An Unapproachable Enemy

A battery is essentially a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.

Based on this definition, all animals and plants that possess bioelectricity within their bodies can be considered batteries.

Therefore, in Sam Sand's world, humans, cats and dogs, flowers, trees—all living things in this beautiful world—are just firecrackers that he can detonate at any time.

Setting off firecrackers is a fun activity, but doing the same thing too often can get boring.

To keep the fun of this activity going, we need to come up with more creative ways to "let go".

Like some mischievous kids who enjoy blowing up latrines and manholes, Sam Sand also has his own penchant for explosions that bring excitement and surprise: he likes to bring people unexpected, unpredictable, and unforeseen explosions.

But Li Qing's alertness ruined his fun.

"Hateful."

Why won't you let me surrender?

The instant Li Qing spoke up to warn his companion, Sam's sincere and harmless expression instantly twisted into a distorted expression:

"I genuinely want to be your 'comrade'!"

Yes, he genuinely wanted to "surrender." At least, he wouldn't launch an attack for the time being.

Because direct combat isn't his preferred method of explosion; it's neither effortless nor surprising.

His original plan was to first pretend to be the prey's companion, gain the target's trust, and then everyone would sit together happily, drinking cola, chatting, eating pizza, and singing songs—but halfway through the song, it exploded.

Sam would sit in the scorching air filled with human debris, humming the rest of the song softly as he recalled the bewildered, terrified, and confused expressions on the faces of his "comrades" when they faced the explosion.

Only such a dramatic explosion can truly excite people.

Unfortunately, Li Qing ruined all of this.

"Careful!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Li Qing's desperate shout interrupted Sam's supposedly artistic bombing plan.

Fugo and Bucciarati, who were approaching, suddenly stopped, their eyes flashing with hostility as they looked at Semi.

"Damn it!!"

Enraged, Sam abruptly stood up from the ground:

"Since you don't want to live any longer, then die now— Stellar Note!"

A ripple spread through the air, and the Stand clad in deep black mobile armor instantly appeared in front of Sam.

The Stellar Note appeared two meters in front of Semi, while Fugo and Bucciarati were now less than two meters away from it.

This distance is precisely the detonation distance at which the human body can respond to a shock wave.

"Detonate!"

Without any warning or action, an invisible shock emanated from the Stellar Note's mobile armor.

The next instant, Fugo and Bucciarati will be blown into two clusters of sparks.

At this critical moment, Li Qing made a move:

"Golden Bell Shield!"

His figure suddenly transformed into a phantom, bridging the short distance between life and death in time.

This is a race against death; no matter how short the distance, he has to go at his fastest speed.

Li Qing's phantom passed through the air, entered the human body, and finally, in a very bizarre manner, pierced through the backs and chests of Bucciarati and Fugo, and then emerged from their bodies in front of them.

And so, just as the shockwave was released, he was already standing in front of Bucciarati and Fugo.

"Walk!"

Although he didn't know the exact detonation distance of the human body, he could still see the urgency of the situation from Sam's crazed expression and understand that he should stay as far away from that Stand as possible.

So.

Without saying a word, Li Qing kicked a spinning kick at his companion behind him.

The situation was too critical; this was the fastest way.

Bucciarati and Fugo were suddenly thrown backward by this kick—and it was this fall that allowed them to narrowly escape the two-meter distance of the human detonation point.

However, the danger did not end there.

In their place, Li Qing exploded.

It's a very strange feeling.

In that instant, Li Qing could feel every cell in his body burning and exploding.

The intense fire and high temperature, along with the shockwave, penetrated the body from the inside out.

He transformed into a human torch, radiating powerful light and heat in all directions.

Because of this, Bucciarati and Fugo, who had just escaped a disaster, were in big trouble.

When the human body is detonated, it's like countless tiny bombs exploding inside the body. In form, it's more like the flesh and blood collapsing from the inside out, and the firepower poured out is not very strong.

However, the two of them were now standing right next to Li Qing, and at such close range, Fugo and Bucciarati were immediately caught in the blast wave from Li Qing.

The intense heat and flames struck them at close range, instantly damaging their muscles and bones and turning their skin charred black.

Finally, the explosions stopped.

Li Qing appeared completely unharmed; even his clothes were undamaged.

However, in that very instant, that one explosion took away more than 50% of his health.

Li Qing did not hesitate at all, nor did he dare to hesitate.

At the moment the explosion occurred, he was already desperately rolling away to escape.

Finally, just before the Stellar Note released its second explosive shockwave, Li Qing, along with Fugo and Bucciarati, who were injured by the explosion, rolled away two or three meters.

