Ai Yu's group encountered a strange incident at Lily's house yesterday, no matter what the purpose of that lady was to kill them on the second floor, even if it was not this lady's behavior but something else, in short, they were locked. So in order to avoid something from happening, Xu Qingran exchanged the location of the inquiry with them, and his group went to visit Alex's house.

Alex's house and Lily's house are extremely close, when Xu Qingran and the four of them passed by Lily's house, the lady in a white dress was holding a water hose in the courtyard to water the flowers, and after making eye contact with them, she smiled slightly, so Jiang Xian smiled back and nodded at her.

"You're a guest invited by Mayor James, aren't you?" Madame suddenly asked, Jiang Xian stopped and replied, "Yes, let's investigate some things." ”

"Ah, that's right, it's really hard for you." Madame didn't change anything because of the "something" they were talking about, she looked concerned, as if she suddenly remembered something, she put down the hose in her hand and walked over to them, "By the way, it seems that a group of people came to me yesterday to ask me about Lily's disappearance, are they with you too?" ”

Jiang Xian was silent for a while, Ai Yu and they didn't have a very pleasant stay at this lady's house yesterday, this question really didn't know how to answer, at this moment Jun Yao suddenly spoke, "They were invited together with us, but we investigated separately and didn't know each other very well." ”

"That's right, then since you're together, I just have something for you." Madame turned around and walked to the semi-open balcony on the first floor and took something over, from Xu Qingran's angle, she could just see what Madame was taking, it was a puppet, it looked very new, it should not be the puppet that Ai Yu said that Madame showed them that Lily discarded, he reached out and pulled Jun Yao, stopping her from refusing to speak. The lady took the puppet in her arms and walked towards them, and Jun Yao also saw the puppet, which was a very beautiful girl, with orange hair and green eyes, wearing a small yellow floral dress.

Wait, this puppet...... Something strange.

Jun Yao subconsciously took a step back, Xu Qingran noticed her movements, put one hand on her back, and took out a dart with the other hand without leaving a trace.

[Paperball: Attack prop, plan the path according to the user's consciousness, you can fly in the air at will after throwing it out of your hand, once you return to your hand it counts as an attack, and after every three attacks, it will enter a cooldown time of three hours. 】

Jun Yao frowned and watched Madame walk towards them step by step with the doll in her arms, her gaze resting on Madame's face.

This puppet looks like a lady! Whether it's the color of the eyes or the hair.

"Xu lightly dyed...... You see this puppet and this lady, isn't it very similar? Jun Yao hurriedly turned his head to ask him, Xu Qingran was stunned for a moment, and immediately focused on Madame's face and puppet, and then he smiled reluctantly, "This Madame, we still have something to do, so let's leave first." ”

Without waiting for Mrs. to respond, Xu Qingran pulled Jun Yao and walked forward, Jiang Xian also heard Jun Yao's words, so she grabbed Chen Yang to keep up with the two of them.

Madame stopped, looked at the direction the four of them left with a little confusion, tilted her head and said to herself, "Oh, why did you leave?" I also said let them see my baby. What a shame......"

Xu Qingran and Jun Yao directly skipped Alex's house and ran to the side of the small street, Jiang Xian and Chen Yang followed, and the four of them were a little out of breath because of the sprint.

"I'm scared to death, that lady just now is really terrible!" Chen Yang complained, "I looked back and saw her expression, holding the doll and tilting her head to look at us with a smile, the problem was the doll's eyes...... I don't know if I'm wrong, this doll seems to be moving. ”

"This puppet is really similar to that lady, I have a bold guess-" Jun Yao slowed down, she turned her head to look in the direction she had just run, "Do you think that puppet was made based on Lily?" ”

"Since we all assume so, we might as well be a little bolder. Could this puppet be Lily? Jiang Xian replied with a smile, Xu Qingran looked at Jiang Xian quietly, but with a different emotion, Jiang Xian noticed his gaze, and just smiled faintly, "It's just speculation, after all, I have heard that there was indeed a very cruel witchcraft in the European Middle Ages, which made children into puppets." Since the background here is the same as the legend I've heard, it's not a good guess. ”

