Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Unit-01 during the Spirit Awakening Era

That day, Nagase Nagase was outside the door laughing and ignoring Danma Ryuji's advice. He insisted on going in to see the two girls' embarrassing state. In short, the women made such a ruckus that even Shinji Ikari, who was in the woodshed, could hear them.

"I require a third person to be present, otherwise I'm worried about my personal safety." Shinji Ikari sighed. Although this person wasn't really a pervert, and the so-called date was just taking Shinji to see the fields he cultivated, it did greatly change Shinji's introverted tendencies. It can be said that he and Misato Katsuragi gave Shinji the biggest change, giving him real courage, and even, in a sense, filling the gap in Shinji's lack of a parental concept.

Shinji Ikari's agreement delighted Ryoji Kaji. The current Shinji was no longer the submissive character from the original anime, whose only value was as an EVA pilot. As someone who monitored Shinji's physical condition daily, NERV understood better than any other organization that the S-class potential the Countermeasures Bureau spoke of was gradually being realized in Shinji. Therefore, if Shinji said no, no one could stop him.

“Then it’s settled!” Kaji Ryoji didn’t waste any more words. “You and this Ms. Isayama Mei?”

“No, let’s switch to Misato. Mei doesn’t want to be with you at all.” Shinji Ikari glanced at Mei Isayama, who rolled her eyes and tilted her head. As a teammate, Shinji Ikari should have asked her to go, that was the bare minimum, but clearly she didn’t really want to go, so Shinji simply switched her to Misato Katsuragi.

"Uh, why Misato? Why not Ritsuko?" Kaji Ryoji felt a chill run down his spine. Shinji Ikari had caused so much trouble that he was constantly reporting to SEELE and was so busy that he didn't have time to flirt with his ex-girlfriend.

"It'll be a critical hit for you, and it'll also give you two, who still have feelings for each other, a chance." Shinji Ikari laughed and waved his hand. "I'll go to Tomi's place to reserve a table. Is that okay the day after tomorrow? We'll meet at McDonald's. I have a reserved seat there."

"You've got a lot of face, but why go to McDonald's? Can you even eat that much?" Kaji Ryoji looked at Shinji Ikari with a strange expression.

"He ran off after the McDonald's meeting. RistoranteF belongs to you and Misato, Ryoji, good luck." Akagi Ritsuko's words were full of laughter. Although Kaji Ryoji had a strong connection with SEELE, it wasn't entirely that simple. In her conversations with Kaji Ryoji, Akagi Ritsuko keenly realized that Kaji Ryoji wasn't simply loyal to SEELE; he was truly a complex man.

"He's a considerate boy, no wonder he's so popular!" Shinji Ikari's decision surprised Ryoji Kaji, but thinking about it, it seemed like a very good thing. The research being pushed forward at NERV headquarters was giving him a headache. Just understanding these projects and then reporting them was already giving him a huge headache. Since arriving at NERV headquarters, writing reports had been a nightmare, so he had no time to flirt with girls. The only business interaction he could have was with Ritsuko Akagi.

"Yes, due to some special circumstances, the egg that seemed stable suddenly started showing drastic changes in its indicators at night." After Kaji Ryoji left, Akagi Ritsuko said to Isayama Mei, "If there are no unexpected events, we have communicated with the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang), and the specialist they sent measured it and reached the same conclusion as us."

"We need to open the egg, right?" Mei Isayama took a deep breath. When she bought the egg from Nekobozu, she already knew that the egg's life force had been exhausted. Although the Angel's blood could indeed replenish the egg's life force, the Angel's blood was not inexhaustible. Although many methods were used to preserve it, the Angel's blood in NERV's possession could not be preserved indefinitely.

"Yes, but the result might not be very good." Ritsuko Akagi sighed. How could such a good biological sample be ruined? Ritsuko Akagi felt a sense of loss.

“I understand. I was prepared from the beginning! At most…” Mei Isayama looked distressed, “ten million yen has gone down the drain, sigh.”

“…Perhaps not.” Shinji Ikari took a deep breath. “Your naginata might not be able to withstand it. However…”

"But what? Speak like a human being!" Shinji Ikari's stammering annoyed Mei Isayama. Couldn't you just speak properly?

