Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

Shinji Ikari gave a helpless smile. He knew that some things couldn't be said in public, especially in front of everyone.

But NERV headquarters is indeed a ferocious money-devouring beast; the resources consumed by the Angel defense project are astronomical. But the more astronomical the resources, the less likely it is to stop. Because some losses are necessary losses.

Even without intervention from NERV headquarters, other vested interests would emerge to obstruct the operation of JA units.

Furthermore, Shinji Ikari didn't believe that such a cheap machine, which couldn't even deploy an AT Field, could fight against an Angel. Even the most humiliating Daytime Angel was impossible for him.

On the special plane returning to Tokyo III, Shinji Ikari ate the fast food provided by the plane.

"I heard that the committee has approved the construction permit for Unit-06 regarding the JA unit going out of control?" Shinji Ikari asked.

“Your information network is really impressive.” Misato Katsuragi lay down beside him. “Those old fogies are the most afraid of death, but it’s also thanks to JA’s loss of control that things have turned out this way.”

"To be honest, I've only seen Unit-01 and Unit-00. I haven't seen any of the standard-issue units from Unit-02 to Unit-05."

"The other units are all deployed to deal with the Angels' attacks. Unit 3 is at NERV Branch 2 in Massachusetts, USA; Unit 4 is at Branch 1 in Nevada, USA; and Unit 5 is at Bethany Base in Russia."

"You haven't told me about Unit-02 yet," Shinji Ikari asked.

“Because you’ll probably see Unit 2 soon.” Misato Katsuragi smiled. “And Unit 2’s personal pilot is also a beautiful mixed-race girl. She’s been admiring you, Headquarters’ ace, for a long time.”

Shinji Ikari didn't respond, because he sensed a subtle, malicious smugness in Misato Katsuragi's last words. He figured that so-called admirer of his Unit-02 pilot probably wasn't such a nice guy after all.

"Oh right, Akagi said he's coming over for dinner tonight, so I need to go back early to prepare the ingredients," Katsuragi Misato suddenly said.

"You're in charge of cooking today, right?" Shinji Ikari thought for a moment.

"Oh dear, men shouldn't be so stingy. And if you have time, go and invite Li over, that girl really likes you."

But plans can't keep up with changes. Just as Shinji Ikari got off the plane at the airport, he saw a young man with a kind smile who had been waiting for him for a long time.

Shinji Ikari knew him; he was Gendo Ikari's secretary.

"Lieutenant Shinji Ikari, Third Squad of the Operations Department, we need your cooperation on a mission. Please come with us."

…………

…………

Shinji Ikari sat on a small stool, looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling with great boredom.

A light bulb covered in a fine layer of dust hung from the high, white ceiling, a testament to the room's long unused history. Half an hour earlier, Shinji Ikari had received orders to come here and await a new mission, only to find himself in this predicament.

Shinji Ikari sat on a low chair at one end of a long table, a rather uncomfortable position. Opposite him, on a soft sofa, sat a middle-aged man in a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses, a stranger. The man adjusted his glasses, and Shinji disliked his gaze and actions.

"You must be Shinji Ikari, the Third Child. Don't be nervous." The man extended his hand with a smile. "I am a psychologist specially invited by headquarters. I'm here to provide guidance and relief for your severe psychological problems that have been bothering you lately."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Take the Righteous Fist of My Imperial Knights

Shinji Ikari did not answer; he looked around at the room's layout.

The room was simply furnished. On three of the walls, there was a rectangular frosted glass window, double-protected by black iron bars and mesh, which made the room appear exceptionally sturdy. At the base of the wall without windows, there was a long steel table that looked equally solid.

I was sitting on one side of the long table with the psychologist in front of me.

"Third Child, Shinji Ikari, please cooperate with my work." The psychiatrist looked at Shinji, who was looking around, and tapped the table seriously. "When you were piloting Unit-01, you repeatedly disobeyed orders, refused commands, were inefficient, and often caused major disasters. This has caused a lot of trouble for headquarters. If you continue to be uncooperative, we may have to take coercive measures."

And then there was the look in the eyes of the man who claimed to be a psychologist. He finally realized that it was just like the look in the eyes of a prisoner being interrogated.

After identifying the source of the problem, Shinji Ikari finally smiled happily.

"What are you looking for?" the psychologist asked curiously.

Shinji Ikari looked up, a broad smile on his face.

At the same moment, in the Hakone elevator shaft, a purple-haired woman wearing a leather jacket hurriedly stepped out before the elevator doors had fully opened.

Her high heels clicked on the smooth marble floor. Misato Katsuragi, who had been promoted to Third Colonel and Chief of Operations, moved with incredible speed, even running to her office building in Hakone's Second Ward.

