North Brook District, moderate rain, feels like 19°C.
Everywhere the eyes could see was shrouded in gloom.
A brand-new luxury high-performance Subaru Impreza drove through the rain, scattering puddles across the road.
Inside the car, Du Wei sat in the driver's seat, while an opened medical record sat on the passenger seat.
The record contained the following information:
April 19, Saturday, 15:35.
Name: Alex
Sex: Female
Age: 26
Condition: Extremely severe anxiety leading to hallucinations and auditory delusions—specifically manifesting as unknowingly causing destruction of external environments, such as: tables, chairs, televisions, computers, cosmetics, etc... and the fantasy that everything is being controlled by some mysterious force.
Prescribed medication: Flupenthixol Melitracen Tablets
Recommendations: None at the moment
...
Beep...
The call connected.
"Du... Dr. Du Wei?"
"Yes, Miss Alex, hello."
"What can I do for you?"
"You had scheduled a psychiatric consultation last week. My house is currently being renovated, so I was planning to visit your home for a follow-up to understand your current situation."
"That's quite unexpected, I'm at home right now, you can come over anytime, by the way, have you had your meal?"
"Not yet, I'll be there shortly."
...
Ten minutes later.
Furman District.
A Caucasian security guard stopped Du Wei.
"Hey, sir, this is an upscale community, no unauthorized personnel allowed."
He approached the driver's door of the Subaru Impreza and knocked on the window.
"I am Dr. Du Wei, a psychiatrist from North Brook District. I'm here for a follow-up visit at the invitation of Miss Alex."
Du Wei pressed the window switch and handed his psychiatric license to the guard.
"Miss Alex's psychiatrist? Please wait, I need to make a phone call to confirm."
With that, the Caucasian security guard stepped into the booth and dialed Alex's number.
Shortly after, the security guard gave an okay sign through the glass, and the electric barrier slowly rose, clearing the way.
Du Wei gently pressed the accelerator and coasted into Furman District.
Glancing around, all the houses were detached homes, not the usual apartment blocks found in other communities.
In the North Brook area, such a house would probably cost more than 700,000.
Without a doubt, Alex was a very wealthy woman.
But for Du Wei, this woman was trouble…
...
Thump thump thump...
After parking the car, Du Wei came to the front door of Alex's house and knocked...
The next second.
The sound of the door lock turning echoed.
"Dr. Du Wei, thank you so much for coming to see me in such terrible weather. Please come in."
Behind the door stood a very fashionable woman with shoulder-length silver hair, her face brimming with excitement. She had a great figure, wearing an oversized sweatshirt that inadvertently outlined her beautiful curves. She seemed to be wearing some sort of ultra-short skirt because it was covered by the large sweatshirt, leaving only her smooth, pale, and perfectly straight legs visible.
"Hello, Miss Alex."
Du Wei nodded, greeted her, and took a subtle glance around the room.
Um...
The decoration was very luxurious, all high-end products.
Tables, sofas, flooring, home appliances, they all spelled luxury and expense.
Du Wei even noticed that the clock hanging on the wall was an antique from the last century, priceless.
However, the hour hand was always stuck at two o'clock, as if it were broken.
Alex curled her lips and said, "Dr. Du Wei, I would prefer you to call me by my name rather than 'lady.' It makes me feel like our relationship is more like friends."
After a minute of silence, Du Wei complied, "Okay, Alex."
"That's more like it, Du Wei."
Dispensing with the formalities, Alex welcomed Du Wei in and had him sit on the sofa.
"Would you like something to drink? A soda? Coffee? Or perhaps some red wine? I still have two bottles of Musigny Winery's grand cru in my cellar. Would you like some?"
Du Wei politely replied, "Coffee will be fine."
"Sure," Alex said with a tender smile, her slender waist twisting as she headed toward the kitchen.
Watching her leave, Du Wei started to feel a headache coming on.
As a rather famous psychologist in North Brook District, Alex had sought him out on the 19th of last month. It started as an ordinary psychological consultation, but this woman seemed to have taken an interest in him.
Frankly speaking, Du Wei knew he was handsome, and his unique experiences from childhood made him quite distinct.
When he graduated, his mentor had given him this evaluation: reclusive, rational, and always capable of keeping his cool. Rather than a psychologist, he seemed more suited for criminal investigation.
To others, terms like reclusive, rational, and calm often signified a certain charisma.
Good looks, money, charm.
All of these factors were lethal attractions for women.
But Du Wei had no interest in her. The relationship between doctor and patient made it difficult for him to enter into any further association.
So previously, he had maintained a cold demeanor toward Alex, who was an even wealthier individual.
His decision to meet with her today was certainly not for any simple reasons.
Du Wei had seriously analyzed his situation; to restore the balance between the two Evil Spirits, he needed to introduce a new force—the third Evil Spirit.
He had searched online for a long time for incidents involving Evil Spirits in the Brook Area, which were not as common as he had expected; perhaps the authorities were at work, hiding certain information.
After reviewing the case of the deceased Ms. Aisha, Du Wei turned his attention to his own patient records.
He suspected that many of the individuals in the files who believed they had encountered Evil Spirits were telling the truth.
However, some of them were either too dangerous or too far away for him to approach.
Therefore, after careful selection, Du Wei set his sights on Alex.
At that moment, Alex returned with a coffee pot and some pastries.
"Imported coffee beans from Ethiopia. I think you'll like them," she said.
As she poured coffee into Du Wei's cup, Alex looked at him and said, "If you have time later, we could have dinner together. There is a high-end restaurant nearby where I'm a VIP member."
Du Wei shook his head and slowly said, "No need, let's get to the point. Alex, how have you been feeling recently? Do you still occasionally have hallucinations or destroy things in your home?"
Alex sat down, thought for a moment, and replied, "No, there hasn't been any. Since our last meeting, my symptoms have lessened a lot. It's been several days now without any hallucinations."
With a slight smile, she added, "I've been taking my medication on schedule, as you instructed. You are a very reassuring man."
Du Wei automatically filtered out her flattery, faintly furrowing his brows before speaking, "Okay, then besides that, how is your sleep pattern? If I remember correctly from last time, you told me that after midnight, the pain from your hallucinations made it nearly impossible for you to sleep."
Alex nodded, "Yes, at that time, no matter how much sleeping medication I took, I would wake up promptly after midnight. I started to suspect I was experiencing some kind of supernatural event beyond my understanding."
Continuing, she said, "As for my sleep habits, everything is normal now. Every day at two o'clock sharp in the afternoon, I take a nap and then wake up at four."