CH36:THE GORILLAS CHANGE

[Central Desper]

[Desper Police Headquarters; Assistant Chief Mane's Office.]

Dezhong Prince and Assistant Chief Mane stood on opposite sides of the room glaring at each other for a solid two whole minutes. While Mane remained sitting cockily on former Chief Prince's chair, Dezhong stood by the door, his clothes drenched and dripping with acid rain droplets.

His eyes remained fixated on Mane as he envisioned himself beating that smug look off his face. As much as he wanted to, Dezhong chose to ignore such negative thoughts and went ahead to look for his dad's belongings to leave the city as soon as possible.

"If you can point me to where my father's things are, I'd appreciate it and get out of your hair," he said in a monotonous tone.

"Not so fast, young man," Mane smirked. "You know, I admire you a lot, Dezhong Prince. You, being the son of Desper's greatest police officer. I can never be like your father or take his place," he said with a cocky and sarcastic smile on his aged face.

"I wonder, young man. Do you wish to take his place? I mean, become an officer like him, or a disgrace like your brother?"

Out of anger, Dezhong grabbed the closest thing to him and nearly threw it at Mane. His heart began to beat with rage as Mane's words repeatedly echoed in his head.

"Ooo, violent like him I see," Mane mocked. "Don't worry, Prince." Mane walked closer to Dezhong with a gauntlet on his hand. "I'll make sure to do a better job than your father and if you want, I can make you a better warrior than your brother."

With the gauntlet, Mane sent a powerful shock of energy through Dezhong's body. The shock was so strong that the boy fell to the ground and failed to breathe for ten seconds.

[-10HP]

[Emergency Healing Activated.]

[Warning! You cannot fight your opponent in your current state. Even if you weren't injured, your power levels are too weak compared to his. Count your losses and leave.]

"Take this stuff and get out of my sight," Mane spat at Dezhong while dumping a thick military-grade duffel bag on top of him. The bag was as long as he was and slightly heavier, nearly crushing him on impact. However, Dezhong seized the opportunity and used it as a way to knock off his daily quests.

[Quests Completed: 1/3]

With the heavy duffel bag on his back and his anger in check, Dezhong calmly walked out of the office while thinking of a way to show his hate towards Mane.

[Charging Heart Activated.]

[-10 Energy Points.]

With the added power of his charging heart skill, Dezhong used as much energy as he could and slammed the office's doors off their hinges. The slam destroyed the doors into chunks of wood and took them off the walls. Those who heard were surprised by the boy's sudden outburst and were glad he did so, since no one appreciated Assistant Mane.

'What the?' Mane wondered in disgust but then smirked while saying to himself, 'As expected. He has the same strength as his father and brother. Doesn't bother me though. What's the worst that he can do?'

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

[Eastern Desper.]

[Kenny's Factory.]

While Dezhong planned how he was going to return to his hometown, Luke, Blake, and the other young Gorilla members were currently at Kenny's factory attending a meeting that he himself called for. There were about eighty teenagers who attended and twenty young adults, each equipped with beast gear and weapons. They were all gathered in the parking lot of the factory and murmured amongst each other over what they were being called in for.

Ever since the attack happened, they all wondered whether Kenny or the police would allow them to continue hunting or not. But now they were called in, they were going to get an answer.

"Hey Blake," Luke whispered to his friend. "Any idea why we've been called in and where the heck Dezhong is?"

"Obviously, you've been living under a rock, Luke," Blake replied. "Dezhong's father was injured in yesterday's accident. He's in the hospital so Dezhong's in Desper cleaning out his desk. I watched the news and found out that Chief Prince has been replaced."

"That fast? I mean, not even after waiting a week? The man could make a comeback, you know."

"I know but the mayor rushed too quickly and appointed a new chief. Rumors have it that he's got massive plans on changing the entire police system by the end of this week. Don't know what to expect."

"Greetings young hunters." Kenny stood before the hunters with a heavy burden in his spirit. His once playful, charismatic character was now one of misery. "I hope you slept well. Sadly, I bring to you sad news. Due to the devastating event that happened yesterday, Kong has decided that the Gorillas are going back to their old ways of recruiting members. Now, not anyone can join, since he wants to ensure the strength of his gang. Those of you who are here are now required to undergo strict physical training daily."

"Reasons for this are as follows. One, there's a new chief of police and he hates us, the Gorillas, more than anything. Kong made a pact with Prince years ago, promising that we wouldn't hurt a single citizen unless threatened, but with this new chief, we're going to have to get bloody. The police are going through strict training as well, and if I'm correct, they're going to hold hourly patrols everywhere, meaning most of our activities like beast crystal hunting are now illegal."

"What's the way forward, Sir?" Blake asked, wanting to know how he was going to re-strategize their plan. "What's our training strategy?"

Kenny went on to explain everything to the young hunters, from how they were going to train to how they were now going to conduct business amongst each other and other gangs from different cities. "Keep in mind that the Gorillas aren't the only gang in Desper. We're just the biggest and most powerful, but given this situation, our numbers have been cut, and our enemies will take it as an advantage, so endeavor to do your best for us and yourselves, understood?"

"Yes, Sir!!"