Arc 7Chapters 154–178
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
Huang Zhetian welcomed Shinji Ikari to school and prepared to guide him in battle after Rei Ayanami announced an emergency assembly. NERV identified the approaching Fifth Angel and activated Tokyo-3’s combat defenses, while Toji and Kensuke stayed behind to secretly film the battle.
Shinji and Huang Zhetian fought the Fifth Angel, but Shinji abandoned their plan and rushed into close combat, allowing the Angel to overpower both EVAs. The Angel hurled Special Unit onto Rear Mountain near Toji and Kensuke, then attacked the mountainside with them still there.
Shinji and Huang Zhetian defeated the Fifth Angel together, though both EVAs were badly hurt after Shinji's disobedience forced Huang Zhetian to take the brunt of the battle. After Misato confronted Shinji and blamed herself for the adults' role in forcing him to pilot, Shinji rode a train uncertain whether he would run away.
After Shinji Ikari ran away from home and spent the night in an alley, Huang Zhetian found him on a mountain and encouraged him to face his choices and recognize that others cared about him. Shinji regained hope, agreed to return, and walked back with Huang Zhetian while listening to music.
Huang Zhetian punished Toji and Kensuke for their reckless behavior, then encouraged Shinji to connect with Rei. Shinji grew more troubled by his father’s warmth toward Rei, ending the chapter alone with Rei’s identity card and unanswered questions.
Rei slapped Shinji after he insulted Gendo, and Huang Zhetian explained that she admired Shinji’s father. Ramiel arrived over New Tokyo-3 and attacked the two EVAs as they launched, leaving the Special Unit shielding Unit-01 with its A.T. Field.
Huang Zhetian and NERV retreated after Ramiel damaged Unit-01, then prepared a long-range operation to destroy the Angel before it drilled through to Headquarters. As Shinji recovered, Misato set up Operation Yashima, and Huang Zhetian drew new skills and an incomplete spear fragment; the chapter ended as a hospital door opened.
As Ramiel drilled toward NERV Headquarters, the pilots and staff prepared Operation Yashima, a coordinated positron-cannon attack. Shinji agreed to pilot Unit-01 again after Misato showed him Lilith and reminded him that he was not alone; the chapter ended with the three EVAs in position as Japan went dark.
During Operation Yashima, Shinji Ikari fired the Positron Cannon at Ramiel but missed, and Ramiel’s counterattack devastated the defenses. As Rei protected Shinji with Unit-00, Huang Zhetian’s Special Unit fired the finishing shot, defeating Ramiel and triggering a hidden achievement prompt.
Shinji Ikari and Huang Zhetian rescued Rei after defeating Ramiel, while Kaworu Nagisa awakened on the moon and Asuka looked forward to seeing Huang again. The story then closed its first arc, and the author asked readers for ideas about the continuation while discussing the challenges of finishing the novel.
Mari piloted provisional Unit-05 to destroy the escaping Third Angel, surviving the unit’s self-destruction in its Entry Plug. In Tokyo-3, Huang Zhetian reunited with Asuka as Shinji and Gendo Ikari visited Yui Ikari’s grave together.
Shinji Ikari visited his mother's grave with Gendo and asked whether his father was proud of him, while Unit-02 and Huang Zhetian's Special Unit defeated the Seventh Angel together. Asuka joined the group at NERV, and Kaji arrived carrying the Key of Nebuchadnezzar as part of a covert mission.
Huang Zhetian and the others encountered Ryoji Kaji, who delivered the Key of Nebuchadnezzar to Gendo Ikari, while Asuka moved into Misato’s home and grew closer to Huang Zhetian. The chapter ended with Shinji unable to reach his father and Huang Zhetian reviewing a clone reward as he planned how to intervene in the coming events.
Misato, Huang Zhetian, Shinji, and their classmates visited the marine research institute, where they saw restored sea life and shared lunch. Meanwhile, Gendo and Fuyutsuki observed Unit-06 under construction at the lunar base before Kaworu appeared in space and called Gendo “Father.”
Misato ordered a desperate operation to stop the Eighth Angel from striking NERV Headquarters, sending all four EVAs to intercept it as its trajectory changed. Huang Zhetian reached the landing point first and prepared to attack while Shinji raced to join him.
Huang Zhetian, Shinji Ikari, Rei, and Asuka defeated the Eighth Angel, though the battle destroyed all four EVAs and devastated Tokyo-3. Asuka sought comfort from Huang Zhetian, while Gendo Ikari made plans for Unit-03 and the coming ritual, leaving Huang Zhetian slated to pilot the new unit.
Huang Zhetian cooked for Asuka and watched Rei Ayanami grow closer to Shinji Ikari, while Gendo Ikari agreed to join them for a meal after Rei asked him. After NERV's tests and discussion of EVA repairs, Mari Makinami Illustrious parachuted onto the school rooftop, where she sparred with Huang Zhetian and left him and Shinji with a secret encounter.
Rei prepared a handmade invitation and learned to cook, while Asuka practiced cooking a meal for Huang Zhetian. After EVA Unit-04 and Branch 2 were destroyed, EVA Unit-03 was sent toward Japan as Huang Zhetian and Mari sensed that trouble was approaching.
Gendo Ikari accepted Unit-03 under SELLE’s pressure, and Huang Zhetian was chosen to test-pilot it while his Special Unit was sealed away. As the dangerous test approached, Huang upgraded his cloning skill and exchanged heartfelt calls with Rei and Asuka, who was preparing a surprise for his return.
During Unit-03’s activation test, an Angel infected the EVA and engulfed the Matsushiro Testing Site in an explosion, leaving Huang Zhetian trapped inside. Asuka and Shinji fought the Ninth Angel to rescue him, and the chapter ended as Huang began to fight back from within.
The Dummy System took control of Unit-01 and fought Unit-03, which Huang Zhetian still controlled, until both units were incapacitated. Believing Huang Zhetian might be dead, Shinji rejected his father's orders and decided to confront Gendo before giving up piloting; Asuka survived and was taken for treatment.
After Shinji Ikari rampaged with Unit-01 in protest over Gendo Ikari’s order, NERV subdued him and detained him. Shinji refused to pilot again and left NERV, while Gendo ordered his records erased and Unit-01 switched to the Dummy System; Asuka grieved for Huang Zhetian as he remained isolated for treatment.
Shinji Ikari left Misato’s home and boarded a train out of Tokyo-3 just as the Tenth Angel attacked NERV Headquarters. As Unit-02 and Mari’s Special Unit prepared to fight, Huang Zhetian’s clone awakened and set out to find Shinji.
Mari and Asuka activated their EVAs’ special modes to fight the Power Angel, but Unit-02 was badly damaged and Asuka was left struggling to continue. Mari gathered the Special Unit’s remaining energy for a decisive attack as NERV prepared Unit-00 and an N² Missile, while Huang Zhetian approached Shinji in the shelter.
Mari, Asuka, and Rei fought the Power Angel, but Rei sacrificed Unit-00 in an N² Missile explosion that exposed the Angel’s core without defeating it. Huang Zhetian encouraged Shinji Ikari to face the crisis, and as Shinji left to confront the Angel, Huang transformed into the upgraded Special Unit X to hold it back.