Armor: After finding the Demon-Sealing Box, I won't eat beef.

"The company's resources belong to everyone, not to any one person for their personal hobbies."

"If Li Xinnan thinks that playing the piano is more important than saving the world, he can resign after we find a suitable successor to Huocun."

"The company will give him a generous compensation."

"The earth will keep spinning no matter who's gone."

Bing'er's attitude was so firm that there was no room for negotiation.

If all the battles in the future are fought like Li Xinnan's, then ERP will eventually be wiped out by the film industry.

"Chairman, I'll take you to your new office."

Bing'er had just stood up.

Wang Xiangqian immediately jumped up from his chair and ran ahead to lead the way, bending over like a shrimp.

The others also packed up their things and left with the meeting minutes.

Meizhen felt a tightness in her chest, lowered her head, and packed up her notebook, preparing to leave.

Garu called out to her, "Wait a minute, Mijin."

"Brother." Meizhen looked up, her face full of worry.

Garu sighed and said, "Have Dongshan stay behind to assist the technical department with his physical examination."

"Take half a day off and go to the hospital to see Xinnan."

"Explain the personnel changes in the ERP system, as well as all the contents of today's meeting, to him in detail."

"Brother, what if Xin Nan doesn't agree?" Mei Zhen asked worriedly.

Garu shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Don't you understand yet?"

The chairman of Tian Ding Xing was able to personally oversee this project.

This shows how seriously they take this matter.

"We are nominally equal partners."

"In reality, we've long been dispensable."

"What do you mean?" Meizhen looked completely bewildered.

"This is a very harsh fact."

Garru said with a wry smile, "Although we spearheaded the negotiations for the ERP project..."

"But over the past ten years or so, all the technical personnel, equipment upgrades, and system maintenance have been financed and supported by Tianzhengxing."

"Now they've even thoroughly researched the physical characteristics of the descendants of Guangying Village. What leverage do we have left?"

"It's true that we begged Li Xinnan to join us in the first place."

"But things are different now."

Dongshan is about to become the Wind Eagle Hero, and Kunzhong has also been found.

Once Bei Miao and west Zhao rejoin the team, the Five Elements Armor will be complete.

"Nominally, you are the armor liaison officer, and you have the right to summon."

"But in reality, the real decision-making power has long been out of our hands."

"If Li Xinnan really dares to leave."

Within three days, a new descendant of the Fire Village will take his place.

Meizhen finally realized what was happening.

She was so angry that her eyebrows shot up: "How could she do this!"

Xin Nan was the first to join the ERP system! Shouldn't we give him some preferential treatment?

In her opinion, Bing'er's actions were simply a case of using someone and then discarding them.

When we needed to research the data, they agreed to any conditions.

Now that they've grown up, they've turned their backs on us.

Even if Xin Nan doesn't perform well in their first match, they can train gradually.

How can you just give someone a choice between obeying or getting lost?

Garu stood up, patted Meizhen on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "I know you value loyalty."

"From a rational perspective, Chairman Lin's choice is perfectly reasonable."

……

After this meeting, the ERP research lab underwent a complete transformation.

The relaxed and carefree atmosphere of the past has vanished, replaced by an omnipresent sense of tension.

And the alien beasts seemed to have made a pact.

They began to appear frantically in every corner of D City.

Just like fighting monsters in a game, wave after wave.

Every time this happens, there are bound to be civilian casualties.

In just half a month, the entire city was plunged into panic, and everyone was terrified of anything "different".

The ERP team is even more overwhelmed, with a severe shortage of manpower.

Li Xinnan suffered a serious injury in his first match and had to stay in the hospital for a full week before he could get out of bed.

It's impossible to summon the armor in a short period of time.

After Dongshan obtained the Wind Eagle Summoner, he quickly got the hang of it.

The training data also increased very rapidly.

But he was all alone after all.

They simply couldn't be in two places at once and couldn't handle so many sudden incidents involving alien beasts.

The search for the person is not progressing smoothly.

Kunzhong was recruited very quickly.

However, he is too young and lacks combat experience, so it will take him a long time to develop combat effectiveness.

Fortunately, Bing'er was generous.

They spent a large sum of money to buy the earthen shadow stone back from Old Man Wei.

The hardest days are finally over.

Not long after, west Zhao left Jie Wang and voluntarily joined ERP.

The addition of the Snow Mastiff Armor instantly relieved the immense pressure of the battle.

Only Bei Miao, every time he sent someone to talk to him, was flatly rejected.

However, since four of the Five Elements Armor have already been collected, the impact is minimal.

In this short month, Lin Zhen also absorbed a massive amount of light energy.

He could clearly feel that his strength had reached a new level.

There's something else that's so absurd it's hard to believe.

The traitor Shadow King from the village of Earth Shadows back then, by some twist of fate, joined the Dark Shadow Realm and became Ugly General's subordinate.

The ugly general specifically called him to ask for instructions on how to handle the situation.

Lin Zhen made no comment.

He simply said he didn't care about anything in the Shadowlands, as long as it didn't affect his collection of light energy.

What surprised Lin Zhen the most was Li Xinnan.

He didn't choose to leave; instead, he stayed and began training relentlessly.

He seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, and his strength improved by leaps and bounds.

One month later.

Whether it's Dong Shan, Kun Zhong, or Li Xin Nan, they are all capable of taking on advanced alien beasts on their own.

Moreover, the success rate of the sealing is extremely high.

In this respect, Lin Zhen had to admire the protagonist group's aura.

Their growth rate is as fast as a rocket.

It was the third month since the Shadowlands and ERP were locked in a fierce battle.

