Chapter 4847: Little Devil in Charge (Forty-Five)

While Rodrigo's estate was busy cleaning the swimming pool, the three parties had already made first contact. The luxurious motorcade carried nobles of the Shia Empire, who were also shrewd and cunning merchants. When they toured Hampton, they discovered this was indeed a rare and excellent residential area.

The weather was fine and sunny. No one could have imagined that this place had been like hell on earth just the night before. The beautiful estate looked even more elegant and lovely against the backdrop of the azure sky. The bay's blue waters rippled, and the wind stirred up fallen leaves that rustled softly.

The merchants gazed at the scenery outside while estimating the value of these houses. Of course, they used the interstellar common currency system. But there was no doubt that each house's price was quite high.

However, they soon discovered something out of place: the witches that Wanda had brought to the estate where Augustus resided.

Augustus's family had all died out, and the relatives and servants who had been guests in the estate had also dispersed, leaving the vast estate completely empty. This became the witches' first foothold.

Although many valuable items here had been carted away by the fleeing mercenaries, compared to the witches' previous living conditions, this place could practically be called paradise on earth.

New Salem on the Colorado Plateau was merely a desolate and dilapidated Western town, with tumbleweed being the only plant within dozens of kilometers. How could such a place compare to New York's most beautiful wealthy district?

"Good heavens, Wanda, I truly can't believe it. What kind of person did you marry to have such a vast estate? Is he a noble?"

"Exactly, Wanda, are you now a baroness? Or a viscountess? And where is your husband? Can we meet him? I've never seen a noble before."

"Can we really live here? Will there be servants? Actually, I can do some work myself, but it would be better with servants..."

Wanda felt somewhat helpless. The witches had been isolated from society for too long, and many still believed the current society was feudal, utterly confused about what a federal system entailed. However, there was one thing Wanda had to make clear to them.

"This is not my house," Wanda said, "my husband is merely an ordinary person, and I hold no noble title. I brought you here only because this house is temporarily vacant, so you can settle in first. Once you've adjusted, you'll each rent a place and move out."

Although Wanda knew these people wouldn't leave, she still tried to persuade them as much as possible: "This is a wealthy district; even if you stay here, you cannot afford it. New York is vast, with many fine places. You can first find jobs to support yourselves, then rent a place—certainly better than New Salem."

Hearing this, everyone had different thoughts. Many lower-class witches, having suffered enough oppression in New Salem, no longer wished to stay with others. Thus someone asked: "Do you have any work you can introduce us to? We will surely work hard."

"It depends on what you can do. I'm currently just a nurse in the hospital's emergency department, and my husband is a programmer. You could try working in restaurants—I know a few owners and can introduce you."

Wanda actually didn't know any restaurant owners; it was Greed who gave him the contact information. These restaurants were all located in southern Long Island, that is, Flushing and surrounding areas. Greed often shopped and ate there, and was quite familiar with many Chinese restaurant owners.

The witches had no identification and could only take black-market jobs. But Flushing happened to be New York's haven for undocumented labor, where most illegal immigrants worked in Chinese restaurants' black-market jobs, and the witches could certainly do the same.

In this situation, those willing to go out and work were mostly diligent, hardworking lower-class people. Washing dishes required no special skills; aside from being tiring and low-paying, it could still be considered a stable livelihood.

After Wanda's introduction, several people felt tempted. Others had no desire to go to restaurants; they planned to go out and try their luck, hoping to find better work.

But there was a group of people who were essentially Nicholas's New Salem noble faction, including his lovers and descendants, and they simply did not feel the need to labor to support themselves.

They had already calculated: such a vast estate would surely be comfortable to live in. Since it was vacant, whoever occupied it would claim it as theirs. Wasn't the original town just the same?

Moreover, they were all superpowered beings; even if an army came, they would not fear it. Wanda could find them such a good place, and when the time came, asking her to help deal with those who wanted to drive them away would be effortless.

"Wanda, do you have money?" someone asked. Although they lived relatively isolated, many resources unobtainable in the town were purchased outside with money. They knew the importance of money.

"I have no money. I've said it—I and my husband are merely ordinary people, and I still have to support my child; where would I get money for you?" Wanda shook her head.

At this moment, a woman with an afro, wearing a white robe, stepped forward. Wanda knew she was "Dizzy" from the Salem Seven, possessing certain mental control abilities.

"Wanda, we brought only minimal basic supplies, enough for only a few days. If you could help gather some supplies, that would be great."

"I don't have that ability," Wanda continued to refuse, "if you have a way to obtain things, I won't stop you. But I cannot stay here longer—I still have my husband and child."

