While Kenny and Krakenhouse left the Gorilla's base so Kong could speak with his new recruits, Blake and Luke were on the other side of the city signing up to be members of the gang too.
Dezhong's duty was to infiltrate the inner circle of Kong's gang and learn as much as possible about the prize while Luke and Blake's duty was to assist him in anyway but letting him know if advancements would be made as they went further down the chain of command.
At the moment, the two boys were at a small-scale bottle making factory where they and a couple hundred more teenagers and young adults were about to be given their daily assignments.
"Dezhong finally made it to the meeting," Blake whispered to Luke. "He sent me a message when he nearly arrived so we don't have to worry about him messing up."
"Who told you I was worried?" Luke laughed. "You're making a huge fuss out of this, Blake. Just relax and wait for your assignment."
"Good morning, my dearies." A high-pitched, banshee-sounding voice with a bit of base burst into everyone's ears as a hover car landed not a few meters away from them. "Did everyone have themselves a wonderful night?"
Kenny stepped out of the car with a flamboyant smile and a prideful walk. Those around him, including Blake and Luke, tried their level best not to laugh at his voice and yet Kenny was making it harder for them.
"What's wrong now?" He asked, after noticing how everyone's faces looked like they were trying to squeeze out something from their body. "Something making you laugh? Was it something I said?"
*CLAP*
With one clap, Kenny was able to silence everyone as he got down to business. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time, my name's Kenny. Nice to meet you." He said with his voice that became deeper all of a sudden. "Since we have a couple of new bloods here, I'll split you up into groups of three. One current member will lead the newbies into the forests.'
"If we want to collect more this time, we'll have to cover more ground." Kenny snapped his fingers and someone brought to him an item that was covered in cloth. "This is what you'll be using this time." He showcased a thick, and yet light-looking sword. The hilt was thick with a green crystal encased in it while the blade itself was single-edged and gently curved at the tip. The middle had a portion of it removed and sharpened, so it looked more like a potato peeler. "These will help those of you that are good with swords. As usual, you are to return these as soon as you're done with your mission, understood?"
"Yes, Sir!!" They all replied and got to separating themselves into three groups, one current member and two newbies.
"Oh, I see now," Blake muttered. "Our assignment is to collect beast crystals. That's why we've been given these weapons."
"Beast crystal? We're gonna fight beasts?" Luke panicked. "I've never seen any of those things before, let alone fight them."
"Don't worry," A soft, cheerful voice reassured him. "You'll have me on your side." Looking back, he saw a brown-skinned girl carrying the same type of sword Kenny show cased earlier. She had a round, smooth face, hazzle brown eyes, and slick, black hair tied in a ponytail. She had a slim upper body and curvy waist with slightly bulged legs for a girl. "My name's Nadia, I'll be leading you guys today."
"I'm not being led by a gir…." Blake elbowed Luke in his gut before he made his rude remark.
"Nice to meet you, Nadia." Blake smiled while they shook each other's hands. "Wow, you've got a strong grip."
"It's a bare minimum if you want to survive out there." She smiled while increasing her grip. "Anyway, you two will need to get yourselves one of those." She pointed at one of the Gorillas handing out grey coats. "They may look like ordinary coats but they're lined with a thin layer of powerful crystals which absorb any damage you take."
"Damage?" Luke panicked. "Are we gonna get hurt out there?"
"If you keep whining like that, yes." Blake replied with a glare.
"Don't worry. Desper's forest only has basic and general tiered beasts. They're not that dangerous to say in the least. And besides, I have this little gizmo that'll help me." She pulled out from her pocket a clear cad with which, plastic edges. "This thing scans beasts and lets us know what tier it is. Since you two are new, we'll stop at general tiered beasts. Intermediate may be too much for you. Suit up, and let's go."
------------------
"Glad to see young men and women like all of you being quick about your duties." Kenny continued after all the recruits and a couple of the current Gorillas prepared themselves to leave. Remember, if you cannot handle a beast, do not force yourself to. Basic and General tier beasts may be weak, but they're still beasts, alright? If they get the chance, they will either hurt you back to escape or try to kill you. Good luck."
Nadia, Blake, and Luke headed for the forests where they and the rest of the Gorillas were going to hunt for beast crystals as their first assignments. The Gorillas depended on these because they were some of the items they sold to the community and Neveahians.
They'd also use these crystals in their technology, vehicles, medicines, and even prosthetics, although only the highest-ranking gang members got the good tiered crystals.
While on their way to the forests, Nadia would occasionally try to start small talk with them but both boys were not the chatty type, especially Luke.
"Well, we're here." She sighed with relief knowing that she'd be done in a few hours. "Please use your tier analyzers and follow me. The beasts are in the middle and other edge of the forest. We won't find many from here."
"Hey Nadia. How long have you been in the Gorillas?" He asked while hoping to gather some information about how the Gorillas operated.
"I joined about two years ago," She replied. "My family was short on money and hunting beasts helps me and my father put food on the table. In fact, I've saved up enough to resume school this term. Hoping to see you guys there?"
"Yeah, sure. Let's get this over with." Luke cut them off as he drew out his sword and dashed for a six-legged caterpillar-looking beast. It has six legs like a rabbit, but its body was like that of a monarch butterfly's caterpillar stage. The beast was as large as the average dog and with those six feet and its heavy body, it had the speed of a turtle.
[Scan Complete.]
[Beast Name: Caterbit]
[Tier: Basic.]
[Strengths: Basically nothing.]
"Well if it's that weak, I'll just finish it off in one slice."
"HEY LUKE, WAIT!!"
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