Nobita's Time Heist

Perhaps sensing the urgency of the situation, Unit-00 stopped arguing with her, and instructions that were previously difficult to convey became exceptionally simple. However, her condition was far from good—the bandages covering her body were still in place, her injured left eye was still blind, and simply sitting inside the cockpit was already a great effort.

"That's good."

Rei Ayanami calmly endured the pain, maneuvering Unit-00 to pick up the specially customized gun made for him, waiting for the aiming sights to align with each other.

"As long as I don't cause that person any trouble... even if I die here... I'll..."

……

Just a second before the crosshairs aligned, the nearly 100-meter-tall Alexander Cross suddenly vanished from everyone's sight.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Eh?"

……

"boom--!!"

The next moment, an imposing machine suddenly appeared in front of Unit-00.

Before the AT field could be deployed, the Kusanagi sword thrust horizontally, piercing straight through Unit-00's abdomen with a muffled thud!

Chapter 343: I feel like this is just the beginning.

There were no suitable words to describe the deathly silence. Even Gendo Ikari, who had just successfully salvaged the atmosphere and delivered a passionate pre-battle speech, briefly possessed human emotions and desires, and like everyone else here, his face was etched with astonishment.

There were no readings, no fluctuations, no heat source, and nothing on the screen.

If the gamma-ray burst just now was barely within the realm of common understanding, then the abilities displayed by the opponent at this moment have already surpassed the limits of "science." No one saw clearly how he suddenly disappeared or how he moved to Unit-00's side.

The girl's pitiful screams echoed through the channel. Due to the neural link system, the pilot had to share pain sensations with the machine. Even a partial pain from the sword piercing her abdomen was enough to make Rei Ayanami scream. Already in a state of severe injury and not yet fully recovered, forcing Unit-00 into the pilot's cockpit would put a certain strain on her body. After the sword pierced her, and Rei Ayanami fainted from the pain, Unit-00 immediately lost all combat capabilities.

"Report...Report! Unit Zero's neural link has been severed...Pilot is unconscious and unable to continue fighting!"

"Regardless, our strategic objectives will not change." Gendo Ikari's composure was truly extraordinary; only he could remain calm at a time like this. "Leclerc main battle tank group and Tornado rocket artillery group, free to fire!"

……

"Bang---!!"

A massive barrage of fire, mingled with the fear and unease of the people, traced brilliant arcs in the torrential rain, cascading over the Shandong Cross's fuselage. Aside from a few insignificant sparks, it had no effect whatsoever, merely causing the hundred-meter-tall behemoth to slowly turn its head, its gaze piercing through the rain to fix on the ground troops that had brazenly opened fire upon it.

Emerald green lights rose in the distance.

"boom-----!!"

A stream of high-energy electromagnetic radiation particles shot out from the eye armor, slicing diagonally across the mountain and instantly severing that section of the mountain. In an instant, rocks rained down, colliding with each other and crashing down beside the ground troops, completely obscuring their firing angle.

The saying "a huge rock falling from a high mountain" applies here. These ordinary rocks were imbued with the most powerful weapon on the planet—potential energy. As they fell from a height, their mass was converted into destructive force. Rocks rained down, and with a thunderous roar, the road was smashed open in half. The armed forces deployed on the ground were unable to retreat in time and were buried in the rubble, their signals that could have been transmitted underground were also cut off.

……

"Roar------!!!"

Just then, a wild roar transformed into a powerful sonic boom. Turning around, they saw Unit-01, with its unusually slender frame, had single-handedly demolished a building and hoisted it onto its shoulder. Gendo Ikari's tactics had indeed bought him several dozen seconds. After repairing his limbs, he began searching for a weapon again. After looking around, he realized that anything handy, useful, and could be used as a weapon was actually everywhere.

"Click..."

Large chunks of concrete fell to the ground, Unit-01's eyes gleamed in the rainy night, its mouth stretched into an even wider grin, its entire face displaying an extremely ferocious expression.

The target wasn't Shandong Cross, but rather Nobita, who was floating in the air with a bamboo dragonfly.

With his feet sinking deep into the ground, he roared, arched his back, bent his legs slightly, and used the strength of his arms and wrists to hurl the building, which weighed over 10 tons, into the air! The colossal object tore through the rain, drawing a dull arc in the air. Compared to it, Nobita's size was like an insignificant little insect.

