It was getting dark on the street.

After seeing Morris off and cleaning up the store on the first floor, Duncan finally had time to talk to Nina about what her teacher had said during the home visit.

After all, this was actually the main reason why Mr. Morris came to visit today - although the two of them went off topic while chatting.

"Have you not been able to rest well recently? Or are you feeling unwell?" Duncan asked with concern while spreading butter on a slice of bread at the dining table on the second floor. "I heard from your teacher that you have been in this condition for several days."

Nina was obviously a little nervous. She probably guessed that the teacher would definitely bring up these things today, but until recently, she had never thought that her Uncle Duncan would really start to pay attention to her situation in school. She felt a strange feeling of being cared for and uneasy. "I just feel a little...sleepy."

"It seems that what Mr. Morris said is true," Duncan carefully observed Nina's expression, "Is it a physical reason? Or is it because of something else? If you have any concerns, you can tell me."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, at your age, there may be things you don't want to tell an adult like me. This is normal because you are growing up and you have an independent personality and your own ideas, which should be respected. But you still have to remember that it is not shameful to seek help when you encounter difficulties. If there is something I can help with, you can tell me and we can find a solution together."

He tried his best to make his words sound reliable and friendly, which was not easy because he had never had a blood relative of this age to take care of before, but he had some experience in dealing with students, so this time he talked to Nina based on his experience in dealing with adolescent students - he thought his attitude was gentle and reliable enough.

"I... I'm really fine, really!" Nina seemed a little uncomfortable with such a kind uncle, but deep down she had no objection. She waved her hands vigorously and met Duncan's gaze. "I just feel sleepy lately. I always wake up when I sleep, and sometimes I even dream."

"Dream?" Duncan frowned, and suddenly thought of something, "Nightmare? Could it be that I dreamed about the fire when I was a child?"

Perhaps because he was paying attention to the sun fragments and the unsolved case eleven years ago, he suddenly thought of this matter subconsciously, but Nina shook her head: "No, it's not from childhood."

"What is that?"

"I always dream... I dream that I am standing in a very high place, like a tower in the city, and the blocks below my feet are pitch black, with ruins and ashes everywhere," Nina recalled and said slowly, "The ruins and ashes are like a huge scar, extending from the center of the lower city all the way to the cross block, and then to the edge of the upper city. It seems to tear the city apart. It's terrible. I am trapped in that very high place. I want to leave, but I am blocked by an invisible wall..."

Nina recalled and suddenly shook her head gently: "The scene in my dreams is always like this. If you want to say it's scary... Actually, there is nothing scary, and there is no danger approaching. I just watched the city being crushed by something and a scar was left. Then I was trapped in the same place and couldn't move. Every time I woke up, I would feel very tired, and I would start to feel sleepy in class the next day..."

Duncan listened carefully to the girl's description and slowly frowned.

What Nina described... was certainly not the fire she experienced in her childhood, nor was it the scene that Duncan remembered in his mind.

It was more like a static "display", showing her the scene presented by Plande in an unknown time and space.

If this were on Earth, Duncan would have simply regarded this as a strange dream that kept recurring, but in this strange and unusual world, he couldn't help but feel alert.

First, Nina somehow remembered a fire that existed only in her and Duncan's minds, and then she had continuous strange dreams that seemed like "omen".

"When did you start having these dreams?" Duncan asked seriously.

"About a week or two ago? Or maybe even earlier... I can't remember." Nina took a sip of vegetable soup and her voice was a little unclear. "I didn't pay much attention to it at the time..."

After hearing this, Duncan wanted to say "You should have said it earlier", but he suddenly remembered that Nina's "uncle" was still a bad guy who was addicted to cult activities and alcohol, and she had no reliable person to talk to, so he swallowed his words and said, "Have you consulted a professional? For example, a doctor?"

Nina looked up. "You mean the psychiatrist?"

