Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!-Chapter 1563 - 1561: I’m Still Going to Spend Your Money
Now that NERV has just officially started operating, there hasn’t been a situation where every EVA frequently goes berserk and needs major repairs, so the budget is still quite sufficient.
And Fang Zheng certainly has no psychological barrier about spending NERV’s money. Unlike Misato Katsuragi, who even has to take a thirty-year loan for a car, he simply filed a "government vehicle" report, and effortlessly acquired a car from NERV again—Fang Zheng had very reasonable grounds.
After all, someone needs to take the pilots to and from school, and as their manager, who also serves as a teacher at their school, transportation is obviously necessary.
As for the apartment—NERV spent a day and finally found a high-rise apartment that satisfied Fang Zheng, with four bedrooms, a living room, an open kitchen, and a balcony. Its location is much better than the place where Rei Ayanami originally lived, which looked like a slum.
Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki were exasperated by Fang Zheng’s shameless requests for money, but with orders from SEELE to fully cooperate, and given Fang Zheng’s reasonable grounds, they had no choice.
Aren’t they supposed to say that EVA pilots bear the heavy responsibility of piloting EVAs to protect the world? Isn’t it only natural for them to have good treatment?
What else could they do?
Hold their noses and approve it, I guess. After all, no matter how much this department spends, it won’t be enough to repair one bump on an EVA, so they approved it anyway.
"Hmm, now this is more like it."
Looking at the cozy and calm decor of the apartment in front of him, Fang Zheng finally nodded in satisfaction. That previous small, shabby room was like a prison; this is truly a place for people to live.
"Alright, Rei, you take that room. I’ve set it up for you for now, but let me know if you need anything else."
"Okay."
Rei just nodded at Fang Zheng’s words—unlike most people who bring a ton of luggage when moving, Rei Ayanami moved in with nothing more than a few changes of clothes and textbooks.
Not bad at all.
The basics of clothing, food, housing, and transport are essential. But in Japan, where school uniforms are worn daily, there’s no need to buy more clothes. The living space is sorted, the government vehicle approved, and next...
"It’s been a long day, you must be hungry... Rei, is there anything you’d like to eat?"
"Not really."
Rei shook her head but quickly added another sentence.
"I don’t like eating fish or meat."
"Only eating veggies isn’t good for your health. How about mock meat?"
"Mock meat?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of doubt appeared on Rei’s otherwise expressionless face.
"What’s that?"
"It’s meat made from soy products, tastes just like meat, and you don’t have to worry about gaining weight... You aren’t trying to diet, are you?"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng glanced again at Rei Ayanami before him. While in the animation Rei Ayanami was simply said not to like fish and meat, the reality is obviously different. Who knows why she’s not keen on fish and meat... maybe to lose weight?
"But without eating meat, it’s hard to get enough nutrition... Fine, as a compromise, how about eggs?"
"Sure."
"Great."
With that, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers.
"Then, let’s go grocery shopping now."
Fang Zheng’s chosen apartment is in a very convenient location, well-connected with nearby convenience stores and shops. So he took Rei Ayanami downstairs to a nearby convenience store for a big shopping spree since they had just moved in. Although furniture and renovations could be arranged by NERV, everyday items like pots, pans, rice, oil, and salt still need to be bought personally.
Currently, Rei Ayanami still had that indifferent, doll-like demeanor, merely pushing the shopping cart while doing nothing else. Occasionally, when Fang Zheng asked if she wanted to buy something, she would just nod or remain silent—Fang Zheng didn’t mind this. After all, even the first berserk activation hadn’t happened yet, and if he remembered correctly, this second clone had only recently woken up.
So there’s plenty of time to take it slow.
After the big shopping trip, Fang Zheng brought Rei Ayanami back to the apartment and made a meal.
For Rei Ayanami, this way of eating was something new. She previously only ate with Gendo Ikari. Back then, they merely ate like a work meal in a cafeteria, took their food, ate, and that was it.
But this time, it was different.
"For washing rice, rinse it twice, and add a little less water in the end, it’ll taste better."
"When picking vegetables, be careful not to break the leaves."