"boom----"

Before he even touched it, a tremendous wind pressure rushed towards him, almost engulfing him entirely.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"It can generate such a large output, as expected of Unit-01... but it's still not enough." Misato Katsuragi nervously bit her fingernails. "That guy can use Instant Transmission, at this slow speed, we probably won't be able to hit him at all!"

……

"boom----!!!"

Alexander Cross activated the thrust system on his back once more, leaping into the air and using both hands and his body to catch the building crashing down on him. Even for him, catching it was somewhat difficult, and upon landing, he had to activate the thrust system to its maximum to counteract the impact of the 10 tons of material falling.

With a loud crash, Shandong Cross's feet retreated backward along the main road, sinking into the ground and leaving two scorched black tracks. Sparks flew as his heels scraped against the concrete, raising clouds of dust. His arms never relaxed for a second before he finally managed to stop the massive steel brick, which was as big as him.

"Huh? He took it?" The reality was so different from what was predicted that Misato Katsuragi was increasingly surprised. "Why is this happening... Is there some kind of limitation to his teleportation? Is it that he can't use it multiple times within a certain period of time?"

"Even so, couldn't you have used that kind of gamma ray to penetrate the building? Why take it with your body?"

"..." At this moment, Gendo Ikari said nothing, but sat down again, resting his chin on his hands, and once again revealed that unfathomable yet all-knowing smile. Although the battle situation remained unchanged, and although the existing technology was still absolutely backward, he regained his confidence of being in complete control.

Vice Commander Fuyutsuki had spent the most time with him and knew him best. Upon seeing that smile, he immediately understood what it meant and breathed a sigh of relief. "What, is it over already?"

“No… not quite. It’s just… there’s nothing to worry about.” Gendo Ikari said with amusement. “It’s not over yet.”

"It should be starting soon."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Not even close.

Using the smoke and dust they had managed to create as cover, Unit-01 sprinted forward, its right hand outstretched, just a hair's breadth away from Nobita in the air.

Faced with the two gamma-ray bursts that pierced through the smoke and dust and descended like divine judgment, he had no choice but to once again deploy the AT field in front of him.

"boom------!!"

Dust and light splattered.

"Wow, you're really strong... even though I'm still wearing the [Softball]." Nobita, wearing a [Superpower Hat], activated his X-ray vision and looked over to find the boy in the cockpit already unconscious. He couldn't help but wonder, "The pilots are sleeping, so how is this thing moving?"

"never mind……"

With a thought, Alexander Cross instantly teleported to the side of the Kusanagi Sword, grabbed the hilt, and then teleported behind Unit-01. In the instant before Unit-01 could deploy its AT Field, he casually thrust out the sword, piercing through Unit-01's shoulder blade. Using that as a fulcrum, he smoothly lifted Unit-01's entire body and slammed it to the ground like a chicken.

"Let's finish this quickly."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A blow comparable to an earthquake.

The entire Third New Tokyo City trembled three times. The slender fuselage of Unit-01 spun in the air before crashing to the ground, creating a crater hundreds of meters in diameter. Its impact was like a star falling to earth, and the shockwave shattered anything not particularly sturdy within a radius of a hundred miles into fragments.

"Clap!"

The connection between the underground and the surface was severed, and the screen went completely black.

Chapter 344: Only 14 Years Old, an Autistic Patient

The patter of raindrops on the tent was a novel experience for Shinji, a sense of security ingrained in his very being, as if he could cast aside all his unhappiness and frustration and drift off to sleep soundly. His last memory was of a tall, imposing, and overwhelmingly powerful robot. Despite having no desire to fight, Unit-01 moved on its own. After a couple of exchanges, the pain it transmitted was too real, and combined with the previous shocks, it caused him to black out and faint.

When he woke up again, he was lying in a cocoon-shaped sleeping bag. Despite this, he didn't feel restricted in his limbs. On the contrary, the sleeping bag wrapped him up tightly and was very warm, almost making him succumb to sleepiness. He closed his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep. If it weren't for his vigilance as a stranger in a strange place keeping him awake, he probably would have just turned his head to the side and fallen asleep again.

