Let's Live Together

The operational plan succeeded without a hitch, but Li Qing discovered a somewhat awkward small problem:

He, it seemed, also had to die here.

A gaping hole was punched through the top of the magma chamber buried deep underground by the flesh lump, and the massive amount of magma stored within surged upwards rapidly through this opening under the pressure.

It was like a volcanic eruption, but with infinitely less power.

This wave of scorching magma first engulfed the flesh lump, then flooded the vertical tunnel connecting the underground cavity and the magma chamber, and then, like surging toilet water, it cascaded back up into the underground cavity.

The underground cavity, which had been empty not long ago, had now become a lake of magma filled with lava and heatwaves.

But it wasn't over yet.

The "water level" of the magma lake kept rising, and the surging lava soon filled this limited underground cavity, beginning to flow towards the tunnel above that connected the underground cavity to the surface.

This tunnel quickly became a "magma well" with a constantly rising "water level."

And Li Qing was right here.

"Looks like my luck isn't that good after all."

As he struggled to climb up the nearly vertical tunnel towards the surface, he glanced helplessly at the rising magma surface closing in on him:

"I'm not a supercomputer that can calculate precise data. The speed at which this magma is surging is something I can't accurately predict."

"And even worse..."

"This surging magma is getting closer and closer to me, but I can't use my skills to escape!"

According to Li Qing's original plan, he would have started climbing up the moment the flesh lump began to excavate the magma chamber, and then he would have climbed out of the flesh lump's perception range before the magma could surge back up.

However, the eruption speed of the magma was not something Li Qing could have anticipated.

He could only gamble.

Unfortunately, the "gamble" Li Qing hadn't expected at all had unintentionally paid off, but the "odds" he was now desperately hoping for weren't working out –

The magma was surging up much faster than he had imagined.

If he continued to climb slowly with his hands and feet, Li Qing would soon be caught by the magma, which was coming up from behind, and be incinerated to ash by the molten lava at thousands of degrees.

His only option was to use the high-speed movement skills, "Golden Bell Shield" or "Echoes Act," to escape to the surface before being submerged by the magma.

But he couldn't use those skills.

Because the magma was surging too quickly, Li Qing was about to be swallowed by the magma well with its constantly rising "water level" before he could even climb out of the flesh lump's perception range.

"I'm currently about 80 meters directly above that flesh lump, and I need another 20 meters to completely escape its perception range."

"If I use a movement skill to escape now, with a speed far exceeding the magma wave, it will definitely chase after me and rush to the surface with me!"

"In that case..."

"All the efforts Li Qing and Giorno made would be in vain!"

Li Qing clenched his fists, a resolute determination surging in his heart:

"I can't use my skills, I can only climb up slowly."

"If I climb out these last twenty meters, I can escape that flesh lump forever!"

The molten lava surged upwards, and the heatwaves washed over him.

This vertical tunnel, newly carved by the flesh lump with its body, had now transformed into a fully operational alchemy furnace.

Li Qing was like the "Monkey King" thrown into this furnace, but he didn't have the invulnerability to water and fire, nor the indestructible body of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven – he was already losing health.

Even though the surging lava hadn't directly touched his body yet, he couldn't withstand the relentless heatwaves blasting up from below.

There's no need to roast lamb skewers by placing the meat directly on the charcoal; just suspending it above is enough.

The terrifying heat blasting up from the magma naturally heated the air to the point of warping, turning it into a powerful, invisible oven.

"Damn it..."

Li Qing could feel that the air around him was at least a hundred degrees Celsius.

Basking in such scorching air was actually more painful than touching a hot iron directly with his skin.

And while Li Qing could block out the maddening pain, he couldn't ignore the immense damage caused by the scorching air.

"Steady... steady!"

"Only 10 meters left!"

Li Qing forced himself not to look at his rapidly decreasing health bar, focusing solely on climbing upwards.

10 meters. 9 meters. 8 meters. 7 meters.

It seemed he was just about to escape the flesh lump's perception range and gain a new lease on life.

However, the distance between life and death is often this short.

When Li Qing was only six meters away from escaping the flesh lump's perception range, his health had been burned down to a mere 12% by the high-temperature air.

This amount of health was not enough for him to live for even two seconds.

