Chapter 146 178: Astartes Don't Play by the Rules.

The night sky was clear, studded with stars. This silent seaside was truly a fine place to relax; combined with the ruins before them, it felt as if they had reached the end of the world.

The good news was that the outing had been extended. Everyone pitched their tents and lit a bonfire, the flickering flames lending a cozy warmth to the air.

The bad news was that the seaside wasn't exactly silent. One could constantly hear rapid gunfire and the occasional, heart-pounding sound of explosions.

The ruins acted like a boundary line: on this side, they enjoyed a peaceful daily life; on the other, the fires of war raged.

'Scheisse! I'm about to lose it! Give me back my romantic beach trip!'

It was already the second night, and that idiot still hadn't come back.

Asuka stared at the bonfire, gritting her teeth and covering her ears. She had envisioned many heart-pounding scenes, but definitely not "heart-pounding" in this literal, physical sense.

Shouldn't it be beneath the setting sun, where the girl summons her courage to take the boy's hand? Whether in German or Japanese, shouldn't she finally say the words hidden in her heart for so long? To that end, she had specially prepared a bundle of plans for Rei Ayanami, only to find that before they could even be used, the "target" had vanished.

"Hey, you really aren't going to do anything? You must have prepared a lot of plans too."

She turned her head to look at Rei Ayanami, who was lying on the ground.

Rei's ice-blue hair spread out like a carpet, and her red eyes reflected the stars. She still had that dazed expression; it wasn't until Asuka reached out to pinch her cheek that she showed a slight reaction.

"The starry sky is so beautiful. Is that the 'Galactic Sea' Ikari-kun talks about?"

"It is beautiful... Wait, that's not what I asked!"

The crimson eyes turned toward Asuka. Rei didn't speak, only offering a cryptic smile.

'Even with the leverage in hand, it's completely useless.'

"W-What are you laughing at?" Asuka felt her skin crawl.

"Fine, to answer your question: I don't mind. As long as Ikari-kun is happy, it doesn't matter."

Rei was as indifferent as ever.

'I really have nothing to say to this doll.'

Asuka gave up. As a normal person, she was left with nothing but frustration. Just then, Kensuke Aida walked over, handing over a pile of freshly grilled food.

"Toji grilled these. It's been two days, and Shinji hasn't eaten."

"Why don't you go deliver it?"

"I'd like to."

Kensuke, being a military geek, was incredibly envious of those gunshots. He nudged his chin toward the blonde girl in the distance. "But I don't want to worry Maya. Besides, weren't you complaining that we finally came out but you can't even see Shinji's face?"

"Who wants to see him?"

Asuka cursed as she snatched the lunchbox from him. She grumbled, "Fine, I'll deliver it. Misato's a piece of work too, just letting him run wild like this."

"I'll go too. No matter what Ikari-kun is doing, I want to see him."

Rei Ayanami stood up and grabbed the lunchbox, but it wouldn't budge.

"I thought you weren't interested?"

"Hmph, can't I just be happy watching other people suffer?"

The two of them walked toward the other side of the bay. They hadn't gone far before a burst of rapid gunfire forced them to drop to the ground. Seeing the messy leaves on her clothes, Asuka gritted her teeth.

'This is insane. I've never heard of a romance that involves a risk to your life.'

She carefully parted the grass and was stunned by the scene before her.

Mud pits, barbed wire, searchlights, and the members of the soccer club crawling through the dirt. A Security Department agent was manned at a machine gun; with the sound of tearing fabric, bright tracer rounds flew over their heads toward the sea.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The machine gun fire was constant. Shinji, now changed into a camouflage uniform, paced nearby. His cold voice echoed alongside the gunfire.

"You are currently waste. You must be tempered into warriors by iron and blood.

Forget fear, for fear leads to escape, and escape means death. Continue! I have precisely calculated your nutrition and stamina; you still have potential to be unearthed.

Think about it. If you aren't afraid of 7.62mm machine gun rounds flying over your heads, will you fear some Third Middle School soccer team?

They are the ones who pushed you to this point, forcing me to take action personally. Otherwise, do you think I would be willing to train waste?

Keep this hatred in mind and vent it during the match.

Speed up! Gunner, drop five degrees! Shoot anyone who tries to slack off!"

'What kind of malicious brainwashing is this!?'

Asuka's eyes were full of pity. She watched as these people crawled out of the mud pits and immediately split into two groups for hand-to-hand combat training. It was truly "fist to the flesh"—exceptionally brutal. Yet, she could no longer see yesterday's fear, only a thick sense of numbness.

These people had been broken and reformed; they were unable to resist, wandering precisely between life and death. Shinji's claim of "Give me two days to change your life" was no boast.

"What are you two doing here?"

Shinji turned his head to look.

Asuka felt a surge of irritation at his tone. She gritted her teeth and said, "We came to see how the invincible Lord Shinji drills his soldiers. Did you perform brainwashing surgery? How did these people change so much in just two days?"

"I did use psychic induction. I don't have enough time for slow cultivation. Don't worry, this is for their own good. It's also an experiment of sorts."