Judging from the fabric above and the shape of the building, it was no surprise that I was indeed in a tent.

The rain continued, indicating that the battle hadn't been over for long.

The entire city was eerily quiet; apart from the raindrops hitting the tents, not a single other sound could be heard. The Angel invasion, the mecha battle, the fierce fighting that engulfed the entire city… all of this seemed to have become part of a dream. If it weren't for the lingering phantom pain left by that towering mecha, Shinji would have truly wondered if this was just a dream triggered by his own over-nervousness.

"If I had won, I would at least be back with my father now, and maybe I would wake up looking at an unfamiliar ceiling... It seems I lost." Shinji quickly figured out the reason. Following this line of reasoning, he must have been captured by the enemy.

But, strangely enough.

Shinji was someone very sensitive to the atmosphere, as are many perceptive people; he could instinctively sense how a place treated him. In that vast underground command headquarters, his father, standing aloof and superior, and the adults standing to his side, casting cold glances at him, created a strong sense of rejection in him. From the very first second he stepped inside, he knew he didn't belong there and would never get what he wanted from it.

Despite being the "enemy" who had captured him, the air in this small tent made him feel more relaxed and at ease than at his father's place.

It also has a hint of the bitter aroma of coffee.

"You're awake?"

A bespectacled boy was sitting not far away, with a small iron bucket set up, inside which was boiling coffee.

His voice was gentle and friendly, capable of effortlessly disarming anyone. Looking at his face, which seemed somewhat dazed, Shinji couldn't reconcile him with the giant robot he had just fought.

"Hello, Shinji." He tidied himself up, scooped a full cup of hot coffee with a spoon, walked to Shinji's sleeping bag, placed it next to his head, and said with a smile, "I'm Nobita Nobi."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"what……"

The warm coffee went down his throat, releasing a warm current in his stomach, and his stiff limbs seemed to revive as well. After the neural link with Unit-01, Shinji felt that his senses had become much more sensitive. The bitter aroma of the coffee bloomed on his tongue, and together with the incessant sound of rain outside the tent, it was an unforgettable experience that made him completely relax.

"Do you know me?"

“For safety reasons, I searched you.” Nobita didn’t hide anything, taking Shinji’s NRVE special operations permit out of his pocket and waving it between two fingers. “I was mainly worried that you had just woken up and were not clear about the situation. If you had a weapon on you, you might hurt yourself.”

"How could that be..." Shinji took the ID from his hand and looked at his own image on it. When he first received this mission, he actually had a little bit of anticipation, thinking that he was doing something so great and irreplaceable. He couldn't help but laugh. "Forget about the gun, they didn't tell me anything at all. I saw that giant robot called EVA for the first time today."

The subtext is "I know nothing about it"...

Nobita instinctively felt that this timid boy's thoughts might be much deeper than they appeared.

However, given that one is in a completely unfamiliar environment, it is understandable to maintain a certain level of vigilance.

"Is it normal for children to fight here?" Nobita observed the boy in front of him without showing any emotion. "You are too, and that girl is too, both only 14 years old. Isn't it a bit too early for them to shoulder the responsibility of saving the world at this age?"

"That girl?" Shinji was more interested in the other person he was referring to. "Among those piloting EVAs in battle, I'm probably the only one, right?"

"After you, another similar robot came out, seemingly intending to support you. It attacked me, and I had no choice but to temporarily knock it down... The pilot I pulled out of that capsule-like cockpit, like you, was a 14-year-old girl with blue hair, currently unconscious and severely injured."

Nobita's tone was tinged with guilt, even though none of this was his intention, and Rei Ayanami's injuries were present before their battle. But that was just his personality; his empathy was too strong, making him easily feel pity and compassion for the weak.

Objectively speaking, the battle with him indirectly caused these unhealed old wounds to reopen, aggravating the injuries.

"That child is..."

Recalling that scene at the operations center, Shinji vaguely sensed that he could never forget the girl who was pushed out despite her severe injuries. To a large extent, his initial motivation for boarding Unit-01 was to prevent this girl, who seemed on the verge of death, from being sent to her death.

"Want to come and see?"

Noticing a hint of reluctance in Shinji's eyes, Nobita secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and pulled back the curtain separating the center of the tent.