"Do you remember the Killing Stone we stole before?" Shinji Ikari touched his face. Theoretically, there was indeed some possibility of it being possible.

"Didn't you give that Killing Stone to your sister?" Shinji Ikari's words immediately brought back many memories for Mei Isayama. "However... it does seem to be a method, at least it can preserve its spirit after its physical body is destroyed... ptooey... it's not dead yet!" Mei Isayama punched Shinji Ikari.

"Good deeds don't always get rewarded!"

Chapter 172 Alarm

"Baby...you've suffered so much!" Isayama Mei hugged her egg tightly, rubbing against it with overwhelming tenderness, unsure whether she was heartbroken for the egg itself or for the ten million yen she'd spent on it. Akagi Ritsuko led them deep into the theoretically core, confidential research department of NERV.

“Imagine…” Shinji Ikari looked at Mei Isayama, who was holding a mysterious egg that clearly showed signs of weakening life force, and muttered to himself. Mei looked like a mother seeing her long-lost son who had lost weight. This pained expression made Shinji feel disgusted. Shinji took a step to the side and moved closer to Ritsuko Akagi. “There are cameras, right?”

“Of course we do.” Ritsuko Akagi blinked. Why would they need to check the surveillance footage? But as their most important research project, they certainly had a complete set of high-definition surveillance cameras with no blind spots, in order to observe all possible events at any time. The signs of decay in Mei Isayama’s egg were also discovered through the comparison of photos and data every three days recently.

"Okay, send me a picture of Mei looking silly in a bit. I want to use it to make fun of her." Shinji Ikari nodded and said seriously, "I can just ask Maya, right?"

“…Shinji-kun, being so childish will get you beaten up.” Ritsuko Akagi sighed. Had she been too positive in her impression of Shinji Ikari? Cheerful, confident, talkative, and occasionally flashing with brilliant insight. Or had she unknowingly forgotten that Shinji was still just a kid…

"I am Shinji Ikari, a middle school student!" Shinji Ikari said shamelessly, not caring at all about Ritsuko Akagi's conflicted gaze. "Playing pranks on your best friends is what you should do, right? I don't believe you didn't prank Misato Katsuragi and that pervert in college."

"Shinji, come here!" While arguing with Ritsuko Akagi, Misato Katsuragi came over, grabbed Shinji Ikari, and dragged him forcefully to the side.

"...Could they add up to the age of an elementary school student?" Ritsuko Akagi sighed. Yes, she had been young once too, and it seemed normal for a middle school student to do these things. And looking at Misato Katsuragi, with her eccentric behavior, had she really changed at all since college? The only change might be in how she did things... no, Misato hadn't changed at all since college; she was still the same woman who would act recklessly on a whim! Ritsuko Akagi covered her face, feeling that being a normal person was so difficult.

"What's wrong with you? You're just taking me to the restaurant, why do you have to bring a third wheel?!" Katsuragi Misato shouted. Kaji Ryoji, who had just followed her in, gave a wry smile. Then all the technicians in the lab had gossipy expressions, like, "Oh, I see!" However, under Akagi Ritsuko's glare, they quickly returned to their workstations and stopped gossiping.

"Why are you angry?" Shinji Ikari scratched his head. It really was a headache. He glanced at Ryoji Kaji behind him and said, "You handle your own business."

However, Kaji Ryoji gave a mature smile, then waved to Shinji Ikari, turned around and walked to the experimental table to observe the data.

"What do you think?!" Misato Katsuragi turned Shinji Ikari's head back, and Shinji rolled his eyes... How was he supposed to say that? "So much trouble at such a young age."

"Ha... alright, alright, then let's switch to the two of us?" Shinji Ikari smiled at Misato Katsuragi, pretending to pull out his phone.

Misato Katsuragi snorted coldly, turned her head away, leaving Shinji Ikari with only the back of her head, clearly not in a good mood! Although she was annoyed that Shinji Ikari was meddling in her affairs, she was also conflicted. Her complicated feelings led her to angrily rush over to find them after learning from Ryoji Kaji.

"So I still want to go." Shinji Ikari's mischievous smile was almost impossible to hide. No wonder they were the same couple who quickly got together after Kaji Ryoji joined NERV, whether in the movie or the TV series. Their entanglement was so obvious that their lingering feelings were practically written all over their faces.

