Chapter 417: Five Elements Contention, Final Preparations

The city under the shroud of night is no longer peaceful. Purple Aurora dances across the horizon, and "Star Brain" users wander the streets from time to time; a strange purple light flickers in their eyes, and their behavior is abnormal, as if controlled by some invisible will. Military police have set up checkpoints on major roads, attempting to maintain order, but the situation is gradually spiraling out of control.

Five search teams are acting separately, racing against time to reach the coordinates provided by Yang Zhiyuan. Each team is led by a Five Elements Practitioner and equipped with energy detectors and specialized protective gear. They shoulder the heavy responsibility of finding the five "Void Core"s; these cores may be the last hope to stop the "Global Synchronization Project".

At an abandoned factory in the eastern suburbs of the city, the Wood Element position. Lin Xuan leads the team personally, facing over a dozen humanoid entities condensed from Void Energy. These Void Guardians possess astonishing combat power, and ordinary attacks are almost ineffective against them.

"Zhou Wei, you three are responsible for covering," Lin Xuan orders quickly, "I will attempt to approach the core container."

The Void Guardians seem to have sensed Lin Xuan's intent and concentrate their attacks on him. Lin Xuan is unhurried; Wood Element energy circulates rapidly within his body, his hands form seals, and a verdant green light emerges around him: "Wood Element circulation, endless life!"

Dozens of vines condensed from Wood Element energy suddenly sprout from the ground, winding toward the Void Guardians like living things. These energy vines carry powerful vitality, capable of temporarily restraining the erosive nature of Void Energy. The Void Guardians are entangled and their movements restricted, but they are still struggling frantically, releasing bursts of purple-black energy fluctuations.

Lin Xuan seizes the opportunity and rushes toward the core container on the central platform. The locking mechanism on the container is extremely complex and requires a specific unlocking procedure. Lin Xuan quickly inputs the code provided by Yang Zhiyuan, and the energy barrier on the surface of the container gradually fades away.

Just at this moment, a particularly powerful Void Guardian breaks through the restraint of the Wood Element vines and lunges straight at Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan has no time to dodge and is forced to take the blow head-on. The Void Energy strikes his left arm directly, and intense pain instantly spreads throughout his entire body.

"Team leader!" Zhou Wei exclaims, immediately rushing over to provide support.

Lin Xuan endures the excruciating pain; his left arm has been severely corroded by Void Energy and has almost lost all sensation, but he still persists in completing the container's unlocking procedure. Accompanied by a faint hum, the container slowly opens, and a fist-sized crystal emitting a purple-black light floats within—this is the "Void Core" of the Wood Element position.

Lin Xuan puts on specialized gloves, carefully removes the core, and places it into the energy isolation box he is carrying. The moment the core leaves the container, all the Void Guardians suddenly collapse into purple mist as if their energy source had been drained, dissipating into the air.

At the same time, the other four teams are also engaged in fierce struggles at their respective target locations.

The basement of the southern stadium, the Fire Element position. The team led by Zhou Zhuo encounters a group of security personnel controlled by Void Energy. Although these human guards do not have combat power comparable to pure Void entities, they are well-equipped and fearless of death, making the battle exceptionally brutal.

"Try not to use lethal attacks," Zhou Zhuo reminds his team members, "They are just being controlled, they are not the real enemy."

The team pushes forward with difficulty toward the deepest part of the basement and finally discovers the Fire Element Core in a hidden mechanical room. Zhou Zhuo uses Fire Element energy to construct a temporary isolation shield and successfully obtains the core, but two team members are seriously injured in the battle.

The underground vault of the western Jinrong Zhongxin, the Gold Element position. Zhao Ming, assistant to Xu Feng, leads the team, facing an extremely complex electronic security system and physical barriers. Although Zhao Ming is not a Practitioner, as Xu Feng's capable assistant, he possesses outstanding technical talent.

"This system was designed by Yang Zhiyuan himself," Zhao Ming says to the team members, "Ordinary methods cannot crack it; we must follow the special protocol he provided."

After nearly half an hour of precise operation, Zhao Ming finally breaks through the layers of protection and finds the Gold Element Core. However, at the final moment of retrieving the core, the vault's Self-Destruct Program is triggered; in the explosion, one team member unfortunately sacrifices their life, and Zhao Ming himself sustains minor injuries, but the core is successfully preserved.

The northern lake island, the Water Element position. Li Shibo leads a team primarily composed of Water Element Practitioners to the ancient pavilion on the lake island. Unexpectedly, the guards here are several aquatic beasts composed of Void Energy, resembling dragons, capable of moving freely in the water and attacking fiercely.

Water combat is the advantageous domain of Water Element Practitioners, but the power of these Void Exotic Beasts exceeds expectations. In the intense battle, Li Shibo unleashes the ultimate technique "Water Element Ninefold Waves", defeating all the beasts single-handedly, but is also severely injured due to excessive energy consumption. In the end, the Water Element Core is successfully retrieved, but the cost is that almost the entire team is injured.

As for the most dangerous Central Core point, it is located in an ancient Underground Palace deep within the Forbidden City. Xiao Yuan was supposed to lead the team there, but at the last moment, Lin Xuan changed the plan and decided to go personally.

"The Wood Element Core has been retrieved, my team members can send it back to headquarters safely," Lin Xuan insists, "The Central Core is the most important and the most dangerous; I must go myself."

Xiao Yuan cannot persuade him: "At least let me go with you."

Lin Xuan shakes his head: "You need to stay at headquarters to coordinate the actions of each team and simultaneously supervise the operation of the Urban Great Array. Trust me, I can handle it."

In the end, Lin Xuan takes only two elite team members and quietly enters the Forbidden City. The midnight Forbidden City is shrouded in purple mist, appearing exceptionally eerie. According to Yang Zhiyuan's information, the Central Core is hidden in a secret Underground Palace beneath the Taihe Hall, a place that was once used by ancient emperors to store important Golden Treasures.

"Be careful, there is movement ahead," Lin Xuan warns his team members in a low voice, "At least ten people, fully armed."

At the entrance of the Underground Palace, a team of personnel dressed in black combat uniforms stands ready. Lin Xuan recognizes at once that these are members of the military's special forces, but their eyes flicker with a strange purple light; clearly, they have been completely controlled by Void Energy.

"This is trouble," Lin Xuan frowns, "They have undergone professional training and possess extremely high combat proficiency."

Before Lin Xuan can come up with a comprehensive plan, the special forces members have already discovered them and immediately launch an attack. Gunfire echoes in the corridors of the Underground Palace, and Lin Xuan quickly constructs a Wood Element Shield to protect himself and his team members.

"A frontal breakthrough is almost impossible," Lin Xuan thinks quickly about countermeasures, "We need to distract them."

A bold plan forms in Lin Xuan's mind. He takes several specialized energy jammers from his equipment and hands them to a team member: "You are responsible for drawing away most of them; remember, you only need to stall for five minutes."