Chapter 4818: Little Ghost in Charge (Sixteen)

Often, the creation of literary and artistic works follows a pattern: if a gun appears in the first act, it will surely fire in the final act. People hold a sense of awe toward omens and prophecies, and such plots frequently appear in films—a seemingly insignificant line from a minor character can determine the tone and ending of an entire movie.

This is not entirely for the sake of heightening dramatic conflict. Sometimes, it is precisely those extremely insignificant details that determine the course of a person's life. The moment the gears of fate begin to turn always carries a romantic, tragic hue, which is why it remains timeless and enduring.

But Shiler has never been the gun hanging on the wall; rather, from the very beginning of the story, he has been pressing against everyone's forehead. He is also no insignificant figure—his words are never baseless, but always purposeful—do not say I did not warn you.

Yet he is always very skilled at making everyone overlook his most crucial words at the most critical moment. Then, only after everything has ended, in some midnight reverie, recalling that sentence, recalling that gaze, he breaks out in a cold sweat.

Many film and television works have a unique category called psychological horror. Such works often lack sudden jump-scare moments, instead creating various pressure environments to make the audience feel a sense of horror. For most of the time, Shiler is a walking psychological horror work—not only exerting pressure on people at certain moments, but the horror he brings is long-lasting and despair-inducing.

Gotham residents are not particularly sensitive to this, because the city is already terrifying enough, and Shiler is merely one among them. But New York is different—the people there still have relatively sound minds. Therefore, when Arrogance finished speaking, Strange gave him a deep look.

Even Arrogance thought he would press further, but Strange simply waved his cloak and vanished. Arrogance showed a hint of contemplation, then said to Greed, "This place seems not so simple."

That is only natural. Greed seems not to have thought deeply, for as the saying goes, "He who takes no long-term view will have sorrow near at hand." It is he who is moving house, and anyone who has moved knows how troublesome it is.

Greed's move is especially troublesome because he has so many belongings. Even if he used the Grey Fog to move them all at once, he would still have to sort and put each item in place one by one—just thinking about it is a massive undertaking.

"I need to get help." Greed said helplessly, "And the things stored in the Grey Fog are also rather too many—I need to sort them out. A new life needs a simple beginning."

"I'm glad you think that way." Arrogance said, "Christmas is still a month away—we should be able to finish organizing before the Christmas party."

"You're being too optimistic." Greed shook his head, "Even though I have many friends, it's not that fast. This house also needs new furnishings, the swimming pool needs repair, and possibly even the railings need to be redone..."

Amid Greed's muttering in the background, Arrogance's thoughts gradually drifted. Only when Greed stepped outside did Arrogance follow. Greed turned back, seeming to sense some doubt.

"I'm going to the Avengers base—do you want to come with me?"

Arrogance stopped in his tracks and then said, "No. I want to rest early today, and tomorrow I might get up early to go out for a stroll."

"Alright. The room should already be tidied up—pick one you like and stay there. If the little ghost causes trouble, you can also go sleep in the coffin. I might not come back tonight."

So they parted—Arrogance stayed in the new house to rest, while Greed went to the Avengers base to find help.

When Greed arrived at the Avengers base, only Steve and Bucky were there. Seeing Greed approach, Steve walked over and patted his arm, then said, "I heard Tony say you've already bought a house—do you need help moving?"

"Yes, Captain—I came specifically to find help, but I didn't expect them all to be absent."

"They just left a short while ago." Steve said, "Because they knew you might need help moving, they all went back early to rest. Tell me the specifics of the house."

Greed walked over and sat on the sofa. Bucky sat nearby, chatting on his phone, then looked up at him, seeming curious about where he had bought the house.

"East Hampton." Greed said, "The most famous wealthy district on Long Island—and Tony's neighbor."

Hearing this, Steve's brows furrowed, and he said, "Why did you choose that place? Even Tony probably wouldn't advise you to buy a house there..."

Greed looked at him doubtfully: "What's wrong with that place?"

"Nothing." Steve said, "If you don't see it as a problem, then for you, it probably isn't one."

"The community atmosphere there is bad." Bucky bluntly said, "It's not just about residents being pretentious or cliquish and exclusionary."

"What is it, then?"

"Political-business revolving doors, sex-for-power deals, conspiracies, and murders..."

Steve gestured with his eyes for Bucky to stop, but he still added, "Many of these things happened in the last century—specifically, during my youth. In modern times, the entire East Coast has somewhat declined, these old-money families are not as powerful as before, so they've somewhat restrained themselves. But that place indeed has many lingering issues."