"That's not unwarranted." Xu Qingran sighed suddenly, grabbed his hair with his right hand, and then he turned to look at Alex's house, "About that legend, you remember it first." Tell us about it at noon, maybe it really has something to do with this mission. ”

"Okay, then the old rule is that you go and visit and ask, and we'll see the situation around here." Jiang Xian pointed to a large area of sand next to the small street, behind the sand was a dense forest, Jun Yao seemed to remember the conversation she had with Jiang Xian last night, so she nodded. Xu Qingran wanted to speak and stopped, but was pulled by Jun Yao, "Let's go, let's hurry up." ”

"Ding Dong-" Jun Yao rang the doorbell of Alex's house, and as soon as she pressed it, someone came to open the door, and a very young looking woman came to open the door, and after seeing Jun Yao and Xu Qingran, she was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "You are distinguished guests invited by the mayor, please come in." ”

Jun Yao and Xu Qingran glanced at each other, read something in each other's eyes, and then the two walked into the house together.

"Are you ......" Jun Yao cautiously asked the woman's identity, and the woman led them to the sofa in the living room and replied with a smile, "Ah, I'm Alex...... Stepmother. She paused at the right time, as if sensing some embarrassment about her identity, but she quickly regained her smile, "Wait a minute, I'll make you a cup of tea." ”

Xu Qingran had already sat down, and he nodded, "I'm sorry for you." ”

The woman shook her head slightly, then walked into the semi-open kitchen, reached out and picked up the boiling kettle that had been boiled on the stove and put it aside, she took out a tea bag from a golden jar, threw it into the water-blue teapot, and poured hot water, and immediately the fruity fragrance overflowed. The woman took out two teacups of the same color from the upper closet, washed them with clean water, filled them with tea, put them in the tray and brought them over.

"Please use tea." The woman put two cups of rose-red tea in front of Jun Yao and Xu Qingran, and then she sat opposite them and looked at them quietly, as if waiting for them to ask, so Jun Yao glanced at Xu Qingran and took the lead in speaking, "We came to ask about Alex's disappearance, it is known that Alex went out with Lily next door that day, do you know where they went?" Did Alex mention anything to you? ”

The woman looked thoughtful, then she shook her head, "My identity is a bit special, so Alex is not very close to me. His mother...... I died a long time ago, and then I came into this house, but he was very repulsive to me, and at first he was reluctant to talk to me. It's been a little better lately, but it's limited to the simplest communication on a daily basis. However, before he disappeared, he asked me what it would be better to give a woman a gift. ”

"A gift for a woman? Is it for Lily? Jun Yao was a little puzzled, but the woman shook her head in denial, "I also thought it was a gift for Lily, after all, he often played with Lily's child, but he seriously denied it." He said the gift was not for Lily, but for someone my age. I thought he was asking me about my preferences in disguise, because my birthday was approaching. I suggested that he buy an ornament to give away, so he went to the treasure shop in town and bought a brooch made of amethyst. ”

"How do you know what exactly the gift he bought is? This gift is not for you. Xu Qingran asked.

"My friend was the owner of the treasure shop, and she told me that the brooch was very beautiful, and when she saw Alex coming, she wondered if it was a gift for me, so she recommended it to him according to my preference." The woman smiled slightly embarrassedly when she said this, and she slowly raised her right hand to stroke her face, "Ah, what a beautiful misunderstanding......"

"So may I ask you, do you know when that gift Alex was given? Or, do you have a clue about the person who received the gift? Jun Yao then asked.

