Saving the World

A conspicuous white parachute bloomed in the sky.

Immediately after, the battered fighter jet, abandoned by its pilot, completely lost control.

Carrying the bloated mass of flesh clinging to its fuselage, constantly draining energy from its engines, it plunged downwards like a headless fly—

Not towards the ocean, but in the exact opposite direction.

Boom!

Kilometers away, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a dull thud echoed from afar.

Then, a plume of ominous dark smoke slowly began to rise from that direction.

Giorno and Li Qing exchanged glances, falling into an awkward silence.

"Um, Mr. Bald?"

After a moment, Giorno broke the silence:

"Didn't you say the pilot would definitely fly the plane into the sea?"

"Uh..."

Li Qing replied awkwardly:

"Well... don't news reports mention things like that from time to time?"

"Pilots would rather sacrifice themselves than avoid residential areas... I thought that was their professional code."

"Where did you read that news?"

Giorno rubbed his temples in exasperation: "How come I've never heard of such a story?"

"This..."

Li Qing's expression turned even more embarrassed: "It definitely wasn't news from America."

"Alright..."

At this point, Giorno had no intention of dwelling on Li Qing's misjudgment.

Rather than dwelling on the past, he preferred to solve the current problem:

"Mount Vesuvius is a world-famous scenic spot, and the plane just crashed at the foot of the mountain, right in a very busy tourist town."

"So, if that monster didn't die from the fall..."

Giorno's voice grew serious, and he said ominously:

"It'll have plenty of 'little buns' to eat."

Looking at Giorno's solemn, serious, and earnest, yet completely fearless expression, Li Qing faintly realized something:

"Hey, hey... kid?"

"You're not thinking of going after that monster, are you?"

"That's right."

Giorno's emerald pupils were filled with determination:

"That monster can grow rapidly by devouring energy. If, and it's just a hypothetical..."

"If its growth has no upper limit, and we don't stop it, it will definitely destroy all of Naples."

"No..."

His words became somewhat alarmist:

"Perhaps, the entire world will be destroyed."

Guided by Giorno's powerful voice, Li Qing's mind involuntarily conjured up such an image:

An immortal mass of flesh, growing endlessly.

It walked tirelessly across the lands of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Human weapons were useless against this monster, which was larger than mountains. Aircraft and ships that came to hunt it all became food to fuel its flesh and blood.

It devoured, it grew, and finally consumed every living creature on the continent, destroying every city into dust.

That nauseating, foul-smelling carpet of flesh would eventually cover the entire earth.

Animal extinction, vegetation death, drastic changes in the ecosystem, frequent climate disasters, civilization destroyed by war, and humanity's demise.

It was just like those movies describing biological crises...

All of this was because some idiotic character at the beginning of the movie failed to deal with the virus spreading from the laboratory in time, ultimately leading to a complete loss of control.

Li Qing was now that idiot.

"Ahem..."

He thought carefully and said to Giorno:

"You make a good point."

"If we don't find a way to nip this monster, which seems capable of infinite growth, in the bud, it will be too late once it grows."

"But..."

Li Qing suddenly changed the subject, his voice becoming grave:

"We barely managed to save our lives from that monster with all our effort."

"Isn't it overkill to go back and look for it now?"

"."

Giorno didn't answer.

He looked at Li Qing's feigned serious expression and actually smiled:

"Mr. Baldy, stop with these boring tests."

"I know you're not afraid of death."

"You should also know that I'm not afraid either."

Giorno looked up, tilted his chin, and reached out to caress his well-defined chest:

"I, Giorno Giovanna, have a dream—"

"I want to become a Gang-star!"

The young man's golden hair fluttered gently in the wind, his emerald eyes shimmering with a regretless lake-like light:

"This country is already under the rule of the mafia. Only by becoming a Gang-star can this country truly be saved."

"With this marvelous, golden dream, I will not fear death."

"So..."

As he spoke, he slowly extended his palm to Li Qing:

"Mr. Baldy, are you willing to save this world with me?"

"Hahahaha."

Li Qing couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Unbelievable, this is the first time I've met someone more reckless than me!"

"Although it's foolish to go looking for trouble like this, this whole thing started because of me—I, Li Qing, am not the kind of trash who needs others to clean up my mess!"

"Giorno Giovanna, is it?"

"Indeed."

He contained his laughter and firmly grasped Giorno's outstretched hand:

"My answer is yes!"

At the same time.

At Naples Airport, in an empty corner.

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Beep beep..."

Diavolo clenched his phone tightly, his expression extremely grim.

"Damn it!"

"Carne didn't pick up!"

"According to the speedboat's location records, he should have encountered that bald guy some time ago."

"So..."

"Is he not answering because he actively used that Stand ability that activates after death, or has he already been easily dealt with by that bald guy?"

Thinking of Li Qing possibly escaping again, Diavolo was in a bad mood.

This wasn't him blaming his subordinate's incompetence.

Carne was just a contingency measure he'd set up casually; Diavolo hadn't expected Carne to handle Li Qing alone.

His real plan was to use convenient transportation like airplanes to create a time difference, arrive at Naples Port before Li Qing could land, and finally deal with this sinner who had desecrated his throne himself.

The plan was sound.

After all, Li Qing's escape from him in the morning was entirely due to an accident. If Diavolo had another chance, Li Qing would definitely die.

However...

Due to "air traffic control," Diavolo first waited for a full three hours at Palermo Airport.

Once he finally got on the plane, after takeoff, they were asked to clear the flight path due to a sudden military operation by the Americans, causing them to circle in the air for another three hours.

A flight that normally took just over an hour was delayed by a total of six hours this time!

"It's one thing to be bombing other countries every day, but now they're treating my territory as their toilet to defecate in."

"Damn it. I'm going to kill these damned hooligans!"

The extremely unlucky Diavolo could only vent his resentment on this culprit.

Of course, this was just him talking big.

Although he claimed to be invincible, Diavolo, who was merely the boss of Italy's gangsters, wouldn't dare provoke the truly invincible boss of Earth's gangsters.

"Hoo"

He adjusted his emotions, which had spiraled out of control in his anger, and tried to calm himself down:

"Now is not the time to waste."

"I need to hurry to that area. If that bald guy isn't dead, he might not have gone far."

Thinking this, Diavolo quickly walked out of the dark corner and headed straight for the area outside the airport entrance where taxis were waiting.

At the same time, he handed over control of his body to his alternate personality, Tonio, in order to hide himself as Diavolo.

What Diavolo didn't notice was

In the dark corner where he had just concealed himself, a round stone had appeared on the ground at some point.