a high-tech war before; every idea hits the nail on the head."

Katsuragi Misato no longer knew how to praise him. The boy was a "hexagonal warrior"—he almost had no shortcomings.

"Hmm, but I feel like this is the responsibility of the Operations Department, not something Shinji-kun should have to think about."

"Hahaha, I've never been to a future world, how would I know these things?"

Misato felt no shame. She treated the stories Shinji told as just stories, but now that she thought about it, it seemed they could be replicated in reality.

"Ritsuko, you are very much like a Tech-priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus."

"Shinji-kun's story? I am indeed quite interested in that Adeptus Mechanicus. Anthropomorphizing machines? What was that Machine God called again?"

"The Omnissiah."

"Oh. Praise the Omnissiah."

Ritsuko Akagi whispered, feeling a sense of longing. But whenever she expressed such a desire, Shinji would frown. According to him, if an Earthling went to the Dark Galaxy, it would be lucky to survive one in a billion.

'Is there really such a cruel world?'

Ritsuko didn't know, but she understood where the boy's "Iron Heart" came from. If the stories were true, then Earth's crisis really didn't count for much.

"Training for the Fourth and Fifth Children needs to be accelerated. Besides, these two are quite keen on piloting an EVA. In their initial tests, their synchronization rates hit 51%."

Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara had passed the secret tests. Class 2-A was essentially a pool of candidates for pilots; it wasn't surprising they naturally had synchronization rates. It was just different from the original timeline—these two genuinely wanted to be pilots.

The pilots nowadays weren't human dolls or problem children; it was a dual harvest of spirit and material. Plus, with a "big boss" leading them, it wasn't as dangerous as imagined.

"Hmm, they've opened their hearts to the EVA, which is good for their synchronization rate."

Misato nodded and smiled: "This is also Shinji's credit. He trains the boys in the class whenever he has time. Mentally and physically, these two are far beyond their peers."

Ritsuko looked at the boy on the screen and muttered to herself: "This is the driving force of a hero. Having a role model to follow is better than us using dirty tricks to trick children."

Misato awkwardly scratched her nose.

According to the secret agreement of the Marduk Institute, every student in Class 2-A had leverage against them. For example, that Toji Suzuhara; if necessary, they could use his sister as a threat to force him to pilot an EVA. This would undoubtedly give her a psychological burden.

"I'm finally not the bad guy."

"That's not an excuse for you to slack off every day, Misato. You don't actually want to compete with those two kids, do you?"

Ritsuko lit a cigarette and got the answer from her friend's even more embarrassed face. She couldn't help but frown.

"Don't mess up the relationships. I don't want Shinji-kun to be distracted. What he is doing is almost impossible; he doesn't have the spare energy to handle you all."

"Is that a warning?"

"Of course. You are his guardian. You should find a way to coordinate the relationship between Asuka and Rei, instead of being greedy."

"I haven't actually made a move yet, have I? Besides, Shinji won't be troubled. Everything is within his control."

'Misato muttered. If not for this consideration, she would have downed several cans of beer by now, fueled by the alcohol to make a move. She wasn't as fragile as Asuka; she wasn't afraid of rejection or a mental breakdown.

Rejection? So be it. Find another opportunity later. The problem isn't with Shinji, it's that Rei needs to study harder and Asuka needs to resolve her internal knots.''

"Wait, why are you concerned about this? The relationship is already messy enough. Someone of your level shouldn't be..."

"I'm not like you. I won't be self-willed. Personal feelings must be placed below work."

Ritsuko was smoking, her face showing only reason. As Misato relaxed, she suddenly shifted the topic:

"Of course, if Shinji-kun has needs in that regard, as an adult, I can satisfy him. Don't worry, I won't cause you trouble."

'What needs? Satisfy what??'

Misato was dumbfounded, looking over her friend. The blonde onee-san sat in her chair, cigarette in her left hand. Her tight uniform outlined a figure even better than hers, partially covered by her lab coat, adding an intellectual veneer to her charm. Her narrow skirt clung tightly to her thighs, and further down were long legs wrapped in black silk stockings.

"Shameless!"

"Sometimes one needs to follow one's desires. Shinji-kun is also not someone who can be bound by morality."

Ritsuko's sophistry was just as calm.

"Then you still say I'm committing a crime? Double standards, much?"

"It's different. I wouldn't actively demand it. Legally speaking, this isn't a crime."

Misato rubbed her head. Ten of her couldn't win an argument against this woman, but because of their shared position, she simultaneously felt a sense of relief.

"Ritsuko, you really should thank Shinji. For the rotten things you've done, if I had found out myself..."

"You would want to kill me, but only want to. Misato, you are too sentimental; you wouldn't be able to pull the trigger."

Ritsuko Akagi extinguished her cigarette. In truth, seeing Rei Ayanami's current state, she had found a sense of self-redemption deep inside.

She had once imagined that if Katsuragi Misato discovered the secrets in the Terminal Dogma, how angry she would be. She would probably take out a gun.

'Fortunately, this could be considered saving a friendship.'

As an important participant in the "Human Instrumentality Project," Ritsuko often felt conflicted. She didn't have the intense desire for completion that Gendo Ikari or SEELE had; she was more about demonstrating her own talents. But doing so was equivalent to harming Misato and the others.

Like her mother, she divided herself into different personalities—friend, scientist, woman. It was just a matter of which personality gained the upper hand, and she could be ruthless enough to eliminate everything.

"But now I don't have to choose. I actually found a way to have the best of both worlds. After all that, I ended up doing the same thing as you."

'What are you whispering about over there?'

Misato rarely saw the sentimentality on Ritsuko's face. But before she could look closely, the ringtone sounded. She picked it up casually, then immediately froze, unable to recover from the emotional issue.

"What? An Angel is attacking??"

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