I picked up a boyfriend in the infinite game

The evening breeze, carrying the dry fragrance of mugwort, dissipated some of the oppressive atmosphere from before.

The setting sun slanted down onto the rooftops at the end of the alley, the sky seemed to be dyed with scrap metal, the dim orange-red slowly blending from overhead to the horizon into light purple, and finally mingling with a touch of pale gray, making the clouds half bright and half dark, and the shadows of everyone were stretched very long.

They had walked most of the way back to the clinic. Zhao Xiaoyun followed slightly behind Song Guicheng, her gaze initially fixed on the shadows on the ground, when she suddenly noticed Song Guicheng's side pocket move. It wasn't a slight sway from the wind; something small was gently tugging inside, causing the fabric to arch slightly.

Her heart tightened, and she subconsciously slowed her pace, her fingertips secretly clenching the hem of her clothes. When she looked closely, she saw a small figure, no bigger than a palm, crawling out from the edge of her pocket.

She was a little girl wearing a light pink dress, with black hair braided into pigtails, the ends of which were adorned with tiny silver powder that shimmered in the setting sun.

Her face was a pale pink, looking a little stiff, with soft eyebrows and eyes. Her arched eyebrows resembled two small willow leaves, and her round eyes were like ink dots, exuding an innocent and naive charm. Her small mouth was pursed into a light red crescent shape, like a doll that had just stepped out of a New Year's painting.

The little figure crawled very slowly, its tiny hands gripping Song Guicheng's clothes, inching its way up his arm. Its body brushed against the fabric without making a sound. When it reached his elbow, it stopped and shook its little head, as if to confirm its direction, before continuing upwards. Finally, it sat steadily on Song Guicheng's shoulder, its little hand gently holding a strand of his white hair, its little head resting against his neck, looking adorable.

Zhao Xiaoyun was so shocked that she held her breath and even breathed softly. She had seen many supernatural things in this dungeon, but this was the first time she had seen one so small and seemingly harmless, especially one that had crawled out of Song Guicheng's pocket. She almost thought that some ghost had possessed Song Guicheng.

"Don't be nervous, we're on the same side." Shi Sui's voice drifted over from the side. Seeing Zhao Xiaoyun's tense expression, he smiled with narrowed eyes. "This is Xiaohua, the 'daughter' of the return journey."

Song Guicheng turned his head and gently touched the little flower on his shoulder with his fingertips, the movement was very light. The little flower immediately looked up and called out clearly in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Mommy."

A faint smile appeared in Song Guicheng's eyes, which softened the solemnity he had been in deep thought.

He explained to Zhao Xiaoyun and Sun Zhida, who turned around at the sound, "She's a prop we got before. We've raised her to this size. She can help us squeeze through narrow gaps and find things hidden in the dark. She's the most suitable person to go to places that are inconvenient for us to touch."

Sun Zhida's gaze lingered on Xiaohua for two seconds. He didn't ask any questions, but simply nodded. He had seen many strange props in the Soul Tracing World, so he wasn't surprised to see a moving little paper figure.

Which player who can break into an A-level dungeon doesn't have some hidden tricks up their sleeve?

Zhao Xiaoyun breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Xiaohua carefully, and saw that she was just obediently leaning against Song Guicheng's neck, her little eyes curiously looking at her, before she asked softly, "She... has been following you?"

"Mmm," Song Guicheng nodded. Xiaohua seemed to understand, and rubbed her little head against his neck again, her slightly resilient cheek pressed against his skin. "Very good."

The sun had completely set, and the light in the alleyway gradually dimmed. The last bit of golden-red light slipped away through the cracks in the blue bricks, and the sky, like cotton cloth soaked in ink, slowly turned grayish-blue. The withered grass hanging from the eaves swayed in the wind, casting shimmering shadows on the wall, like someone's hand hidden in the shadows.

Xiao Hua's light pink paper skirt shimmered faintly in the dim light, and her small figure on Song Guicheng's shoulder became a rare touch of embellishment in this oppressive alley.

Sun Zhida quickened his pace and gestured with his chin toward the health clinic: "We're almost there. Team Leader Lin and the others are probably still waiting for news."

The group quickly stepped into the clinic. A dim light hung in the center of the ceiling, and the swaying wires cast long and short shadows inside.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with a faint herbal scent and a hint of mildew. Scattered on the table were uncapped medicine bottles, a half-open medical record, and an overturned enamel mug with water stains meandering across the surface, clearly indicating a recent chaotic scene.