At this moment, he only had two choices –

There were two options:

One, target Giorno directly, using the Sonically Enhanced Wave or Golden Bell Shield to return to the surface. This way, the meat chunks would follow him back.

Two, stay and wait for death, to sleep eternally in this subterranean purgatory along with the meat chunks.

Which to choose?

"Hahaha."

"Choosing the second option is game over. Any normal person would obviously choose the first, right?"

"Once a person is dead, nothing remains. Once dead, nothing they say matters."

In the span of a lightning flash, countless thoughts raced through Li Qing's mind.

He had even planned out his survival measures upon returning to the surface:

"Even if I lure those meat chunks back to the surface, with the sliver of health I have left, it'll be difficult to survive, but..."

"But there's still Giorno Giovanna, isn't there?"

"That idiot will instinctively try to save me. As long as I harden my heart and use him as bait, I can still survive with my low HP."

"The first path is an easy and clear way to live!"

"But..."

Li Qing's upward climbing movement suddenly halted: "I refuse!"

Perhaps it was the impulse of the moment, or perhaps his reason had gone offline, but Li Qing had, unknowingly, been infected by the game's overwhelmingly realistic environment, to the point where he had learned something that would get him killed from that 13-year-old brat named Giorno.

He abandoned the escape and chose to stay.

"Since I consider myself a high-level player, I shouldn't let my teammate bear the consequences of my own mistakes!"

"It's just one life..."

"It's just a game anyway, haha, maybe I'll even revive when I die?"

A complex smile flickered across Li Qing's lips.

He slowly loosened his grip on the rock wall, preparing to dramatically throw himself into the endless lava:

"Although the game time has only been half a day, I have to say..."

"This has truly been a Good Game!"

"Hey!"

"Climb up, I'm coming!"

The moment Li Qing smiled and typed GG, a slightly urgent voice abruptly pulled his consciousness back from this purgatory.

It was Giorno's voice.

"What?!"

Li Qing's expression froze, and he couldn't help but be shocked:

He had been so focused on the "water level" of the magma below and the position of the meat chunks that he hadn't noticed Giorno climbing down from the surface at some point!

"Why are you running down here? Are you looking to die!"

Sensing Giorno, who was less than five meters above him, Li Qing's voice turned angry.

"I saw your damaged HP bar."

"You need help, don't you?"

Giorno's slightly heavy voice came from above. Clearly, he could feel the scorching heat of the air in this lava well.

Li Qing could also hear from his voice that Giorno was getting closer.

"Don't go any further down, the air is hotter down there!"

"Even my digitized body can't withstand it, you'll die if you climb any lower!"

Li Qing yelled crossly.

But Giorno still came down.

The lava was surging upwards, while Giorno and his Gold Experience were climbing down:

"Li Qing, you are already a companion I acknowledge."

"I, Giorno Giovanna, will never abandon my friend!"

"Muda muda muda muda!"

Golden fist shadows bloomed in this lava well, their light even surpassing that of the magma, which contained infinite light and heat.

These fists were hitting the rock wall.

Gold Experience first savagely beat the soil on the rock wall, and then, like a mischievous child playing with a companion, it splashed all the soft soil, which it had beaten into mud, onto Li Qing.

"What are you doing?"

Li Qing was stunned and confused.

Then, he immediately discovered that the mud splashed onto him by Gold Experience seemed to have come alive:

They continuously grew, deformed, and intertwined, converging into a single mass, forming a strange "armor" over Li Qing's entire body in the span of a single breath.

It was then that Li Qing noticed

Giorno and Gold Experience's outlines were slightly different from usual; they seemed to be wearing the same "armor" as him.

"This is Stone Coral."

Giorno, merely a mortal in this scorching furnace, his voice trembled:

"This coral possesses a natural foam structure, and its body contains a large number of tiny cavities—even after they die in high temperatures, these calcium carbonate shells with their foam structure will be permanently preserved."

"And then it's the simple principle of foam insulation:"

"When air is not flowing, its thermal conductivity is very low, so it can temporarily help us block the burning from the high-temperature air."

"Although it won't last for more than a few seconds, this is already enough."

"Let's go."

Giorno extended his hand to Li Qing:

"Let's survive together!"