The Unanswered Number

Thirteen years ago in Egypt, Diavolo, then a young man, unearthed six "arrows" from ancient ruins.

Diavolo sold five of the six arrows for a very high price to an old woman named Enya.

Diavolo kept the remaining arrow with him. He used this arrow, which could activate Stand abilities, to build his team. He used the money from selling the arrow as start-up capital and, in just a few years, built an underground kingdom called Passion Organization from scratch.

But the good times didn't last long.

In the 1990s, two men began searching for the whereabouts of the arrows.

One of them was named Jotaro Kujo, who was responsible for tracking down the arrow that had flowed from Enya the Hag's hands to Asia.

The other person was named JP Polnareff, who was responsible for tracking down the arrow that Diavolo had taken back to Europe.

And so, Polnareff followed the arrow to Italy, gradually finding the Passion Organization and even tracing Diavolo himself.

Unfortunately, he made two mistakes at the time.

First, he underestimated the power of the Passion Organization in Italy, which led to his being blocked from all means of seeking help, including the internet, telephone, transportation, and letters, after venturing into dangerous territory. This made it impossible for him to call for help from his close friend Jotaro Kujo on the other side of the world.

Second, the young man who unearthed the arrow, Diavolo, possessed evil abilities far beyond what was imagined.

Ultimately, Polnareff suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Diavolo.

Although he was fortunate enough to survive, he lost both his legs forever and could no longer fight.

To make matters worse, despite his severely mutilated body, he was unfortunately trapped in Italy, a massive prison controlled and monitored around the clock by the Passion Organization.

The Passion Organization's surveillance capabilities are truly formidable.

With such a large country and such a long period of time, Polnareff wasn't entirely without the opportunity to make a phone call to Jotaro.

But he dared not.

From his perspective, this was pure gambling:

Making a phone call is easy, but no one can guarantee that the call won't be discovered.

Once discovered, there's no guarantee that Jotaro will arrive before Diavolo comes knocking.

Polnareff is now a cripple unable to fight, and if he loses this gamble even once, he will have to pay with his life.

Therefore, he had to be cautious.

In order to survive in this perilous country, he had to treat everything with the utmost care.

Just like now

"You mean, the Passion Organization's technology team has been taken over by you?"

"No one is monitoring us now; it's Diavolo who's hiding instead?"

"So, those intelligence reports can be presented here?"

Upon hearing such good news, Polnareff's voice showed no sign of relief or ease.

Because he wasn't so easily convinced by Li Qing:

"Feel sorry."

"I will absolutely not reveal how to use the arrow until I see you in person."

"That is a power that can change the world. I must personally verify your identities, character, and qualities before I can entrust this secret to you."

Polnareff did not choose to reveal all the secrets here.

To be honest, he only noticed Li Qing searching for Diavolo's name through online means, and that's why he temporarily regarded Li Qing as a righteous partner in the fight against evil.

However, all of this only happens online.

Just like a female streamer who only shows her face after receiving 100,000 yuan in donations online might be a human tank in real life, a righteous partner you meet online might be a complete villain in real life.

Even if that's not the case, Diavolo may still have other means of eavesdropping.

While Li Qing thought he wasn't being monitored, the enemy might have already heard everything clearly from the shadows.

This possibility is small, but it's not impossible.

Despite his physical disability, Polnareff now has to be cautious because he possesses a powerful treasure.

"Enough!"

"I don't believe in the internet. If you want to defeat Diavolo, come to Rome and see me as soon as possible."

"I'm hanging up now. The longer the call goes on, the greater the chance of being monitored and located."

"But."

Polnareff spoke, he suddenly thought of a method that would have no downsides:

"If you are truly Diavolo's enemy, and you are really not afraid of being monitored."

"Then, call this number for me."

He recited a long string of numbers fluently:

"This is my friend Jotaro Kujo."

"Tell him about Diavolo, and he will come to Rome immediately to help you."

"This"

Li Qing wanted to say something more, but Polnareff on the other end of the phone had already hung up cleanly and decisively.

To avoid being monitored and located, he was overly cautious and didn't want to say a single extra second.

By the time Li Qing instinctively tried to reconnect, the other party had already disappeared from the internet.

"Boss?"

Thomas turned around and naturally addressed Li Qing as "boss": "Should I trace back to the past?"

