Chapter 422: Survival in Desperation, the Ultimate Choice

Lin Xuan's expression was grave: "Activate the Emergency Shutdown Protocol early and cut off the 'Star Brain' network! We must stop him from obtaining more energy!"

Xu Feng acted immediately, initiating the Emergency Shutdown Protocol left behind by Yang Zhiyuan. Complex code surged like a torrent into the global "Star Brain" network, beginning to forcibly sever the connection to Void Energy.

At the same time, Lin Xuan issued an order: "Operate the Five Elements Array at full power; we must accelerate the Core purification process!"

The five Practitioners increased their energy output simultaneously, the five-colored light becoming even more intense as it engaged in a fierce struggle against the Void Energy within the Core. The injury on Lin Xuan's left arm became even more severe at this moment, the intense pain like countless sharp knives cutting into his nerves at once, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, refusing to let the Wood Element Energy diminish in the slightest.

The entire Five Elements City Guardian Network Headquarters seemed to be at the center of an energy storm; the building trembled slightly, and equipment was damaged from time to time due to energy overload. Everyone held their breath, watching this final contest that concerned the fate of humanity.

The light from the energy tower at the Star Technology Headquarters grew increasingly brilliant, almost blinding. Meanwhile, the Energy Network formed by Practitioners across the globe was also operating at full capacity, attempting to delay the speed of the Void Invasion. The two forces engaged in an unprecedented standoff on the surface of Diqiu, the energy fluctuations even affecting Diqiu's magnetic field, causing large-scale failures of electronic equipment worldwide.

In Lin Xuan's field of vision, time seemed to become abnormally slow. He could clearly feel every wisp of Wood Element Energy circulating within his body and could see every collision and fusion between the Void Energy and the Five Elements Power inside the Core. He knew that this was the most critical moment for humanity, and also their last chance.

"Hold on!" Lin Xuan encouraged his companions loudly, "For this world, for everything we love, we must win!"

Inside the command center of the Five Elements City Guardian Network Headquarters, the "Five-Core Energy Conversion Instrument" had been fully activated, and the five-colored light wove into a complex Energy Network, firmly wrapping the five Void Cores. Lin Xuan and the other four Five Elements Practitioners stood at five key nodes, guiding their respective elemental energies into the Array to maintain the balance of the entire system.

"Emergency Shutdown Protocol activated," Xu Feng operated the keyboard with lightning speed, the code on the screen flowing like a waterfall, "Beginning to gradually take over the core servers of Star Technology."

The code provided by Yang Zhiyuan was indeed effective; within just a few minutes, Xu Feng successfully breached the multi-layered firewalls of Star Technology and entered the control center of the "Star Brain" network directly. Server cluster after server cluster was forced offline, and hundreds of millions of "Star Brain" devices began to lose connection.

All over the world, "Star Brain" users who had previously stood motionless suddenly woke as if from a dream; a large number of people regained consciousness and looked around in confusion, not understanding why they had appeared in strange places. This was a good sign, indicating that the strategy of cutting off the network was working.

"Keep it up," Lin Xuan encouraged, his energy output not diminishing in the slightest, "The first phase is progressing smoothly."

However, just as everyone thought victory was in sight, the main screen displayed an anomaly alert: Star Technology Headquarters had suddenly activated a set of hidden backup systems, and approximately 30% of the "Star Brain" devices that had originally been cut off were reactivated.

"Yage prepared a contingency in advance!" Xu Feng's face turned pale, "He established an independent backup system outside the core network!"

Even more worrying was that the behavior of the "Star Brain" users who were still controlled had changed. They no longer wandered aimlessly, but turned in unison toward the same direction—Star Technology Headquarters—and then began to move with startling consistency. On the streets, tens of thousands of people formed winding streams of humanity, like black rivers converging toward the giant tower emitting purple light in the center of the city.

The surveillance footage captured a terrifying sight: as these people approached Star Technology Headquarters, the Life Energy in their bodies was rapidly extracted, turning into purple energy threads that merged into that Void Energy tower. Some fell after their energy was exhausted, but most continued to move like puppets, becoming living sacrifices for Yage's descent ritual.

"My god..." Xiao Yuan could not bear to look, yet could not look away, "They are forming a 'human energy conduit' to provide the power Yage needs for his descent."

Xu Feng quickly analyzed the data: "According to the current rate of energy accumulation, the Void Invasion will reach a critical point in 57 minutes. Once it exceeds the critical value, we will no longer be able to stop Yage's complete descent."

Lin Xuan frowned, thinking of a countermeasure. Conventional means were clearly no longer sufficient to deal with the current situation; they needed more drastic measures. An idea that had once been marked as taboo surfaced in his mind—the "Five Elements Unity" Secret Technique.

This was an ultimate Secret Technique that existed only in ancient texts; theoretically, it could allow a Five Elements Practitioner to briefly fuse five types of elemental energy perfectly, reaching an unprecedented realm of power. But the price was equally great—the caster would likely die from exhaustion after the Secret Technique ended.

"I need to speak with Xiao Yuan and Xu Feng alone," Lin Xuan said to the other Practitioners, "Keep the Array running; I will be back soon."

The three walked to a small conference room nearby, and Lin Xuan stated his thoughts directly.

"No! Absolutely not!" Xiao Yuan opposed him resolutely almost the moment Lin Xuan finished speaking, "That Secret Technique has never been successfully performed by anyone, and all records indicate that no one who attempted it survived! There must be another way!"

Xu Feng maintained the calm characteristic of a scientist, quickly pulling up a series of data on his tablet: "Theoretically, 'Five Elements Unity' could indeed generate enough powerful energy to counter the Void Invasion, but the success rate is negligible, and the risk is extremely high."

"But we have no other choice now," Lin Xuan's voice was calm but firm, "Unless you can come up with a better plan within an hour."

Xiao Yuan's eyes filled with tears, but her scientist's intuition told her that Lin Xuan might be right. She turned to Xu Feng: "Is it possible to guide the energy of the five Cores directly to form some kind of temporary Void Barrier? Even if it can only hold for an hour or two, it would buy us precious time."

Xu Feng was thoughtful: "Theoretically feasible... but it requires extremely precise energy control; a single slight fluctuation could cause the entire system to collapse."

"Then let's try it," Lin Xuan decided, "If it fails, I will then activate 'Five Elements Unity'. Now, I need to make the necessary preparations."

Xiao Yuan wanted to continue to dissuade him, but Lin Xuan had already turned and left the conference room, heading toward the meditation room.