Heidi felt a surge of surprise upon meeting her new patient, an elf!

She rarely treated elven patients—not just her as a psychiatrist, but most doctors of all kinds generally didn't interact with elves.

This was because the elven race possessed a physical endowment that other races could only envy. In addition to their long lifespans, they rarely fell ill. Most of the time, they were unbelievably healthy, able to survive well in various harsh conditions. Along with their healthy bodies, their minds were often quite resilient.

Perhaps to adapt to their overly long lifespans, elves possessed extremely stable mental states, not quite on par with the "stone hearts" of the Senjin people, but still significantly stronger than humans!

It was precisely because of these innate advantages that many outstanding adventurers in history were of elven blood. They were good at and dared to operate in the "border" seas, able to survive and return from those dangerous mists and illusions. Today, nearly two-thirds of the countless seaborne city-states near the "Eternal Veil" were established by elven pioneers, the most famous of which was Lightwind Harbor, also known as the City of Adventure!

In Heidi's career as a psychiatrist, she had almost never heard of an elf developing psychological problems!

Of course, mortals always had weaknesses. Even the elves, with their "innate gifts," were no exception. Even long-lived elves treated those distant advantages as something they or their parents had experienced as children—as "insignificant trifles."

Even now, the elves' divine abandonment, their constitution, still existed. Many of their ancient families, while accepting the teachings of the Wisdom God, Rahm, still maintained many mysterious and traditional "heretical beliefs." But this did not prevent them from being a vital part of today's civilized world!

In fact, due to their extremely high attainments in mathematics and mechanics, coupled with their deep connection to the Wisdom God, Rahm, elves already held a pivotal position in this age of "steam and electricity."

In any case, in this era, no one incessantly discussed elves anymore. No one discussed their heretical beliefs, which had persisted among the common people, or their constitution, unblessed by the three gods!

A delicate incense burner was lit, and a calming fragrance gradually spread around the bedside. In the diffusing aroma, the elven girl on the bed seemed to relax her brow slightly!

Heidi bent down, held open the girl's eyelids, and slowly waved a faintly glowing amethyst crystal in front of her eyes.

"You are still trapped in a dream, where tense and uneasy emotions have woven a self-protective cage. But you need help now, so you will leave a key to someone you are willing to trust. This person you deeply trust will appear in your dream, helping you to fight those things that frighten you, or helping you find an exit from the dream…"

Compared to humans, elves matured slowly, learned at a slower pace, and their overly resilient mental states made them difficult to be blessed by divine power.

Apart from the power of the Wisdom God, which could take effect normally, many people had speculated on what factors caused the elves' "difficult to be divinely protected" constitution. After all, the Senjin people also had high mental resilience, but did not have this negative trait of "weakened protection." Among the many speculations, one theory was widely circulated: the ancient and stubborn heretical worship in elven traditional culture led to their being abandoned by the gods. Only the Wisdom God, because he was the "protector of all rational beings," was willing to show them mercy!

Historically… in the "Dark Ages" before the opening of the New City-State Era, and in the Old City-State Era, the elves' "god-forsaken" constitution, coupled with the natural prejudice between different races, had even triggered many bloody conflicts. But eventually, the elves discovered that steam rifles and high explosives allowed them to reach a mutual understanding with the various races of the mortal world!

After that, these long-lived and broad-minded races generously accepted the human and Senjin reconciliation signals.

And peacefully coexisted with the descendants of those short-lived races until today!

Heidi came to the bedside, probed the elven girl's breath, checked her heartbeat, then opened her medicine kit and methodically placed various medicines and devices on a small table next to her.

Those conflicts and dark advantages had been transformed into history. Short-lived humans and Senjin could only learn about the stories of their ancestors from books. Swaying the crystal slowly, accompanied by the gradually rising incense smoke, she whispered softly in the girl's ear in a tone that seemed to contain magic!