Indeed, back at the apartment, Fang Zheng wasted no time in directing Rei Ayanami to help with washing and cooking. Given that Rei had previously burned herself just trying to make tea, he didn’t make the foolish move of having her cook directly. Instead, she helped with preliminary tasks like washing and rinsing rice.
Rei Ayanami had no objections to Fang Zheng’s instructions, treating them as commands and carrying them out seriously, albeit a bit clumsily.
Fang Zheng worked quickly, and before long, three meals and a soup, consisting of three veggie dishes and one meat, were ready. While Rei Ayanami stated that she didn’t like fish or meat, Fang Zheng decided to insist because, in his experience, kids claiming they don’t like something usually just haven’t had it prepared well. When it’s delicious, it shouldn’t be an issue!
At least that’s how it is with his little girls!
However, Fang Zheng didn’t go so far as to challenge fish, given he himself doesn’t particularly like eating fish... not really a matter of taste, but of the inconvenience of dealing with small bones. Of course, if it’s fish with only large bones, that’s another story.
He particularly enjoys fish head.
Steamed fish head with chopped peppers is quite tasty.
For Rei Ayanami, this dining style was new, sparking some curiosity—especially when she saw Fang Zheng happily mix tomatoes and eggs, then pouring the dish’s sauce over the rice.
"What’s this...?"
Seeing this, Rei Ayanami showed a hint of surprise. Although Japan has the practice of cracking a raw egg over rice, she’d never seen this method before.
"Using dish sauce to soak rice is top-notch, the taste is lovely, want to give it a try?"
Fang Zheng stirred the rice in his bowl and suggested this to Rei Ayanami. Despite the frequent online discussion about dish sauce-soaked rice being bad for the stomach, Fang Zheng thought that using it sparingly wouldn’t have much of an impact, and letting the sauce flavor the rice makes it taste even better.
Especially a dish like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, the soup is sour and sweet, you mix a little into the rice, along with the fragrance of the rice itself, and it becomes an appetite-inducing delicacy!
Afterwards, Rei Ayanami also copied Fang Zheng and poured some soup onto her rice. She didn’t make any comments or have her eyes light up and explode from the taste—Fang Zheng hadn’t participated in any gourmet anime, his skills were merely from years of cooking with the little girls, not capable of turning food into aphrodisiacs.
But at least Rei Ayanami finished her meal.
After finishing the meal, Fang Zheng and Rei Ayanami washed the dishes together, then...
"What should I do?"
"Hmm... From now on, you need to learn meditation."
"Meditation?"
"Yes, it’s a special technique for spiritual control. You should know that piloting an EVA requires the pilot’s mind to be stable. Meditation can help you stabilize your mind..."
Fang Zheng didn’t finish the second half of the sentence, which was—and also the soul.
That’s right, after spending a day with Rei Ayanami, Fang Zheng almost uncovered the truth behind Rei Ayanami’s rampage incident.
Part of the reason comes from Unit-00 itself, because Unit-00 is inherently incomplete. And another part of the reason lies within Rei Ayanami herself.
A person consists of three elements: mind, soul, and body. Rei Ayanami’s body is a replica of Yui Ikari’s, her soul comes from Lilith, thus the final question arises.
Where is her mind?
The answer is—nowhere.
That’s why Rei Ayanami appeared like a robot in the earlier stages, the reason lies here.
Generally speaking, after a person is born, the mind, soul, and body grow together. Physical growth drives mental growth, mental growth transforms into the resilience of the soul.
Of course, this is the explanation from the Magic Department. In the scientific sense, Rei Ayanami lacks self-awareness, coupled with her soul and body are entirely foreign assemblages, thus functioning very unstably.
An already unstable pilot combined with a half-baked EVA, it’s quite normal to have frequent rampages.
Actually, this point is very evident in the animation, every time Rei Ayanami has a "spiritual connection" with Shinji Ikari, the most frequent questions she asks are "Who am I? Where am I? What do I want to do?" giving a sense of existential confusion and bewilderment, the reason lies here.
Why does Rei Ayanami feel so confused?
