Chapter 147 179: There’s Another Expert!?

"Very good. You have passed my tempering and become primary combat machines."

In the early morning, a roar jolted the two girls from their sleep. Shinji had told them that this was the PDF (Planetary Defence Forces) training syllabus, where a loud voice was a key requirement.

Asuka had once asked if there were other syllabi. Shinji told her that for these thin-skinned mortals who had never rolled around in the gutters of a Hive World, they wouldn't survive a single alternative training method.

'So, shouting at the top of his lungs is his 'gentlest' method?'

The girl rubbed her eyes and saw the soccer club members standing in two rows. Their expressions were exhausted and numb, and they were covered in wounds—but the coldness in their eyes looked hauntingly familiar.

'It's over. The 'Idiot Plague' has finally infected their central nervous systems.'

"You have learned the weight of loyalty. Your fragile wills have received preliminary correction. But you are still waste. You need a victory to prove your value to me. The match in a week will be your opportunity. Everyone, do you crave this chance?"

"Yes, My Lord Initiate!"

"Very good. But you only get one chance. Failure means execution for the whole team. Any objections?"

"None, My Lord Initiate!"

A trace of gratification appeared in Shinji's eyes. This gaze actually made the group tremble; some even burst into tears of gratitude.

'What heavy kindness! The Lord Initiate actually wasted two whole days on us trash. If we fail, we don't even need him to act—we must end it ourselves. This is the 'Success or Death' he taught us.'

"I admire your resolve. But a waste with only will and no strength is still a waste."

Shinji waved his hand, and Mark—the one with the scar on his neck—walked out. As a primitive version of a psychic puppet, he was nothing but wooden.

Psychic power had destroyed all his personality and empathy; he was like a pure robot.

"For the next few days, Lord Mark will take over your training. You must trust his professionalism and execute his every command."

"Yes, My Lord Initiate!"

Everyone knelt on one knee, looking at Mark with burning eyes—a stark contrast to the latter's blank face.

'As expected, the 'optimized version' is superior. Loyal to a fault while retaining emotions and subjective will. If the enemies of this world weren't giant organisms like Angels, I could create a loyal army to sweep everything aside.'

Shinji was both satisfied and regretful. Having resolved nearly ten Angels, his psychic power had become very formidable. Perhaps due to his inherent AT Field, his abilities were expanding wildly toward the telepathic/mental spectrum, which led to this experiment.

From initial violent intrusion to current mental empathy—if he returned to the 41st Millennium, he would be a guest of honor at the Departmento Munitorum. Of course, given the Imperium's bureaucracy and rigid system, it was also possible they'd brand his new training method as heresy and hand him over to the Inquisition.

"Use a victory to strip away the label of 'waste,' prove your loyalty with continuous victories, and finally become an elite killing—"

Shinji paused. Seeing the tattered jerseys on this group, he frowned and finally remembered what he was here for.

"—become an elite soccer player. I will come to witness it personally."

"As you wish, My Lord Initiate! We shall practice our loyalty with the blood of our enemies!"

The roar was so loud Asuka had to cover her ears. Seeing these blood-pumping soccer club members who had completely shed their former "sissy" images, she couldn't help but shudder.

'This Shinji guy really does have superpowers. In just two days, he's done a 180 on these people. Forget playing soccer; they could go to war. Wait... did I fall for it too? Is that why I like him?

Impossible. That idiot doesn't care about that stuff; he wouldn't use it on me.'

She was both relieved and annoyed.

'If you have that power, why not use it on me so I don't have to overthink things every day?'

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

When the strong figure approached, Asuka snapped back to reality and spoke before Rei Ayanami could.

"You finally finished that boring business?"

"Boring? No. Emotionally, it reminded me of past interests. Rationally, it completed an important experiment. Though the cost-benefit ratio isn't great, so there's no need to promote it for now."

"Who asked you about that? I asked if you're done!"

"The brand of loyalty has been struck. Their bodies and energy have reached their limit; they need half a day of rest before Mark completes the follow-up training. Rest assured, they will pursue honor with extreme resilience for the rest of their lives."

Shinji remained characteristically logical. Even without much sleep for two days, he was full of energy. Compared to the "swimsuit episode" Chihaya Rin mentioned, training cowards stimulated his spirit much more.

