Ultraman grunts? Call me Space Policeman outside!

The entire city trembled continuously as a result.

Meanwhile, the Yashima Operation, designed to intercept the Fifth Apostle, was also in full swing.

Misato Katsuragi first borrowed an experimental positron cannon capable of carrying all of Japan's electricity from the Strategic Self-Defense Force's Tsukuba Technical Research Headquarters. Then, she had the NERV headquarters' technical bureau temporarily build a shield specifically designed to withstand beam attacks, which is the EVA-specific heat-resistant beam defense weapon.

After setting the sniping location at the summit of Erzi Mountain, she began organizing the centralized power supply.

Meanwhile, inside the hangar monitoring room of EVA Unit-00.

"Pulsation and resonance are normal... synchronization rate is stable... error repair completed... circuit is fully operational... no abnormalities..." Listening to the technician's report, Ritsuko Akagi nodded.

"The startup experiment of Unit 00 was successful."

Inside the hangar, the massive orange mecha was already able to move under Rei Ayanami's control.

"Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Connie." Ritsuko Akagi turned to look at Dr. Connie Albert, who was wearing a white coat just like her, and said with a slight smile.

Without his late-night overtime work, the start-up experiment of Unit 0 would probably have been postponed for several more days.

Just as she had predicted, this man's scientific talent was no less than her own.

"It's just my job." Albert pushed up his glasses and turned to look at her. "If you don't mind, you can just call me Albert."

"We'll be fighting together for a long time to come."

Ritsuko Akagi is the head of the EVA project and a highly capable woman with exceptional talent. She can also control the supercomputer MAGI in headquarters. If Mr. Natsuki chooses to intervene in the Human Instrumentality Project in the future, he hopes that Ritsuko Akagi will stand on his side.

So you should take advantage of the moment to win her favor and find an opportunity to let her know the whole truth.

“Yes, Mr. Albert.” Ritsuko Akagi smiled thoughtfully.

......

All of Japan received notices of a power outage that would occur at night. Near Futako-yama, where the mission was about to take place, trucks carrying large relays filled the roads, and a dense network of cables stretched towards the mountaintop.

"The fourteenth armor plate has been breached. It is expected that the Fifth Angel will pass through all twenty-two armor plates and arrive above the headquarters in the early hours of this morning!" Misato Katsuragi nodded as she listened to the technician's report over the dedicated communication channel.

“There’s still time,” she said.

"Everyone, speed up! We will begin the operation at 10 PM tonight!"

"Understood!"

There was less than an hour left before the operation began.

The pilots of EVA Unit-01 and Unit-00 had already arrived at the mountaintop to await orders.

"Rei Ayanami, what are you fighting for?" Shinji Ikari, dressed in a white battle suit, sat on a high platform atop the mountain, gazing at the Fifth Angel in the city, and asked Rei Ayanami beside him.

"What are you fighting for?" Rei Ayanami, who was sitting with her legs crossed, fell silent for a moment when she heard this question, pondering the answer in her mind.

"I don't know, but..." she finally shook her head and said softly, "Perhaps... it's because of bonds."

"Bonds?" Shinji was surprised to hear such a word from this girl.

Natsuki was also taken aback when she heard this word.

This girl seems indifferent to everything, but is she actually a passionate girl?

But Rei Ayanami's explanation afterwards stunned him again.

"Bonds... are the relationships I have with everyone... Right now, that's all I have."

"I will do whatever everyone wants me to do," Rei Ayanami said in a weak voice, hugging her legs and resting her head on her knees.

What kind of experiences shaped her current personality?

This was a question that Shinji and Natsuki both had in mind.

"How can this be?" Shinji looked at her. "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet. This is a mission that could cost you your life."

He felt sorry for Rei Ayanami.

He used to think he could accept a life where he was at the mercy of others, but when he was truly encouraged to do something according to his own will, he realized that no one can live entirely for others, and everyone should have things they want to do.

"It's okay, I'll protect you during this mission, you definitely won't die." Rei Ayanami turned her head and looked at him firmly.

Her mission is to protect Shinji, and she will risk her life for that. That is the meaning of her life: to carry out orders.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that you are very likely to be injured or even die in this mission. Aren’t you afraid?” Shinji was somewhat moved by Rei Ayanami’s words and continued to ask.

"Um...I'm scared."

"But an order is an order." Rei Ayanami doesn't fully understand what emotions are yet, and remains like a beautiful puppet.

Shinji shook his head after hearing this.

"Orders are not everything."

"I will protect Rei-san and everyone else during this mission," Shinji said firmly, looking at her.

He had already decided to protect the lives and dreams of others, including Rei Ayanami.

