I participated in the development of EVA

Although he knew in his heart that he should respect Naoko Akagi's choice, he was not such a carefree person.

"I don't want you to take that risk."

"..."

This time, Akagi Naoko did not argue as stubbornly as before.

There was a stalemate at the scene for a moment, and it was a long time before she spoke again.

"I know, but some things have to be done."

After saying that, she lay down in the virtual warehouse without waiting for Ikari Fumihiko to speak again.

In addition to the impulse at the beginning, she also felt that she had fallen in love with Ikari Fumihiko at some point. To put it simply, that impulse was not a choice she made out of lack of choice, but she wanted to do that... and she was also worried that an accident would occur during the startup test and she would be swallowed up by the spare machine, which eventually gave rise to that impulse.

And now...

The happier she felt, the more painful she felt inside.

The virtual warehouse started up, and her consciousness entered the virtual game.

The automatic connection procedure is activated.

The next moment, she established a connection with the backup machine.

There is no determination in this series of actions, only escape, leaving one's life to fate.

The eyes of the backup machine that had been quietly floating in the deep space lit up, and a disc-like white light appeared above its head. Bathed in the white light, it had an inexplicable sense of sacredness.

At the same time, strings of codes flashed across the large screen in the control room like a waterfall.

Ikari Fumihiko didn't even have time to look.

But it doesn’t matter whether you watch it or not, because you won’t understand it even if you see it clearly.

Because these codes are generated by the evolution program of the backup body.

He no longer had the desire to speak. All he could do was keep his hand hovering over the emergency stop button and take a decisive shot if something went wrong.

This is the only thing he can do for Naoko Akagi at the moment.

The backup machine in this state put a huge burden on Naoko Akagi. Just as the connection was established, her breathing became unusually heavy.

Time passed by little by little, and I don’t know how long it has been...

The code on the big screen suddenly paused and then turned into a mysterious and strange symbol.

At the same time, Naoko Akagi also spoke.

"The burden has suddenly become lighter... well, it is continuing to get lighter."

Hearing what Akagi Naoko said, Ikari Fumihiko breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly explained.

“The code was replaced with that weird symbol.”

"Has the body also entered the final stage?"

"Looking at this issue based on the data we have, it should be like this."

"You've become wordy. Normally you would say: It should be like this... and you wouldn't add the previous sentence. Are you worried that I'm not clear-headed?"

Fumihiko Ikari expressed himself very directly, with no intention of hiding anything.

"I'm worried about you."

Akagi Naoko gave a weak smile.

The atmosphere seems to have become more relaxed now, but in fact the situation is more tense than before.

Because the higher the level of evolution of the backup machine, the more dangerous Naoko Akagi will be.

Only then did Fumihiko Ikari want to talk more to Naoko Akagi to confirm her state of consciousness.

"What do you want to eat next time? I'll ask them to prepare it in advance."

Naoko Akagi knew what Fumihiko Ikari intended, so she responded in accordance with his instructions.

"I haven't had ramen in a while."

"Well, what flavor do you want?"

"I'm a little torn. I want to eat salt ramen, but I also want to eat soy sauce ramen."

"Then you add some salt, I add some soy sauce, and I'll eat the rest you have."

"really?"

Ikari Fumihiko frowned, feeling that Akagi Naoko's answer this time was a little unusual. How should I put it! Yes, it just felt a little immature.

"Naoko, report how you feel now."

Naoko Akagi was a little confused, but she still answered.

"I don't feel anything special, except that the burden has been reduced, and my body and mind are a little more relaxed. My body's strength is constantly increasing. Well, if there is any abnormality, it is that the increase in body strength is not as great as expected. I think the direction of evolution is now in the AT force field, not in the body. We have to wait for the test to know what kind of improvement it has."

Naoko Akagi's answer was clear and logical. Fumihiko Ikari breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time he felt that he was indeed a little overly nervous.

"Then I'll have someone arrange it."

"Ah."

20:04:29

596. It’s okay…

At this time, the evolution program stopped refreshing the screen.

However, nothing surprising happened to the naked eye, and there were no changes on the spare fuselage. Fumihiko Ikari had been concentrating all the time, and only then did he notice the only unusual thing at the scene, which was that Naoko Akagi seemed to want to say something a moment ago, but paused for some reason.

"Naoko???"

Seeing that Naoko Akagi was still distracted, he pressed the emergency stop button decisively without any hesitation.

It was not until the virtual warehouse was forced to cut off power that Naoko Akagi came to her senses.