At the end of the day, no matter how much Shinji changed, he wasn't a normal person. His interests were naturally different.

'Finally settled. Now we just wait for the results.'

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief and asked with interest, "Soccer is a technical skill. Are you sure this method will win? If you make a fool of yourself, I'm going to mock you mercilessly."

"It's fine. A firm will can resolve anything."

Shinji knew nothing about soccer. He glanced at the recruits crawling into sleeping bags one by one. "If all else fails, murderous intent alone will make the enemy forfeit. That is also a victory."

'You are... truly despicable.'

Asuka thought to herself that it made sense. Ordinary people seeing the eyes of these lunatics would lose heart before the match even started, making any technical tactics useless. She suddenly became interested.

"I'm going to watch the match too. Hmph, I'll be waiting to see you embarrassed."

"Then let's make a bet. Whoever loses has to do one thing for the other."

"Fine! It's not like you can do anything to me anyway."

The pact was sealed. Rei Ayanami finally found a chance to interject, pointing into the distance. "He is here. And he has been watching all night."

"I know. This was part of the plan."

Shinji had known long ago. He never did meaningless things. Even when he was enjoying himself and supposedly "undefended," Kaworu Nagisa still didn't take the opportunity to head for Terminal Dogma. This proved He really wasn't interested in his mission.

This was very strange. An Angel could actually control its instincts? Or were the instincts of Angels quietly changing? Was returning to Adam no longer that attractive?

Of course, if Kaworu dared to leave surveillance for even a second, Shinji would go straight underground to catch the turtle in the jar.

"Ignore him. Let him watch if he wants. Sometimes, changing someone's mind doesn't require direct contact."

Shinji didn't change the plan. He waved his hand. "Let's go. The emergency is over; we can continue with your business."

"Hmm? Us? What business?"

Shinji turned back, looking confused. "Aren't we on vacation? Or has it already ended?"

"Ah? You actually remembered that?"

Asuka's expression became quite vivid. She lunged forward like a hungry tiger, grabbing Shinji's arm. "You dumped us halfway through! No way! You have to make it up to us."

"I can do that."

"Then you have to listen to everything I say."

"I will listen to everyone."

Rei Ayanami followed quietly behind, suddenly feeling that Asuka had some uses after all. This ability to nag and seize the opportunity to set a topic was something she couldn't learn in a million years.

The three of them returned to camp. When Toji and Kensuke saw Shinji return, they were nervous at first, only relaxing after confirming they weren't being dragged into special training.

An Astartes kept his word. This time, Shinji didn't sit in his lounge chair to watch the scenery.

He had the Security Department send divers. After brief training, he led the group on an underwater exploration. It truly was an exploration, as an entire submerged city lay before them.

Schools of fish swam among the ruins; abandoned cars on the roads had become their homes. Fortunately, this coastal area had been cleaned thoroughly; they didn't see any sudden skeletons. Still, the eerie thrill of the apocalyptic ruins kept everyone huddled close together.

"It's beautiful."

Rei Ayanami stopped in the sea, looking up at the sun's reflection. Beams of light pierced the water, illuminating a silent wasteland. Fish darted out of empty windows, swirling around tilted buildings.

"This must be the 'Destruction and Rebirth' Ikari-kun talks about. People at home don't want to come near this area, as if it would touch old scars."

Hikari Horaki swam over, pointing into the distance.

Amidst these remnants of the old era, a certain someone was playing heartlessly.

"Shinji, look! Mermaid spin!"

"Shinji, Shinji! Does this look like the legendary Dragon Palace?"

"Let's go treasure hunting!"

Rei looked at a certain someone with a hint of envy. Asuka was never affected by the ruins before her, nor did she think about the events behind them. As she put it:

"We were all born after the Second Impact. We represent rebirth. What do the hardships of the past have to do with us?"

Yes, all of Class 2-A was born after the Second Impact. That seemed to be a prerequisite for piloting an EVA.

"She's right. Just enjoy the moment."

Rei swam over. Perhaps influenced by her rival Asuka, she was increasingly ignoring her supposed destiny.

Opening the doors to the future for humanity? What does that have to do with me? I just need to enjoy the happiness in front of me.

No Angels, no Lilith, no past grief, and no future confusion. The group played until evening before reluctantly coming ashore, excitedly piling up the trinkets they had scavenged from the ruins.

"I actually found almost 20,000 yen in coins! I really have the soul of an explorer!"

Toji shouted excitedly. He hadn't expected to turn a profit on a trip.

"Pfft, I wonder who bumped into a skeletal model and almost fainted from fright?"

"Who knew there'd be a skeleton on the main road? Didn't Asuka also do an emergency ascent out of fear?"

"Toji! What did you say!?"

Shinji watched silently from the side. He was very meticulous; when choosing the location, he had made sure this area had been scavenged repeatedly. it was safe enough and wouldn't have remains left over from fifteen years ago.

He wasn't afraid of such things himself. As Asuka said, the Second Impact was the mark of the end of the old era; why grieve for the past?

Dinner was grilled fish, caught by Toji and the others by the shore. Shinji handled it personally, skillfully lighting the bonfire, scraping the guts, and sprinkling simple seasoning. While he grilled the fish over the wood fire, the others had nothing to do and stayed nearby playing cards, occasionally stealing glances at the focused Shinji.

"I thought Shinji-kun had forgotten our itinerary."

"Ikari-kun is like that. He is focused and serious in everything he does, yet he doesn't let things interfere with each other."

Rei Ayanami explained softly, though her eyes still held a bit of frustration.

Shinji had too much "team consciousness." Since they agreed on a group vacation, he wouldn't pour all his energy into one person. It was hard to find a chance to be alone.

Misato wasn't there, and Asuka had played too hard during the day; she was currently groaning inside the tent.

"Go on, Rei. We'll look after Asuka's side."

Hikari Horaki suddenly gave her a nudge on the shoulder.

"Why do you all always take my side?"

The girls looked at each other, thinking: 'You're so spacey all day, who knows how much progress you've made? Asuka is nothing to worry about—once she fixes her bad habit of being stubborn, she'll crush you in a minute. Probably.'

"Uh, well, you were here first. There's a certain first-come-first-served etiquette!"

Chihaya Rin stuck out her tongue, having finally found an excuse.

Yes. I did meet Ikari-kun first.

Rei instantly accepted this excuse. Taking a light breath, she walked over to Shinji's side, then squatted down holding her knees, watching his profile.

Everyone said a focused man was the most attractive. Rei deeply agreed, because Shinji was the extreme of that saying. He was incredibly focused on everything he did; no matter how much he carried, he was never bothered by it.

To him, squatting by a bonfire grilling fish was the same as sitting in Unit-01 slaughtering Angels.

"Is something wrong, Ayanami?"

The question made Rei snap out of it. She moved her mouth but didn't know what to say. Actually, just being by Shinji's side and doing things with him made her happy. But thinking of the encouragement from the Class Rep and the others, she quietly tightened her fist.

Asuka is a glass cannon; I am not. I have never been afraid of Ikari-kun's rejection. Besides, I finally escaped her surveillance, and Ikari-kun is in a good mood after training the soccer club. If I don't confess now, then when?

But what would happen if Asuka found out? She would probably congratulate her on the surface and then cry into her pillow when no one was around. After all, her view on romance was normal; if I won, she would feel like a loser. I don't want to hurt her unless absolutely necessary.

Rei was very conflicted, feeling a faint ache in her stomach, wavering between selfishness and selflessness. At that moment, Shinji turned to look at her, his expression serious.

"If you have something to say, say it. Don't learn to be hesitant like them."

"But I don't know if I should say it."

"Then follow your intuition."

'Intuition?'

Her crimson pupils contracted. Rei was suddenly enlightened. At the very beginning, she had also been conflicted about whether to establish bonds with people; it was precisely because of those words that she took the first step and gained this unimaginable life.

Following her intuition, she didn't need to be conflicted at all.

"Ikari-kun, I want to tell you something."

She opened her mouth, feeling her lips tremble slightly, her cheeks heated by the bonfire. "I want to be with you always, to live together forever. Because I..."

"Because, perhaps we were born for your sake, Shinji-kun."

A gentle voice drifted over. Rei turned her head blankly and saw the handsome youth. He stood with his hands in his pockets, the light in his eyes even gentler than hers.

'There... there's another expert!?'

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