I participated in the development of EVA

"Who is this little girl?"

Ibuki Emi didn't know that Fuyutsuki Kōzo wanted to know why this girl looked so similar to Ikari Yui, so she glanced at Ikari Gendo.

Ikari Gendō did not hide anything.

"She is the pilot of Unit 0."

At this time, Fuyutsuki Kozo remembered the information he learned when he met his daughter.

This is... a clone of Yui Ikari?

"Isn't she a little too young? She looks only about ten years old."

Ikari Gendō gave a simple explanation.

"There is an age limit for driving EVA. The specific situation cannot be explained in a few simple sentences. You will understand it after you read the relevant information."

Fuyutsuki Kozo nodded.

Ibuki Emi spoke helplessly.

"Next time, could you please let me know first?"

Ikari Fumihiko naturally would not admit his mistake and made a stubborn excuse.

"The enemy won't notify you in advance when they attack."

Looking at the staff who were a little flustered at the scene, Ibuki Emi agreed with Ikari Fumihiko's point of view.

"We have indeed neglected this aspect, and we must strengthen training in this area in the future."

He withdrew his gaze from the crowd and glanced at Ayanami Rei next to Fumihiko Ikari.

“There are also some details that need to be optimized.”

The combat suit worn by Rei Ayanami in the previous experiment was sent for cleaning, but the project team did not prepare a second combat suit.

Ibuki Emi had a deeper control over the project than Ikari Fumihiko. Under her command, the project ran smoothly. She also arranged for people to prepare a temporary combat uniform.

Ikari Gendō, who had been silent on the side, suddenly spoke up and gave his opinion.

“A special dressing room should be added for drivers.”

Ikari Fumihiko didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Ibuki Emi nodded immediately and responded to Ikari Gendō's words.

“I’m aware of this, too.”

Ikari Gendō nodded, then continued to stand aside in silence.

I raised this point not because I doubt Emi Ibuki's ability, but because I am worried that Emi Ibuki might make a mistake in a hurry.

As for the real person in charge of the project team, Fumihiko Ikari? He shouldn't focus on these trivial matters.

Apart from the lack of preparation in the combat suit, the rest of the parts were a bit messy, but there were no serious problems overall. Soon, Unit 00 was successfully started again under the piloting of Rei Ayanami, and the synchronization rate suddenly reached 27%. The movements of Unit 00 also became visibly more streamlined.

"how do you feel?"

"Lei feels a lot more relaxed than the first time."

Although he had long known that Unit 00 was a war weapon created by a mysterious organization to fight against the Third Impact, and that it could move was a normal thing, but knowing was naturally different from seeing it with his own eyes. Fuyutsuki Kozo was so shocked that he was speechless, and had no idea what kind of technology could allow a ten-year-old child to control such a horrific creature.

He subconsciously glanced at Ikari Fumihiko and asked Ikari Gendō.

“Is this the result of his research??”

After saying this, I felt that this question was too unprofessional. To manufacture such a terrifying weapon must be a complex and huge project. How could it be the result of one person?

What's more, Fumihiko Ikari is only about 22 years old. No matter how talented such a young person is, it is only because of the special circumstances that Fumihiko Ikari has the opportunity to participate in such a major project, and his current identity should be the head of the test team of the test project.

Just as he was about to correct his words, Ikari Gendō gave an unexpected reply.

"The key driving technology was developed by him. Well... to be more precise, the entire driving system was basically designed by him alone. In addition, there are some other key research results."

Under normal circumstances, he would definitely not explain so much about this matter, but the current situation is rather special.

Although he didn't have much communication with Ikari Fumihiko on weekdays, Fumihiko Ikari was the cousin of Yui Ikari after all. He was taciturn but not a real wooden man, so he still had some social skills... okay! Before coming, he received a task from Yui Ikari to help Fumihiko Ikari establish a good image in the eyes of his father-in-law.

Ikari Yui does not agree with the relationship between Ikari Fumihiko and Fuyutsuki Kana, but she still has to worry about what she should worry about.

"..."

These words came from Ikari Gendō's mouth. If it were anyone else, Fuyutsuki Kozo would not have believed it. Otherwise, he would not have followed Ikari Gendō here to confront him.

Now he found it a little hard to believe, but he had to believe it.

Fumihiko Ikari's talent was beyond his imagination.

145. No courage to face

After the celebration banquet, the pilot combat and firearms training officially began. The only people who received training were Fumihiko Ikari and Rei Ayanami.

Fumihiko Ikari was a little excited when he touched a real gun for the first time, but after a few days of training, he no longer had that feeling and was left with only pain and fatigue. If it weren't for Rei Ayanami's encouragement, Fumihiko Ikari would have given up in a week at most, not to mention that the close combat training using daggers was even more arduous.

Unlike Fumihiko Ikari who persevered with gritted teeth, Rei Ayanami trained hard and seriously and never needed anyone to say anything.

If Fumihiko Ikari hadn't forced her to take her to the park every day to water and fertilize the flowers and plants, all her time would be filled with various trainings, and she would actively accept these trainings.

Seeing Rei Ayanami's hard training every day, Ibuki Megumi couldn't help but sigh.

"The more I get to know her, the more I feel that she is a natural EVA pilot. Just as you imagined, she is fighting to protect us."

Fumihiko Ikari doesn't think so.

"All you can see is the surface."

Ibuki Emi was a little confused.