"Yes, psychiatrist." Duncan thought about it and nodded immediately.

In this world, "psychiatrist" is an indispensable profession, because there are too many things in the night and the deep sea that are eyeing the city-state covetously. Ordinary people's minds are affected by these auras and are very likely to have problems of varying sizes - nightmares, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, cognitive deviations, and even personality disorders. These diseases plague many people, so much so that the world's treatment technology in related fields has developed to an incredible level - the most brilliant psychiatrists will even use extraordinary powers to correct distorted minds.

Nina's frequent strange dreams should also be a "symptom" that these psychiatrists are concerned about.

"I haven't yet," Nina said sullenly, "Their consultation fee is very expensive... I just had some weird dreams."

"But these strange dreams have begun to affect your life," Duncan said seriously. "Continuously dreaming of such strange scenes may be a dangerous sign. You should have learned this in school."

As he said this, he was also thinking rapidly in his mind - there must be something wrong with Nina's continuous strange dreams. In any case, since he was already living in a strange and abnormal world, he had to be vigilant about the "elements" of these extraordinary realms. However, he himself was a layman in theory, so he had to find some professionals for this matter.

Coincidentally, he also wanted to find an opportunity to get in touch with "professionals" in civilized society and see how they deal with events that may involve the supernatural.

Nina was still obviously hesitant, but in front of Duncan's serious expression, she finally gave in: "Then...then we can go to the community church on the weekend and ask the Deep Sea Pastor there to do a blessing. It will cost very little. If it doesn't work, we can find a specialized psychiatrist to see, okay?"

Church? Deep sea priests? Priests who believe in the storm goddess Gemona?

Duncan's heart moved, and he suddenly felt that this was also a good idea - he was also very interested in the priests who served the gods.

"Okay, that's settled then," he nodded immediately, "You happen to be going to the museum on the weekend, so when you come back we can go to the church as well."

"Um!"

After dinner, Nina returned to her room early as usual. Duncan also returned to his room and saw Ai lying lazily on the windowsill.

The pigeon flew outside for a day and came back with nothing.

Duncan closed the door and walked towards the window. The pigeon lazily raised its wings to greet its owner after seeing him, making a nagging sound: "Destroy it, hurry up, I'm tired..."

"You've worked really hard." Duncan knew that the bird was exhausted after a day's work when he saw its half-dead appearance. He stepped forward and untied the "cultist sensor" on the pigeon's back, while comforting it, "This is indeed not that easy. After all, they are hiding very deep, and the Deep Sea Church has been keeping a close eye on them recently. They will definitely be more cautious..."

The pigeon raised its eyelids, shook its wings, and continued to lie there motionless.

Duncan was immediately amused when he saw it: "Even so, we still have to do it in the future... Of course, flying all day is a bit too intense, so I will arrange a balance between work and rest for you."

He decided to treat the search for the cultists in the city as a long-term task at this stage. Although after making a "big deal" today, he was no longer so pressed for money and did not have to rely on "hunting" to supplement his family income, but troublemaking for those cultists was still meaningful.

On the one hand, doing so might allow him to catch big fish among the cultists and satisfy his own intelligence needs - higher-level priests must know more secrets about the "Sun" and may also know more information about the sun fragments from eleven years ago, which is exactly what Duncan is paying attention to.

On the other hand, there is a seemingly wild extraordinary dog ​​Lolita active in the city-state. She is also constantly causing trouble for the Sun Cultists, and she may also know some secrets of the extraordinary world. Duncan wants to try his luck and see if he can talk to her about the Deep Sea and the Deep Demons again - after talking with Morris, he is now very curious about the "starry sky" above the Deep Sea.

Noticing the serious expression on Duncan's face and realizing that he would be forced to work overtime in the future, Ai sighed in a very humane way.

"Alas..." the bird's tone was full of sorrow, "a sadly thick barrier has been built between us..."

Duncan: "...You have quite a rich vocabulary!"