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

Lin Zhen gently shook his head and exhaled a puff of smoke:

You don't understand the implications.

We do not yet have the resources to directly confront the Black Beast.

That ultimate monster is simply beyond our current capabilities.

Lin Zhen was perfectly clear-headed.

His current combat power is enough to instantly kill a single Shadow Guardian and crush any set of Five Elements Armor.

In extreme tests in the virtual battle room, it was even able to match the four ancient alien beasts.

But this is his absolute limit at present.

The Black Beast's strength far surpasses that of the four ancient alien beasts; it is true darkness.

Moreover, the current five armor summoners are demoralized and riddled with internal conflicts.

Bei Miao rejects Xin Nan.

牴触西钊.

Everyone had their own thoughts.

The five men had never truly faced life and death together, and they lacked a strong bond of camaraderie.

Without unity of purpose, it is impossible to achieve the unity of the five forces.

Naturally, they were not qualified to fight the Black Demon Beast.

"What exactly is the Black Beast?"

When west Zhao first heard this name, he vaguely sensed that it was a terrifying existence far surpassing the Shadow Guardians.

Lin Zhen slowly explained:

"In the dark universe, the strong prey on the weak, and the mighty are respected."

A single Shadow Guardian is not as powerful as me, so the alien beasts will obey my higher-level authority.

However, the five major shadow guardians of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth can be completely integrated into one.

The five guardians combined form the ultimate darkness—the Black Beast.

Its power far surpasses that of all ordinary armor, including mine.

west Zhao suddenly realized:

"I see!

We can't push them to the brink, or they'll resort to desperate measures.

"When they combine into the Black Beast, we're completely at a disadvantage!"

Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who wear shoes.

Lin Zhen started from scratch, gained control of the film industry, and owned a top-tier conglomerate, but he had many concerns.

The Shadow Guardians, having nothing left, will only fight back desperately when cornered.

If a complete and utter war breaks out, the side that suffers in the end will definitely be the one that loses.

"So, we've been held back all along?" west Zhao frowned, his heart filled with worry.

Lin Zhen patted him on the shoulder, his tone encouraging:

"That's why I asked you to take good care of the other four."

Pass on all your combat experience to them without reservation.

The Shadow Guardians can combine, and your Five Elements Armor also has the qualification to combine.

west Zhao's eyes lit up instantly, his face filled with shock:

"The five of us can combine? Does that mean we'll become Emperor Warrior after combining?"

Lin Zhen nodded slightly in confirmation.

west Zhao was completely stunned, his heart filled with turmoil.

Emperor Knight!

That was what his father had told him since he was a child: the supreme and unparalleled Heavenly Dao of the Bright Universe!

"The emperor can divide his own essence into five parts, which are then transformed into five elements of armor and scattered throughout the world."

This proves that the five origins of light and shadow are originally of the same source and can be completely re-integrated.

"So how do we combine them to form the Emperor Armor?"

west Zhao, who had revered emperors since childhood, was now filled with eagerness and longing.

Lin Zhen smiled faintly and shook his head gently:

"The time is not right."

When the five of you have gone through countless life-and-death trials, you will be able to willingly risk your lives to protect each other.

At that time, the five elements will be unified, and the emperor will appear in the world.

Things will fall into place naturally.

"To risk one's life..."

west Zhao murmured softly, pondering silently in his heart.

If Xin Nan and Bei Miao encounter a fatal crisis, I will definitely do everything I can to help them.

But what if it costs me my life?

He hesitated.

Although I worked with everyone for several months, there was a deep distance between us, and we never truly opened our hearts to each other.

Moreover, he always knew in his heart that the birth of all the mutant beasts originated from his father's plan.

My father's original intention was to stop war with war and end all conflicts and wars in the world.

Therefore, every armor battle is more like a deliberately arranged trial.

Without a true life-or-death situation, genuine camaraderie cannot be forged.

Even he himself always seemed like an outsider, an undercover agent.

They simply cannot fully integrate into the team.

"Don't overthink it, let's deal with the immediate problem first."

Lin Zhen interrupted his thoughts, turned around, and walked back into the Lincoln.

"Go to the film industry base."

"clear."

The driver started the vehicle in response and slowly turned around to leave the underground base.

west Zhao stood still, not moving an inch for a long time.

His gaze was fixed on the smashed underground entrance.

Shadow King is still down there.

He sighed softly, then composed himself, his eyes becoming resolute.

With a leap, he jumped directly into the dark cave entrance.

He was unwilling to hurt anyone, but Shadow Boss recklessly attacked the ERP research base, coveting the Light and Shadow Stone.

This has completely crossed the father's bottom line.

This person must not be allowed to live.

A few minutes later.

Inside the ERP research room, Shadow King was tightly bound to his chair, completely lifeless.

west Zhao looked at the cold corpse with a complicated expression, then took out his phone and dialed Bing'er's number.

He truthfully recounted the entire course of the turmoil and the fate of the Shadow King.

Bing'er immediately responded that she would send people to clean up the scene as soon as possible.

Handle all subsequent cleanup work.

……

On the street outside the building.

Meizhen, along with more than a dozen base staff, fled the danger zone at breakneck speed.

Each of the five core members carried an encrypted password box.

Each box contains a precious light and shadow stone.

