Chapter 1357: Combined Rescue
Five days later, Seagull landed at Neverwinter’s Aerial Knight Academy.
Tilly stepped off with Nana beside her. For once she bypassed the question about her special plane entirely, her voice quick with urgency: “Are we too late?”
The iron tower project’s code tables were still incomplete, which meant the prepared Aerial Knights had gone to Thorn Town for hands-on training rather than remaining at Neverwinter. Flying messengers were the fastest communication available. The round trip between the two kingdoms — four days out, one back — was not slow by any ordinary measure, but in a medical emergency it was an eternity.
“No,” Roland said. “You arrived at exactly the right time.”
“Really — good, that’s good—” Tilly exhaled. “We should probably have an Aerial Knight student patrol Neverwinter on a regular basis. A situation like this shouldn’t catch us off guard again.” She straightened up. “Oh — who’s injured?”
Roland opened his mouth and closed it.
Flying messengers could only carry so much detail. He hadn’t explained the particulars, had only asked Tilly to bring Nana back to Neverwinter. Now she was asking directly, and the honest answer was difficult to produce.
“Someone,” he said carefully, “who doesn’t exist in this world.”
Tilly’s expression settled into a very particular stillness. “You’re talking about someone in the Dream World.”
As expected of Princess Tilly. He coughed twice. “That’s almost right.”
“Then say so plainly, and don’t dance around it.” She rolled her eyes. “What — were you afraid we’d be angry to find out we traveled over a thousand kilometers for an imaginary person in a dream world?”
“You hit it exactly,” Nana said.
“You don’t have to agree out loud even if you guessed correctly,” Wendy laughed, shaking her head.
Roland looked at the three of them.
“Feeling guilty is a good thing, Brother.” Tilly reached up and poked him in the chest. “But you’re underestimating all of us. If it’s something you’ve decided needs doing — no matter how unreasonable it sounds — we’ll act first and ask questions after. Now.” She planted her feet. “What comes next?”
This counts as trust, I think.
He pressed one hand briefly to the top of Tilly’s head. “Back to the castle. Scroll is there waiting.”
With the preparations properly in hand, Nana produced a substantial pile of enchanted sutures. Her theory held: the sutures would trigger healing merely from proximity to a wound; no surgical skill required to place them. The only complication was extraction afterward — loose sutures left in place could create new problems — but that was a problem for after.
The sutures could not travel from reality to the Dream World by themselves, but Scroll’s Archives could make the crossing. Under that arrangement Scroll had to enter and exit the Realm of Mind repeatedly to accumulate a sufficient quantity; Nana, relieved of the effort of delivering them personally, could preserve her magic power and attach it to the other medical equipment that would be needed later.
Five days of preparation in Neverwinter amounted to an instant in the Dream World.
This particular asymmetry might well have been noticed by Zero or Valkries by now, Roland reflected — but he was too occupied to linger on it.
Once everything was in place, Roland took a breath, nodded to Scroll and the others, and closed his eyes.
The familiar disorientation, and then the bridge.
Fei Yuhan lay exactly as he had left her. Zero’s face when she saw him was all held breath and urgency; she grabbed his sleeve before he’d fully oriented himself. “Uncle — is there a way to save her?”
Time had resumed the moment he returned. He did not explain; he pulled out his phone and called Garcia.
The Martial Arts Contest was finished. Garcia was most likely back at the apartments by now.
The call connected almost immediately. “Hey, what is it?”
“Where are you?”
“Out.”
His stomach dropped. “Why aren’t you at home?” If Garcia wasn’t close, the contingency plan — contacting the Defender, moving through official channels — would take far more time, and might not produce the right outcome anyway.
“What is wrong with your attitude — I’m buying food downstairs, can’t I?”
The relief arrived like a physical thing. “Then you’re inside the residential estate. Do you have your car keys?”
“Obviously.” The irritation was audible. “What’s your point?”
He coughed once and made his voice steady. “Listen carefully. I have a life-and-death request, and only you can fulfill it.”
A pause. The irritation dissolved. “Does it have to be over the phone?”
“Yes. No time. Drive immediately to Six Li Pavilion — two streets away — and find a woman named Scroll. She’ll be waiting on the road; you won’t miss her. Pick her up and bring her to the western suburbs expressway — where I am right now. Normally that’s a thirty-minute drive. I don’t have thirty minutes. I need you to make it as fast as you possibly can, and I’ll take responsibility for everything. Please — move now.”
A silence on the other end. Two seconds, maybe three. Then the sound of running footsteps. “You don’t have time to explain at all?”
“No.”
“All right. If I arrive and this isn’t as urgent as it sounds, you know what that means for you. And you owe me.” The car engine turned over and the line went dead.
Roland dialed Defender Rock’s number.
He condensed it to the essential facts: Fei Yuhan was severely injured, in need of emergency surgery and the best medical equipment the Association could field. An associate was also bringing critical materials to the scene. If the Association could coordinate with the Public Roads Department to clear Garcia’s path, that would help significantly.