"Beep~ Emergency communication from the US military base in Guam. They encountered what appears to be aliens?... Uh, communication has been cut off. Please, Operations Chief Misato Katsuragi and Research Chief Ritsuko Akagi, proceed to the command post immediately." Shigeru Aoki's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"I'm going to my room to change my clothes and then head to my combat readiness duty. What about Mei Isayama?" NERV, in the end, is not a special armed organization established to fight against the Angels, but rather to establish an armed separatist regime in Japan. In fact, there are quite a few such unexpected events, a few times every month.

However, the vast majority of these were false alarms due to special circumstances, not actual attacks by Angels. After all, there are many large creatures in this world, including the giant sea monsters that were directly blasted apart by the Water Angels. Therefore, when anything seems amiss, it's necessary to summon Misato Katsuragi, who is in charge of combat, and Ritsuko Akagi, who is in charge of research, to the command center for a comprehensive analysis and to decide on the appropriate response based on the situation.

At this point, according to the so-called rules and regulations, NERV needed to have at least one EVA on standby, just in case. Shinji Ikari was in NERV, so it was impossible for him to send someone to his house to call Rei Ayanami, who should have just finished taking a bath and was being forced to do her homework by Nagase Nagase with Reimi Kanzaki, who had run away from home.

Of course, the one being forced to do homework here is Kanzaki Reimi. Although Nagase Nagisa may not be as smart as Kanzaki Reimi, with her long hair flowing and personality switching, Kanzaki Reimi would definitely be no match for Yasha. The second female lead of the biker gang is not someone that a high school girl can handle. Botox won't fool Yasha.

“Okay!” Misato Katsuragi nodded. “Either put your friend in the lounge or in your room. Don’t let her wander around.” Although Mei Isayama is not a NERV employee due to special circumstances, she can still roam freely within NERV. However, during battle, Mei Isayama cannot wander around.

“I will tell her.” Shinji Ikari nodded, not seeming to be in a hurry. Although in the anime, when the Angels appeared, they were all already in NERV’s Third New Tokyo City, in reality, such a large thing would be observed very early on Earth. And in most cases, the Angels’ movement speed was not particularly terrifying, so tracking them was not too troublesome.

"Lead the way. I'm not going to that room of yours that looks like a solitary confinement cell. Lead the way to the rest room. Anyway, we can't just open the egg today. We still have to wait for the Onmyo Bureau's inspection. Consider the method you mentioned as a final backup plan." Izayama Mei had also played with the egg and finished communicating with it. She should have been satisfied and started to return, but now it seemed she might need to stay here for a while. However, she could rest in her small shop that she had just finished tidying up anyway. It didn't matter where she rested.

"..." Seeing the room suddenly fall silent, leaving only himself and a group of researchers, Kaji Ryoji walked directly to the egg, touched its shell, frowned, and felt nothing. He looked at one of the researchers beside him, "Is the thing inside almost dead?"

"This is a photo from a week ago." The researcher pulled up a picture on his tablet. "The Apostle's blood is almost used up. But according to the minister's calculations, even if there were enough blood, it wouldn't be enough. It was discovered too late, and it has already suffered organic damage." The researcher said with great regret. This was the first known powerful being they had encountered, but it seemed to have reached the end of its life before they could even do anything about it. This made all the members of the research department feel very bad.

"Mountain God Festival..." After reciting the origin of the egg, Kaji Ryoji revealed a very interested smile. However, now was not the time to worry about that. The question he wanted to know most, and the question that many people wanted to know most, remained the same: how much combat power did Unit-01 still have under Shinji Ikari's influence? And whether SEELE and Gendo Ikari were still maintaining good control over NERV? "You guys are busy. I need to go prepare some gifts for my date with the beautiful girl."

"Just now, the radio said there are aliens? There really are aliens?" Mei Isayama tilted his head and looked at Shinji Ikari.

"Whether it's aliens or not, I don't know. It's probably just something that looks like an alien or an alien spaceship." Shinji Ikari sighed. This damned world has become so unreliable. Even if Godzilla landed in Japan or Ultraman came to visit, Shinji would just think, "Ah, nothing special."

"Why are you so indifferent to kindness?" Shinji Ikari's answer was somewhat lukewarm, which annoyed Mei Isayama. Who was he trying to impress with that old-fashioned act?

