Chapter 401: Urban Array

Lin Xuan had heard enough and quietly retreated to the team's position. "Change of plans," he whispered, "we need to evacuate immediately and take as much data as possible. Things are more serious than we imagined."

Just as the squad prepared to evacuate, an accident occurred. A team member accidentally triggered an alarm device, and the piercing siren instantly resounded throughout the entire building.

"We've been discovered! Move!" Lin Xuan made a prompt decision and directed the team members to rush toward the exit.

However, the elevators and stairwells had already been blocked by armed security. Lin Xuan led the squad in a firefight with the security, the collision of Muyan Pingzhang and modern weapons stirring up chaos within the laboratory.

"Teacher Lin!" A team member rushed to Lin Xuan's side and handed him a small storage device, "I found the data chip regarding the Global Synchronization Project!"

Lin Xuan took the chip and quickly placed it into a secure pocket: "The retreat route is blocked; we need to create an exit."

Just then, Yage and Yang Zhiyuan also rushed out of the secret chamber. Seeing Lin Xuan, a flash of surprise crossed Yage's eyes, which then turned into cold fury: "Guardian Lin, I didn't expect to see you here. But today, you will remain here forever."

A powerful wave of Void Energy shot from Yage's hand; Lin Xuan barely managed to block it with Muyan Pingzhang, but the impact still knocked him back several meters.

"Everyone retreat! Execute Plan B!" Lin Xuan shouted, while simultaneously taking a small device from his waist and throwing it violently at the Void Core in the center.

It was an improved version of the Wuxing Pojiedan, designed specifically to counter Void Energy. At the moment of the explosion, a powerful Five Elements Energy shockwave swept through the entire laboratory; the Void Core shattered, and the micro Dimension Rift fluctuated violently, beginning to devour everything in its vicinity.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Lin Xuan led the squad to an outer wall, joined forces to blast a large hole, jumped into a pre-prepared stealth aircraft, and departed rapidly.

Behind them, the underground laboratory of Xingchen Dasha had already turned into a sea of fire, with black-purple energy surging into the sky, only to be forcibly suppressed by the building's security system.

After returning to headquarters, Lin Xuan immediately organized personnel to analyze the acquired data chip. As the decryption work progressed, a hair-raising plan surfaced—the essence of the "Global Synchronization Project" was to activate hidden programs in all "Star Brain" devices at a specific time, allowing them to simultaneously form millions of micro Dimension Rifts, enabling Void Energy to instantly spread across the globe.

"According to the data, this plan will be initiated on the Summer Solstice Day two weeks from now," Xu Feng analyzed, "that is the moment when Void Energy is most active, and also when the Dimension Barrier is at its weakest."

"We must notify all Five Elements Protection points globally immediately," Lin Xuan decided, "at the same time, accelerate the research and development of countermeasures. We need to find a way to reach as many 'Star Brain' users as possible within these two weeks to replace or upgrade their devices."

Xiao Yuan was deeply worried: "One hundred million devices; even if we use all our resources, it is impossible to process them within two weeks."

Lin Xuan's gaze was firm and calm: "Then we must find the central control system of Star Technology and stop this catastrophe at the source. The Void Devourer has expanded the battlefield to the entire human society, so we must also expand our front line."

He turned to all the members present: "From now on, the Five Elements City Guardian Network is officially upgraded to a global operation. Contact all Guardians, all Practitioners, and even those ordinary people who have just awakened; we need all the power we can mobilize. Human society is facing an unprecedented crisis, and we are the last line of defense."

Lin Xuan stood on the top floor of the tallest building in the Beijing Central Business District, overlooking the entire city. In the night, countless lights flickered like stars, outlining the silhouette of this ancient yet modern metropolis. Ten days later, the Void Devourer's "Global Synchronization Project" would be initiated, and hundreds of millions of "Star Brain" devices would activate simultaneously, opening micro Dimension Rifts all over the world.

"Conventional means are no longer sufficient to deal with a threat of this scale," Lin Xuan turned to Xiao Yuan and several Array experts from the Five Elements Academy beside him, "we need a brand-new defense system capable of covering the entire city, or even a larger area."

Elder Wu Qian nodded: "That is indeed true. Traditional Five Elements defense arrays are mainly aimed at single-point defense, covering at most a few square kilometers. But the area of a large city is at least dozens of times that range."

Lin Xuan closed his eyes, feeling the energy flow of the city beneath his feet. Every city has its unique energy veins, like a giant living organism, with its own blood vessels and meridians. The ancient city of Beijing, in particular, has accumulated thousands of years of historical energy, forming an extremely complex and powerful Energy Network.

Suddenly, Lin Xuan opened his eyes: "I have an idea. Since the city itself is a massive energy body, we can utilize these naturally formed energy flows to establish a 'Five Elements Urban Array'."

He quickly marked several points on the map on the table: "Select five landmark buildings in the city to serve as Array Eyes, each corresponding to one of the five elements of the Five Elements. By guiding the city's energy flow through these five Array Eyes, we can form a protective barrier covering the entire city."

Xiao Yuan studied the map carefully: "The selection of the Array Eyes is crucial; they must both correspond to the Five Elements attributes and be located at the key nodes of the city's energy flow."

After a full night of discussion and deduction, they finally determined the five Array Eye locations in Beijing: the Gugong, symbolizing imperial aura, represents Wood Element, responsible for growth and nourishment; the Tiantan, containing ancient sacrificial energy, represents Fire Element, in charge of energy purification and defense; the Aoti Zhongxin, bearing the stable power of the earth, represents Earth Element, responsible for stabilizing and supporting the Array; the Zhongyang Dianshitai Dalou, full of flow and change, represents Water Element, responsible for energy circulation; and the Jinrong Zhongxin, symbolizing wealth and sharpness, represents Metal Element, responsible for attacking and cutting through Void invasions.

After finalizing the plan, Lin Xuan immediately organized the operation. Five squads headed to the locations of the five Array Eyes to secretly bury the Array foundations. This work had to be extremely cautious—on one hand, it needed to avoid the attention of ordinary citizens, and on the other, it had to guard against Void Believers who might have infiltrated.

Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan were responsible for the Array Eye setup at the Gugong. In the dead of night, the two blended into the Gugong's night security team and arrived at the secret Underground Palace beneath the Taihe Hall.

"The Wood Element Energy here is very active," Lin Xuan felt the energy fluctuations around him, "but there are also slight signs of Void Pollution."

Xiao Yuan crouched down, touched the ground lightly with both hands, and closed her eyes to perceive carefully: "The pollution is mainly concentrated in the southeast corner; it seems to have appeared only in the last half year. But it won't affect our array setup; we just need to make slight adjustments."