The President had no choice but to start walking.
After getting his bearings, he began trudging back toward Moscow. He walked for what felt like ages before finally spotting a vehicle in the distance.
It was a police car.
Two officers sat inside. The moment they recognized the President, their faces lit up with relief and joy.
"Mr. President! To see you alive and unharmed—it's truly the greatest fortune for our motherland!"
"Yes, yes! If anything had happened to you, sir, it would have been a disaster for all of Russia!"
The two policemen leapt out of the car and hurried over, showering him with obsequious flattery.
But the President's face was shrouded in storm clouds from head to toe. His voice was cold, almost savage, as he snapped:
"Enough chatter. Contact your director immediately—I want him here at once. And spread the word: summon every senior official in the Kremlin to meet me. Quickly!"
The icy, tyrannical tone sent a chill down both policemen's spines. They could tell instantly—his mood was beyond foul.
Without daring to waste another word, the officers scrambled back into their vehicle and relayed the message at once.
Within half an hour, helicopters thundered overhead and convoys of cars rolled in from every direction. High-ranking officials and Kremlin security personnel swarmed to the scene. Among them, cowering and pale, was Director Ross himself.
"I order you," the President roared at the assembled crowd, his voice seething with fury, "find Kitazawa Ryōta and his companions at any cost! Do you hear me? At any cost! I don't care if it's only their corpses—alive or dead, they will be found! Living, I want to see the man. Dead, I want to see the body!"
The President's rage was volcanic. Today's humiliation was intolerable. And worse—the mere fact that those people still lived was a direct threat to Russia itself. If they exposed the truth about Carson City, the nation could be plunged into catastrophe.
So they had to die. No matter the price.
"Sir, yes sir!" the crowd shouted back in unison. None dared falter. The President demanded their deaths—how could anyone drag their feet?
It was as if a stinging slap had been delivered across the face of Russia's great state.
And once the machinery of the state began to turn, the entire nation erupted into a frenzy. A nationwide manhunt was launched. Every television channel carried round-the-clock reports. Borders and airports were sealed. Police forces mobilized en masse. The determination was clear: until Kitazawa Ryōta and his companions were found, the hunt would not cease.
All of Russia became consumed by this vast pursuit.
Yet a day passed. Not only were no bodies recovered—not even a trace of them could be found.
Where had they gone after fleeing Moscow?
Even the vast machinery of the Russian state could not uncover their trail.
The following day, in a speeding car, Kitazawa Ryōta and Mari sat with eyes closed, conserving their strength.
They had been driving without pause for an entire day and night. And in the world's largest country by landmass, a full day's journey had not even carried them beyond Russia's borders.
All the while, they had to remain vigilant, lest the state forces catch up. No matter how skilled Ryōta and the others were, they could never hope to match the might of an entire nation.
So how were they to escape Russia?
"For now," Kaji said from behind the wheel, "the only option is to head for China. Once we cross into China, we can slip into Japan from there. It should work—those Russian operatives, no matter how sharp, won't imagine we'd head south into China rather than west into Europe."
Ryōta gave a slight nod, but said nothing.
He understood the logic. With the secrets he and Mari carried, the European nations would surely protect them. But Russia would also know this, and would block any attempt to cross into Europe. In comparison, the path through China was far more feasible.
Still, Ryōta remained silent, his mind fixed on something else entirely.
He was calculating the days.
What he calculated was the arrival of Unit-03 in Japan.
According to the timeline, Unit-03 was already on the verge of reaching the Matsushiro Test Site. And once it arrived… that would also mark the day Asuka fell victim to the Angel's mental contamination.
Ryōta's brow furrowed deeply.
No matter how he worked the numbers, there was not enough time to return to Japan.
So how could he possibly make it back in time for the catastrophic activation experiment at Matsushiro?
Because everything in Eva pivoted on Matsushiro.
But the immediate problem was… how to get home?
"Where on earth did Kitazawa Ryōta disappear to?!"
Japan, the Katsuragi residence. A furious voice rang out.
Ryōta had vanished without a word, gone for days with not even a note left behind. For Asuka, who already had a near-pathological need for control, this was almost enough to send her into meltdown.
She wanted nothing more than to find him and beat him senseless. Of course, whether she could actually win against Ryōta in a fight didn't factor into her thinking.
Her anger was real enough. With Unit-02 about to be decommissioned, she was already heartsick. She had wanted to confide in Ryōta—but he had disappeared on her, leaving her frustration to boil over into outright fury.
"Alright, alright. If he's gone, it probably means something urgent came up. Don't worry—someone like him won't run into trouble so easily," Misato said with a careless grin, trying to soothe her.
On the surface she played the part of the easygoing adult. But inside, Misato too was deeply uneasy. Ryōta's sudden disappearance gnawed at her—what had happened to him? Still, she kept her anxiety hidden from Asuka.
"Hmph! Even if it was urgent, would it kill him to leave a note? No—he chose not to. That bastard did it on purpose!" Asuka seethed. "When he comes back, I'll make sure he pays for it!"
"Enough, calm down," Misato said, her tone gentler now. "Tomorrow is the day Unit-03 arrives in Japan. You've already been chosen as its pilot. The activation test is absolutely critical. Remember, Unit-03 was built in the U.S., but it has never once been activated. We have no data on its performance. Everything about it comes straight from the American branch. This test is vital. Focus your mind on that instead."
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