"Minister Katsuragi! Headquarters wants me to..."

"Get out of my way!" At this moment, a young man holding a file saw Katsuragi Misato walking briskly towards him and stepped forward to stop her, but was pushed aside by her.

At this moment, Misato Katsuragi's heart was filled with complex emotions. As someone who knew the truth, she knew that Gendo Ikari would not allow Shinji Ikari to continue to escape his control. But after actually hearing about the operation, she still felt a deep sense of worry.

“Room 7077, A-pillar, Room 7077, A-pillar.” Misato Katsuragi repeated the room number she had investigated, and soon saw the 7077 sign hanging on the target room.

As soon as I approached the room, I heard heart-wrenching screams.

"What's wrong, Shinji?" Misato Katsuragi rushed into the room, only to find Shinji Ikari grabbing a white man in a white lab coat by the hair and viciously rubbing him against the wall. The bloodstains, stretching over a meter long, were a shocking sight.

"This is a psychologist sent from above. He says I have rage disorder. Isn't that pure slander?!"

Shinji Ikari threw the man onto the sofa and smiled at Misato Katsuragi, who had barged in. "Back in Wallins, I was known for my good temper. Many nobles said I had the elegant demeanor of an ancient knight."

Although she had heard similar lines many times, Misato Katsuragi still wanted to ask, what kind of violent freaks were those so-called nobles and knights? And the Ancient Knights and the Golden Spirit, they sounded so twisted!

"Squadron Leader Katsuragi, Minister Katsuragi, save me! Save me! This candidate is a complete madman!" At this moment, the so-called psychologist tried to hug Katsuragi Misato's leg with both hands and feet, but before he could hug her, his right arm, which had just reached out, was stepped on.

The screams and pain made him involuntarily raise his head and beg for mercy from Shinji Ikari, but what he saw was the boy's cold smile devoid of any emotion. Especially the golden light contained in those dark brown eyes, intense and cold, like a sun without warmth, just like the boy's beautiful but cold smile.

At this moment, it was as if one were gazing into an abyss.

We've messed with the wrong person; this boy is rationally venting his violence. This thought exploded in the psychologist's mind like a chilling blast of air, sending a shiver down his spine.

"And he actually said I had bipolar disorder, so blatantly smearing me. I have every reason to suspect he is an enemy spy," Shinji Ikari said.

As he spoke, Shinji Ikari turned his gaze back to the so-called psychologist, who was still reeling from being shaken, but then saw Shinji walking towards him. The crisp sound of bones colliding echoed in the room as he stretched his limbs.

Then, he grabbed his collar with one hand and pressed himself back against the wall.

"Come on, tell me, who sent you?" Shinji Ikari gripped the man's throat tightly, and he could vaguely hear the sound of his throat bones breaking.

“Shinji, I think you should put him down for now.” Misato Katsuragi swallowed. “I actually think he is, but spy matters should be handled by NERV’s security agencies, don’t you think?”

"It's alright, I have experience!" Shinji Ikari said with confidence.

“Give me ten minutes, and he’ll remember his identity as a spy.” Shinji Ikari released his grip, letting the psychiatrist fall back onto the sofa. He looked around the room and finally spotted the steel leg under the glass table. He snapped off the hollow steel pipe, which was as thick as a child’s arm, and grabbed the psychiatrist, who was scrambling to escape, pointing it fiercely at his forehead.

By the way, do you have a wrench here? Could you please ask the logistics department to bring me one? Thank you.

…………

…………

In the end, nothing ever came of it.

Misato Katsuragi looked at the refined young man beside her. His tyranny wasn't without reason; rather, it was a rational choice made amidst the chaos, selecting the method most suitable for him. He was acutely aware of his importance to headquarters, and even to the world at large.

"Playing Tai Chi, it doesn't matter, I'm feeling good anyway." Shinji Ikari stretched, then suddenly thought of something, "So this psychiatrist really is a medical genius, I misunderstood him!"

"Isn't that how the medical genius explained it? Oh well, I'm done being the one making sarcastic remarks." Misato Katsuragi sighed and waved her hand. "I'm tired today, I'm going to go back to bed and be a couch potato. As for Rei, I'll leave it to you to inform her."

“Ayanami doesn’t seem to like eating much,” Shinji Ikari said.

"It's okay, that child is lonely, let's invite her over to keep her company. And if you're the one to invite her, she'll definitely agree."

This was my third visit, and I was already quite familiar with the place.

Shinji Ikari habitually rang the doorbell; he was used to doorbells that didn't make a sound. He took out a duplicated key from his pocket, and as he turned it, the rough, gray security door opened with a click.

