Chapter 11 A Chance Encounter

Dunkin, with Nina and Shirley, ran out of an emergency exit on the west side of the museum. When the fresh air and bright sunlight appeared together, Shirley was the first to cheer: "Yay! We got out!" Dunkin glanced at the girl, but before he could say anything, he suddenly felt the young lady on his back stir slightly—stimulated by the fresh air and the bumpy ride, she had finally woken up.

Dunkin quickly found a place nearby and gently lowered her to the ground.

Heidi groggily woke up.

Pain. Her forehead felt like it had been hit with a brick. Then came the discomfort in her lungs from inhaling a small amount of smoke. These were Heidi's initial sensations as she gradually regained consciousness. Then, she suddenly opened her eyes and coughed violently.

After a great deal of confusion and violent coughing, she finally realized that she had been rescued—she was somewhere outside the museum, surrounded by bright sunlight and fresh air, and there were several figures in front of her. "You're awake," Nina said, squatting down beside the young lady, looking at Heidi with concern as she opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the surrounding light. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"My head hurts… Did you save me?" Heidi's eyes finally focused and adjusted to the bright outdoor light. She quickly assessed the situation and recognized the two young girls in front of her. "Ah, it's you two…"

"You know us?" Shirley asked, startled.

"I don't know you, but I remember seeing you in the museum," Heidi said, shaking her head as she sat up and looked around. "Cough, cough… Where am I…"

"You were knocked unconscious. Shirley and I dragged you to a safe place, and then my uncle rushed into the fire to rescue people and brought you out as well," Nina said quickly. "You're safe now."

"Uncle… Ah, is that this gentleman? Thank you…" Heidi's gaze quickly fell on Dunkin. Then, as she spoke, she tried to stand up, seemingly wanting to bow in gratitude, but she almost fell again before she could complete the motion.

Dunkin steadied her. "You're welcome."

"Thank you," Heidi said weakly, standing up, bowing her head in gratitude, and then feeling a wave of lingering fear. "If it weren't for you, I would have been burned to death inside… This fire was terrible… Thank you so much. I don't know how I can…"

"No need for such formalities," Dunkin said, looking at the lady with a smile. "We actually have some connections. Do you know a Mr. Morris?"

Heidi paused, looking at Dunkin with some confusion. "That's my father… Do you know him?"

"That pendant you're wearing," Dunkin said, gesturing to the purple "crystal" pendant on Heidi's chest, "came from my shop."

Heidi looked down at the pendant on her chest, her expression a little dazed. "Huh? Ah?!"

"It's a small world, isn't it?" Dunkin smiled, extending his hand. "Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Dunkin Sterne, I run an antique shop in the lower district. This is my niece, Nina, and this…"

"I'm Shirley!" Shirley said immediately, as if afraid that if she were late, her name would be spoken by some terrifying being and become tainted with a curse or something. "You… just call me Shirley!"

"Heidi Underwood," Heidi said, shaking Dunkin's hand. She still felt a little dizzy, but she was trying to regain her composure. "I'm a mental physician."

"A mental physician?" Dunkin raised his eyebrows slightly. "You're a mental physician?"

"Ah, yes, perhaps I look a little young… but I'm a licensed advanced mental physician," Heidi said rather proudly. Then, she reached into her pocket and rummaged around until she found a crumpled business card. She handed the card to Dunkin with both hands. "This is my business card. If it can be of any use, I'm always willing to provide you with free consultations…"

A licensed advanced mental physician from the upper district… this might actually be someone useful.

Dunkin took the business card and glanced at it. He saw the address of a clinic in the upper district, Heidi's name, license number, and a line of five numbers and letters.

The line of code was annotated: "Swift-mail Code."

Dunkin's gaze lingered slightly on the "Swift-mail Code." He remembered that this seemed to be part of the Prun City postal system, but it was different from ordinary mail. He seemed to have seen facilities in the lower district that were specifically for sending and receiving "swift-mail," but the original owner of this body had no experience with it.