The group ran desperately until they were far away from the danger zone of the building, then leaned against the street wall, panting heavily, and stopped to rest.

"Fortunately, a backup plan was taken when the base was first built, and this secret escape route was specifically constructed!"

A middle-aged worker, panting heavily, looked on with relief, "Otherwise, we would all be dead inside today!"

"That's right!" someone nearby quickly chimed in, "I only found out about this secret passage when I was facing a life-or-death situation just now!"

That's right. The base was just breached, and everyone had prepared for the worst.

If the armor summoner cannot return to their aid in time, they will have no way to escape.

Just when they were in dire straits, Bing'er suddenly called in an emergency.

He informed everyone of the location of the secret passage and remotely authorized the unlocking of the passage entrance.

In the critical moment, Meizhen made a decisive decision and packed up all the light and shadow stones to take away.

She was acutely aware of the helplessness she felt in making this choice.

Once the Light and Shadow Stone falls into the hands of the Shadow Realm, the entire armor system will completely collapse.

Even if it means temporarily depriving the five summoners of their armor and combat abilities, we absolutely cannot allow the dark forces to succeed.

After resting for half a minute, my breathing gradually became steady.

Meizhen immediately took out her phone and contacted each of the five summoners one by one.

After communicating with each of them one by one, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xin Nan is safe and sound, and Bei Miao, Dong Shan, and Kun Zhong are all safe and sound.

west Zhao, who was the first to return to the rescue, has stabilized the situation, and all the alien beasts have left the ERP research lab.

Meizhen put away her communicator and spoke to the group who had finished resting:

"Everyone, west Zhao has sent word that all the mutant beasts at the base have left."

We can head back now.

"It's resolved so quickly?"

"I knew I shouldn't have run so hard, I'm exhausted!"

After making a few casual remarks, the group picked up the boxes containing the light and shadow stones again and turned back towards the building.

……

The Shadowlands base.

The ugly general knelt on both knees, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold ground, his whole body trembling violently uncontrollably.

He knew in his heart that he had committed an irreparable and monstrous disaster.

Lin Zhen remained silent throughout and did not rebuke anyone.

But from this moment on, ugliness will be completely marginalized.

Once the supreme ruler of the entire film industry, he fell to the bottom overnight and became an insignificant errand boy.

It wasn't that Lin Zhen simply didn't trust him.

However, with the conflict escalating, the clown's vision and abilities are no longer sufficient to support the situation in the film industry.

Even the alien beasts under his command could be easily manipulated and betrayed by the Shadow Guardian.

Giving the Shadow Realm to him is no different from handing it over to the Shadow Guardian.

Rather than letting the hidden dangers run rampant, it's better to take charge personally and fully control the dark forces.

……

An abandoned landfill on the other side of the city.

An old beggar, dressed in rags and carrying a tattered cloth bag, was bending over and rummaging through a pile of garbage to make ends meet.

If Lin Zhen were here, he would definitely recognize him at a glance.

This old, destitute beggar is none other than the future Black Emperor from the original story.

It was simply because the opportunity that belonged to him had already been snatched away in advance.

This resulted in him spending more than a decade as a beggar at the bottom of society.

Years of poverty and hardship have made him even older and more hunched over than when he first appeared in the original story, his back so bent that he could hardly straighten up.

Just as the Black Emperor was engrossed in rummaging through the trash, a thick, dark fog drifted swiftly from afar and landed steadily in front of him.

The black mist slowly dissipated.

The four shadow guardians are evil metal, evil water, evil fire, and evil earth.

They revealed their true forms in full.

The Black Emperor was so frightened that his whole body stiffened.

He wanted to escape as soon as possible, but his legs were too weak to obey him, and he could only stand there trembling.

"You... what exactly are you?!"

The Black Emperor's voice trembled with fear, his face filled with terror.

Evil Gold's expression was solemn as he stared intently at him, and he slowly spoke:

"I can completely free you from poverty and suffering, and give you endless wealth."

As long as you're willing to pay the same price.

More than a decade ago, similar words were said to the young Lin Zhen.

It's like an unsolvable curse, specifically designed to tempt the greed of those at the bottom of society.

If an ordinary person said this, the Black Emperor would only scoff.

The words, spoken by the Shadow Protector, penetrated the heart and took root instantly.

He was already struggling at the very bottom of society, and his will had long been completely worn down by the hardships of life.

At that moment, all the desires in his heart were instantly ignited, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he completely lost his mind.

"I want money! I want lots of money!"

I'm willing to pay any price!

At this moment, the Black Emperor resembled a desperate gambler who had lost everything.

Their desire for wealth and status has reached a point of madness.

"I'll grant your wish."

Evil Gold nodded slightly.

The four guardians simultaneously raised their hands, each unleashing a stream of pure dark energy that poured into the Black Emperor's body.

From then on, the Black Emperor was endowed with the special ability to manipulate human consciousness.

Relying on this special ability.

He briefly escaped his life as a beggar and barely made it into the middle class.

However, the power granted by the Dharma protectors is limited and cannot be sustained for long.

Just like when he went to a restaurant and casually picked up a leaf.

Once activated, the ability will make the cashier mistake it for real gold and silver.

But as soon as he turns away, his superpower immediately fails.

The cashier instantly came to her senses and realized that what she was holding in her hand was just an ordinary withered leaf.