The Real Winner

Li Qing waited anxiously; this was the final step in his plan.

Thomas was also nervously anticipating this, as it was also the final step in his plan.

Its front leg was thrown out, and a grenade flew over.

Like all "cargo" transported by "Mission Accomplished," this grenade was steadfastly flying toward its target.

It only targets the object, not the person.

This time, its target was still Li Qing's left foreleg!

It was the left foreleg that had already separated from the body and had been thrown away by Li Qing.

"It's a success!"

The small black shadow that flashed past his eyes made Li Qing realize that he had won the bet.

Everything was happening just as he had predicted.

Thomas had set the grenade's target to Li Qing's left foreleg, and even though the foreleg had already detached from his body, it would relentlessly pursue it according to its predetermined goal.

And just like that, the pig's hoof flew out, and the grenade followed closely behind.

This was just the beginning of Li Qing's counterattack.

This is also the biggest reward Li Qing can receive after winning this bet:

"That place is the sewage outlet of this pig farm."

The pig's trotter traced an arc in mid-air before quickly falling into the deep ditch flowing with filth.

"Behind the sewage outlet are underground pipes."

Just as Li Qing had smelled, the foul-smelling sewage slid directly into the underground pipes.

The pig's hoof that had detached from the body also fell into the sewage.

"The underground pipes connect to a large septic tank directly beneath this pig farm."

It's possible that this pig farm itself is a substitute.

Unlike most pig farms that place their septic tanks outside the building, this pig farm's septic tanks and pigsties are completely integrated.

The septic tank is also part of the pig farm, part of that supervisor's stand-in.

"The septic tank contains a large amount of high-concentration biogas."

"If the grenade falls into that sewage pipe, the flames from its explosion will..."

The pig's trotter fell into the pipe.

The grenade immediately followed the location of the marker and then fell into the underground pipe filled with sewage and methane.

Then, the next second, the delayed fuse ignited the explosives.

High-temperature flames erupted underground, their blazing tongues igniting the flammable methane gas filling the pipes, ultimately...

"Detonate the entire septic tank!"

An unprecedented tremor came from the ground beneath our feet.

The explosion instantly destroyed the underground septic tank, and the resulting violent shockwave spread in all directions, reaching the ground, walls, and every part of the building.

"You said it before"

"This pig farm is essentially a stand-in for the head of the technology team."

"So, if the pig farm itself is damaged, the person in charge of it will also be damaged."

Amid the violent tremors caused by the explosion, Li Qing struggled to lift his head and look at Thomas was also unsteady on his feet due to the tremors.

Still a pig, he couldn't speak, but his gleaming eyes clearly proclaimed his victory:

"If the damage becomes severe enough, the original body will be unable to maintain the existence of the Stand."

"In other words, if the plan succeeds, this pig farm will immediately disappear from the earth!"

The facts were just as he had thought.

The moment the methane explosion occurred, the supervisor, who was secretly monitoring everything from the machine room, felt the damage transmitted by the stand-in.

As a true behemoth, the size of "Pig Factory" is far beyond that of a normal humanoid Stand.

The damage suffered by a Stand will indeed be returned to the original user, but how could a human attack possibly harm a magnificent building that is tens of meters high and hundreds of meters long?

But things are different now.

The "Pig Factory" is now suffering from an unprecedented, massive, and incredibly powerful biogas explosion.

The shockwave from the explosion nearly destroyed the building's foundation, and then proportionally reflected back onto the building itself.

The supervisor didn't even realize what was happening, or rather, by the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

His stomach was suddenly ripped apart by the feedback of the explosion; his intestines and flesh were rotten and twisted together, slowly flowing out from the wound opened by the explosion.

Under such a severe blow, the supervisor immediately collapsed helplessly into his seat.

He barely had the strength to breathe, let alone maintain his Stand's abilities.

And so, just as Li Qing had hoped.

In that instant, the pig farm vanished.

The massive building vanished from the earth in an instant; the walls, the ground, the pigsty, and even the machinery all turned to nothingness in that brief moment.

The ground beneath my feet had turned into a clean meadow.

The sky above us turned into a clear blue sky.

Only one small building stands alone on this empty grassland—this is the actual residence of the science team.

With their view almost unobstructed, Giorno and the others, who had just dealt with the troublesome minions a few hundred meters away, instantly spotted Thomas and Li Qing Sin on the other side.

