Qi Xia's expression was one of difficulty. He had already tried earlier, but the barb of the harpoon was so delicately designed that it was nearly impossible to remove from the body.
Looking at the blood flowing steadily from the wound, Qi Xia was momentarily lost in thought.
Had they really died?
Would the dead still bleed?
Qi Xia quickly cleared his mind. Now wasn't the time to ponder such things; what mattered now was cutting the ropes as soon as possible.
The harpoons were slowly retracting. The real challenge was how to use another harpoon to cut the ropes.
One thing was certain: when the ropes were fully retracted into the wall, the harpoons would disappear, and Han Yimo would die.
"We need to get a harpoon... but how do we do it?" Qi Xia furrowed his brows, quickly surveying the surroundings.
It was a gamble, but it was the only choice they had.
He grabbed two harpoons that were slowly retracting and quickly tied their ropes together with a tight knot.
"Hey! Stop crowding around Han Yimo!" Qi Xia called out, "Do it like me! We need at least one harpoon left."
Lin Qin instantly understood his intention. She found two harpoons and efficiently tied a knot, though the knot she made was quite unusual, something Qi Xia had never seen before.
He didn't have time to think about it now, so he focused on the two harpoons before him.
As the ropes continued to retract, the two ropes were pulling tightly together.
At this rate, it wouldn't take long before one of the ropes would snap, leaving just one harpoon.
Qi Xia carefully took a step back. The ropes were making a terrifying sound, and if his guess was right, the force of the snapping rope could injure someone.
Sure enough, the next moment, one of the ropes made a loud crack as it snapped.
The other rope, along with the harpoon, flailed erratically in the air before crashing heavily onto the ground, leaving a deep mark.
Qi Xia rushed forward, hoping to untie the snapped rope before the harpoon was fully retracted into the wall.
However, he soon realized that the ropes, which had been tied together earlier, had been deformed by the immense pulling force. It was impossible to untie them now, and even the shape of the ropes was unrecognizable.
"I'm done!" Lin Qin called out from not far away, "Who's strong? Come help cut the writer's ropes!"
"Done?" Qi Xia turned to see that Lin Qin had made a clever knot, and when the rope snapped, it separated automatically.
Officer Li, who hadn't even finished his knot at the beginning, hurriedly dropped the harpoon in his hand and said, "I'll cut it, give it to me!"
After taking the harpoon, Officer Li quickly moved to Han Yimo's back, just as the man was about to be pulled toward the wall.
Fortunately, the harpoon in hand, though it had a sharp tip, also had small cutting edges at the tip, making it useful like a knife.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin immediately stepped forward to help. Though Qi Xia had come up with a plan earlier, Han Yimo was now less than half a meter from the wall.
The tearing pain made it impossible for Han Yimo to resist; he could only retreat slowly with the rope, or the barbed hook would cause unbearable pain in his chest.
Officer Li grabbed the rope behind him and, after a brief moment of thought, aimed at the rope closest to Han Yimo's body and began cutting with the sharp harpoon.
His hands were steady, and each strike hit the rope precisely.
But the rope was tougher than expected, and after several cuts, only small nicks remained.
He quickly assessed the situation and realized it was more difficult than he thought.
Though the rope would eventually be severed, what they lacked most was time.
In less than a minute, Han Yimo's body would be pressed against the wall, and at that point, cutting the rope from behind would be impossible.
"Damn, isn't it done yet?" Qiao Jiajin asked anxiously, "You're so slow, you're going to kill this guy!"
"Shut up!" Officer Li snapped, then continued applying more force.
As Han Yimo's body drew closer to the wall, Officer Li's face was drenched in sweat.
His mental fortitude was impressive—despite the tense atmosphere, he didn't make a single mistake, cutting each time at the previous notch.
But as Han Yimo came within thirty centimeters of the wall, Officer Li's arms were starting to give out.
Qiao Jiajin reacted quickly and stepped in front of Han Yimo, using his own body to shield him. This would prevent Han Yimo from being pulled further toward the wall, though it meant Han Yimo would suffer more immediate injury.
"Officer! Hurry!" Qiao Jiajin urged.
Officer Li took a deep breath and kept cutting. By now, the rope had been severed halfway, but it was still connected at one point.
Han Yimo cried out in agony. The harpoon, which had pierced his body, was now digging back into his chest, and blood soaked his clothes, making him look horrifying.
"Am I going to die...?" Han Yimo gritted his teeth and muttered, "I'm really going to die... Who the hell is trying to kill us...?"
"Be a man!" Officer Li barked sternly. "So many of us are trying to save you, stop whining!"
At these words, Han Yimo immediately fell silent. He knew Officer Li was right—everyone was running around trying to save him, and he couldn't hold them back.
The barbed hook had dug deep into his flesh, and he grunted, biting his teeth in pain.
Doctor Zhao, seeing this, immediately grabbed a piece of cloth and stuffed it into his mouth. After all, when people were in extreme pain, they might end up biting their own teeth to pieces.
The others gathered around Han Yimo.
The twenty seconds felt like hours. Officer Li kept cutting the rope without a break.
Finally, with one last stroke, the tough rope was severed.
At the same time, both Han Yimo and Qiao Jiajin collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
The others immediately rushed forward to support them.
It seemed like Han Yimo's life had been saved.
Doctor Zhao quickly pulled him to the side and began to examine his wounds. His injuries were as expected—he still needed to have the harpoon removed from the front.
The most pressing issue now was stopping the bleeding.
After some thought, Doctor Zhao used several strips of cloth to plug up the wound near the harpoon.
"Hey, Doctor, aren't you going to remove the harpoon?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"We can't remove it—it would kill him," Doctor Zhao said grimly.
"Kill?" Qiao Jiajin was confused. He walked over and pushed Doctor Zhao. "What's going on? We went through all this trouble, and now you're not even going to save him?"
"I am saving him!" Doctor Zhao impatiently shoved his hand away. "To be blunt, the only way to save him is if the harpoon stays in."
"Why?" Xiao Ran also asked in confusion.
"If we remove the harpoon, all that will be left is a wound that keeps bleeding. Death will be only a matter of time," Doctor Zhao answered calmly. "As long as the harpoon stays, though, it will be painful, but at least he won't bleed out. Those small wounds will stop bleeding temporarily as the blood clots."