The Space Angel attacks!

Command Center, NERV Headquarters Base.

"It suddenly appeared two minutes ago!" Hyuga turned to report to Misato.

"It's approaching the 6th Monitoring Satellite."

"Two minutes until contact!"

"We have an image of the target!"

After the flurry of reports, the satellite images appeared on the big screen.

A gigantic, three-eyed monster appeared in space.

It was the largest Angel to appear so far.

A huge eye sat in the middle, with another eye on each of the wing-like structures extending to either side.

It had an eerie, higher-dimensional appearance.

"Now that's something!" Hyuga stared at the enormous Angel in astonishment.

"It defies all reason." Misato could hardly believe it either. The later Angels appeared in increasingly bizarre forms.

"Initiating contact with the target..." Aoba Shigeru operated two monitoring satellites, slowly bringing them closer to the Angel.

"Beginning scan."

"Transmitting radar signals."

"Receiving signals."

The two monitoring satellites scanned the Angel, but before long, both were destroyed.

On the big screen, a satellite behind the Angel was suddenly crushed flat. Then the display dissolved into white static.

Clearly, both monitoring satellites had been destroyed, and contact had been lost.

"An A.T. Field!" Seeing this, Misato immediately understood that the Angel's A.T. Field had destroyed them.

"A new way of using it, I suppose..." Holding a mug, Akagi watched the screen with a grave expression.

After all, neither commander was at headquarters. In truth, Misato was in charge now. Everything was unpredictable, and any mistake could have unimaginable consequences.

In space, the monitoring satellites on either side of the Angel slowly disintegrated into drifting debris.

A drop-shaped duplicate formed on the Angel's left wing and fell toward Earth below.

Whoosh-

A long while passed.

Images of the location struck by the Angel's duplicate had been transmitted back to NERV Headquarters Base.

"What destructive power! That's an A.T. Field for you," Misato said calmly as she studied the pictures.

"It's actually using free fall. The Angel itself is like a bomb," Ibuki said, having already analyzed it.

"At any rate, the first shot missed and landed in the Pacific Ocean. Two hours later, the second landed here. It clearly corrected its margin of error," Akagi said with some surprise, studying an aerial photograph of the impact crater the Angel had left.

"So it's learning... Incredible." Misato increasingly felt that the later Angels were growing smarter, almost beginning to learn independently like humans.

"Even the N2 Air Missiles had no effect..." Hyuga brought up another satellite photograph.

In the photograph, missiles surrounded the enormous Angel from all directions, exploding in a blaze of light without leaving so much as a scratch.

"The Angel's current location is unknown..." Aoba Shigeru looked troubled as he examined the intelligence in his hands.

How could they guard against an enemy when they didn't even know where it was?

"It's probably heading here..." Misato voiced her intuition.

"This will be its next target, won't it?" Akagi agreed.

"Then it'll create a third Lake Ashi..."

"Turn the Fuji Five Lakes into one lake connected to the Pacific Ocean."

"And our headquarters will be part of it, of course..."

The two women kept making estimates and predictions.

After a brief pause, Misato asked Aoba Shigeru beside her, "Have you reached Commander Ikari?"

"The Angel is generating powerful interference, making communication impossible," Aoba Shigeru promptly replied.

"What's MAGI's assessment?" Misato asked Ibuki.

"It recommends a full evacuation," Ibuki replied after checking the report in her hands.

"What will you do? You're in charge now," Akagi asked her friend.

"Notify the Japanese government and all ministries. Issue special order D-17 under NERV authority! All civilians within a fifty-kilometer radius are to evacuate immediately! Have Matsushiro back up MAGI!" After a moment's thought, Misato calmly issued a series of orders.

"You're abandoning this place?!" Hyuga grew anxious. This was their headquarters, after all, with so much equipment and plenty of other reasons to stay. Abandoning it so hastily felt like a terrible waste.

"No! There's simply no reason to make everyone share the risk!" Misato turned her mature, alluring face toward him, looking every bit a female general.

The city on the surface.

From narrow alleys to broad highways, armed helicopters overhead broadcast the order issued under NERV authority, directing the public to designated shelters.

