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

Chapter 171 S2 Machine Mounting Experiment
A few days later, the special plane cut through the slightly gloomy clouds over Germany and slowly landed at the suburban base surrounded by dark green forests.

As the cabin door opened, a blast of cold air, carrying the scent of pine needles and damp earth, rushed out.

Unlike the perpetually sweltering heat of Tokyo-3, this place possesses a unique Nordic coolness and solemnity.

Beyond the runway lies a heavily guarded military restricted area, where armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers form an ironclad defense.

A middle-aged man in a crisp military uniform with a serious expression was already waiting on the tarmac, followed by several equally meticulous assistants.

"Dr. Zhang Qi, welcome to NERV Branch 3."

The man extended his hand, his English, spoken with a German accent, was precise and forceful.
"I am Colonel Klaus von Heydrich, the head of this base. We extend our highest respect and warmest welcome to you."

"Colonel, you're too kind."

Zhang Qi shook hands with him, a perfectly timed smile on his face.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Colonel Klaus didn't waste any more words. He turned to the side and gestured for a car to proceed, and a black luxury sedan silently slid up to them.

"My colleagues at the research institute are eager to get started. Please allow me to show you the way."

The vehicles traveled through the base, passing orderly barracks and training grounds.

Zhang Qi's gaze calmly swept across the window, taking in the layout and security level of the entire base.

The main building of the research institute is hidden deep in the core area of ​​the site and is made entirely of gray composite materials.

Upon entering, a strong smell of disinfectant mixed with metallic odor hits you.

In the spacious hall, besides the construction workers rushing to and fro and the researchers in white lab coats, there was a group of particularly eye-catching "guests".

They came in all colors and ages, but they all exuded the confidence and pride of top scholars.

This is a team of biological experts assembled by SEELE, comprised of representatives from various countries.

Upon seeing Zhang Qi enter accompanied by Colonel Klaus, the group of experts immediately erupted in a lively commotion, crowding around him.

"Oh my God, it really is Dr. Zhang Qi!"

"Doctor, your paper on energy conduction is simply a masterpiece! I am your loyal reader!"

"It is the greatest honor of my life to work with you!"

Their enthusiastic faces were filled with admiration and excitement.

Zhang Qi smiled and shook hands with each of them, responding to their greetings in fluent English, German, and even French.

SEELE... They really went all out to wipe out all the technological accumulation of other countries in the field of Apostle research.

But his heart sank as he looked at these figures who were considered titans in the field of biology in various countries.

At this moment, like a child drawn by candy, they stepped into this trap, which was destined to be erased from the map, full of anticipation.

In SEELE's script, their wisdom, their achievements, and even their lives are nothing more than cheap fuel used to enhance the tragic color of that "massive accident".

We must find out exactly what method SEELE plans to use to recreate the massive explosion in the original story that was enough to instantly vaporize the entire branch.

He calmly composed himself and clearly defined the most important task at hand.

In the following days, Zhang Qi quickly threw himself into his work.

As the chief technical advisor, he conducted a comprehensive evaluation and provided guidance for the entire S2 system integration project.

It must be admitted that the technological achievement presented by SEELE is astonishing, even to him, a "time traveler".

Their reverse engineering of the S2 mechanism has reached an unbelievable level, and their theoretical model is exquisite. They may be just one step away from true success.

Of course, Zhang Qi knew in his heart that this near-perfect success was itself the most deadly bait.

The flaw hidden deep within the ocean of data was by no means an unintentional mistake, but rather a "Achilles' heel" deliberately created after thousands of calculations.

With the "responsible" attitude that a chief consultant should have, Zhang Qi demonstrated a level of technical skill far exceeding that of ordinary people.

With irrefutable theoretical basis and precise calculations, he optimized the entire experimental steps and process by nearly 30%, and easily identified more than a dozen potential problems, large and small, that could lead to experimental failure.

"...Here, the redundancy design of the energy circuit is insufficient. Once the core output experiences a peak fluctuation of more than 3%, it may cause a chain reaction, leading to the collapse of the crystal structure of the conductive medium."

"And this synchronous resonant frequency, the theoretical value is too idealistic. We must take into account the slight fluctuations of the biological core in the activated state. I suggest adding a dynamic adaptive compensation algorithm..." Although doing so would slow down the research progress, his reasons were quite convincing.

Over the course of several days, his revised experimental plan improved the safety level by more than an order of magnitude.

Let alone a cataclysmic explosion like the one in the original story, even in the most extreme accident, the control system can cut off all energy and terminate the experiment within a trillionth of a second.

In theory, not even a spark would be generated.

Simply put, he has overturned all of SEELE's cards that were on the table.

This is entirely in line with his established persona as a top scientist who strives for perfection.

This is his first move; now it remains to be seen how SEELE will proceed.

During a break from work, Zhang Qi also took the opportunity, under the guise of reporting on progress, to contact NERV headquarters in Tokyo-3.

When he learned from Misato Katsuragi's report that in the short few days he was away, Asuka and Shinji Ikari had already joined forces to defeat two more attacking Angels, he didn't hold back his praise, making Asuka on the other end of the phone so proud that she almost got carried away.

After hanging up the public communication, in the dead of night, Zhang Qi activated the highest-level backdoor he had secretly implanted in the MAGI system.

An untraceable encrypted data stream, like a ghost, penetrated layers of firewalls and connected to a top-secret channel.

"it's me."

On the other end of the phone came Ryoji Kaji's slightly hoarse voice, which always carried a hint of cynicism, but was unusually solemn at this moment.

"How are you doing there?"

Zhang Qi asked.

"This is not good. Something strange happened yesterday when we were trying to win over the Rain Angel."

Kachi Ryoji said in a deep voice,

"explain."

"Someone cut the backup power cable to the Ark Reactor, causing a power outage in the entire Third New Tokyo City."

Zhang Qi's eyes suddenly turned cold.

The Arc Reactor is the core that powers the entire fortress city, and its security level is comparable to that of MAGI itself.

The ability to tamper with things in that kind of place is something no ordinary spy could do.

It seems that SEELE has finally begun to drop its pretense and is preparing to take action against NERV headquarters.

"Was it done by SEELE's spies?"

Zhang Qiyong stated this in a declarative tone.

"I think so."

There was a hint of worry in Kaji Ryoji's voice.
"So you need to be very careful. They went to so much trouble to transfer you over there, it's definitely not just to have you guide the experiments."

I'm worried... their real target is you.

Kaji Ryoji reminded him that, with his keen intuition as a triple agent, Zhang Qi's trip to Germany was far too unusual.

"learn."

Zhang Qi calmly replied,
"If anything unusual happens in the future, remember to report it to me through this channel."

"clear."

The communication was cut off, and the room returned to a deathly silence.

Zhang Qi slowly got up, walked to the window, and cast his gaze at the dark outline of the forest in the distance.

Finally, I looked at the electronic calendar hanging on the wall.

The bright red numbers are clearly marked.

Tomorrow is the day when Unit 4, equipped with the S2 engine, will officially begin its experiments...

(End of this chapter)