Must be said, though ZZ was ugly and sleazy, one could not deny that he had a bit of cleverness.
After he dug the trap according to his plan, Jean Pierre Polnareff and Mohammed Avdol naturally walked right into it.
Without the slightest suspicion, the two of them followed the wrong road sign onto a different path.
Jean Pierre Polnareff drove straight ahead, but could no longer see the car carrying Joseph Joestar and the others.
So he muttered to himself:
"Oh dear! It looks like we've fallen way too far behind."
"We've been driving for so long, and we can't even see their taillights anymore."
At that, Mohammed Avdol spread his hands and said helplessly:
"There's nothing we can do about that!"
"Who asked us to have stomach trouble halfway through?"
"When we stopped to answer nature's call just now, we really wasted too much time!"
"Mr. Joseph and the others probably didn't even notice we stopped the car, so how could they possibly have waited for us?"
"In this situation, it all depends on when they realize we're gone."
"And all we can do now is catch up with them before they reach Varanasi."
"There's an old saying in the Eastern superpower: if you lag one step behind, you lag behind in every step."
Hearing Mohammed Avdol's words, Jean Pierre Polnareff could only scratch his head helplessly, then grumbled:
"If anyone's to blame, it's our bodies for failing us. Everyone else is fine, and only the two of us got the runs."
"Now we've just got to speed up!"
With that, Jean Pierre Polnareff stepped on the gas and accelerated toward the end of the side road.
Little did they know they were heading in completely the wrong direction, getting further and further off course.
Just as ZZ and Empress had planned in advance, Jean Pierre Polnareff stopped the car the moment he saw Empress pretending to be seriously injured and bleeding on the roadside.
Seeing that the injured person was a beautiful woman, Jean Pierre Polnareff slowly brought the car to a halt, then asked very chivalrously:
"Hello there, beautiful lady! Are you injured? Do you need my help?"
Seeing that Jean Pierre Polnareff had indeed taken the bait, Empress secretly gloated to herself:
"The prey has taken the bait! Looks like I was right! This guy really is an idiot."
"Sigh! Truly, the only one in this world whose soul resonates with mine is true love, Mr. Hol Horse!"
"The rest of them are just drooling over this body of mine!"
"If they ever saw what I used to look like, they'd probably all run away in terror!"
Empress sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she put on a pitiful, frail expression, looking pained as she said softly:
"Oh, handsome sir! Thank you for your kindness! I really am injured."
"My home is in the town over there. Because my mother fell ill, I'm heading to my uncle's place in Varanasi to fetch my grandfather, who is a brilliant doctor!"
Hearing Empress's words, Jean Pierre Polnareff blushed. In all his years, this was the first time anyone had called him a handsome sir.
Those words instantly sent his spirits soaring.
Unlike Jean Pierre Polnareff, who was already floating on air from the flattery, Mohammed Avdol's guard went right up the moment he heard the name Varanasi!
With a personality where reason outweighed emotion, Mohammed Avdol immediately guessed to himself:
"Out here in the middle of nowhere! How could there be such a pretty girl? Could she be an assassin sent by Dio?"
"No, to prevent any hidden trouble, I have to test her out!"
Right on cue, having been flattered into a daze by all the compliments, Jean Pierre Polnareff immediately succumbed to her beauty, jumped out of the car, and ran over to curry favor with the supposedly injured Empress!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mohammed Avdol also stepped out of the car and said with a stern expression:
"Is this lady injured? Do I need to take a look? As it happens, besides being a fortune teller, I majored in medical science in college!"
"If it's just a simple injury, I should be able to handle it!"
Hearing Mohammed Avdol say this, Jean Pierre Polnareff was overjoyed:
"Are you serious, Mohammed Avdol? Your skills are coming in handy right on time!"
Faced with Jean Pierre Polnareff, who had been completely bewitched by a beauty in such a short time, Mohammed Avdol couldn't even bear to look at him, unwilling to admit that this friend-abandoning womanizer was his partner.
So, ignoring the infatuated Jean Pierre Polnareff entirely, Mohammed Avdol squatted down and briefly examined the injury without touching Empress.
Then Mohammed Avdol discovered that the injury was not fake, but to ensure safety, he deliberately sent Jean Pierre Polnareff away, saying:
"Jean Pierre Polnareff! This young lady is indeed hurt pretty badly! It needs immediate treatment."
"I remember we packed a medical first-aid kit for this sort of thing in our luggage earlier. Go find it!"
Hearing Mohammed Avdol's words, the love-struck Jean Pierre Polnareff didn't suspect a thing and ran straight back to the car to look for the medical kit:
"What did you say? We actually have a medical kit in the car?"
"If we had this thing, why didn't you say so earlier, Mohammed Avdol?"
"Just wait! I'll go get it right now!"
With that, Jean Pierre Polnareff dove straight into the car and began rummaging through the pile of luggage and supplies to find the medical kit!
Having gotten Jean Pierre Polnareff out of the way, Mohammed Avdol didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity to summon his Stand, Magician's Red, covering his hands in flames.
Then, he looked up at Empress and said:
"Pardon me, Miss, I need to take a closer look at your wound to make sure you haven't suffered a fracture!"
As he spoke, Mohammed Avdol pretended to inspect Empress's injury while secretly watching her reaction.
He wanted to see if she was a Stand User, because when people face their instincts, they inevitably slip up!
And fear of fire is one of human instincts.
Unfortunately, because of Hol Horse's death, Empress's heart was filled with hatred.
Furthermore, having already seen through Mohammed Avdol's probing, she ensured her mission would succeed without exposing any flaws.
She deliberately pretended not to see Magician's Red or the flames on Mohammed Avdol's hands, put on an unconcerned expression, and said weakly:
"Of course, sir, go ahead."
"Since you're a doctor, there's naturally no problem!"
"After all, if you were a bad guy, you wouldn't need to do all this."
Just like that, the difficult problem was tossed right back to Mohammed Avdol.
Looking at Empress, who was using retreat as a means of advance, Mohammed Avdol suddenly found himself in a tight spot.
He was a man of honor, and naturally wouldn't do anything improper to a strange woman.
Besides, his earlier claim of being a medical graduate was just a fib!
He didn't know any professional medical knowledge; he had simply learned some rough-and-ready emergency response methods for treating injuries.
Fortunately, at that moment, Jean Pierre Polnareff shouted happily from inside the car:
"Ah, wonderful! I searched for ages, but I finally found it!"
Hearing this, Mohammed Avdol snapped back to reality and instantly dismissed Magician's Red!
The next moment, Jean Pierre Polnareff rushed out of the car, clutching the medical kit, and shoved it straight into Mohammed Avdol's hands!
Then Jean Pierre Polnareff said impatiently:
"What are you standing there for? I'll leave the rest to you, Mohammed Avdol!"
Faced with this situation, Mohammed Avdol, now trapped on the tiger's back, had no choice but to open the medical kit and administer emergency treatment to Empress using the methods he had learned.
After bandaging the wound, the two of them helped Empress—who claimed she "couldn't walk due to her injury"—into the car!
Having successfully gone undercover, Empress seized the opportunity to plant her Stand onto Jean Pierre Polnareff.
Once the "wounded passenger" was settled, Jean Pierre Polnareff started the engine and set off once more!
Sitting in the backseat, Empress looked at the two oblivious men up front and sneered inwardly:
"Drive all you want! Just drive! Up ahead is the final stop of your lives!"
"When the time comes, I'll make sure you have nowhere to run!"