Traffic jammed the streets, horns blaring.

Those who heard the broadcasts headed toward the shelters in orderly lines.

Tokyo-3's massive buildings slowly retracted underground. Above the crisscrossing power lines, armed helicopters spread NERV's orders throughout the city.

Inside the Black Moon, the underground base of NERV Headquarters.

Tokyo-3's buildings had fully retracted and now hung above the pyramid.

The women's restroom.

The faucet remained open, water gushing out.

"Are you really going through with this?"

"Yes, I am."

"Are you going to throw away three Evas on your own authority? The chance of success is only 0.00001%, not even one in ten thousand," Akagi demanded, wiping the water from her hands.

"It's not completely impossible. We'll just have to bet everything on the Evas," Misato said lightly.

"Major Katsuragi!" Akagi was anxious and angry, largely because she feared an accident involving the Evas and worried about them, not their pilots...

That sounded cold, didn't it? There was no helping it. If an Eva was lost, another could be built. If a pilot was lost, another could be trained. But Unit-01 and Shinji Ikari were among them.

Her concern wasn't because Shinji was the commander's son, but because...

Shinji and Unit-01 were the final pieces that would determine success or failure.

Although Huang Zhetian and the Special Unit could replace Shinji, they were only backups.

Their readings fell far short. The gap was too great. Huang Zhetian was a last resort.

"I'm the one in charge right now!" Misato replied firmly.

The water stopped flowing...

"I have to try everything I can. Destroying Angels is my job," Misato explained to Akagi after calming down.

"Your job?! Ha... What a joke. You're doing this for yourself, aren't you? You just want revenge on the Angels!" Looking at Misato's back, Akagi let out a derisive laugh.

Misato stood with her back to Akagi, saying nothing.

It seemed she tacitly acknowledged Akagi's words...

The buildings above NERV.

"Huh? Catch it with our hands?!" Asuka was shocked. She couldn't believe they were supposed to catch an Angel falling from high above with their bare hands.

They didn't even know what would happen. How were they supposed to... catch it?

"Yes! We'll station the Evas at the predicted landing point. You'll deploy your A.T. Fields at maximum strength and catch the Angel with your bare hands," Misato confirmed.

"What if the Angel misses the predicted location...?" Shinji asked Misato in disbelief.

"Then we're done for," Misato said with a smile.

"What if the units can't withstand the impact?" Asuka asked next.

"Then we're done for too." Misato was still smiling.

"What are our odds?" Huang Zhetian asked.

"Only heaven knows. That's probably the best way to put it." Misato kept smiling.

"If this actually works... it'll be a miracle." Asuka closed her eyes helplessly.

"Miracles only have value when we make them happen ourselves." This time, Misato wasn't smiling. Her expression was serious.

"So basically, you're telling us to figure it out ourselves," Asuka demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry, but there's no other way. This operation..."

"How can you even call this an operation?!"

Misato spoke helplessly, but Asuka interrupted before she could finish.

"Honestly, it hardly qualifies as an operational plan. So if you don't want to do it, you can resign. Does everyone understand?" Misato didn't seem bothered. If anything, she appeared to have found a way around their current difficulty.

She watched the four of them remain silent.

Misato was very satisfied...

Well, this... was at least a little coercive, wasn't it? (Author)

"Regulations require you to write your last words. Would you like to?" Misato asked the four of them, lifting the documents in her hands.

"No need! I don't want to write anything!" Asuka was the first to refuse.

"I don't need to either. There's no point," Rei Ayanami said quietly beside her.

Huang Zhetian still felt sorry for Rei Ayanami. Even if she died, another Rei Ayanami would appear to replace the one before him.

Strictly speaking, this was the second her. The first Rei Ayanami had been killed by Akagi's mother...

"I don't need to either..." Seeing both girls decline, Shinji also rejected the idea of writing his last words.

"I do... I'm afraid there are some things I won't be able to say aloud. Miss Misato, give it to me." After hesitating, Huang Zhetian decided to write something after all. If something happened beyond their control, that would be...

