Coulson and Natasha both nodded. They were obviously more accepting of this explanation than the notion of some regional curse. But in fact, what Stark and Dracula said was essentially the same thing.
Simply put, the ancestors had mental issues, which then brought a bad influence on the social atmosphere here. People born here later couldn't change it, so the more they lived, the less comfortable it became, and the mental issues worsened.
In many wealthy neighborhoods in Europe and America, the community atmosphere feels like a large psychiatric hospital, and it was formed in the same way. During the golden times, the cake was big enough, so even if some people came in without wearing suits or ties to take a bite, no one cared. But once the cake got smaller, strict dress codes and etiquettes became necessary to ensure fair distribution.
This led to more ridiculous rules in the more upper-class communities. In fact, if resources dwindled enough, these rules would trickle down to middle-class communities, causing even them to adopt various rules to protect their resources. Eventually, this might even go down to the civilian level, wishing every community had a set of etiquette to remind outsiders to keep out.
"However, if that's the case, it shouldn't affect us, right?" Coulson asked, "Superpower users shouldn't be influenced by the collective unconscious. Maybe. At least Shiller is definitely not affected by it."
Coulson looked at Greed, who didn't seem so sure. He then turned to Dracula and said, "If it's just illusions from the collective unconscious, they wouldn't stop you from selling this house to aliens, after all, they don't share the same collective unconscious and can't see those illusions."
"That's the issue. It's no longer just illusions; it's the fusion of illusion and matter," Dracula explained. "You can think of it as human illusions imbuing everything here with spirits, turning them into weird shapes."
"Solving only the material issues is useless because as long as humans remain, the illusions will keep appearing and imbuing spirits. Solving only the mental issues doesn't work either because the imbued entities exist independently and will continue to be active."
"So, as long as humans continue to live in Hampton and follow the old ways, the supernatural phenomena here will not disappear. However, this house doesn't have ghosts, and while the restless spirits are annoying, they don't cause substantial harm."
"But if I sold such a house to the Shi'ar Empire folks and then migrated there, they wouldn't let me off. So, I hope you can take over, and in return, I'm even willing to sell it for a bit less."
"I see," Greed felt a bit more at ease and asked, "You mentioned mages can't completely drive these things away, what about the Supreme Magician?"
"How would I know," Dracula said helplessly, "Can I go to Kamar-Taj and call the police, saying my house is haunted and ask the Supreme Magician to come and catch the ghosts?"
Then, he somehow produced a large bunch of keys and handed them to Greed, saying, "If you buy the house, you could invite him over to check it, but don't get your hopes up. The price I just gave you is my bottom line. If you want it, we can close the deal immediately, and then you can move in. Whoever you invite over afterward is your business."
"Come on, it's not the 18th century," Greed said, "Buying and selling houses requires a contract."
Dracula shook his head again and said, "We do indeed need to sign a contract, but not the kind modern people make, it's this."
Dracula pulled out a roll of parchment from who knows where, leaving Greed speechless. However, Dracula waved his hand and said, "You're not signing with me, but with the other presences in the house. That's the only way you can move in peacefully, otherwise, they'll definitely cause trouble."
Greed frowned slightly. Dracula continued, "This house's hardware is almost flawless. If it weren't for some special custodians, it would've attracted a lot of covetous eyes, and now it might have ended up in the hands of those secretive influential families, wouldn't it?"
Actually, Stark had wanted to ask earlier how Dracula managed to get such a good house. Never mind that Dracula is indeed the ancestor of vampires, but his combat prowess is really lacking. Rich Americans aren't to be trifled with. Although they're ordinary humans without superpowers, if they're willing to spend money, they can surely hire capable superpower users. Blade Warrior, for instance, is quite strapped for cash. If they hired Blade Warrior to harass Dracula, he'd have to move, and the house would eventually end up in the hands of those wealthy folks.
The people of Hampton wouldn't hesitate to do so. After all, Stark merely made the house a bit ugly and doesn't reside here permanently, nor does he disrupt their lives, yet they bear so much hostility. Dracula, on the other hand, is clearly a nocturnal oddball occupying such prime real estate. If the house weren't peculiar, those folks would've united to chase Dracula away.
"The fact is, without signing the contract, you can't live there at all," Dracula snorted, "There were some unlucky souls who didn't believe in the supernatural and targeted this house, but they all left with their tails between their legs."
"That's actually good for you," Natasha said, looking at Greed, "When you're not around, the ghosts can keep watch over your house, preventing anyone from sneaking in."
"Are you crazy?" Stark said, "Who in their right mind would sneak into the Schiller's house?"
