The Battery That Decided Victory

As expected of Giorno.

And then there's the all-powerful Gold Experience.

When others are at a loss, Gold Experience always manages to solve problems with all sorts of bizarre and wonderful creatures.

Giorno's abilities seem to have no limits; the only thing limiting his power is his imagination.

Just like now.

Facing that seemingly invincible enemy, Li Qing won without even lying down.

Giorno's piranha trap worked perfectly; all he needed to do was finish off the enemy.

"Sam Sand, it's your turn now: to blow it up or not?"

Li Qing boldly took a small step forward, now only half a meter away from the human body detonation of the Stellar Note.

His health has been slowly recovering during the gunfight, and he can withstand two more explosions before dying. Giorno can't go up for close combat, but Li Qing, who has "two lives," has the confidence to fight Stellar Note in close combat.

After all, if Sam really dared to use his detonation ability, Li Qing would only be left with a sliver of health, while his legs would be pulverized by those piranhas that were like "adhesive bombs".

But if he doesn't blow it up

Li Qing had closed in, and the piranhas were gnawing at his body.

With its main body suffering such a severe attack, Stellar Note probably doesn't have the energy to fight Li Qing Sin, whose melee combat ability is on par with it.

"To fry, or not to fry?"

"Heh. That's not even a problem!"

A smile suddenly appeared on Sam's pained expression:

"Have you all forgotten that the power of my Stellar Note is not just about making batteries explode!"

"Hmm?" Li Qing subconsciously felt that something was wrong.

Sam's smile, devoid of any fear, made him realize that this guy definitely had a backup plan.

Thinking of this, while the piranhas were still holding back their opponents, Li Qing immediately rushed forward.

"Stellar Note!"

Sam calmly called out the name of his Stand.

The burly humanoid stand-in immediately responded, suddenly swinging its powerful, muscular arm and displaying its formidable close-combat abilities, which it rarely used in normal times.

Li Qing was stopped by the Stellar Note.

The two Riot Games collided violently in mid-air, and neither gained the upper hand.

However, the purpose of Stellar Note was not just to stop Li Qing; what Semi really wanted him to do was:

"Quickly, manufacture batteries!"

The barrels of the multi-barrel howitzer began to rotate slowly.

A large battery appeared out of thin air inside the gun barrel.

The Stellar Note barely managed to block Li Qing's attack with one arm, while simultaneously using its other hand to turn the grenade launcher towards its own body:

"Emission!"

A battery shot out of the gun barrel.

It flew straight toward Sam Sand, and then plunged into the murky river at his feet, where countless piranhas were surging.

Then, in the instant the battery fell into the water...

The piranhas that had been feasting around Sam's legs suddenly trembled.

The next second, they scattered like timid mice seeing a house cat, fleeing into the distance.

"Continue launching!"

Sam escaped the piranha's bite in an instant.

Following his orders, Stellar Note launched several batteries in succession in the direction the piranha swarm had fled.

These batteries are like a deadly poison; once they're thrown into the water, they scare away all the fish.

Soon, the piranhas fled further and further along the river, and before long they disappeared completely.

"This?" Li Qing's expression froze.

Although he didn't know why these ferocious piranhas were scared away by the tiny battery, he instinctively realized that he should run too.

He couldn't break through the Stellar Note's defenses anytime soon. If he didn't run away, once Semi came to his senses, he would have to experience being blown up like a firecracker again.

Thinking of this, Li Qing immediately took a big step and leaped back, escaping two meters away.

Sam wasn't in a hurry to retaliate.

In order to avoid being caught in the blast when using his explosive power, he quickly moved his legs, which had been gnawed to shreds, away from the waters where the batteries were submerged.

Everything has returned to square one.

The piranhas completely dispersed, and Sam only suffered minor injuries.

"Hahaha, don't you guys know?"

Despite the excruciating pain from the wounds in his shoulder and leg, Sam gasped for breath and said:

"Fish are very sensitive to electricity; the nerves in their lateral line organs can sense weak electromagnetic changes in the water flow."

"The leakage current from the battery will terrify them if you put it in water."

The principle is actually very simple.

Just as humans know the danger of electric shock, fish that sense an electric current in the water will instinctively flee to a distance.

An electric current is a dangerous signal, and they will definitely choose to avoid danger rather than eat.

"Alright." Sam's voice turned cold. "Your performance was surprising, but it's time for all of this to end!"

He gave Li Qing and Giorno no chance to catch their breath.

Stellar Note strode forward rapidly, each step accompanied by a startlingly heavy sound.

"."

Giorno remained silent.

A bead of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

The enemy is almost upon him and is about to blow him to pieces.

However, he had no idea how to proceed.

"I have no other choice," Giorno said helplessly.

Human strength has its limits, and so does Giorno is omnipotent in Li Qing's eyes.

In the perilous environment where his comrade was nearly seriously injured and explosions were continuous, thinking of using piranhas as a countermeasure was the limit of what he could do.

"Is there no other way?"

Li Qing sensed the heavy atmosphere in the air.

Even Giorno was powerless to help.

It seems there is no hope of turning the tide in this battle.

Etc.

Li Qing suddenly clenched his Riot Games:

Why... why did I give up so quickly?

When did I begin to gradually become accustomed to relying on the strength of my companions instead of thinking for myself?

In this life-or-death moment, in this critical juncture, Li Qing suddenly discovered his own shortcomings:

He had been spoiled by these reliable companions.

Often, he can achieve victory by relying on the strength of his companions without having to use his brain or exert any effort.

Now, his companions are getting injured one after another, becoming a burden.

