A Call to the Boss

When Li Qing and Giorno were squatting by the roadside stealing motorcycles two hours earlier, he could never have imagined that he would have the opportunity to witness such a grand scene two hours later:

Beyond the gray-black sky, on the azure sea, a patch of twinkling lights shone in the distance.

The light was like the stars on a summer night, almost filling the entire sky.

Gradually, those "starlight" points drew closer.

The long trails of flame following the light were visible to the naked eye, as well as the simple arcs of white smoke they left behind as they streaked across the sky.

However, no sound can be heard.

Because these tiny things, as dense as stars and as intense as a storm, move much faster than sound.

It wasn't until they tore through the sky, crossed the sea, and flew right up to Li Qing that he finally noticed these deadly weapons, which embodied the highest achievements of human technology, through the abnormal air currents that resembled the approaching hurricane.

He was so stunned by such a grand gesture that he was speechless, and his hands, which were tightly gripping the machine gun, unconsciously loosened.

He stopped firing the machine gun bullets that were used as decoys.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

Compared to those unparalleled speed missiles, the helicopter that Li Qing and General Colt were riding in was nothing more than a tasteless chicken rib.

The Meat Mountain quickly abandoned the helicopter that was about to be swallowed up and turned to face the "fireworks" that were scattered all over the sky.

"Fire at me!"

General Colt's heroic and fearless roar over the radio still echoes in the hearts of all the officers and men in the carrier command center.

After delivering a saturation barrage to the monster as ordered, many of them removed their hats to salute General Colt from afar, and some even shed tears of emotion.

Then

These officers and soldiers, moved by the spirit of the simple rice porridge, gradually discovered...

The General Colt they were mourning seemed to be alright, but the monster, following the trail of missiles and artillery fire, was charging toward them at a speed comparable to that of a missile.

In just a few breaths, the Meat Mountain, fast enough to "fly" across the sea, traversed countless oceans and crashed headlong into the aircraft carrier that was relentlessly unleashing its firepower in the distance.

This steel behemoth, which should have shone brightly in the Balkan Wars, was smashed into a mangled piece of marine debris by a Meat Mountain flesh nearly forty meters tall and traveling at supersonic speeds.

"."

The helicopter hovered over the distant sea, and there was a moment of silence in the cabin.

General Colt was breathing heavily, his expression completely blank.

Staring at the monster feasting on the wreckage of the aircraft carrier on the sea ahead, he stared wide-eyed, still shaken, seemingly unwilling to accept that this was the reality he was seeing.

"Um..." Li Qing swallowed hard, and said to General Colt in shock, "It seems you've sunk your own aircraft carrier."

"Nonsense!!"

General Colt roared hysterically.

He let out a long sigh of relief, his emotions gradually calming down from their breakdown.

"It was indeed my order, but I had no idea the monster would attack the aircraft carrier."

"Besides, this is all for saving humanity and saving the Earth."

"Those brave young men sacrificed themselves, leading the monster into the ocean and saving the world from imminent danger. The people of our motherland will never forget them, and humanity will never forget them!"

As he spoke these touching official platitudes, General Colt gradually regained his composure as a great man.

After overcoming his guilt as a colleague, he astutely realized that today's events would not only have no personal impact on him, but might even become an unprecedented achievement—

There are countless generals in history who conquered cities, seized territories, destroyed armies, and destroyed nations. Which general fought monsters? Which general saved the earth?

If this works out well, he could be the next savior of humanity to be worshipped.

"Cough cough."

General Colt was envisioning a bright future when he suddenly realized that Li Qing, this uninvited guest, was still by his side.

He immediately adopted a haughty demeanor and questioned in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant:

"Who exactly are you?"

"Do you have anything to do with this monster?"

"Hey"

Li Qing glared at General Colt with his eerie gray-white eyes:

"Everyone in the city can see that it erupted from Mount Vesuvius, so what does it have to do with me?"

"As for me, I'm just an ordinary citizen who acted bravely and righteously."

"Today's events were all accidents; I never expected that something like that could emerge from a volcano."

General Colt averted his gaze after being glared at.

In reality, he didn't believe Li Qing could have any connection with that volcanic monster; he was just making a bluff.

Moreover, for General Colt, who wanted to portray himself as a human hero, identifying the volcanic monster as a "natural disaster that would destroy humanity" was more in his interest.

"Alright." His eyes flashed sharply, his tone meaningful. "I believe you have nothing to do with this natural disaster, however..."

"I understand."

Li Qing, understanding and considerate, made a guarantee:

"Today, you and the United States saved the world. I won't say anything unnecessary."

"Besides, even if I were really just looking for trouble, public opinion is controlled by your Western media. Who would care about the truth spoken by an Easterner?"

Upon hearing this, General Colt nodded in satisfaction.

Li Qing was right; his voice alone was limited, posing almost no threat.

Anyway, General Colt was also vaguely afraid of Li Qing's supernatural ability to move high and low, so if Li Qing could wisely say he would keep quiet, then there would be no conflict between them.

"If there's nothing else, please take me back."

"The task of guarding that monster is now entrusted to you, the 'great hero'."

Li Qing sat down casually and urged General Colt to hurry up and get him back to land.

To avoid trouble, he didn't want to tell General Colt the truth behind the Meat Mountain.

However, just to cause some trouble for others, Li Qing added two more sentences:

"By the way, I don't know where this monster came from, but I do know who the terrorists who carried out the biological attack in Naples today were—"

"That guy's name is Diavolo, and he's the head of the Passion Organization."

Moments later, the helicopter flew back to the port of Naples.

After a fairly pleasant farewell, Li Qing jumped off the plane and disappeared into the shadows, vanishing completely from General Colt's sight.

He first went back to the place where he had just parted ways with Tonio, but Tonio had already disappeared.

Li Qing had actually anticipated this:

After all, he had borrowed Tonio's phone as soon as they met, and then, in order to get Tonio treatment as soon as possible, he had practically forced him to come here.

Although it was done with good intentions, this behavior does resemble that of an armed kidnapper.

Having just had a chance to escape the "kidnappers'" control, the "hostage" was naturally not going to stay there obediently.

"Fine, let's just run away."

"The fact that he has the strength to run away by himself means that his physical condition is not too bad."

"Even without Giorno's treatment, he probably wouldn't have died."

Li Qing thought for a moment and quickly forgot about Tonio.

Then, he pulled out the cell phone that Tonio had given him without saying goodbye, intending to call Bucciarati and ask about his companions' current location.

However, at this moment

My phone rang.

The screen displayed an unfamiliar number with no name or contact information.

Who called me at this hour?

Li Qing answered the phone instinctively.

Soon, a slightly anxious voice came from the speaker:

"Boss, something terrible has happened."

Hmm, boss?

Li Qing was momentarily dazed, then suddenly remembered that the phone did not actually belong to him.

Does "boss" refer to Tonio?

This?!

Li Qing frowned, realizing that things were not so simple:

If someone calls him "boss" at such a young age, that kid is probably a rich kid!

Unfortunately, he's too timid and always speaks hesitantly. I'd guess if he became a boss, he'd be a spendthrift who couldn't keep the family business.

As he was thinking this, he heard the man on the other end of the phone report impatiently:

"News has come from Naples: Mr. Polpo has also died in the line of duty!"

I get writer's block at plot transition points, it's an old problem _(:з"∠)_ I'll just post one chapter today, and make up for it with three chapters tomorrow.