The Invisible Prison

Bucciarati is a good person.

Regardless of what others think, in the eyes of the elderly people living in the old town of Naples, Bucciarati is an indisputable good boy.

Whenever these elderly people encounter any trouble at home, Bucciarati will do his best to help.

They are even more enthusiastic in handling affairs than the police station, and more enthusiastic in providing services than the neighborhood committee.

Over time, the elderly people came to regard Bucciarati as one of their own family members.

Having been abandoned by his mother at a young age and losing his father as an adult, Bucciarati unknowingly came to regard these elderly people as the source of his affection.

And now.

During the phone call made by Polpo, the familiar voices of those elderly people once again reached Bucciarati's ears:

"Is it... Bucciarati?"

"A group of strangers grabbed us and forced us to call you."

"Bucciarati, are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I"

Bucciarati's face turned extremely ugly.

Polpo didn't even give him a chance to talk to the elderly people before abruptly hanging up the phone.

"I don't need to explain the situation, do I?"

"I've done kidnapping before, you should know that I never show any mercy."

"Mr. Polpo"

Bucciarati clenched his Riot Games tightly.

At this moment, there was no longer a trace of respect for his former superior in his eyes as he looked at Polpo: "What you're doing now has gone too far."

"Don't be naive."

Polpo smiled dismissively:

"You're only qualified to say such nice things when you're standing on the corpse of your enemy."

"Now? You should make your choice first!"

He pointed to the traffic lights and utility poles at the bridgehead, showing Bucciarati and the others the dense array of surveillance cameras on them:

"There are quite a few surveillance cameras here."

"In other words, everything that happens at this intersection will be displayed on my computer in real time."

As he spoke, Polpo showed Bucciarati and the others a laptop computer displaying live surveillance footage:

"I'm leaving right now—yes, you guys are too dangerous, I don't want to stand in front of you."

"I hope you can stay here for a full ten minutes after I leave."

"Otherwise, those old guys wouldn't have any reason to exist."

Polpo smiled slightly, but his chubby face was full of coldness.

Then, without waiting for Bucciarati to say anything more, he slowly rolled up the car window and ordered the driver to drive away without turning his head.

The behemoth Hummer roared off, belching black smoke.

However, Bucciarati and his men dared not pursue them.

They could only watch helplessly as Polpo drove away, trapped like prisoners at the empty bridgehead.

"That's right!"

Suddenly, Polpo rolled down the car window, turned around, and shouted twice into the distance:

"Black Sabbath will stay here. You have ten minutes to play with it."

"But please remember, when you're 'playing,' never leave the surveillance area, not even for a second."

As soon as he finished speaking

The Black Sabbath, which had been standing still like a wooden figure, suddenly came to life.

It was like a piece of salt thrown into water, quickly "melting" in the shadow of the building.

The black cloak transformed into a shadow, enveloping its "disappeared" body as they silently vanished into the shadows.

This humanoid double simply disappeared.

Only a dark shadow, barely visible to the naked eye, moved swiftly in the dim light.

In the blink of an eye, it moved several meters in the shadows and squeezed straight into the gap of the wrecked car.

Bucciarati and the others were still sitting in the car, not having had a chance to get out yet.

That "shadow" was like a tiger entering a pack of wolves, immediately seizing the easiest prey:

"Ahhh!"

Mista let out a scream.

Two white arms suddenly emerged from the shadows beneath his seat, gripping his legs like iron clamps.

The force from those hands was terrifying; in just the instant he was gripped, Mista felt as if his shinbone was about to be crushed by the enemy.

"A hand actually reached out from the shadows?"

Mista was terrified by this bizarre scene and tried to break free but couldn't.

Bucciarati, however, seemed to realize what was happening when it was mentioned:

"Everyone get off the bus and stand in the sunlight!"

As he ordered his companions to get out of the vehicle and take shelter, he summoned his Steel Chain Fingers:

"Ali Ali Ali Ali Ali!"

After a burst of blue fist shadows, a long zipper-like pattern appeared on the roof of the car.

The zipper opened instantly with a crisp, continuous sliding sound, creating a "sunroof" in the previously sealed roof.

The intense sunlight streamed through the gap in the zipper, illuminating the arms that emerged from the shadows.