Besides that, he also harbored feelings for her that belonged to a teenage boy.

"Protect...me?" Rei Ayanami was somewhat bewildered when she heard Shinji's concerned words.

"Why? The order should have been for me to protect you."

As she finished speaking...

Shinji Ikari had already stood up and walked to the front of the platform, looking at the Fifth Angel in the distance.

"Unrelated to orders."

"My desire to protect Lingbo is my own decision."

He clenched one fist and the other palm, clashing them together in front of his chest, just as a flame was being ignited in his heart.

"Whether now or in the future, I will not let Lingbo die."

"And... after you defeat the Apostles, tell me your story, Rei-kun."

The boy's voice drifted on the wind into the girl's ears.

For a girl who doesn't understand what emotions or liking someone are, all of this is foreign.

She follows orders and even when she realizes that she is different from others, she keeps it buried in her heart. This has become her way of life.

This boy is special to me.

This is what she was thinking.

"Mm." Rei Ayanami didn't know why she agreed, but she smiled and nodded.

Shinji's words are like those of an old general on a theatrical stage, covered in flags; people who say such things usually don't end up well.

However, reality will prove that when your power is strong enough, you can ignore everything.

Chapter 104 The Plan Failed

"The Apostle has broken through the fifteenth armor plate!" came the hurried report from the technician through Misato Katsuragi's earpiece.

"I understand." She nodded, glanced at the prepared scene and the apostles in the distant city, and her eyes sharpened. "Everyone, commence the operation against the Fifth Apostle, Yashima!"

"Understood!"

After the order was issued, all power was cut off throughout Japan except for essential facilities such as medical facilities, and all power supply stations concentrated their power transmission to Futakoyama, a suburb of Tokyo Third New City.

"This absurd plan...can it really succeed?" In the NERV command center, Professor Fuyutsuki stood behind Gendo Ikari, looking at the various data and images on the screen in front of him, and said.

Centralizing the nation's electricity into a single point is not as simple as it seems; accidents can easily occur during the transmission of electricity.

"No matter the outcome, it's worth a try." Gendo Ikari remained with his hands clasped together, staring at the screen as motionless as a statue.

His secret plan has succeeded.

Now, eliminating all the apostles is the first priority.

"Shinji, Rei, are you ready?" Misato Katsuragi asked over the communicator, looking towards the mountaintop.

Under the cover of night, on the mountaintop that had been transformed into a steel platform, the purple-green Unit-01 lay prone at its designated sniping position, holding a positron cannon that resembled a giant sniper rifle, while the orange Unit-00 stood by, shield in hand, ready to go.

"Ready." *2

They answered in unison.

"Power transmission progress 60%... Frontline, use missiles to draw the Angels' attention!" Misato Katsuragi glanced at the imminent completion of the power transmission and immediately ordered the troops at the frontline to open fire.

Not far from the Thunder Angel, a large number of tanks and armored vehicles were parked, and fighter jets were on standby in the sky.

"Received!"

Upon receiving the order to fire, these frontline troops immediately launched their attack.

"Boom boom boom!"

Dense artillery fire rained down on the Thunder Angel from all directions, illuminating the night sky darkened by the power outage.

The firepower, sufficient for warfare, fell on the Thunder Angel, but had no effect whatsoever. The semi-transparent AT field opened, isolating all the artillery fire.

"Lieutenant Katsuragi, our attack is not working!" The report came through the comms.

This was expected.

"It's alright, the objective has been achieved." Misato Katsuragi said as she watched the Rai-angel begin to change form through her binoculars.

After being attacked, the distant Thunder Angel stopped its movement, which was about to break through the armor plate above NERV headquarters, and changed its form, seemingly to wipe out the nearby army.

"Shinji, now's the time!" Misato Katsuragi shouted.

When the Thunder Angels transform, they briefly expose their core, and they intend to take advantage of this opportunity to kill them in one fell swoop.

Shinji, who was on the mountaintop, was already prepared.

Using the auxiliary aiming system, keep a close eye on the Thunder Angel's every move.

The positron cannon has been fully charged.

The moment he saw the Thunder Angel transform, his mind focused to the extreme, as if the world had frozen, and he pulled the trigger!

Under Shinji's control, Unit-01 made a move, and the positron cannon instantly unleashed its concentrated energy. The highly penetrating beam traversed the distance between them and arrived in front of the Angel of Thunder in the blink of an eye.

The attack, which concentrated the nation's electricity, pierced directly through the Thunder Angel's AT field, striking just before the Thunder Angel could unleash its beam to destroy the army!

After being attacked, the Thunder Angel let out a sharp cry, its form changed wildly, and bright red blood flowed out, as if the attack had caused it considerable injury.