Chapter 568: Return to the Death World
Right at this threshold of shifting morale, the hangar and technical departments transmitted exhilarating news almost simultaneously.
According to the programs pre-configured and fully debugged by Ryo before his departure, the initial practical activation test for Unit-01's "autonomous defense mode" was declared complete. The data analysis indicated that under a simulated combat environment with specific threat patterns, the purple giant could leverage its internal mechanisms to effectively execute tactical evasions, field parries, and even launch threatening basic counter-attacks depending on the threat level. Its reaction speed and energy deployment efficiency had both reached practical tiers that far surpassed expectations. While it was far from as fluid as when Shinji piloted it, as an automated defense system, its performance was already sufficient to assume the foundational defensive duties of the base.
Concurrently, the technical department sent another piece of good news: the modification of the white Unit-03's pilot compatibility protocol was confirmed successful. The initial synchronization rate test results conducted on several backup candidate qualified pilots indicated that two individuals had reached the minimum benchmark line to activate and fundamentally control the machine. This meant that this powerful machine, deeply overhauled by Ryo, had not completely lost its combat efficacy due to Asuka's departure; it could still be mastered to fight for WILLE.
These two highly practical technical assurances acted like a timely shot of adrenaline, effectively dispelling a portion of the gloom and unease blanketing WILLE due to the core personnel's departure. Tangible solutions were universally more effective at stabilizing an army's morale than any hollow encouragement.
On the command platform, Misato Katsuragi took a deep breath, pressing down the complex emotions of departure within her heart as her gaze turned sharp and resolute once more. Sweeping her eyes across the numerous gazes directed toward her throughout the command center, she raised her volume to issue clear directives: "It seems our 'ally' indeed left behind a parting gift packed with sufficient sincerity. But this is only the beginning! Notify all department heads and operational sequence leaders—an emergency strategic meeting will convene in Conference Room 1 in one hour! We must maximize everything currently at our disposal to formulate a comprehensive scheme to handle SEELE's next counter-offensive as quickly as possible!"
Her voice carried an unquestionable resolve, transmitting a definitive signal—WILLE would absolutely not sink or retreat from this point forward.
New challenges and threats still hung overhead, and unknown crises could strike from any direction. But this time, the people remaining behind had to wipe away their tears, grip the weapons and technologies already in their hands, and rely on their own strength and resolve to continue forward in this perilous world—fighting to snatch that faint yet brutally vital dawn of the future for human civilization.
The Warhammer universe, Death World base.
Within the dimensional receiving sector, the deep blue spatial portal operated steadily.
First to manifest was the life-support chamber housing Rei Ayanami, followed tightly beside it by Shinji Ikari, whose face was packed with tension and anticipation. The strange environment, the cold metallic architectural style, and the peculiar scent of machine oil and energy mixing in the air all caused Shinji a fraction of unease, yet his gaze never strayed from that life-support chamber.
Immediately following, Asuka's silhouette appeared. She curiously scanned the surroundings; the technological style here was glaringly disparate from NERV's or SEELE's systems, turning significantly cruder, weightier, and filled with a supreme sense of utilitarianism. Although she had left her familiar world, a lightness from shaking off her crushing past paired with a trace of longing for the future allowed her to temporarily press down the sorrow of departure.
Finally, accompanied by a massive spatial fluctuation and a low rumble, the colossal dark-gray frame of the EVA-Titan slowly "squeezed" out from the spatial portal, its heavy feet stepping onto the specially reinforced metallic flooring, emitting a dull boom. Its arrival left the entire receiving sector appearing somewhat crowded.
Ryo was the last to step out of the spatial portal, taking a deep breath of the familiar, "pure" air of his home universe.
The receiving team—composed of Tech-Priests and acolytes who had long been waiting here—immediately stepped forward, beginning to systematically handle the teleported resources and personnel in an orderly fashion.
Rei Ayanami's life-support chamber was swiftly transferred to the base's highest-tier medical and biological research facility, taken over by the relevant biological team. They initiated a comprehensive evaluation of her condition, setting about researching how to leverage the Warhammer world's gene-engineering technologies, psionic healing, and even stasis field protocols to attempt to repair her damaged body and mind.
Shinji Ikari was arranged to reside within a fully equipped guest cabin and was informed that before Rei Ayanami's treatment yielded definitive progress, he could freely move within the restricted zones of the base. The cold discipline of the base left him somewhat at a loss, but he still chose to spend the majority of his time outside the medical sector, silently keeping vigil.
Asuka was escorted to a pilot preparation cabin specially readied for her, as well as the exclusive hangar of the EVA-Titan. Looking at this gray colossus before her eyes—which was far more massive, more majestic, and thoroughly thick with an exotic aesthetic style compared to the white Unit-03 she was familiar with—Asuka's heart was filled with an un-describable excitement and a trace of apprehension. A Tech-Priest clad in red robes used a chilling, mechanical voice to roughly introduce her to the basic operational interfaces and subsequent training schedules of the EVA-Titan. The atmosphere here was solemn and highly efficient, entirely different from NERV's style which carried a fraction of humanized management.
After initially arranging everything, Ryo's second avatar arrived at the core control chamber of the base. Here, his awareness achieved a re-established deep fusion and information synchronization with his main body.
Every single experience surrounding the EVA world, the gathered data, the forged agreements, and the brought-back samples and personnel—all the information streams acted like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, flooding into the main body's massive database to be organized, analyzed, and deduced.
"The sample value is exceptionally high. The latent correlation between the EVA biological technologies and the Warp (observed via the A.T. Field and the Angel phenomena) is worthy of deep exploration. The partnership with the local resistance organization can be maintained, serving as a long-term observational window and a technological testing ground."
"As for those three 'guests'..." the main body's consciousness flowed, "the girl (Asuka) possesses excellent combat talent and malleability; she can be cultivated as a reserve pilot for the Titan. The boy (Shinji)—his mechanism of emotional volatility resonating with the special soul remnants inside Unit-01 can perhaps be applied to the optimization of certain psionic sensors. As for that special clone (Rei Ayanami)—the connection between her soul architecture and Lilith's origin serves as a precious case study for researching parallel universe lifeforms and the essence of consciousness."
Cold logic and a thirst for knowledge formed the foundation of their decision-making.
"Grant them time to adapt. Then, based on their traits and willingness, allocate them to the appropriate research or combat sequences. The new research projects can be initiated."
The commands were handed down, and the entire Death World base operated with high efficiency like a precise instrument centered around the new research targets and the "guests."
For Shinji Ikari and Asuka, a brand-new world filled with unknowns and rigorous discipline—yet potentially embedding healing and rebirth—had unfolded. Meanwhile, for Ryo's main body, the mysteries originating from an alternate universe lay waiting for him to peel away.
Their story turned a new page upon a vaster, and significantly more brutal stage.