In the month and a half following the elimination of the Leopard Gurongi, the members of the Xu Group mostly took turns carrying out their Gegel games.
However, the vast majority failed to successfully hunt the required number of humans within the allotted time to complete their games. Most were eliminated by Steve and Kent, while a few others—due to interference and attacks from the police G3 unit—exceeded their time limits, causing their belts to self-destruct.
In the end, only one or two successfully passed the game.
Even though most of the participating Gurongi had been wiped out, and while the G3 Special Operations Task Force, Steve, and Kent did their best to minimize the damage, casualties were unavoidable. Because the Gurongi possessed human forms, it was impossible to predict their movements or prepare in advance.
Whether it was the NYPD's G3 unit or the duo of Steve and Kent, they could only receive word and rush to the scene after a Gurongi's game had already begun. This inevitably took time, and ordinary humans—even those carrying guns—posed no threat to a Gurongi. Weapons made no difference; they were completely powerless against the slaughter.
No matter how fast Steve arrived or how quickly he eliminated the threat, some of the humans targeted for the game were always killed.
According to NYPD statistics, nearly two hundred confirmed victims had died at the hands of the Gurongi in just over a month. The Gurongi's killing games had incited massive panic among the citizens of New York.
Beyond responding to active games, the NYPD also mobilized personnel to find the Gurongi's gathering points, hoping to catch them all before they could even start a game. However, the only time they successfully located a hideout, the operation failed due to a miscalculation in deployment; they hadn't expected the powerful Gurongi to simply retreat. Usually, Gurongi in the middle of a game fought Steve or the G3 unit to the death and rarely fled.
However, the rules of the Gegel dictated that Gurongi not currently in a game could not kill at will. Therefore, when the police came knocking, the Gurongi chose not to engage in a direct confrontation, instead using a feint to abandon their temporary base.
In an abandoned factory in New York, the Xu Group had established a new temporary hideout. At this point, however, the Xu Group was strictly a one-man army, with only the Rhinoceros Gurongi remaining.
"I killed 81 Rintos within two days. I have passed the game," said the Nepenthes Gurongi, showing his counting bracelet to the Rose Gurongi, who served as the game's judge.
Standing behind the Rose Gurongi, the Bat Gurongi watched with eyes full of envy as the Nepenthes Gurongi completed the game, changed his belt, and promoted to a higher rank.
"Modern Rintos may have stronger weapons, but their weaknesses have become more numerous and obvious. Their greed is far stronger than in the past; they show no vigilance at all before the traps I set. As long as they see the bait, these game-prey walk right into the trap themselves. As the Rintos say: 'Man dies for wealth, as a bird dies for food,'" the Nepenthes Gurongi said boastfully, basking in his promotion to the Me Group.
"The Xu Group is nothing but a bunch of weaklings. Only two members of the entire group could pass a minimum-difficulty game. If you ask me, there was no need to give them this much time. It's a waste of our lives," a group of Me Group Gurongi walked in, one of them speaking with utter disdain.
The Rhinoceros Gurongi's expression soured. "What are you doing here?"
"To conduct our Gegel, of course," the Piranha Gurongi replied.
The Rhinoceros Gurongi snorted coldly and turned to the Rose Gurongi. "I should be the next one to play."
The Rose Gurongi nodded. "You are the last contestant of the Xu Group. Regardless of whether you pass, the Me Group games will begin next. That is why I summoned them early."
The Nepenthes and Chameleon Gurongi, having passed their games, naturally stood among the Me Group ranks.
"Don't waste too much of our time," the Piranha Gurongi added snidely.
The Rhinoceros Gurongi shot him a cold glare and told the Rose Gurongi, "My goal is to kill 81 Rintos in one day. I will execute those Rintos who drive the annoying large boxes that emit strange smells and noises."
The Rose Gurongi nodded calmly and used her ring to activate the Rhinoceros Gurongi's belt.
At the NYPD, George Stacy looked grim as he flipped through files on the recent Gurongi attacks.
"Commissioner," the head of the police research department said, knocking as he entered.
"Any results from the Tree of Life Foundation?" George asked with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
Although the G3 armor and its weaponry could stand up to the Gurongi, they struggled to deal absolute, heavy damage. The Gurongi possessed terrifying regenerative abilities; G3 operators could only slowly grind down that recovery, which was highly inefficient.
They needed weapons capable of dealing specialized damage. Naturally, George had turned to the Tree of Life Foundation—the providers of the G3 armor. He offered the Gurongi corpses recovered by the police in exchange for the development of targeted weaponry.
Of course, Gurongi samples held no real value to the Life Tree of Foundation (which was controlled by Dan Kuroto), but it was necessary to provide the G3 unit with more powerful ammunition, as the upcoming Gurongi would be much stronger than their predecessors.
"Based on the samples we provided, they have developed ammunition specifically designed to counter the Gurongi's regenerative abilities," the research head said, his voice brimming with excitement.
George stood up immediately. "Have they been tested? Can they cause enough damage to their tissues?"
The researcher nodded. "The Tree of Life Foundation has developed a special type of ammunition called Nerve-Breaking Bullets. Once these rounds are fired into a monster's body, they trigger a series of spreading, continuous micro-explosions. These explosions destroy the nervous-like tissue and disrupt the self-repair of the cellular structure. While dealing massive damage, it significantly lowers their regenerative speed. Furthermore, they can be fitted for use in standard firearms."
George slammed his hand on the desk in excitement. "Excellent! Purchase this ammunition from the Life Foundation immediately and issue it to the entire force!"
(End of Chapter)