Chapter 419: The Power of Convergence, The Final Hope

In an instant, the ground of the Underground Palace suddenly split open, and dozens of thick Wood Element Energy vines burst from the earth like living things, sweeping toward the surrounding special forces with the force of a landslide. This was Lin Xuan's most powerful Wood Element technique; it consumed a massive amount of energy, but the effect was significant, successfully buying him a moment to breathe.

"Zhao Dong, retreat quickly! The Underground Palace might trigger a Self-Destruct Program once the Core is obtained!" Lin Xuan could not worry about much else, turning and sprinting toward the way they had come.

Sure enough, the moment Zhao Dong retrieved the Earth Element Core, the entire Underground Palace began to shake violently; rubble fell from the ceiling, and huge cracks appeared in the floor, clearly indicating that the Self-Destruct Program had been activated.

"The passage has collapsed!" Zhao Dong shouted into the communicator, "I'm trapped in the Core room!"

"I'm coming for you," Lin Xuan said through gritted teeth, "Wang Ming, evacuate the Underground Palace immediately and provide support for us from the outside!"

Lin Xuan endured the sharp pain in his left arm, using Wood Element Energy to enhance his physical strength as he rushed toward the Core room. Along the way, stones kept crashing down, nearly hitting him several times. The entire Underground Palace was collapsing rapidly; there was little time left.

When Lin Xuan finally reached the Core room, Zhao Dong was trapped by a collapsed stone pillar, with the Earth Element Core safely stored in a special container. Lin Xuan rushed forward regardless of the danger, using Wood Element Energy to temporarily prop up the crumbling ceiling to help Zhao Dong escape.

"Go!" Lin Xuan shouted, noticing an emergency escape passage on the other side of the Core room, "That way!"

The two of them gave their all as they sprinted toward the escape passage, while the Underground Palace collapsed behind them like the end of the world. Lin Xuan exhausted his last bit of Wood Element Energy to accelerate his sprint, rushing out of the Underground Palace at the very last moment before the passage collapsed completely.

In the night sky, a massive Void Energy vortex had formed above the Forbidden City, and a purple-black beam of light shot straight into the clouds, like an omen of the apocalypse. Lin Xuan and Zhao Dong leaned against an ancient tree, gasping for breath, as Wang Ming quickly stepped forward to meet them.

"The Core... is safe," Lin Xuan said with difficulty, his left arm having completely lost sensation, the traces of Void Energy erosion clearly visible, "We... must return to the headquarters immediately..."

The atmosphere at the Five Elements City Guardian Network Headquarters was heavy to the extreme. In the medical area, the groans of the wounded rose and fell, and medical staff shuttled back and forth, urgently treating batch after batch of team members who had rushed back from all directions.

"The Water Element sector team lost two people, with four severely injured; the Metal Element sector lost one, with two lightly injured; the Fire Element sector had no fatalities, but two are severely injured..." Xiao Yuan held a tablet, reporting the casualties of each team to Lin Xuan, her voice revealing an undisguisable exhaustion and anxiety.

"A total of eight casualties; almost everyone returned with injuries," Lin Xuan summarized in a low voice, his left arm wrapped in an Energy Suppression Bandage, the purple-black patterns of Void Energy faintly visible beneath it, "Our losses are even more disastrous than expected."

In a corner of the medical area, Zhang Yisheng was examining Lin Xuan's left arm. He shook his head, his expression grave: "The Void Energy erosion has already spread to your upper arm; if this continues, it will soon threaten your heart. You need to undergo comprehensive treatment immediately."

Lin Xuan, however, shook his head and refused: "There is no time; every minute is crucial right now. I can still hold on."

"But—"

"This is not the time for discussion," Lin Xuan interrupted Zhang Yisheng, rising to walk toward the command center, "Is there any news from Xu Feng?"

Xiao Yuan hurried to follow: "He just came out of the Core analysis room and said he has an important discovery."

Inside the command center, Xu Feng was busy working between several supercomputers, with complex code and energy analysis data flashing on the screens. Seeing Lin Xuan enter, he stopped his work, his face unable to hide his fatigue.

"I have completed the basic framework construction for the 'Star Brain' Emergency Shutdown Protocol," Xu Feng pointed to the program structure diagram on the main screen, "but there is still one severe problem—the final activation requires all Five Cores to be connected simultaneously to form a complete energy circuit, only then can a neutralization signal of sufficient intensity be generated."

Lin Xuan looked toward the five isolation boxes in the corner, each containing a Void Core suspended inside, emitting a purple-black glow: "These Cores are filled with Void Energy themselves; how can we use them safely?"

Xiao Yuan stepped forward and picked up the tablet to display a set of data: "I just finished a preliminary analysis of the Core energy characteristics. There is an interesting discovery—although these Cores are composed of Void Energy on the surface, they contain Five Elements attributes deep down. I believe that when Yang Zhiyuan designed these Cores, he secretly endowed them with corresponding Five Elements characteristics so that they could form an Array to resist Void Energy at a critical moment."

"The Five Elements generating and overcoming each other..." Lin Xuan said thoughtfully, "You mean these Cores need to be arranged in a specific way to function?"

"Exactly," Xiao Yuan nodded in confirmation, "According to the principle of the Five Elements generation: Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood. We need to arrange the Cores in this order into a complete cycle to form a stable energy flow and neutralize the Void Energy."

Just as they were discussing, the alarm system suddenly sounded. The central screen automatically switched to the city surveillance footage—the Void Energy above the entire city had formed a massive vortex, and the Purple Aurora was spreading in all directions like tentacles, covering almost the entire sky. On the streets, many ordinary citizens looked up at the sky, their faces filled with terror and confusion.

"The situation is even worse than we imagined," Xu Feng quickly pulled up the global monitoring data, "Void Energy is growing at an unprecedented rate. Globally, abnormal behavior among 'Star Brain' users has surged by 800%. Large-scale collective loss of control has already occurred in Australia and South America; people are gathering in the centers of cities, as if guided by some invisible force."

Lin Xuan's expression became even graver: "Yage's 'Global Synchronization Project' has entered its final stage. We must act immediately."

The staff in the command center accelerated their operations, each performing their duties. Lin Xuan, Xiao Yuan, and Xu Feng began designing the energy Zhuanghua Array around the Five Cores.

"Each Core requires a Five Elements Practitioner of the corresponding attribute to guide the energy flow," Xiao Yuan explained, "I can be responsible for the Fire Element Core, but given your injuries, Lin Xuan, are you sure you can control the Wood Element Core?"

Lin Xuan nodded without hesitation: "No problem, I can still hold on."

Several Practitioners proficient in Water Element, Metal Element, and Earth Element were quickly summoned to the command center, each receiving their corresponding Core. Xiao Yuan instructed them to stand in positions according to the order of the Five Elements generation to form a complete energy cycle.

At the same time, Xu Feng continued the final debugging of the 'Star Brain' Emergency Shutdown Protocol. Suddenly, his expression changed: "There's a problem!"

Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan immediately turned to look at him.