Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1567: Chapter 1565: Misato Katsuragi, You Don’t Understand People

Perhaps due to the influence of the Will of the Great Cosmos, the battle against the Fourth Apostle was not much different from the one in the animation.

Of course, at the beginning, since it was Shinji Ikari’s first time piloting Unit-01, he naturally took a spill. However, since the Fourth Apostle didn’t have the brain-piercing lightsaber ability of the Third Apostle, it only used a whip to wrap around Unit-01 and threw it outside.

Then, Unit-01, tossed into the mountains, collided with those two dimwits, Touji Suzuhara and the other who had sneaked out.

The following plot didn’t differ much either. To save the two, Shinji Ikari activated the insertion plug, disregarded Misato Katsuragi’s order to retreat, and directly took out a knife to finish off the Fourth Apostle.

After enjoying this spectacle, Fang Zheng hummed a tune and went to look for Shinji Ikari.

As expected, he soon saw the figures of Misato Katsuragi and Shinji Ikari in a makeshift rest area.

”Why did you ignore my order?”

Fixing her gaze on Shinji Ikari, Misato Katsuragi coldly asked, but Shinji Ikari only stared at the ground.

”I’m sorry.”

”I am the one in charge of the operation.”

”Yes.”

”You are obliged to follow my orders.”

”Yes.”

”This shouldn’t happen again in the future.”

”Yes.”

What frustrated Misato Katsuragi was that, no matter what she said, the other party only responded with basic human decency, seemingly indifferent.

Looking at Shinji Ikari before her, she also grew angry.

”Did you really listen?”

”Of course, Miss Misato, what’s the point? After all, we won. As long as you give the order, I’ll pilot. What more do you want?”

”You...!”

Hearing this, Misato Katsuragi angrily reached out her hand, but at that moment, suddenly, a hand extended out and grabbed her wrist.

”Arguing with a kid, you really have some nerve, First Lieutenant Katsuragi.”

”Third Lieutenant Fang Zheng...”

Seeing Fang Zheng appear between herself and Shinji Ikari, Misato Katsuragi was momentarily stunned, then backed off.

”Do you have an issue with how I handle things?”

”Of course, I can’t stand a woman as stupid as you. As Shinji said, hasn’t he already won? What are you still blabbering about?”

”But he ignored the command...”

”Oh really?”

Fang Zheng raised his eyebrow.

”So what? The reason we let them control the EVA is to rely on their own on-the-spot reactions and judgments, right? If the operation fails, then lessons are learned. If it succeeds, then there’s naturally no need for reprimands. What, First Lieutenant Katsuragi, can you confidently say that with your plan, Unit-01 would have definitely won? Come on, tell me, I’m all ears? How were you planning to fight it? Pilot it yourself?”

”But disobeying orders in a mission is not allowed...”

”That’s why I say you are a foolish woman...”

Fang Zheng coldly interrupted Misato Katsuragi.

”How many days has Shinji Ikari been at NERV? What do you take him for? 007 or Rambo? He’s just a regular middle schooler, okay? What, do you want to train him into Superman right off the bat? If you’re so capable, why not pilot the EVA yourself? Picking on kids, what’s the point?”

Speaking of which, Fang Zheng patted Shinji’s head.

”Come on, Shinji, to celebrate your victory today, we’re having a feast! What do you feel like eating?”

”Huh? I...”

”How about grilled meat? It’s different from the grilled meat here in Japan; I went through a lot to get some cumin, to give you a taste of our Northwestern flavor... This time, we’ll make sure Li tries some too, come on, come on...”

”Ah, yes...”

Despite being a bit hesitant, Shinji Ikari was still pulled away by Fang Zheng, leaving Misato Katsuragi standing there alone, fists clenched, speechless.

Heh, silly woman.

Fang Zheng let out a small snort as he glanced at Misato Katsuragi’s back.

He knew full well what Misato Katsuragi was thinking, her father having died in the Second Impact, so she always wanted revenge against the Angels. Yet she couldn’t do it herself, so she directed her focus onto the pilots.

Why was Misato Katsuragi so insistent on Shinji Ikari following her orders?

How many times did her orders actually work?

The reason is simple: it’s because only when Shinji Ikari follows her orders and defeats the Angels can Misato Katsuragi feel the sense of ”revenge.”

If Shinji Ikari defeats the Angels on his own, then what’s it got to do with her?

It’s like when a team wins in soccer under the guidance of the coach’s tactical plan, it’s credited as the coach’s success. But if it’s all down to a genius player shining on the field while the tactics are useless, then it’s the equivalent of having a pig as a coach—you’d win regardless of the coach.

The headlines may read ”The Great Coach Saved the Team” in one scenario, or ”The Great Player Saved the Coach and His Team” in another.

