I picked up a boyfriend in the infinite game

A dim light bulb hung from the rafters of the dilapidated house, and the power cord swayed in the wind, casting shadows that stretched and shortened across the communal sleeping area.

When Song Guicheng opened his eyes, the first thing he smelled was the scent of straw mixed with mildew. The bedding beneath him was hard and the rough stitches were chafing against his skin. It was the dilapidated house where the players lived.

He moved his fingers, and a numb, heavy feeling came from his fingertips, as if they were filled with lead. His head was still dizzy, and his temples were throbbing, a sequela of excessive blood loss.

Song Guicheng slowly turned to the side and saw that his left arm was wrapped in thick gauze. The white gauze was stained with light red blood, indicating that it had been bandaged recently. The technique was meticulous and the bandage was tight. He could feel the coolness of the ointment seeping through the gauze, relieving the burning pain of the wound.

"woke up?"

Shi Sui's voice came from the side.

Song Guicheng looked up and saw several people huddled around the large communal bed in the small, dilapidated room, where even their breathing was clearly audible.

He slowly sat up and leaned against the cold wall, his long white hair falling over his shoulders, covered with bits of straw, but he didn't care.

Shi Sui sat on the wooden stool closest to him, a cigarette dangling from his lips. When he saw him open his eyes, he raised an eyebrow and tossed him a candy: "Have a candy first to replenish your sugar levels. You've lost a lot of blood, kid."

Song Guicheng reached out and caught the candy. The crisp sound of his fingertips touching the candy wrapper brought him back to a sense of reality.

He tore open the candy wrapper, popped it into his mouth, and the minty sweetness slid down his throat, slightly masking the metallic taste in his mouth.

Chen Wenyu stood behind Shi Sui and walked quickly to Song Guicheng's side, his eyes red: "Brother Guicheng, you're finally awake!"

Shi Sui stretched her arms: "He insisted on rushing out to find you just now, and I almost missed him. Tsk, how come you're not usually this strong?"

Chen Wenyu adjusted his glasses, looking embarrassed.

Song Guicheng reached out his uninjured hand and patted Chen Wenyu, comforting him, "It's okay, I'm back, don't worry."

Zhao Xiaoyun stood by the window, watching Song Guicheng and Chen Wenyu's interaction. Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions: wariness, suspicion, and a touch of emotion. She asked, "How are you feeling? Is your head still spinning?"

Lin Caiwen and Su Xiao stood by the table. Lin Caiwen had a first-aid kit next to her, which was obviously the one she used to bandage Song Guicheng. Seeing that he was awake, she said, "You lost a lot of blood, so don't move around for now. I've given you some hemostatic medicine. You should be fine after I change the dressing again tomorrow."

Liu Qinggen and Zhou Fang stood at the back, their eyes filled with curiosity, but they didn't go forward, still maintaining their indifferent attitude.

Song Guicheng glanced at his watch; it was just past six o'clock.

It had only been a little over twenty minutes since he and Shi Sui returned to the clinic together.

In other words, the long time he spent fighting against nothingness and climbing towards the statue of Wuzhi in that dark space was but a fleeting moment in the real-world instance, where time stood still.

This discovery made him frown slightly; that space was indeed a hidden space within the instance, and even the flow of time was different from that outside.

Song Guicheng rubbed his temples and asked, "Where did you find me?"

Shi Sui said, "We were in a panic at the entrance of the ancestral hall when Xiao Hua rushed in and grabbed my trouser leg to lead me outside. If it weren't for your daughter and us, you would still be bleeding profusely right now."

Mentioning Xiaohua, Song Guicheng's heart tightened. He reached into his pocket, his fingertips touching Xiaohua's soft paper skirt. Xiaohua was curled up in his pocket, seemingly exhausted, motionless, but not stiff, proving she was alright. Song Guicheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did you end up fainting at the entrance of the ancestral hall?" Shi Sui casually tossed away the unlit cigarette, her tone becoming more serious. "We had only been inside the clinic for a couple of seconds when we turned around and you were nowhere to be seen. Xiao Wenyu almost burst into tears."

Chen Wenyu had calmed down considerably and nodded, saying, "Yes, Brother Guicheng, we called you several times but didn't respond. The alley outside the clinic was dark, and I was worried something had happened to you..."

Seeing their worried expressions, Song Guicheng felt a warmth in his heart. He remained silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

The matters concerning Wu Zhi, Song Yujie, and Eternity and Nothingness must never be revealed; they are entities beyond the rules of the instance. Revealing them would not only cause panic among the players but could also introduce even more dangerous variables. However, he cannot remain completely silent either, given his sudden disappearance and subsequent return injured; he must provide them with a reasonable explanation.

“It was Xiaohua.” Song Guicheng said calmly, “She suddenly ran out of the pocket and ran towards the ancestral hall. I followed her and when I got to the entrance of the ancestral hall, my foot suddenly slipped and I fell into a hidden compartment.”

He deliberately simplified the process, only mentioning the hidden compartment and avoiding the dark space and the statues. "There were many vengeful spirits inside. I was injured while fighting them, and then I passed out and don't know what happened to me."