“I went to sea before.” Shinji Ikari took a deep breath and decided to give Mei Isayama some of the truth.

"Hmm, I know." Mei Isayama nodded. "You seem to have caused quite a stir. The large transport plane carrying Unit-01 has been deployed." Mei Isayama saw the huge transport plane flying over his head; it really made quite a commotion.

"That time, I fought two things." Shinji Ikari took a deep breath. That time, he had really drunk too much in one go. In the past few days, Misato Katsuragi had dragged him out to laugh at him for drunk driving, crashing his car, and having a hangover.

“One is an Angel, and the other is…” Mei Isayama immediately realized that there was something that EVA needed to deal with.

"In a sense, it is a kind of biological weapon, about the same size as EVA."

"Hiss, is it man-made?"

"Yes, and the other person's blood is blue."

"..."

Chapter 173 Thunder Angel

"Every time I wear this combat suit, it makes me uncomfortable for days." Shinji Ikari pressed a button on his wrist, and the combat suit automatically deflated and compressed, achieving a perfect fit. He moved his limbs to make sure it was properly fitted and that there was nothing that would hinder his movement.

After taking Mei Isayama to the nearest rest room, Shinji Ikari went to his room to get his combat suit and changed into it. However, the suit felt like it had thorns on it, making him very uncomfortable.

"Stop complaining. The monitoring data from the combat suit has been received, and all the data is very good." Ritsuko Akagi glanced at the data feedback on Shinji Ikari's combat suit and nodded. The young man is getting stronger and stronger. Looking at the various data, it's completely different from when Shinji Ikari first arrived, when Ritsuko Akagi thought he was about to die at any moment. It's true that having a girlfriend who can cook makes a difference.

"So what's going on now? The US military in Guam has been wiped out?" Shinji Ikari put on two headphones that were obviously only making him look silly, his eyes showing a hint of death.

The same item, when worn by Asuka, adds a touch of cuteness to her heroic spirit. When worn by Rei Ayanami, it adds a touch of charming sweetness to her cool goddess image. But when worn by Shinji Ikari, it only makes him look stupid…

With a sigh, Shinji Ikari heard Misato Katsuragi begin her report, "Currently, all communications at the Guam base have been cut off. Satellite images show that all buildings at the entire pipeline base have been vaporized?" Misato Katsuragi

"Wow~" Shinji Ikari exclaimed with an "excited!" expression. "How much combat power does the US military have left on the Japanese mainland?" Leaving aside warships, what about large-scale technological equipment like fighter jets and tanks? Which of these can be acquired simply by chance? The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has lost more than one division at a time. How many of its divisions possess heavy equipment? Can it withstand such attrition?! If it weren't for the existence of Tokyo Jupiter, which has kept the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force strengthening its equipment, those two so-called armored divisions in Hokkaido would have been wiped out long ago.

"Because the UN escort fleet suffered heavy losses this time, in a sense, the number of US fleets in Japan has actually increased. The Americans have urgently reinforced Japan with two Marine Corps brigades." Misato Katsuragi said this with a mocking expression. Dealing with Angels requires Marines? What nonsense! It's clearly because the ratio of US troops to Japanese Self-Defense Forces stationed in Japan has decreased, indicating a loosening of control, that they're tightening the leash.

Shinji Ikari was unaware, but Misato Katsuragi was. NERV's intelligence department had already obtained some information. The Self-Defense Forces had many ideas, and some of them were indeed closely related to NERV, such as: "NERV is not a citizen" and "NERV's existence is a disgrace to Japan!"

The reason is very simple, as mentioned before. NERV is in fact an armed separatist regime in Japan, devouring a huge amount of Japanese wealth, yet it ignores the Japanese government and acts quite recklessly, which is extremely dangerous.

Moreover, TERRA, also a UN agency, serves as the best comparison. After all, the relatively smaller TERRA is more acceptable to them than NERV. So this idea quickly took shape and became a "consensus" among these groups. This made NERV, which was originally just enjoying the "love-hate relationship between owner and dog," suddenly realize, "Oh no, I've become a target!"