Misato Katsuragi wanted to personally take revenge on the Angel Envoy, so she naturally couldn’t tolerate the latter.

Therefore, she constantly demanded Shinji Ikari to follow orders, to follow her instructions, and if he showed any disobedience, she’d flare up.

However, Shinji Ikari is not naive, okay?

Do you think he can’t see when he’s being treated like a puppet?

It’s just that when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

Just like Fang Zheng said, Misato Katsuragi yelling at Shinji Ikari at this moment was inherently unreasonable.

For heaven’s sake, he’s only a fourteen-year-old middle schooler, who hadn’t even undergone any military training before coming here, can you still expect him to act like a regular soldier?

So you see, Misato Katsuragi doesn’t understand people.

But this has nothing to do with Fang Zheng.

After happily arguing with Misato Katsuragi, he directly drove Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari home.

”Well...Mr. Fang Zheng.”

However, in the car, Shinji Ikari’s autism clearly flared up again.

”Did I do something wrong?”

”Hmm?”

”Because, like Miss Misato said, that... I’m piloting EVA... to protect all of humanity, and I...”

Shinji was a bit unsure how to articulate his thoughts, but Fang Zheng understood what he meant. The confrontation with Misato was just a spur-of-the-moment act, and now that the anger had dissipated, he naturally started wondering if he had done something wrong. All kids are like this, and Shinji Ikari is no exception.

”I think you did nothing wrong.”

”Oh? Really?”

”Yes, didn’t you rescue those two... I recall they were your classmates, right?”

”Yes.”

”Then what’s the problem?”

”But Miss Misato said I disobeyed orders... If I hadn’t disobeyed orders then maybe...”

”Let me ask you, Shinji.”

This time, before Shinji could finish speaking, Fang Zheng interrupted him.

”What?”

”How did you feel when you were told to pilot EVA to save humanity?”

”This...”

”Did it feel unreal? Like when a teacher suddenly asks you to play the lead at the next school festival, even though you never considered it? On the surface, you might thank the teacher for the opportunity to play the lead, but in fact, you just want to play a tree on stage? After all, the lead has many annoying lines and if you mess up, people will blame you, so playing a tree is much easier and simpler, right?”

”Ah, yeah...”

Hearing this, Shinji Ikari nodded hurriedly, looking at Fang Zheng with more closeness. After all, he didn’t dare say this to anyone before, and that’s quite normal. Because this thought is very anti-mainstream; if you tell me to save humanity, and I refuse, doesn’t that mean you’ll call me a coward or a cold-blooded animal?

”Then, what about saving those two classmates?”

”...”

This time, Shinji didn’t say anything. As Fang Zheng mentioned, compared to the intangible concept of ”saving humanity,” saving two of his classmates gave him a more tangible feeling.

”In my hometown, there’s a saying ’How can you govern the world if you can’t sweep a single room?’ It means if you can’t even clean a room, how can you manage the world? I think this phrase is quite applicable here; if you can’t save the two people right in front of you, then talking about saving humanity is laughable.”

”...”

This time Shinji didn’t say anything further, but his expression visibly relaxed a lot. Then, Shinji Ikari seemed to recall something, hesitantly looking at the silent Rei Ayanami sitting in the back.

”Then, what about Rei?”

”Rei’s situation is a bit different from yours. After all, she’s been trained as a Qualified Individual for a long time already, although I’ve only taken charge of her for over a month... Alright, let’s tidy up and get ready for dinner.”

As expected, the dinner was harmonious. The Northwest-flavored grilled meat Fang Zheng prepared was greatly appreciated by Shinji, who drooled as he ate quite a bit. However, Rei Ayanami still insisted on not eating—it didn’t surprise Shinji, as even before he had arguments with Misato Katsuragi, Fang Zheng would take him home for meals several times, and at that time, he learned about Rei Ayanami’s dislike for meat and Fang Zheng’s attempts to coax her to eat meat in this ”tug-of-war.”

To Shinji, this wasn’t a bad thing, as Rei not eating meant more food for him, right?

And that night, Shinji Ikari didn’t return to Misato Katsuragi’s place.

Moreover, in less than a day, he proactively submitted a request—to revoke the part where Misato Katsuragi was his guardian and have it reassigned to Fang Zheng.

After all, in the anime, Shinji Ikari had no one else to rely on apart from Misato Katsuragi, but here, he felt he had found a new direction.

Misato Katsuragi was helpless over this, although she later regretted it. Through this incident, Misato Katsuragi realized that she wasn’t meant to raise children. Also, unlike in the anime, since Fang Zheng was responsible for handling this, Misato Katsuragi didn’t have any further concerns or conflicts, and quickly agreed.

Thus, Gendo Ikari’s plan was declared bankrupt.

And Fang Zheng officially began his training plan for Shinji Ikari.