This statement isn't entirely false; it explains both the reason for the disappearance and the cause of the injury, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Sure enough, everyone nodded after hearing this. Lin Caiwen frowned and said, "There is indeed a problem near the ancestral hall. I felt that there was a lot of yin energy there when I saw the photos before, but I didn't expect there to be so many vengeful spirits."

Su Xiao chimed in, "Are those vengeful spirits related to the residents?"

Shi Sui wasn't entirely convinced. He knew Song Guicheng too well; this guy always reported good news and never bad. There must be some details he hadn't mentioned. But he didn't expose him. Instead, he took a key out of his pocket and tossed it to Song Guicheng: "Look at this. When we found you, you were clutching it tightly in your hand, and we couldn't pry it open."

Song Guicheng reached out and took the key, feeling the rough texture of rust on his palm.

It was an old brass key, about the length of his index finger, covered with dark red rust, and with blackened bloodstains on the edges, probably from the wound on his wrist.

The key had a peculiar shape, with spiral teeth like a screwdriver. A blurry pattern was engraved on the handle, which, upon closer inspection, bore a resemblance to the starry totem on the tattered piece of paper in his pocket.

As soon as the key appeared, everyone in the room turned their attention to it.

Liu Qinggen couldn't help but take two steps forward and reach out to take a look, but Shi Sui glared at him and stopped him: "Don't touch it. This is Gui Cheng's stuff. You can only touch it if he agrees."

Liu Qinggen awkwardly withdrew his hand, but greed was still hidden in his eyes. In the world of Soul Tracing, such things are mostly key items, and might even be able to leave the instance directly.

Song Guicheng held the key, his fingertips tracing the patterns on the handle. The scene before he fainted flashed through his mind. As he crawled toward the statue, he heard a soft "clang," as if something had fallen off the statue.

He was almost unconscious at the time and didn't have time to look closely. Now that I think about it, it must have been this key that fell from the base of the Wuzhi statue and was unconsciously clutched in his hand.

The key that fell from the statue of the sorcerer... what can it unlock?

Countless guesses flashed through his mind: the ancestral hall? Li Laosan's house? Or the clinic?

He couldn't be sure, but he knew that this key was definitely not that simple. It was most likely the key to unlocking the ultimate secret of the dungeon, and might even be related to awakening Wu Zhi.

"This key... was it brought out from the hidden compartment?" Lin Caiwen couldn't help but ask, her eyes fixed on the key in Song Guicheng's hand.

"Ah."

Song Guicheng responded, put away the key, and placed it in his inner pocket, next to the tattered piece of paper.

He looked up at everyone and said calmly, "This key was in the corner of a hidden compartment. I had it in my hand before I passed out. I don't know yet what it can open."

He didn't mention the similarity between the patterns and the totem, nor did he mention the correspondence between the key and the paper; these were his secrets, not to be easily revealed.

The players were wary of each other, unsure if the others were truly cooperating, especially Liu Qinggen and Zhou Fang. Given their greedy demeanor just now, who knows what tricks they might pull if they knew the importance of the key?

Shi Sui saw through his thoughts and smoothed things over for him: "Who cares what it can open, just put it away first. You just woke up on the way back and need to rest. We can discuss it tomorrow."

As he spoke, he stood up and waved to the others, "Everyone, go away and hurry up and wash up. It's time to go to bed soon. Don't crowd here, the air isn't circulating."

Liu Qinggen wanted to say something, but Zhou Fang pulled his arm, so he had no choice but to follow her reluctantly. Lin Caiwen and Su Xiao also told Song Guicheng to take a rest and went to pack his medicine box. Soon, only Shi Sui, Chen Wenyu and Song Guicheng were left in the room.

"Stop pretending," Shi Sui said, sitting on the wooden stool without moving, raising an eyebrow. "There must be more than just vengeful spirits in that hidden compartment, right? You would never get hurt over something as trivial as this."

He knew Song Guicheng too well. His five senses were sharp, and he was skilled in martial arts. Ordinary vengeful spirits couldn't hurt him at all, let alone make him lose too much blood and faint.

Chen Wenyu nodded, also sensing something was amiss: "Brother Guicheng, are you hiding something from us?"

Song Guicheng looked at them, knowing he couldn't hide it from these two friends who had gone through many dungeons together.

He remained silent for a moment before finally relenting, but still didn't mention Wu Zhi and Song Yujie. He only said, "There is a statue in the hidden compartment, filled with resentment. The key fell from the statue. As for the rest, I can't say now. I'll tell you after I figure out the purpose of the key."

He paused, then looked at Shi Sui: "Let's check tomorrow if there are any places in this instance that are unlocked with a spiral key, especially near the ancestral hall."

Shi Sui patted his shoulder with a smile: "Don't worry, I'll take care of this. But you'd better take good care of your injuries and don't suddenly disappear again. Little Wen Yu will never stop crying."

Song Guicheng nodded, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. The key and the paper in his pocket were still slightly warm, as if reminding him that everything in that space was not a dream. He had really seen Wu Zhi's statue, really fought against the void, and obtained this key that led to an unknown destination.

The wind was still blowing outside the window, making the wooden door of the dilapidated house creak.

Song Guicheng held the key in his pocket, feeling the warmth of the rust on his fingertips, but he felt incredibly at peace.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window toward the ancestral hall, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

The key has been found; now it's time to unlock it.