"A huge submerged object was discovered near the peninsula. It has been identified as an Angel. So this time we have to destroy it in one fell swoop when the Angel lands! Did you hear me? Unit-01 and Unit-02 will attack the target in turns, and Unit-00 will provide cover!"

"learn!"

"clear."

"yes."

After ending the call, Asuka let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong with Misato? Is she angry? She's so mad..."

"After all, there has been quite a bit of pressure from above lately."

Hearing Asuka's complaint, Fang Zheng also laughed. There was a reason why Katsuragi Misato was so anxious. If EVA could not produce enough actual combat results this time, then the importance of NERV would be further reduced. To put it bluntly, if EVA failed to stop the apostles this time and was defeated by Red Ponytail, then NERV would have no need to exist.

"But you don't need to worry about that. Just do it as you normally would in a battle."

"Is this really okay, Mr. Fang Zheng?"

At this moment, Shinji Ikari also raised his own questions with some uneasiness.

"after all……"

"Don't worry. It's the adults' job to bear the pressure. Katsuragi gets paid for this, so you don't need to worry about these trivial matters. Just focus on the enemy in front of you."

"The target appears!"

Not long after Fang Zheng finished speaking, he saw the sea surface in front of him suddenly bulge, and then a crescent-shaped apostle emerged from the water.

"Shinji! And the top students! I'll show you what I can do!"

Seeing the apostles, Asuka couldn't help herself. She had long wanted to fight the apostles to prove her strength. Unfortunately, EVA Unit 2 had fallen into the sea before, and Asuka could only stare blankly. Now it was finally time for her to do it herself. Asuka was naturally unwilling to be outdone, and took the lead in controlling Unit 2 and rushed over with a spear in hand.

Shinji and Rei Ayanami didn't say much about Asuka's request. In fact, in daily training, they have gradually learned and adapted to cooperate with each other. In Fang Zheng's Hell Spartan training, the three of them were also taught how to use melee weapons to fight. As of now, Asuka's performance is the best, so they are always paired with each other on weekdays, and naturally they are used to it.

As soon as Asuka rushed forward, Unit-0 and Unit-01 immediately picked up the weapons at hand and attacked the Angel.

Unlike in the animation, the three EVAs at the moment rarely use long-range weapons - in fact, Fang Zheng is not happy to see EVA use long-range weapons. Not only is the effect basically zero, it also reduces people's reaction, and the smoke produced is equivalent to a smoke bomb for the opponent.

The positron cannon is of some use. Fang Zheng also asked Misato Katsuragi why she didn't make the positron cannon into a conventional weapon. Let alone anything else, you can set up a permanent positron cannon in the Third New Tokyo City, and when the apostles come, no matter whether they are useful or not, you can just fire a cannon at them. If you can kill them, that's the best. If you can't, at least you can see the strength of the apostles, right?

Misato Katsuragi also said a lot about this, about authority and energy. Of course, she spoke at length, and Fang Zheng summed it up in two words.

No money.

Of course, if Fang Zheng said so, they could just remove all the useless automatic interception facilities in the Third New Tokyo City... Anyway, those things are really useless except for creating some fireworks and light and shadow effects when the apostles arrive... But he doesn't care about this.

Fortunately, at least there is still money to make melee weapons.

At present, the three EVAs are holding different weapons. The main weapon of Unit 02 is Guda's halberd, Unit 00 uses the standard combination of shield and straight sword, and Unit 01 uses an ordinary long sword.

This is Fang Zheng’s tactic. Instead of going up and dying with long-range weapons, it is better to just pin down the opponent and beat him up.

If the AT force fields of three EVAs cannot kill you, then it can only mean that this apostle is really awesome.

At the moment, Unit-00 was at the forefront, slapping the shield in its hand directly at the apostle's face, blocking its way. The apostle was certainly not a wooden stake that would allow you to brush its output data, and it also swung its two claws and hit Unit-00. But at the same time, Unit-01 had also come to the side, and swung the long sword in its hand suddenly, blocking the apostle's attack.

“Watch this!!!”

Asuka immediately seized the opportunity, controlled Unit 2 to leap high, and swung the spear in her hand violently, splitting the apostle in front of her in half!

"Well done, Asuka!"

Seeing this scene, Misato Katsuragi clenched her fists excitedly and screamed, while Asuka even snorted.

"Well, you see, this is my strength..."

However, before Asuka could finish her words, she was interrupted by Ikari Shinji.

"Asuka, it's still moving!"

"What?"