"what?"

Fumihiko Ikari rushed to the laboratory next to Naoko Akagi and asked only one question.

"Why were you distracted just now?"

Naoko Akagi was stunned for a moment before she spoke in a daze.

"I just think you have a strong appetite, and I have a lighter appetite. I hesitated for a moment about who to favor."

"You almost scared me to death twice today."

"Twice? This is one time, what was the other time?"

Ikari Fumihiko waved his hands in panic.

"nothing."

Immediately, he changed the subject.

"Have you decided whose taste you want to prefer?"

"I didn't think about it just now, but now I have. Make it lighter. I'll add some soy sauce and salt for you after I finish eating."

"This is indeed a good idea."

Ikari Fumihiko responded before speaking again.

"The evolution process has stopped. Let's test the AT force field after dinner."

"Yeah, okay, I'll go clean it up."

After Akagi Naoko finished speaking, she stood up and walked towards the locker room.

After entering the private shower room, she saw that Ikari Fumihiko did not follow her. Only then did she take off her disguise and her expression became complicated.

I murmured to myself in my heart.

how could this be……

"Not okay yet?"

Hearing Ikari Fumihiko's urging, Akagi Naoko was startled for a moment but quickly came to her senses.

"...Um, help me get the towel, I forgot to bring it in just now."

"Well, I'll wait for you at the shower door."

Naoko Akagi quickly rinsed and turned to walk out of the shower room. She took the towel from Fumihiko Ikari and wiped the water stains on her body.

Fumihiko Ikari picked up the hair dryer and tidied up Naoko Akagi's wet hair.

“Isn’t this temperature hot?”

"Ah."

Naoko Akagi sat in front of the mirror holding a bath towel, feeling the gentle movements of Fumihiko Ikari.

Ikari Fumihiko spoke up.

"Hmm? Your hair seems to be a little faded."

Naoko Akagi noticed it only after careful analysis.

"It's definitely faded a bit. I guess it's because I've been showering too frequently lately."

Ikari Fumihiko asked tentatively.

"Will I go with you to dye it again on the weekend?"

Naoko Akagi refused almost instinctively.

"Need not."

Fumihiko Ikari knew that Naoko Akagi was not mentally prepared yet, and was worried that the two of them would be discovered by others when they went out together and the news would spread to Ritsuko Akagi.

This matter was actually not that troublesome for him. At most, the relationship between the two would become awkward and stiff. Akagi Ritsuko would not acknowledge him as her "father"... Well! He was not so fearless. No matter what, this was an embarrassing matter that made people not know how to deal with it.

Naoko Akagi explained somewhat embarrassedly.

"I mean it's too much trouble to take care of it. Well, that means I'm not going to dye my hair anymore."

Ikari Fumihiko is a normal person. He knows very well that what he should do at this time is to play dumb and simply respond to what Akagi Naoko said.

"Ah."

Although he had some thoughts in his mind, "Akagi Naoko looks better with blonde hair now, the original color is a bit too old-fashioned." But he knew that now was not the time to say it out loud, and he needed to find another suitable opportunity to say it out loud later. Of course, he couldn't tell the truth and coax or hint at Akagi Naoko to change her hair back to blonde or dye it black.

The two returned to the control room, where two bowls of ramen had been delivered.

The two of them didn't eat as quickly as usual, but they didn't eat very slowly either. They were mainly enjoying the dining atmosphere.

During this time, Naoko Akagi's cell phone suddenly rang.

Ikari Fumihiko took a subconscious look and found that the message was sent by Akagi Ritsuko.

Naoko Akagi's expression suddenly became flustered, her eyes showing guilt, and she even avoided the gaze of Fumihiko Ikari.

Even after trying, she still couldn't muster up the courage to face Ritsuko Akagi.

"She sent me a message at this time, probably asking when the gaming network will be restored... Please reply to her for me."

Fumihiko Ikari also didn't know how to face Ritsuko Akagi, but in this situation he could only bite the bullet and take the phone.

[Mother, the person in charge of the game department asked me to ask when the network will be restored to normal.]

The content was just as Naoko Akagi had guessed.

"Take a break in the afternoon and do the force field test tomorrow."

Naoko Akagi replied in a soft voice like a little girl.

"Ah."

When Ikari Fumihiko was editing the message, he could clearly feel Naoko Akagi's body in his arms becoming increasingly stiff.

【It will be restored soon.】

Before sending it, in order to avoid being exposed, he asked Naoko Akagi to confirm it.

"Not like me."