Many times, the creation of literary works follows a rule: if a gun appears in the first act, it will definitely go off in the final act. People always have a reverence for omens and predictions, and such plots often appear in movies, where an inconspicuous character inadvertently says a sentence that determines the tone and ending of the entire film.
This is not entirely to intensify dramatic conflict. Sometimes, it is precisely those very inconspicuous details that decide the direction of a person's life. The moment the gears of fate begin to turn, it always carries a romantic and tragic color, thus remaining timeless and enduring.
But Shiller is never the gun hanging on the wall, but the one pressed to everyone's forehead right at the start of the story. He is not some minor character either, and his words are never spoken without aim, but always allude to something—let no one say they were not forewarned.
However, he is always exceptionally adept at making everyone overlook his most crucial sentence at the most crucial moment. Then, once everything is over, at some midnight moment of reflection, they recall that sentence, that look, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Many cinematic works have a unique category called psychological horror. These works often don't have those sudden jump scares but instead create various stressful environments to make the audience feel a sense of horror. Most of the time, Shiller is a walking psychological horror piece, not only exerting pressure at specific times but creating a long and despairing atmosphere of fear.
Gothamites aren't that sensitive to this because the city is already scary enough, and Shiller is just one of them. But New York is different; the people of this city are still relatively normal in spirit. So, when Arrogant finished his sentence, Strange gave him a deep look.
Even Arrogant thought he was going to press further, but Strange simply waved his cloak and disappeared. Arrogant showed a hint of contemplation, as if the place seemed not so simple to him.
Of course. Greed seemed not to have given it much thought, because without long-term worries, there will be immediate concerns. He's the one moving house, and anyone who's moved knows how troublesome that is.
Moving is especially troublesome for Greed, because he has so many possessions. Even if he could move everything in one go using the gray mist, he still has to organize and settle everything, which is a big project when you think about it.
"I need to hire someone to help," Greed said somewhat helplessly, "and there's so much stuff stored in the gray mist, I need to sort it out. A new life needs a simplistic start."
"I'm glad you think that way," Arrogant said. "There's a month until Christmas; we should be able to get everything sorted before the Christmas party."
"You're a bit too optimistic," Greed shook his head. "Even though I have many friends, it won't be that quick. The house also needs some new stuff, the swimming pool needs repairs, and maybe the railing needs to be redone too…"
In the background of Greed's muttering, Arrogant's thoughts had already begun to drift away. It wasn't until Greed stepped outside that Arrogant followed him. Greed turned back, seemingly sensing some confusion.
"I'm going to the Avengers Base, do you want to come with me?"
Arrogant halted his steps and said, "No, I'm going to rest early today; I might go out for a round early tomorrow."
"Alright. The room should be ready; you can just pick one you like to stay in. If the kids are noisy, you can also sleep in the coffin. I might not come back tonight."
So they parted ways, with Arrogant staying in the new house to rest, while Greed went to the Avengers Base to look for help.
When Greed arrived at the Avengers Base, only Steve and Bucky were there. Seeing Greed come in, Steve walked up and patted his arm, saying, "Tony told me you've already bought a house; do you need a hand with the move?"
"Yes, Captain, I came over to find someone to help, but didn't expect they wouldn't be here."
"They left not long ago," Steve said. "Knowing you might need help moving, they all went back early to rest. Tell me about the particulars of the house."
Greed walked over and sat on the sofa. Bucky, sitting nearby, was using his phone to chat when he looked up at him, seemingly curious about where he'd bought the house.
"East Hampton," Greed said. "The most famous wealthy area on Long Island, neighbors with Tony."
Unexpectedly, hearing this, Steve frowned and said, "Why did you choose there? Even Tony wouldn't have suggested buying a house there…"
Greed looked puzzled at him: "What's the matter with that place?"
"It's nothing," Steve said. "If you think it's not a problem, then perhaps it won't be a problem for you."
"The community atmosphere there is not good," Bucky straightforwardly said. "It's not just about the residents being pretentious or cliquish."
"What's the problem?"
"The revolving door between government and business, deals of power and lust, conspiracy and murder..."
Steve signaled Bucky with his eyes to stop, but he added, "A lot of things happened in the last century, when I was young. By modern times, the entire East Coast had somewhat declined, and these old money families weren't as impressive, thus they restrained themselves somewhat. But there are indeed many unresolved issues there."