Forget it.

Li Qing thought for a moment and said:

"If we get noticed, they might really think we're bad guys."

"I'm more interested in the number he just gave us than that."

"Jotaro Kujo? That name."

He vaguely felt that the name seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere just yesterday.

"It's that man!"

Bucciarati reacted with some shock:

"That legendary figure widely circulated among Stand User, the invincible one with the ability to 'stop time'!"

"It's him?!"

Li Qing's eyes suddenly widened:

Yesterday, when he encountered that pirated Dio, he truly experienced the power of time stop.

If such a powerful guy is a friend of that mysterious person, and can be called over to help with a single phone call, then Diavolo is doomed.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Li Qing urged Thomas to quickly dial that number, "Try calling it."

"Um."

Thomas typed rapidly on the keyboard and quickly dialed the number left by the mysterious person using the computer:

"Beep beep."

After a brief busy signal:

"The number you dialed is busy. Please leave a message after the prompt sound."

"Wait a bit before you call."

Li Qing still refused to give up.

A moment later, there was another brief busy tone:

"Beep beep."

Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off.

Polnareff's excessive caution was not wrong.

While he was talking to Li Qing and the others, Diavolo was indeed hiding in the shadows, quietly listening to everything.

However, instead of giving him the confidence to anticipate the enemy's moves, the intelligence he overheard filled him with a chilling fear:

"That man. That man."

Polnareff did not reveal his name during the call.

But over the years, among all the challengers, there is only one who has not been turned into a human body and whose "corpse" has disappeared:

"Polnareff".

"He's still alive?"

Upon realizing that his old rival was still safely lurking in the shadows, Diavolo's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.

Because Polnareff is not only a powerful enemy in himself, but he is also involved in a series of much bigger troubles:

For example, the SPW Foundation, a US behemoth ten times larger than the Passion Organization.

For example, there's the legendary invincible Jotaro Kujo, whose name has been circulating in the martial arts world for a long time.

Over the years, in order to prevent the SPW Foundation and Jotaro Kujo from discovering the truth, Diavolo has been carefully covering up Polnareff's "death".

Because once they find out about this, the Passion Organization will face a devastating blow from a financial tycoon and an invincible individual.

This is Diavolo's Achilles' heel.

Jotaro was in charge of investigating Asia, while Polnareff was in charge of investigating Europe. As partners and friends, they naturally communicated by phone regularly.

Therefore, in order to protect this vital point

Diavolo even personally impersonated Polnareff, repeatedly creating the illusion that Polnareff was still alive over the phone.

Although it was very difficult, he still succeeded:

Jotaro never realized that the person he was talking to was actually Diavolo, who was on the other side of the world and always thought that Polnareff was still alive and well.

But Diavolo never expected this.

"This guy is actually still alive?!"

"What to do."

Diavolo suddenly felt a little short of breath:

"Polnareff is still alive, and the technology team has fallen into Li Qing's hands again."

"Right now, I have no way to stop him from contacting Jotaro!"

"My years of impersonating Polnareff will soon be discovered, Jotaro will definitely come after me once he finds out the truth."

Li Qing and his gang were already enough to give him trouble.

If you add Jotaro Kujo and the SPW Foundation to the mix, he could pack his bags and flee abroad right now.

And the current situation is just as bad as Diavolo feared:

As expected, Polnareff mentioned Jotaro.

Sure enough, Li Qing decided to call Jotaro.

"We're doomed."

Hearing the sound of keyboards being typed 700 kilometers away, Diavolo knew that his life as the Dark Emperor was over.

Once that call is made and Li Qing and Jotaro reach an agreement, he will have no chance to turn the tables.

However, at this moment

"Deng deng deng deng, deng deng deng deng, deng deng deng deng~ deng!"

Suddenly, a cell phone rang from the suitcase next to it.

Diavolo frantically pulled out the Nokia, his eyes suddenly changing:

This phone is

This was not a disposable phone he usually used for work.

This contains the phone card he stole from Polnareff, which he used specifically to impersonate Polnareff and fool Jotaro Kujo and the SPW Foundation.

"Could it be..."

Diavolo swallowed hard and nervously answered the phone.

"Hello."

A calm, deep, and powerful voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Polnareff, it's been a long time since we last talked."