Lin Caiwen was standing by the table organizing her medicine kit. Her white coat was a little wrinkled, and there was a dark stain on her left cuff, as if someone had splashed medicine on it. A few strands of her hair were messy and stuck to her forehead, but she remained calm, though there was a hint of fatigue in her eyes.

Su Xiao stood beside her, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands. Her hair was messy, her eyes were a little red, and there was a light red scratch on the back of her hand, obviously from a fight with someone. She looked aggrieved and scared.

"You're back." Lin Caiwen looked up and saw them, her tense shoulders relaxing a little. But when her gaze swept over the people behind them, her brows suddenly furrowed, and her tone became somewhat urgent, "Where's Song Guicheng? Wasn't he with you?"

Sun Zhida subconsciously turned around. The door of the clinic was still open, and the alley outside had already darkened. Only a faint light shone from the windows of the distant residents' homes. Where was Song Guicheng?

He paused for a moment, then frowned: "You were just following behind, only a few steps away from the door, why didn't you come in?"

Shi Sui walked to the table, glanced at the water stains on the floor and the overturned water glass, and casually asked, "Team Leader Lin, who did you guys get into a fight with? Look at this mess."

Although he said that, his gaze swept across the doorway, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. Song Guicheng was always cautious and wouldn't fall behind for no reason.

Upon hearing that Song Guicheng was not there, Chen Wenyu immediately panicked and stood on tiptoe to look outside the door: "Where's Brother Guicheng? Could something have happened to him? He was fine on the way back..."

Zhao Xiaoyun pressed his arm, signaling him to calm down, while her gaze fell on Lin Caiwen and Su Xiao, her tone calm: "Tell me first what happened on your side? Did you encounter any disturbances from the residents?"

Lin Caiwen sighed and pointed to the door to the inner room: "Just now, a resident came to get medicine and insisted on taking our antibiotics, saying that they could save his life. When we refused, he started making a scene, overturned the table, and even scratched Su Xiao."

She paused, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes, "This is the second case today. The residents are getting more and more upset, as if we're hiding medicine that can cure the disease."

Su Xiao pursed her lips, her voice slightly choked: "He also said... we, like the previous batches of doctors, were all here to deceive them, and had no intention of saving them at all..."

Just then, Liu Qinggen and Zhou Fang strolled in from outside.

Liu Qinggen stood with his hands in his pockets, his steps slow and his face expressionless. Zhou Fang straightened her clothes, her gaze sweeping over the mess in the room, and said in a flat tone, "Nothing much happened at the supply and marketing cooperative. Someone came to pick up some masks or something, and left after taking them."

Shi Sui raised an eyebrow and glanced at them: "Didn't you hear the commotion at the clinic just now?"

Liu Qinggen scratched his head, speaking as casually as if it were nothing important: "I overheard a bit, but I figured you guys could handle it, and we wouldn't be able to help anyway, and we'd probably just cause trouble."

Zhou Fang chimed in, "Yes, we don't know anything about medicine either, and it wouldn't be good if we made things worse."

As they spoke, there was not a trace of remorse on their faces, as if their act of hiding in the supply and marketing cooperative after hearing the commotion was nothing to mention.

Chen Wenyu had no time to care about them and was still anxious to find Song Guicheng: "No, I have to go find Brother Guicheng!" He was about to rush out the door when Zhao Xiaoyun stopped him.

"Don't be impulsive." Zhao Xiaoyun shook her head, her gaze falling into the darkness outside the door. "Song Guicheng is more vigilant than any of us. If he were really in danger, he would definitely make a sound. The reason he didn't come in might be that he discovered some clues while passing by and went to investigate."

Sun Zhida nodded, walked to the door, and glanced into the depths of the alley. In the time it took to say a few words, the alley was completely dark. The moonlight was dim, and only the shadows of the trees swayed in the wind, like menacing ghosts.

He said in a deep voice, "Let's wait ten minutes. If he hasn't returned by then, we'll go out and look for him. It's dark now, and it's too dangerous to separate abruptly."

Lin Caiwen chimed in, "Yes, let's wait a bit. We can also consolidate today's clues. What did you find when you were registering the patients?"

Shi Sui leaned against the table, finally abandoning his nonchalant demeanor: "The discovery is huge. There's a resident named Li Laosan, and in the kang (heated brick bed) of his house, there's an empty shell of a corpse that looks exactly like him, filled with straw and mud."

Upon hearing this, Lin Caiwen and Su Xiao were stunned, and Liu Qinggen and Zhou Fang also showed surprised expressions. The air in the room instantly became heavy, with only the ceiling light still swaying, making everyone's shadows fragmented.