Lin Zhen's research team has successfully developed a new generation of armor summoning devices.

This new type of summoner is a significant upgrade in performance compared to the original Five Elements Summoner.

In addition to being able to better amplify the energy of the five elements.

It also has a built-in active light energy absorption device.

In other words, after all the summoners have switched to the new summoner.

No matter where the battle takes place, Lin Zhen can collect the dissipated light energy immediately, and there is no longer any need to worry about wasting it.

……

That night.

Lin Zhen had just finished absorbing the light energy that Bing'er brought back from ERP.

The two hadn't even exchanged a few words yet.

A thick, impenetrable black fog appeared without warning in the center of the office.

Bing'er's expression changed, and she subconsciously took a step forward, blocking Lin Zhen's path.

"Dad, watch out!"

"Don't worry." Lin Zhen patted her shoulder, his tone very calm. "It's the Shadow Protector."

"Shadow Guardian?"

Bing'er was stunned for a moment.

She had heard countless tales of the Shadow Guardians from her father.

But this is the first time I've seen it in real life.

This black mist is the four-dimensional passage that the Shadow Guardian uses to traverse space.

Soon, four men and one woman emerged from the black mist.

Their clothing and appearance were all very strange.

There was a burly man with a shaved head, a hippie with long hair, and a chubby man who looked honest and kind.

The only woman was also dyed blonde and covered in cheap tattoos.

This is the vessel that the Shadow Guardian has carefully selected on Earth over the past decade.

Firstly, it allows them to use their human identity to gather information about the world.

Secondly, it can evade the surveillance of Heaven.

Bing'er stared blankly at the five people in front of her.

"This...this is the Shadow Guardian???"

Three big question marks swirled in her mind.

She had originally thought that the Shadow Guardian would be someone with a ferocious appearance and a powerful aura.

A demon king whose mere presence alone can make it hard to breathe.

How come none of them have the aura of a demon king? Instead, they all look like street thugs.

If her father hadn't said anything, she would have definitely thought he was a dropout from some vocational school who had gone out to make a living.

The evil metal possessed a middle-aged man with an oily face.

A golden glint flashed in its eyes.

Then, in a hoarse and unpleasant voice, he greeted Lin Zhen: "Long time no see, Lin Zhen."

Lin Zhen turned around and sat down on the sofa, looking very comfortable.

"It has indeed been more than ten years since we last met."

"You never come to our temple without a reason."

"Speak, what do you want from me?"

The evil fire possessed the bald, burly man, and his temper remained as fiery as ever.

It pointed at Lin Zhen and roared, "Are you planning to unilaterally tear up the contract you signed with us back then?!"

Lin Zhen feigned innocence, asking, "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"When did I say I was going to break the contract?"

"Stop pretending! If we hadn't found out the truth, we wouldn't have come looking for you!" Evilwood said coldly.

The foul water exposed his trick:

"Don't think we don't know! You were the one who orchestrated the establishment of the ERP research lab!"

"If you hadn't proactively sought cooperation with Garu back then, we wouldn't have the ERP system we have today!"

"You even handed over the entire management of the research lab to this woman!"

Evil Gold's eyes turned icy cold.

It said in a deep voice, "Lin Zhen, we need you to give us a reasonable explanation."

"explain?"

Lin Zhen scoffed, completely disregarding them.

"When have I, Lin Zhen, ever needed to explain my actions to you?"

"We signed an equal contract back then."

"I'll help you rule the earth, and you'll give me power."

"As for how the process goes, that's none of your business."

"Using your brains isn't for monsters like you who only know how to fight."

"you……"

Evil Water was so angry that he trembled all over, pointing at Lin Zhen for a long time without being able to say a word.

Back then, this guy was just a born disabled cripple who scavenged for food in a junkyard, and anyone could step on him.

Now that they've risen to power thanks to their strength, they actually dare to talk to them like that.

"Do you know who you're talking to?!" Evil Gold roared angrily.

He charged at Lin Zhen in a fit of rage.

Bing'er immediately stepped forward to stop it: "Guardians, let's talk this out, don't fight."

"I************!"

Enraged, he shoved Bing'er aside, then pointed at Lin Zhen and yelled, "Don't think you're superior just because you're wearing a suit!"

"If we hadn't cured your ailing body back then, you would have rotted away in the junkyard long ago!"

The evil wood, on the other hand, is much calmer.

It looked at Lin Zhen and said in a sinister tone, "Lin Zhen, oh Lin Zhen."

"Everything we were able to give you now, we can take it all back with our own hands."

"Do you believe it or not?"

Faced with the threat of the Shadow Guardians.

Lin Zhen suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter.

He laughed for a long time before slowly lighting a cigar for himself.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled a smoke ring.

He looked at the five shadow protectors before him and said with a smile:

"If you had the ability to take it back, you wouldn't be standing here talking to me so politely today."

"I told you, I will give you the result you want."

"As for how the process went, it's none of your business to interfere."

"All we see is you throwing money around, funding those damn light and shadow armors!" Evil Gold was so angry his eyes were practically spitting fire.

The Shadow Guardians aren't stupid.

At first, they also thought that Lin Zhen was supporting ERP simply to collect light energy.

But the further we went, the more something seemed off.

The number of Magic Stickers is limited.

In just three months, fifteen of the forty-nine magic stickers in the ugly general's hands have been sealed.

Meanwhile, the combat power of the armored side is visibly growing rapidly.

If you still can't figure out Lin Zhen's true purpose by now...

Then they really are complete idiots.

It is true that it absorbs light energy.

But perhaps the more likely truth is that he wants to support the Light and Shadow Armor in order to counterbalance them.