A girl's wet undergarments hung on the doorknob. Mold grew in the sink, and fast food wrappers were scattered haphazardly in the hallway and entryway. A faint smell of blood lingered in the bathroom, where a mop lay overturned.

—Dirty, messy, and poor.

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would have believed it. This seemingly emotionless girl was actually a slovenly queen with an even more chaotic lifestyle than Misato Katsuragi. Shinji Ikari recalled that when they fought the Lightning Angel, Rei Ayanami had just carelessly tossed her clothes aside while changing in the dressing room.

It was as if no one had ever taught her what proper living habits should be.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Stamps That Can Go Anywhere

I entered the room, but it was still dark.

Just as the death of every angel brings a downpour, and this morning the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the weather was remarkably sunny. But for Rei Ayanami's room, only the color of night remained.

The scattered dappled sunlight fell on the bed like a mosaic. Rei Ayanami sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, her upper body slightly tilted, the sunlight falling on her smooth, beautiful back. Her posture resembled that of an old monk meditating, or Pan Jinlian falling from a pole, her almost transparent face always facing one direction, as if she were intently watching something.

Shinji Ikari hung the clothes rack with the girl's clothes back where it belonged, then sat down next to the juice boxes scattered on the floor and watched what Rei Ayanami was looking at.

"What are you looking at?" Shinji Ikari's gaze fell upon only the messy balcony.

“The ants are eating the juice,” Rei Ayanami said.

Shinji Ikari finally saw what was holding Rei Ayanami's attention: red ants crawling out of a crack in the wall. These are the most common invasive red ants, usually brought into homes from outside, such as furniture or building materials. These ants prefer to live in relatively damp environments, typically hiding in the cracks of tiles, cement, and pipes in brick-and-mortar houses, before entering kitchens and bathrooms.

"What's so interesting about this?" Shinji Ikari frowned slightly.

But Rei Ayanami was intently watching the long line of ants, observing how some of the ants sucked their abdomens into huge, semi-transparent sacs filled with sugar, before moving back to their nest.

"Because it's interesting, every ant is given a mission from birth. The queen ant is responsible for reproduction; the worker ants are responsible for building and expanding the nest, collecting food, and feeding the larvae; the soldier ants are responsible for defending the colony and dealing with large prey; and the male ants mate with the female ants during the nuptial flight, just like humans."

"Then what do you think we are?" Shinji Ikari raised an eyebrow.

“I am a soldier ant responsible for protecting the colony and dealing with large prey, and I may also be an underdeveloped worker ant. And you,” Rei Ayanami looked up at Shinji Ikari, “...you are a princess.”

"Thank you. I've been called a prince before, but this is the first time someone has called me a princess. It's quite a novel experience." Shinji Ikari chuckled.

But Rei Ayanami didn't laugh; instead, she looked intently into his eyes.

"That's not what I mean. The princess is also a fertile female ant. After mating, she sheds her wings and becomes the new queen. Before mating, she is commonly known as a princess or an angel. And you are just a prospective queen ant wearing the skin of a soldier ant."

Shinji Ikari was a little embarrassed, rubbed his nose, and looked away. "So, in that case, you're a male ant too, right? Because everyone is fighting for their own different goals..."

“I am not, because I am an undeveloped worker ant and am not qualified to be your mating partner,” Rei Ayanami said softly.

Shinji Ikari had absolutely no desire to continue this topic; for the first time, he didn't know how to proceed. He had just finished reminiscing about the first half of his life with a highly skilled psychologist and then rushed here without stopping.

It might be out of concern, or it might just be a simple invitation, but it's definitely not to discuss who's the princess and who's the ant.

Suddenly, Rei Ayanami moved, sitting up in bed with one foot firmly on the floor, and reached out to pick up her school uniform. It was then that Shinji Ikari noticed the girl's curves; she wasn't as thin as he had described. She wore a simple white bra and a plain white tube top.

Rei Ayanami calmly showed off her beautiful young figure to Shinji Ikari. Because she hadn't seen the sun for many years, her skin was pale and even had a slightly weak, translucent quality.

"The central air conditioning is broken; it's only blowing warm air, and it's very hot." Rei Ayanami seemed to understand Shinji Ikari's confusion, and while explaining, she put on her school uniform skirt.

"Then why are you still wearing underwear?" Shinji Ikari asked again, remembering her posture when he first came here. As for why the central air conditioning wasn't being repaired, he wasn't surprised, since she hadn't bothered to call for repairs even though the doorbell had been broken for so long.

Or perhaps she simply doesn't understand.