Chapter 14: After the Rain, We See
"Hang on!" Officer Li shouted. "The harpoons are limited. Hold out a little longer and we'll survive!"
Before anyone could respond, another scream rang out.
Turning around, they saw it was Tiantian.
She wasn't as lucky as Xiao Ran. The harpoon that pierced through had stabbed straight through her palm.
For a moment, Tiantian lost her strength, and the table board in front of her was knocked askew by the whistling harpoons.
"Watch out!"
Gritting his teeth, Qiao Jiajin reached out to grab Tiantian's table board.
In that gap, a harpoon flew precisely through the crack, piercing Han Yimo's shoulder.
Han Yimo let out a painful scream, but his hands still gripped the table board tightly.
"Don't panic!"
Officer Li reached out to steady Han Yimo, then spread his hands apart to help him hold up half the table board.
Qiao Jiajin made a snap decision and reached out to help Tiantian hold her board.
Fortunately, the two of them were very strong, and the whole formation began to stabilize again.
As the crashing sounds gradually subsided, everyone realized just how effective this formation really was.
If, as Officer Li and Dr. Zhao had originally thought, the table boards were placed staggered and held by each person, then the boards would be perpendicular to the harpoons, making them extremely easy to pierce through.
Now, the "Bamboo Shoots After Rain" shape caused the harpoons from all five directions to hit the table boards at an angle, greatly reducing their penetrating force.
Especially the harpoons that came from directly above; due to the conical shape, their trajectory was deflected.
After a little while longer, all noise outside the table boards ceased.
"Is it over?" Han Yimo asked through gritted teeth.
"Wait one more minute," Qi Xia replied.
Everyone continued holding the table boards quietly for another minute, and indeed, there was no more movement outside.
Qiao Jiajin carefully moved a board aside to peek out.
"Damn..." He was immediately stunned by the sight before him.
The others slowly moved the boards away as well, and they saw harpoons stuck almost everywhere—in the ground, in the tables.
The two corpses on the floor were even more gruesome. They now looked like two hedgehogs, densely covered with spikes.
Each harpoon had a rope attached to it, and the other end of the rope connected to holes in the walls. The room was now a mess.
Dr. Zhao immediately rolled up his sleeves and went to Han Yimo's side.
His condition was not optimistic. The harpoon had pierced through his shoulder and needed urgent treatment.
Han Yimo slowly sat down, forcing a bitter smile. "Just now I was thinking whether I'd be that unlucky. Didn't expect it to actually hit me..."
Tiantian's face was full of guilt. She quickly apologized to Han Yimo.
But everyone knew it wasn't Tiantian's fault. Her hand had also been pierced by a harpoon.
"Hey, pretty girl, come here." Qiao Jiajin waved. "I can bandage you up."
"Huh?" Tiantian was taken aback. "You know how to bandage?"
"A little bit."
Qiao Jiajin tore a strip of fabric from the dead Goat Head's suit, then tore it into two pieces.
One piece he tied tightly around Tiantian's arm to stop the bleeding; the other he carefully wrapped around the wound.
"I used to get hurt a lot on the streets, so I taught myself some bandaging," Qiao Jiajin said.
Tiantian nodded slightly without saying a word.
After arriving here, everyone had a rare moment of peace, as if they had temporarily escaped the shadow of death.
But still, no door appeared in the room. This cursed room continued to trap them.
What kind of place was this?
What was outside the room?
In less than a minute, a sigh came from Dr. Zhao's direction.
Qi Xia turned to look. Dr. Zhao, who was treating Han Yimo's wound, now had a troubled expression.
"What's wrong?" Officer Li asked. "Is the injury serious?"
"The injury itself isn't serious," Dr. Zhao shook his head. "It's just that I can't remove the harpoon."
Everyone leaned in for a closer look and saw that the problem was indeed tricky.
The tip of the harpoon had barbs. Pulling it out would cause more damage to the wounded person.
And the tail of the harpoon was connected to a rope.
At this moment, Han Yimo was like a speared fish. No matter where he swam, the rope would hold him tightly.
"We can only cut the rope and then pull the harpoon out from the front," Dr. Zhao said, looking up. "But I don't have a sharp tool at hand."
Han Yimo's lips were turning pale. The harpoon lodged in his shoulder blade caused him excruciating pain.
"Use another harpoon," Officer Li said decisively. "Harpoons are pointed—they count as sharp tools."
"That's the only way," Dr. Zhao nodded. "Writer, I need you to lie down in the most relaxed position you can. We need to cut the rope on your back. Don't rush, take it slow. Be careful of the harpoon in front of you. Don't get hurt a second time."
Han Yimo nodded and began to move his body with difficulty.
Qi Xia watched this scene and felt a sense of incongruity.
Take it slow?
Was there really time for them to do this in this situation?
He looked at the ropes all over the floor, and a sense of foreboding crept into his mind.
If his guess was correct, they were still racing against time.
"We can't take it slow!" Qi Xia suddenly spoke up. "Remove the harpoon from him immediately!"
He walked quickly to the doctor's side and said seriously to Han Yimo, "Bear with it. I'm going to pull the harpoon out for you now!"
Han Yimo was a bit confused but didn't refuse.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Dr. Zhao pushed Qi Xia away in annoyance. "You'll make his injury worse!"
"There's no time! If we dawdle, he'll really die!" Qi Xia also pushed Dr. Zhao aside, then grabbed the harpoon on Han Yimo's back from behind.
A scream of agony burst out.
A barbed harpoon was easy to pierce with, but removing it was extremely difficult.
"Hey!" Officer Li also ran over and pulled Qi Xia away, shouting angrily, "Are you trying to kill him?"
Blocked twice, Qi Xia's face turned grim.
"I understand you want to save him, but if we don't hurry, the harpoon will..."
Before Qi Xia could finish, the sound of chains came from all around again, as if some huge mechanism had been triggered again.
Following that was Han Yimo's heart-wrenching scream.
Everyone snapped back to attention and saw that all the harpoons were being slowly retracted by the ropes.
And Han Yimo, lying on the ground, was being dragged by the immense force.
Qi Xia had noticed this long ago. The ropes on the harpoons were not just for show; they would eventually pull them back.
Everyone scrambled to follow Han Yimo as he was dragged. Officer Li tried to pull the rope to resist the enormous force from the black holes, but it was futile.
The table boards, covered in harpoons, were being torn apart piece by piece, also slowly retreating.
This kind of power, capable of ripping wood apart, could not be resisted by bare hands.
Although Han Yimo was in unbearable pain, he quickly realized another problem.
If he was pulled to the wall and still couldn't get free of the harpoon, he would be pinned to the wall and die.
With this thought, he struggled to stand up, grabbed Qi Xia again, and said through clenched teeth, word by word, "Help me get this harpoon off! Do it now!"