Qi Xia’s expression was troubled. He had already tried pulling it out, but the barbs of the harpoon were so intricately designed that it was nearly impossible to remove from the body.
Watching the blood gush out, Qi Xia felt a momentary daze.
Had they really died?
Could the dead… still get hurt?
He steadied himself. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on that question—he needed to cut the rope immediately.
All the harpoons were slowly retracting. How could he use another harpoon to sever his rope?
The only certainty was that once the ropes fully retracted into the wall, the harpoons would disappear, and Han Yimo would die.
“I have to find a way to secure one harpoon… but how?” Qi Xia frowned slightly, scanning the surroundings quickly.
He had no choice but to gamble again.
He grabbed two slowly retracting 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’m doing! We need to keep at least one harpoon.”
Lin Qin instantly understood his intention. She picked up two harpoons and deftly tied a knot—though its shape was peculiar, something Qi Xia had never seen before.
But there was no time to dwell on it. He focused on the two harpoons in front of him.
As the ropes continued to retract, they pulled taut against each other.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before one of the ropes snapped, leaving the other behind.
Qi Xia took a few cautious steps back. The ropes emitted a terrifying creaking noise. If his guess was correct, the force of the tension might cause the snapping rope to lash out dangerously.
Sure enough, the next second, one of the ropes let out a loud *snap* and broke.
The other rope, still attached to its harpoon, whipped wildly through the air before slamming onto the ground, leaving a deep mark.
Qi Xia rushed forward, hoping to untie the broken rope before the harpoon retracted into the wall.
But the two ropes, twisted together under immense force, had become completely deformed. There was no way to untie them—he could barely even recognize their original shape.
“I got it!” Lin Qin shouted from nearby. “Someone strong, go cut the writer’s rope!”
“Got it?”
Qi Xia turned and saw that the knot Lin Qin had tied was ingeniously designed—it automatically loosened when the rope snapped.
Officer Li, who hadn’t even finished tying his own knot yet, quickly set down his harpoon and said, “I’ll do it. Give it to me!”
Harpoon in hand, Officer Li dashed toward Han Yimo, who was now mere inches from being dragged into the wall.
Fortunately, though the harpoon’s tip was sharp, its edge was fine enough to function as a makeshift knife.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin stepped in to help. Though Qi Xia had come up with a solution in time, Han Yimo was now less than half a meter from the wall.
The searing pain was unbearable for Han Yimo. He could only stagger backward with the rope—otherwise, the barbed hook in his chest would torment him beyond endurance.
Officer Li grabbed the rope behind him, quickly assessed the situation, and began slicing at the section closest to Han Yimo’s body with the harpoon’s sharp edge.
His hands were steady, each cut precise.
But the rope was tougher than expected. After several attempts, only a small notch had been made.
A quick mental calculation told him this was going to be tight.
The rope would eventually be severed, but time was running out.
In less than a minute, Han Yimo would hit the wall, making it impossible to cut the rope from behind.
“Damn it, not done yet?” Qiao Jiajin snapped impatiently. “You’re moving like a snail—you’ll get this idiot killed!”
“Shut your mouth!” Officer Li barked before redoubling his efforts.
As Han Yimo inched closer to the wall, sweat beaded on Officer Li’s forehead.
His nerves were steel. Despite the suffocating tension in the air, his hands never faltered—each strike landed exactly where it needed to.
But with Han Yimo now less than thirty centimeters from the wall, Officer Li could barely maneuver his arms.
Qiao Jiajin reacted swiftly, positioning himself behind Han Yimo to act as a buffer. Though this meant Han Yimo would suffer more pain, it bought them precious time—the distance between him and the wall wouldn’t shrink further for now.
“Cop! Hurry!”
Officer Li steadied his breathing and continued cutting. The rope was more than halfway severed, but still clung stubbornly together.
Han Yimo groaned in agony as the harpoon’s barb tore back into his chest, fresh blood soaking his clothes. The sight was horrifying.
“Am I going to die…?” Han Yimo gritted out. “I’m really going to die, aren’t I? Who the hell wants us dead…?”
“Act like a man!” Officer Li snapped sternly. “Everyone here is fighting to save you—don’t you dare whimper!”
Han Yimo fell silent. He knew Officer Li was right. Everyone was scrambling to help—he couldn’t drag them down.
The barb dug deeper into his flesh, drawing a muffled groan as he clenched his jaw.
Dr. Zhao quickly shoved a cloth between his teeth—extreme pain could make someone bite through their own teeth.
The group huddled around Han Yimo.
Twenty seconds stretched like hours as Officer Li methodically sawed through the rope.
Finally, with one last decisive slash, the tough fibers gave way.
In the same instant, both Han Yimo and Qiao Jiajin collapsed from exhaustion.
The others rushed forward to steady them.
It seemed Han Yimo’s life had been spared—for now.
Dr. Zhao immediately pulled him aside to examine the wound. The damage was as expected—the harpoon still needed to be extracted from the front.
The real problem now was stopping the bleeding.
After a moment’s thought, Dr. Zhao stuffed cloth strips around the harpoon’s entry point to staunch the blood flow.
“Hey, Doc, aren’t you gonna pull the harpoon out?” Qiao Jiajin demanded.
“If I do, he’ll die,” Dr. Zhao said grimly.
“Die?” Qiao Jiajin scowled, shoving at the doctor. “The hell? We busted our asses, and now you won’t save him?”
“I *am* saving him!” Dr. Zhao snapped, shaking him off. “Harsh as it sounds, leaving the harpoon in is the only way he survives.”
“Why?” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but ask.
“If we remove it, he’ll just bleed out from the open wound,” Dr. Zhao explained coolly. “Leaving it in means he’ll suffer, but at least he won’t die from blood loss. The smaller wounds will clot soon enough.”
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