Battle of Resolve

Prosciutto's eyes widened in surprise:

"Aging has been reversed? How is that possible!"

He is clearly still alive; he clearly hasn't given up.

He hasn't lost yet, he's still persevering, his spirit is still flickering through the pain, so why is aging being reversed?

Did Li Qing get ice from somewhere to lower his body temperature?

Impossible.

In such a short time, how could Li Qing, who was seriously injured and frail, possibly find ice on this empty platform?

Prosciutto's frail heart was pounding violently.

This was the last battle of his life, and he didn't want to lose, much less lose in a confused and disorganized way.

But human beings have their limits; great spirits are often confined to ordinary bodies, and indomitable will cannot change cruel reality.

Prosciutto could feel his breathing weakening and his blood rapidly draining away.

His vision began to blur, his consciousness became hazy, and the parts of his body that still had sensation became numb and cold.

That cold, powerless feeling penetrated deep into the soul, making one feel as if they had entered an icy hell.

"I see!"

Prosciutto's pupils suddenly contracted:

"Li Qing, so you weren't gambling on that vague and uncertain luck after all."

"Your final weapon, like mine, is also resolve."

His gradually fading consciousness experienced a final burst of light in the darkness.

This was the last spark of his life:

"I've come to realize this; it's about the two of us."

"The final battle of resolve!"

Let's go back twenty seconds.

The Grateful Dead, he makes a triumphant return to the stage. Pesci is about to arrive at the platform, but Li Qing is old and seriously injured and unable to move. The situation has reached its most critical moment.

At this point, Li Qing could barely walk.

Faced with a formidable enemy who was about to arrive, what could he possibly use to fight back?

All that's left is a fairly good brain and a fairly eloquent mouth.

But beyond that, he also possessed an unyielding heart and an indomitable will.

So.

With the resolve to never give up until death, in the final seconds before Pesci arrived, Li Qing did one thing:

He reopened his wound.

Yes, Li Qing gritted his teeth and tore his already shockingly large wound even wider and more fatal.

"Body temperature."

"The key to breaking through the opponent's Stand ability lies in body temperature."

"That radish-headed guy just carried a few bags of ice on him, and he was completely immune to the effects of aging, still maintaining a young and strong body."

"However, it's important to know that the human body has a thermoregulation function. When the outside temperature is low, it will automatically increase its metabolic rate through shivering and other means to compensate for heat loss."

"Therefore, even if you directly touch ice, as long as the contact time is short, the drop in body temperature will be very limited."

"A few bags of ice, how much can they lower body temperature?"

"0.1 degrees, 0.5 degrees, 1 degree?"

"It couldn't be any lower—hypothermia would significantly affect bodily functions, but that little radish head was so full of energy."

In conclusion, Pesci's performance told Li Qing:

By finding a way to lower body temperature, one can temporarily achieve an effect similar to "anti-aging".

While Pesci's body temperature drops by a maximum of 1 degree Celsius, which is enough to make her ignore aging, Li Qing has a way to quickly lower her body temperature to 2 degrees, 3 degrees, or even lower.

That is bloodletting.

Once the hot blood in your body is released, your body temperature will naturally drop.

"But blood loss alone is not enough."

Li Qing gently reached for the wound on his abdomen, pinching the bloody, soft flesh on both sides of the gash as if he were pinching the edge of a dumpling.

Intense pain instantly spread throughout his body, causing his aged body to tremble like an overloaded old tractor.

"When there is mild to moderate blood loss, the body's stress response is strong."

"Neurohormones enhance the regulation of cardiac ejection, and the secretion of thyroid hormones and adrenaline is increased, causing the body to produce a large amount of heat."

Li Qing slowly began to apply pressure with her hands, which were gripping the soft flesh of the wound.

Like a steamed bun held in a diner's hand, several deep fingerprints are quietly imprinted on the rotten flesh.

"If less blood is lost, the body temperature will not only fail to come down, but may even rise."

"Aging will not only not be relieved, but may even be aggravated."

