Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1575: Chapter 1573: The Crisis Arrives

”What?”

Hearing the voice from the phone, Shinji Ikari could hardly believe his ears.

”An explosion at Matsushiro? So... Asuka and Mr. Fang Zheng?”

”There’s no news about them yet.”

”.......”

At this, Shinji Ikari felt his heart pounding fiercely, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.

After all, Fang Zheng’s Hellish Sparta training is no joke.

”I understand! What do you need me to do?”

Shinji Ikari looked up, clenched his fists.

The shattered elevator crashed down, and through the swirling dust, Fang Zheng stood up.

”Oh my... Damn it, I knew this EVAs were unsafe... luckily I’m smart...”

Mumbling to himself, Fang Zheng glanced at the unconscious Asuka in his arms. Although he had managed to block the impact, Asuka, being a mere human, passed out from the shock, which was to be expected.

In any case, let’s get out of this damned place first... I wonder how the others are doing.

When Fang Zheng carried the unconscious Asuka to the underground command center, he found it in chaos too. Fortunately, since it was far from the center of the explosion, it hadn’t suffered a direct impact. In fact, Ritsuko Akagi had already woken up from her unconsciousness and was directing the rescue operation.

Seeing Fang Zheng and Asuka, Ritsuko Akagi was also quite shocked.

”You’re actually okay?”

”Luck got us out intact, not being blown to bits is good fortune.”

Fang Zheng placed Asuka aside, snorted and responded. Upon hearing his words, Ritsuko Akagi was momentarily speechless. Indeed, this test run was rather rushed, and as Fang Zheng said, Unit 03 hadn’t undergone a thorough examination—of course, it’s unthinkable for an Angel to infest an EVA, but the biggest problem isn’t about being unthinkable, but skipping procedures.

It’s like the first Alien movie; no one expected to encounter such a creature in space, but if strict procedures for sterilization and isolation were followed, the Alien wouldn’t have run amok on the ship.

”What about Asuka?”

”She’s fine, just passed out, how’s Katsuragi?”

”She’s not so lucky.”

Glancing at Misato Katsuragi not far away, Ritsuko Akagi shook her head. Misato had really bad luck; when the explosion happened, the ceiling fell and broke her arm, and she’s still unconscious, possibly with a concussion.

”What about Unit 03?”

”It’s currently heading to headquarters, we’ve already reported it, and NERV headquarters will send support.”

”Then I’ll take Asuka back first, have headquarters unlock Unit-02.”

”Understood.”

Ritsuko Akagi nodded without hesitation to Fang Zheng’s request. Since Misato Katsuragi was unconscious and Fang Zheng’s duty was to manage and protect the pilots, with Unit 03 being unusable, the pilot staying here is pointless.

”I’ll immediately dispatch a helicopter.”

Soon, a helicopter arrived at Matsushiro Test Site 2, and after picking up Fang Zheng and Asuka, it quickly took off towards NERV headquarters. Doctors also examined Asuka, confirming no major issues, just unconsciousness from the shock.

”Mmm...”

Shortly after the helicopter took off, Asuka frowned slightly, slowly opening her eyes.

”Hey, you’re awake? How do you feel?”

Looking at Asuka beside him, Fang Zheng smiled and reached out to touch her head. Asuka seemed confused, apparently not remembering what had happened.

”We... are...”

”We’re heading back to headquarters, let the scene handle Matsushiro, how are you feeling? The doctor said nothing serious.”

”Matsushiro...”

At this, Asuka seemed to regain some clarity, her eyes suddenly brightening.

”Right, EVA... What about EVA Unit 03?”

”It’s heading to headquarters, confirmed as an Angel. The Americans really messed up, they’re doomed this time.”

Fang Zheng felt no sympathy for the North American Branch; not to mention an EVA being infested by an Angel, this won’t end here. It might lead to all sorts of retribution later—but that can wait until later, let’s get through this autumn first.

With this thought, Fang Zheng quickly pulled out his phone and started communication.

”Hey, Rei, Shinji, can you hear me?”

”Mr. Fang Zheng!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s voice, Shinji Ikari in the cockpit was quite excited.

”Are you okay?”

”We’re alright, Asuka is with me, lucky to have escaped unscathed.”

”That’s great... really great...”

Hearing this, Shinji Ikari finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he arrived at headquarters and heard Unit 03 was infested by an Angel and heading there, he was terrified.

It was a last-minute decision for Fang Zheng not to let Asuka enter Unit 03, even for Ritsuko Akagi it was mainly about running a preliminary test, so the situation at NERV headquarters was unclear. Moreover, since the insertion plug was indeed inside, everyone thought Asuka had already entered.

Though sensors showed it was empty, but given it was infested by an Angel, anything could happen, right?

Because of this, Shinji Ikari was quite worried, but now learning Fang Zheng and Asuka were safe, he relaxed.

”Alright, you should know, this time our target is an EVA-like Angel, or an Angel-like EVA... Doesn’t matter, Rei, Shinji, take care of it early, we might still make it home for dinner!”

”Yes!”

”Wait a minute!”

However, just as Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami finished speaking, Asuka suddenly sat up.

”Let me go! I want to personally take down that guy!”

