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

Chapter 155 EVA Upgrade Plan
NERV headquarters, the seventh quarantine zone, located deep underground.

The air here is filled with the strong smell of disinfectant, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible, sweet, fishy smell that seems to come from the deep sea—pungent and eerie.

Above the enormous dome, rows of shadowless lamps cast cold, blinding light, illuminating everything below in minute detail.

In the center of this vast space, which was submerged in white light, a broken, enormous body lay silently.

Those were the remains of the Third Apostle, the "Water Angel".

Its core has been removed, and its once smooth, obsidian-like surface is now covered with gruesome wounds left from the battle, and its dark purple bodily fluids have long since solidified.

Dozens of large robotic arms hovered above its body, with high-pressure water jets and chainsaws working alternately, emitting a piercing hum, dissecting this once invincible "messenger of the gods" layer by layer.

Scientists in white lab coats, like worker ants, scurried back and forth beside the enormous carcass, collecting every tissue sample and recording massive amounts of data.

Misato Katsuragi stood on the high observation corridor, her hands in the pockets of her officer's uniform, looking down at this shocking scene through the thick bulletproof glass.

"Is this what our enemy is? It actually looks quite spectacular..."

She looked down at the apostle being dismantled bit by bit, her tone a mixture of amazement and a lingering sense of solemnity.

Even a corpse, with its unimaginable biological structure, still exudes a chilling sense of oppression.

"While it is called an enemy, from the perspective of genetic sequence, it has a 99.8% similarity to us humans."

Ritsuko Akagi held a steaming cup of coffee, the wisps of white steam blurring her eyes behind her glasses.

She didn't look down at the remains of the apostles, but stared at the rapidly scrolling DNA comparison data on the terminal screen.

"So, the Apostles are just enlarged versions of humans?"

Misato Katsuragi raised an eyebrow, turned to look at her old friend, and a hint of curiosity appeared on her face.
"Where does their energy come from? It can't be from a structure similar to mitochondria in our cells, can it?"

Although she was joking, her question hit the nail on the head.

If the apostles' construction principles are similar to those of humans, then even if they were scaled up proportionally, they could never unleash the terrifying power to withstand an N2 landmine.

The energy consumption required to drive such a massive body in high-intensity combat must be astronomical.

"In a sense, you're not wrong."

"However, the 'mitochondria' that the apostles use to obtain energy are far more efficient than those of us humans."

Zhang Qi's voice came from the other side.

Every power has its source and operating method, and energy cannot be generated out of thin air. Whether it is an apostle, magic, or Qi, they all follow this principle.

The Apostle possesses a highly efficient bioenergy system far exceeding current human understanding, namely the S2 mechanism...

"Hey?"

Misato Katsuragi blinked in surprise, not expecting that her casual joke had actually guessed the direction correctly.

"By the way, the thing you commissioned to be manufactured through the German branch has arrived."

Is it really necessary... to install that 'arc reactor' system on the EVA?

Just then, Ritsuko Akagi suddenly raised her head, shifted her gaze from the screen, and turned to Zhang Qi.

As she spoke, she picked up a document marked "Top Secret" from the table next to her and handed it over.

"Arc Reactor?"

"How could something that big fit inside EVA?"

Misato Katsuragi was taken aback by his words, and the image of the enormous circular device beneath Tokyo-3 instantly flashed into her mind.
She suddenly realized that Zhang Qi was not only a top biologist, but also a world-class nuclear physicist.

Several years ago, he oversaw the construction of the first Ark Reactor, which was used to supply energy to the entire Third New Tokyo City.

But she remembered very clearly that the thing was unusually large.

"Of course it's not the original version..."

Zhang Qi took the document, flipped through it casually, and explained,

"It is a miniaturized product that has undergone extreme optimization."

After speaking, he looked at Ritsuko Akagi, his tone leaving no room for argument:

"Yes, and it's absolutely necessary." "But... EVA is essentially a biological weapon!"

Ritsuko Akagi couldn't help but frown. She pushed up her glasses, looking somewhat puzzled.

EVA is essentially a biological entity with internal and external power sources, primarily used to maintain auxiliary functions such as the insertion thimble system and neural connection synchronization rate, rather than being the energy source for the EVA's own movement.

Like humans, EVAs rely on the feeding and consumption of living organisms for their activities, so after each sortie, EVAs must be soaked in a high-concentration LCL solution.

"Even if we replace the built-in battery with a fusion reactor, we cannot fundamentally improve EVA's mobility."

It's like putting a pacemaker in a hungry person's heart; they still can't run.

Even when EVA's biological functions reach their limit, it will still stop moving due to 'hunger'.

Moreover, when fighting enemies of the Angel's caliber, placing a fusion reactor inside an EVA would have unimaginable consequences if it were hit!

Ritsuko Akagi was somewhat puzzled.

"Ah……"

"Who said this system is only for maintaining the insertion plug?"

Zhang Qi let out a meaningful chuckle and walked to the main control panel.

Fingers flew across the virtual keyboard.

Soon, a complex internal structure design diagram appeared on the computer screen.

Ritsuko Akagi stared intently, her pupils suddenly contracting.

"This is... a weapon system... You want to equip EVA with this kind of weapon?"

She instantly remembered that Zhang Qi had mentioned this plan to her a long time ago.

Due to EVA's biological nature, its weapons have always been mainly enlarged versions of conventional gunpowder weapons and melee weapons such as high-vibration particle blades.

The former has limited power, while the latter is limited by the range and power of its internal battery.

"Yes."

A confident smile curved Zhang Qi's lips.

"This is the next modification plan for EVA - to power a brand-new weapon system by incorporating a small arc reactor."

As he spoke, he demonstrated on the blueprints.

The energy core in the picture outputs its surging energy directly to a universal interface on the EVA's hand through several thick conductive lines.

Through this universal interface, EVA will be able to power terrifying weapons that were previously impossible to implement due to energy consumption issues.

The production sequence diagram clearly marks two basic pieces of equipment: an electromagnetic railgun and a high-frequency katana.

When will the renovation begin?

Misato Katsuragi's eyes lit up, and she almost blurted it out.

As a commander of strategy and tactics, she understood better than anyone what these two things meant.

Electromagnetic guns, being purely kinetic energy weapons, possess penetration power and range far exceeding all existing gunpowder weapons, making them a formidable weapon against the Apostles.

The high-frequency series of cold weapons are undoubtedly more valuable in actual combat.

The original high-vibration particle dagger, due to energy issues, not only had its vibration frequency limited, but its continuous combat time was also pitifully short.

However, once the energy problem is solved, it means that large high-frequency weapons such as samurai swords and spears can be manufactured, giving EVA a qualitative leap in close combat capabilities!
"I commissioned Germany to carry out the modification of Unit 2 several months ago."

Zhang Qi's answer once again shocked the two people present.

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and calmly looked at Ritsuko Akagi.

"As for Unit-01 and Unit-00..."

Ritsuko Akagi took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. She adjusted her glasses and began to speak.

"Understood, I will arrange it immediately."

(End of this chapter)