Chapter 536: Another Possibility
On the day of the test, the Matsushiro test site was shrouded in a routine, solemn atmosphere.
Asuka arrived alone, piloting the transport plane, and completed the various preparations according to protocol. She wore her familiar plug suit, her pace carrying her usual confidence as she sat into EVA Unit-03's Entry Plug.
The hatch closed, LCL fluid slowly injected, and she adjusted her breathing, prepared to execute this seemingly simple weapon-testing mission.
Thinking about how she had done a "small favor" for Rei Ayanami and that idiot Shinji, the corners of her mouth curled up in an imperceptible arc.
However, the upheaval of fate often occurs at the most ordinary of moments.
The activation command for Unit-03 was given, and the systems throughout the machine were activated in sequence.
But the moment the power core reached the predetermined output threshold, an abnormality struck suddenly!
Before Asuka in the cockpit could react, a torrent of violent and strange consciousness surged in like a burst dam, instantly collapsing Unit-03's original control system and violently impacting her spirit.
"Ugh—!" Asuka let out a stifled groan of pain, attempting to regain control, but her commands sank like stones into the sea.
On the external observation screens, Unit-03's posture became abnormal. Its joints emitted unnatural twisting sounds, and beneath the originally fluid armor, it seemed as if some foreign object was squirming and expanding.
Immediately after, Unit-03's head jerked upward, emitting a sharp, blasphemous hiss that was neither human nor characteristic of an EVA!
The Ninth Angel had successfully seized control of EVA Unit-03.
"Unit-03 is out of control! Signal identified as—Angel mode!" The test site's alarms blared shrilly, observation data instantly turned to garbled code, and the peaceful testing ground was transformed in an instant into a vortex of chaos.
Inside the NERV Headquarters command center, the atmosphere, which had been somewhat relaxed just moments ago, froze instantly.
Misato Katsuragi slammed her fist onto the console, her face turning livid: "Terminate the test immediately! Forcefully eject the Entry Plug!"
"It's no good! The ejection system is unresponsive! Unit-03—no, the Angel, it has isolated all external commands!" The operator's voice was filled with despair.
"Send Unit-00!" Misato ordered immediately.
"Unit-00 is still under repair, unable to launch!" The technician's reply shattered the last shred of hope.
The only remaining option was Unit-01.
At this moment, Shinji Ikari, who had been full of anticipation for the long-overdue meeting with his father, was intercepted by an emergency communication, ordered to rush immediately to the nearest underground entrance and prepare to launch Unit-01.
"An Angel again—and it has to be today—" Shinji gritted his teeth, an indescribable fury burning within him.
This monster had ruined the opportunity he had finally mustered the courage to try for: communicating with his father.
Carrying this redirected anger, he quickly entered Unit-01 and was launched to the surface.
However, when he reached the Matsushiro test site piloting Unit-01 and saw the enemy's appearance, and received the combat orders through the communication channel, all his fury and resentment were replaced in an instant by a chilling, bone-deep coldness.
"Tar—target is—Unit-03?" he repeated the order in disbelief. "But—Asuka is inside!"
Misato Katsuragi's heavy, urgent voice came through: "Shinji! Unit-03 has been completely parasitized and controlled by the Ninth Angel! Asuka cannot escape! Your mission is—to break Unit-03 and destroy the Angel!"
Break Unit-03—destroy the Angel—
This meant he had to personally attack, and perhaps even—kill Asuka?
Shinji's mind went blank.
Asuka, who was always yelling at him but would silently push a footstool over to help him in the restoration zone; Asuka, who had awkwardly apologized to him after they cleaned the water tank together; Asuka, who appeared tough but was actually just as lonely as he was—
Right now, she was trapped inside that machine, which was frantically destroying everything and emitting non-human roars.
"No—I can't do it—" Shinji's voice trembled, and under his control, Unit-01 involuntarily took a step back. "I can't—attack Asuka—"
Unit-01 stood frozen on the battlefield, facing Unit-03 (the Ninth Angel), which was pressing forward step-by-step and undergoing even more terrifying alien morphological changes. It did not assume any combat posture, appearing like a giant, silent target.
