Chapter 174 206: Absolutely One of Our Own.

Damn, I said something I shouldn't have.

Ayanami Rei walked down the steel corridor, regretting her words the moment she spoke them. Shinji had never said that; he didn't care about his biological father in the slightest.

'If you want to play political games, I'll play along. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to pinch your nose and clean up the mess, acting as a mere tool of a Commander.'

"Perhaps deep down, I still want to reconcile their father-son relationship?"

Rei sighed. She had tried to do that before, but she was used by Gendo Ikari. Then—well, the "invincible" NERV Commander was picked up and held high, and from that point on, he never dared to play hardball again.

She suddenly felt a bit uneasy, fearing Shinji's reproach. After a long while, the image of a certain girl—the one who often stood with her hands on her hips, looking arrogant and high-spirited—popped into her mind.

'That's right, look at Asuka. She gets scolded all the time, but she doesn't change her ways. That thick skin is truly worth learning from.'

Rei suddenly began to admire Asuka; she could suffer constant persecution and still remain completely unshaken. After her "completion," she was even more invincible.

'Sometimes, I need to learn from her.

Rei nodded heavily. She entered the password on the wall to open her private lounge—a perk Shinji had instituted, stating that everyone needed some private space.

Her lounge was a converted utility room. The layout was simple, but once you've known luxury, it's hard to return to austerity. Having grown accustomed to a comfortable life, her room no longer felt as dilapidated or monotonous as her old apartment in the old city.

There was a computer provided at public expense, a small refrigerator packed with cola, a soft beanbag chair, and a few potted pothos plants that made one forget they were in an underground city of steel.

Rei opened the fridge, took out a can of cola, and opened the inner door. Inside, things were quite cluttered, piled high with various tools and materials—evidently, this was her secret base.

Guests often came to her apartment, making it inconvenient to do certain things, so she had moved them here. In the center of the small room sat a massive suit of armor, and the walls were covered with various exploded-view diagrams. In the middle of it all was the power armor Shinji had sketched casually.

That's right—back at the New Year's Festival, Asuka had convinced Shinji to wear his favorite, most ornate, and most ritualistic clothing to attend the ceremony. The excitement on the boy's face was still firmly etched in Rei's mind.

Since then, Rei had begun preparing a gift. From drafting and spray painting to sanding and carving, she learned everything from the basics, and she kept it perfectly secret. Nobody knew.

She had silently practiced until she became a master, and now the work was mostly complete.

"Hmm, these scrap materials I asked Mr. Aoba to send over are perfect. This alloy has high strength and is lightweight. Although it lacks the neural interface functions Shinji talked about, it's enough for a showpiece."

The girl slowly put on her gloves. This was the item she had spoken of. As someone who valued the sense of ritual, Rei would never be like Asuka, who would just "rush in" on a whim.

'This is the most important moment of my life. Of course, I must let Shinji-kun receive it in the most gorgeous and ritualistic state.'

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.

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The sander started up. The splashing sparks were reflected in her red eyes, illuminating a girl's beautiful expectations for the future.

The heavy transport plane flew over the frozen strait. Shinji looked down through the window at the snow-covered earth.

The Earth's ecology had become very strange; despite Japan being as hot as midsummer all year round, once past Hokkaido, the sky was filled with snow.

This was his first time leaving Japan, but he wasn't particularly curious. After taking a look at the ice and snow that Asuka often bragged about, he withdrew his gaze and began reading the documents in his hand carefully.

The anomalous signal source was within a fjord at 46°28′14″ N, 131°27′50″ E. Because of the Second Impact, the already harsh Olyutorsky District was no longer inhabited by humans; it was permafrost for thousands of kilometers in every direction.

'So it was hidden in this place. Without investing massive manpower and resources, it would be impossible to find a hidden Angel. If it just hunkered down in the Mariana Trench, it would be impossible to detect.'

Fortunately, Tokyo-3 still held the "aggro" firmly. Shinji never worried about "God" exposing NERV's lies, because Adam's body was already somewhere in the underground headquarters.

This allowed him to fix the search range around Tokyo-3 without having to scour the whole world.

"The latest report: the underwater drone has locked onto it."

Ritsuko Akagi, who was traveling with him, handed over a file. It showed a large crystal formation a thousand meters deep beneath the thick ice cap of the frozen sea. "The biological wavelength is blue. It's confirmed to be an Angel."

A cheer went off in the cabin; it would have been too miserable if they had come all this way to this godforsaken place and found nothing.

"Don't be too happy yet. We don't know the status of this Angel."

Shinji's expression remained cold as he tossed the file aside. "The Embryo Angel once set a trap, and unlike humans, Angels don't need much time to grow."

Angels might appear to be flesh and blood, but they were actually wave-particle organisms. With enough energy, they could rapidly develop from an embryo to a mature body.

"Yes, that's why we've prepared two plans, and we have informed the Russian military."

"They have troops stationed in this hellhole?"

"They do. There's an old-era military base nearby. We'll be landing there shortly."

Shinji nodded lightly. It's great to have a team—many things don't require his concern, allowing him to focus all his energy on the Angel.

"What's the reaction from SEELE?"

"Very unhappy, but they agreed to cooperate. They've already issued orders to the Russian military."

That was a given. The loosening of the Dead Sea Scrolls framework was bad news for those old men. Simply put, Shinji could wait and take his time "grinding monsters to level up," but they couldn't.

Besides, he came out here to deal with an Angel, not to burn down SEELE's nest; there was no reason for them to disagree. Their greatest dissatisfaction stemmed from him acting first and reporting later, but Shinji had no patience to wait for those old men to hold meetings and bicker.