"Those who know Shiller certainly wouldn't. But you can't expect every neighbor, or even the whole community, to know him. With so many mentally unstable people here, who knows if someone might suddenly lose it."
Greed also thought Natasha made some sense. His butler had gone to visit Zero Ultron and hadn't returned, and he didn't want to hire another full-time butler. However, he still needed to go to work at the sanatorium, and leaving the house unattended wasn't practical.
Especially considering that many aliens might move into this community in the future. Although they might fear human superheroes and refrain from major actions, they would likely engage in small maneuvers. Perhaps they'd want to explore all the houses on their first day here, and Greed didn't want them barging into his home recklessly.
"Alright," Greed decided, "I'll first open a Universal Coin account for you, transfer the house payment, and then we'll sign the contract. As for the house purchase formalities—Phil, can you help with that?"
"No problem, real estate manager Coulson at your service." Coulson flashed a professional smile, "I brought all the necessary paperwork, we just need to update the information for the house and the parties involved in the transaction."
"Alright then." The group returned to the lobby, sat on the sofa, and prepared to sign the paperwork.
While Greed was signing, Stark wandered around the lobby. He first looked at the dining room, then looked up at the chandelier, and said, "We've been here so long, and we haven't seen any ghosts?"
"Restless spirits like to come out at night," Dracula said without looking up, "This house has great soundproofing, as long as they don't cause a ruckus in the bedroom, it's fine."
"What if they go into the bedroom?"
"Just shout at them and chase them out," Dracula said, "But I usually sleep in a coffin, they wouldn't dare mess around in my coffin. You can have the bedroom coffin, and if it gets too noisy, you can sleep there."
"Thanks for your kindness," Greed sincerely said. Having dealt with aliens for a long time, he could accept any custom. It's no big deal to sleep in a coffin; there are races that sleep in the core of stars. When someone kindly offers you their super comfortable double bed, you should not be too surprised, like someone who hasn't seen the world.
The paperwork was quickly completed. After signing the parchment contract, Greed felt some whispers in the house, seemingly talking to him. But it wasn't in human language, and Greed couldn't really understand it, only sensing they meant no harm, more like curiosity.
Greed put away the parchment, Dracula let out a long sigh, then said, "When can we get things sorted out with the Shi'ar Empire?"
"If you're in a hurry, you can leave now. But let me remind you, if you get into trouble over there, no one will bail you out."
Dracula was thoughtful, but he left quickly. Natasha looked around the house and said, "Although this house is relatively clean, it's best to have someone come clean it thoroughly, do a complete sanitation. However, if it's haunted, it wouldn't be convenient to hire cleaners from outside, how about hiring people from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Is Nick short on funds again?" Greed asked casually, "Alright, let him send someone over, I'll give him an invoice."
So, the group left the new house for the time being. Greed said, "The movie is going to start shooting, Steven is busy tidying up the school. Once the cleaning is done, I'll ask him to come take a look, resolving any supernatural phenomena would be great."
Soon, they all dispersed. Stark seemed determined to be neighbors with Greed, intending to move back to the old house for a while to get his things. Natasha and Coulson went to find cleaning services. Greed returned to the sanatorium, intending to pick up Arrogant to check out the house.
When he got back to the sanatorium, Arrogant was already in the office. Greed pushed the door open and asked, "Where did you go?"
"To talk with some others," Arrogant said, "like a few PhDs."
Greed showed a knowing expression. Arrogant preferred dealing with intellectuals, especially professors and scientists. After all, most of the time he was surrounded by such people, and Arrogant preferred hearing their opinions.
"What did they say?" Greed asked.
"They said East Hampton isn't a good place," Arrogant paused before saying, "The people there aren't very friendly, and the community atmosphere isn't good. If you want to buy a house there, you'll need to think carefully."
"I've already bought a house there."
"Just as I hoped."
Arrogant chuckled and said, "If your neighborhood was filled with enthusiastic and friendly neighbors, who greet you even when passing by, and have gatherings every weekend, I definitely wouldn't go visit."
"Indeed, you prefer living among a bunch of enemies." Greed knew Arrogant too well. For Arrogant, facing enemies meant he could be himself more freely, without needing to hold back like he would among friends.
Greed was different. Being with friends, he would freely express his nature; with enemies, he could freely express his nature even more.
An unfriendly community atmosphere was a good thing for Arrogant. He would prefer living in a community where no one liked him, so that no matter what he did, it wouldn't hurt his friends or potential friends, and he could do whatever he wanted.
"That house is really nice," Greed said, "You're going to love it. Let's go take a look now."