As a psychiatrist, she had many means to help her patients. In the normal diagnosis and treatment process, she was naturally good at using questionnaires and psychological cues to confirm the patient's mental state and provide targeted guidance.

But when things were not so normal, she also had many effective techniques! These effective techniques included bludgeons, gold needles, and gunpowder, as well as tranquilizing incense, magic potions, and ritual crystals!

After all, being a psychiatrist was a dangerous profession. She usually had to deal with more than just students and office workers suffering from insomnia and stress. She also had to deal with filth that jumped out of her patients' dreams and "imaginations"!

Heidi continued to speak softly. At the same time, she noticed that a faint silver glow had begun to appear in the depths of the elven girl's pupils. This was a sign that the blessing of the Wisdom God, Rahm, had begun to take effect.

Fortunately, although the elven race had a "god-forsaken" constitution, they could still normally receive Rahm's blessing, which made Heidi, a follower of the Wisdom God, much more at ease!

"You left a door, a door that is very close to you. You have already prepared the key to open the door and given it to the person who will help you. Now you are hiding in a safe place, quietly waiting for that door to open.

You are at ease because you know that only the being you trust most will walk in through that door…" Heidi said softly, and accompanied by her last words, the elven girl's breathing obviously became long and steady!

This was temporary! But Heidi had already prepared for the next "treatment"!

She quickly left the elven girl's side, took the amethyst pendant she had just used to hypnotize her, and lay down on an empty bed next to her!

She held the amethyst crystal she had received from her father tightly, softly recited the prayers of the Wisdom God, Rahm, and slowly closed her eyes!

After a moment, she opened her eyes and sat up with some confusion!

She had not successfully sunk into any dream—had the hypnosis not worked?

Heidi got out of bed, cautiously confirmed the surrounding environment, and then walked to the elven girl's bed. After repeatedly checking for a long time, and performing two more futile hypnoses, Heidi found that she could not connect to this elven girl's dream at all!

A sense of frustration surged into her heart!

She stayed frustrated by the bedside for a while, quietly pondering other alternative treatment options. After an unknown amount of time, she sighed, stretched her slightly sore neck and shoulder joints, and got up to walk towards the ward door!

But before she touched that door, footsteps had already come from outside, followed by the sound of a key turning. With the handle turning, the civil affairs office worker in dark blue uniform opened the ward door!

"Miss Heidi, how is the situation?"

The staff member seemed to have been waiting in the "safe area" outside for a long time, and was now asking about the progress of the treatment with some nervousness!

"It hasn't had any effect yet. Conventional hypnosis methods have failed. I may need to prepare some more effective rituals or magic potions," Heidi shook her head regretfully, while raising her hand to re-hang the amethyst pendant on her chest, and then picked up her heavy briefcase.

"I have to go back and think carefully about the next treatment plan."

"Well! I'm sure you've tried your best this time too," the staff member sighed, saying with understanding, "Other psychiatrists have tried before, but none have been able to break through this patient's dream, because the situation is too strange.

The priests sent by the church are very worried that this is some kind of strange mental pollution brought about by the solar fire, and are very concerned about this matter… But there's nothing they can do. Even an expert like you finds it tricky, so it seems we can't rush things!"

"Do you need us to arrange a vehicle to take you back?"

The staff member asked politely! "No need, my car is parked outside!" Heidi shook her head! "Okay, then I won't see you off. Just return the way you came—I'll go and check on the patient's condition!"

Heidi hummed in agreement, gave the staff member a friendly smile, then turned and walked towards the long, deep corridor outside!

Behind her, the staff member in the blue uniform also turned and walked towards the elven girl who was still asleep!

Footsteps sounded behind her, currently about five meters away!

Heidi silently lifted the dark compartment at the bottom of her briefcase, then turned around expressionlessly and pulled the trigger! Bang… The bullet pierced through the heart of the blue-uniformed figure from behind, bursting open a hazy mist of blood.