"To lower body temperature quickly, I must ensure that the body's heat production cannot keep up with its heat loss, causing me to lose a significant amount of blood in a short period of time—"

In other words, now.

Li Qing took a deep breath:

"This is the time for me to show my resolve!"

Sizzle—

Li Qing's old and fragile flesh was torn open with a large gash, just like tearing apart a dried squid.

Blood gushed out like a spring.

The pungent, fishy heat rose in the cool morning air.

The dazzling red color almost dyed the entire world red.

Just then, Pesci arrived.

He saw Li Qing, who looked like a demon, and couldn't help but shudder involuntarily.

"Where is my older brother? Where is my brother Prosciutto?!"

The inexplicable aura emanating from Li Qing made people feel uneasy.

"You're asking about your older brother?"

"Haha, you."

The cold wind on the platform was relentless, and it felt like countless tiny saws were grinding back and forth across the gruesome wound.

But Li Qing tried his best to maintain that mocking smile.

The city gates were wide open, and there were no soldiers inside. He could only force himself to remain calm and play the zither on the city wall.

Not a single note can be out of place, not a single tone can be wrong:

"Of course you can kill me."

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

Every breath I take aggravates the wound; breathing is like torture.

"And your Prosciutto."

Ah, I've lost so much blood, and I feel even weaker.

My intestines felt like they were about to slip out, but I didn't have the strength to hold them back.

"If I'm not mistaken, Prosciutto will probably be within ten seconds."

Damn it, hasn't the temperature dropped yet?

Hurry up, it's so hard for me to talk right now.

"Although my friends are all good people, that doesn't mean they're capable of killing."

It's so cold. Is early spring in Venice really this cold?

Oh, so it was me who started to cool down.

This is a good thing.

There's an old saying in my hometown: those who follow God's will will prosper.

Oh no, she's showing signs of becoming disoriented.

In that case, the blood loss should have exceeded 20%.

The theoretical limit for blood loss in an average person is 50%, and my body should be able to withstand that for longer after it recovers its youth.

I'm not going to die yet; there's still hope that I can hold on until reinforcements arrive.

Li Qing persisted in this way.

His mind never stopped, his mouth never stopped, and his cloudy but determined eyes remained fixed on Pesci.

Finally, in this endless agony where every second felt like a year...

Ten seconds passed.

Li Qing's prediction about his physical condition was largely correct.

The massive loss of blood quickly depleted his body heat, and his body's thermoregulation function had been severely compromised by this serious injury.

The body temperature finally came down, albeit in a dangerous and fatal way.

Almost instantly, the power that had been placed on Li Qing in the form of the Grateful Dead was "removed".

His flesh and blood returned to their fullness, his scalp became shiny, and he regained his youth.

Although the massive blood loss had left his skin as pale as paper and his hands and feet as cold as ice, making Li Qing look like a walking corpse even after regaining his youth, there was no denying that:

He regained his youth.

"Aging has been reversed?!"

Pesci exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, it has been lifted."

"I'm not lying to you, your brother Prosciutto has already escaped."

"So, Pesci, what's your decision?"

Quick! Sign! Surrender!

I'm about to faint.

Quick, put the fishing rod down! I really have no other choice.

Li Qing looked at Pesci with longing eyes; he had never been this anxious when he was waiting for his college entrance exam results.

His realization finally paid off.

"Big Brother Prosciutto"

Seeing himself aging just as Li Qing had predicted, Pesci became lost.

His mental support collapsed in that instant:

Did you really abandon me and run away?

Pesci's inner weakness erupted at this moment.

The bond built up over just two months crumbled instantly because of Prosciutto's "betrayal".

"Damn it, we agreed to fight to the death, and we were promised I would never put down my fishing rod."

"You wouldn't run away, you wouldn't abandon me and run for your life, would you?"

"Big brother!!"

He roared madly to the sky:

"If you're still here, give me a response right now!"

The heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the entire station.

But no one answered.

Pesci pursed her lips tightly, her cheeks trembling.

The hands that had been gripping the fishing rod so tightly finally loosened their grip.