The crowd moved like before when handling Manas's corpse, first taking action, then moving the body to the cellar. When they returned, Steve said somewhat confusedly, "Why didn't we hear anything?"
Others were also a bit puzzled because everyone here had sharp eyes and ears. It's not that they possessed super senses, but their hearing was certainly more acute than ordinary people's. Although everyone's physical fitness had improved now, and moving a corpse for an adult wasn't difficult, it was impossible to have absolutely no sound. Yet, no one heard anything.
Dracula said the house had good soundproofing, and Greed suddenly remembered, "We were sitting in the front hall, and the back door was closed. It's normal not to hear any noise."
"But this isn't a solution," Steve said, frowning, "Who knows how many more corpses they will send here, soon there won't be room in the cellar."
It was clear that although Steve made a decision, he was still somewhat hesitant, trying to find an excuse to intervene, but didn't know where to start.
"We need to think of a way," Greed said, "From their current actions, facing ghosts, they are powerless. This is actually not good."
Everyone turned to look at him, and Greed continued, "To thoroughly solve the issue here, we need to understand the cause of the supernatural phenomena in this place. Although we've speculated a lot previously, they are merely guesses, none of us are directly involved."
"The Hampton people obviously know something. If they are too weak, they won't survive to the relocation banquet, all killed by ghosts or mentally collapsed, then we'll get nothing from them."
"What do you plan to do?" Stark asked, "I could use the energy core to restore power to Hampton, but that's not a long-term solution. These ghosts come from their illusions, unable to overcome their illusions, they'll surely die."
"Let's go to Augustus's place," Greed said, "Bucky and Coulson will go with me, others stay behind."
Upon hearing Greed's choices, they knew Greed was about to take some extraordinary measures. Bringing a superhero like Captain America was not appropriate.
"Steven..." Steve suggested another person, feeling the Supreme Magician could protect them.
Greed shook his head and said, "No need, this matter here doesn't compare in importance to his case."
Greed changed clothes and took off with the others. The snow kept falling outside, but fortunately, the snowplow ran on diesel and was not affected by the power cut. The social workers were still fairly dedicated, despite sensing a wrong atmosphere in the community, they industriously cleared the snow off the road. They quickly drove to Augustus's estate gate.
The place was desolate, even the lights weren't on, only the living room had a bit of firelight. As they walked in, they saw Augustus, the father of the bride sisters, curled up by the fireplace.
"Don't kill me... don't kill me... I just loved my daughters too much, you falling down was an accident... you're all dead, don't drag my daughters down..."
Greed merely glanced over then sighed, saying, "Completely insane."
"According to him, it was his daughters, who in the past caused someone to fall to their death, he helped cover up, that's why he's so afraid now?" Coulson speculated.
"If it were only that, he would've convinced himself long ago," Bucky shook his head, "The dead incident must be strongly connected to him for him to be this scared."
"Let me ask him," Greed said.
Both knew his ability, hence they remained silent, just watched. Greed soon started hypnotizing Augustus, which was rather challenging because someone completely broken wouldn't cooperate. Greed had to administer some fear gas to him, using poison against poison to get some information.
Simply put, Augustus's estate originally had two female servants, and Augustus, who had recently lost his wife, took a liking to one of them, continuously harassing and flirting.
His two daughters didn't want their dad to quickly remarry because if he did and had new kids, they might not receive as much attention. So they tried everything to push this female servant down the stairs.
When Augustus discovered this, he helped the sisters cover it up by disguising the female servant as a hanging suicide.
The remaining female servant, being the victim's fellow townsman and having a good relationship, intended to report it but was also silenced by Augustus, disguised as a wrist-cutting suicide.
The police were bribed by them, and since the two servants were both outsiders with no backing, despite many suspicious points, the case was carelessly closed.
"No wonder, his younger daughter was strangled to death, and the elder daughter had many arm injuries, similar to how those two maids died," Bucky said.
"I implanted some memories into him," Greed continued, "temporarily freeing him from mental collapse, and vaguely remembering he caused his daughters' deaths."
Coulson almost immediately realized what Greed intended to do. Sure enough, Greed looked at him and said, "Now drive him to the precinct, telling them he contacted you to surrender."
Coulson nodded, then went off to attend to matters. Greed and Bucky quickly returned to the estate. Not long after, Coulson also came back and said, "The police station received Augustus, and they seem relieved. The snow may soon stop."
