The Winner's Resolve

Amor worked for the most promising "company" in Italy, holding a stable, high-paying job. He had subordinates who respected and trusted him, and at home, a gentle and virtuous wife and cute, sensible children.

From an ordinary person's perspective, Amor truly had everything.

But...

He always felt like something was missing.

What was it?

Amor had forgotten, but upon meeting Li Qing, a "Stand User," today, he remembered—

His dream.

He wanted to become a Gang-star.

However, this dream was shattered after Amor officially joined the Passion organization:

Only Stand Users with superpowers were qualified to become core members of the organization and challenge for the position of executive.

And Amor was just an ordinary person.

However, as an ordinary person, Amor actually had two choices back then:

One, go to Naples and find the organization's cadre, Polpo, to accept an initiation test with a reported 99% fatality rate. If he succeeded, he could fulfill his wish and become a core member of the Passion organization.

Two, directly leverage the skills he had honed in other gangs and serve as an outer-ring cleaner, a position that was low in status but high in income and not very busy.

Because he feared death, Amor gave up his dream and chose the second option.

Thus, he had been honestly collecting his salary, taking on apprentices, and handling bodies for the organization day after day.

Until just now:

That bald "Stand User" had seen through his final scheme and firmly attached a "positioning light cluster" to his arm.

After the white light cluster struck, a white, glowing positioning mark appeared on his right forearm.

His previous combat observations made him understand:

Anyone marked with this white light would absolutely be unable to evade the fatal assault of Li Qing's "Echoes Act" high-speed rush.

If nothing unexpected happened, today would be his day of death.

"Damn it..."

Amor stared intently at the white light mark on his right arm, gritting his teeth and roaring:

"I became a gangster to be a Gang-star, not to haul bodies!"

"I've lived half my life in mediocrity, and in the end..."

"Do I still have to die as a nobody?!"

At that moment, a blazing fire ignited in his eyes.

Immediately after, Amor suddenly extended his left hand, which was not marked by the light cluster, and quickly drew an incredibly sharp dagger from his waist.

"What are you doing?"

For the first time, a ripple appeared on Li Qing's calm and indifferent expression.

"Hahaha..."

Amor laughed wildly:

"Baldy, I originally thought you were just an idiot with Stand abilities but no tactical mind."

"I didn't expect you to be so surprising."

"Very good, very good..."

"This is the battle I longed for, this is the life I longed for!"

"So..."

Amor gripped the dagger tightly and roared with all his might:

"Let me tell you, bald guy!"

"To gain the glory of victory, you need not only brains but also the resolve—"

"The resolve to abandon everything!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

A sharp tearing sound of metal slicing through the air echoed from his hand, accompanied by a metal hum as the blade trembled slightly in the air vortex.

And Li Qing had not anticipated Amor's desperate counterattack at all.

He had subconsciously activated the second stage of "Echoes Act" the moment "Sonically Enhanced Wave" hit Amor, and was now rushing towards the positioning mark at a speed he couldn't even suppress.

Then, Li Qing finally understood what Amor had done:

He had cut off his own hand.

With all his might and the greatest speed, he had severed his right forearm, the one bearing the white, glowing positioning mark, right at the root.

Amor's blade was so fast that his right forearm detached from his body in an instant.

And then.

Amidst the spray of blood, Li Qing's "Echoes Act" charge landed entirely on the severed arm that hadn't yet fallen to the ground.

Because the force of "Echoes Act's" charge was so immense, he even pushed through the severed arm, which he had just pulverized into mush, and slammed into the wall of a nearby alley.

Finally, Li Qing hurriedly turned his head, only to be met head-on by the dark muzzle of the gun held firmly by Amor, pointed directly at his forehead.

The gun barrel had already locked onto his head. In this situation, his ability to dodge bullets by predicting the muzzle's direction was rendered completely useless.

"Hahahahaha!"

Amor, enduring the pain of his severed arm, struggled to steady his grip on the handgun:

"As expected..."

"I was right not to guess wrong!"

"Your charge ability doesn't lock onto people, it locks onto that marked pattern!"

"As long as the marked part is cut off, you'll foolishly charge straight into that severed arm!"

"Now, your 'Stand ability' has entered its 'cooldown period'."

"We're five to six meters apart right now. Before you can charge over, I can definitely empty my magazine!"

"Your speed is limited. Even if your senses are sharp, how many bullets can you dodge?"

"And you..."

Amor glanced at Li Qing's health bar, which had only 48% remaining above his head:

"With less than half your health, how many more shots can that shield for you?"

Li Qing remained silent, seemingly having fallen into despair.

Seeing this, an irrepressible excitement and fervor finally surged into Amor's usually calm eyes:

"Boss, Boss, did you see that?!"

"I, Amor, have defeated a Stand User with my mortal body!"

I am capable of entering the organization's core and becoming a cadre of Passion!

Amor was expressing his ambition and aspirations by utilizing the world rule of "time stop commentary," but...

The response he received was Li Qing's incredibly calm voice:

"Amor, your move was indeed unexpected."

"But..."

"But what?!"

Amor had a bad premonition.

This instinctive fear reminded him of his past self, of the mediocre, life-fearing middle-aged thug he used to be.

This feeling disgusted him.

Therefore, Amor roared in disbelief:

"My gun won't miss!"

"Even with one hand gone, even while enduring immense pain, my gun won't miss!"

"Heh heh."

Li Qing chuckled noncommittally, and simply continued:

"But..."

"Everything you just said relies on the condition that 'my skill is on cooldown and I have no other ranged attack methods'."

"What?!"

Amor's heart rippled again:

"Could it be that you have another 'Stand ability'?"

"No, I don't."

Li Qing shook his head honestly:

After killing those four men in black just now, his experience bar on the system interface had indeed increased significantly.

However, the experience contributed by those four men had only brought his experience bar close to full, not enough for him to level up to grade two and gain new skill points.

"But..."

Li Qing smiled slightly, and as if performing magic, produced a gun from his hand:

"Amor."

He awkwardly aimed the muzzle at Amor's contorted face and said with a smile:

"Before I came downstairs, I got some toys from your subordinates."