This Black Sabbath, when exposed to sunlight, is like fat meat meeting hot oil:

A strange hissing sound came from within the white smoke, as if it were about to melt from the heat.

It immediately withdrew its arms under the scorching sun and shrank back into the shade where it was not exposed to sunlight.

"Run!"

Bucciarati and Mista escaped from the car together.

However, their movement speed was far slower than that of the stand-in who could move swiftly through the shadows.

The two had barely escaped from the car, and before they could even separate their shadows from the car's shadow, the Black Sabbath clung to them like a leech.

Before Mista could react, Bucciarati shoved him away.

Bucciarati pushed him into the sunlight, but he himself fell into the attack of the Black Sabbath.

It has already slipped into Bucciarati's shadow, and will emerge from that shadow in the next second to deliver a fatal blow to its prey.

"Bucciarati!"

Mista, both moved and worried, called out to Bucciarati, who had sacrificed himself to save others.

The initial animosity between us has long since vanished, leaving only a feeling of gratitude.

"Don't panic."

Bucciarati's situation was not as tragic as Mista had imagined.

He took a step forward, carrying his shadow—the one hiding the enemy's double—and escaped into the sunlight.

Ordinary people can't change their shadows at will, but Bucciarati can.

Just as Black Sabbath was about to launch its attack from the shadows, Bucciarati suddenly turned to face the sun and ordered his Steel Chain Fingers to attack his own body.

The next instant, a long zipper appeared on Bucciarati's chest.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the zipper, scorching the Black Sabbath that had just peeked out from behind Bucciarati's shadow, making it howl in agony.

It instinctively wanted to escape, but Bucciarati's shadow had already separated from the shadows of the cars and buildings.

At this time...

Taking advantage of the enemy's pain and inability to move, Steel Chain Fingers quickly used a zipper to remove Bucciarati's legs.

Bucciarati's body and legs were separated just like that, as were his shadow.

The large body was carried away by the Steel Chain Fingers, while the legs, which had a limited area of shadow, collapsed to the ground after losing their balance.

The Black Sabbath, trapped in the narrow shadow of its legs, could no longer escape the sunlight.

It howled and screamed in the sunlight, but in an instant it melted away as quickly as spring snow meeting the sun.

"Huh? Huh?"

Mista stared blankly for a moment. "That's it?"

"This stand-in... is it really that easy to deal with?"

"Call"

Bucciarati sighed deeply:

"The Black Sabbath's ability is to move in the shadows, but its weakness is sunlight."

"If we knew this information in advance, there would indeed be many ways to deal with it."

"But that doesn't mean we can beat Polpo."

"Ah?"

Mista, who knew nothing about Stands, was utterly bewildered:

"Isn't it said that if the substitute dies, the original body will also die?"

"Uncertain."

"Black Sabbath is a 'remotely controlled Stand'. This type of Stand can act automatically away from its user and cannot be freely controlled by the user, but it also does not share the user's senses or injuries."

"Therefore, even if the Stand is dealt with, Polpo, as the original body, will be fine."

"And"

Bucciarati glanced at the surveillance camera hanging above his head and said with a hint of helplessness:

"In fact, dealing with the stand-in is completely useless."

"As long as the main body still has energy, Polpo can summon the Black Sabbath again at any time."

"And he is currently monitoring our situation remotely through surveillance. If he kills one, a new one will come soon."

Not long after that...

As if by some power of magic, a perfectly intact Black Sabbath soon emerged from the shadows of the street buildings.

"Wh-what?"

Mista was instantly stunned:

"That guy named Polpo has already escaped by car, and we can't find his real body at all."

"Not only is the hostage situation unsolvable, but even if we find the main body, we dare not leave!"

He gripped the pistol tightly, a sharp pain shooting through his head.

"If killing the substitute is useless..."

"Wouldn't that make you invincible?"

PS: Substitute panel.

Stand name: "Black Sabbath"

Ontology—— Polpo

Destructive power: E

Speed: A

Range: A

Endurance: A

Motion precision: E

Growth potential: E

Abilities: A long-range, automated Stand that can only operate in shadows and cannot enter very small shadows. Although its destructive power is only E, its suppressive power reaches A when it is in shadow, and its strength and speed are greatly increased. Weakness: Sunlight.