Time Stop

"Ahhh!"

"What on earth just happened?!"

Fugo gripped his hair tightly, with the force of someone pulling weeds from their own yard.

"We can't beat them."

"An enemy of this caliber is practically invincible!"

His old fear of death resurfaced.

But Li Qing had no intention of using the gun to correct Fugo's mistakes anymore, because he himself was a little panicked.

It's not fear, but the despair of studying hard for three years, only to find that you can't even solve a few challenging math problems when you finally get to the college entrance exam.

At this point, he no longer dared to regard the "Dio" in front of him as an inferior counterfeit.

In reality

The "Dio" in front of us is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Willy's Stand ability can reproduce the source of the target's fear with near 100% accuracy.

The target's memory is just a "hyperlink," and his clone will use this "hyperlink" to jump directly to the original who actually existed on Earth.

Bucciarati had only seen the rerun of Meat Chunk on Moody Blues, but Willy's stunt double still managed to replicate the original that truly terrified him.

Giorno only had a fleeting memory of Dio, but the "Dio" recreated by his Stand was almost identical to the original.

In short.

It was actually a copy file that Willy's stand-in copied and pasted from the system records of "Earth Online".

But it is impossible for two people in the world to be exactly the same, and the core thing that sustains a person's existence is memory.

Therefore, even if this "copy file" can restore the Stand power formed by mental energy, it cannot preserve the original's memory archive.

But that's enough.

The phantom before me still possessed overwhelming power.

Faced with such a formidable opponent, Li Qing was so nervous he could barely breathe.

"Not calm"

"Recall the feeling just now, and think of everything that can be analyzed!"

Li Qing unconsciously pinched her palm hard with her fingernails, and before she knew it, she was bleeding.

He tried his best to recall what had just happened.

Despite being blind, he actually possesses unique abilities in perception and analysis.

For example, the seemingly hard-to-detect King Crimson, if you concentrate and listen carefully, Li Qing can immediately detect that the other party has used the time-reduction ability.

Because, after just a few seconds, the surrounding "sound environment" is completely different.

Airflow, heartbeat, footsteps, breathing.

As long as the other party takes any action, Li Qing can hear the subtle sound of the airflow disturbance.

And now.

"The overall environment for sound has not changed at all."

"The sound of the wind in the air and in the distance is exactly the same as the previous moment, which means that time has not jumped."

"But."

Li Qing frowned deeply, recalling the feeling from just now:

"The instant Narancia appeared out of thin air on the other side when the opponent activated their ability."

"The airflow on the ground has been slightly disturbed!"

Geese leave traces as they fly by, and the wind leaves its sound as it passes.

When people move, they displace air, and the displaced air stirs up the surrounding airflow, creating a barely perceptible breeze.

By capturing subtle changes in airflow, Li Qing could even reconstruct the opponent's trajectory.

"This airflow disturbance."

"That Dio definitely walked over here just now!"

"His Stand ability is neither spatial manipulation nor teleportation, otherwise there wouldn't be such obvious airflow disturbances."

"But."

Li Qing racked his brains, trying to think clearly, and couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"It will definitely take time to move it."

"However, the airflow disturbance just now occurred in an instant."

"We clearly moved, yet it took almost no time. Could it be?!"

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Dio" also heard his low murmur, and his expression turned sharp:

"They've actually grasped the key point."

"This bald guy has an incredibly sharp insight."

At this moment, drawing upon his extensive knowledge from reading various superpower-themed works in his previous life, Li Qing boldly deduced the enemy's Stand ability:

"Could it be... that your Stand ability is... the 'Speed Force'?!"

"Huh??" Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Upon hearing Li Qing's conclusion, Fugo immediately exaggeratedly covered his head and exclaimed:

"The Flash?"

"That's a comic book character who runs 300,000 times faster than light! If a Stand like that really existed, what would be the point of us fighting ghosts?!"

"Calm!"

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Bucciarati comforted his panicked companion:

"How could someone possibly have the kind of powerful abilities seen in comics!"

"If he really had the Flash's abilities, why didn't he just wipe us all out in one go?"

"But."

"Li Qing, your idea has reminded me."

He stared intently at "Dio" not far away, and spoke his thoughts slowly and deliberately:

"They clearly moved on the ground, yet it took almost no time."

"To achieve this, besides the Speed Force in the comics, it also reminded me of a real, invincible Stand ability that exists in the world."

"An invincible Stand ability?"

