Blood Trap

Unable to get close and running out of ammunition, in order to protect his severely wounded and slow-moving comrades, Li Qing had no choice but to bend down and pick up stones from the river and throw them at the ever-approaching Sam.

Their fighting methods instantly regressed to the Stone Age.

This primitive method of attack failed to inflict any damage on the enemy.

Because the power and speed of the Stellar Note are in no way inferior to Li Qing's, and may even be slightly better.

Yes, although Stellar Note has been using long-range attacks by launching batteries, just look at the tall and burly physique of this "mecha soldier" and you'll know that even with his gun down, he's a formidable opponent capable of taking on lions and tigers.

With his powerful speed and double B stats, even if Li Qing were to go easy on him and allow him to engage in close combat, Semi would have no reason to fear Li Qing.

As for the stone that Li Qing threw?

With a casual wave of his hand, Stellar Note could easily deflect those stones, which were already of limited power.

"It's useless."

"Even in a contest of strength and speed alone, neither of you can match my Stellar Note."

"If we keep struggling like this, the only result will be that we are blown to ashes."

With the Stellar Note's guards, Semi approached step by step.

Because Mista and the other wounded were unable to move after the car explosion, Li Qing, Giorno, and the other wounded were standing in the shallow riverbed where the water was knee-deep, near the wreckage of the car that had been remotely detonated after falling into the river.

To get closer to them, Sam slowly walked down the riverbank and waded into the riverbed. The muddy, yellowish-brown water, churned up by the series of explosions, immediately reached above his calves.

Meanwhile, blood continued to seep from the wound on his shoulder.

The bullet was deeply embedded between his muscles and blood vessels, causing him pain as well as the icy chill of blood loss.

But none of this could stop Sam.

At that moment, he felt not cold, but rather hot—from excitement.

After his perfect bombing plan was repeatedly thwarted, a frustrated Sam suddenly found another extremely interesting way to create an explosion:

"Come on, make your choice!"

"Your companions can't escape, but you can."

"So, are you prepared to be blown up by me along with your wounded comrades, or are you going to take this opportunity to escape and watch your comrades be blown to pieces?"

Syme has raised such a difficult question.

As he slowly approached, he quietly observed the conflicted and helpless expressions on Li Qing and Giorno's faces.

These moments of choice between life and death, between reason and emotion, between oneself and others, indeed possess a captivating artistic quality.

For Semi, what was originally a dull and boring head-on battle has now become quite interesting.

Li Qing and Giorno are indeed in a huge predicament.

Five severely injured companions, unable to move, were placed on the riverbank a few meters behind them. If left unattended, Sam could easily take the lives of Bucciarati and the others by throwing a few batteries at them.

But is staying here really useful?

They were unable to get close to the enemy, or even to fight back.

They might be able to barely block the batteries thrown from a distance, but if Sam took just a few more steps forward, Li Qing and Giorno would be within the human detonation range of Stellar Note.

This kind of attack is simply unstoppable.

Li Qing and Giorno were left with only one choice: give way or die.

"You may leave."

Bucciarati's weak and feeble voice came from behind the two of them.

He stopped his slow, feeble, and pointless escape, and calmly accepted the cruel fate that awaited him:

"From the moment I chose to fight for my ideals, I was prepared to die for them."

"The war is far from over. Even if I die, you should continue to move forward."

Although Bucciarati's voice was weak, it showed no fear.

Out of reason and for the greater good, he knew that now was not the time to act on emotion, and he also knew that he should not become a burden to his companions.

"That's right."

"Just listen to him and get out of the way!"

"If you choose to leave, my Stellar Note probably won't be able to keep you here—you can forget about these dead comrades and live happily ever after!"

Sam, not wanting to miss out on trouble, chimed in enthusiastically.

Hearing Bucciarati's moving words about his willingness to sacrifice himself, he smiled even more happily.

The smile was relaxed and carefree, as if he were watching a lively and interesting drama.

Giorno

Li Qing clenched his Riot Games tightly and quietly turned his lifeless eyes to Giorno beside him.

Giorno's previous composure suggested that he had a backup plan, but so far, he has not made any move.

If Sam had taken just two more steps forward, the two of them would have been blown into two fireworks.

