The Grateful Dead

The train had already begun to slow down before entering the station.

By the time Prosciutto fell backward onto the platform, the massive steel behemoth that had roared and crashed down on him had become much more docile.

But even the most docile beast is still a beast; as long as it is moving, it is not something that weak humans can easily touch.

Then, what followed became extremely cruel:

Prosciutto's body first slammed backward against the side wall of the still-moving train, and then uncontrollably tumbled twice in mid-air, close to the train.

Like an ant blown about by a strong wind, he quickly lost his strength and fell downwards after a brief period of airtime.

But below was not a flat, safe ground, but rather the roaring, rumbling wheels of a meat grinder.

Prosciutto was caught in the turning wheel.

Soon, a chilling, cracking sound, like bones being crushed, rang out from under the platform.

It was as if a plump, juicy tomato had been forcefully slammed to the ground, and a stream of scarlet liquid suddenly splashed out in the narrow gap between the train and the platform.

At that moment, the stand-in, the Grateful Dead, disappeared.

The signs of aging on Li Qing's body were instantly reversed.

"It's a success!"

He breathed a long sigh of relief.

Li Qing could feel his aging body rapidly recovering.

My skin tightened again, my flesh became firm, and I was filled with strength.

"I finally have some strength left."

"Unfortunately, I didn't expect that guy's Riot Games would cause me such serious injuries."

Li Qing clutched her abdomen tightly.

He had a hole the size of Riot Games in his abdomen, and the organs and tissues inside were rotten.

Only because Li Qing desperately covered it with his hands did these things that needed to be blurred out not flow out like jelly.

Although his gradually recovering superhuman physique has greatly slowed down his blood loss, such a disemboweled wound cannot be healed by the body's own healing abilities.

Normally, Li Qing could recover from injuries by consuming health points by activating the data-driven system.

Once he's de-digitized, he'll be a healthy, strong man with eight-pack abs again.

But now...

"As soon as I activate the data processing, the enormous cost of repairing my physical body will instantly deplete my already meager life points."

"We absolutely cannot use data now; I can only wait."

"Wait for Giorno to come and save me."

Li Qing clenched his teeth, his forehead already covered in cold sweat.

He was a player spoiled by data. Even if he was injured in his physical form, he could recover instantly by "rebooting the system" after a couple of seconds.

This game-like combat style meant that Li Qing's tolerance for pain was far less than his extensive combat experience.

Now, the large hole in his abdomen was still bleeding profusely, and with every step he took, he could hear his intestines sloshing around inside. Only now did he truly understand:

Those guys who can fight while injured without being quantified are truly formidable wolves.

"It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Li Qing tried hard to restrain himself from whimpering like a coward.

At the same time, he silently encouraged himself:

"Hold on a little longer, just a little longer."

"The enemy only has that little radish head left."

"Even though that damn fishhook is still wriggling inside me... hiss—"

Li Qing couldn't help but groan as he fell to the ground.

Because that fishhook, which he couldn't shake off at all, had now unknowingly burrowed from his thigh into his abdomen, piercing his waist like a sharp knife.

In a data-driven context, such damage is certainly not significant.

But Li Qing is currently using a physical body, and his flesh and blood body is simply no match for a fishhook wriggling around inside.

It's only pierced one kidney now, but if it goes a few more steps upwards, there are even more fatal wounds.

If his heart had been punctured, he would really be dead now.

"Damn it."

"Time is running out."

Li Qing persevered through the pain with all his might:

"But, but I am not without hope."

"Aging has been reversed, and my youthful body, even if injured, will give me enough strength to fight off the enemy."

The enhancement effect brought by the upgrade directly affects Li Qing's body. Even without data processing, he has a physique comparable to a superhero.

Although his injuries are severe and he still has fishhooks inside his body, he still has hope as long as he overcomes old age.

Li Qing was thinking this.

"Heroic."

"To die for one's country!"

There was no sound, no movement.

Amidst the bloodied and mangled wheels, a pair of resolute, knife-like eyes slowly opened.

On the blood-stained railway tracks, a terrifying humanoid phantom quietly appeared.

