The quest interface for Ricky confirmed his role as the opponent to the Survivors:
[Main Quest: The Returning Factory Director! Leo Beck, 'The Ash'!]
Quest Description: 'Although Leo Beck's body was burned in the fire, his fallen soul was preserved with the help of the Voodoo Sect's secret magic. Now, by simply activating the Corpse Puppet Transformation Ritual, his revenge plan can continue...'
Quest Objective: Complete the Voodoo Sect's Corpse Puppet Transformation Ritual before midnight.
"I heard Orpheus mention before that Leo Beck had a dual identity. On the surface, he was the director of a Military Factory, but in private, he was also a follower of the Voodoo Sect." To get revenge on the villains who used despicable means to plunge him into debt and force him to give up the Military Factory, Leo Beck secretly set up a Voodoo Sect Corpse Puppet Transformation Formation in the factory's basement, hoping to use corpse puppets to kill his enemies. However, a sudden fire burned down the Military Factory and put his revenge plan on hold.
Ricky tried to recall fragmented memories related to 'Leo Beck'. "I remember… Leo Beck also had a 5-year-old son, didn't he? The little boy once tried to stop his father from performing the evil Corpse Puppet Transformation Ritual and even stole a necessary material for completing the ritual." Thinking of this, Ricky couldn't help but feel regret. "Many clues exist within the plot of that novel. If only I had finished reading that novel back then…"
This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of Ricky completing the trial.
After closing the quest interface, Ricky observed his surroundings. He was in a dark basement. Due to the influence of his 'Spirit Body' form, his vision was restricted to a very small range, and everything he saw was in black and white. "This perspective is truly disgusting."
He noticed that on the ground in front of him, someone had carved a complex circular formation with blood. At 3 of the 4 symmetrical points of the formation, an item had been placed: two cloth dolls and a very exaggerated-looking scythe.
And as he stared at the formation on the ground, a narration appeared before his eyes:
'The Corpse Puppet Transformation Formation is missing a component. To activate it, that component must first be found.' 'Furthermore, fear is an important medium for activating the transformation ritual. You must find 4 sources of fear for the formation. (Scare 4 survivors, making them fall into a state of Real Fear once. The formation will automatically draw their fear)'
Ricky understood that the missing component of the formation was the material stolen by Leo Beck's son—the Evil Voodoo Mask that Caleb just found.
As for the step of scaring the survivors… "That shouldn't be difficult."
Afterward, he wandered around the basement again and noticed four oddly shaped high-backed chairs placed inside. These chairs all had timing devices and electrical wires connected to their backs. "I wonder what these are for?"
In the southwest direction of the Military Factory, Hard Candy Hank and his girlfriend, Sweet Candy Sky, had already found the arched escape gate and were now preparing to return and rendezvous with Caleb and Ginger.
Outside a ruined house, Sweet Candy Sky discovered a strange high-backed chair. This chair had a timing device and electrical wires connected to its back. "Is this an electric chair? An execution tool for death row inmates in America?"
Hard Candy Hank, suffering from 'Soul Weakness' and feeling dispirited, went over to inspect it. Finally, he sat down on the chair and experienced it thoroughly.
"Idiot!" Earlier, when she heard her boyfriend say he rushed over to save her, Sweet Candy Sky felt a warmth in her heart. She then reflected on whether she had been too harsh on her boyfriend in the past. But now, she felt that having such thoughts was completely idiotic. People like Hard Candy Hank deserved a few more 'disciplining' iron fists to teach him a lesson.
Caw caw!
Just then, a crow, flying from who knew where, landed on the top of the chair's backrest, cawing hoarsely. "A crow? This looks like an ominous sign, go away, go away…" Hard Candy Hank, fidgeting, stood on the chair, tiptoed, and reached out to shoo away the noisy crow.
"Honestly, can't you be more mature?" Sweet Candy Sky watched her boyfriend's clumsy actions, and the veins on her forehead twitched again.
However, just then, a charred, rotten hand slowly extended from the side of that chair.
"?"
Sweet Candy Sky's attention was drawn to this hand. The hand pressed against the edge of the chair's backrest and began to move upwards, crawling with its five fingers, aiming directly at Hard Candy Hank's back.
"Hmph! Playing tricks." Sweet Candy Sky was much braver than her boyfriend. She believed that the "ghost" was a living person playing tricks behind the scenes. "Dare to bully my person? Have you asked me first?!" Just like a child hates others touching their beloved toy, Sweet Candy Sky believed that only she could bully her boyfriend. If anyone else dared to touch him, the consequences would be severe!
So, she walked straight forward and reached out directly to grab that 'perverted hand'.
This grab, however, caught nothing but air. Sweet Candy Sky's hand scraped against the hard back of the chair, hurting her. And that charred hand, after its intention was discovered, immediately retracted behind the chair's backrest as if stung by a bee.
Sweet Candy Sky was not one to give up easily and quickly followed the hand around to the back of the chair. But there was nothing behind the chair.
"Hmm?" Sweet Candy Sky noticed two black footprints on the ground. 'Someone was clearly standing in this position just now.' She chased around to the back of the chair, taking no more than a second. In less than a second, the other party disappeared without a trace? Was this… teleportation?
"This is really a bit spooky." Sweet Candy Sky found it hard to understand.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Just then, Hard Candy Hank's voice came from above her head. Sweet Candy Sky looked up and saw her boyfriend casually leaning on the top of the chair's backrest, and on his left shoulder, a charred, ferocious ghost face was also casually leaning there.
Seeing Sweet Candy Sky look over, the ghost face glared at her fiercely and mouthed the word 'bitch'. Sweet Candy Sky's composure was truly remarkable; such a bizarre scene didn't even scare her.
"Watch out! To your left!" Sweet Candy Sky quickly shouted a reminder. Her boyfriend reacted quite quickly, turning his head immediately upon hearing her. The ghost face once again vanished into thin air.
Immediately afterward, a sharp shriek of 'wah' was heard. This time, a charred figure emerged from the front of the high-backed chair, extending both hands, and pounced towards Sweet Candy Sky like a zombie from a movie.
This sudden shift in position caught Sweet Candy Sky off guard, coupled with the intense aura of tension as the other party charged towards her. Sweet Candy Sky really couldn't hold it together this time.
"Eee~ ya ya ya!!"