The reason is simple, because neither her body nor soul belongs to her!
She’s like a rootless duckweed, a tree without a base, a body that’s not hers, a soul that’s not hers, this inevitably leads Rei Ayanami to contemplate philosophical questions.
If we follow the mainstream route of Japanese anime, this is where the plot would let Rei Ayanami subtly awaken to self-awareness, just like in the animation where initially she cares about nothing, later on, she’s even willing to sacrifice herself for Shinji Ikari. That’s a kind of growth.
However... now with Fang Zheng, there’s no need for such awkward and time-consuming growth mode!
He’s not a brat like Shinji Ikari, he’s a god, okay!
Of course, Fang Zheng outwardly explained to Rei Ayanami that teaching her meditation was a technique to control one’s own mind. In reality, it’s something often used by spellcasters of the Main World. After all, there are many soul-related spells in the Main World, even mages occasionally experience astral projection. Meditation helps mages consolidate their spirits and wills, while also fusing and mastering the soul.
As for its utility, Fang Zheng isn’t worried. Although Rei Ayanami possesses Lilith’s soul, Lilith’s soul lacks will; it can be said to be freely given.
Using martial hero novels’ words, Rei Ayanami woke up and received a century’s worth of Lilith’s power, but unfortunately, she didn’t know the incantations, didn’t understand how to use the powers. Fang Zheng’s task is to fill in these gaps, allowing Rei Ayanami to gradually digest Lilith’s soul power, and then utilize this power to control Yui Ikari’s body.
In this way, the originally separated body, soul, and self will re-fuse together.
The result matched Fang Zheng’s expectations, in the ensuing week, Rei Ayanami underwent very noticeable changes.
Perhaps due to experiencing and mastering powers through meditation, Rei Ayanami’s self-awareness began to become clearer. From initially remaining silent when Fang Zheng advised her to eat meat, to now clearly stating "I don’t want to eat," that’s progress. Not only that, even others at NERV noticed changes in Rei Ayanami.
Previously, she only carried out orders like a robot, but now, she surprisingly raises her own questions and thoughts often.
This astonished several staff members while also elevating Fang Zheng’s appraisal. After all, the NERV staff are well aware of the EVA matters; piloting EVA by a person with awkward personality, even if unspoken, causes deep-seated unease. Now, witnessing the young girl who always seemed uninterested in others quickly becoming more approachable, they’re reassured quite a bit.
However, watching this, for Gendo Ikari it pierces his heart!
You used my funds, live in a good house, bought a good car, and are cohabiting with my woman!
What agonizes Gendo Ikari even more is now Rei Ayanami evidently prefers being by Fang Zheng’s side rather than his own! Just after the special check-up ended previously, Gendo Ikari subconsciously invited Rei Ayanami to dine together. Originally, Gendo Ikari believed Rei Ayanami would certainly agree, surprisingly Rei Ayanami said "Second Lieutenant Fang Zheng has already prepared lunch, I need to head home."
Then directly left!
At that time, Gendo Ikari was almost infuriated into having a heart attack!
Gendo Ikari could never understand why Rei Ayanami is indifferent to others, but affectionate with this Fang Zheng?
Of course, he couldn’t figure it out, Rei Ayanami is close to Fang Zheng partly because Fang Zheng intervened and managed her life, hence she naturally obeys commands.
Another aspect is—Fang Zheng possesses the Order Seal.
Exactly, just like in the previous world with Katori and others, Fang Zheng also sensed the Order Coordinates’ aura from Rei Ayanami’s body.
Hence Lilith’s identity could be verified conclusively.
In that world, the Goddess of Order’s given coordinates were Star Gods, now in this world, the Goddess of Order’s using Lilith as a coordinate too.
However, similar to Star God’s soul fragments being used to create the Golden Fairy, this world’s Lilith’s soul was also stuffed into Rei Ayanami’s body.
The Order Coordinates and Order Seal attract each other, so Rei Ayanami’s closeness to Fang Zheng is quite natural.
Thus, a week passed.
Finally, for Rei Ayanami—the day of fate arrived.
The initial activation test of Unit-00 was about to begin.
