Chapter 15: One Wave Not Yet Settled
Qi Xia's expression was troubled. He had just tried it—the barb on this harpoon was exquisitely crafted, making it nearly impossible to pull out of the body.
Staring at the blood gushing out, Qi Xia felt a daze.
Were they really dead?
Could the dead... also be injured?
Qi Xia steadied his mind. This was not the time to ponder such questions. He had to cut the rope immediately.
All the harpoons were slowly retracting now. How could he use another harpoon to cut his rope?
The only certainty was that when all the ropes were fully retracted into the wall, the harpoons would disappear, and Han Yimo would die.
"I need to get a harpoon somehow... but how?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow, quickly scanning his surroundings.
He had to gamble again.
He grabbed two slow-retracting harpoons from the ground and swiftly tied their ropes together into a tight knot.
"Hey! Stop crowding around Han Yimo," Qi Xia said aloud. "Do what I did! We need to keep at least one harpoon."
Lin Qin immediately understood his intention. She grabbed two harpoons and tied a clean, efficient knot.
But the knot she tied looked strange—something Qi Xia had never seen before.
He didn't have time to dwell on it now. He focused on the two harpoons in front of him.
As the ropes kept retracting, the two lines pulled taut against each other.
At this rate, one rope would snap soon, leaving the other behind.
Qi Xia slowly stepped back. The ropes emitted an alarming sound. If his guess was right, under such immense tension, a breaking rope could injure someone.
Sure enough, the next second, one rope gave a loud crack and snapped.
The other rope, with the harpoon still attached, whipped wildly through the air a few times before slamming into the ground, leaving a deep gouge.
Qi Xia rushed forward, intending to untie the broken rope before the harpoon was pulled back into the wall.
But he found that the two ropes he had tied together were now completely deformed from the enormous strain. Forget untying the knot—he could barely even make out the rope's shape.
"I'm done!" Lin Qin called out from not far away. "Who's strong enough? Go cut the writer's rope!"
"Done?"
Qi Xia turned around and saw that Lin Qin's knot had been cleverly designed—it automatically separated when the rope snapped.
Officer Li hadn't even finished tying his first knot. Hearing this, he quickly dropped the harpoon he was holding and said, "I'll cut it. Give it to me!"
Taking the harpoon, Officer Li moved in long strides and reached Han Yimo just as the latter was about to be pulled into the wall.
Luckily, though the harpoon looked like a simple point, its tip had a fine edge, enough to be used as a small blade.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin stepped forward to help. Even though Qi Xia had come up with a solution in time, Han Yimo was already less than half a meter from the wall.
The tearing pain was unbearable for Han Yimo. He could only let the rope drag him backward, or the barb in his chest would cause him agony.
Officer Li grabbed the rope behind him. After a brief moment of thought, he aimed at the section closest to Han Yimo's body and began cutting with the sharp harpoon.
His hands were steady. Every stroke landed precisely on the rope.
But the rope was tougher than expected. After several cuts, only a small notch had formed.
He quickly assessed the situation and realized things were tricky.
Even though the rope would eventually be cut through, time was the most precious thing now.
In less than a minute, Han Yimo's body would hit the wall. At that point, cutting the rope from behind would be impossible.
"Damn, not done yet?" Qiao Jiajin asked impatiently. "You're too slow—you're gonna kill this guy!"
"Stop your yapping!" Officer Li snapped coldly, increasing his strength.
As Han Yimo's body inched closer to the wall, sweat beaded on Officer Li's face.
He had to give him credit—his mental fortitude was remarkable. Despite the tense, suffocating atmosphere, he hadn't made a single mistake with the small harpoon, each cut landing on the previous notch.
But when Han Yimo was less than thirty centimeters from the wall, Officer Li's arm could barely maneuver.
Quick as lightning, Qiao Jiajin moved behind Han Yimo and used his own body to prop him up. This meant that even though Han Yimo would feel more pressure earlier, the distance between him and the wall wouldn't change for the time being.
"Cops! Hurry!"
Officer Li held his breath and continued cutting. The rope was more than halfway severed, but it still held together.
Han Yimo let out a constant, agonized wail. The harpoon had pierced through his body, and its barb was now hooked back into his chest. His clothes were soaked in blood, a gruesome sight.
"I'm going to die, aren't I..." Han Yimo gritted his teeth. "I really am going to die... Who wants us dead..."
"Be a man!" Officer Li said sternly. "So many people are trying to save you. Don't you dare whimper!"
Hearing this, Han Yimo fell silent. He knew Officer Li was right. Everyone was running around trying to help—he couldn't hold them back.
The barb dug deep into Han Yimo's flesh. He grunted, gritting his teeth.
Seeing this, Dr. Zhao quickly grabbed a strip of cloth and shoved it into his mouth.
After all, in extreme pain, a person might crack their own teeth.
The group gathered around Han Yimo.
Twenty seconds felt like hours. Officer Li cut the rope with unerring precision.
Finally, with one last swing, the tough rope was severed.
At the same moment, both Han Yimo and Qiao Jiajin collapsed to the ground from loss of strength.
Those nearby immediately helped them up.
It seemed Han Yimo had gotten a second chance.
Dr. Zhao quickly pulled Han Yimo aside and began checking his wound. The injury was as expected—the harpoon would still have to be pulled out from the front.
The biggest problem now was stopping the bleeding.
Dr. Zhao thought for a long moment before finally stuffing several cloth strips around the area near the harpoon.
"Hey, doc, aren't you going to take out the harpoon?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Can't take it out. If I do, he'll die," Dr. Zhao said grimly.
"Die?" Qiao Jiajin looked puzzled and shoved Dr. Zhao. "What are you doing? We went through all that trouble, and now you're not going to save him?"
"I am saving him!" Dr. Zhao shook off Qiao Jiajin's hand impatiently. "To put it bluntly, only with the harpoon still in his body can he stay alive."
"Why?" Xiao Ran chimed in from the side.
"If the harpoon is removed, the only thing left is a wound that keeps bleeding. His death would just be a matter of time," Dr. Zhao replied calmly. "Leaving the harpoon in, he'll suffer terrible pain, but at least he won't bleed to death. The smaller wounds will stop bleeding on their own once the blood clots."