All of this happened in an instant.

Only after instinctively escaping did Li Qing realize with lingering fear that he had luckily survived the explosion.

"Fugo, Bucciarati, how are you?"

He hurriedly inquired about the situation of his companions.

"It's alright."

Bucciarati managed to stand up, Fugo followed closely behind, staggering as he regained his balance.

Although they said it was "okay," their bodies, covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, were actually in very bad shape.

It was obvious that with such severe injuries, the two of them could hardly exert any fighting power anymore.

"Withdraw!"

Without hesitation, Li Qing helped his two injured companions and desperately ran away into the distance.

The situation he had just witnessed made him realize that even his bugged, data-driven body couldn't withstand the damage from such a body explosion and engage in close combat with the enemy.

If that stand-in called Stellar Note catches up, all three of them will be blown to ashes in an instant.

But escaping isn't so easy.

Both Bucciarati and Fugo were seriously injured, which inevitably slowed their movements as they fled.

Meanwhile, Sam Sand and his Stellar Note were also hunting them down:

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"It's all your fault! You ruined my perfect script, forcing me to create an explosion in such a boring way!"

"Die!!"

Sam charged forward with the Stellar Note, while the Stellar Note raised the grenade launcher it was tightly gripping in its hand.

The dark metal barrel began to slowly rotate, and "grenade batteries" shot out from the dark muzzle.

These batteries looked like ordinary, harmless cylindrical batteries, but at this moment, in the hands of Stellar Note, they had been transformed into grenades in the true sense of the word.

They traced simple parabolic arcs in the air before rolling to the ground, landing beside Li Qing and the others who were busy escaping.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A dozen or so sparks burst forth, and thunderous roars echoed across the riverbank.

The quiet, deserted valley was instantly transformed into Hengdian World Studios, where a war drama was being filmed, with explosions ringing out incessantly, smoke billowing, and flames soaring into the sky.

With his agile and powerful physique, Li Qing did indeed capture some of the charm of a protagonist from a fantasy drama.

He and his two wounded companions dodged and weaved through the flames of the explosion, seemingly unaffected by it.

But this is ultimately not a long-term solution.

The wounded Bucciarati and Fugo were slow to move, and with Semi and Stellar Note getting closer and closer, as well as the increasingly fierce firepower, the pressure on them would only increase.

Finally, Giorno made his move.

He was originally treating the three injured Mista from a distance, but before he could even heal the three wounded, Fugo and Bucciarati fell victim to another of the enemy's dirty tricks.

Sam was bombarding the two wounded soldiers with a barrage of attacks; the situation was extremely critical.

Giorno had no choice but to temporarily put aside his treatment work and turn to helping Li Qing and the others escape the enemy's pursuit:

"Gold Experience!"

The golden Riot Games slammed into the ground in an instant, and lush trees rose up, forming a large net with their intertwined branches and leaves.

The large net temporarily blocked the incoming batteries, giving Li Qing and the others a chance to catch their breath.

"How about it?"

Giorno rushed forward, seizing the brief opportunity to catch his breath and reunite with Li Qing.

"We are temporarily incapable of fighting."

Bucciarati was fully aware of his situation.

He stood with Fugo, who was also injured and struggling to move, and said with a hint of helplessness in his voice, "I'm afraid this battle can only be fought by you and Li Qing."

"Clear."

Giorno sighed deeply and then turned his inquiring gaze to Li Qing.

Without hesitation, Li Qing shared the intelligence he had just gleaned:

"He can make living things explode."

"The distance at which a human body can react to an explosion is about two meters—we absolutely cannot get within two meters of that stand-in."

"Hmm." Giorno nodded, then asked, "So, do you have any ideas?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Qing's expression grew even more serious:

"Each explosion takes away more than 50% of my health. Although my health is slowly recovering, I can't survive more than two explosions."

"Judging from the barrage of attacks just now, his detonation ability is almost instantaneous and has no cooldown."

"This means that even if I hit him with the Sonically Enhanced Wave and rush forward at high speed, I will probably be blown to ashes before I can attack his main body."

Li Qing will also take damage while in a charge state.

If he wanted to hit Sam's main body with a melee attack, he would have to break through the two-meter radius around the Stellar Note, a total of four meters, which would be a fatal distance.

Judging from the high damage Li Qing just experienced, this direct approach to breaking through is absolutely impossible to succeed.

"Close combat is simply impossible, and we can't compete with his powerful firepower in ranged attacks."

Li Qing frowned deeply, a rare look of worry appearing between his brows:

"This guy is simply invincible."