"Captain, we have word from the NYPD. The Grasshopper Gurongi has reappeared, just as expected." Agent Coulson, who had been on standby, received the dispatch from the New York Police Department and immediately informed Steve.
From the inscriptions recorded in the ruins, Steve knew that the Gurongi's "Gegel" required them to kill a specific number of humans within a set time limit. Therefore, he was certain the Grasshopper Gurongi would waste no time in resuming its hunt. He had Coulson notify George Stacy to keep the NYPD on high alert.
Steve himself remained on standby with Coulson, ready to move at a moment's notice. Sure enough, it wasn't long before reports of the monster's reappearance came in.
"Location?" Steve asked as he kicked his motorcycle into gear.
"The Special Operations Unit equipped with G3 armor is en route. All precinct officers on the scene must prevent the monster from harming more citizens!" George barked orders into his radio to the officers facing the Grasshopper Gurongi.
Frustrated by the constant harassment of police gunfire interfering with its game, the Grasshopper Gurongi decided to shift its target and hunt the officers instead.
"Dammit, what kind of monster is this?!" The officers on the scene were filled with terror as they saw the creature completely ignore their bullets.
"I'll start with you," the Grasshopper Gurongi growled, grabbing an officer and preparing to leap into the air to drop him to his death.
Suddenly, a heavy gunshot rang out.
The Grasshopper Gurongi took a massive impact, staggering back a few steps and losing its grip on the officer. However, the sniper round—powerful enough to blow a normal human's arm off—failed to cause any substantial damage. The bullet was physically pushed out of its body as the wound healed instantly, leaving not even a scar.
"It seems the Rinto have indeed developed more powerful weapons, to be able to attack from such a distance," the Grasshopper Gurongi remarked with interest, looking toward the direction of the shot.
Hundreds of meters away, the sniper saw the monster's gaze lock onto him through his scope. His heart tightened, and he prepared to fire again, but in a flash, the grasshopper-like figure vanished from his field of vision.
"The monster is coming for us!" a nearby officer cried out in panic.
The sniper looked up to see the Grasshopper Gurongi leaping toward their position. In a frenzy, he raised his rifle and fired, but the monster's jumps were too swift to track. Moments later, the creature landed at the sniper nest. Ignoring the desperate handgun fire from the remaining officers, they threw them off the roof one by one.
"Now there are no more weapons to hinder me," the monster said, crushing the sniper rifle under its foot before preparing to resume its game.
"All officers at the sniper point have been killed by the subject."
Receiving the report, George's face turned grim. "Where is the G3 unit?!"
"They have arrived near the subject's location."
"Deploy immediately!"
"I'll deal with these nuisances first," the Grasshopper Gurongi thought, eyeing the officers who had initially blocked its path. It easily swatted the resisting police aside, breaking their legs to prevent them from escaping. It is intended to carry them into the sky one by one and drop them to complete its game.
At that moment, the G3 Team finally arrived. Three elite officers, clad in powered armor, charged toward the monster on their motorcycles.
"Kuuga? No... you are not Kuuga," the Grasshopper muttered, slightly surprised.
The three officers in G3 armor saw the wounded police littering the ground. Furious, they drew their firearms and aimed at the creature.
"It's useless. These Rinto weapons cannot hurt me," the Grasshopper Gurongi said dismissively.
Though the G3 operators couldn't understand its language, its mocking attitude was clear. With a cold snort, the lead operator opened fire with his GM-01 Scorpion.
The Grasshopper Gurongi was sent flying by the sheer force. Holes were blasted clean through its body.
"What a powerful weapon... it seems I truly cannot underestimate you," the monster said seriously, clutching its wounds.
"Careful. Even though our firearms are powerful, they don't seem to inflict fatal damage on this thing," one G3 operator noted, watching as the holes in the monster's body began to knit back together at a visible speed.
Having felt the power of the Scorpion handgun, the Grasshopper Gurongi lunged at them, hoping to use close-quarters combat to overwhelm the armored suits.
"You can block my attacks?!" The monster was stunned to see its kick intercepted.
After blocking the strike, the G3 operator drew the GS-03 Destroyer—a vibrating, electromagnetic combat knife stored in the arm armor—and stabbed at the creature. Sensing a lethal threat, the Grasshopper Gurongi instinctively dodged, but the other two G3 operators closed in from the left and right, slashing it with their own electromagnetic blades.
Looking at the two deep gashes on its body—wounds that were healing slowly due to the electrical interference—the Grasshopper Gurongi was both shocked and enraged. However, the G3 operators didn't stop. After pushing the monster back, they immediately opened fire again.
Realizing it was at a disadvantage and its injuries were mounting, the monster knew that if it continued, the damage would exceed its regenerative capacity. If it were rendered powerless or killed, it would fail the game—a death sentence anyway.
Wisely, it chose to retreat.
With a leap spanning dozens of meters, it landed on the roof of a nearby skyscraper, shot a final glance at the G3 operators, and jumped away into the distance.
While the G3 system could suppress the Grasshopper Gurongi in combat, the operators had no way to stop it from fleeing. The G3 suits lacked flight capabilities and couldn't match the monster's supernatural jumping height.
"Have the helicopters track it! G3 Team, follow them! We must finish this monster today," George ordered immediately.
The Grasshopper Gurongi noticed the helicopter tailing it. It realized that if it didn't deal with the "eye in the sky," the three armored Rinto warriors would soon catch up. Finding a high vantage point, it waited for the helicopter to bank close enough and leaped directly onto the aircraft.
"I can use you to finish my game quotas," the monster hissed, beginning to hurl the police officers out of the helicopter.
"Mayday! Mayday! The monster has jumped onto the chopper! He's throwing people out—" The pilot's desperate cry filled the radio before he, too, was tossed out.
"The helicopter is out of control..." the dispatcher reported.
George slammed his fist against the wall of the command vehicle. Despite the G3 armor's success in battle, they had failed to capture the target. Several officers had lost their lives, and now a pilotless helicopter was about to crash, with no telling how much collateral damage it would cause.
Meanwhile, Steve, who had been tracking the Gurongi the entire way, witnessed the helicopter spiraling out of control and the officers falling from the sky.
"Gouram!" Steve called out through his consciousness.
(End of Chapter)