Li Qing's face, which had just regained its youthful appearance, suddenly showed layers of terrifying wrinkles.

"What?!"

Li Qing's expression suddenly froze:

"That man... he's still conscious!"

He had just witnessed Prosciutto being caught in the wheels of a car, his body crushed and turned into mincemeat.

How can someone who is injured to that extent remain conscious and continue fighting?

Is this something that humans can still do?

Li Qing walked in disbelief to the edge of the platform, then looked down with his aged and cloudy eyes:

He saw Prosciutto.

Prosciutto's arms, waist, abdomen, and legs had been completely shredded into indistinguishable pieces of flesh by the wheels.

Only a small portion of his body remained intact.

The severed body was tightly wedged into the gap between the train wheels, twisted like dough being filled into a cake mold.

Even so, Prosciutto was still alive.

He lived on tenaciously, and with a terrifying will, he summoned a Stand and fought relentlessly.

"Madman."

"You're crazy!"

"How could they do something like this!"

For the first time in history, Li Qing felt a sense of awe during a battle.

He couldn't imagine the kind of will that allowed the enemy to persist.

Even with his body so broken and battered, why is his spirit still so steadfast?

Prosciutto was too weak to speak.

He struggled to maintain the stand-in's persona, then quietly, silently gazed at Li Qing.

That look seemed to say:

"As long as I have a breath left, I will not deactivate my Stand ability."

"Li Qing, you are not the one who won."

Li Qing even felt a little uneasy under their gaze.

He instinctively took two steps back, letting the high platform beneath his feet block Prosciutto's view.

Although unwilling to admit it, Li Qing really didn't dare to look this man, who seemed to have crawled out of the abyss, in the eye.

"Damn it. Is this guy a monster?"

"Why isn't he dead yet?!"

Li Qing seemed somewhat bewildered by the shock.

The situation was different from what he had imagined; he didn't manage to defeat the man at all.

The enemy's Stand ability continues to operate silently, as always.

His body began to age again, and the strength he had just regained in a few seconds quickly vanished.

The glimmer of hope that had risen in my heart quickly faded in this despair.

"Seriously injured and too old to walk."

"I could never fight that radish kid again."

Li Qing thought to himself, his face pale:

"The only hope is to wait."

"I can only wait here, waiting for Giorno and the others' help to arrive."

Like a pitiful weakling, at this moment, Li Qing unconsciously began to pray to heaven.

He prayed, hoping that aid would arrive before the enemy.

However, fate has never been responsive.

Under Li Qing's tense and helpless gaze, the fishing line that had been taut all along loosened.

Immediately afterwards, a slight vibration was felt on the fishing line, and hurried footsteps echoed from the waiting hall 50 meters away.

What arrived first was not a rescue, but the enemy.

Pesci will be there soon.

Li Qing's life was left with less than fifty meters to go, at most a few seconds.

"It's over."

"The enemy has already reacted."

"If he gets here, I have no chance of surviving!"

Such a disheartened thought popped into his head, a rare occurrence for him.

Because the current situation truly means certain death:

"Datafication is no longer usable."

"My body is so old that I can barely walk."

"The fishhook will soon pierce my heart."

"There's a huge hole in her stomach."

Li Qing's spirit wavered amidst pain and despair.

He even unconsciously began to find reasons for his giving up:

With his body so badly damaged, is there any possibility that he can continue fighting?

"It's simply impossible."

"I... I've done my best."

As he pondered, a glimmer of light suddenly flashed through his chaotic mind.

Li Qing's spirits lifted.

He suddenly realized how ridiculous his reasons were.

With a broken body and on the verge of death, is it really impossible to fight?

Did he really do his best?

The answer is, of course, no.

Because there is a perfect example, a respectable role model, right before him, at his feet.

"Prosciutto."

Li Qing silently recited the name that belonged to the enemy.

"Thank you for teaching me a good lesson."

"I will not give up the fight, I will not give up hope, until the last moment of my life."

He clenched his Riot Games tightly after loosening it:

"I will fight with all my might to survive and snatch victory from your hands."

"This is the greatest respect I can show you."