Chapter 11 Capturing a Wild Dwarf! A Surprise of Massive Weight! ...
As his body uncontrollably lunged towards the trapped dwarf, Lin Yue's mind went blank, with only one thought: This is a dwarf, after all!
A walking encyclopedia of forging, the hope for the future Iron Age! If he dies right after meeting someone, who can he complain to? Who can compensate for that loss?
However, just as he was about to put on a heroic show of "sacrificing himself to protect the treasure (the dwarf)," a strong and powerful hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him back a few steps.
It's Gray.
Gray reacted faster than Lin Yue. The moment he heard the strange noise, instead of retreating, he stepped to the side and in front of the dwarf, pulled Lin Yue to a relatively safe position, and then, like a wall, used his back to support several small, falling rocks.
"Bang! Bang!"
The rock struck Gray's back with a dull thud. Gray groaned and swayed, but stubbornly refused to fall.
Lin Yue was stunned, and only one word came to his mind: amazing!
No wonder he's a man who survived in the Cursed Land! His physical attributes, his reaction speed, his... resilience! He's practically a human shield.
[System Notification: Partner 'Gray' has triggered the 'Guardian' action, temporarily blocking damage. Health -5%, gains the 'Resilient' status (short-term increased defense). Host's survivability slightly increased. Note: Having a reliable tank teammate is so important!]
"Grey, are you alright?" Lin Yue asked, still shaken.
Gray shook his head, brushing the dust off, and replied in a muffled voice, "...Little Stone. It's nothing."
Then, he scanned the area above and around with sharp eyes to confirm that there were no signs of further collapse for the time being.
Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and quickly looked at the trapped dwarf.
The dwarf was clearly terrified by the sudden turn of events; his face turned even paler, and his eyes were filled with horror. Fortunately, the falling rocks weren't large, and most of them were blocked by Gray, so he didn't suffer any further secondary damage.
"Hey! Uncle, are you alright?" Lin Yue leaned over and asked.
The dwarf, panting heavily, nodded, then pointed to his trapped leg, a pained expression on his face.
Lin Yue took a closer look and gasped.
My goodness.
The rock that pinned the dwarf's leg was nothing short of a colossal boulder, weighing at least several hundred pounds. If it had actually crashed down on him, he wouldn't just have lost a leg; his entire body would have been turned into a dwarf pie!
Fortunately, the falling rock was positioned quite cleverly, seemingly slightly blocked by a few small stones nearby, leaving a tiny gap. The dwarf's leg was only pinned down and not broken off.
Even so, prolonged pressure can cause severe tissue necrosis and even endanger life!
“Gray, this rock is too big. We can’t just move it by force,” Lin Yue immediately judged. “We have to use leverage and reinforce the surrounding area to prevent a second collapse.”
At the critical moment, the engineer's professional skills finally came into play.
He quickly scanned the interior of the mine. The passageway was narrow, and there were almost no usable tools, only a few rotten, ancient mine tunnel support timbers.
"Gray! Go find the thickest and strongest log, and make sure it's long enough," Lin Yue instructed. "I'll find the fulcrum stone and clear away the surrounding rubble while I'm at it."
Without saying a word, Gray immediately turned around to find a suitable lever.
Lin Yue then began to carefully clear away the rubble around the dwarf, trying to expand the operating space as much as possible. At the same time, he carefully observed the rock structure above and on the side walls, looking for relatively stable support points and evaluating reinforcement plans.
[System Prompt: Entering [Engineering Rescue Mode]. Analyzing the current environment... Rock mass instability coefficient: High. Temporary support reinforcement is recommended. Available materials: 3 pieces of rotten support timber (low strength, only suitable for temporary use), some gravel. Recommended lever fulcrum locations: Point A, Point B. Estimated optimal lever angle: 35 degrees. Success rate: 45% (limited by materials and tools).]
"Only a 45% success rate?" Lin Yue's heart tightened. "System, is your analysis reliable? Do you have a more secure plan?"
[System Response: Under the current conditions, this is the optimal solution. It is recommended that the host remain calm during the operation, accurately calculate the lever arm and angle, and pray that your partner has sufficient strength.]
Lin Yue: "...Thank you for your encouragement!"
Soon, Gray returned carrying the sturdiest-looking support beam. The beam was thick and long, weighing at least a hundred pounds, but Gray carried it with effortless ease.
“Okay, this is it.” Lin Yue’s eyes lit up. “Grey, put it here…” He pointed to the spot next to point A recommended by the system. “Use this as a fulcrum.” He then moved a few appropriately sized stones under the wood and adjusted the height.
Then, he instructed Gray to carefully insert the other end of the log into the crevice that had been left under the boulder.