Shinji Ikari's inner world was being torn apart by fear, confusion, and a massive emotional shock, pushing him to the edge of collapse.
Inside the command center, Misato's anxious shouting and Ritsuko Akagi's calm but ruthless situation analysis were unable to penetrate Shinji's cockpit, which was shrouded in despair.
At this moment, inside the command center—plunged into high tension and noisy chaos due to the sudden emergency—Chen Yu stood at the observation station belonging to the technical advisor, calmly watching the uncontrolled events on the main screen.
He saw Shinji's resistance and Unit-01's stagnation, saw the constantly climbing anomalous biological signals and destructive behavior of the Angelized Unit-03, and felt the momentary decision-making lag and confusion that had gripped the entire command system, their attention completely fixed on the battlefield as this crisis exceeded all expectations.
"Target confirmed activated; biological signal fusion mode conforms to expectations. Pilot (Asuka) vital signs are weak but persistent; confirmed alive. Unit-01 pilot is experiencing anticipated mental resistance; combat efficacy is zero." He recorded the preliminary observational conclusions into his small portable recording device in cold, precise language, as if this were not a matter of life and death, but merely a demonstration of abnormal data flow.
However, when Misato Katsuragi's anxious shouting and the various technical bypass commands attempted by Ritsuko Akagi failed to awaken Shinji Ikari's will to fight, Chen Yu's eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew he could no longer wait for standard procedures.
Just as Shinji Ikari's despair was about to completely drown out the communication channel, and as Unit-01 could only clumsily dodge and narrowly escape danger under the attacks of the Angelized Unit-03, Chen Yu abruptly stepped forward, brushed past the operator in front of him, and cut directly into the frontline combat communication channel.
His voice was clear, steady, and carried an unquestionable sense of authority that instantly drowned out the clamor in the command center: "Shinji! Listen to me! Use the 'Sword of Cherubim' grenade!"
His words were like a sharp sword, cleaving through the chaos in Shinji's consciousness. "Remember its principle! It is a weapon specifically formulated for the Angel's biological tissue. Its effect is the specific disintegration of the Angel, but it will not cause fatal damage to the EVA's structural integrity! Utilize it; you can strip away the Angel and save Asuka!"
This sudden direct order, which bypassed the command hierarchy, silenced the command center for an instant.
Several officials in charge of communication coordination subconsciously looked toward Misato Katsuragi and Ritsuko Akagi, but both core officials were staring fixedly at the screen and did not immediately intervene.
As the chief designer of the weapon system, Chen Yu's providing of critical technical characteristic explanations at this moment, while not according to protocol, carried an unignorable reasonableness and urgency in its content.
On the battlefield, Shinji Ikari, who was nearly swallowed by guilt and fear within the Entry Plug, grasped this as if it were the only straw of life in endless darkness.
He had heard Dr. Ryo's words loud and clear.
"—I can save Asuka?" This keyword was like a piercing beam of light, instantly stabbing through the gloom in his heart.
"Doctor—are you telling the truth? Can I really—save Asuka?" Shinji's voice trembled, but a glimmer of light reignited within him.
"Trust your weapon, Shinji! And trust that Asuka is still holding on!" Chen Yu's voice remained steady, yet carried a strength that encouraged him.
"I—I understand!" Shinji Ikari suddenly looked up, focus reconverging in his eyes.
Unit-01 seemed to sense the change in its pilot's will; its originally sluggish movements suddenly became fierce.
It no longer just dodged, but parried a heavy strike from the Angelized Unit-03, while the other hand swiftly reached for the "Cherubim-Type I" grenade hanging on the waist restraint.
Although the hope was slim and based on a theory unverified in actual combat, it truly allowed the youth—who had been on the verge of collapse—to grip the control sticks tightly once again.
The battle entered a new stage.
And Chen Yu, after issuing that critical command, took a step back, his gaze turning deep once again, continuing his calm observations and recording, as if that intervention which broke the rules had never happened.
But he knew that he had already steered the course of events onto the trajectory of another possibility.