Chapter 4839

Hampton's blockade has not been lifted, but it cannot stop the Scarlet Witch. Although she knows nothing about what's going on here, she should have been stopped outside like Peter Parker, but she opened a portal and walked right into the manor. The ghosts could do nothing to her, and she noticed nothing abnormal, happily touring the house.

"I really like this place," Wanda said happily, "After this, we'll have another gathering spot in New York. However, I see the pool on the west side hasn't been cleaned yet. I know a decent pool cleaning team—should I introduce them to you?"

"This is quite a troublesome matter," Greed said, "Because of certain reasons, Hampton cannot be accessed normally, so cleaning the pool will likely have to be done by us ourselves."

"That's not difficult, but do you have those chemical reagents?" Wanda looked at him and said, "A pool isn't just about changing the water—disinfectants, algaecides, and sterilizing agents are essential."

"Although people can't come in, things can still get through. Please contact that team and have them supply the materials—we'll do it ourselves. Price is negotiable."

Wanda nodded. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's winter—normally, no one would go swimming in the pool, but the manor's pool is impressive precisely because it's an outdoor heated pool. Compared to winter temperatures, it's roughly equivalent to a hot spring.

Of course, maintaining this heating system isn't cheap. If it weren't for the main circuit breaker being connected to Stark's power source now, the electricity meter would be spinning wildly.

"I think I can build a shade pavilion here," Wanda said, standing again in an open space in the backyard, "Then extend a flower arbor over there—this way we won't be baked by the sun, and we can sit here for afternoon tea and chat."

Greed nodded and said, "That's not bad. Madam, your life wisdom always amazes me."

Wanda smiled at him. Then they went to the eastern cliff. Wanda walked and asked, "So this house was built by my teacher?"

"Yes, to suppress supernatural phenomena," Greed said, gazing toward the sea, "But now it's nearly out of control—we'll likely have to ask her to come again."

Wanda shook her head and said, "Given my understanding of Agatha, she's unlikely to have built this house to suppress supernatural phenomena, because she deeply resents the wealthy and privileged."

Greed looked at her doubtfully. Wanda said, "Besides being a witch, Ms. Harkness is also a revolutionary leader. She once led witches in guerrilla warfare in the forests of Massachusetts, and for hundreds of years has continued to teach them how to fight those who persecute witches. If she knew about Hampton's situation, she would absolutely not side with the residents."

Greed paused in his action. He truly hadn't expected this witch to be so radical. Looking at it this way, her building this house might not only not be intended to suppress supernatural phenomena—it might even be actively triggering them.

Because there's a very obvious loophole: if this manor were the eye of a formation suppressing supernatural phenomena, or even just an alarm device, then there shouldn't be such severe haunting inside—it should be a peaceful place instead.

This aligns with some concepts in Eastern mysticism. Righteous things naturally suppress ghosts. If you use a ward against evil, then within a few hundred meters around the formation, no evil spirits can approach; conversely, if it's a heretic's formation, it will attract evil entities and turn a place into a filthy, impure land.

If Harkness acted out of goodwill, wanting to help Hampton's people completely suppress the supernatural phenomena here, then as one of the key locations, the manor should be a refuge. So why is it also haunted?

Now it seems the formation she set up in the manor may lean more toward favoring the ghosts. This entire setup might be something she built to punish these people of Hampton. But Hampton's residents are desperate—they have no other choice, so they just endure it.

In other words, from the very beginning, no one truly wanted to solve Hampton's troubles. The monks or psychics hired by the residents at great expense—some were powerless, but more often they saw through it and stayed silent, and some even made things worse. The outbreak of supernatural phenomena in Hampton was inevitable.

"This place has become a trouble, right?" Wanda said with some concern, "Continuing like this really isn't a solution, after all, no one knows whether this phenomenon will spread or cause greater accidents, endangering innocents. I'll contact New Salem and ask if they know my teacher's whereabouts."

"I'm not sure I can convince her," Greed said, "If she's truly a radical bottom-line revolutionary, she might not want to cooperate with us."

"That's not something to worry about," Wanda said with a smile, "If she knows how you helped me, she'll definitely be willing to help. I and Agatha have a good relationship—she dotes on me like a daughter."

