Coward Willy

Outside the underground parking garage, in that quiet, dimly lit alley.

Rewind five minutes to 16:16, shortly after Mista left.

Bucciarati, Fugo, and the others, who had been crammed into the back seat for a long time, got out of the car and leaned against the wall in the shadows, stretching their bodies slightly.

Li Qing, disregarding his own image, knelt down with his ear pressed to the ground, listening intently to the sounds coming from the direction of the underground parking garage.

Mista was, after all, a complete novice who knew nothing. Although the probability of something going wrong was very low, Bucciarati was still a little worried about letting him act alone.

Therefore, Bucciarati specifically asked Li Qing to act as a human radar, remotely monitoring the movements on Mista's side.

If any suspicious noise is heard, or if Mista is in danger, they will rush to her rescue immediately.

Li Qing agreed to be the nanny.

After all, if Mista really encountered danger, it would mean that their whereabouts had been exposed to the enemy.

There's no point in hiding here and avoiding the watchful eyes of those mall guards; we might as well charge in and fight for real.

However.

Unexpectedly, before any unusual sounds came from Mista's side, Li Qing heard some ominous noises from his own side:

"Someone's there!"

"There were about a dozen people, in groups, heading straight into this alley."

"What?"

"Have we been discovered?"

Fugo's face immediately turned pale:

A life-or-death battle did not seem to cure his old fear of the organization.

"We're doomed! We'll be discovered as soon as we go out, and this alley is a dead end. We have nowhere to run!"

"Don't panic."

Bucciarati reassured his companions in a calm and powerful voice:

"The Stand User in the organization have always preferred to fight alone, and it is unheard of for more than a dozen people to act at the same time."

"The one coming might not be Stand User chasing us; it could just be a complete stranger."

"No matter what, let's find a place to hide first."

He looked around at the alley, which was empty except for a car.

Clearly, there's nowhere to hide here.

But this was no challenge for Bucciarati.

He immediately summoned his Steel Chain Fingers and casually made a series of "Ali Ali" sounds on the wall, instantly opening a zipper hole as tall as a person.

Bucciarati stepped into the narrow, alternate dimension created by the zipper first, then turned to Li Qing and the others and said:

"Come on, quickly hide inside!"

"Yes."

Fugo, Narancia, and Abbacchio squeezed into the "zipper space" without hesitation, and Giorno followed closely behind.

Only Li Qing remained who hadn't gone in.

"Quickly hide inside, Li Qing!"

Bucciarati and the others, who had already hidden in the alternate dimension, urged in unison.

"."

Looking at the group of muscular men crammed into the narrow, alien space like sardines, dressed in revealing tops, crop tops, and tight-fitting clothes, Li Qing's lips twitched uncontrollably.

"Damn it, I'm never setting a goal again."

He cursed angrily, but still forced himself to squeeze in.

Immediately afterwards, the Steel Chain Fingers pulled the zipper shut from inside the alternate dimension.

Li Qing and the others quickly concealed themselves behind the "healed" wall, leaving only a barely perceptible gap to observe the outside world.

And then...

A dozen or so uninvited guests stormed into the alley.

They each held sticks, had fierce expressions, and exuded a strong aura of menace.

However, this malevolent aura was not directed at Li Qing and the others.

Surrounded by these fierce-looking, burly men was a thin, hunched-back, pale-faced young man who looked as timid and cowering as a frightened wild monkey.

He didn't walk into this alley on his own; he was carried here by a dozen or so burly men like a dead pig.

"Willy, cowardly Willy!"

They threw the skinny man named Willy to the ground and surrounded him in the dark, secluded alley with cold smiles:

Let's have some fun here!

The thin, weak Willy trembled with fear, while Li Qing, hidden in the alternate dimension, immediately breathed a sigh of relief:

It was obvious from the scene that those dozen or so burly men were not assassins sent by the organization.

They're just a bunch of street thugs who bully the weak; there's nothing to worry about.

However.

Bucciarati, Fugo, Narancia all frowned in unison. "Willy?"

"Um?"

Li Qing asked with some curiosity, "Do you... know this guy?"

"That's right."

Fugo curled his lip. "He's a useless guy."

Narancia's face also showed disgust. "He's a mentally unstable guy."

Bucciarati's tone was the most restrained, but there was still a hint of something unusual in it:

"Indeed, it's someone we know."

"It's not just him, I know the others quite well too."

He looked at the group of fierce-looking men outside and explained:

"These people are all peripheral henchmen of the organization, and this large area near the mall is their territory."

"I sent Mista to get the car alone just to avoid being seen by these henchmen."

"Only"

"I never expected them to come here by accident."

Bucciarati first identified the dozen or so burly men, then turned his gaze to the skinny man surrounded by a dozen or so gangsters:

"This guy's name is Willy Coward, and we have some history together:"

"He was accidentally caught up in my battle with another Stand User, and later he came to me and begged me to recommend him to the organization."

As he spoke, Bucciarati added a further comment:

"Moreover, what he wants is to become a core member of the organization."

"What?"

Li Qing sensed something special. "Core members."

"I remember when you were explaining the organization to me before, you said that those who were qualified to be recruited as core members were basically Stand User, right?"

"Moreover, it also has to pass that test with a 99% mortality rate."

"That's right."

Bucciarati nodded and said:

"He didn't take Mr. Polpo's test, but..."

"Willy Coward is indeed a Stand User."

"Ha?"

Li Qing was slightly taken aback.

He glanced at the skinny man being kicked around like a ball by a dozen or so henchmen in the alley:

"Is this guy Stand User?"

"Is it really that weak? No."

Li Qing took a closer look at Willy's individual performance:

In the humiliating moment when he was kicked around like a ball, stepped on like a stone, and had his mother and grandmother insulted by pointing fingers at him, this guy named Willy didn't even try to put up a fight.

He cowered and covered his head, trembling and begging for mercy.

"Are there really such cowardly Stand User?"

Li Qing was so surprised that he couldn't speak:

The Stand User he encountered today were all tough guys who fought like their lives depended on it and didn't even break a sweat when injured, which made him subconsciously believe that Stand User all had some kind of passive skill called "unyielding will".

Upon suddenly seeing such a cowardly fellow who didn't even dare to breathe while being beaten, Li Qing simply couldn't connect him with the words "Stand User".

"No way."

Fugo said dismissively:

"This guy is a hopeless coward, everyone calls him 'Coward Willy'."

"Moreover, his Stand ability is also very useless."

"Useless?" Li Qing asked curiously, "How so?"

His Stand ability is:

Fugo thought for a moment and answered carefully:

"As long as the original body comes into contact with someone, his stand will automatically become the thing that the other person is most 'fearful' in their subconscious."

"Well?"

Li Qing thought for a moment, "Doesn't that sound pretty strong?"

"Strong my ass!"

"The fact that it requires direct physical contact with the opponent is already a huge weakness."

"Furthermore, his double can't transform into any fantastical creatures from movies; it can only become something that actually exists on Earth—"

"It sounds good, but in practice, you'll find that what comes out are basically school bullies, hooligans, parents, or even stray cats and dogs—things that are completely harmless!"

"What's even more ridiculous is..."

"He can't even control his own Stand ability."

"If he accidentally touches someone, his stand will uncontrollably change."

As he spoke, Fugo seemed to recall some unpleasant memory:

"That time Willy accidentally touched my body, and as a result..."

"Result?"

Li Qing and the others eagerly awaited the next installment.

"Ha ha."

Fugo said somewhat embarrassedly:

"His double automatically became my university professor."

"I lost my temper and accidentally sent him to the intensive care unit."