Passed

"Host, I'm here," the system replied.

"A boost card costs 500 practice points."

"Fuck, that's robbery! I've only earned 1,000 in two years!"

"Would you like to redeem it?" the system asked indifferently.

"Redeem item! Boost card!" Huang Zhetian gritted his teeth and redeemed a boost card. It could maximize the synchronization rate between the mech and its pilot while increasing all attributes by twenty percent.

"Redemption successful! Would you like to use it?"

"Stop dragging this out! Hurry!" Huang Zhetian was speechless. Couldn't it read the situation? Why was the system so unintelligent?

"Ding~ Used successfully."

"It feels like I could've done without it, but this is still awesome! Because I'm about to tear an Angel apart with my bare hands..."

Soon, the classic scene unfolded. Huang Zhetian made the mech crouch low, then launch straight into the air. It performed a backflip and planted both feet against the Angel's body, then kicked off it, performed another backflip, and landed firmly on the ground.

Before the Angel could regain its balance, Huang Zhetian rushed forward, pinned it to the ground, and introduced it to the Particle Knife. He attacked its core relentlessly. Wasn't this far more vicious than Unit-01?

"Charge up! Strike!" Huang Zhetian drove the third stab straight into its core, then viciously twisted the blade a full turn.

Clack... gurgle! The Angel vanished outright, and the surrounding scenery dissolved into nothingness. Before long, enormous red words appeared in the black space: "Test passed, 3 minutes 20 seconds. Second test skipped. Rankings determined by comparative completion times, tactics, and combat skills. Current score: 95 points. Synchronization rate: 57 percent. Current rank: first. Please wait in the backstage area for your results." Once the artificial female voice inside the simulation pod finished speaking, the hatch opened.

"Looks like nobody else is out yet. Makes sense... I'm first, after all. Just over three minutes." After bragging a little, Huang Zhetian went to his private changing room to wash the LCL off his body. It didn't smell particularly bad, but after soaking in it for so long, he smelled a little fishy.

"Sigh... all because I stayed up watching Neon Genesis... I died suddenly and ended up here... it's a bit... sigh, forget it. I just hope my parents are doing well..." After reflecting for a moment, he went into the changing room to shower.

Meanwhile, among the China Branch's senior officials.

"I never expected we'd have someone whose synchronization rate was over ten percentage points higher than Japan's. What a surprise."

"But according to the data Japan sent us, that pilot hadn't even undergone special training or worn a combat suit. His synchronization rate still reached forty-one percent. He even defeated an Angel on his own."

"NERV's headquarters is in Japan, after all. There are things we don't know. Even the United Nations can't do anything about NERV headquarters."

"Then let's ship the Special Unit over by sea. Have it travel with Unit-02."

"Germany is ready too?"

"Their schedule just lined up with ours, so we'll go with them."

"Next, we'll have to make arrangements for the candidates who failed..."

"All right, that concludes the meeting..."

"Pilot Huang Zhetian, please report to your post. I repeat, please..."

Huang Zhetian reached over and turned the communicator on his wrist, then replied, "Copy."

It looked like he had passed. He understood what the change from "candidate" to "pilot" meant. That boost card could only be used once his synchronization rate reached 40; otherwise, he couldn't even redeem it. Sometimes hard work really couldn't compare with talent. Shinji could reach forty percent without wearing a combat suit, while Huang Zhetian had trained hard for two years, unable to redeem items through the system the entire time. That showed just how wide the gap between people could be. Sigh. Hard work paled a little in the face of talent.

Upon arriving at the command room, Huang Zhetian saluted the senior officials seated there. "Huang Zhetian, pilot of the Special Unit, reporting for duty!"

"Good. You've passed the test, Pilot Huang Zhetian. Your results were outstanding in all our comparisons. You were the only one who qualified," a slightly plump military officer said. "We're here to provide your NERV personnel with financial, material, and technical assistance," another military officer said.

"Thank you for the central government's support," the head of the NERV branch hurriedly said.

"Hahahaha, no need. The United Nations will provide support too. We're contributing because you'll be representing China overseas, and most importantly, you now have a pilot. If you didn't, that would be another matter," an elderly military officer said with a laugh.

Huang Zhetian asked, "What would happen if we didn't have a pilot?"

The head of the NERV branch answered seriously, "Units from other countries would be transported here for assembly. Financial support for the NERV branch in that country would be reduced by more than half, and the country would only be responsible for providing the most basic required assistance."

That made sense. The original story had mentioned that no country wanted something as expensive as an Eva. A single repair bill could bankrupt a small nation's economy. Even the United States wouldn't dare shoulder it alone. All the world's countries and regions had to share the burden, since the survival of humanity was at stake.

"All right. In a while, you'll travel to Japan Headquarters on the same schedule as the Germany Branch," the branch head said.

"Sure. I'll get my luggage packed in the meantime." With that, Huang Zhetian saluted and left.

"Speaking of which, that organization..."

"They're very well hidden..."

"Then what should we do?"

"Leave it to the United Nations. We'll handle the rest ourselves."

"Then we'll only be responsible for cleaning up..."

"There's still a project we haven't tackled, concerning the Mass Production Units."

"Understood. I'll get in touch."