The operation was a success, but Lee Sin encountered an awkward problem:
He seemed destined to die here as well.
The magma chamber deep underground had been breached by the meat chunk, causing a massive flow of magma to rapidly surge upward through the opening at the top, similar to a volcanic eruption, though on a much smaller scale.
This searing wave of magma first engulfed the meat chunk, then flooded the vertical tunnel connecting the underground cavity to the magma chamber, and finally surged back into the underground cavity like a toilet overflowing.
What was once an empty underground cavity had now become a magma lake filled with molten lava and scorching heat.
But this wasn’t the end.
The “water level” of the magma lake kept rising, soon filling the limited space of the underground cavity and starting to flood the vertical tunnel that connected it to the surface.
This tunnel quickly turned into a well with a constantly rising “water level” of magma.
And Lee Sin was in it.
“It seems my luck isn’t that great after all…”
He struggled to climb up the nearly vertical tunnel, glancing helplessly at the rising magma below:
“I’m not a supercomputer with precise data; the speed of the magma’s rise was something I couldn’t accurately predict.”
“Worse yet…”
“The magma is getting closer, and I can’t use my skills to escape!”
According to Lee Sin’s original plan, he would start climbing as soon as the meat chunk began digging into the magma chamber and then escape the monster’s perception range before the magma surged up.
However, the speed of the magma’s surge was unpredictable.
He had to gamble.
Unfortunately, the “bet” he had previously disregarded had paid off, but his current “hand” was failing.
The magma was rising far faster than he had anticipated.
If he continued to climb slowly, the magma would soon overtake him, incinerating him in its thousand-degree heat.
His only option was to use his “Iron Will” or “Resonating Strike” to escape to the surface before the magma engulfed him.
But these skills couldn’t be used.
The magma was rising too quickly. Lee Sin hadn’t climbed out of the meat chunk’s perception range and was almost swallowed by the ever-rising magma well.
“I’m currently about 80 meters above the meat chunk, just 20 meters shy of escaping its perception range.”
“If I use a displacement skill to escape now, with the speed far exceeding the magma’s surge, it will definitely follow me and rush to the surface with me!”
“In that case…”
“All the efforts Giorno and I made would be in vain!”
Lee Sin clenched his fist, determined:
“I can’t use my skills. I must climb slowly.”
“Once I climb these last 20 meters, I’ll be free from the meat chunk forever!”
The magma surged, and the heat wave intensified.
The vertical tunnel, just created by the meat chunk’s body, now resembled a fully fired furnace.
Lee Sin was like the “Monkey King” thrown into this furnace, but he lacked the indestructible body of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven—his health was dropping.
Even without the magma touching his body, he couldn’t withstand the immense heat rushing up from below.
Roasting meat doesn’t require direct contact with the coals; being suspended above them is enough.
The immense heat from the magma heated the air, turning it into a powerful, invisible oven.
“Damn…”
Lee Sin felt the air around him reaching over a hundred degrees Celsius.
Being immersed in such scorching air was even more torturous than touching a hot iron.
While Lee Sin could block out the maddening pain, he couldn’t ignore the immense damage caused by the searing air.
“Hold on… Hold on!”
“Just 10 more meters!”
Lee Sin forced himself to focus on climbing, ignoring the rapidly dropping health bar.
10 meters… 9 meters… 8 meters… 7 meters…
He seemed close to escaping the meat chunk’s perception range and gaining new life.
However, the distance between life and death was often just that short.
When Lee Sin was only six meters away from escaping the meat chunk’s perception range, his health had dropped to just 12%.
This amount of health wouldn’t last him two more seconds.
At this moment, he had two choices:
- Use “Resonating Strike” or “Iron Will” to target Giorno and return to the surface, taking the meat chunk with him.
- Stay and die, forever entombed with the meat chunk in this underground inferno.
Which should he choose?
“Hahaha…”
“Choosing the second option would lead to an immediate Game Over; any normal person would choose the first option, right?”
“If you’re dead, nothing else matters.”
In that split second, countless thoughts flashed through Lee Sin’s mind.
He even planned out his survival measures after returning to the surface:
“Even if I bring the meat chunk back to the surface, surviving with this little health would be challenging, but…”
“Giorno Giovanna is still there, isn’t he?”
“That fool would instinctively help me. Using him as bait, even in my critical state, I can survive.”
“The first path is a straightforward way to survive!”
“But…”
Lee Sin’s climbing motion halted: “I refuse!”
Maybe it was an impulsive act, or perhaps his rationality was overridden, but Lee Sin was unknowingly influenced by the game’s hyper-realistic environment, learning something potentially fatal from the 13-year-old Giorno.
He abandoned his escape plan and chose to stay.
“If I claim to be an advanced player, I shouldn’t let my teammates bear the consequences of my mistakes!”
“One life…”
“It’s just a game, hahaha… Maybe I’ll respawn after death?”
A complex smile appeared on Lee Sin’s face.
He slowly released his grip on the rock wall, ready to gracefully dive into the endless magma:
“Although the game time was short, I must say…”
“This was a good game!”
“Hey!”
“Keep climbing, I’m coming!”
As Lee Sin smiled and prepared to surrender, a hurried voice yanked his consciousness back from the brink of hell.
It was Giorno’s voice.
“What?!”
Lee Sin was shocked, realizing he hadn’t noticed Giorno descending from the surface!
“What are you doing here? Trying to die?”
Sensing Giorno just five meters above him, Lee Sin’s tone was frantic.
“I saw your severely damaged health bar.”
“You need help, don’t you?”
Giorno’s slightly labored voice came from above, indicating he felt the scorching heat in this magma well.
And Lee Sin could tell from the voice that Giorno was getting closer.
“Don’t come any lower; the air is hotter down here!”
“Even my data body can’t take it. You’ll die if you come down!”
Lee Sin angrily scolded.
But Giorno kept coming.
As the magma surged upward, Giorno and his Gold Experience descended:
“Lee Sin, I acknowledge you as a comrade.”
“I, Giorno Giovanna, will never abandon my friends!”
“MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!”
The golden fists shone in the magma well, outshining even the boundless light and heat of the magma.
The fists were pounding on the rock wall.
Gold Experience first battered the soil on the rock wall, then, like a playful child, hurled the softened mud at Lee Sin.
“What… What are you doing?”
Lee Sin was baffled.
Then he noticed the mud seemed alive:
It grew, transformed, and interconnected, forming a strange “armor” over Lee Sin in an instant.
Lee Sin then realized…
Giorno and Gold Experience also wore the same “armor.”
“This is stone coral.”
Giorno’s voice trembled in the scorching furnace:
“These corals have a natural foam structure, filled with numerous tiny cavities—when they die in high temperatures, their carbonized shells with the foam structure remain intact.”
“Then it’s simple insulation principles:”
“Air, when not moving, has very low thermal conductivity, so it temporarily shields us from the scorching air.”
“It won’t last long, but it’s enough.”
“Let’s go…”
Giorno extended his hand to Lee Sin:
“We’ll survive together!”
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