Asuka was also shocked to hear what Shinji Ikari said. She turned her head and was surprised to find that the apostle who was split into two halves by her was not dead, but the area around the wound began to wriggle, and then - it turned into two!

"What's going on?"

Seeing this, everyone was stunned. One apostle was difficult enough to deal with, and here comes another one?

"What should I do?"

"Attack its core!"

Fortunately, the three of them had been trained by Fang Zheng. Although the current situation was somewhat unexpected, they reacted immediately and attacked the apostles again.

However, everyone soon discovered that something was wrong.

"Attacking the core is useless!"

"It will heal itself!!"

This apostle himself was not particularly powerful, but he was quite resistant to attacks. Asuka, Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei tried their best and hit the apostle's core several times. However, what surprised them was that this apostle's self-healing ability was quite terrifying. Even if he was stabbed in the core, he would not die. Instead, he recovered in the blink of an eye!

The same is true in other places. Shinji Ikari and Asuka have chopped off the limbs of the apostles more than once, but they recovered in the blink of an eye... There is no way to fight them!

"……retreat!"

Looking at the chaotic situation, Katsuragi Misato hesitated for a moment, then gave the order. To be honest, she didn't want to retreat here. After all, this time they directly sent three EVAs, but they couldn't even stop an Angel. If this got out, NERV's reputation would be ruined.

However……

"No need to evacuate, try again."

At this moment, Fang Zheng suddenly stood up and started the communication.

"Third Lieutenant Fang Zheng?"

"Listen to me, there's nothing wrong with trying."

Fang Zheng gestured to Misato Katsuragi and started the communication.

"Listen carefully, these two apostles may have some kind of induction with each other, you must attack their cores at the same time! Shinji, you will be responsible for the main attack, Rei will be responsible for the containment, Asuka, the task of giving them the final blow is left to you! The best way is to line them up and then penetrate them directly like skewers of barbecue!"

"clear."

"learn."

Hearing Fang Zheng's order, Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei immediately gave their responses, but Asuka did not speak.

"Don't worry, I believe you."

However, Fang Zheng did not say anything else. He just said one more sentence and then closed the communication.

"…The battle continues."

Although Fang Zheng's behavior was strictly speaking an overstep of authority, Katsuragi Misato didn't say much. In fact, she really didn't have any good ideas at the moment, and the idea proposed by Fang Zheng was at least... an idea.

It's much better than sending out three EVAs but returning home in disgrace with no results.

After receiving Fang Zheng's order, the battle began again.

Fang Zheng certainly knew this apostle very well. After all, the 62-second war, one of the classic scenes in EVA, came from this apostle. That scene was also truly a classic, but... Fang Zheng didn't want it to happen again.

After all, it's too troublesome.

With Fang Zheng's guidance, the three of them had a goal in their cooperation. Not long after, Ikari Shinji pierced one of the apostles' clones with a sword, while Ayanami Rei held down the other one, making the two clones stick together back to back. Then Asuka went up and shot through the cores of the two apostles. Accompanied by whistling explosions and beams of light... the battle finally came to an end.

Night falls.

It was a dark night and the entire Third New Tokyo City was silent. Fang Zheng was sitting on a chair on the balcony, drinking tea and looking at the night view outside.

SEELE did not make any move, and Fang Zheng did not need to do so either. He only needed to wait for the apostles to be completely eliminated... However, for Fang Zheng, compared to the apostles, the war with humans was the most troublesome.

“Crack.”

At this moment, Fang Zheng felt the balcony door behind him open, and then a figure walked in.

"Hey, Asuka, why don't you go to bed so late?"

Fang Zheng turned around, glanced at the girl behind him, and asked. Asuka shook her head silently, then sat on the chair next to her.

"I want to get some fresh air."

"Yeah, but be careful not to catch a cold."

"It's fine."

As Asuka spoke, she sat on the chair, and Fang Zheng put down the teacup in his hand and poured a cup of tea for Asuka.

“You did a great job today.”

"Yeah?"

"Of course. After all, no one expected the apostles to have such abilities. Past apostles did not show such abilities either, right? Not to mention, you guys eliminated the apostles in the end. That's enough."

Looking at the girl next to him, Fang Zheng said with a smile, but Asuka remained silent.

Fang Zheng had some understanding of Asuka's thoughts.

Among the EVA pilots, Asuka appears to be the strongest, but is actually the most vulnerable.

For Rei Ayanami, driving the EVA is part of her job, and she has not yet found the meaning of life beyond "work" - this is normal, just like office workers always feel that if they lose their jobs, the world will fall. But once she loses her job, Rei Ayanami will just live like this. Maybe there is no fun in life, and there is no romance, but life still has to go on, right?

