Meeting Again

"Ha?"

Li Qing's figure froze instantly.

At first, he thought he was just hallucinating because he was too angry.

But when he sensed the incredibly clear and unmistakable breathing and heartbeat behind him, Li Qing knew something was wrong:

"Diavolo?"

"He's really here?!"

Li Qing can indeed judge whether the King Crimson has activated his Time Erasure by sensing the surrounding sound environment, but that requires him to concentrate and listen attentively.

He was so caught up in the horrors he witnessed that he didn't have time to calmly observe his surroundings.

So close. Just a little bit more.

If Diavolo hadn't inexplicably stopped and said something, his head might have already been smashed by the King Crimson.

"Datafication!"

Li Qing felt a lingering fear and hurriedly activated the Digitization Mode to protect himself.

Diavolo, who suddenly appeared behind him, did not hesitate any longer.

As Li Qing entered Digitization Mode to prepare for self-preservation, Diavolo quickly recovered from the surprise of his "whereabouts being exposed":

"King Crimson!"

The King Crimson had already appeared before Diavolo.

It instantly raised its tangled arm covered in red and white patterns and slashed out with an extremely sharp hand chop at Li Qing, who was right in front of it.

Li Qing instinctively wanted to dodge, but

There's no escaping it!

Even with upgrades and enhancements, Li Qing still couldn't dodge the King Crimson's full-force hand strike.

Although he has surpassed the limits of humanity, according to the panel data, he is actually only a "Strength and Speed B".

Diavolo's King Crimson is not only "A-rank in both strength and speed," but also one of the best among A-rank Stands, with its strength and speed far surpassing those of ordinary Stands.

The gap in strength is simply too great; even a leapfrog upgrade and enhancement cannot bridge this chasm.

Even though Li Qing Sin tried his best to dodge, he could not avoid the King Crimson's attack, which was as fast as lightning and as heavy as a mountain.

Hiss--

Amidst a series of grotesque sounds of flesh being torn apart, Li Qing's chest was ripped in two by a powerful hand strike, much like a tattered cloth being violently ripped open.

The torn flesh healed instantly under the influence of the digitized body, but the King Crimson's arm remained firmly embedded in Li Qing's chest like a skewer for lamb.

It's the same familiar taste, the same familiar recipe.

There are no complicated combos, only explosive strikes.

Just like when we met in the morning, Li Qing became that badger in the melon patch under the moonlight, pierced by a pitchfork.

"Hateful.!"

Li Qing's body suddenly trembled.

He immediately focused his mind and activated his super hearing, trying to find a living person nearby who could withstand the Sonically Enhanced Wave mark in order to escape.

That's right, although he said "Diavolo should come out," now that Diavolo has actually come out, he wants to run away.

There's nothing we can do; the difference in strength is just too great.

Although he had unlocked a new skill and his body had been enhanced, Li Qing still didn't know how he could defeat Diavolo, whose abilities completely overwhelmed him, in a one-on-one fight.

However, before a suitable target for the Sonically Enhanced Wave could be found, Li Qing's right hand, which he was using to launch the Sonically Enhanced Wave, was firmly seized from behind by the King Crimson.

It was like a father taking his son home, tightly grasping Li Qing's relatively small hand with his large, strong hand.

Li Qing had no power to resist at all.

He struggled to pull his right fist back, but was unable to move due to the monstrous strength in the King Crimson's hand.

And then...

The King Crimson pulled out the arm that had pierced Li Qing's chest and slammed Li Qing to the ground.

Just as Li Qing was about to resist, the King Crimson suddenly reached out and gently grabbed the roadside guardrail, removing several metal bars from the guardrail and then forcefully kneading them into a thick and sharp steel bar with his palm.

"You'd better stay put!"

With Diavolo's terrifying shout, the steel bar suddenly pierced Li Qing's right arm, pinning his right hand firmly to the ground.

Li Qing's current situation is already a foregone conclusion.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Diavolo's maniacal laughter suddenly rang out.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze in his almost tangible killing intent.

"It's 4:45 PM now."

"Eight hours and forty-seven minutes have passed since we met this morning."

Seemingly to vent his long-suppressed anger and unease, Diavolo hysterically shouted at Li Qing Sin:

"You actually survived for almost nine hours after meeting my King Crimson!"

"This is an absolutely unforgivable crime!"

"."

Li Qing didn't speak, but struggled to pull his right hand off the steel bar.

However, the King Crimson stomped his raised arm back down.

That foot was like a massive boulder, pressing down on Li Qing's right arm so that he could no longer move it.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Your death was imminent the moment you boarded the helicopter alone."

"We finally managed to force you out of this city, we finally waited for an opportunity for you to get separated from your companions, and we finally found your trail near the crash site."

"How could I possibly be so careless as this morning and let you slip through my fingers again!"

Diavolo's voice was chillingly cold:

"Your right hand, your right hand is your Achilles' heel!"

"As long as I have a firm grip on this right arm, you will have no chance of escaping from me."

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Fate. The so-called fate."

The King Crimson was firmly trampling on Li Qing, while Diavolo laughed heartily at the sight:

"You've already been trampled under my feet, Diavolo!"

"I"

Li Qing's face was extremely pale.

The facts are just as Diavolo said.

After his right arm was stepped on by the King Crimson, he was no longer able to use the Sonically Enhanced Wave to lock onto distant targets at will.

The Golden Bell Shield can only be used when a friendly target is within 100 meters, and now that he's separated from his teammates, he can't rely on it either.

As for the newly acquired "Heavenly Thunder Break" and "Bone Shattering Strike".

This skill is basically just icing on the cake; it can't help Li Qing solve his fundamental survival problems.

"What to do?"

Li Qing was once again in a desperate situation with nowhere to turn.

Moreover, unlike the Diavolo we encountered this morning, the current Diavolo is more cautious, more focused, and more ruthless.

He would not let his guard down at all, nor would he give Li Qing any opportunity to take advantage of him.

Just like now

Although Diavolo appeared somewhat arrogant on the surface due to his emotional outburst, he was actually far from letting his guard down.

He stared intently at Li Qing, and soon noticed something unusual about Li Qing:

"Health points."

"After that attack, he still has 70% health left?"

Diavolo's expression instantly turned serious:

When facing Li Qing in the morning, King Crimson chopped off nearly 50% of Li Qing's health with a single chop.

But now, with a chop to the neck and a steel bar piercing through his body, Li Qing only lost 30% of his health.

"How is this possible?"

"Has the King Crimson's power weakened? No."

"Li Qing has gotten stronger!"

The joy I had just felt vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented sense of oppression.

"Yes, not just health points."

"The speed and strength that Li Qing showed when he dodged and struggled just now were obviously much stronger than his performance this morning."

"But it hasn't even been nine hours yet."

"In less than nine hours, this bald guy has become this strong?!"

Diavolo felt a chill run down his spine.

Among the various attributes of a Stand, the most important one is not strength, speed, or endurance, but a very inconspicuous attribute: "Growth potential".

As long as there is high growth potential, there will be unlimited possibilities.

"No. We absolutely cannot give him another chance to grow!"

"Today! Now! Right here! I must kill him!!"

Diavolo's eyes blazed with overwhelming killing intent.

His wariness, even fear, of Li Qing's terrifying potential for growth made him worry about whether his current assassination attempt would succeed.

To dispel this lingering doubt.

Diavolo finally revealed his eyes that could see the future:

"King Crimson— "

"Epitaph!"