"Then why did you two split in the end?" Greed asked, "I thought you'd settle down in Witch City."

Wanda shook her head and said, "No, actually I don't get along with the witches, and my teacher has already parted ways with them."

"Why?" Greed asked curiously.

"Witches are always running away," Wanda sighed, "They want to avoid persecution and live peacefully, but their method isn't to protect themselves or stand up against injustice—it's to retreat and hide. As long as they avoid ordinary society and find a quiet corner, they can gain temporary peace. But I and my teacher both believe this approach won't work."

"I thought you'd agree," Greed said, somewhat surprised, "After all, you also greatly value family life and want to live stably."

"Before I met you all, I did think that way," Wanda sighed again, "But later I realized I could maintain this mindset unchanged—not because I changed it, but because I was born strong enough. I naturally possess the ability to defend my peaceful life. I can hide, or I can step forward—living peacefully like an ordinary person is my choice, not a lack of options."

"But most witches aren't like that," Wanda continued, "In their struggle against ordinary people, they're still at a disadvantage. Most witches can only say they've mastered a few tricks of ordinary people, and some are even just framed ordinary people. They lack the ability to defend their lives, can't stay put, and end up running and hiding, fleeing to the mountains and never coming down."

Wanda paused, as if thinking of something, then said, "The situation in New Salem isn't good. Perhaps when it was first established, it could barely count as a refuge for witches, but after so many years of development, those who truly master magic and spiritual abilities have diverged greatly from those who aren't strong enough—so much so that they might as well be two different species. Even ordinary witches aren't doing well—they're just barely getting by."

"You're not planning to help them?"

"That's exactly the problem," Wanda said, slightly frowning, "They fled to the mountains because of persecution by ordinary people. For all these years, the original escapees have been telling them how terrible ordinary society is, that everyone out there is bad. They fundamentally distrust outsiders—even if I'm my teacher's student."

Wanda also gazed out at the sea, then said, "I've also figured it out. Back then, they refused to follow my teacher in resistance and chose what seemed like the easier path. Now this situation—though it can't be said they brought it on themselves—since my teacher couldn't turn things around back then, I want to do more, but I fear it might only add to the trouble."

"Do you think I……uh……lack ambition?" Wanda asked him, looking at him.

"You just love your current life too much," Greed said, smiling at her, "Being content with the present is good. If everyone were like you, I'd have nothing to do."

When the two returned to the hall, the meal was already ready, filling the house with aroma. The children had already been pressed into their seats at the table, and Steve was going around tying bibs on them.

Although this place has a row of universe-destroying engines and all kinds of mischief ideas keep popping up, they're still very polite and well-behaved, sitting properly in their chairs waiting for dinner. Even though they keep making faces at each other, no one has reached for food first, nor whispered or shouted loudly.

Of course, this is more likely because Arrogance is sitting across from them.

Arrogance was examining an old newspaper. In fact, in such a wealthy community, newspapers are still widely read. Although they don't reject new media, traditional media remains the mouthpiece of various factions—some subtle attitudes can only be conveyed through newspaper text, so many families have the habit of reading newspapers and teach their children how to discern information from them.

What Arrogance is reading is the newspaper Frank brought back—the one reporting on the water pollution incident at the Violet Holiday Resort years ago, likely provided by that old man at the time.

Arrogance reads it very attentively, as if studying academic material, so he slightly frowns, and automatically clears a several-meter radius around himself into a no-person zone—only Dr. Banner can exchange a few words with him.

Banner walked over and sat beside Arrogance, glanced at the newspaper in his hand, tidied the utensils in front of him, and asked, "Is this news about that accident from back then? Do you think it might be useful?"

Arrogance lightly nodded and then said, "In Eastern culture, emphasis is placed on cause and effect. If the Violet Holiday Resort was the first major outbreak site of supernatural phenomena, then to resolve supernatural phenomena at the root, we must first resolve what happened back then."

Banner nodded and said, "Indeed, there are too many wronged souls who died unjustly in that resort. If we don't comfort these victims' spirits, they won't be willing to leave."

But what the children heard was—

"Supernatural phenomena?"

"Ghosts?"

"Is this place haunted???"