Although Shinji Ikari is introverted and autistic, at least there is one thing - he really doesn't care about driving EVA. There are several times in the animation when Shinji Ikari really makes up his mind to quit. At worst, I can go back to my autistic life. You guys can do whatever you want to me. Isn't it good for me to stay at home and watch my paper wife every day?

But Asuka is different. For her, her existence is only meaningful if she can drive EVA.

Because of this, Asuka's demands on herself have actually reached a rather abnormal level.

Take the battle against the Angels today for example. Fang Zheng gave the order, Ayanami Rei and Ikari Shinji both responded, but Asuka didn't. Fang Zheng immediately knew where the problem lay.

On the surface, Asuka seemed to be fine with it, but Fang Zheng knew that deep down, Asuka was worried that she would mess up. After all, she was the one who split the apostle in half, so it became two. If there was a problem, if the battle failed, if everyone else thought it was her fault...

Asuka didn't say anything, but Fang Zheng could see it. People can lie, but their reactions can't. After the Angel was resurrected after being split in two, Asuka's Unit 2 was restrained in battle. In the eyes of Katsuragi Misato and Akagi Ritsuko, they might just think that Asuka was being cautious, but Fang Zheng, who was a master of firewood, could see Asuka's emotions and thoughts at a glance.

For Asuka, driving the EVA is her life value. Once something goes wrong, it will not be as simple as the sky falling and the earth cracking. Her existence will have no meaning at all.

Because of this, Asuka always finds fault with other pilots. In the animation, she always dislikes Rei Ayanami. In fact, this is normal. Asuka was officially selected to become a pilot, while Rei Ayanami in the animation has no record of any battles. Shinji Ikari at least killed a few apostles in the animation, while Rei Ayanami is really just a supporting role.

That's why Asuka sarcastically called Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei "backdoor" and "honest students". Her "honest student" was actually a mockery of Ayanami Rei's inability to do anything and being unable to defeat the apostles, and only getting the driver's position by being obedient.

This is simply a blasphemy for Asuka, who regards driving EVA as the value of her life. She worked hard and spent almost everything to get something, but for some people, all they have to do is pretend to be good and obedient - no one can stand this kind of thing.

Of course, the current Asuka is not as willful as in the anime. It's not that her temper has improved, but because under Fang Zheng's training and guidance, Ayanami Rei and Ikari Shinji have both achieved impressive results - Ayanami Rei killed Xiao Shuishui, Ikari Shinji killed Mosaic, and the two of them also worked together to eliminate the Thunder Angel.

With such a record in the past, Asuka certainly wouldn't mock the two people for only knowing how to eat and not work like in the animation, so the three of them got along quite happily.

But it involves some core issues...

"...Fang Zheng."

"Um?"

Asuka was never very polite when addressing people and rarely used titles, but Fang Zheng didn't care.

"What's wrong?"

"…Do you know my past?"

"Not really, and I don't really care."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng reached out and touched Asuka's head.

"No matter what happened in the past, at least you are here now, right?"

“…”

Asuka silently slapped Fang Zheng's hand away.

"I can almost guess what you're thinking. In fact, I've said something similar to Rei and Shinji before. It's not too late to say it to you again now - although you can only drive the EVA now, you still have your own future in the future."

“…Is there really such a future?”

"Of course, one day the apostles will be completely wiped out. After that, what are you going to do?"

"I……"

Faced with Fang Zheng's question, Asuka remained silent for a long time.

"I haven't thought about that..."

"Marry? What do you think of Shinji?"

"Not interested. I'm not interested in that idiot."

"So you want to do research? I heard you've graduated from college now."

"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be driving the EVA."

"Um……"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng thought for a moment.

"So how about driving a robot to fight the aliens?"

"Huh? Are you an idiot too?"

Asuka was stunned by Fang Zheng's proposal.

"Where did the aliens come from?"

"Just because there are none in this world doesn't mean there are none in other worlds. Maybe there are aliens in other worlds... What, are you interested?"

"...No, I just want to drive the EVA."

Asuka thought about Fang Zheng's suggestion for a moment and finally shook her head.

"Yeah, this is a bit troublesome, but... just take your time."

"yes……"

Hearing this, Asuka didn't say anything else. She just closed her eyes and leaned on Fang Zheng's shoulder.

Soon, accompanied by a slight breathing sound, the girl fell into a deep dream.