The Third Question

"Besides hearing the tremors of the US Military convoy, I also heard a 'sound of the earth.'"

Li Qing pointed to the solid ground beneath him and explained carefully:

"Because of the constant geological movements within the Earth, there are actually countless extremely faint sound waves present in the ground at all times."

"As these sound waves pass through geological structures of different densities and materials, the waveforms they exhibit also differ."

"By using this characteristic, I can roughly detect the geological structure of the shallow surface through sound waves."

"And what I just heard was..."

"About a hundred meters below the ground, there's a huge underground cavity—there's nothing there, making it perfect for sealing this chunk of flesh!"

The Earth was never a solid lump of dirt, so finding a naturally formed cavity underground occasionally wasn't strange at all.

"I see."

Giorno understood Li Qing's intention:

"That underground cavity is exactly over a hundred meters from the surface, beyond the range of the chunk of flesh's perception."

"As long as we can lure the chunk of flesh into it, it won't be able to sense anything on the surface anymore."

"At that point, it will be sealed in the dark underground forever."

"But..."

He couldn't help but say "but."

Because the Plan B Li Qing proposed had too many loopholes—

How would they lure the monster into the ground over a hundred meters deep?

A hole large enough for that monster to burrow into the ground would have to be at least five or six meters wide. After the job was done, how would they seal such a large hole within two minutes?

Of course, besides that...

There was one more crucial issue that Giorno cared about.

"I understand your plan."

"But there's no time to say more now."

"Once those US soldiers arrive, with so much interference, any plan we choose will fail."

Li Qing didn't give Giorno any room to question.

He stated firmly:

"Now, please create a bug that can burrow into the ground and have it carry my Sonically Enhanced Wave mark into the earth."

"My displacement ability can travel through obstructions directly to the underground. As long as that chunk of flesh senses my high-speed movement, even with over a hundred meters of soil blocking it, it will desperately dig through the ground to chase me."

Li Qing provided a method to lure the monster into the earth, answering the first question that arose in Giorno's mind.

"Alright."

Giorno no longer hesitated.

He had already recognized Li Qing as a comrade.

Since Li Qing's attitude was so firm, he decided to place his complete trust in him.

"Muda muda!"

A golden humanoid Stand materialized behind Giorno and slammed its fist into a piece of broken asphalt on the ground.

Soon, the broken asphalt, imbued with life, changed its form and gave birth to a bug that emanated an oily black sheen.

"Sonically Enhanced Wave!"

Li Qing unhesitatingly placed a Sonically Enhanced Wave mark on the bug—

This journey required traversing a distance of over a hundred meters. The Golden Bell Shield's range wasn't enough, so he had to use Sonically Enhanced Wave.

However, after using Sonically Enhanced Wave on the bug, he immediately noticed something was off:

"Wait... this bug..."

Li Qing sensed the object's outline through sound waves: "From its outline, why does it look a bit like a cockroach?!"

"It is a cockroach."

Giorno replied with a straight face.

"..."

As a southerner who had suffered greatly from cockroaches, hearing the name that had brought him countless nightmares, Li Qing shuddered:

"Cockroach... Why a cockroach!!"

"There were so many insects to choose from... When did cockroaches start burrowing underground?"

"Cockroaches naturally can't burrow into the ground."

"I created a cockroach only because this kind of small creature has strong vitality and isn't easily killed."

"In fact..."

Giorno rubbed his temples in frustration.

"There's no bug in the world that can burrow over a hundred meters of soil in two minutes!"

"Do you have some misunderstanding about my Stand ability?"

"I can only create existing creatures on Earth, I can't fulfill your strange requests."

"Then?" Li Qing waited for him to continue, their understanding implicit.

As expected, Giorno calmly added:

"Perhaps it's because 'souls' consume a lot of energy. Compared to creating animals with consciousness, my ability to manipulate plants is much stronger."

"By infusing them with a large amount of life force, I can make the created plants grow at an incredibly exaggerated speed, in the form and manner I desire."

"So..."

"Muda Muda Muda Muda!"

"Muda Muda Muda Muda!"

Gold Experience began to repeatedly hammer the ground, a golden blur of fists visible all over its body.

At this moment, they were still within the flesh monster's range of perception.

This continuous barrage of high-speed punches quickly attracted the attention of the massive mass of flesh tens of meters away.

However, the path to the underground was opened before the flesh monster arrived.

Under the immense life force, a block of asphalt rapidly transformed, forming a small sapling.

The sapling's roots wrapped around the cockroach marked with the Sonically Enhanced Wave and then, like a drill that automatically extended and spread infinitely, quickly grew towards the deep underground.

"Fig Tree..."

Giorno explained at the opportune moment:

"In the Bokkeelgat cave near Orisstad, South Africa, there's a plant with the longest and deepest root system in the world."

"Its roots can go as deep as 120 meters underground, which is enough to send that cockroach, marked with your ability, into the underground cavern."

"Hmph..."

Li Qing's expression turned extremely grim.

"What?" Giorno asked, confused. "Are you scared?"

"Of course, I'm scared."

The massive shadow of the flesh monster had already fallen over Li Qing, and the disgusting, terrifying sound of wriggling flesh was almost within earshot.

Li Qing's face turned pale with fright.

"That's a damn cockroach!!"

He mustered all his courage, forcing himself not to imagine the awful feeling of his fist making direct contact with the cockroach later:

"E-Echoes Act!"

Li Qing's figure suddenly turned into an ethereal phantom, following the trajectory where the cockroach brother had just entered the ground, and plunged straight into the solid earth.

The flesh monster immediately became ecstatic.

The swift speed displayed by Li Qing in the Echoes Act state was precisely the fatal switch that activated its berserk mode.

This mindless monster completely ignored the obstacles of rock and soil, crashing into the ground with Li Qing in a ferocious and rapid manner.

This impact was earth-shattering.

It was as if it were completely outside the rules of the world... No, it might be a "rule of the world" itself.

The rule was:

Its speed must always be faster than its prey—no matter what obstructed its path.

The solid ground was easily split apart by the flesh monster's unreasonable strength, and buildings and trees within a hundred-meter radius trembled violently.

It traveled through the hundred-meter-thick soil layer relying solely on brute force, its speed unimpeded.

Finally...

The surging earth waves subsided, and the all-consuming monster disappeared into the ground.

The world fell silent.

Giorno walked to the massive tunnel excavated by the flesh monster's body and peered down into the unfathomable, dark depths:

Li Qing was down there, and the flesh monster was also down there.

"The plan succeeded."

"But..."

Giorno's expression was incredibly solemn.

His first question had already been answered by Li Qing's actions.

For the second question, "how to fill the hole," he had also come up with an emergency solution:

First, it would sprout a massive number of plant roots, forming a giant "wine cork" several meters long to completely seal the opening. Then, a thicker layer of soil would be added to cover it. Once the US Military investigating the plane crash left, road maintenance personnel would naturally come and repair the large hole.

Both of these issues were now resolved.

However, the third and most crucial question remained unanswered.

"You just said there was nothing in that underground cavern."

"This means that there's nothing underground that can help you draw its attention."

"As long as you try to climb out, the flesh will follow you up; if you don't climb out, you'll be trapped underground with the flesh, waiting to die."

"Li Qing."

Giorno pursed his lips tightly, muttering the third question to himself:

"How will you survive?"

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