Rock agreed and went directly to the department. Roland understood that government response without prior channels was improbable; whether Garcia arrived in time depended largely on Garcia.
He checked the time and put the phone away.
Five minutes spent on calls. Nothing now but waiting.
One advantage: winter kept traffic light, especially in the suburbs. Outside of peak hours, a van driven by Garcia at maximum urgency had a real chance.
“Uncle — Master — she can’t hold on—!” Zero’s voice cracked through his thoughts.
He crossed to Fei Yuhan in two strides. Her chest, which had been moving in shallow increments, was still.
“Heart and breathing stopped.” Valkries frowned. “I don’t know what you’re attempting, but I think you may be too late.”
“No.” Roland set his hand against Fei Yuhan’s forehead. “We’re already at this stage. She didn’t fight her way through that just to give up here.”
He had read the research: brain function could persist after the body failed — as little as ten seconds, as much as several minutes, the activity during that window resembling REM sleep. How long the window held depended on many things. For determination, it was fortunate that the genius Martial Artist was known for nothing so much as that.
Ten minutes and twenty-five seconds later, he heard it: a car, at the far end of the bridge, moving fast.
He looked up.
The old vehicle blew through the light and stopped in front of the three of them.
“Your Majesty!” Scroll threw open the door and pushed a paper bag toward him.
Roland tore it open without addressing Zero’s expression or Garcia’s, and began distributing the enchanted sutures across Fei Yuhan’s body.
“Are those — enchanted objects made by a witch?” Valkries watched with a deep furrow between her brows.
“Yes. As long as they take effect, they can save a person even at the final edge.” He kept placing them, working quickly.
Nana’s power crossed the boundary between worlds and reached the body of a girl who had never been born in either of them. From Fei Yuhan’s wounds came sounds that had no clean name — not healing and not injury, but the body remembering its shape, flesh and organ rebinding under the influence of something that operated by principles Roland could not have explained to anyone in the room.
They waited.
More than ten minutes.
Then, small enough to miss: a single thump.
Another.
Fei Yuhan’s chest began to rise and fall again.
It was the most beautiful thing anyone on that bridge had heard.
Chapter 1357 - Combined Rescue
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Five days later, Seagull landed in Neverwinter’s Aerial Knight Academy.
Tilly left the plane with Nana. For the first time, she did not jump straight to ask Roland about her special plane, and instead asked fervently,” Are we too late?”
As the iron tower project’s code tables were not completed, the prepared Aerial Knights that had completed their theory lessons proceeded to Thorn Town for hands-on training, leaving only flying messengers as the fastest form of communications. Although the time required to travel between the two kingdoms was not considered slow with an the time taking of four days to and one day back, it was rather long in an emergency situation like providing medical treatment.
“No, you arrived at the right time,” Roland replied.
“Really, that’s great to hear… I think it’ll be better to have an Aerial Knight student stay and patrol Neverwinter to avoid having such a situation again.” Tilly heaved a sigh of relief, “Oh right, who’s injured?”
“Errr…” Roland was at a loss for words. Flying messengers had limitations on information they could carry and thus, he did not mention too many details, and only requested Tilly to send Nana back to Neverwinter. When the question was fired, he realized that he had no answer. After pondering to himself for a moment, he said, “A person that doesn’t exist in this world.”
“What?” The corners of Tilly’s mouth twitched. “You’re talking about someone in the Dream World?”
As expected of Princess Tilly; her reaction is abnormally sharp…. Roland coughed twice. “That’s almost right.”
“Then just tell it to us directly, and don’t beat about the bush.” Tilly rolled her eyes at him. “What? Are you afraid that we would get mad if we discovered that we rushed over a thousand kilometers just for an imaginary person in the dream world?”
“You’ve hit the nail right on the head.” Nana agreed.
“You don’t have to say it out even if you’ve guessed it.” Wendy chuckled and shook her head.
You three… is this some scheme against me?
“Feeling guilty is a good thing, Brother.” Tilly tiptoed and extended her hand out and poked his chest. “But you’re looking down on all of us—if it’s something that you feel has to be done, no matter how preposterous it is, we will take action and ask questions after. Now… what’s next?”
This… should be considered another form of expressing trust, right?
Roland pressed down on Tilly’s head and sighed. “We will return to the castle. Scroll is there waiting for us.”
…
With ample preparations done, Nana quickly made a large pile of “enchanted sutures.” According to her theory, the sutures would induce a healing result as long as they were placed near the wounds, regardless if one did not know how to sew a wound. The only trouble was extracting the sutures at a later date; otherwise, those unfixed stitches might bring about new problems for the patient.
Considering how items from reality would not disappear, Scroll only had to enter and exit the Realm of Mind multiple times to obtain the large number of sutures; thus, Nana was able to preserve her magic power and attach magic power to the other medical treatment equipment that was needed later.
Despite spending five days preparing for all the sutures, it was only an instant in the Dream World.