However, Li Qing's mentality was somewhat explosive:

"How so?"

"Why didn't I turn back immediately?!"

The manager suffered a major blow, the "Pig Factory" disappeared, but he was still a pig.

Not only him, but none of the hundreds of pigs in this pig farm have turned back into humans.

Freed from the pigpen's constraints, they stared blankly at the suddenly appearing grassland and blue sky, completely unaware of what had just happened.

"It's useless."

Thomas suddenly said with a complicated expression:

"A person who has been turned into a pig by their supervisor can never recover—neither physically nor spiritually."

Although the system classifies "Pig Factory" as a control skill.

But from Thomas's perspective, this ability is more like an absolutely lethal attack:

It attacks both the target's body and soul simultaneously, turning the body into a pig while inflicting irreparable damage on the soul.

Once infected, there is no chance of recovery. Victims are destined to remain mentally disabled like pigs for life, completely unaware of how to fight back.

This is also why Thomas is so afraid of his supervisor.

But Li Qing was different; his body was hit, but his soul survived the attack.

His soul remains intact, and his consciousness persists.

However, this cannot instantly turn his body back into a human, even if the "Pig Factory" has disappeared.

"It's over."

If Li Qing's face had a color, it would immediately become extremely ugly:

It's not a big deal that my body hasn't turned back.

The shockwave from the explosion has bought them a few seconds, and Li Qing can now restart the data processing at any time.

As long as the "Pig Factory" ceases to exist and is no longer under continuous control, his digitized body will automatically recover from the negative state after a while.

However, in just that "short" moment, the enemy was able to take his life.

"Damn it, I can't use my skills if I can't turn back."

"My left foreleg has been completely blown to pieces. Regeneration of the digitized body requires blood. In other words, even if I restart the digitization now, I will only have 10% of my blood left."

If he could regain his agile, swift, and powerful human form, and have system skills to use, Li Qing was confident that he could use that ten percent of his health to fight off the enemy.

But right now, he's still a pig without any skills.

With only 10% health remaining, how can I survive in front of the enemy?

Giorno and the others may not have realized that the pig is Li Qing, and even if they have, they are hundreds of meters away and cannot help.

Thomas only needs to throw another grenade or load a gun and fire, and Li Qing's life will be over.

This is a hopeless situation.

All means had been exhausted, yet he still couldn't change his impending death.

At that moment, Li Qing really didn't know what to do.

However, just as he closed his eyes and awaited death, Thomas laughed:

Hahahaha. Hahahaha

He laughed heartily, like a bird breaking free from its cage.

Tears welled up in her eyes amidst the laughter.

Then, Thomas threw down his shotgun and gave Li Qing a grateful smile:

"I never expected that you would actually cooperate with me to this extent."

"Thank you. You didn't let me down, Li Qing!"

"Um?"

A strange light suddenly appeared in Li Qing's eyes.

He suddenly realized something, and his gaze turned to shock.

"Finally, I've made it out."

Thomas looked up at the long-lost blue sky, breathing in the fresh air without any odor, his expression one of pure bliss.

He said to Li Qing with increasing gratitude:

"With just one thought, my supervisor could turn me into a pig forever."

"Under his surveillance, I simply couldn't do anything against his wishes."

"So, only with your help can I throw the grenade there right under the supervisor's nose—after all, the grenade 'accidentally missed' because of you, and even if the explosion doesn't manage to knock the supervisor down, he won't realize my betrayal."

Upon hearing this, the shock in Li Qing's eyes deepened even further:

Indeed

Looking back now, I realize that my habit of only using my left foreleg was indeed very deliberate.

The reason he was able to get close to the sewage outlet and have the opportunity to detonate the biogas digester was because Thomas used his Stand ability to throw him there.

There was also the previous loading error.

If Thomas hadn't so "panicked" and dropped the bullet on the ground, he would never have been able to get close to him.

Did Thomas really intend to use his own hands to get rid of his supervisor from the very beginning?

Li Qing was taken aback, but at the same time he did not let his guard down against the enemy.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen someone feign surrender; easily trusting an enemy only brought enormous risks to himself and his comrades.

Don't worry.

Thomas understood the wariness in Li Qing's eyes.

He looked up at the blue sky, his sigh filled with sincerity:

"I am a human being now, not a pig kept in a pen."