CH8: IN THE RING WITH KONG.

"Kong. Kong. Kong. Kong." The Gorillas chanted in unison as they banged on their chests. Blake, Luke, and Dezhong were so lost but they had to do it if they wanted to fit in. Out from the back exit of the building came a relatively large man with a thick beard, square head, large body frame, and two, heavy prosthetic arms with purple crystals in them.

His large frame resembled that of a silver back gorilla, hence him having the name Kong, leader of the Gorillas. Kong stood in the middle of his gang members with a cocky smirk on his face. He raised his arms up and everyone cheered loudly for him.

"Silence." He said and everyone shut their mouths. " Brothers and sisters. Today, we have new blood seeking to join us. There are hundreds of you hear, but only three will get a chance to be part of the gorilla inner circle. The rest that make the cut will be scouts, mules, and carriers for our future plans, but I'm only interested in the three that make the cat…."

' Alright guys,' Blake whispered to Luke and Dezhong. 'Stick to the plan. Like I said, it's most likely going to be a physical test so since Dezhong's the strongest, you'll have do it. Luke and I will help in any way we can.'

" First of all. I congratulate you on making it another year in this city. Things can get wild but, we all made it through." The crowd cheered. " However, since this is a new year. We've got a special twist for all of you."

"Twist? What twist?"

"You tell me. I thought it was going to be the same fighting challenge as always."

"WHAT!! You mean guys fight to join the inner circle?"

The crowd mumbled against themselves since most expected the same entrance challenge. Kong clapped his metal arms and silenced everyone. "This year, you're not facing each other until the last three. You'll be facing...ME!" Kong ripped his shirt off his body and hit his chest in a gorilla-like manner.

The inner circle wannabees were left in shock as they witnessed the leader's large, thick, heavily built, detailed, chiseled body.

"No wonder he's called Kong."

"Man be built like the King Kong. What the hell?"

"I'm not fighting that. I'm out."

"Me too." Without even giving it consideration, some of the wannabees started to live but Kong lifted his arms and said, "It doesn't have to be a full-on fight."

They all turned around, willing to hear what the leader had to say. "All you have to do is stand three minutes against me. Nothing more, nothing less. Three minutes is what you have to do."

*Ding*

[Side Quest 2 Available.]

[Manage to spend three minutes with the Kong.]

[Reward: Level Up. 1skill]

"Who's up for the opening match?" Kong asked. Dezhong was about to raise his hand up but then, a green-haired teen stepped up and loudly shouted, " I'll do it. I'll prove I can stand three minutes against you, Sir!"

The second he said that all the Gorilla gang members made a makeshift ring by surrounding Kong and his young opponent. Green hair and Kong stood face-to-face without any signs of emotion on their faces. While Green hair stood still without moving a single muscle, Kong huffed and puffed while cheekily smiling occasionally.

"May the best contender win."

"BEGIN!" They all shouted. Green hair charged in with his fists up while Kong stood still, waiting for his young opponent to make the first move. Green hair leaped up with one foot and landed a successful hit on Kong's midsection. However, the leader didn't do as much as flinch from the impact so the boy quickly fell back and prepared for another attack.

Green hair ran forward again, this time swaying from side to side. He then ducked and jumped high, landing a fist on Kong's chin. Kong's head didn't even move and Green hair could feel his energy leaving his body with each attack he delivered.

'Damn it. He's not even flinching. What's this man made of.'

"A for effort."

Kong grabbed Green hair by his arms and slammed him on the ground. He made sure to hold back so that the young boy wouldn't get gravely injured. Green hair passed out immediately, making everyone laugh and applaud him for his stupid yet brave attempts.

The next person to willingly face Kong was a red-haired girl with a body full of tattoos. She looked wild and insane with her crazy hair, tattoos, and ear piercings. "That position's mine, losers." She said as she cockily walked to the ring. "Hey, Kong. Look, I'm not scared of you so don't hold back on me, alright." She yelled. "I'm the closest thing you're gonna get to a real competition."

"You're not even worth being looked at, missy." Kong teased and everyone laughed. The girl gnarled in anger and quickly ran at Kong with a flying kick.

"Shaolin flying KICK!!" Before she got an inch close to Kong's face, he grabbed her by the leg, held her in the air, and said, "Is this the best you've got?" He then threw her back to the ground.

She angrily wiped her mouth and ran again with a flying knee, this time to his midsection. Kong moved aside quickly and elbowed her in the back. The girl slammed into the ground while winced in pain and began to cry. She shamefully crawled away from the crowd and cried in a distance while Dezhong waited for the other contender.

-------------

"Easy, Dezhong," Blake said. "I can see that you're dying to go against Kong. We've gotta listen carefully to what the instructions are."

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked.

"I was saying...."

"Yeah, man. I'm not going to be like those guys. They're fighting senselessly but I'm going to fight with my mind. I'm gonna think first, then strike. Not strike and then think." Dezhong bragged. "Besides, my father made sure to give me the best in close quarters combat fighting. I think I can manage."

"That's right, Dezhong." Luke cheered him on. "Those fools don't know what they're doing. We gotta go in smart. We gotta go in with our heads out of the cloud. We..."

"You lot, don't have to do any of that." The pink-haired girl from earlier whispered and invited herself to the conversation.

"Exactly," Blake interjected. " Kong said standing for three minutes, not fighting."

"There's no way any of us can take him on, one by one." She interjected. " So...who's the wise guy going in to face Kong?" Blake and Luke pointed at Dezhong and the boy immediately blushed as he tried to break eye contact with her.

"Wishing you luck. Hope to find meet you inside. I'm Ash, by the way." She smiled as she went back into the base. Blake and Luke started teasing Dezhong, making heart signs with their hands and pretending that he and the girl kissed.

"Alright, enough of this." Blake smiled. "Dezhong, you're up."

"What the...No, I'm not going to."

"Too late." Luke pushed Dezhong through the crowd, leaving him in the ring with Kong. He slowly raised his head as his eyes scanned the wall of muscle of the man.

*SIGH*

"Let's get this over with."