Everyone was a little curious.

Including "Dio," who has no memories of the original and knows nothing about this world.

"That's right."

Bucciarati said earnestly:

"A legend has been circulating among Stand User all over the world for a long time."

"There is a man in the world named Jotaro Kujo, and his Stand ability is—'Time Stop '!"

The abilities of Stand User are generally kept absolutely secret.

However, for some reason, Jotaro Kujo's Stand ability became widely known.

The whole world knows about Jotaro's Stand ability, and as the well-informed leader of the Passion Organization, Bucciarati naturally heard about it as well.

Upon hearing Li Qing's analysis of the ability's characteristics, he immediately couldn't help but think of that legendary invincible ability.

"Time Stop?"

Upon hearing Bucciarati's words, Li Qing was slightly taken aback. "Wouldn't that be the same as..."

He immediately couldn't help but think of a certain Japanese anime he had once watched.

That's right

That is.

Doraemon!

Doraemon has a powerful gadget in his gadget bag called the "Time Stop Device," which Nobita uses to tease stray dogs and doodle on Gian's face.

"I see."

"It's the Time Stop Device from Doraemon!"

With Li Qing's explanation, the ability to "Time Stop" immediately became vivid and concrete.

Those born in the 1980s, including Giorno, have all seen this classic work. Whenever the Time Stop Device is mentioned, images naturally come to mind for everyone.

"Oh?"

Dio was slightly surprised to see his Stand ability deciphered in just a few words.

But more than anything, I'm curious:

"Jotaro Kujo"

"Is there anyone in the world who has the same type of Stand as Dio?"

"Very good. Very good."

He muttered the unfamiliar name, then burst into arrogant laughter:

"Once I've recruited subordinates, expanded my power, and become a king, I'll definitely go and meet this guy!"

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Despite being just a stand-in, he harbored his own ambitions.

As the actual entity, Willy willingly knelt behind "Dio," showing no sign of being a "master."

This made everyone present feel uneasy.

"Hey, hey." Li Qing, resolute in his conviction, interrupted his frenzied speech, "Don't pretend we don't exist! Now that we've cracked your abilities, what's next?"

"So what if we crack it?"

Dio chuckled dismissively.

He glanced coldly at Li Qing with his deep, dark red eyes, his smile indifferent yet playful:

"If you think you can really stop me, then give it a try."

I'm telling you this very clearly.

"Dio" stretched out his hand and pointed directly at Abbacchio, who had just been rampaging through the Moody Blues:

"He'll be the next one to fall!"

As soon as he finished speaking, "Dio" shot out like an arrow.

His speed was so fast that it was unimaginable that a human could unleash such speed.

But that's just how it is.

"Dio" sped through the shadows of the alley, its movements as agile as a cheetah.

The golden hair swept through the air, leaving behind a dazzling afterimage like lightning.

"How is that possible?"

"A stand-in is one thing, but how can the original be so fast?!"

Everyone was shocked, but "Dio" had already charged out of the shadows with his Stand "The World".

In the blink of an eye, he broke through the crowd's formation and charged straight toward Abbacchio at the back of the group.

"This?" Abbacchio instinctively wanted to do something.

However, the injuries he had sustained from being bitten by Meat Chunk flared up again, making him even more panicked and unable to move forward in the face of "Dio's" terrifying killing intent.

In that split second, Abbacchio couldn't think of any way to stop the man.

Fortunately, he also had a group of reliable companions:

"Gold Experience!"

Giorno acted decisively, using Gold Experience to protect Abbacchio.

"Steel Chain Fingers!"

Bucciarati's Steel Chain Fingers then moved, and he threw a punch that created a blue phantom.

"Sonically Enhanced Wave!"

Li Qing anticipated the enemy's movements and launched the Sonically Enhanced Wave at the empty space in front of Abbacchio.

If you attack Willy's true form directly, he will definitely teleport back immediately.

Anticipating an attack on "Dio" might still offer a sliver of opportunity.

"Ahhh!"

Fugo was so frightened by the inexplicable aura emanating from "Dio" that he felt a chill run down his spine and did nothing.

Even so, the defensive line they formed was strong enough.

However, when faced with Li Qing and his group, who were united in protecting their companions, "Dio" only showed contempt on his face:

"No way! No way!"

"Such meager power cannot stop me, Dio!"

He charged forward without hesitation.

Golden warriors accompanied him, and the god of time bowed in submission.

"The World!"