Under such circumstances, the intelligence department naturally had no choice but to increase its resource investment. However, perhaps due to the lingering tradition, the foolish members of the Ground Self-Defense Force had not changed their tradition of "loudly plotting" after a couple of drinks. The amount of intelligence they had made the NERV intelligence department wonder if the Ground Self-Defense Force was just teasing them.

All of this is due to the fact that, in order to deal with the Tokyo Jupiter invaders who almost instantly crushed the Self-Defense Forces, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been fully engaged in military expansion and preparation for war in recent years. As their strength has increased, these ideas have naturally arisen. Some organizations, seemingly pursuing the integrity of sovereignty, have been established rapidly, and they even have naval, land, and air forces.

This isn't some silly bunch of fools watching Gihren Zabi's speech in the screening room and shouting "ZICKZION!" (an anecdote from back then, its veracity unknown). It's a genuine group of people with military power, dissatisfied with the status quo, who want to stir things up. Unfortunately, they currently lack an opportunity and are still being kept on a leash by their "father" and tightly controlled by the civil officials.

Such an incident naturally aroused the vigilance of the United States. Although Japan seems to have been making a lot of trouble with a certain major power across the sea in recent years, to be fair, when it breaks free of its leash, who knows who it might have to go head-to-head with? Of course, it seems that the biggest target at present is still none other than NERV.

Therefore, NERV is actually a beneficiary of this US troop surge, and naturally won't cause trouble for the US military or do anything unnecessary. Misato Katsuragi's strange laughter is more a response to this damned Japanese tradition—a blatant display of recklessness.

Do these idiots really have no idea what the situation is like in Japan right now? Tokyo Jupiter is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Back then, the Self-Defense Forces and the US military were outmatched, and they are still being outmatched now. At least Misato Katsuragi doesn't see any chance of winning.

In this situation, how can someone be so foolish as to have the mind to cause trouble? Fine, when something goes wrong, you'll be the first to step up! If you're so capable, then stop making a fuss.

“It’s clear the Americans are also dissatisfied.” Shinji Ikari shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. Now we’re just waiting for good news from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. I’m going to the lounge next to Unit-01 to wait.” The so-called combat readiness duty means being in a state where you can be deployed to battle as quickly as possible. All the EVA pilots have a lounge next to their respective EVAs where they can wait for sortie orders.

"Thank you for your help!" Misato Katsuragi nodded. "The satellite images are ready, and we've started interpreting them. We'll talk again in a bit."

Shinji Ikari quickly arrived at his lounge, but just as he stepped inside, the phone rang. Shinji picked up the receiver without thinking, "Analysis results?"

"A devastating attack, but unlike the high-energy impact of the previous Water Angel... it seems to have an even more terrifying energy focus. Although we're not sure if it's definitely an Angel, we don't seem to have any information to prove that this thing is really alien. The drone has already taken off, and we should have specific data in about an hour." Katsuragi Misato looked at the huge crater eroded into the ground, somewhat speechless. Was the power synchronized with the combat power increase of Unit-01?

Just now, Shinji Ikari's heroic act of cleaving the Fish Angel in half in front of the entire UN fleet had boosted the morale of NERV and even the entire UN human fleet. Now, this is like a blow to the head.

The attackers didn't even leave any image data at the military base on Guam. Satellite searches are still ongoing, so without knowing what it was, an important military base was simply destroyed.

"Japan Air Self-Defense Force reconnaissance planes and US Kadena Air Base have begun scrambling fighter jets. Four F-15Js and eight F-16CDs in total, but... I don't think they'll just charge straight in, given how painful the previous lessons were." Shigeru Aoki loudly read out the intelligence he had just received, and then quietly added his own assessment.

"That's really good news." Shinji Ikari sighed. "I'm all ready. Just show me the synchronization data." After getting Misato Katsuragi's permission, Shinji Ikari sat down at the table, flicked his water bottle. There was still more than half a bottle left, so Shinji Ikari wasn't in a hurry.

Then, leaning against the wall, Shinji Ikari thought of many things. If there was one Angel with the strongest impact, it would definitely be the Angel of Power. Its attack almost blew through all the armor plates of NERV headquarters and directly stormed the underground base, something that had never happened before. But if we're really talking about the power of its attacks... especially those with a high-energy beam that seems to have a dissolving effect, the Angel of Thunder might be able to go toe-to-toe with the Angel of Power.