Of course, this peculiarity might have been picked up by the people in the Dream World, like Zero or Valkries… but Roland was fully occupied to take that into consideration.
Once everything was in place, Roland took a deep breath, turned to Scroll and the others and gestured for them to be at ease. He then closed his eyes and entered the Dream World.
After a momentary trance, the familiar scene appeared before him once again.
Fei Yuhan laid motionlessly in the pool of blood while Zero and Valkries looked at him in shock. Zero eagerly grabbed onto his sleeves. “Uncle, do you have a way to save her?”
The time in Dream World flowed once again, and it felt as though he had arrived back in time five days ago.
Roland did not explain himself. He quickly took out his cellphone and called Garcia.
The Martial Arts Contest had already concluded and Garcia was most probably back at the apartments.
The call connected quickly. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Where are you now?”
“Outside.”
Roland’s heart sank. “Why are you not at home?” If the plan failed, he had no other choice but to go along with his contingency plan and inform the Defender to mobilize people. But that required more time for explanations and might not end with the expected outcome.
“Hey, what’s with the attitude, can’t I buy some food downstairs?”
He immediately exhaled a breath of relief. “So you’re around your residential estate? Do you have your car keys with you?”
“Duh.” Garcia’s unhappy reply came through the phone. “What’s your point?”
Roland coughed twice, then replied with a solemn voice, “Listen well, I have a life-and-death request to ask of you, and only you can do it.”
“Oh…” Her anger immediately subsided, “Must… it be done over the phone?”
“Yes, we don’t have time. Drive over to Six Li Pavilion that’s two streets away immediately and pick up a lady called Scroll. She will be waiting by the road, and you definitely won’t miss her. Once you pick her up, send her over to the western suburbs expressway, which is where I am at now. The average travel time between these two points is about 30 minutes, but I do not have much time left. I need you to rush over with your fastest speed, I will take responsibility for all the troubles—Please, start moving now!”
“…” The other end of the line remained silent for a few seconds, followed by the sounds of a sprint. “You don’t have the time to explain anything now?” “That’s right.”
“Alright, if I arrive at your location and realize that the situation isn’t as urgent as it seems, you should know how serious the consequences will be! Also, you owe me a favor.” The sound of a car engine revving sounded and she hung up.
Roland keyed in Defender Rock’s number.
This time, he gave a rough summary of what happened over the phone, “Miss Fei Yuhan is severely injured right now and requires the Association to dispatch the best doctor and equipment to execute an emergency surgery. But this isn’t enough, Garcia is currently bringing crucial emergency equipment over. If possible, I hope the Association can contact the Public Roads Department and get them to control the roads for her to reach the expressway as quickly as possible.”
Rock immediately agreed and liaised directly with the Public Roads Department, but Roland knew that the possibility of the government taking
action without any prior communication was minuscule. Whether or not Garcia could arrive smoothly depended greatly on herself.
It took Roland five minutes to finish the calls.
All he could do now was wait.
Amidst the adversity was a silver lining. In winter, the traffic wasn’t bad, especially so for the suburbs. So long as it was not the peak hour, Garcia could drive a van at its fastest speed.
“Uncle, Master, she… she… can’t hold on anymore!” Suddenly, Zero’s cries broke Roland’s train of thoughts.
Roland immediately returned to Fei Yuhan’s side. Her chest which was moving slightly previously had stopped.
“Her heart and breathing has stopped.” Valkries frowned. “Although I have no idea what you’re trying to do, I’m afraid it is too late.”
“No, she will be able to make it.” Roland extended his hand out and touched Fei Yuhan’s forehead. “We are already at this stage, I believe she will not give up that easily.”
He had seen research verifying that the brain would still work for a period of time after the body functions came to a halt. The shortest time recorded was ten seconds, the longest a few minutes. The brainwaves during this period resembled that of a person having REM Sleep. How long the brain could continue working depended on various factors, but in terms of determination, it was fortunate that the genius Martial Artist was a person very well known for it.
10 minutes and 25 seconds later, a reverberating car sound came from the end of the bridge.
Roland’s eyes immediately lit up.
A simple and old-looking car ran through the red light and stopped right in front of the three.
“Your Majesty!” Scroll opened the car doors and threw a paper bag over to Roland.
The latter ignored Zero and Garcia’s surprised expressions, tore the bag opened, and placed the medical sutures on Fei Yuhan’s body.
“Is that… an enchanted object created by a witch?” Valkries frowned.
“That’s right. As long as it takes effect, we can save a person even if they are on their last dying breath.” Roland nodded.
In that moment, Nana’s power crossed from reality to the Dream World and worked on the body of a girl from the other world. Disturbing noises came out from Fei Yuhan’s body as her flesh and internal organs started to reform and bind together under the effects of the magic power.
It was after more than 10 minutes when everyone heard the faintest thump sound.
Although it was extremely weak, it was the most beautiful sound ever.
Fei Yuhan’s chest started to heave once more.