After saying this, she left. The witches seemed not to expect her to be so unsentimental. After she departed, many people's faces darkened, and their words carried complaints. But Dizzy, after hearing Wanda's words, fell into thought.

"We can wander around," she said, "perhaps we might find something useful."

Everyone actually understood what she meant. Although the town had been isolated before, some backpackers who liked challenging themselves and conquering nature had occasionally wandered in. The witches would leave behind their gear and money, then throw them out.

They had also engaged in banditry before, but on this side of Colorado, the local customs were fierce, and there were many other factions. The witches could not defeat anyone, so successful raids were rare.

After arriving in New York, although they did not think everyone here was soft persimmons, they still wanted to try their luck. Thus, Dizzy, Thorn, and Reptile from the Salem Seven, leading a squad of combat-capable witches, left the estate.

As soon as they went out, they encountered the Shia nobles leisurely driving around. The Shia Empire's nobles could tell this group's attire was out of place here, as if they had stepped out of some primitive forest, and immediately slowed their vehicle.

Precisely for this reason, the witches got a clear look at them. The Shia Empire's nobles were truly ostentatiously wealthy—what they wore and what they wore on their heads, even monkeys in the trees could tell it was all fine stuff. The witches' faces immediately showed greed.

As expected, conflict erupted. The Shia Empire's nobles seemed not to have expected this place to still produce a band of savages, and these few witches were also quite capable. Unprepared, they were truly rushed by the witches into the motorcade, immediately causing considerable chaos.

"Alright, that's about enough," Greed stood on the bank checking the children's work, "you all come out, we'll drain the water to rinse once, then drain again and you can go swimming."

The children cheered, flying out of the pool. Just as Greed was changing the pool water, Frank walked in from outside. He took off the gun hanging on his body, then said: "There's a fight outside, you know that?"

Greed paused: "They started fighting this fast? Could it be that those two groups ran into each other?"

"Indeed related to you," Frank said, "I've been watching those two groups, and neither looks like humans. One side has feathers growing on their heads, the other is even more strangely shaped—some have spikes on their bodies, some look like snakes. I really don't know what they're up to."

The Punisher, his grudge avenged, was in good spirits. After putting his gun aside, he said: "You fixed the pool this fast? Later I can go down and swim a couple laps?"

"Of course." Greed nodded. Steve wanted to speak but hesitated—he actually didn't want the children to come into contact with such dangerous figures. But after thinking, even more dangerous couldn't possibly compare to Shiler, and these kids had almost come to regard Shiler as their own uncle.

Whether Greed or Pride, both seemed quite likable to children. Greed need not be said—he had already won over all the children's hearts with gifts from several Christmases. As the next Christmas approached, the children were even more enthusiastic toward him. But it wasn't curiosity about what gift they'd receive; rather, they kept wanting to ask what gift Greed actually wanted, so they could prepare in advance. Everyone wanted to ensure their gift was the best.

Pride actually managed to organize these little hellions into doing homework. Heaven knows how moved Wanda was when she saw the twins sitting at the bar for a full ten minutes without lifting their heads—she and Jarvis combined had never managed that.

You must know, these children were all wild. Aside from little Morgan, basically no one liked reading, let alone doing homework. Who would still love staring at textbooks when they could rage across the universe? So their study habits were not good.

Put nicely, they had lost the chance to become future villains; put bluntly, their education fell short of the supervillain standard line. Not to mention crazy master's degrees—even crazy bachelor's degrees were somewhat difficult.

To correct their study habits and attitudes, the parents wore themselves out. Susan was trying to find a home tutor, Wanda and Jarvis chased the two brothers across the universe, Steve didn't know how many family meetings he'd held, and even Stark had to rise early and work late to give Morgan remedial education in subjects beyond engineering and science.

Moreover, these children were like a fire when gathered, scattered stars when apart. Each individually disliked studying, and together they were even less willing. Pride actually managed to organize them to sit and write homework for half an hour—this left no choice but to esteem Pride as an honored guest.

In fact, Franklin played a major role here. Previously Franklin was the leader of these children, the strongest among them, with the most ideas. The twin brothers and little Thomas all listened to him.

Franklin was willing to sit obediently and write homework, so the others could only endure sitting there to write. Others were curious about how Franklin suddenly changed, but Franklin remained inscrutable, as if heavenly secrets must not be revealed. This made them feel Franklin must have seen either the past or the future. And whether past or future, both pointed to the same result—one must absolutely listen to Pride's words.