The C2 transport plane soon landed on a near-frozen runway. When the cabin door opened, the freezing wind rushing in made everyone but Shinji shiver.

"This place is freezing cold."

Misato Katsuragi hunched her shoulders, wishing she could bury herself entirely within her thick thermal gear.

"It's minus 30 degrees, it would be strange if it weren't cold. Get yourselves together; we represent NERV."

Shinji reminded them before being the first to walk off the transport plane. NERV was more like a technical organization; they didn't receive much military training under normal circumstances. Seeing the group looking timid, he immediately considered replicating the physical training from the soccer club.

'Too frail. Not loyal enough.'

Compared to these technicians, the Russian military personnel were very loyal. They stood in ranks, straight as ramrods in the wind and snow. Time had passed; this new cooperation with the UN Forces was no longer like the Fish Angel incident, where they were mocked as "boy scouts."

You can't be a soldier if you're an idiot. Now, who didn't know that this Shinji Ikari was the strongest human? He had directly saved over a million lives, and the Angel of Light, which had left the UN Forces completely helpless, was torn to shreds by him.

The leader was a Navy Vice Admiral with a square jaw, a thick beard, and a fur hat—a man named Bakanov. Shinji walked down the gangway and stepped directly toward him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen."

"It is a pleasure to see you, Tovarish."

"I am glad you arrived immediately upon receiving the order. Your loyalty is commendable."

"It is the duty of a soldier. Rather, your strength puts us to shame."

"Strength may vary, but duties and missions are of equal standing."

Shinji shook hands and embraced the group of northern soldiers one by one, without a hint of the boyish timidity or arrogance one might expect. The heartwarming scene left Misato Katsuragi, who had prepared to step forward to handle the liaison, dumbfounded.

She dealt with UN forces often and knew how difficult those old stubborn men could be. What was this "fan meeting" atmosphere? Don't you fifty-to-sixty-year-old men, built like bears, feel embarrassed to be listening to his teachings?

'Well, Shinji is also built like a bear.'

"It's not your first time seeing Shinji-kun deal with these stubborn old men; what's there to be surprised about?" Ritsuko whispered, leaning in.

"It's different! That time with the Pacific Fleet felt like a 'face-slapping' script from a power fantasy novel."

Misato recalled the incident with the Fish Angel; she had been nearly driven to madness by the Fleet Commander's sarcasm and passive-aggressiveness. Shinji stepped in and convinced the other party with just a few words.

"Now look at this. The Russian bears are completely ignoring us. Anyone who didn't know better would think the NERV Commander had arrived to oversee the operation."

"Isn't that effectively the case?"

Misato was choked for a moment.

'Fine, that's true.'

But then she realized something else.

"Wait... how does Shinji know Russian?"

"Has the confidence of our linguistics genius been dealt a blow?"

Don't let her usual unserious demeanor fool you; Misato was a genius fluent in seven languages. She shook her head. Spending time with Shinji, her confidence had long since been riddled with holes.

"I'm just thinking... this guy wouldn't happen to know German, too, would he?" Misato narrowed her eyes, remembering a certain Asuka who loved to speak German. "This time, there's going to be a show worth watching."

Shinji didn't let her enjoy her musings for long. One command after another was issued. The accompanying NERV members hurried to work, using the base's facilities to set up a temporary encampment, while Shinji, accompanied by the Vice Admiral, entered the base.

It was an abandoned nuclear submarine base. Fortunately, the construction quality was high, so restarting it was not an issue. Seeing the Hammer and Sickle emblem at the entrance of the underground bunker, Shinji couldn't help but sigh.

'That dismembered superpower certainly had military strength, but alas, they lacked an immortal leader like the Emperor. They vanished into the river of history before the Second Impact. Otherwise, having such a massive PDF (Planetary Defense Force) would have come in handy.'

"We have finished the second investigation report."

The heat in the base was high, and everyone shed their winter clothes while listening to the Vice Admiral's account.

"The Akula-class nuclear submarine approached the target and released torpedoes, confirming that the ice enclosing it is very hard, and there is no sign that the Angel is waking up."

"Who told you to be so reckless!?"

Ritsuko slammed the table and stood up, furious. "I should have told you not to act rashly until Unit 01 arrived! What if you woke the Angel up!?"

"Then we will start the counterattack sooner. My comrades have already prepared a defensive line in the west. The best way to deal with a time bomb is to detonate it early. We cannot allow this monster to hide on our sacred soil."

The Vice Admiral's gaze was cold. His logic was overly crude, but thinking about it, there was some truth to it.

For every moment they left it alone, the Angel grew stronger. If it were awakened and headed for Tokyo-3, that would be one thing, but if it headed west, a great war would be inevitable. That was why they were so cooperative with NERV—the team coming to remove the "tumor."

"But the moment the Angel wakes up, you will all die."

"Dr. Akagi, my life should have been sacrificed back at Chernobyl. I am not as afraid of death as you think."

"Enough."

Shinji tapped the table, instantly dissipating the tense atmosphere. His authority was never about treating people as equals—it was about raw power.

"What is the military's plan?"

"Break the ice, use N2 mines to detonate at zero range, and strive to annihilate it."

"A rational choice. Use maximum firepower to eradicate the target."

Shinji thought for a moment and then waved his hand.

"Then go ahead and do it. With me and Unit 01 as your fallback, you don't need to fear failure."

Vice Admiral Bakanov was stunned, then revealed intense surprise. He had been worried that the NERV people would drag their feet and waste time on scientific research. It turned out this Third Children was much easier to talk to than he had expected.

'One of our own. This is absolutely one of our own.'

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