Clash

Squalo's Stand was named "Clash," and it looked like a shark covered in keratin armor.

Unlike King Crimson, which Li Qing had encountered before and had a mere 2-meter range, this "shark" named "Clash" was a long-range, manipulated-type Stand. Under Squalo's mental control, it could battle enemies up to 50 meters away from its user.

While Li Qing cautiously guarded himself against Squalo's main body, which was 50 meters away, the "shark" named "Clash" had silently appeared in the standing water not far from Li Qing's feet, using its unpredictable Stand ability.

Finally, it launched its attack under Squalo's command.

"Hahaha."

Squalo chuckled inwardly:

"If it were an ordinary Stand User, they would definitely notice Clash's presence at a glance and understand Clash's Stand ability."

"But you..."

"Li Qing, you just happen to be blind!"

"The most important thing in a Stand battle is information. You can't even see it, so how can you understand my Stand ability?"

For the sake of a digitized, indestructible body, Li Qing had chosen to sacrifice his eyesight.

His super-enhanced hearing could compensate for his blindness to a great extent, but the amount of information that visual images could convey was ultimately irreplaceable by sound.

Just like now:

"Clash" had stealthily positioned itself next to Li Qing and brazenly appeared at his feet without him even noticing.

It wasn't until "Clash" bared its sharp, hard shark teeth and lunged from the standing water on the deck that Li Qing finally, belatedly, sensed the enemy's presence from the sharp airflow generated by its attack.

"Something's lunging at me?!"

"A human's build couldn't possibly create such a small airflow, and their speed couldn't possibly be this fast."

Although he couldn't see the situation, he could tell from the sound of the air currents:

"That's right."

"It's a Stand attack!"

He instinctively dodged to the side with all his might, but it was too late.

The small "shark" named "Clash" had erupted with an extreme speed that could drag out afterimages.

It first leaped rapidly out of the standing water on the deck and, in an instant, bit through the vital point of Li Qing's throat.

The health bar displayed on Li Qing's mental system interface instantly dropped from 100% to 88%.

He instinctively threw out a punch, trying to blast away the strange Stand that was fiercely biting his throat.

However, in the very next moment...

The enemy Stand, which had been biting his throat and refusing to let go, had silently disappeared.

It wasn't dodging or hiding; it simply vanished into thin air, as if it had evaporated.

Li Qing threw his punch with all his might, but in the end, he only hit empty air.

"Where?"

"Where did that thing go?"

He tensed his nerves, straining his ears to listen to everything around him.

"M-Mister..."

"What are you doing?"

Andrew asked nervously.

Ordinary people couldn't see Stands, but they could see the bizarre phenomena left behind after a Stand attack.

To the eyes of the unfortunate Mr. Andrew, Li Qing had just looked like a suddenly insane patient –

He first inexplicably twisted his neck and leaned back, then quickly straightened up as if shocked by electricity, putting on a strange expression as he "fought an invisible enemy."

"Oh God!"

"Did I just run into a lunatic with a gun on him?"

Andrew was so nervous he dared not breathe, but Li Qing didn't have the time to consider the hostage's emotions.

He was desperately analyzing any clues that might be useful in the battle from the meager information he had:

"No sound."

"Before that Stand attacked, I didn't hear any sound."

"And when I just swung my fist to counter, it vanished into thin air without a sound, completely outside my perception."

"Is it a high-speed movement ability?"

"No!"

"As long as the body moves, it will inevitably create airflow. As long as there's airflow, there will inevitably be a faint sound of the wind."

"And at such a close distance, no sound could escape my ears."

"Therefore, its Stand ability is either 'sound insulation,' or—"

"Instantaneous Movement!"

Li Qing quickly made a judgment, barely deciphering the enemy's Stand ability.

But the enemy, which had disappeared from his senses, didn't give him a moment to breathe. Under Squalo's control, "Clash" quickly launched its second attack.

And Squalo, taking advantage of Li Qing's blindness, directly manipulated "Clash" to appear from a small puddle in front of him.

At such close range, and at a disadvantage for not being able to anticipate the enemy's movements, Li Qing had no way to fight back.

"Clash" leaped to Li Qing's thigh, its sharp, chilling shark teeth easily tearing through Li Qing's flesh.

Under the rules of data-based abilities, the wound instantly recovered, not even a drop of blood seeping out.

But the bright red health bar floating above Li Qing's head had genuinely lost over 10% of its health from this blow.

Before he could even react, "Clash," like a mischievous sprite toying with a child, once again disappeared into thin air using its uncanny Stand ability.

"It's gone again."

"This guy is really quite cunning."

Li Qing sighed softly:

Including the previous attack that hit his throat, his HP had already been depleted by a full thirty percent.

And now, he was like a heavy, sluggish stone, unable to keep up with the enemy's speed, unable to see the enemy's movements, unable to hear the enemy's sounds. The only thing he could do was stand there dumbly, taking hits and abuse.

His situation seemed to have reached its absolute limit, but…

After a sigh that was neither too light nor too heavy, Li Qing's face instead broke into a smile.

It was a smile like the clouds parting to reveal the moon:

"Excellent. I've got it!"

"Judging from the sound of the air current when it attacked: the first place it appeared via teleportation was about ten centimeters behind me;"

"The second place it attacked was to my side, about a few dozen centimeters away from me."

"And what's noteworthy is that it never appears directly in mid-air. Instead, it always bothers to jump from the deck to launch an attack."

"If the enemy's ability is truly just 'instantaneous movement' in its simplest sense, then why doesn't it just teleport directly onto me and attack from the closest distance?"

"That way, I'd have even less time to react."

"To forgo the optimal attack position and instead bother appearing on the deck surface at varying distances from me, this means…"

"The enemy's instantaneous movement ability must have a limit!"

"It's very likely that it needs to utilize something on the deck, some special terrain, to achieve its instantaneous movement."

"And that something is…"

Li Qing tentatively shifted his foot, stepping onto the spot where "Clash" had just appeared.

Then, from the subtle sensation transmitted through his feet, he immediately identified what he was stepping on:

"Water!"

"The medium for the enemy's instantaneous movement is water!"

"So, the enemy's Stand ability is…"

After taking two rounds of hits for nothing, Li Qing finally compensated for his disadvantage in vision:

"Using water as a medium, teleporting between 'water' and 'water'!"

PS: Stand Panel

Stand Name—Clash

User—Squalo

Destructive Power: D

Speed: A

Range: B

Durability: A

Precision: A

Growth: C

Ability: Can instantly move from one "water" to another "water," and can also bite off and move parts of its attack.

It is a long-range manipulation type Stand, not very strong in attack, but it can at least bite through a human throat.

It cannot teleport to places that are blocked by a lid. Its size changes with the amount of water.