They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 159 The Thunder Angel Attacks

After a brief interlude, everything returned to normal.

Zhang Qi's company, or rather his secret research institute, had all its staff working in three shifts, putting in extra hours to produce the core component of the positron cannon that was capable of turning the tide of battle—the positron generation and confinement device.

A few days later, the threat lurking beneath the calm surface finally arrived.

The piercing siren shattered the peaceful daily routine.
A huge, perfect, regular octahedron, radiating a cold, inorganic light, rose from the horizon.

It had no biological form, no superfluous movements, but simply glided smoothly in a manner that defied the laws of physics, like a cold die thrown by a god, heading directly towards this fortified city.

The Fifth Apostle, the Thunder Angel, has arrived.

The Third New Tokyo City was instantly awakened from its slumber, with countless armored gates rising from the ground, transforming the city into a steel fortress.

Deployed on the outskirts of the city, the Gauss electromagnetic gun turret, powered directly by the Ark Reactor, was activated immediately.

Accompanied by a muffled electromagnetic hum, armor-piercing projectiles were accelerated to terrifying speeds, leaving white shockwaves in the air as they hurtled toward the massive blue crystal.

However, all attacks came to an abrupt halt tens of meters from the target.

The AT Field—an absolute barrier—absorbs the kinetic energy of these projectiles, causing them to fall helplessly from mid-air.

The next second, the core of the Thunder Angel shone brightly.

A beam of extremely concentrated blue laser light shot out without any warning.

The locked turret position, along with the surrounding mountains, was completely evaporated in an instant.

There was no roar of an explosion, no flying debris, only a smooth cut surface instantly vitrified by the high temperature, and the pungent smell of ionization remaining in the air.

With a single strike, NERV's proud new defensive line was reduced to nothing.

NERV Headquarters, Central Operations Command Center.

On the enormous main screen, the image of the Angel of Thunder was so clear it was breathtaking.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, leaving only the low hum of the operating instruments and the suppressed breathing of the staff.

"The spectral analysis results are in!"

A researcher's voice trembled slightly.
"The target is using a high-energy particle cannon!"

"A particle cannon? With such a long range?"

Misato Katsuragi frowned, her hands clasped to her chest, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

She was well aware of the principle behind this weapon: it accelerates a cluster of charged particles to near the speed of light through a strong magnetic field, using pure kinetic energy to collide with and disintegrate the target's material structure. It is theoretically one of the most powerful directed energy weapons.

However, the theory also points out its fatal flaw.

Because the particles themselves carry the same charge, they generate a strong Coulomb repulsion force, causing the particle beam to diverge rapidly after traveling a certain distance, and its power and range will decrease sharply.

But the shot on the screen, with its long range and concentrated power, completely overturned existing understanding of physics.

"It's AT's stance..."

Ritsuko Akagi's cool voice broke the deadlock.

Her fingers flew across the console, projecting a complex energy model onto the screen.

That was the simulated form of the Thunder Angel AT Field.

"It uses the AT field as a confinement field to forcibly bind high-energy particles that should be dispersed in space, forming a 'particle spear' with an extremely long range and extremely high energy density."

"What a convenient yet disgusting ability..."

Misato Katsuragi bit her thumb, making the frown lines between her eyebrows even deeper.

She frantically tried to come up with a solution, only to find that every possible path was blocked.

With EVA's existing standard weapons, whether rifles or high-frequency katana, they can only be effective in close combat.

However, when facing an enemy with the ability to strike with precision beyond visual range, any attempt to approach is tantamount to suicide.

The power of that blue beam was enough to melt EVA's special armor in an instant... In other words, the key was how to get EVA safely close to it before it could react...

"Use this..."

Just as the command room fell into a deathly silence, and even the air seemed to be permeated with despair, a calm voice rang out.

Zhang Qi had somehow walked up to Misato Katsuragi. He reached out and operated his terminal a few times, and a brand-new weapon data file was transmitted to the main screen.

It was a massive cannon with a ferocious appearance and an extremely complex structure, accompanied by detailed parameters of a new type of anti-beam composite armor material.

"This is... a positron cannon?"

As Misato Katsuragi looked at the design drawings and theoretical data on the screen, her previously dim eyes suddenly shone with an amazing light.

The annihilation reaction of positrons and electrons, a strike at the very source of matter... she understood the strategic value of this weapon almost immediately.

But the only problem is...

"Are you sure this weapon, which hasn't been actually tested, will work?"

A cold and oppressive voice came from the shadows on the top floor of the command room.

Gendo Ikari crossed his hands in front of him, his gaze behind his glasses piercing the darkness like a sharp sword aimed directly at Zhang Qi.

"Theoretically..."

Zhang Qi subconsciously gave a rigorous and objective answer.

"What I want to know is not the theory..."

Gendo Ikari's voice suddenly rose, directly interrupting him.

The heat emanating from it was so palpable that all the staff around felt a chill and cast puzzled glances at it.

Commander Ikari seems to be particularly harsh on Dr. Zhang Qi today?

"Yes. Ensuring the success of the plan is my responsibility."

As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the entire command room changed.

Gendo Ikari remained silent for a moment, gave him a deep look, and then sat back down in the shadows.
"Then I'll leave it to you..."

With the project approved, the entire NERV organization, like a sophisticated war machine, instantly entered a state of maximum operation.

Various units began to work together frantically, and countless engineering vehicles and personnel flocked to the other side of the hill in Third New Tokyo City to race against time to assemble the positron cannons.

Thanks to the high-output energy source of the Arc Reactor, this operation no longer needed to requisition electricity from all of Japan as in the original story.

Simply overloading the reactor underground in Tokyo-3 is enough to support the operation of the positron cannon.

All of this was made possible not only by technological breakthroughs but also by the relatively low intelligence of the apostles.

They possess terrifying fighting instincts and strength, but lack the complex strategic thinking of humans.

After discovering that her attack was effective and that the opponent had not offered any effective resistance for a long time, the Rai Angel did not have any doubts. Instead, she followed her most primal instincts, transformed the AT field into a giant drill, aimed it directly above NERV headquarters, and began her persistent digging operation.

The purpose, of course, is to find something hidden beneath NERV...

Meanwhile, Misato Katsuragi was explaining the mission to the two pilots who were about to launch their attack.

"Based on our continuous observation and probing attack analysis, when the Thunder Angel is accumulating energy and launching a particle cannon attack, in order to use all of its AT field for the attack, its own defensive field will be greatly weakened, and its core will be briefly exposed."

Her finger traced a clear path across the tactical map.

"Therefore, our plan is to have Unit-01, which has a higher synchronization rate and greater stability, operate the positron cannon for sniping."

And Unit Zero,

Her gaze shifted to the quiet, blue-haired girl.

"It is responsible for acting as a shield, protecting Unit-01 as it completes aiming and firing."

(End of this chapter)