Li Qing instinctively felt a little impatient.

However, based on the confidence and tacit understanding he had developed through numerous battles, he ultimately chose to trust unconditionally.

"Oh? Aren't you leaving?"

Sam smiled and took a step forward.

The Stellar Note, which was standing two meters in front of him, also took a heavy step forward, splashing up layers of water.

Just one step away, Li Qing and Giorno were about to enter the two-meter detonation range of the Stellar Note.

However, at this moment

"Ah!" Sam suddenly let out a scream.

A sharp pain shot up from below, and several bloody wounds instantly appeared on his calves.

Blood gushed out, mingling with the muddy, yellowish-brown river water stirred up by the explosion.

Suddenly, the calm river water became turbulent.

Countless tiny black shadows tumbled and leaped in the murky river water, lunging at Sam's injured calf from all directions.

In just a short moment, his two calves were bitten and torn open.

"What?"

"What's in this river?!"

Sam felt a sharp pain, and his expression instantly contorted and twitched.

He tried desperately to shake off the little monsters that were clinging to his legs, feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood, but no matter how hard he tried, those tiny killers held on tightly to his legs and wouldn't let go.

Not content with eating Sam's skin, they also launched a ravenous attack on the more nutritious fat and muscle.

This excruciating pain, as if being torn apart by a thousand knives, caused Sam's body to tremble uncontrollably.

"Phew, it worked!"

Giorno breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Could these be...?" Li Qing vaguely sensed something from the abnormal behavior of those little creatures. "Piranhas?"

"That's right."

"When I blocked the batteries with the tree walls, I had already used those tree walls to obscure the view and quietly created a large number of piranhas in the shallows of the river."

"When I created the piranhas, I had Gold Experience give them desensitized hearing organs, so even the sound of an explosion wouldn't startle them and make them leave."

"While their hearing is impaired, they still have an extremely developed sense of smell and sight, which does not affect their hunting ability."

Giorno wiped the cold sweat that had quietly seeped from his forehead.

His mood just now wasn't as calm as it appeared.

"Piranhas are actually very timid animals. They will not actively attack humans who are much larger than themselves. As long as there is no bleeding, humans can even swim unharmed in places where piranhas are present."

"However, if they smell fresh blood, the situation is quite different."

As he spoke, he glanced at the bleeding gunshot wound on Sam's shoulder:

"Blood is their favorite smell. As soon as they smell blood in the water, these ferocious piranhas will attack in groups, regardless of the size of their target."

Giorno looked back at his wounded comrades, their bodies charred black:

"I just specifically told the injured Bucciarati and the others to move on the rocks on the riverbank and not to wade through the water."

"Moreover, they were all injured by the explosion. The high temperature of the explosion scorched them, and in a sense, the burns also served to stop the bleeding perfectly."

"Therefore, the piranhas will only attack the bleeding Sam, and will not attack our injured companions."

"And all I was doing was waiting, waiting for the blood from Sam's shoulder to flow into the river at his feet, waiting for the piranhas to be attracted to him by the smell of blood—the river had long been murky from the series of explosions, and Sam couldn't possibly have seen those little creatures sneaking up from the muddy water."

"I see." Li Qing finally understood everything:

At the start of the battle, Giorno set a trap triggered by blood, based on the nature of the battle and the existing terrain.

Once he wounds Sam with his gun, he can lure Sam into the river, causing the enemy to fall into the piranhas' encirclement without their knowledge.

"The piranhas are now stuck to his legs, and those little creatures that are getting aggressive have no chance of getting rid of them."

"If he were to detonate it, these tiny bombs that are right next to him would blow off his own legs first."

"If he doesn't detonate it, the ferocious piranhas will bite him to death."

"No matter what we do, he will be completely incapacitated!"

Sam clearly realized this as well.

He endured the excruciating pain of his legs being gnawed and torn apart by countless piranhas, his wary gaze fixed intently on Li Qing:

With those damned piranhas stuck to his legs, Li Qing really wouldn't dare to activate his detonation ability if Li Qing moved closer now.

This is an opportunity.

Li Qing seized this hard-won opportunity and boldly took a step forward:

"Don't you enjoy watching others make choices?"

"Sem-san, it's your turn now!"