Shinji stood ramrod straight, his gaze becoming increasingly dangerous.

"Under specific conditions and with a specific target, we can rapidly produce warriors with iron wills. This has great potential for promotion."

"If you ever dare use that on me, I... I... I'll die right in front of you!"

It took Asuka a long time to throw out a weak, pathetic threat. She held out her hand. "Here. Toji grilled this. At least interact with us a bit. Misato already went back."

"If she hadn't left, I would have had her participate in the experiment. It's a pity there aren't more EVAs and that Kensuke and the others have AT Fields that are too thick; otherwise, Class 2-A would become a Legion of Steel."

Shinji looked regretful. Through the experiments on these cowards and the training of Kensuke and Toji, he had figured out a way to train mortals.

The mortality rate was extremely low, and the results were excellent—it was essentially an optimized version of a psychic seed.

"I'll thank you on behalf of the whole class for your 'great kindness.' Just eat, or I really won't know why we came out here."

Shinji nodded but didn't eat. He shouted, "Wastes! The opportunity to bid farewell to tasteless nutrient paste has arrived! The final champion will have the right of distribution!"

With that command, the combat grew even more brutal. Shinji's training wasn't as simple and crude as it looked.

He precisely calculated everyone's physical limits, then used his psychic powers to guide their will, instilling the concept of "Champion" to increase competition and a sense of honor. Finally, he reinforced team consciousness; only qualified individuals were worthy of being called Battle Brothers.

Ten minutes later, the professional medical team swarmed in. Only one person remained standing: the President, Ichiro Aizawa.

This clean-cut boy's eyes were hollow. His body was covered in wounds large and small, yet he stood ramrod straight.

"Aizawa-kun, are you okay?"

Asuka waved her hand in front of him, but his eyes didn't move for a second.

"Report: I am doing very well. I have just secured the honorary title of Combat Champion for the third time."

'"Report"? "Champion"?'

Asuka felt a chill. Isn't this just him being infected by that idiot? What exactly is "psychic power"—the raw material for brainwashing surgery?

"Congratulations. Soon, you will transform from waste into a warrior qualified to sacrifice himself for the Empire. Now, I grant you the right of distribution."

Shinji walked over with a solemn expression. He wasn't doing this out of boredom; he was using the soccer club for his experiment.

Aside from needing to control it personally and requiring targets whose AT Fields weren't too thick, these warriors weren't puppets like Mark, nor was it as troublesome as planting a seed in Gendo Ikari. It was a form of semi-brainwashing.

"This is my honor, Lord Initiate."

Ichiro Aizawa took the lunchbox. After a moment's thought, he turned and roared: "I have decided to distribute this equally among every Battle Brother! Everyone, come to me for supplies after treatment!"

"You are still so gentle, Aizawa-kun."

"My Lord, this is a character trait I cannot change. But for any lowly elements who defile our honor, I will show no mercy."

"How will they be handled?"

"Execution by firing squad or burial at sea."

"Very good. I approve of your judgment."

Asuka and Rei listened, dumbfounded. If they remembered correctly, this Ichiro Aizawa was saying things like "I oppose violence" and "We are pacifists" just yesterday. Today's change was like a head transplant.

The two girls looked at each other and simply stopped talking, standing to the side to quietly watch Shinji drill the recruits.

Eating was sacred. First, they had to pray, thanking the Emperor for granting them strength and courage, asking Him to forgive their previous cowardice and incompetence, and thanking the Astartes Initiate for his mercy in giving them, a bunch of waste, the chance to be reforged.

After prayer came an hour of rest, followed by bayonet training. Watching them use rifles with fixed bayonets to repeatedly stab straw men plastered with photos of the Third Middle School soccer club members, it felt like these "pacifists" had bloodlust in their eyes.

'What kind of malicious brainwashing is this!?'

"If I remember correctly, this is a soccer club, right? So where's the ball?"

Asuka looked back blankly at Rei, who was equally confused. However, the blue-haired girl's mind occasionally worked very fast.

"Ikari-kun is cultivating their psychological fortitude. In the future, when they face opponents who have lost a dozen times in a row, they will never be afraid again."

'That's true. After experiencing machine-gun fire over your head, would you still fear a physical collision with another person?'

"But what's with him promoting Aizawa-kun to 'Commissar'? Even the UN Forces don't have that rank."

"Ikari-kun cannot train them for a long time. Naturally, he needs to establish another core of leadership."

'Fine. You can always find an excuse for that idiot.'

Asuka gave up and found a rock to sit on. Seeing Shinji's focused expression—even personally teaching them combat techniques and clearly enjoying himself—she rested her chin in her hand, starting to understand Rei's mindset a bit.

As long as this guy is happy, then whatever. He's not a regular human anyway; the things he likes aren't the same as ours. As Misato's shameless quote went: it's actually correct.

'We have so many "balls" over here, why bother with some soccer club?'

But who told Shinji not to follow the script? No one knew how that idiot's neural pathways were wired.

In the corner of her eye, Asuka caught sight of the tree line in the distance. A handsome youth was watching from there, his eyes full of longing, making her skin crawl.

'This stalker is a pervert too!'

Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting