Chapter 150 182: The Machine Spirit of Unit-02.

"Hahaha, so that's how it was! You should finish your sentences next time; you had me unable to sleep all night."

The following day, NERV Headquarters, Pilot's Lounge.

Asuka put on her plugsuit, looking completely relieved. Next to her, Rei Ayanami's face was filled with grievance. This "glass cannon" had caused her enough trouble; Shinji was clearly angry.

After the car ride, Asuka had acted as if she had grasped the mysteries of the universe. Once home, she locked herself in her room and refused to come out, frantically searching for information online. By morning, she had transformed into a state of "I will fix him and set him straight." Fortunately, Shinji had gone to see Dr. Akagi last night and hadn't come home, otherwise, he might have gone berserk on the spot.

'Wait, he went to see Dr. Akagi and didn't return all night—why am I happy about that?'

Rei suddenly felt a chill. She hadn't managed to "fix" the glass cannon, but she had been invisibly infected by her instead. Her gaze became even more resentful, making Asuka's skin crawl.

"Uh, I'm not gloating! Don't you think this is a good thing? For both of us, really."

"What 'good thing'? Shinji-kun never thought that way to begin with. Besides, why didn't you just ask him directly instead of acting all sneaky?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I'd be lucky if he didn't hit me for saying that."

"So you used me as a shield?"

Asuka whistled silently, pretending not to hear, her excitement growing the more she thought about it.

'That idiot isn't gay, and this doll didn't manage to get ahead of me... It really is... a total victory!'

Rei glanced at that expression and knew the "German Winning Theory" had started again. She simply sat down and started reading a book. Before she could finish a few pages, the orange-haired girl predictably leaned in front of her.

"By the way, why were we called to headquarters today?"

"You are the Second Child; since when is coming to headquarters a 'rare' event?"

"Blame him for making me get used to slacking off! I wasn't like this before."

Asuka rubbed her nose. Unit-02 used to mean everything to her; now, their relationship was... distant yet close.

"Today we are conducting an EVA Interchange Startup Test. Shinji-kun has been patient for a long time."

Rei had no intention of hiding it from her.

"Interchange test? Didn't we do that once before? I don't want anyone else sitting in my Unit-02."

"It's NERV's Unit-02," Rei corrected, closing her book. "This time is different from the last. If we don't resolve your 'mental knot,' I'll end up taking the blame all day."

'Mental knot? What are you talking about?'

Asuka was bewildered, looking left and right. "If we're testing, where did that idiot go?"

"The experiment has already begun. Didn't I mention that?"

'When did you ever say that?!'

Asuka froze for a moment, then jumped up and ran toward the hangar.

"Don't you dare mess with my Unit-02!"

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"Hmm, this Machine Spirit is fragmented and incomplete; there are no signs of awakening."

Meanwhile, Shinji was already seated inside Unit-02. It would be too troublesome to get permission from a certain stubborn girl, and procedurally, her consent wasn't required anyway.

This was a plan jointly decided by the Research and Operations Departments. All monitoring equipment had been activated.

"Shinji-kun, the entry plug depth is at -8, this is already dangerous territory," Ritsuko warned. If the plug went too deep, it would probe into the EVA's core, risking mental contamination.

"It's fine. Continue. This Machine Spirit has no active consciousness; I have to go find it myself."

'What Machine Spirit?'

Maya Ibuki turned her head in confusion, only to see Dr. Akagi nod slightly, so she continued the process.

Shinji's psychic power plunged deep like a sword. Dense static spots appeared on the cockpit screens—interference that human science could not explain. Shinji frowned; this was different from what he had imagined.

Unit-00 had no Machine Spirit. Unit-02's was incomplete. According to Ritsuko Akagi's theory, it was a product of the original experiments: a specific soul attached to the EVA, allowing a specific pilot to have a much higher synchronization rate—almost like a custom-made machine for one person.

However, Yui Ikari's entire soul had merged into Unit-01, and even her physical body had dissolved into LCL. She possessed a complete personality, which allowed for the mother-son reunion. Unit-02 was different; only a portion of Asuka's mother's personality had merged. It was too fragmented to communicate with.

Thinking back, subsequent reports stated that Asuka's mother had been sent to a mental asylum, treating a doll as her daughter before eventually breaking down and hanging herself.

"Did they only merge a piece of the mother's personality? It's completely different from my mother."

It was hidden too deep. Shinji didn't dare use too much psychic power; it would be a disaster if he caused the Machine Spirit to go berserk. Unfortunately, there was no special sub-space created by the 12th Angel right now, so he lacked the tactical advantage of the environment.

This was a bit troublesome.

His goal in contacting Unit-02's spirit wasn't just to resolve Asuka's trauma. If the Machine Spirit awakened, Unit-02's combat power would explode. Even if it didn't reach the level of Unit-01, it would far surpass other EVAs. Leaving a Machine Spirit unused was a waste of resources.

"Hey! What are you doing to my Unit-02!?"

Just as he was thinking, Shinji heard an aggressive shout. He looked up to see Asuka standing on the umbilical bridge, hands on her hips.

She was angry and confused, but because their relationship was "special," she didn't explode immediately. Shinji didn't answer. At this extreme plug depth, he heard a sound like a heartbeat.

Thump-thump.

'I see. The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it?'

Shinji understood instantly. Asuka's shout had triggered the Machine Spirit. It made sense; those "cog-boys" (tech-priests) back in 40K never fully understood such eerie things as Machine Spirits—it wasn't just a matter of power.

If a pure psychic contacted Yui Ikari inside Unit-01, they would likely only receive the Machine Spirit's wrath. But Asuka wasn't a psychic; her presence could only trigger a slight passive reaction.

"Hey! Say something!" Asuka was still yelling.

"Keep talking. I need to calibrate the soul frequency; it'll be useful later."

"What 'soul frequency'? Get your butt down from there right now!"

It was working. The Machine Spirit indeed reacted to her. But at this depth, there was mental contamination, and Unit-02's spirit was incomplete. He couldn't let her contact it recklessly. He needed to push her only after she became accustomed to soul-level contact.

Shinji never took unnecessary risks. He turned to look at the pop-up screen. While Asuka was complaining, Rei Ayanami had already boarded Unit-01. It was a test at the same high depth, but the danger level was fundamentally different.

Unit-01's spirit was complete and could even communicate directly, though a non-psychic could only feel some spiritual fluctuations.

"Rei, how do you feel?"

The girl with hip-length hair lay in the cockpit with her eyes closed, as if entering a dream. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, looking very nervous—as if she were meeting an important person and awaiting their approval.

"I feel Unit-01's kindness. Yes, it is definitely kindness. It feels like invisible hands are stroking my hair. I never felt this in Unit-00. No... I didn't feel it when I piloted Unit-01 before, either."

'Of course not. Using the 12th Angel, I awakened my mother's spirit and even made direct contact with her.'

Shinji closed his eyes. For some reason, a vision appeared in his mind: Yui Ikari looking at the girl who looked so much like her, dotingly reaching out to stroke her hair, saying something like, "If he bullies you, I'll take revenge for you."

'Wait, why am I getting a soul resonance through Unit-02? Hey, why is Unit-02's spirit reacting now too?'

This experiment had entered a completely metaphysical realm. Human technology had no way to explain this soul-level resonance. Fortunately, Shinji was prepared.

"Ritsuko, what is Unit-01's sync rate?"

"Increasing... Incredible. Rei's sync rate with Unit-01 has already surpassed her rate with Unit-00. It's 1.5 times higher than the last interchange test."

Massive amounts of data reflected off Ritsuko Akagi's glasses; she felt a strange sense of excitement.

"As expected. This is the Machine Spirit's acceptance, actively establishing a mental link. In theory, as long as Unit-01 is willing, anyone can pilot it."

"Ha! According to you, Ritsuko and I could do it too, then?"

Misato Katsuragi chimed in suddenly, only to have Ritsuko look over with an expression that made her skin crawl.

"Theoretically yes, but I wouldn't dare. Wouldn't you be embarrassed to go in there?"

'What 'wouldn't dare'? Why would I be embarrassed?'

Misato, who didn't know what was inside Unit-01, was completely lost. But no one explained it to her as Shinji continued his orders.

"The experiment can move to the next stage. Rei, come down. Asuka, you enter Unit-01. Dr. Akagi, use the same steps and same depth."

"Ikari-kun, I want to stay a bit longer."

For the first time, Rei Ayanami disobeyed an order. She couldn't help it; lying inside Unit-01 felt too comfortable—a soul-level pleasure that no words or language could express.

"Get down! He's in my Unit-02, so I'm going in his Unit-01!"

Asuka wasn't having it, waving her hands and urging. Rei had no choice; after lingering for a moment, she reluctantly left the entry plug. Looking back at Unit-00, it didn't seem appealing at all anymore.

'Bizarre. Machine Spirits? Kindness? What is this?'

Confused, Asuka sat inside Unit-01. She didn't believe in metaphysics; wasn't an EVA just a combat weapon? But as the cockpit visuals shifted and the plug sank into the core, she froze. She felt the LCL surrounding her was no longer just a liquid; her soul felt an extreme sense of relaxation.

"Asuka, what do you feel?"

"It's so warm... Unit-01 really likes me. It feels like something is brushing through my hair. What's going on?"

'Mom, you still like to rub heads just like before.'

Shinji swallowed hard and looked at Ritsuko Akagi. Without needing to ask, she understood his intent.

"Neural link stable. Sync rate rising. It's very similar to Rei."

Ritsuko took a deep breath, thinking to herself that Yui Ikari was quite greedy—she seemed to like whoever went up there.

'Uh, is there any difference between this and a bunch of daughters-in-law meeting their mother-in-law one by one?'

She suddenly realized something and glanced at Misato Katsuragi next to her, a dangerous thought popping into her head.

'Maybe... let this idiot go up and test the waters, to see what that lady thinks?'

Once the thought sprouted, she couldn't stop it. Just as she was about to speak, a sudden alarm made her jump.

"Angel attack?"

"Yes! The 3rd Air Wing has discovered an unidentified biological entity. Biological wavelength is Pattern Blue. Confirmed as the 13th Angel."

Maya Ibuki and the others were used to Angels arriving at sudden moments, but they found it strange that Dr. Akagi looked so badly startled.

"At a time like this? Fine, you're all already in position. Asuka, get back to Unit-02 immediately and prepare to launch. Asuka?"

The girl on the monitor was still lying back comfortably, causing Ritsuko's expression to change, thinking something was wrong.

"I feel Unit-01's will..."

"What? What did she say?"

Asuka opened her eyes, her deep blue pupils filled with confusion.

"She... she said, 'Mama's been waiting a long time'?"

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