Different Paths

It was indeed a fishhook, but it could travel through solid cement and floor tiles.

When the fishhook silently emerged from under Li Qing's feet, the solid floor tiles there immediately rippled like liquid.

At that moment, Li Qing finally heard the faintest sound beneath his feet.

But it was all too late.

The fishhook, trailing a nearly transparent fishing line, writhed like a nimble snake as it lunged toward Li Qing's calf.

Without any resistance, the fishhook pierced through the clothing and tore through the skin.

The sharp hook pierced Li Qing's calf in an instant, ruthlessly cutting through his tendons and nerves.

Like an alien beetle in a horror movie, it broke through Li Qing's body and began to swim upwards, tearing at his flesh as it slowly approached his heart.

Then, Li Qing immediately experienced the terror of this fishhook:

"How could it be like this?"

"This level of damage"

Li Qing's lips twitched slightly:

"If it were any lower, it wouldn't even be as fast as my health regeneration rate."

The advantage of a data-driven body is that it has no vital organs; damage is calculated entirely based on numerical values.

If an ordinary person were to have their thigh pierced and tendons severed by a fishhook like that, they would probably have already staggered to the ground in pain and disability.

However, for Li Qing, who has entered Digitization Mode...

A small fishhook slowly burrowing into flesh is probably less damaging than a punch to the face.

"As expected, there are enemies here."

Although he was immediately proven wrong after making his tough statement, Li Qing did not show any embarrassment or surprise.

The allure of the boss's inheritance is so great that even if its authenticity is hard to discern and it's extremely risky, there will always be some daring individuals among the many strong members of the organization.

He had long anticipated that some restless rebels would show up this morning.

However, he did not expect the enemy to act so quickly and decisively.

What was even more unexpected was the opponent's Stand ability.

It seems that he was still able to restrain himself.

Is it really that simple?

The situation looked very promising, but Li Qing became cautious instead.

He immediately pulled the fishing line, which had penetrated several tens of centimeters into his flesh, from the outside and then tentatively pulled it out with force.

That superhuman strength was poured into the thin fishing line. With that force, not only could it not pull such a thin line, but it could also pull a grown man and make him fall over.

Then hum!

The moment Li Qing exerted force, the entire fishing line began to vibrate abnormally.

But the fishing line itself, and the fishhook that had already burrowed into Li Qing's body, showed no sign of retreating.

His strength seemed to be absorbed by the thin fishing line.

The absorbed power converged in the trembling fishing line, eventually being released at the very tip of the hook.

Li Qing's health bar suddenly dropped a little.

"This?"

His expression instantly turned serious:

"The force applied to the fishing line will all be concentrated on the hook that has already penetrated my body, and eventually bounce back onto myself."

In other words...

"There's no way I could pull this fishhook out of my body!"

He's like a fish with its lips and gills pierced by a hook; the more it struggles, the faster it dies.

It's clear that brute force won't be enough to free myself from the restraints; once the hook enters my body, there's no escape.

Fortunately, there's always a universal solution to Stand abilities—

Address the core issue directly.

Thinking of this, Li Qing immediately and gently grasped the fishing line.

He maximized his senses, listening intently to the vibrations of the fishing line.

Following the faint tremor of the fishing line, Li Qing effortlessly found the other end of the long line—the enemy who had attacked him:

"It's you?"

Li Qing turned her head and stared blankly at a man hiding a dozen meters away.

That guy was very different from ordinary people:

His neck and head were connected, and with that avant-garde vegetable hairstyle, the outline of his head looked like a thick radish.

This was the first time Li Qing had ever perceived such a strange outline.

"Hey, Radish Head!"

He very rudely gave someone a nickname:

"So you're the one fishing here?"

Li Qing's voice was extremely flat.

Even though the fishhook had already pierced his thigh and was causing him a huge amount of damage, less than 1% per second.

"No, that's right, it's me."

Even though he had received the ideological education of the big brother, Pesci's voice was still weak.

There was no way around it; he had only been in the Assassination Team for two months and hadn't done many missions following Prosciutto. He was still too inexperienced.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Pesci forced herself to make harsh remarks, but her forced fierceness was hardly intimidating.

"Quick, throw the box over here!"

"Otherwise, I... I'll kill you!"

"Kill me?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow.

He had already seen through the other party's true nature, so even his tone became nonchalant:

"Hey, let me give you a piece of advice:"

"This kind of 'I'll kill you' threat is like the dog tag of the Happy Wind Man; it's best to reveal it only after successfully killing the enemy."

"Otherwise, it could very well backfire and slap you in the face."

Li Qing appeared far too calm.

