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This is the most powerful apostle humanity has ever faced.
The beams of light from the fourteen apostles, like heavy hammers, bombarded the special armor on the twenty-two underground levels, peeling away humanity's last bastion like an onion. Inside Hangar No. 1, orange-yellow LCL solution was being injected into Unit-00's insertion plug; the smell of LCL solution slowly drifted into the adjacent waiting room.
Lu Mingfei leaned against the wall, the impact of the attacks on the armor above transmitted through the vibrations, each blow striking his heart like a hammer blow. Just weeks ago, he became the Fourth Child, piloting EVA Unit-03 for the first time, and then…
Shinji ran away from home because of the previous accident and hasn't been found yet.
Gendo Ikari ordered Rei Ayanami to board Unit-01 to fight the Angels, but Unit-01 refused.
Lu Mingfei looked at the girl with light blue short hair in front of him. She had just gotten off Unit-01 and returned to the waiting room, flipping through a foreign language book.
The pain caused by the EVA forcibly disconnecting the connection and resulting in the reversal of nerve impulses seemed to have no effect on her.
Lu Mingfei swallowed, about to say something, when his Adam's apple scraped against a metal ring around his neck.
He shuddered suddenly, his hands instinctively rising, but then abruptly stopped, hovering motionless in mid-air.
He still hadn't gotten used to its existence.
The DSS collar, the remote-controlled bomb that Gendo Ikari hangs around his neck.
If he makes the slightest move, or if the old man with the reflective glasses is in a bad mood, this thing will explode his head with a 'bang'.
"Are you nervous? Do you need to take some medicine?" Noticing the boy's unusual behavior, Rei Ayanami looked up at him quietly with her red eyes.
"No need... I'm fine." Lu Mingfei gasped for breath. The commotion caused by the Angel's bombardment of the base made his mind uncontrollably flash back to the scene of piloting Unit 3. The Angel had taken control of his machine, but the 100% synchronization rate made him truly feel that he was attacking Unit 00 and Unit 2.
He was also torn apart and devoured by Unit-01.
He didn't blame Shinji, just as Asuka and Rei didn't blame him. He could hear Shinji's heart-wrenching cries over the communication channel when Unit-01 lunged at him. That boy, just as unlucky as him, was desperately resisting the battle; it was Gendo Ikari who severed the synchronization and forcibly activated the puppet system.
Two boys sat inside powerful weapons, watching them injure each other, only able to mourn each other through the thick armor.
Why is this world so terrible?
Ever since Lu Mingfei was pulled from the wreckage of Unit 3 and put on this damn collar, the reactions of the people around him have been driving him crazy.
Those cautious glances at fragile items constantly reminded Lu Mingfei that he was a pitiful guy who could explode at any moment.
He hated Gendo Ikari. He finally understood why Shinji Ikari hated his father so much. Gendo Ikari deserved to die.
But what could he do? Lu Mingfei didn't even have the courage to resist; he was only afraid. He wanted someone to help him, but no one could face him, not even himself.
In the end, the only one who could sit quietly here with him was Rei Ayanami.
"If the entire power grid above fails, Misato's fish tank will be ruined," Lu Mingfei said. "Shinji ran away overnight; if the tropical fish turn belly up again, he probably won't come back for the rest of his life."
He knew the topic was incredibly stupid, that the last bastion was about to be breached, yet he was still talking about tropical fish.
"The backup generator in Zone 3 can sustain basic life support for 72 hours." Rei Ayanami turned a page. "Water retains its temperature for a while; life is fragile, but not so easily extinguished."
It was this monotonous sound that allowed Lu Mingfei to catch his breath.
Suddenly, a terrifying loud noise came from above, a large plume of dust sprayed out of the ventilation duct, something crashed down from above, and there was a loud 'bang' overhead.
"The last layer of armor has been penetrated! Unit 2 has engaged!"
Conventional weapons are ineffective! The apostles retaliate!
Lu Mingfei squatted down, covering his ears with his hands, as the terrifying memories he had finally managed to ignore were triggered again.
Rei Ayanami closed the book, placed one hand on Lu Mingfei's trembling arm, and the other hand on his forehead, which felt cool and comforting.
"I'm fine, just a little cold."
Lu Mingfei looked up at Unit Zero, which was not far away, where engineers were loading N2 bombs.
"Ayanami, Unit-01 has already rejected you, so why are you still waiting here?"
"I can pilot Unit-00."
"But Unit-00 isn't fixed yet!"
"It's alright," Rei Ayanami stood up, straightening her white combat suit. "Even if I die, someone else will take my place."
"Bullshit!" Lu Mingfei stood up, his eyes bloodshot.
"Who can replace you? Rei, it's only you, only you!" He grabbed the girl's wrist. It was cold to the touch, like holding a block of ice. "After we finish this one, let's go get ramen, okay? The kind with extra chashu. Shinji's paying, I'll pay, and we'll call Asuka too. You owe me a bowl of noodles, you can't go back on your word."
He didn't even know what he was talking about. Ramen? Char siu? He was discussing ramen with a girl who was about to charge at the apostles with an N2 bomb, which was even dumber than talking about tropical fish earlier.
Rei Ayanami looked down at his hand that was gripping her wrist.
"I don't owe you ramen," she said.
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
“But if you ask,” she said, “I can go.”
Another loud bang came from above, and Lu Mingfei suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Suddenly, the announcement in the waiting room blared: "First qualified pilot, please proceed to the first landing pad. First qualified pilot, please proceed to the first landing pad."
"It's time to strike." Rei Ayanami gently withdrew her hand, turned around, picked up the book she was reading, and handed it to Lu Mingfei. "Here you go."
Lu Mingfei didn't answer. He desperately wanted to keep Rei Ayanami a little longer. He grabbed her hand again and said, "Hey, Ayanami, this book is in English. I can't understand the title."
"The Mystery of Pain."
What are you talking about?
Humanity's obsession with self-centeredness has led them away from God's goodness, thus allowing evil and suffering into the world.
Rei Ayanami placed the book in Lu Mingfei's hands and turned to leave. Lu Mingfei stood there, wanting to tell the girl not to go, but he knew it was meaningless. Watching that slender figure walk further and further away, he suddenly felt all his strength drain away, and he collapsed to his knees. The book fell to the floor, its contents coming into view.
Pain is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
Pain is His megaphone, used to awaken a deaf world.
"How much time do we have to prepare? I'll go with you!" Lu Mingfei took a step forward and shouted loudly.
The girl in front stopped, turned her head slightly, and her lips moved slightly.
-----------------
"Ten minutes left."
A thunderous roar echoed across the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
Lu Mingfei opened his eyes. The red lights in the medical pod were flashing, and his platinum blonde hair shimmered with a pale blue light under the flashing alarm. Ling released his fingers from Lu Mingfei's shoulder, pushed the IV drip valve to its maximum, and looked at the boy in front of him with his icy blue eyes.