"Not that easy," Greed shook his head and said, "Using Augustus as a scapegoat gives them an excuse to persuade themselves, which can indeed enhance their mental defenses to some extent. If it were done before the blackout and regional lockdown, it would certainly be effective."
"But now, a large-scale supernatural phenomenon has already occurred. Trying to persuade oneself that this situation has nothing to do with ghosts, especially when encountering a mysterious wall, is entirely different. Self-deception has its limits."
"So what you want is..."
"Augustus won't maintain his normal state for long; he'll soon fall back into collapse and then be killed at the police station."
"So the police will break down and come to us first?" Steve speculated, "This way, we don't have to wait for the housewarming party; they'll reveal some things to us."
Greed shook his head again and said, "Charged with duty yet can tell bare-faced lies—the moral baseline of dirty cops is certainly lower than others. They'll blame everything but themselves."
Steve thought about it and agreed. After all, police officers have duties to uphold; putting on the uniform requires responsibility. At least when they first became police officers, they surely received such education that the burden of wrongdoing is heavier than for ordinary people. Yet if they can still act without constraint, it proves they are indeed worse than others. It's unrealistic to expect such people to develop a conscience.
"Gotham has James Gordon, and Hampton may also have a conscientious good cop. As long as there's one person unaffected, he will certainly come because the police know The Avengers are here."
Steve then revealed a look of realization, though he asked puzzledly, "Is there really? The cops that came looking for us seem to have seen ghosts in this house."
"Seeing ghosts doesn't necessarily mean a guilty conscience," Greed shook his head and said, "Like Tony and me, we've done nothing wrong here, yet we can still feel supernatural phenomena. So can you. Seeing ghosts only means knowing behind the scenes; being attacked by ghosts implies feeling like a thief."
Steve nodded, indeed that was the case. Since coming here, they've witnessed supernatural phenomena but haven't been attacked. Like how he occasionally sees a vague figure in reflections, but that figure simply stands there, exhibiting loneliness and sadness without any aggressiveness.
And the supernatural phenomena Greed encountered were even milder; cups and dishes might float, the carpet might occasionally shift a bit. The supernatural phenomena experienced by those who've done no wrong are just restless spirits, as Dracula said, not even rightly called ghosts.
"As for whether there's such a good cop, I think there is," Greed continued, "If it relied only on Dracula, Hampton wouldn't remain peaceful for this long. There must be someone who knows the inside story but truly hasn't done wrong, maintaining basic order and preventing wrongful cases. Otherwise, given these people's nature, it wouldn't drag till today to erupt."
After a brief pondering, others understood his meaning. Without any restriction, with the moral baseline of these upper-class individuals, there'd likely be countless wrongful cases daily; this place would become a large slaughterhouse, supernatural phenomena might have already erupted massively, and Dracula couldn't possibly hold them back.
When they arrived in Hampton, there was still basic order, proving the upper-class also has concerns, not daring to commit evildoings recklessly. Apart from potential ghost revenge, there must be real forces they'd fear in reality. Forces that, if they dared to murder without limits, would definitely retaliate.
The presence of such individuals is the primary reason Hampton hasn't totally descended into chaos but remains maintainable, complemented by Dracula's forceful suppression to delay it for so long.
"Originally, I intended to wait until after the housewarming party when the upper-class were terrorized to the extreme to voluntarily reveal this person. But now, it seems we'll have to draw him out and make him act first. Otherwise..."
"Bang!"
A sniper bullet directly shattered the second floor's glass and pierced through the atrium, shooting straight into the center of the living room.
Stark instantly armed his battle armor, a laser followed the sniper path and struck back. Bucky kicked off the wall, jumping to the second floor, blocking the gun line. Steve grabbed the shield beside him and tossed it to him.
"No!" Greed suddenly shouted, "Don't act!"
Steve looked at him, puzzled. Although the shot didn't seem like an attack, it was highly provocative; no one knew who dared provoke The Avengers.
"Wait a moment," Coulson also voiced.
"Bang!"
Another loud bang; the second floor's glass shattered directly. A tall figure jumped in, standing in the living room's center, scanning everyone around. Coulson saw that attire and the white skull emblem on the chest, then held his forehead.
"Captain Cassel!" Coulson yelled at him, "What are you doing!"
The tall man who charged in also furrowed his brows deeply. And at this moment, Greed walked over to pick up the sniper bullet head among the floor fragments; it was a silver bullet.