”Haha, I knew you’d think that way. I’ve already asked Ritsuko Akagi to lift Unit-02’s lockdown. Just get ready, and you can pilot it.”

Naturally, Fang Zheng understood that someone like Asuka wouldn’t let this thing go. And it’s important to note that if it weren’t for him stopping what happened, she would likely be the one sitting inside the Angel Envoy right now. Just the thought of that made staying calm impossible for Asuka.

”I almost got duped by an Angel Envoy as an EVA pilot! Do I have no pride?!”

”Not to mention I didn’t even want to pilot Unit 03 in the first place. I have my own Unit-02. Just to pilot Unit 03, they sealed off Unit-02. Was it easy for me?”

”And now you’re playing tricks on me?”

”If I don’t settle this score, I’ll write my name backward!”

So, Fang Zheng didn’t worry about Asuka’s reaction. He patted her on the shoulder, then turned around and started talking in a low voice with the staff nearby. But when Fang Zheng turned around, Asuka was suddenly taken aback looking at him.

Behind him, his uniform was tattered and torn, even revealing some white bandages. This wasn’t because Fang Zheng was injured. Given his thickness as a Time Dragon, even the Lance of Longinus couldn’t scratch his skin. But since he and Asuka both came from the explosion’s epicenter, being unscathed would be unreasonable, so he simply wrapped some bandages around to put on a show.

As for the clothes... Fang Zheng didn’t really care. After all, it was a NERV uniform, not his Dragon Scales. He could just tear it apart and get a new one.

However, observing this scene, Asuka’s expression suddenly changed.

The process of dealing with EVA Unit 03 wasn’t much to talk about. Without the worry of an incapacitated pilot, dealing with something that only invaded but did nothing else was quite simple.

However...

”What’s up with Asuka?”

Watching Unit-02 pinning Unit 03 to the ground and pummeling it as if she wanted to tear it limb from limb, Fang Zheng was flabbergasted. He wasn’t surprised that Asuka was eager to fight, but it was his first time seeing her go berserk after spotting the enemy.

”Could it be that she’s gone berserk... Are the data readings normal?”

”Everything’s normal; the pilot’s mental state hasn’t hit the critical point.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Maya Ibuki, who was in charge of monitoring on-site, hurriedly replied.

”Maybe... Asuka just wants to vent.”

”Perhaps so.”

Watching Unit-02 lift Unit 03 and then twist its spine into pieces... Fang Zheng thought...

Forget it, whatever goes.

As long as we make it in time for dinner.

There’s no problem making it in time for dinner, of course.

To be honest, while heading home, Shinji Ikari felt a bit uneasy. In his view, considering that Fang Zheng and Asuka barely escaped alive, holding a party seemed somewhat inappropriate.

But Fang Zheng clearly didn’t see it that way.

”Asuka and I narrowly escaped death, and you won’t even throw a celebration party?”

”Well...”

Hearing this, Shinji was at a loss for words.

The party was a big success. Shinji brought along the rest of the idiot trio, while Asuka brought her class rep over. Rei Ayanami didn’t have many friends—since Asuka and Shinji were there, she didn’t need to invite anyone else.

”So, here’s to celebrating Shinji Ikari’s birthday and Asuka’s and my survival, cheers!”

With Fang Zheng raising his glass of juice, the lively banquet began.

Under the pitch-black night sky, everything continued.

Even in the dark, it went on the same.

In the days to follow, all went smoothly.

At least on the surface, it appeared so. Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka’s lives increasingly resembled the daily lives of protagonists in many traditional Japanese mecha anime. Shinji gradually became more outgoing, Rei Ayanami learned how to greet others, and Asuka’s relationship with her class rep grew rapidly, turning them into best friends.

Everyone occasionally bickered in class, chatted, and teased each other. Then, after class, they did homework and trained. When the Angels came, they fought Angels—if life could just go on like this, it wouldn’t be bad.

But Fang Zheng knew things weren’t that simple.

On the surface, everything seemed normal with NERV’s development. The Red Ponytail hadn’t appeared since then, and the struggles among different factions seemed to halt temporarily, showing a lively scene of unity against the Angel Envoys.

However, as Angels were eliminated one by one, NERV, SEELE, the UN, and various institutions began to dash towards the final end.

It was like a marathon. From start to midway, they could disregard each other’s progress, but when the finish line appeared, everything changed.

And amid this atmosphere, the most formidable enemy for Shinji Ikari and others appeared.

”The target has broken through the final defense line!”

Looking at the screen displaying the Angel, Fang Zheng’s expression turned serious. The next moment, he saw a flash in the Angel’s eyes, directly breaching the armor of the underground city. Buildings that hung upside down in the underground sky began to fall, smashing into the ground.

”Incredible, twenty-four layers of armor penetrated in an instant!”

Yes, appearing here was the infamous Toilet Paper Angel among all Angels... Though it looked somewhat comical.

However, its strength was undeniable.

”Deploy EVAs immediately; station all three units in the underground cavity for battle preparation!”

At this moment, Misato Katsuragi was also solemn and serious. She realized this Angel’s terrifying power, fearing it would be the toughest battle NERV had ever faced.

And for Fang Zheng...

It looks like we have no choice but to unleash the Red Ponytail.