Even the all-powerful Gold Experience has reached its limit, and Giorno, the only one they can rely on, has failed to come up with a usable solution.

Just like when he first came into this world, he could only rely on his own strength.

"Then rely on yourself!!"

Li Qing roared inwardly:

"Think, think with your own wisdom."

Even if there are no companions to rely on, and the enemy is so powerful that it inspires despair, we must never give up thinking!

At that moment, he rediscovered the feeling he had when he faced Diavolo alone yesterday morning.

That's right. For a "player", the difficulty of a game should not be a problem, but rather a force that motivates them to keep thinking, keep moving forward, and keep breaking through.

"I"

"I've got it!"

A glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes.

Every detail of the battlefield flashed through his mind, and in that split second, he devised a way to defeat the enemy.

"Walk!"

Li Qing grabbed Giorno and escaped the detonation range of the Stellar Note before it rushed towards them.

They slipped away to the side, completely exposing the wounded soldiers they were protecting behind them.

"Um?"

Sam paused for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"Haha, are you leaving already?"

"It seems you've made your choice— Stellar Note, blow up their comrades!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sam continued forward with the Stellar Note.

Instead of pursuing Li Qing and Giorno, he turned his blade on Bucciarati and the others, who were severely injured and unable to escape.

Five meters, four meters, three meters

Just a hair's breadth away, and the Stellar Note could have blown Li Qing's companions to smithereens.

At this critical moment, Li Qing, who had just escaped to the side, made his move. "Stop right there!"

He bent down and picked up a piece of metal fragment from the earlier car explosion from the riverbank, then hurled it with all his might at Sam Sand's body.

Li Qing possessed immense strength, and he hurled this ordinary metal fragment with the swiftness and power of an arrow.

But Sam immediately realized:

"Ha, I knew you wouldn't give up so easily!"

As expected, Stellar Note turned around and punched away the metal fragment that came flying through the air.

"Golden Bell Shield".

Li Qing did not hesitate for a moment.

The instant the first metal fragment flew out, his figure instantly transformed into a phantom.

The phantom flew toward Bucciarati, who was standing not far away, with lightning speed, and stood still in an instant.

Using this high-speed displacement, Li Qing instantly moved from the left front of Sam to the right front of Sam.

At this moment, the Stellar Note had just blocked the metal fragment flying past from the left front, and Sam's right front was completely empty, with no obstruction at all.

"Take this again!"

Li Qing bent down and picked up the second metal fragment.

The car explosion was so violent that fragments of the car's steel panels were scattered all over the ground, and could be easily picked up in the vicinity.

Taking advantage of the opportunity created by the high-speed movement of the Golden Bell Shield, Li Qing quickly threw the second metal fragment at Sam.

"What?" Sam Sand's pupils contracted.

This time, Stellar Note was unable to turn around and block in time. He could only quickly stretch out his arms to protect his relatively vulnerable throat and heart.

But Li Qing had anticipated this, so he did not choose to attack these vital points, nor did he attack the brain protected by the hard skull—after all, he had not practiced any Little Li Flying Daggers, and with his still limited brute force, he could not throw a powerful dagger that could pierce through bones.

Therefore, his target was actually the shoulder.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Sam clutched his shoulder, which had recently been shot and now had a steel plate embedded in it, and screamed wildly.

His facial muscles twitched violently, not from the pain of the minor injury, but from anger.

"This pointless resistance is so annoying!"

"Throwing stones, throwing steel plates, do you think these pieces of junk can kill me?"

Stand User are inherently resilient, so this level of injury won't affect their ability to perform.

Li Qing, on the other hand, not only failed to deal any damage with his maneuver, but also put himself into the enemy's casting range.

"Go to hell!"

"This boring game should end!"

Sam suddenly strode forward, and the Stellar Note immediately enveloped Li Qing within the detonation range.

Instead of running away, Li Qing suddenly pushed outwards at this critical moment.

He pushed Bucciarati, who was also caught in the blast radius, out of this deadly zone, but stayed behind himself.

"You still have time to worry about others? How foolish!"

Sam's eyes narrowed, and an invisible shockwave was released from the Stellar Note.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions rang out simultaneously.

The battery that was thrown into the water to scare away fish exploded, and Li Qing, who was caught in the blast radius, also exploded.

However, apart from Li Qing

Sam also exploded.

A burst of fire suddenly erupted from his shoulder, and his chest, abdomen, neck, and cheeks were all blasted and mangled.

The situation reversed instantly.

Li Qing was left with a sliver of health after being blown up, while Sam's flesh and blood couldn't withstand even one explosion.

Sam stared wide-eyed at his eye, now blown off and only one intact. His wide, throbbing eye seemed to ask in a deathly, unsatisfied tone:

"Why?"

"I'm clearly immune to explosions, so why was I detonated by the Stellar Note?"

"It wasn't you that exploded, but the thing embedded in your shoulder."

"To be precise, it was that steel plate and the bullet."

Li Qing's voice was very calm.

Having survived a life-or-death ordeal, he rediscovered the detached composure he possessed as a "gamer":

"To improve the corrosion resistance of the car's exterior, a zinc layer nearly one millimeter thick is plated on the steel body panels."

"To prevent rust and protect the barrel, the bullet's tip is encased in a copper shell."

"There is salt and sufficient electrolytes in the blood."

"Do you understand?"

Sam Sand's gaze gradually dimmed, and Li Qing finally gave the answer:

"Steel plates contain zinc, bullets contain copper, and your blood is an electrolyte solution. All these things combined—"

"It's a copper-zinc primary cell."