Writing my last words now is like making a save file, I suppose.

Unfortunately, a save file couldn't bring him back to life. The system had said that if he died even once, he would truly be dead.

"All right... Here." Misato paused in surprise, then handed him the pen and paper.

Asuka and Shinji were both surprised.

They hadn't expected the usually carefree Huang Zhetian to write his last words. It didn't quite fit his personality.

"Don't look. You can read it after I'm dead." Seeing the three of them trying to peer over, Huang Zhetian quickly stepped back with a wry smile.

"Idiot Zhetian! Don't say such depressing things! We don't want to read your last words! You still have to cook for me! If you're gone, I won't be able to get used to anyone else's food!" Asuka quickly scolded him.

"Zhetian-kun, stay positive. We're here with you! A miracle will happen! Definitely! We can't give up!" In a rare show of confidence, Shinji offered words of encouragement.

Though Rei Ayanami said nothing, she nodded to Huang Zhetian with a slightly resolute look in her eyes.

"Hahaha! All right, since none of you are writing anything, I won't either. Let's do this together! Stop the Angel!" Huang Zhetian calmly looked at them, warmth filling his heart, then laughed and spoke with easy confidence.

"That's more like it! All right! Misato, take the pen and paper back. He doesn't need them!" Asuka snatched the pen and paper and handed them back to Misato.

"I'm sorry. Once this is over, I'll treat everyone to steak." Misato accepted the pen and paper, apologized, and promised to take them out to eat afterward.

"Really?" Asuka slipped into actress mode.

"Wow!" Shinji played along too.

Huang Zhetian said, "...Uh..."

Looking at the sweet, well-behaved smiles on Asuka's and Shinji's faces...

He felt a chill of embarrassment.

"I promise!" Misato seemed not to notice and continued to assure them.

"Don't forget! You still haven't delivered on those hiking and hot spring trips you promised!" Misato could have left it alone, but bringing it up gave Asuka the chance to expose everything.

"Haha, I won't forget, I won't. Look forward to it!" Misato stuck out her tongue awkwardly, then quickly turned and fled.

"She never follows through on any of her promises..." Shinji said with disappointment and regret.

"Does she think kids these days get excited just hearing adults make promises? No wonder they say the post-Second Impact generation is impoverished. Not just financially, but morally too." Asuka spread her hands, utterly baffled.

"There's not much we can do." Shinji was helpless too. He could only play along rather than embarrass Misato.

"Hmph. What was with that exaggerated 'wow'? Didn't you see that Honor Student and idiot Zhetian didn't say anything?" Asuka teased.

"Isn't it better to let Miss Misato go command with a smile?" Shinji was still quite considerate.

"It's rare for her to take us out for a feast. Where should we eat? You should come too." Asuka pulled a magazine from inside her clothes and flipped through it, inviting Rei Ayanami beside her as she searched.

"I'm not going," Rei Ayanami refused immediately.

Asuka's expression instantly soured.

"Why?" Shinji immediately asked. He didn't want to see the two girls argue.

"I hate meat," Rei Ayanami finally said.

The mention of food prompted Rei Ayanami to turn to Huang Zhetian and thank him. "Thank you for the meal you sent last night. It was delicious."

"Idiot Zhetian! When did you send her food?! Why didn't I know?" Asuka couldn't let that slide. Was someone already trying to steal her boyfriend?!

"Zhetian-kun?! Even Ayanami isn't off-limits to you?!" Shinji was astonished.

"Well, Asuka invited Rei Ayanami last night, but she didn't come. I thought good food was something we should share, so I made her a portion and asked someone to deliver it." Huang Zhetian hurriedly waved his hands, making excuses to Asuka-no, explaining himself.

"You're going to get it once this operation is over! I'll settle the score with you then! Damn it! Unforgivable!" Asuka was angry. Her temporary boyfriend had done something without her knowing. That was bad enough, but he'd also made the decision himself without discussing it with her!

The word LOST appeared in enormous red-and-black letters.

Stay tuned for what comes next!

By the way, please don't send me razor blades when we get to the later parts. I'm a little scared.