Two minutes before Ginger was frightened by the Ghost-faced Man...
Caleb's Discovery
"There's a box?" Caleb noticed a conspicuous red box placed in the corner ahead. He immediately went forward to investigate. The box was unlocked, its bright red color quite deliberate, as if afraid players might overlook it.
Creak!
Caleb opened the box and found it filled with various sundries: crumpled waste paper, a broken old-fashioned desk clock, empty candy boxes...
"I don't see anything special." He tried switching to the 'Concentration Stance'.
After a 'ding' sound, Caleb's mind became clear, his mental power focused. In the corner of the box, an inconspicuous, folded map immediately glowed with an outline. Caleb pulled it out:
— — Item discovered... — — You have obtained [Map of the Military Factory]
[Type: Uncommon Criminal Evidence]
[Effect: Unknown, requires appraisal.]
[Weight: 5]
[Can it be taken out of the scene: No]
[Note: A hastily drawn map with routes and marked points that probably only its creator can understand.]
[Usage Condition: This item does not belong to you and cannot be used.]
[Usage Effect: Your attention will be focused on the map.]
Caleb noticed the strange 'Type' entry for this item. "Is it implying that this item is linked to the background story?" The 'Usage Condition' also explained that this item couldn't be used because it didn't belong to Caleb.
So, who is its true owner? Is it one of the four players? "Perhaps I can let the others try." He put the map away, just about to go back and find Ginger.
Ah ah ah!!! A heart-wrenching scream from Ginger came from not far away.
Now, let's talk about Hard Candy Hank and Sweet Candy Sky, the young couple.
After leaving the cabin, they walked towards the west side of the Military Factory. They hadn't walked for more than a few minutes when a large red box appeared, placed against the wall.
Hard Candy Hank's face immediately lit up with surprise, his eyes radiating the unique gleam of a money-grubber, as he exclaimed loudly. "A treasure chest!"
"Tsk, that's all you're excited about." His girlfriend, Sweet Candy Sky, stood by with her arms crossed, a look of disdain on her face.
"Am I really the European Emperor? My luck is through the roof!" Hard Candy Hank excitedly rubbed his hands together, rushing forward to open the box. "What good things will come out? Infinity Edge? Dragon Slaying Saber? Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet?"
"..." Sweet Candy Sky wondered if her brain was waterlogged when she chose her boyfriend.
"What? A pile of trash?" But after the box was opened, Hard Candy Hank's expectant expression instantly froze. He reluctantly buried his head in the box and rummaged around. "Not even half a dollar?! Did I open a fake treasure chest?"
"Try switching your stance?" Sweet Candy Sky remembered that many clues required the corresponding stance to be found, so she reminded him from the side.
"Right, right." Her boyfriend quickly switched to the Concentration Stance as instructed. Immediately, in his line of sight, a green toolbox appeared with a glowing outline.
"Got it!" Hard Candy Hank quickly picked up the toolbox.
— — Item discovered... — — You have obtained [Portable Toolbox]
[Type: Uncommon Criminal Evidence]
[Effect: Unknown, requires appraisal.]
[Weight: 20]
[Can it be taken out of the scene: No]
[Note: A box filled with parts and tools, only skilled workers can use it well.]
[Usage Condition: This item does not belong to you and cannot be used.]
[Usage Effect: Creates a loud noise.]
"What? I thought it was some high-end equipment?" Hard Candy Hank couldn't hide his disappointment. "It's trash, and I can't even use it."
"Let me see." His girlfriend took the toolbox, but it still displayed 'This item does not belong to you and cannot be used'. "Maybe Caleb and Ginger can use it. You take it for now," Sweet Candy Sky threw the toolbox back to her boyfriend and instructed.
But just then, Sweet Candy Sky suddenly glimpsed someone standing behind her boyfriend.
"?"
She focused and looked carefully, realizing there really was someone! That person's position was very tricky, perfectly overlapping with Hard Candy Hank. His physique was also roughly similar to Hard Candy Hank's. Hidden by Hank's body, only some black edges could be seen from Sky's angle.
"Who's there?!" Sweet Candy Sky quickly called out.
"???" Her boyfriend was slow to react, a bewildered expression on his face.
"There's someone behind you." Sweet Candy Sky frowned, stepped forward, and pulled her boyfriend aside.
But... there was nothing behind Hard Candy Hank. The strange black figure that had been standing pressed against his back had vanished, as if it had never been there.
"Someone? Where? Where is he? Don't scare me!" Hearing this, Hard Candy Hank quickly turned to look behind him, a look of fear appearing on his face.
"He was just standing behind you. Didn't you feel anything at all? Are you a block of wood?" Sweet Candy Sky's forehead twitched with a bulging vein again; a 'training' iron fist was already itching for action.
"I didn't feel anything? Could you have seen wrong?" Hard Candy Hank carefully checked behind him, and after confirming there was no anomaly, he turned to look at his girlfriend.
But... he saw a charred monster with blood-red eyes and bared fangs standing behind Sweet Candy Sky, extending a long, bloody tongue to lick his girlfriend's cheek.
"Holy crap! Holy crap!!" Hard Candy Hank was instantly scared witless, his body instinctively retreating several large steps backward, landing on his butt on the ground.
"Are you itching for a beating again?" Sweet Candy Sky had already been furious when her boyfriend questioned her eyesight; now, seeing her boyfriend's terrified, ghost-seeing expression, she erupted like a volcano.
"Ghost, ghost, ghost, ghost! There's a ghost behind you!" Hard Candy Hank pointed at his girlfriend, his face pale, stuttering his warning.
With his heart racing and emotions tense from fright, he had been pulled into a Real Fear state by the game system, so the Ghost-faced Man he saw now appeared exceptionally terrifying.
The Ghost-faced Man had already reached out and clasped his girlfriend's neck, its fangs bared, preparing to bite into Sweet Candy Sky's fair neck.
"Stop! No!" A surge of courage, whether bestowed by the gods of gaming or just plain adrenaline, made Hard Candy Hank scramble to his feet and bravely pounce towards the evil ghost behind his girlfriend.
However, he lunged at empty air. The Ghost-faced Man vanished the instant Hard Candy Hank lunged, as if it had never appeared.