"People with major disabilities have a higher probability of developing mental illnesses than ordinary people." Arrogant suddenly spoke, "This isn't discrimination, but human nature. Anyone who exists on the fringe of society, unable to function normally, tends to have such issues."
"You mean Manas's mind isn't quite normal?" Steve asked, "But you also said she is unlikely to have committed suicide. Could it be that she instructed someone else to assist her in suicide?"
Arrogant suddenly fell silent again. The others engaged in their own discussion but reached no conclusions, while Greed was evidently uninterested in such matters. He looked at Natasha and asked, "What about the guy who tried to frame you? Did you take care of him?"
"Didn't have time," Natasha said, "The scene was chaotic back then, I didn't have a chance to resort to foul play."
"Then let's go give him a beating tonight," Greed suggested, "You should still be able to recognize him, right?"
"Of course. I saw him the moment he opened his mouth. And considering his connection with Augustus, he's probably a Hampton. If we go door to door, we'll definitely find him."
Greed nodded and said, "Then let's go tonight."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Steve said somewhat helplessly, "Though he shouldn't have framed you, we haven't gotten to the bottom of things. What if you accidentally hurt him badly?"
"A hospital visit won't delay the investigation." Greed said, "Don't worry, we've got it under control. At worst, we'll just scare him a little."
"You know, we might actually get something out of him this way." Bucky was evidently interested as well, "Let's prepare well, then give him a scare. Maybe he'll spill everything about what happened during the day."
As the three discussed how to intimidate others, Arrogant seemed to have skipped over this topic and no longer discussed murder cases, which puzzled Stark and others. It was clear before that Arrogant was very interested in the murder case, possibly the most interested, but suddenly he refused to talk, which was obviously suspicious.
But they didn't know how to broach the question. It just seemed that Arrogant was from a completely different world, and they had not been on the same wavelength since they met.
So the topic was put aside. They started discussing what to have for dinner. As the lunch wasn't particularly satisfying, everyone abandoned the idea of going out to eat and planned to prepare something simple in the new house.
Greed had quite a few ingredients. He stir-fried a few dishes, and others made sandwiches and salads. Everyone sat around the dining table eating, opened a few bottles of wine, chatting and laughing until it was completely dark.
Arrogant didn't say much, but he wasn't entirely out of place. He was a good listener, allowing everyone to feel seen when they spoke. Occasionally speaking, he wouldn't be on the same channel as the rest, yet could bring in fresh perspectives.
After the meal, they became much more familiar with each other. The Marvel folks discovered that people from the neighboring world seemed to be like this. They exuded a melancholic aura, like figures sitting alone by the window on rainy nights. But after spending time together, they found that the joys and sorrows between worlds were indeed connected. They weren't outsiders, just individuals who preferred contemplation over expression.
They hadn't drunk much, but after a whole day's activity, they were quite tired. Steve tidied the things in front of him while saying, "Let's call it a night, and go to sleep. We might need to move the furniture tomorrow."
Everyone echoed with "let's," preparing to head to their respective guest rooms to sleep. But at this moment, Arrogant said, "We might need to wait a bit longer."
Everyone turned to look at him, and Arrogant glanced at his watch, "About half an hour."
Just as Stark was about to say something, Greed suggested, "Let's go to the living room to watch a documentary. 'Traveling with the Stark Family' is about to air."
"What the heck," Stark said, "That's a Stark Group documentary, not something about my family. Don't make it sound like one of those trashy Hollywood reality shows..."
So they went to the living room to watch the documentary on a holographic display. It was essentially a promotional video for the Stark Group, produced by Howard to document the family's glorious history. It wasn't poorly done, just lacking entertainment value. Some disinterested folks were already dozing off on the couch.
Suddenly, Steve straightened up. He turned to look toward the backyard and nudged Natasha, who was on the couch beside him. Natasha, having drunk a lot, had actually fallen asleep. Once startled awake, she looked at Steve, puzzled and groggy.
They woke each other up. Stark was the last to awaken, yawning and ready to head upstairs. Quick as a flash, Greed grabbed him, then pointed toward the back door.
Stark didn't notice anything, somewhat puzzled and about to speak, but Greed gestured for him to stay quiet. Meanwhile, Steve and Bucky had silently moved to the back door.
The tactical movements honed on life-or-death battlefields seemed etched into their genes. They covered each other as they advanced, making way for each other's lines of fire. Once near the window, Steve stood by the window frame, his body pressed against the wall, peeking out slightly to see a figure digging under the moonlight.
Steve turned back to look at the others on the couch but was met with Arrogant's gray eyes, which, under the moonlight, gleamed with a unique luster. He shook his head at him.
So, Steve pushed Bucky back down, stopping him from peeking out, then silently returned to the couch. Stark looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Steve was only watching Arrogant's movements.
Arrogant yawned and turned to go upstairs to sleep. Everyone else was left puzzled by him. Steve looked at Greed, who also yawned: "Let's sleep, we'll discuss whatever it is tomorrow."
