With the payment agreed upon, the next step is to learn the details of the mission.

"This happened a year ago?"

Joey grabbed a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth, asking casually.

He felt much more relaxed after refusing the other payment.

"Yes, it definitely started a year ago. That's when my husband disappeared!"

Grandma Mary Sue began to reminisce about the past.

“That night, my husband and I returned home together and suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. We thought it was a traveler coming to check into the hotel, so he went to open the door alone and never came back!”

"Later, more and more people went missing in the village. Some disappeared in the fields, some by the water, and some even disappeared directly from their homes!"

"The locations where they went missing are quite scattered, but the disappearances all occurred at night!"

"As the reward notice says, all the missing people are men, though their ages vary. While there are quite a few who are the same age as my husband, most are young people. The one who went missing recently was a young man, and it's been about three months!"

Good memories can heal wounds, while bad memories can plunge you into pain.

Mary Sue's mother-in-law is clearly in deep sorrow.

After she finished speaking, her expression became very sad, and her eyes began to well up with tears.

Joey saw all of this and could only scratch his head to ease the oppressive atmosphere.

"Before your husband disappeared, did anything unusual happen in the village?"

Actually, this is what Joey really wants to know. What Granny Mary Sue just said is basically the same as what was in the announcement, and there isn't much valuable information.

To find out the truth behind this disappearance, we need to find the source, which is the situation in the village a year ago.

"A year ago?"

Grandma Mary Sue stopped grieving. She knew now was not the time to be sad; she needed to calm down and recall some details.

Joey didn't disturb her, letting her recall the events slowly.

She was getting old and couldn't remember many things clearly. Coupled with her husband's disappearance, the emotional impact on her was undoubtedly enormous.

Grandma Mary Sue remained silent for a long time, but couldn't recall anything.

She slowly got up and paced around the room, still trying to recall something to provide Joey with some information.

A little while later, a hint of fear suddenly flashed in Mary Sue's eyes, but she quickly concealed it, though her expression began to look very unnatural.

"If you really can't remember, that's okay!"

When Joey saw that her expression suddenly became uncomfortable, he quickly interrupted her, not wanting anything else to happen to the old woman.

"I'm sorry, I'm getting old, and there are some things I really can't remember!"

Grandma Mary Sue apologized, but her expression was still not good.

"I'll go get you some tea. I was so busy preparing the food that I forgot about the drinks!"

She made an excuse to walk to the back of the house, and Joey glanced at little Catherine beside him, smiling as he saw her off.

Joey craned his neck to watch Mary Sue's figure disappear before turning to look at little Catherine beside him.

"Are you full?"

Joey asked softly to little Catherine, who was still chewing on a snack.

Hearing Joey ask her that question, little Catherine quickly swallowed the snack in her mouth.

"Big brother, I'm full!"

She raised her hand and wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

What unusual thing happened in the village a year ago?

Joey then turned the same question he had just asked Granny Mary Sue to little Catherine.

How could she know how old she was back then?

Catherine was immediately displeased when she saw Joey asking little Catherine this question.

Little Catherine looks to be only six or seven years old. A year ago she was only five or six, so how could she remember what happened in the village?

But Joey didn't think so. If something unusual had really happened in the village a year ago, little Catherine would definitely remember it very well and wouldn't be so likely to forget it. After all, children have strong memories; it just depends on what they are willing to remember.

"Is there?"

Joey looked into little Catherine's eyes, smiled, and asked softly.

"have!"

Little Catherine answered very readily, unlike Mary Sue who needed to recall for a long time.

Joey's eyes suddenly lit up, and his face lit up with anticipation.

Catherine stopped bothering them.

"A year ago, Vivian, the village's older sister, disappeared!"

"I've always thought that Sister Vivian was the first one to disappear, but the adults all say she wasn't. Every time I mention Sister Vivian, their faces light up and they tell me to stop talking about it!"

"But Sister Vivian is really nice. She often plays with us kids and gives us delicious food!"

Little Catherine's words surprised Joey. He never expected that this series of disappearances would begin with a girl.

But why didn't these villagers mention this person in the reward notice, and why were they unwilling to mention her existence?

This Mary Sue old woman must have thought of something just now, but for some reason, she didn't want to think about this girl named Vivian, and even less did she want to mention her name again.

"You all sit here!"

Joey stood up, gave a few instructions to the two Catherines, and then walked to the back of the house.

Catherine wanted to ask, but seeing Joey's furrowed brows, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

"Waaaaah..."

Grandma Mary Sue was still preparing drinks behind the house, but Joey, who was approaching, heard her incessant sobbing.

Tell me about Vivian!

Joey's voice suddenly came from behind her.

Grandma Mary Sue trembled, and a porcelain cup in her hand fell to the ground, shattering into more than a dozen pieces.

"Vivian? You heard that from that little girl Catherine, didn't you?"

"She's just an ordinary girl, nothing special!"

Grandma Mary Sue squatted down and began to clean up the broken pieces of the porcelain cup on the ground.

Joey didn't rush to ask any more questions. Instead, she walked over, squatted down, and picked up the broken pieces of porcelain from the ground.

"If a porcelain cup breaks, you should put it down and throw it in the trash can, but if your heart is broken, that's a different story!"

Joey took the porcelain shard from Granny Mary Sue, put it together with his own, and threw them into the nearby trash can.

"Why!"

Grandma Mary Sue sighed, supporting herself on the edge of the table with one hand and her knee with the other, and slowly stood up.

"Vivian is a good girl, what a pity!"

...

Grandma Mary Sue finally stopped running away and told Joey about Vivian, the first person to truly disappear from the village a year ago.