"The gift was sent out on the day Alex disappeared. He bought the gift about a week before he disappeared, and after the gift was purchased, he often made some handicrafts in the room, hiding it and not letting me and his father see it, I thought he was leaving a blank space to create a sense of surprise, so I didn't ask much. However, the day before Alex's disappearance was my birthday, and it wasn't until midnight that he had no intention of bringing out the elaborate gifts, so I realized that it was all speculation. The next day, he was about to go out with a heavy-looking gift bag, and before leaving, he said happy birthday to me, and he said that he had prepared a gift to bring to me when he got home. ”

"Before he left home, he said that he would bring you a gift when he came back?" Xu Qingran grabbed the last words of the woman's words, he remembered that when Ai Yu was talking about the results of their inquiry yesterday, it seemed that Lily had also told the lady before leaving home that she would bring something for her when she returned home.

"Yes, I asked what the gift was, and Alex told me mysteriously that it was a secret, but something I liked." The woman shook her head, "I don't know exactly who he is going to give the gift he has carefully prepared, after all...... He never came back. ”

Jun Yao paused for a moment, she carefully observed the expression of the young woman in front of her, the sadness she revealed was very strong, but it was a little distorted, as if she was deliberately acting. It seemed to notice Jun Yao's large number of eyes, the woman glanced at her, Jun Yao saw some strange emotions in the woman's eyes, such a move looked a bit rude, so Jun Yao reached out and took the fruit tea on the table that had been heated, and drank two sips in disguise, then she frowned, glanced at the tea in her hand, and put it down again.

"Did you think of any other anomalies before Alex disappeared?" Xu Qingran did not use a too straightforward way to directly ask Alex if he had anything to do with puppets and hide and seek, but used a method of inducing recall, so that more information could be obtained, and the scope of the questioned person was not limited, but also in order not to limit her thinking.

"Except for this strange gift, let me think about it...... Ah, I remembered that Alex had snuck to me and wanted me to give him some extra pocket money. I was surprised, but I was also happy that he was willing to talk to me and had some little secrets with me. ”

"Didn't you ask him what he was doing with all this pocket money?"

"What's the use...... He said at the time that he was going to go with Lily to buy puppets. The woman put her finger on her chin and thought carefully, "Alex also had a puppet before, it seems that his deceased mother bought it for him, and he cherished this puppet. So, when he said that he was going to buy a new puppet, I was stunned for a moment, but my relationship with him was special after all, and I didn't dare to mention his mother's affairs, and I didn't dare to ask anything more, for fear of affecting the relationship between us, which had finally improved. ”

"Is there anything unusual about this newly bought puppet?"

"Anomalous? Not really, it's a beautiful puppet, and the workmanship is exquisite. The woman shook her head.

"Is there anything else?" Xu Qingran couldn't dig more clues about the puppets, "The mayor said that one of the weird things that happened in the town was that the children were sleepwalking in the middle of the night. So does Alex also have this symptom? How long did it last? Did anything strange happen during this time? ”

Alex should not have had the habit of sleepwalking before, and the symptoms of sleepwalking should be related to the sudden midnight singing. The time of sleepwalking is about the same as that of the other children in the town, and the other symptoms are ...... Ah, three days before he disappeared, he suddenly stopped sleepwalking. At that time, we felt very lucky, after all, sleepwalking is too weird, even if everyone encounters it, they will feel uncomfortable, and worry about what happens to their children, how can this be good? ”

"Rest assured, we'll do everything we can to resolve this matter. Alex and Lily next door disappeared together, and they got along well, right? Playing together a lot? ”

"Hmm...... They always had a good relationship, and sometimes Lily would come to our house as a guest, Lily was a very good child, and Alex seemed really happy when he was with her. They did play together a lot, right outside in the yard, sometimes at Lily's house, but more often outside our house, and their favorite game was hide and seek. ”

Jun Yao and Xu Qingran glanced at each other, the information about the disappearance was almost complete, this young woman seemed to be very talkative, at least she knew everything about their problems. So Jun Yao asked tentatively, "Actually, there is another thing, which is quite concerning, there seem to be some strange rules about this town itself?" ”

The woman paused as she picked up the teapot to pour tea for the two of them, she looked up at them in surprise, then smiled again, the hot tea was refilled into the teacup, she gently put down the teapot, "Yes, yes......"