"surface?"

Fumihiko Ikari didn't say anything, but just stared at Rei Ayanami who was piloting Unit-0 for her daily training.

Rei Ayanami did have the idea of ​​protecting herself, but... apart from that, he felt that the fundamental reason that forced Rei Ayanami to work so hard was more driven by fear.

Although there is no direct evidence to prove it, he has always had a feeling from various indirect evidences.

Rei Ayanami already knows that she is a clone.

wrong--

With Rei Ayanami's current cognitive ability, she is not aware of the concept of clones, but she should know that she is different from normal humans and that she was created.

Ikari Fumihiko thought about this and replied to Ibuki Emi in a complicated tone.

"You do not understand."

Although Ibuki Emi was not completely clear about Ayanami Rei's identity, she already had some guesses in her mind.

But she still couldn't understand why Fumihiko Ikari said that.

"Okay, okay, okay... you're the only one who understands."

Ikari Fumihiko sighed, his tone melancholy.

"Actually, I... don't quite understand."

The reason he had this suspicion was because Rei Ayanami still remembered the first time she drove the test plane. Since she still had the memory of that time, she would naturally also have the memory from even longer ago.

Besides this, how did Yui Ikari and the others discover that there is a parallel consciousness phenomenon between clones!?

Although I have not had access to detailed experimental records, these are not difficult to guess.

There must have been a clone death, with the other clone displaying the characteristics of the dead clone.

This information must still be stored in the Lingbo network.

Although Fumihiko Ikari had ordered people to reinforce the incubation room and used all possible methods to shield the signal as much as possible a long time ago, the fact that Yui Ikari almost got merged into the Lingbo network during the last experiment has proved that the methods he used may not be able to prevent the occurrence of the parallel consciousness phenomenon.

If it were an ordinary child, he would definitely not be able to keep this secret.

She is different.

The mind is different from ordinary people's maturity.

What would Ayanami Rei think when she knew that she was a manufactured product just like EVA? !

You will definitely be scared.

The fear that I will be replaced by a new me, and the horror that cannot be touched by imagination alone.

In fact, it is very simple to verify this. Just remove the shielding facilities and materials in the incubation room and then observe Rei Ayanami's reaction to tell the difference.

But he didn't know how to face all this.

If the answer is not revealed, he can still have a certain sense of luck. After the answer is revealed, he doesn't know how to deal with the situation and it is easy to backfire.

Ibuki Emi was somewhat dissatisfied.

"Your way of speaking is really annoying, no matter how many riddles you answer, you should say it. If you can't say it, don't say it. Life is already difficult enough, and you still create anxiety for me."

Ikari Fumihiko apologized sincerely.

"Sorry, couldn't help it."

Ibuki Emi was silent for a moment before she guessed the source of Ikari Fumihiko's anxiety.

It is very likely that Rei Ayanami already knows the identity of her clone.

Realizing this, she subconsciously glanced at Ikari Fumihiko. Even she felt overwhelmed by this situation, let alone Ikari Fumihiko who treated Ayanami Rei almost as a daughter or a sister.

As expected, the more I know, the more troubles I have. I might as well just be an honest worker.

Physical fatigue can be recovered by resting, but this kind of mental torture is the most difficult to deal with.

Although he turned a blind eye to the incident and pretended not to notice anything, he couldn't help but look at Ikari Fumihiko and said to comfort him, "Don't keep everything in your heart. It will cause problems over time. Well... since you can't tell me about this, you can also go and discuss it with someone who can, such as... uh..."

After thinking for a while, I finally found a candidate.

"Go talk to your cousin."

Fumihiko Ikari weighed the pros and cons and shook his head.

"nothing."

Ibuki Emi didn't know how to deal with it. She wanted to say a few words of comfort but didn't know how to say it. In the end, she sighed helplessly.

After finishing the morning training, Fumihiko Ikari calmed himself down and then went to the training room to meet Rei Ayanami.

"Wen Yan, Li feels hungry."

As the training became more intense, the nutrients provided by simply soaking in LCL could no longer meet Rei Ayanami's daily consumption.

"Well, let's go eat."

Ibuki Emi still had to prepare for the afternoon training, so she had to stay in the project team for lunch, and the same went for the rest of the staff.

Therefore, even though it was dinner time, only Fumihiko Ikari and Rei Ayanami left the project.

Before I got close to the cafeteria, I saw Ikari Yui standing at the door waiting for someone.

“Go check out the Three Sages Project if you have time.”

After saying this, Ikari Yui turned and left.

Fumihiko Ikari felt a little puzzled, but after hesitating for a while, he decided to wait and see what was going on with Naoko Akagi.

The two of them had lunch happily.

"Coke is not good for Li's health. It will affect the afternoon training."

"Don't worry so much, just be happy."

Although Rei Ayanami kept refusing, when Fumihiko Ikari poured her a glass of iced cola, she still drank it with an awkward look on her face, and then showed an expression of enjoyment.

After lunch, he accompanied Rei Ayanami to the park to water and fertilize the flowers and plants, and then spent a leisurely lunch break before handing it to Emi Ibuki.

Then I came to the Three Sages Project Team.

As soon as he entered, he saw three naked brains without skull protection, immersed in LCL liquid placed in a large incubator. They were connected to various densely packed wires. It looked extremely scary, but Ikari Fumihiko was now well-informed and naturally would not be scared by such a small scene.