"Is it really that serious?" Greed seemed surprised, "When Stark was young, it was actually already the end of the 20th century. Back then, indeed many overly confident people banded together in East Hampton, causing quite a few scandals, like who was having an affair with whom, who fought whom over whom, and even people setting fires at others' homes."
But from Steve's perspective, in the early 20th century, around the 1930s, the situation here was worse, possibly involving many illegal transactions and unspeakable things, even murder cases, and not just one. It's just that those families were still glorious then, all buried under money and power, without causing a ripple.
However, this situation was understandable. For instance, Emily, who was of the same generation as Stark, was a branch of the Kennedy family. She really shouldn't have married that unknown small businessman Aphus, proving that the Kennedy family had already fallen by that era. Indeed, after President Kennedy was assassinated, the family faded away, disappearing without a trace.
Under such circumstances, the commotion they could cause was very limited. Stark's conflicts with Emily and her group at the time were nothing more than childhood disagreements, insulting each other in school, making snide remarks at community gatherings, then being embarrassed by Stark's mischief, like villains in classic American teen movies.
But if we go back a few decades, when old Kennedy was a state legislator in Massachusetts and young Kennedy successfully elected as US President, the family could truly be described as at its peak, everyone in the family was excessively arrogant.
Moreover, the family practiced extremely strict elite education, their motto being "Everything for Victory". Parents and children, brothers and sisters even engaged in fierce competition among themselves, if there was a poor performance one day, they would face reprimand and punishment. There was hardly any familial love among family members, and the elders would even praise behavior like leaving a brother to fend for himself, one can only imagine the kind of psychopaths this family could cultivate.
Indeed, this educational method proved ineffective, as almost all Kennedy descendants drank heavily and used drugs. After President Kennedy was assassinated, their next presidential candidate seemingly lost his path due to drunk driving and drug driving.
Narcissists and anti-social individuals born under such oppressive family atmosphere had to have an outlet for their emotions and desires. Besides drug use, they were more likely than others to participate in rape and murder cases. And when the family provided them shelter, they acted more recklessly, undoubtedly someone would fall victim.
Families like these were not few. In that era, almost all old money families practiced merciless elite education, clinging to rigid rules, leveraging paternal authority to oppress layer by layer, stifling since birth, until psychologically twisted, becoming psychopaths, turning to bullying those weaker than them. And because their families were wealthy and powerful, with communications not advanced at the time, such things were almost impossible to expose.
If you didn't do it, you'd be ostracized. Not only excluded from the exchange of interests, you would become a target of bullying. You do it, I do it too, we all do it, ultimately forming regional crime organizations. Hampton was such a place back then.
It perfectly suited their criminal needs. First, it was secluded, at the northernmost part of Long Island, scenic and ideal for family vacations. The ones building houses here were all wealthy, everyone complicit. More importantly, it was a bay, where all secrets could be easily buried by the sea.
This made Greed think of the Court of Owls. Undoubtedly, Gotham's Court of Owls was born in such a way—a group of psychopaths gathered together, creating more psychopaths, eventually turning the entire city into a gigantic psychiatric hospital.
However, the era Gotham was in was earlier, the social system hadn't yet been disrupted by the rapidly developing information industry. And New York evidently had undergone changes, the once extraordinarily glorious Hampton had fallen to the point of being unable to stir any waves.
Though they've learned their lesson now, there's a saying that nature cannot be changed. Bucky clearly held no hope: "Once given the opportunity, they'd still stir up trouble. If you don't want your life disturbed, you'd better move out as soon as possible."
"Opportunity..." Greed contemplated the word, "Yes, there is indeed an opportunity lately."
He looked up at Steve again, saying, "I indeed need help with my move. After I finish moving, I will host a housewarming party to express my gratitude. What do you think?"
"Housewarming party? I thought you wouldn't like such formalistic things." Steve tilted his head slightly, "In America, a housewarming party is assumed to include neighbors. Smaller ones at least involve the surrounding two or three households. Larger ones generally involve the entire community, also inviting community police and all social workers."
"I plan to make it grand." Greed said, "After all, if I'm going to live here long-term, I need to maintain good relations with the neighbors."
Steve nodded, expressed no objection, but he asked again, "Christmas is near, can it be done on time? Most people will be preparing for Christmas parties."
"It can be done." Greed said, "We'll tidy up briefly first, a week or two is completely doable. In any case, it will be a bit hard on you all."
"No hardship at all." Steve said, "You must have prepared wonderful Christmas gifts for us. To ensure this diligent Santa arrives on time, each of us is an expert mover."
Greed laughed.