Li Ang saw the curved stone left arm spiraling through the air, striking the Black Goat Mask that floated in mid-air.

This stone arm was incredibly solid, hardly inferior to the Steel Stick he had obtained from an earlier loot box. Because it originated from a human body, it conducted energies like Ripple Qigong very effectively. Whether wielded as a hammer or thrown as Odd Hidden Weapons, it proved extremely useful.

It just looked somewhat eerie and bizarre...

THUD.

The Black Goat Mask, fully releasing its supernatural abilities, was hit squarely by the flying left arm. The Ripple Energy clung to the arm like bone-maggots, not only sticking firmly to the mask but also constantly eroding the wisks of black air on its surface.

This mask, hailing from the private collection of a Gypsy Witch, was the legacy of an infamous Voodoo Sorcerer and possessed its own eerie qualities.

After being attached to the abnormal organ, it even awakened a low-level, instinct-like consciousness. It knew to seek advantages and avoid harm, spinning in place to fling the arm away.

Unfortunately for it, Li Ang had already sprinted over. He nimbly caught the stone left arm as it fell from the air, leaped high, grasped the stone limb tightly, and smashed it down hard toward the mask.

The mask tried to fly away, but Li Ang casually unleashed a Fragment Scatter. An invisible Repulsion force sent it flying back towards the stone arm's point of impact.

CLANG.

The goat mask was smashed to pieces. It, along with the two lung-halves embedded inside, fell to the ground.

[Abnormal Lungs cleared. Five abnormal organs remaining.]

A System notification sounded in Li Ang's ear. He frowned and quickly ran toward the fallen Forest Cat.

The Siberian girl was rolling on the ground, her face deathly pale. Her eyes bulged like a fish's, veins popped on her swan-like neck, and her slender hands continuously clawed at her throat, drawing streaks of blood.

"HISS! Is the ability still in effect?" Miss Chai exclaimed in surprise. "What should we do? Can she be saved?"

In a script mission, each teammate was an essential source of combat power. They could also serve as cannon fodder or human shields at critical moments, which was quite useful.

The Forest Cat's ashen eyes were fixed on Li Ang, filled with an intense desire to survive. Save me. I don't want to die. Save me.

Li Ang's brow furrowed tightly. His left hand gripped her upper jaw and his right her lower jaw, lifting her halfway into the air. Using the night vision from his Cat's Eye ability, he peered into the girl's throat.

Inside her throat, a bizarre, tumor-like, massive red-black polyp had grown. It was twisting and swelling, completely blocking her airway and mouth—a grossly filthy sight that could induce physical discomfort in any ordinary person just by looking at it.

This was the root cause of Forest Cat's choking.

As soon as Li Ang reached into Forest Cat's mouth, the polyp, sensing something, began trembling violently, frantically compressing her airway.

If I try to forcibly pull out the polyp, Forest Cat might die from a ruptured throat first.

"Hang in there," Li Ang said coldly. He laid Forest Cat on the ground, pressing her forehead with his elbow to stop her violent struggles.

He then took a sharp small knife from his tactical suit's calf compartment and found a soybean-sized dimple about two to three centimeters below Forest Cat's laryngeal prominence.

(Both males and females have a laryngeal prominence, though it is typically more pronounced in males.)

This dimple is located between the thyroid cartilage and the cricoid cartilage. It marks the cricothyroid membrane—a thin layer with the trachea directly behind it and no vital points nearby.

Li Ang brought the knife down. The sharp blade nimbly and precisely pierced Forest Cat's cricothyroid membrane.

HISS—HAAH—

Forest Cat's body tensed sharply, her eyes wide. She felt a thin stream of fresh air flow from the outside world through the incision in her cricothyroid membrane and into her trachea, greatly alleviating the sensation of suffocation.

With this breath of air, she straightened up, one hand covering the small opening in her throat, the other scribbling in the air as she murmured spells in a weak voice.

A moment later, her complexion turned ashen. With a "RETCH," she vomited a large, viscous, dark-red clump of flesh and blood.

The polyp mass fell to the ground, still squirming slowly as if alive. Before it could crawl far, Forest Cat crushed it with a palm strike from a distance.

Clutching her throat, the Siberian girl struggled to her feet. She gratefully nodded at Li Ang, then pulled a stack of black bandages from her backpack and wrapped them around her neck several times.

[Name: Harpy Bandages]

[Type: Consumable. Disappears after two uses]

[Quality: Common]

[Special Effect: Merciful Healing. Wraps around the injured area, slowly healing a small, non-fatal wound]

[Consumption: 100 Spirit Power Value, 40 Sanity Value]

[Use Conditions: None]

[Note: Harpies live atop cliffs and precipices. Their black hair symbolizes vitality, and only humans whom they acknowledge and dearly love can obtain a roll of bandages woven from the harpy's hair.]

As the Special Effect of the black bandages activated, Forest Cat's cut cricothyroid membrane began to heal slowly. Within half a minute, she was able to speak again.

"...Thank you," Forest Cat said, nodding gratefully at Li Ang. Her voice was slightly hoarse and deep. "Was that a Cricothyroid Membrane Puncture Surgery just now?"

"Yes." Li Ang nodded.

Cricothyroid Membrane Puncture Surgery is an emergency medical procedure for patients with severe respiratory distress. It involves cutting the cricothyroid membrane to allow outside air into the patient's airway. The procedure is simple, quick, and efficient.

Li Ang had mastered various emergency medical techniques many years ago. Unfortunately, Big Yellow had always stubbornly refused to be a test subject, denying Li Ang much opportunity to practice. Today was actually his first time performing a Cricothyroid Membrane Puncture Surgery.

If Big Yellow's spirit of self-sacrifice had been stronger, perhaps I would now be an excellent surgeon, part of a Mobile Detachment, using my medical skills to save lives.

Big Yellow, you are too stubborn.

Li Ang watched Forest Cat continue to express her gratitude and waved his hand absently. His mind, however, was still pondering the earlier scene.

It was just as the elite forum posts said: in script tasks, if you help a teammate in danger without any subjective or objective malice, you won't be harmed by friendly fire, and the System won't punish you afterward.

(Many players uploaded elite posts to the forum. You could read the beginning, but the rest required a certain amount of Game Currency to access—typically one to ten points. Content value was judged by moderators to prevent people from scamming newcomers with worthless posts. This was very much in the style of a well-moderated online forum.)

Li Ang pulled his thoughts back to the present and said to Forest Cat indifferently, "Do you feel better?"

"Yes," the girl nodded. She pointed to the Polyp Fragments on the ground and said hoarsely, "This thing seems like a Voodoo Curse. I reckon there was some sort of mystical reaction between that extraordinary mask and the abnormal lungs, which generated a particular skill."

As she spoke, Forest Cat blushed slightly. It was embarrassing for a Level 10 player to be almost killed by such a low-level mystical curse.

But it couldn't be helped. As a Mysterious scholar, most of her abilities relied on chanting spells combined with hand gestures. The suffocating polyp curse was her perfect counter.

She shook her head and came back to her senses, only to see Li Ang crouching on the ground. He had taken out plastic Ziploc bags from somewhere. His eyes gleaming, he used his knife to pick up the Polyp Fragments from the ground, putting them all into one bag. He then systematically sorted the mask pieces and withered lungs into other separate bags.

"'Can't waste it. All good stuff...' Li Ang murmured continuously, a faint, sinister chuckle escaping him. He looked like a mental patient addicted to scavenging.