"Shinji... the US military has captured optical images of the enemy." Misato's voice came from the television, and then the scene that was showing the unfortunate state of the US military base in Guam immediately switched to a scene that made Shinji Ikari sigh: a square blue cube, no doubt about it.

"Judging from the battle situation, the opponent is very skilled in long-range combat. All-powerful Misato, quickly think of a way to get me into range where I can fight him." Shinji Ikari sighed. The restraints hadn't been released yet, and it felt like he was going to take a high-energy beam head-on, the kind that wouldn't stop until it pierced through him. Shinji didn't want to try that. Although there was a possibility that Unit-01 could use its Flame Finger to deflect the attack with his momentum, Shinji didn't want to test whether he could get close to the opponent before he couldn't hold on any longer.

“This is really a huge problem.” Misato Katsuragi stroked her chin. Shinji Ikari was right. The opponent wouldn’t ignore Shinji’s attack, so there was no doubt that they would attack when Shinji launched his attack… and this time the opponent was floating in the air.

“We’re not just an EVA. If we go and bring Rei Ayanami here, we shouldn’t be completely helpless.” Ritsuko Akagi, standing to the side, looked at the scene before her. The research department was already trying to calculate the opponent’s attack power, but without even looking at the report, Ritsuko Akagi was certain that the numbers would be very “discouraging,” with an excellent deterrent effect.

"Judging from their speed and route, they're probably heading straight for us. I need some time." Misato Katsuragi crossed her arms. Just as Ritsuko Akagi had said, NERV now had two EVAs that could be deployed at any time, but Rei Ayanami's Unit-00 didn't have the same combat power as Shinji Ikari's Unit-01.

How should we allocate resources and adjust tactics to buy time for Unit-01 so that we can launch a surprise attack on the enemy's close range? Even if we take the sword that Shinji Ikari used before as an analogy, Shinji Ikari's optimal attack range is now only about 1 kilometer. At any distance, Shinji Ikari may not be able to exert a high level of attack effectiveness.

“You have plenty of time to figure things out. Judging from the speed the Seventh Apostle has shown, he should arrive around noon tomorrow.” Ritsuko Akagi typed on the keyboard. The other party’s speed was neither too fast nor too slow. If the Thunder Angel did not accelerate on a large scale, he would arrive around noon without any surprises. “Although it’s a bit late, let’s start the evacuation first, so we don’t end up in a panic later.”

“Yes, we’ll start the evacuation ahead of time and adjust the schedules of transportation. Under the guise of an exercise, we’ll have everyone use all available transportation to evacuate to other places.” Misato Katsuragi nodded. Unless a few people arrive unexpectedly, Tokyo-3 usually has ample lead time to evacuate most of the city’s residents, thus minimizing casualties.

"Then I'll sleep in the lounge." Shinji Ikari lay down on the bed. Perhaps because the Fourth Impact hadn't happened yet, most people treated Shinji Ikari very well. Shinji Ikari noticed a small refrigerator next to the bed, which contained various drinks.

"Okay, stay alert. I'll call you immediately if anything unexpected happens!" Misato Katsuragi nodded, then disconnected the communication. She frowned as she looked at the solid-looking thing on the screen. "It looks a bit like a Rubik's Cube, but Shinji Ikari doesn't really have any reliable long-range attack capabilities right now..."

"So what are you planning to do?" Ritsuko Akagi looked at Misato Katsuragi beside her. The previous battle was entirely won by Shinji Ikari's outstanding individual abilities, which gave NERV a very bad impression. It was as if, when facing the Angels, as long as Shinji Ikari was put in the pilot's seat of Unit-01, NERV had already won!

“Generally speaking, the main fighting force will definitely still be Shinji Ikari, the problem is that Shinji Ikari is getting close to his opponent! Very close!” Misato Katsuragi crossed one arm and raised the other, biting her nails nervously. “So someone is buying time for Shinji Ikari!”

"Rei Ayanami cannot be sacrificed!"

"So we need something that can withstand such terrifying power... and unfortunately, I happen to know of one!"

"what?"

"It's a secret! You'll find out in time~"

Chapter 174 Operation Plan!

