Chapter 15: One Wave Not Yet Calmed
Qi Xia's expression was somewhat troubled. He had just tried it—the barb on this harpoon was extremely intricate, making it nearly impossible to pull out of the body.
Staring at the blood gushing forth, Qi Xia felt a moment of dizziness.
Were they really dead?
Could dead people... also be wounded?
Qi Xia steadied his mind. This was not the time to ponder such questions; he needed to cut the rope immediately.
All the harpoons were slowly retracting now. How could he use another harpoon to cut his own rope?
The only thing certain was that when all the ropes had fully retracted into the wall, the harpoons would disappear, and Han Yimo would die.
"I need to find a way to get a harpoon... but how?" Qi Xia frowned, quickly scanning his surroundings.
He would have to gamble again.
He grabbed two slowly retreating harpoons from the ground and swiftly tied their ropes together in a tight knot.
"Hey! Stop crowding around Han Yimo," Qi Xia called out. "Do what I did! We need to keep at least one harpoon."
Lin Qin immediately understood his meaning. She also grabbed two harpoons and tied them together neatly.
But the knot she made was oddly shaped—Qi Xia had never seen anything like it.
He didn't have time to dwell on it now; he could only focus on the two harpoons in front of him.
As the ropes continued to contract, the two lines pulled tightly against each other.
At this rate, one of the ropes would snap soon, leaving the other behind.
Qi Xia slowly stepped back. The two ropes were making a terrifying sound. If his guess was correct, the rope that broke under such immense tension could potentially injure someone.
Sure enough, the next second, one of the ropes let out a loud snap and broke.
The other rope, with its harpoon still attached, flailed wildly in the air a few times before slamming heavily onto the ground, leaving a deep scar on the floor.
Qi Xia rushed forward, intending to untie the broken rope before the harpoon could retract into the wall.
But he found that the two ropes, once tied together, had completely deformed under the massive pulling force. It was impossible to even identify the shape of the rope, let alone untie the knot.
"I'm done!" Lin Qin shouted from not far away. "Someone strong, go cut the writer's rope!"
"Done?"
Qi Xia turned around and saw that Lin Qin's knot was very clever—it had automatically separated when the rope snapped.
Officer Li hadn't even finished tying his initial knot. Hearing this, he hurriedly dropped the harpoon in his hand and said, "I'll cut it—give it to me!"
Taking the harpoon, Officer Li moved quickly, reaching Han Yimo just as he was about to be pulled to the wall.
Fortunately, although the harpoon in his hand looked like a sharp point, the tip had a small blade, enough to be used as a knife.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin also came to help. Although Qi Xia had thought of a solution right away, Han Yimo was already less than half a meter from the wall.
The tearing pain made Han Yimo unable to resist; he could only follow the rope and slowly step backward, or the barb in his chest would cause him unbearable agony.
Officer Li grabbed the rope behind him. After a brief thought, he aimed at the rope 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 been made.
He quickly estimated the distance and realized things were tricky.
Although the rope would eventually be cut, time was the most critical factor now.
In less than a minute, Han Yimo's body would touch the wall. Once that happened, cutting the rope from behind would be impossible.
"Damn, not done yet?" Qiao Jiajin asked anxiously. "You're too slow—you're going to kill this bastard!"
"Stop yapping!" Officer Li barked coldly, then increased his strength.
As Han Yimo's body got closer and closer to the wall, sweat beaded on Officer Li's face.
His mental fortitude was impressive. Despite the tense and oppressive atmosphere, he didn't make a single mistake with the small harpoon, striking the same notch every time.
But soon, Han Yimo was less than thirty centimeters from the wall, and Officer Li's arm could barely move.
Qiao Jiajin, with quick eyes and nimble hands, stepped in and blocked Han Yimo's back, using his own body as a cushion. This way, although Han Yimo would be hurt earlier, the distance between him and the wall would stop decreasing for a short time.
"Cop! Hurry!"
Officer Li held his breath and continued cutting. The rope was more than half severed, but still held together.
Han Yimo kept wailing in pain. The harpoon had pierced through his body, and the barb was stabbing back into his chest. His clothes were now drenched in blood, a horrifying sight.
"Am I going to die..." Han Yimo gritted his teeth. "I'm really going to die... Who wants to kill us..."
"Man up!" Officer Li said sternly. "So many people are trying to save you—don't you dare whine!"
Hearing this, Han Yimo immediately fell silent. He knew Officer Li was right. Everyone was running around for him; he couldn't hold them back.
The barb sank deep into Han Yimo's flesh. He grunted, clenching his teeth.
Seeing this, Dr. Zhao quickly grabbed a strip of cloth and stuffed it into his mouth.
After all, in extreme pain, a person might bite their own teeth.
Everyone gathered around Han Yimo.
Twenty seconds felt like hours. Officer Lu cut the rope without a single misstep.
Finally, with one last swing, the tough rope was severed.
At the same moment, Han Yimo and Qiao Jiajin both collapsed to the ground from loss of strength.
The people around immediately rushed to support them.
It seemed Han Yimo had escaped death.
Dr. Zhao quickly pulled Han Yimo aside and began examining his wound. The condition was as expected—the harpoon still needed to be pulled out from the front.
The most pressing issue now was stopping the bleeding.
Dr. Zhao thought for a long time, then finally used a few strips of cloth to block the wounds near Han Yimo’s harpoon.
"Hey, Doc, aren't you going to take that harpoon out?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Can't take it out—if I do, he'll die," Dr. Zhao said grimly.
"Die?" Qiao Jiajin was confused. He stepped forward and shoved Dr. Zhao. "What the hell? 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, keeping the harpoon in him is the only way he lives."
"Why?" Xiao Ran, standing nearby, also asked.
"If the harpoon is removed, there'll only be a constantly bleeding wound left. Death would be just a matter of time," Dr. Zhao replied calmly. "With the harpoon left in, he'll be in pain, but at least he won't bleed to death. The small wounds will soon clot and temporarily stop bleeding."