Two Years in the EVA World (the early writing is rough; feel free to skip ahead to chapter 80)

Note: There are quite a few frustrating elements early on. Please be patient and keep reading, or skip ahead to after chapter 80.

"Ah... my head hurts like hell. Tch!" Huang Zhetian complained, holding his head.

It's been over two years since I came to this world. What can I even say?

Sure, I have a system, but it's way too hardcore. It's nothing like those tycoon systems or war god systems other people get.

His was a practice system. As the name suggested, it let him improve through his own practice. If Huang Zhetian had possessed something like this before his college entrance exam, he wouldn't have ended up at a junior college...

"Now that I'm in this EVA world, I've already become a candidate. All that's left is today's selection..." Huang Zhetian murmured.

He was currently at NERV's Beijing facility in China. China's EVA was the Special Unit, a backup built after Unit-01. Once Unit-01's testing proved successful, this replacement unit had been shipped to NERV's China Branch.

Its body was pale blue, and its appearance somewhat resembled Unit-01. It also had a horn on its head, though this one was white and blue.

Besides the blue that covered most of its body, it also sported white, yellow, and red. Huang Zhetian gazed at the humanoid mech, conflicting emotions showing in his eyes.

"All candidates, enter your simulation pods. Testing will now begin." A NERV staff member's voice sounded through their earpieces.

"Roger." The candidates present acknowledged the order, then stepped into their simulation pods.

Huang Zhetian looked at the familiar control seat. Between two years of training and the anime he had watched in his previous life, he knew it inside out. His plugsuit tightened, and LCL flowed into the pod.

A moment later, the scene before his eyes changed. Shamshel appeared, along with the buildings of Tokyo-3. It seemed the story had already begun. He wondered when China would send support. There had been no Chinese assistance in the original story because no suitable Chinese pilot had emerged. After that, the matter had simply been left unresolved...

Looks like I'm the wild card that can change things. With that thought, Huang Zhetian grew even more focused.

"The location before you is Tokyo-3, Japan. The Angel you see is the Third Angel, Shamshel. Your overall objective is to defeat it. NERV and the EVAs exist for the purpose of defeating all Angels. This test will now be conducted in two parts," the staff member continued explaining.

"First, defeat the Angel with your power cable connected. Second, defeat the Angel within five minutes without a power cable."

"Now, begin!"

"Move out!"

Beep!

Huang Zhetian quickly drew the Particle Knife from his shoulder and leaned slightly forward. Pushing off with his rear foot, he charged, swinging the knife forward from behind him.

Clang!

An A.T. Field! The Wall of the Heart!

Heh! Then... I'll neutralize it!

"A.T. Field! Activate!"

Huang Zhetian thrust the knife in again. Although it didn't break through immediately, cracks slowly began spreading across the A.T. Field.

Crack! It sounded like shattering glass. The instant the A.T. Field broke, Huang Zhetian drove his knife toward the Angel's core-its S² Engine.

But the Angel was faster. Its long, slender hand grabbed his wrist and hurled him behind it. His mech smashed through several buildings, then rolled a few times before slowly coming to a stop.

Shamshel gave him no chance at all. A cross flashed in its two small eyes, and a laser swept out. Before Huang Zhetian could react, it blasted into his mech.

"Aah!" This damned synchronization rate-the pain feels so real! "A.T. Field!"

Only after some time did the enormous cross-shaped beam slowly die down.

"Huff... huff... still a step too slow. Tch!"

Although he hadn't been destroyed outright, his situation was far from promising.

The left side of the mech's waist had been pierced through, and thirty percent of its armor was damaged. It could no longer move as smoothly as before. Looks like it's time to use my trump card!

One corner of Huang Zhetian's mouth curled into a grin as he said, "System..."