“Okay, that’s it,” Lin Yue took a deep breath. “Grey, listen to my command. I’ll count to three, and you press down hard while I pull his legs outward.”
He turned to the trapped dwarf and said in as simple a language as possible, "Uncle, bear with it! We're about to begin. Try to cooperate and pull your leg out!"
The dwarf nodded nervously, his jaw clenched.
"Are you ready, Gray?"
Gray gripped the end of the lever, his arm muscles bulging, and nodded.
"one!"
"two!"
Three! Push!
As soon as Lin Yue finished speaking, Gray suddenly put all his strength on the lever.
The support beam, which looked weathered and worn, creaked under the weight of the load.
The boulder was pried open, slowly and with great difficulty, lifting up a tiny crack.
Right now.
Lin Yue reacted quickly, using all his strength to grab the dwarf's ankle and pull him outwards.
"Ugh—!" the dwarf groaned in pain.
At the same time, Gray exerted all his strength, and the end of the lever was almost broken by him.
At the last possible moment, the dwarf's leg was finally pulled out from under the boulder.
"Success!" Lin Yue was overjoyed and quickly dragged the dwarf back to a safe area.
Almost simultaneously, the supporting beam that served as the lever could no longer withstand the immense pressure and snapped with a "crack".
The boulder crashed down, landing in its original spot and kicking up a cloud of dust.
If it had been half a second later, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Lin Yue and Gray were both shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.
[System Notification: Rescue Successful! Partner 'Grey' experienced a temporary power surge, managing to move the boulder. The host reacted swiftly, successfully rescuing the target. Teamwork Rating: B+. A small amount of experience points have been gained.]
Lin Yue slumped to the ground, panting heavily, feeling his adrenaline still surging. Gray also leaned against the rock wall, his chest heaving violently.
Only the rescued dwarf was clutching his severely deformed, bloody leg, wincing in pain and sweating profusely.
Lin Yue regained his senses and quickly went to check on the dwarf's injuries.
The situation is not optimistic. The bones in the lower leg are clearly fractured and dislocated, and the prolonged pressure has caused severe ischemia, swelling, and purplish discoloration of the local tissues, even emitting an unpleasant odor.
[Injury Scan: Comminuted fracture of the left lower leg, accompanied by severe soft tissue contusion and risk of local tissue ischemia and necrosis. Target vital signs detected: extreme weakness, severe dehydration, severe malnutrition, and severe deficiency of multiple key minerals (especially sodium, iron, and calcium). Overall assessment: Near-death condition. Without timely treatment, the mortality rate is >90%.]
"Holy crap! That's serious!" Lin Yue gasped. This injury, let alone in this godforsaken place lacking medical resources, would require immediate emergency treatment even in a modern hospital!
"Grey, quick! We need to get him out of here right away," Lin Yue decided immediately. "It's too dangerous here, and we need to treat his wounds as soon as possible."
Gray nodded.
Together, the two carefully lifted the dwarf, who was quite heavy. Although the dwarf was not tall, he had a thick frame and solid muscles, making him quite substantial.
Lin Yue felt as if he was carrying not a person, but a granite block that was groaning and whimpering.
After a great deal of effort, the two finally managed to lift the dwarf out of the mine, which was in danger of collapsing again at any moment.
When Xiao Fen, who was waiting outside, saw them come out, she immediately rushed over excitedly, circling around them and even curiously sniffing the strange dwarf.
The dwarf was startled by Xiao Fen and tried to struggle, but he was unable to move due to the intense pain and weakness.
"Xiao Fen, stop fooling around." Lin Yue quickly pulled Xiao Fen away.
In the sunlight, the dwarf's face appeared even paler and more haggard. His eyes were tightly closed, his lips were cracked, and his breathing was weak, as if he might die at any moment.
"No, we need to quickly replenish his fluids and...salt, saline solution." Lin Yue immediately thought of the precious gems they had extracted before.
He had Gray settle the dwarf in a shady, flat place first, then he rushed back to the inn to fetch filtered water and the precious packet of salt.
He first used a clean strip of cloth—which was again a T-shirt—that Lin Yue felt he really, really had to rely on leaves for shelter, and dipped it in water to gently moisten the dwarf's chapped lips. Then, he scooped up a little salt, dissolved it in a small amount of water, and tried to feed it to the dwarf.
Perhaps driven by an instinctive craving for salt, or perhaps fueled by the will to survive, the dwarf managed to open his mouth with difficulty and swallow the small amount of salt water.
After being fed a few times, the dwarf's breathing seemed to have calmed down a bit.
“Gray, we have to take him back,” Lin Yue said, “otherwise he definitely won’t make it through the night.”
Thus, a new and daunting challenge lay before them—how to safely transport this enormous, critically injured dwarf back to their small inn, several miles away.
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