"Stop! He's the one who just killed Unit-02!"
Rei Ayanami suddenly blocked Li Yu, her light blue short hair swaying slightly in the shadows of the base.
Facing dozens of laser beams aimed at her, her face showed no emotion, and her eyes were as calm as a deep pool, completely undisturbed by the threat of death.
"No. 7346, you should have died outside."
A cold voice came from deep within the base, echoing repeatedly in the empty space, carrying a mechanical indifference.
"Your return will completely expose this base. There are his clones everywhere outside!"
The cold voice resonated throughout the vast underground base.
"I know, but I think this might be our, or rather Shinji's, last chance!"
Rei Ayanami's gaze was firm, showing no intention of backing down.
Click!
Click!
Click!
The spotlights at the top of the base lit up one by one, their stark white light piercing the darkness and illuminating the scene deep within.
Hundreds of Rei Ayanamis emerged from the shadows, all with the same light blue short hair, the same fair skin, the same ruby-like eyes, and even their stances were identical, lined up neatly on both sides of the passage, a scene eerily unsettling.
Clones?
Li Yu's eyes flickered, but this had nothing to do with him. He had followed Rei Ayanami to the base only to gather information about the world's anomaly and to find the spear of longinus!
Two Rei Ayanamis stepped forward and scanned Li Yu and No. 7364 with instruments emitting green light. Then they turned back, shaking their heads.
"There's no sign of infection. Although it's incredible, that's the fact!"
Among the many Rei Ayanamis, the one who appeared most mature visibly relaxed her gaze.
She said indifferently, "Come with me, strong one from another world! You must also want to know why this world has become like this!"
Li Yu stepped forward. The Rei Ayanami who had brought him there stood still like a robot, completely motionless.
The most mature Rei Ayanami led Li Yu further into the base. Her voice was slightly deeper than the others, with a hint of undetectable weariness.
"Hello, I am Rei Ayanami, or you can call me No. 9..."
Li Yu nodded slightly, saying nothing, a hint of undetectable cold light flashing in his eyes.
The two walked in silence, one after the other, deeper into the base. After passing through a heavy iron door, the air was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant and some kind of biological culture solution.
Guided by the dim emergency lights, they entered a huge circular underground space.
The central area was illuminated by a soft white light, revealing a vast and unsettling biological laboratory.
Countless cylindrical culture tanks, like a silent forest, were neatly arranged, filled with a pale orange LCL solution.
In each culture tank, a Rei Ayanami floated silently.
They all had the same light blue short hair, the same fair skin, and the same iconic red eyes.
Tens of thousands... even hundreds of thousands of naked bodies, submerged in life-sustaining fluid, like delicate yet cold wax figures, completely still.
Facing this scene, No. 9 Rei Ayanami offered no explanation.
Li Yu wasn't surprised. Rei Ayanami was, by nature, a "three-no" girl.
The meaning of "three-no" is:
Mouthless: taciturn, speaking only the simplest answers even when she does speak.
Expressionless: showing no sadness or joy, commonly referred to as a blank face.
Heartless: unable to perceive inner emotions, self-contained.
Moreover, she was a mass-produced artificial human. Her body was created from Lilith's genes fused with the DNA of Shinji Ikari's mother, Yui Ikari.
Her soul was a vessel for Lilith's soul.
As an artificial human, she lacked the emotions of an ordinary girl and was very indifferent to life and death. Her consciousness, like a program, could be freely backed up and copied.
No. 9 led Li Yu to the very center of the container area. Here, there was a giant life support pod, completely different in size and shape from the other culture tanks.
Inside the pod, a naked, thin, brown-haired boy was curled up, floating in the LCL solution, his expression frozen in pain and confusion.
Shinji Ikari!
The Child of Destiny of the New World Evangelion!
His father, Gendo Ikari, was the mastermind of the SEELE organization, the Commander of NERV, and personally orchestrated the completion of the Human Instrumentality Project.
As Li Yu approached, the boy's eyes remained tightly closed, unresponsive to the outside world, like an empty shell.
"Shinji..."
No. 9 caressed the cold outer wall of the life support pod, a rare hint of tenderness appearing on her face.
Finally, No. 9 slowly spoke.
"Strong one from another world, this world is sick... Now, only Shinji can be called truly alive..."
"Back then..."
Li Yu directly interrupted her.
"Get to the point. What exactly happened after the Human Instrumentality Project was activated?"
No. 9 Rei Ayanami's ruby-like eyes seemed a little lost. She wasn't surprised that Li Yu knew so much about the Human Instrumentality Project, but continued speaking, following Li Yu's words.
"After the Human Instrumentality Project was activated, Gendo Ikari... that is, Shinji's father... used his authority to fuse the Adam embryo with himself..."
"He modified Unit-02's program, sacrificed Asuka... removed all of Unit-02's restrictions... and channeled Adam's power to himself..."
"But he underestimated Adam's power. He became a monster and began to reproduce Angels without limit..."
A flicker of understanding passed through Li Yu's eyes. So it was Gendo Ikari's ambition that led to the inevitable collapse of the entire world!
He aspired to become a god, yet he lacked divinity to protect his soul, ultimately being completely consumed by Adam's cells, dragging the entire world into an irreversible abyss.
"Is there any way to fix all of this? What's the situation with Shinji Ikari?"
Li Yu gazed at Shinji Ikari. With the world in such a state of collapse, perhaps only the Child of Destiny, Shinji Ikari, could salvage everything.
No. 9 Rei Ayanami looked at the frail boy, who looked as if he were dead, soaking in the nutrient solution.
"He witnessed Asuka's death... and countless people turning into blood during the Instrumentality. He originally thought the Angels were humanity's enemies, but he never expected that the one trying to destroy all of humanity was his own father."
No. 9 let out a rare sigh.
"His last bit of sanity completely shattered... He refused to be instrumentalized, and he refused to live..."
Li Yu nodded slightly. Shinji Ikari was indeed such a wimp, particularly fragile mentally, completely lacking the indomitable spirit and increasing courage in battle that other Children of Destiny from other worlds possessed.
Ever since his birth, he had been manipulated by his own father. His mother's death, and the deaths of his friends and loved ones, were all caused by his father. It was normal for his mind to collapse.
Li Yu remembered something else. He turned to No. 9 Rei Ayanami.
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have died in the battle when the Womb Angel attacked..."