Ultraman grunts? Call me Space Policeman outside!

"I'll explain it to you on the way," Shinji said, glancing at the time and extending his hand to Rei Ayanami.

Ms. Ritsuko Akagi is about to urge them.

Rei Ayanami stared at Shinji's outstretched hand for a few seconds, stunned.

Then, as if just realizing something, she handed over her uninjured hand and was helped to her feet by Shinji.

She recalled that this behavior was something like "helping".

And after others help you.

What should be said is...

"Thank you," Rei Ayanami said softly to Shinji after she stood up.

"Ah...you're welcome." Shinji let go of her hand in a daze, thinking to himself that she wasn't completely lacking in common sense after all.

At the same time, she wondered why there was someone like her in NERV.

Why did she become a driver?

Why does she have so many injuries?

There are too many suspicious things about this girl named Rei Ayanami, and Shinji's intuition tells him that if he can figure out the girl's background, he can figure out the inside story of NERV.

'Since Mr. Natsuki has helped me so much, I must also help Mr. Natsuki in return,' Shinji thought to himself.

Mr. Natsuki wants to obtain as much information as possible about this world.

He has decided to find out what NERV is hiding.

......

The two arrived at the hidden entrance of NERV headquarters by vehicle.

Following the instructions given by Ritsuko Akagi, they arrived at the entrance of the laboratory inside the base.

"This is it." Shinji stood at the pristine white entrance, glanced at the laboratory sign, and confirmed.

"It seems we'll have to part ways here." He turned to look at Rei Ayanami, who had come with him; she still had to go to a room further inside.

Rei Ayanami nodded silently.

She and Shinji are ultimately different.

Watching Rei Ayanami's departing figure, Shinji always felt an urge to call her back.

However, he ultimately held back.

The laboratory door opened, and he went inside.

Inside was a dedicated room filled with various body testing instruments. Ritsuko Akagi, wearing a loose white lab coat and holding a tablet for testing data, had been waiting for him for quite some time.

"Shinji..." She was about to greet Shinji and tell him to get ready.

Dr. Connie, who was usually aloof and wise, actually took the initiative to greet them.

She abandoned the persona she usually encountered and greeted Shinji Ikari with great enthusiasm, saying, "Hello, Shinji-kun."

"The physical examination is about to begin. Do you have any discomfort right now?"

"If you feel uncomfortable, we can wait a while before starting, there's no rush."

With that, he led Shinji Ikari to the rest area that had been prepared in advance.

The series of actions left Ritsuko Akagi stunned.

She remembered that this should have been the first time the two of them had met.

Where has your aloofness gone? Where has your reserve gone? Where has your image of wisdom gone?

She genuinely wanted to know what had happened during the time she was unaware of.

Chapter 97 Secret

"This child's health..."

After the examination began, Ritsuko Akagi kept her eyes glued to the tablet in her hand, observing Shinji's vital signs in real time.

"The data showed no anomalies whatsoever."

She had personally witnessed Shinji Ikari use power beyond the limits of the human body, but now the instruments showed that Shinji's physical data was just that of a relatively healthy, ordinary boy.

This is completely unreasonable.

With a body like that, it's impossible to exert that kind of power.

"Is it deliberately hidden... or can it only unleash its special power under specific conditions?" Ritsuko Akagi frowned slightly, pondering the reason behind it.

A series of physical examinations yielded no results she wanted.

"Shinji, how did you unleash such power?" Since the instruments were useless, she chose a more direct method and asked him face to face.

Shinji Ikari, who had just gotten up from the recliner, paused for a moment when he heard the question.

"Miss Ritsuko, what do you mean...?" he asked.

“Have you forgotten? That time in the hangar, and that time inside the EVA,” Ritsuko Akagi reminded her.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I'm not really sure myself." Shinji understood that the other person wanted to ask about Natsuki-san, but this matter was too important to him, and he didn't want to share this secret with others for the time being.

His identity as the pilot of EVA Unit-01 wasn't very important, and he felt it didn't matter if he told his classmates.

