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

Chapter 188 End

Upon seeing the familiar face of the newcomer, Gendo Ikari's face drained of all color, turning so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

In that accident that should have been a certain death, Zhang Qi actually survived and appeared here in such a bizarre way, which must mean there's something seriously wrong.

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and years of experience made him abandon all unrealistic fantasies.

Without the slightest hesitation or a single unnecessary word, Gendo Ikari abruptly drew the specially made small-caliber pistol from his waist.

Muscle memory drives the arm, instantly completing the aiming and firing, with fluid and seamless movements.

"boom!"

The crisp sound of a gunshot echoed in the empty, deathly silence of the Ultimate Doctrine. The bullet tore through the air, carrying a swirling current, heading straight for Zhang Qi's forehead.

However, the expected scene of blood splattering did not occur.

Just before the bullet was about to hit its target, an orange halo appeared out of thin air, and a hexagonal energy barrier precisely blocked the bullet's trajectory.

This is the AT Field, known for its absolute defense!

The bullet struck it, its kinetic energy instantly dissipated, and it fell helplessly to the ground with a clinking sound.

At the same time, behind Zhang Qi, in that distorted imaginary space, a blue regular octahedron appeared, which was a copy of the Thunder Angel.

The cube's tip shone with a blinding light, energy highly concentrated. The next moment, a blazing high-energy ion beam burst forth, striking Gendo Ikari's right arm, which was holding the gun, with speed beyond visual perception.

There was no explosion, no screams.

There was only a sickening "sizzle" sound.

The high temperature of the ion beam instantly vaporized flesh, bones, and even metal, causing Gendo Ikari's entire right arm to vanish from his shoulder.

The wound was deeply carbonized the moment his arm was lost; the black wound resembled charcoal, preventing the gushing of blood and sealing off all his pain receptors.

In the face of this dramatic change, Gendo Ikari lost his balance and collapsed heavily to the ground. His eyes behind his glasses were fixed on Zhang Qi, filled with a mixture of physical tremors from the excruciating pain, astonishment at the complete loss of control over his plans, and incomprehensible horror.

"What...what exactly do you want to do?!"

He growled hoarsely, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

He couldn't understand it, much less accept it.

The power Zhang Qi is displaying at this moment has completely transcended the realm of "humanity".

"It's very simple, just for world peace."

Zhang Qi's gaze passed over Gendo Ikari, who was slumped on the ground, and landed on the white giant Lilith, who was nailed to a huge cross. His tone carried an undisguised regret:

"Isn't it a bit of a waste to only use such technology in weapons?"

"Ha~"

"Impossible... Human greed is endless, and you should know that better than anyone else."

Upon hearing the words "world peace," Gendo Ikari chuckled softly, as if he had heard the funniest joke of the century.

He was panting, supporting himself on the ground with his only remaining left hand, and raised his head, his gaze behind his glasses sharp as a knife:

"The reason why the United Nations would directly target us is because we NERV possess a power called EVA."

When the Apostles, who were the external enemy, disappeared, they immediately turned their attention to NERV and began to divide the spoils. That's just human nature..."

With the Angels as a common enemy, humanity was able to concentrate its resources to build EVAs to fight against them.

But once the external enemies are eliminated, this power, capable of killing gods, becomes a poisoned apple coveted by everyone.

As is the case now, history has proven countless times that humans are indeed such creatures.

The world can never be at peace...

"That's right..."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Qi nodded, completely confirming Gendo Ikari's desperate speculation.

Then, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers in the air.

The command was given. The EVA Unit-02, which had been standing silently, slowly released the enormous hand that had been gripping Kaworu Nagisa. The silver-haired boy landed lightly from the palm, his feet firmly planted on the surface of the LCL sea, the crimson liquid not even wetting the soles of his shoes.

"Remember your promise..."

Kaworu turned around and gave Zhang Qi a deep look with her ruby-like eyes.

After saying that, he turned around and walked step by step toward the white giant nailed to the cross.

"You...you're trying to trigger the Third Impact?! And with Adam at its core?!"

Upon seeing this, Gendo Ikari's expression froze completely, replaced by an unprecedented fear that even overwhelmed the excruciating pain of his severed arm and the failure of his plan.

His voice had completely changed.

Kaworu Nagisa, who is the vessel of Adam's soul, is to come into contact with Lilith's true form. With Rei Ayanami, who is the vessel of Lilith's soul, absent, this forbidden fusion will ultimately be led by Adam, who represents the apostles!

That would be a true Third Impact aimed at destroying all of humanity!
"No,"

Zhang Qi shook his head, his gaze calmly fixed on the retreating figure walking towards the deity, correcting Gendo Ikari's mistake.
"I was the one who spearheaded the third wave."

The moment the words fell, Kaworu's body merged into Lilith's enormous white form, like a drop of water flowing into the ocean, causing no ripples but triggering a qualitative change.

Having obtained Adam's soul and the complete S2 mechanism, the sleeping god has finally gained the power to awaken.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield outside NERV headquarters, the nine white mass-produced EVAs that were wreaking havoc suddenly stopped.

They seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, their ferocious heads turning toward the ground in unison, their empty eyes seemingly worshipping something.

The next moment, the whole world began to shake violently.

The earth groaned under the weight of the burden, and massive rifts spread out from beneath NERV headquarters, from which crimson LCL springs gushed forth.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of light pierced through the heavens and the earth rose from the ground, and a huge humanoid figure radiating a soft light slowly emerged from it and rose into the sky.

In a secret conference room on the other side of the world, the rulers of SEELE watched this scene through satellite images and could no longer contain their ecstatic joy and excitement.

"It's starting...it's finally starting!"

"We succeeded! The Human Instrumentality Project, our long-cherished dream!"

They whispered excitedly, their murky eyes gleaming with greed.

In their view, this was a sign of the plan's success.

Soon, they will abandon the weak and ugly human body, merge all human souls into one, and become the eternal, unique, and perfect ultimate beings.

Within the ultimate dogma, Gendo Ikari gazed up at the enormous light and shadow that tore through the dome and continued to rise, a bone-chilling cold spreading from the depths of his spine to every part of his body.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

He questioned again, but his voice was now only trembling with helplessness.

He was now certain that Zhang Qi's goal was definitely not SEELE's foolish Human Instrumentality project.

So why did the other side initiate the third attack?
Zhang Qi raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of rock walls, meeting the gaze of the giant of light in the sky.

"If we want humanity to truly unite, we must break down the existing barriers."

Therefore, a trial is needed...

"To bring down trials for humanity?"

Gendo Ikari muttered to himself, his pupils behind his glasses contracting to their maximum size.

"Have you...placed yourself in God's shoes?"

His words dissipated amidst the increasingly violent tremors.

Above the sky, the giant of light had completely ascended into the clouds, with nine white mass-produced machines clustered around her like loyal satellites.

They spread their wings of light and, with the giant of light at its core, drew an incomparably huge, intricate, and sacred pattern against the dark sky.

That's a diagram of the Kabbalah Tree of Life...

(End of this chapter)