The 24 remaining leaders made their way to the private offices within their respective Town Halls. As they sat, a screen rose from each desk, displaying a list of numbers from 1 to 25. The number 25 was crossed out with a glaring, jagged "X."
A voice began to speak—the same voice they had heard during their first meeting in City 01.
"Welcome back, Leaders. We did not expect to meet again so soon, especially since the 'adaptation month' has not yet concluded. However, desperate times call for desperate measures."
The voice was casual, yet it carried the condescending tone of a teacher lecturing a room full of fools who possessed fire but only used it for light.
"As it stands, you have failed to grasp the gravity of your situation. You are in an apocalypse; death is the only constant. Those who become drunk on 'fake, temporary, assigned perks' will soon find themselves dead—the former leader of City 05 serves as your warning."
The 24 leaders felt the sting of the insult, but they remained silent. They knew the voice was right.
"The one-month grace period is over," the voice continued. "The elimination begins now. In the end, only the last city standing will earn a guaranteed passage to New Haven."
The voice began to list the new rules, the gravity of the words slowly sinking in.
"The criteria for survival have changed. Starting today, cities will be judged on two metrics: mutant kills and exploration progress. By the end of the year, only the city with the highest scores will survive. The rest will be terminated on the spot."
While the leaders listened from their offices, the citizens of City 05 and those already exiled to the wilds received the same news via a direct mental notification.
"Furthermore," the voice declared, "there are no longer 'Leaders.' You are hereby relieved of your special perks. From this moment on, you are no different from the citizens you once governed."
The voice grew colder as it detailed the monthly culling.
"At the end of every month, the 100 people with the lowest kill counts in each city will be terminated. Conversely, the individual with the highest kill count at the end of the year, in each city, will be granted immunity from the year-end termination."
"If the winning city has more than one million survivors at the end of the year, the single person with the highest overall kills will earn the right to protect one other individual—even if that person has the lowest score. In that case, the 100, beginning with the second-lowest score will be terminated."
The voice paused abruptly, as if receiving a sudden order. When it spoke again, its tone had shifted.
"A final incentive: Whoever captures or kills the Alien Creature responsible for the death of the City 05 Leader will be granted immediate teleportation to New Haven. The rest of the technical details will be sent to your notifications. This meeting is adjourned."
The screens retracted into the desks. Suddenly, the leaders and anyone else inside the Town Halls were teleported out to the streets. They watched in silence as the massive buildings collapsed into the earth, swallowed by deepening sinkholes.
Standing in the dirt, the ex-leaders—collectively despised by the populace as the "Council of Apostles of Demons"—finally felt the true weight of the apocalypse. They were homeless and stripped of their power.
The only thing they had left were the points they had hoarded through taxes and the Base Spirit. The real fight for survival had begun.