However, the secret of his being one with Mr. Natsuki seemed far more important than that. After seeing Mr. Natsuki fighting in his dream, he realized that he now possessed the power to rewrite the fate of the world.

Before Mr. Natsuki woke up, he dared not reveal the secret.

Ritsuko Akagi remained silent for a while.

She guessed that Shinji was intentionally hiding it.

As the person in charge of the EVA project, she didn't want Shinji to hide such important information, but she also understood the boy's fragile heart to some extent.

If we take strong measures against him, Commander Ikari will definitely agree, but that would be too cruel for a teenager.

Furthermore... Shinji's behavior in the hangar earlier also showed that this boy is not without temper, and if he is really pushed to the limit, the situation may become even more uncontrollable.

"This is really a headache..." Ritsuko Akagi sighed slightly.

She had assumed that Shinji's body was showing abnormalities that could be detected by instruments, so that even if Shinji intended to hide it, there would be no way to find out. However, the situation was beyond her expectations.

This boy is no longer someone who can be bullied easily; his personality is gradually becoming independent. Taking a hard line would only make their already disrupted plans even more chaotic.

“Kids this age all have their own secrets.” At this point, Albert stepped in to smooth things over, “Weren’t we like that when we were young?”

"Besides, Commander Ikari doesn't seem to care much about this matter."

As soon as he spoke, Ritsuko Akagi turned her gaze towards him.

Dr. Connie Albert's behavior today was truly unusual.

However, she had agreed to his joining NERV, and his resume was very clean; otherwise, she would have suspected that he might have some other motive.

“It’s clear you really admire this young man,” Ritsuko Akagi said helplessly.

In her eyes, Albert was a calm, wise, and brilliant scientist who could keep up with her thinking, but he was rather aloof and had a slight obsession with cleanliness.

It perfectly matches her stereotype of a genius scientist.

But today she really saw something new; she never knew this guy had this side to him.

“A young hero, who wouldn’t admire him?” Albert smiled at him.

“We all understand what Commander Ikari means.”

"So don't put too much thought into this kind of thing."

"Instead of all that, how about we grab a drink tonight? I've noticed you're under a lot of stress lately."

Albert was going all out to help Natsuki solve this problem.

His handsome mixed-race features really come in handy at times like this.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to invite me." Ritsuko Akagi was a little surprised, but quickly smiled and nodded, "Okay."

She did indeed have unspeakable feelings for Commander Ikari, but she wouldn't refuse a man of the right age, with both talent and good looks, who offered himself to her.

Shinji, who was standing nearby, scratched his head as he listened to their conversation.

......

In the pitch-black room, Gendo Ikari sat at his desk, his hands clasped together on the table, covering his mouth in his classic pose.

Opposite him, there were several projected human figures, sitting in a circle around the center, just like him.

"Unit-01's first battle looks to be going very smoothly," one of the figures said.

“Yes.” Gendo Ikari nodded, speaking in a deep voice.

"Unit-01 is fully capable of destroying the Angels."

"The appearance of the Third and Fourth Apostles was earlier than we expected, but everything is unfolding according to the script, and our plan is still proceeding effectively."

After he finished speaking, another figure asked a question.

"How's your investigation going regarding the mysterious giant who killed the Third Apostle?"

The most mysterious and influential figure in their plans right now is the giant who descended from the sky and killed the Third Apostle.

“We are still investigating that giant,” Gendo Ikari replied.

"After the Third Apostle was eliminated, the other party completely disappeared. At least in such a short period of time, we still cannot accurately determine the other party's whereabouts."

The other people in the meeting seemed to want to use the matter of the Titans to put him in a bad light. He realized this, so when he replied, he emphasized the short time that had passed since the Titans appeared. Only three days had passed since then.

He also stated that he was unable to accurately determine the other party's whereabouts, rather than directly saying that he was temporarily helpless.

"We couldn't glean any information about that giant from the corpse of the Third Apostle either?" the next figure continued to ask.

"There is very little useful information."

“It can only be judged as a purely physical impact,” Gendo Ikari replied, remaining motionless.

"A physical impact?"

"Can the Third Angel's AT Field be broken through by a mere physical impact?"