The crowd was astonished. Now someone was sneaking into your new backyard to dig, clearly not a good person, and you've found out, yet your response was to just sleep on it? Then what's the point of us staying up so late?
However, everyone had grown accustomed to it. Greed had his reasons for his actions. So they each dispersed, went back to their rooms, pulled the curtains tight, and tried not to worry. After all, nothing could be more dangerous than Shiller.
But Greed, upon going upstairs, did not return to his master bedroom, instead arriving at Arrogant's guest room. As soon as he walked in, he asked, "What's going on? Who is that guy? Why don't we catch him?"
"No need," Arrogant replied, "there's plenty of time left."
Faced with Greed's bewildered expression, Arrogant sat down by the window, watching the shadow laboriously digging a hole in the garden, as he calmly shared his speculations. Until the moon was high in the sky.
At dawn the next day, everyone rushed to the garden eagerly. Steve circled the area and then said, "This guy clearly is a novice, doesn't even know to leave the topsoil aside to cover back up after burying. The area is all moist new soil..."
"He must have dug a hole here." Natasha also came forward, "Looks like it's not very deep. What's he trying to do?"
"We'll just have to dig it up and see." Coulson had already taken out shovels and handed one to each of them. They all started digging, though in reality, the shovels weren't much needed, as the hole was only covered with a thin layer of soil. Upon Steve's first shovel full, his expression changed grimly.
He withdrew the shovel, brushed away the surface soil, and revealed a woman's corpse lying in the shallow pit. Natasha gasped, "Manas!"
Everyone took a few steps back. At that moment, Greed and Arrogant just walked out from the back door. Everyone turned to look at them. Arrogant went over to glance at the corpse, then said, "Just as expected."
"Stop being mysterious." Coulson's tone was almost pleading, "If you know something, hurry up and explain, this is too bizarre!"
"This place is haunted." Arrogant said no more after that. Everyone could only turn to Greed for help, their eyes begging.
"Literally, not just this estate, the whole Hampton area is haunted." Greed spread his hands, "There hadn't been any signs before, maybe they used some method to suppress the paranormal activity in this area. But now they can't keep it down, so murder cases are starting to occur."
Steve had a suddenly enlightened look on his face: "It must be related to Dracula, right?"
"Exactly." Greed nodded, "We suspect the Hampton people had a deal with Dracula. They allowed Dracula to hunt here, but Dracula had to help them suppress the paranormal phenomena. Now that Dracula is gone, there's no one to suppress it, so naturally..."
Greed looked down at the corpse in the pit. Everyone followed his gaze. There was nothing particularly special about this woman's body, because the weather was quite cold, it hadn't started decaying, looking somewhat like she was asleep.
"You're saying, Manas was killed by ghosts." Natasha looked at the corpse and said, "Her father and certain guests are fully aware, they don't want this matter to spread out, so they are urgently looking for a scapegoat."
"So that's it," Steve sighed, "I was wondering what could make such a bigshot so afraid. Didn't expect it wasn't even a person, but a supernatural phenomenon. No matter how wealthy or powerful an ordinary person is, they probably wouldn't have a way to deal with such paranormal phenomena."
"Then moving the body here..." Coulson paused slightly, "Could they be hoping Dracula will come back to help them resolve it?"
"Don't you find Dracula's behavior strange?" Stark suddenly asked, "Suddenly running off to the Shi'ar Empire claiming he wants to taste alien flavors, isn't it absurd?"
"He's lived for so many years, surely he's encountered aliens before, given his abilities, leaving Earth shouldn't be difficult. If he wanted to change his taste he would've done it long ago. Choosing to leave now, looks more like fleeing."
"Indeed," Coulson nodded, "Besides, the price seemed high, but considering the current New York real estate market situation, the expected price should be much higher. He hastily sold it, looks indeed like a hasty escape."
"Could it be that Dracula can't handle things here anymore?" Bucky voiced a possibility, "Suppressing paranormal events must not be simple. Although Dracula is a vampire, there's no word of him being skilled in magic. Perhaps the situation in this area has deteriorated to where even he can't suppress it, but hasn't completed the contract and is afraid of trouble, hence he hurriedly looked for someone to take over."
"No wonder he reached out to you," Natasha looked at Stark, "Probably thought finding someone of his caliber wouldn't suffice. Even if you couldn't solve it, you could call in The Avengers."
"Did you know what was happening here beforehand?" Hawkeye asked somewhat puzzled.
"I grew up here." Stark didn't answer directly, "You all don't have to blame me for dragging Shiller down, he grew up here too."
The crowd fell into a silent pause. Clearly, everyone with connections to Hampton knew some part of the inside story. Their choice to stay might precisely be due to a desire to resolve the issue. Whether it was Stark, Steve, Natasha or Shiller, or even the fleeing Dracula, they all felt that Hampton's issues could not be delayed any longer.