On the other side of the curtain, there was a large, spacious bed. Regardless of one's stance, making a sick person sleep in a sleeping bag was simply inhumane. Rei Ayanami lay there quietly, breathing evenly as if asleep, the bandages around her eyes removed. Her complexion was rosy, and her breathing was steady; she didn't look injured at all.

“How could this be? I remember when I saw her before, she was wrapped in bandages all over, and her eyes seemed to be injured too.” Realizing that this must be his father’s doing, Shinji’s tone was first incredulous, then he frowned and became disgusted. “She’s injured like this, and he still forces her to go to the battlefield. That guy… he’s still the same as before, he hasn’t changed at all.”

"Who is that guy?"

“My father.” Shinji sighed, his brows furrowing tightly. He had become extremely sparing with words when it came to his father, unwilling to utter a single extra word. He simply gulped down large mouthfuls of coffee, as if trying to use the palatable bitterness to dilute the bitterness that was fermenting within him.

The mechs of Unit-01 and Unit-00 stood outside the tent, one on the left and one on the right, silently watching over each other, like two loyal guards.

The pattering rain continued unabated, striking the tent and creating a relaxing, harmonious melody.

"The psychological problems seem quite serious, much more difficult to deal with than those I've encountered before..."

In just a few moments, Da Xiong vaguely sensed the dark side of the boy's heart. Instead of digging deeper, he took out a steaming hot lunchbox from his pocket and handed it to him, saying with a smile, "No matter what, eat something first."

Chapter 345: The Most Difficult Episode of Night Talk

The moment she woke up, Rei Ayanami didn't hesitate and immediately threw off the covers.

She was still wearing the special combat suit she used to pilot the EVA, unchanged. What truly amazed her was the spontaneous healing of all her injuries. Previously, due to difficulties with the neural connection during her test piloting Unit-00, she had experienced brief, uncontrollable berserk episodes. When the cockpit ejected, it slammed into the inner wall of the experimental site, causing Rei Ayanami to be severely injured—a broken rib, and countless internal and external injuries all over her body.

Gendo Ikari intentionally used this design, deliberately showing it off in front of his son, Shinji, to basically tell him—look, if you don't pilot the EVA, this half-dead little girl will be left to die. If anything happens to her, it's all your responsibility.

It's pure moral blackmail, but Shinji falls for it.

And now… she moved her body slightly, feeling unusually light. It seemed she had slept on this bed for a long time, feeling refreshed and full of energy. Gently lifting the curtain in front of her, she saw the entire simple tent. Shinji was lying in his sleeping bag, fast asleep, completely unaware of her movement as she got up.

To be able to sleep so soundly in enemy territory, how carefree! She couldn't help but think to herself.

Without a word, she walked past the sleeping Shinji, lifted the tent flap, and found the night colder than she had imagined, causing Rei Ayanami, who had just been in a warm bed, to shiver. She then realized that she was only wearing a thin, barely-there pilot's suit.

The city outside the tent was quiet, seemingly still in a state of war, with a thick fog rising. Shinji's Unit-06 and his own Unit-00 stood quietly in the fog, motionless, contrasting with the tall buildings in the distance and creating a somewhat eerie scene—the concrete jungle in the distance and the EVA in the foreground, both created by humans, yet so different.

The line between order and destruction seems to be very thin.

"how so……"

Somewhat incredulous, she crouched down and gently touched the already narrow road surface. It was made of asphalt, its fine granular texture unchanged from before, and even the traffic signs painted on it were identical to what she remembered.

However, in her memory, this main road had already been destroyed during the battle. Unit-01 was slammed over the shoulder by that tall, steel armor, landing precisely on this road, instantly smashing it to pieces. Looking around again, the skyscrapers in the fog had all returned to their original state, even back to their state before the Angel's attack, as if time had reversed.

"You're awake too?"

The sudden sound made her instinctively assume a fighting stance, lowering her body and arching her back, like a wildcat ready to pounce at any moment. Looking towards the source of the sound, she saw a bespectacled boy sitting there, pen in hand, seemingly writing a letter to someone. Seeing her, the boy put away his pen and paper, smiling and waving at her.

The steel giant that had defeated both Unit-00 and Unit-01 stood quietly behind him, like an immovable mountain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.