"Really that serious?" Greed said, surprised, "When Stark was young, it was actually already the end of the 20th century. Back then, East Hampton indeed had many overconfident people banding together, causing quite a few scandals—like who cheated with whom, who fought whom over whom, and even someone setting fire to another's house."

But from Steve's tone, the first half of the 20th century—around 1930—was even worse there, possibly involving many illegal transactions and shameful acts, even murder cases, not just one. Though those families were still glorious then, burying everything under money and power, leaving no ripple.

Such a situation is also foreseeable. Take Emily, Stark's contemporary and a branch of the Kennedy family—she should never have married that obscure small merchant Averys. This proves that by that era, the Kennedy family had already declined. Indeed, after President Kennedy's assassination, the family vanished from sight, leaving no trace.

Under those circumstances, the commotion they could cause was limited. Back then, the conflict between Stark and Emily's group was at most childhood dislike—insulting each other in school, then at community gatherings, finding Stark to snipe at him with two sarcastic remarks, only to be made a sooty-faced mess by Stark's pranks, just like the classic villain in American coming-of-age films.

But if we go back a few more decades, when Old Kennedy was still a Massachusetts senator and Young Kennedy had successfully become U. S. president, this family could truly be called at its peak, with everyone in it wildly unrestrained.

Moreover, the family practiced extremely strict elite education, with the family motto being "Everything for victory." Even parents and children, siblings, had to engage in fierce competition—if one performed poorly, they would face reprimand and punishment. Among family members, there was almost no affection; parents would even praise the behavior of watching a brother die without helping. One can imagine what kind of monsters such a family could produce.

This is proven by fact: Kennedy's descendants almost all drank heavily and used drugs. After President Kennedy's assassination, their chosen successor for president seemed to be someone whose political career was ruined by drunk and drugged driving.

Born under the oppression of such a suffocating family atmosphere, the narcissists and antisocial individuals must have an outlet for their emotions and desires. Besides drug use, they are also more likely than others to participate in rape and murder cases. And when the family could shield them, they would act with utter impunity—someone would surely suffer a terrible fate.

Such families were not just one or two. In that era, nearly all old-money families practiced this heartless elite education, clinging to rigid rules, using patriarchal layers of oppression—from birth, they were suffocated until mentally twisted and spiritually deviant, then turned to bully those weaker than themselves. And because these families had wealth and power, and communications at the time were underdeveloped, such matters were nearly impossible to expose.

Everyone did this—if you didn't, you'd be excluded. Not only would you miss out on benefit exchanges, but you'd also become a target of bullying. You do it, I do it, we all do it—eventually, regional criminal organizations would form. Hampton was exactly such a place back then.

This place perfectly suits their criminal needs. First, it's remote—located at the northern tip of Long Island, with beautiful scenery, ideal for family vacations. Those building homes here are all rich, and they're all in collusion. More importantly, it's a bay—where all secrets can be easily buried by the sea.

This made Greed think of the Owl Court. Undoubtedly, Gotham's Owl Court was born the same way—a group of mentally ill people gathering together, producing more mentally ill, ultimately turning the entire city into a vast asylum.

But Gotham's era is earlier, and social models hadn't yet been impacted by the rapid development of the information industry. New York, however, has clearly undergone a regime change—once-glorious Hampton has now declined to the point where it can't stir up even a ripple.

Although they've learned restraint now, there's a saying: nature is hard to change. Bucky clearly holds no hope: "Once they get a chance, they'll still cause trouble. If you don't want your life disturbed, it's better to move out early."

"Opportunity..." Greed chewed on the word, "Yeah, there really is an opportunity lately."

He looked up at Steve again and said, "I do need help moving. After I finish moving, I'll hold a housewarming party to express my thanks. What do you think?"

"A housewarming party? I thought you wouldn't like such formal stuff." Steve tilted his head slightly, "In the U. S., housewarming parties are normally meant to invite neighbors—small-scale ones at least invite the two or three neighboring households. Larger ones basically require the whole community to come, plus community police and all social workers."

"I plan to make it elaborate." Greed said, "After all, if I'm going to live here long-term, I need to maintain good relations with the neighbors."

Steve nodded, no objection, but then asked, "Christmas is coming soon—can you make it in time? Most people are preparing for Christmas parties."

"We can make it." Greed said, "We'll just tidy up simply—one or two weeks is more than enough. Anyway, thanks for the trouble."

"No trouble at all." Steve said, "You've surely prepared us excellent Christmas gifts. To ensure this hardworking Santa Claus arrives on time, we're all moving experts."

Greed laughed.