This composure unwittingly stirred up Pesci's barely suppressed panic.

His heart began to race uncontrollably, his breathing became heavy and erratic, and even his arms, which were gripping the fishing rod tightly, began to tremble in a barely perceptible manner.

All of this was overheard by Li Qing's extremely keen ears:

"You didn't come alone."

He made a remarkably decisive judgment:

"Someone as afraid of fighting as you couldn't have come here alone to take this risk."

"You must have a companion. He should be here, preparing to launch a sneak attack on me."

"Am I right, Radish?"

Li Qing pressed the other party with each word, emphasizing its meaning.

Pesci's performance, on the other hand, became increasingly worse.

He didn't even dare to look Li Qing, who was blind, in the eye. He just unconsciously backed away while gripping the fishing rod tightly in his hand with his weak fighting spirit.

Looking at such a weak-willed opponent, Li Qing's killing intent actually diminished:

"Put the fishing hook back in."

"To tell you the truth: neither you nor your companions can kill me."

"I can leave here at any time, and my companions are waiting outside the station—we've been on the phone, and they know what's going on here."

"So, Radish Head, you can't possibly win."

Li Qing abandoned his initial idea of leveling up by defeating monsters.

He is a principled gamer who only craves thrilling and exciting battles and has no desire to bully weak and incompetent opponents.

Otherwise, if Li Qing simply learned from scum like Jokulrat, he could easily become powerful by taking the lives of countless weaklings.

And now, the little radish in front of him is afraid.

He exuded no murderous aura whatsoever, making one wonder if he had ever killed anyone or seen blood before.

"I can give you a chance."

Li Qing, unusually, wanted to resolve the issue through conversation:

"If you lay down your weapons and surrender with your companions, I will not kill you."

"Not only will you not have to fight, but I can also give you a lot of cash dividends and make you new cadres of the organization."

Controlling an organization definitely requires cultivating a certain number of loyal followers.

Even a mysterious guy like Diavolo has a Royal Guard he can command. Now, Li Qing Sin is also looking for an opportunity to recruit more henchmen for Giorno, who aspires to be a boss in the future.

Anyway, the other party doesn't seem like the kind of ruthless scum who kills without any scruples. Instead of fighting, it's better to try to recruit them.

"How about it?"

"Are you willing to cooperate? If so, I can make the decision."

As she was speaking, Li Qing's voice suddenly stopped.

His expression changed.

Because during that brief standoff, Li Qing noticed something unusual about himself:

He's old.

His skin began to dry out and wrinkle, and his flesh became soft and weak.

The heartbeat weakens, movements become sluggish, and strength gradually diminishes.

Even his hearing, which he was so proud of, began to weaken in an irreversible manner.

On Li Qing's system interface, an icon representing a negative state—aging—was clearly displayed.

"Damn it!!"

His expression suddenly changed drastically.

An uncontrollable anger quietly surfaced on that face that was already showing signs of wrinkles.

But this anger wasn't due to the changes in Li Qing himself, but rather because he suddenly realized:

Around him, and all the living people in the entire station, aged rapidly at that moment.

The enemy's Stand ability is area-of-effect, like the Jokulrat we encountered the day before yesterday.

Moreover, he was no better than that scumbag Jokulrat; he also showed no concern whatsoever for the innocent bystanders around him.

At this moment, in Li Qing's ears, which were still far beyond those of ordinary people even after his decline, what resounded was a series of terrifying wails.

Someone was rubbing their wrinkled, yellowed skin and screaming in terror as they watched their skin grow increasingly withered.

Some people are trying hard to get their old, lost teeth back, only to find, to their despair, that more and more teeth are falling out.

As babies age, they become withered and shriveled, growing into ugly, prematurely aged monsters.

As the mother aged, she became demented and weak, and could only rely on instinct to hold onto the deformed baby in her arms.

Li Qing could hear everything.

He could hear the faltering hearts of those people, the slowing flow of their blood, their sluggish steps toward death, and the flickering flames of life gradually dying out.

Li Qing took a deep breath:

"This is clearly your world, but you're acting more like you're here to play a game than I am."

"You guys have turned Italy into Los Santos. No wonder Giorno and Bucciarati are so eager to change things."

"Since that's the case..."

He closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again:

"Carrot Head, let's fight!"

"Huh?" Pesci was slightly taken aback.

Seeing that Li Qing had suddenly changed his attitude and was no longer trying to persuade him to surrender, he actually seemed somewhat disappointed:

"You... you don't want to cooperate with us anymore?"

"No, thank you."

Li Qing clenched his Riot Games tightly, a murderous intent surging in his lifeless eyes:

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together!"