"The Seventh Apostle has approached the outskirts of Odawara, and the Ground Self-Defense Force is preparing to intercept it on the mountain peaks on both sides." After saying this, Shigeru Aoki changed to a very sarcastic tone, "However, after that, they did not have any more interception plans, and the forces they deployed were only three battalions in size, and they were mainly using long-range firepower for interception."

“A futile symbolic gesture.” Misato Katsuragi sighed. She had reason to say this. The US rescue team had arrived at the Guam base where the Raangel had left after its rampage. After a search and rescue operation, they managed to rescue some unfortunate individuals, but these guys were either not at the base at the time or were outside the range of direct hits.

However, there are some differences among these unfortunate individuals. Some of the former are completely unharmed, while the latter are basically between 3 and 5 parts cooked. Those who are 5 parts cooked basically died after more than ten hours of painful struggle, with no chance of survival.

However, the US military still managed to glean some basic account of the events from the chaotic narratives of these surviving American soldiers. Although these accounts were filled with all sorts of mythical and bizarre descriptions, including divine punishment and God's apocalyptic light, after overnight verification, some basic descriptions were sent to NERV. After reviewing the report, Misato Katsuragi reached the following conclusion:

First, the target of the operation is relatively stable when it is not attacking the other party.

Secondly, after the US military acted recklessly, or rather, just prepared to act recklessly, the enemy basically destroyed the Guam base with a single strike. According to the US military's current assessment, the Guam base is essentially rendered useless.

Third, YYDS in the AT field remains untapped.

Fourth, the reason the Seventh Apostle launched the attack seems to be that the US military was trying to develop a special high-energy laser weapon, which began to charge. The center of the attack seems to be this high-energy laser weapon, whose energy storage device and barrel have become one with the earth.

"What about the N2 missile attack?" The most powerful weapons publicly known to the Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. military are currently only capable of deploying super-destructive weapons like tactical nuclear weapons.

"The effect is not good!" With a sigh, the use of tactical nuclear weapons is very troublesome. As the only country in the world to have experienced a nuclear attack, and the only country to have experienced two nuclear attacks, the use of nuclear weapons would directly end the political life of the current Japanese prime minister. So without even asking the Japanese government, they would absolutely not agree.

For such absurd reasons, weapons like the N2 missile and landmines are already the most powerful weapons that can be deployed at any time.

"Therefore, assuming that the enemy's reaction to EVA and high-energy weapons will be very strong, the possibility of EVA launching a close-range attack is almost zero. Before the restraints are fully released, EVA will be directly attacked by the enemy. If it is prepared in advance, EVA's longest-range attack will not be able to reach the enemy when it enters its attack range." Ritsuko Akagi said simply at the pre-war preparation meeting chaired by Misato Katsuragi.

"Why would it react to EVA?" Makoto Hyuga asked with a puzzled expression. After all, the results of the US military's risk-taking tests only showed that the other side had a high response to high-energy weapons. "And why does it feel like this is an action targeting Shinji Ikari? Before, when we saw that Shinji's ship-cutting sword could attack a distance of one kilometer, we were amazed by its strength. Now the other side has directly extended the attack range to more than 10 kilometers."

"And it must be equipment capable of penetrating the enemy's AT domain at a distance of more than ten kilometers." Misato Katsuragi took a deep breath, feeling extremely troubled by this mess. It had to be able to hit targets at a long distance and also be powerful enough? Oh, the high-energy laser weapon that the US military just destroyed was one example, but was there anything else that could do that?

"The TERRA communications are still ongoing here, when suddenly an unexpected communication came in."

"Bring him in and see what Jin, who just completed his mission, has to say." Gendo Ikari made a direct decision. They were currently caught in a vicious cycle: if Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 could enter his attack radius, then the Angel would be sentenced to death! But the problem was, how could Shinji Ikari get into that attack radius?

All of NERV's previous operational ideas were focused on how to effectively utilize Shinji Ikari's close-range combat capabilities. After Shinji Ikari acquired the newly designed enhanced katana, his sword strike amazed everyone, leading NERV's research department to go all out. The researchers were working tirelessly to find ways to maximize Shinji Ikari's combat effectiveness, and the equipment currently being commissioned consisted entirely of various super-enhanced close-range combat weapons.

Therefore, the current situation is a huge embarrassment for the NERV Research Department. The close-up and bolding of this situation makes the entire research department feel extremely awkward, and it also gives Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki a real headache.