In that precious moment, Eric was overwhelmed by pure joy, tears soaking his lashes as he carefully captured Hadley’s hand.

“Ugh…” Hadley suddenly broke down, a heartbroken sob escaping her throat. Her fingers curled instinctively, clutching Eric’s thumb with the desperate grip of a newborn, murmuring through her tears, “Thank goodness… you’ve come… Joy and I won’t be thrown out onto the streets…”

Eric’s expression turned to stone, his already pale face draining to ghostly white. What was Hadley saying? She wasn’t thinking clearly. Her mind had returned to those desperate days in Blathe.

During those dark times, Hadley and Joy had endured crushing hardship—homeless and fighting desperately just to survive.

“Hadley…” Eric’s throat constricted painfully, his lips quivering uncontrollably as tears silently traced paths down his face. Nodding through his anguish, he managed to choke out, “Yes, it’s me. I’m here with you…”

But he had arrived too late. He couldn’t rewind time to rescue them from those terrible circumstances years ago.

“Mr. Scott,” the responder urged with growing urgency, “we must evacuate Mrs. Scott immediately!”

“Understood.” Eric nodded, his eyes bloodshot and swollen from tears. From his position closest to Hadley, he could assess their precarious surroundings with frightening clarity. She lay trapped within a tiny cavity held up by several critical support points, which had miraculously kept her relatively protected.

However, the extent of her injuries could only be determined through a comprehensive medical examination once they reached safety.

“Mr. Scott, are you capable of carrying Mrs. Scott to safety?”

“Impossible.” Eric’s brow furrowed deeply as he shook his head.

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“What’s preventing you?”

“Look carefully…” Eric directed their attention to Hadley’s lower body. “She’s supporting part of the structural framework.”

Following Eric’s indication, the emergency responders immediately grasped the horrifying reality. In other words, the moment Hadley shifted position, the entire cavity would collapse instantaneously.

Before descending, they had never anticipated this nightmarish scenario and carried no structural support equipment. What options remained available to them now?

“I have a solution.” After a moment of intense calculation, Eric met the emergency responder’s gaze with unwavering determination. “I’ll extract my wife and transfer her to your care… then I’ll assume her position and maintain the structural support!”

“That’s suicidal!”

Creak!

The emergency responder had barely finished speaking when the entire cavity began trembling ominously. Time was rapidly running out—catastrophic collapse could occur at any moment.

Time had become their most precious and scarce commodity. Eric swiftly crouched, positioning his body as a protective shield over Hadley. He stabilized her shoulder with one hand while his other arm encircled her waist, his spine curved to bear the crushing weight above. With painstaking care, he maneuvered Hadley away from the most perilous position.

“Help! Catch her!”

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