Because it was expensive, the postage was almost ten times that of ordinary mail, and the original owner of this body had no relatives or friends worth contacting urgently at such a high price.

Dunkin only vaguely knew that this special "mail" relied on high-pressure steam pipes and standardized capsule containers to achieve rapid delivery. It could not only send letters, but also be used to deliver small packages. Even with the manual handling at the end and possible delivery time, it would only take a few hours to send a piece of mail to any corner of the city-state.

How should he put it… he could only sigh that she was indeed an advanced mental physician from the upper district, even accepting consultation appointments used this expensive stuff…

Dunkin sighed inwardly and carefully put away the business card. Then, he suddenly heard Heidi say, "By the way, do you need… post-disaster psychological assessment?"

Dunkin looked at her with confusion. The young mental physician quickly explained: "Of course, it's free—I don't mean anything else, it's just that people's minds are easily affected after an accident, especially in a museum, which has many historical exhibits. Severe mental stress, combined with the influence of certain exhibits… can easily leave shadows on the mental level."

Heidi seemed to be carefully choosing her words, trying to popularize some very professional, high-end, and even somewhat detached "knowledge" to the people in front of her, but she was also worried that this "popularization" would seem offensive, so she tried to make her tone and expression as sincere and gentle as possible. Dunkin saw her efforts in this regard, but what he was thinking about was something else—

He certainly didn't need any psychological assessment. After being the "Captain" for so long, he had a certain understanding of his own special nature. Not to mention the mental stress brought by this fire, even if something crawled out of the deep sea and greeted him, the other side would have to undergo an sC check afterward.

As for Shirley… did this female warrior, who could fight abyssal demons and cultists for three hundred rounds, need a psychological assessment? The mental shock she suffered in this whole fire was probably not as great as the shadow left by seeing him kick the door open…

But Nina… Nina might really need the help of a mental physician.

Not just because of today's fire, but also because of her poor mental state these days, and those rather ominous dreams.

This required a professional to handle. His own power was useless in this area. He and Nina had previously discussed going to the church if they had the opportunity, but now that there was a senior mental physician willing to help… why not take advantage of it?

"Nina might need help," Dunkin looked at his "niece" and ruffled her hair. "But not just because of today's fire—she's been having strange dreams lately, and her mental state is very poor." Nina immediately muttered, "Actually, I'm fine…"

"It's free," Heidi said with a smile, pointing to herself. "My usual consultation fee is… Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

She accidentally poked the spot on her head where she had been hit by a brick. It was swollen quite a bit, and she would accidentally touch it.

"That's right, it's free, why not take advantage of it," Shirley, who had been quiet for a while, also joined in the fun. "She still owes us a favor…"

"Then… okay," Nina hesitated for a moment and finally nodded slightly, but then she looked at Heidi with some confusion. "What do you need for a psychological assessment? Can we do it here? Do you need to answer some questions? Or fill out forms?"

"We need at least a quiet environment, and I also need to be in a better state—at least the big lump on my head has to go down a bit," Heidi explained with a smile. "I'm a professional, not like those quack doctors who just ask a few questions and give you a diagnosis report. How about this, tomorrow is a school holiday. If this Miss Nina has time, I'll come to visit in the afternoon—I'll ask my father for your address."

At this point, she paused and gently touched the wound on her forehead again.

"There are sheriffs maintaining order in the square, and there are also medical personnel," Dunkin thought for a moment. "Do you need us to accompany you? Your current state…" As for now, I need to find a place to deal with the wound.

"No, I'm completely awake now," Heidi waved her hand. Then, she looked back at the museum, which was still smoking, and showed a hint of lingering fear and undisguised regret. "Sigh… My rare vacation… is completely ruined."

"A ruined vacation is indeed a bad thing," Dunkin said casually. "But luckily, we just survived a disaster, didn't we?"

"Well… that's true," Heidi said, then sighed again and muttered, "Sigh, I just hope some heretics and mobile antennae are more peaceful, so that at least my next holiday can come sooner… Ah, sorry, I shouldn't complain to strangers, you must be laughing at me."

Dunkin: "……………?"