Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

After Michael bounced, everyone finally snapped out of it.

"By the way, Michael saved our butts, and we didn't even say thanks. That's kinda messed up, right?" Aria piped up.

Viktor chimed in, "How 'bout we treat Michael to some grub in a few days?"

"How 'bout a buffet?" someone tossed out.

David, who was just chillin' nearby, cracked up and said, "A buffet? I wanna take him to a swanky dinner at some fancy joint, then hit up a bar for karaoke. Later, I'll chat with my pops and see if he can hook Michael up with a crib near us. I heard his fam's still renting and their situation kinda sucks. Anyway, I've decided he's my main dude, so don't even think about snatching him, especially you, Aria. I heard you and Michael go way back to middle school." He then gave Aria the once-over, "No trying to seduce him."

"David, what the heck are you talking about?" Aria blushed and shot back.

"You're going overboard," Viktor said, looking surprised.

David sneered, "Overboard? If I could, I'd give him everything."

The others instinctively took a step back from David, and the girls gave him a strange look.

"Don't believe me? Then would you rather give up everything or face a ghost?" David challenged.

Everyone thought back to last night, and fear crept back onto their faces.

"The former is better," Viktor hesitated, then said cautiously.

For some reason, when faced with these two choices, everyone instinctively picked the first one, including those girls.

Yeah, having Michael around made them feel safe.

David got serious, "That Interpol dude Nikolai said these supernatural things are gonna keep happening and it's already a global mess. We ran into a ghost and made it out today, but what about next time? Regular folks like us can't handle ghosts. Only people like Nikolai can, and Michael seems to be one of them now."

"We're so lucky that we know Michael. In the future, he's the only one who can save our skins." He stopped talking after that.

David knew just how special and important Michael was right now.

What went down last night was a freakin' nightmare he never wanted to relive. If he were a girl, he'd probably be glued to Michael by now.

In that sense, Sophia was killin' it.

He glanced towards the bus stop.

Earlier, Sophia had been all over Michael, begging him to take her home.

Right now, on the bus...

Michael sat there, looking beat, staring out at the familiar streets, the familiar crowds, and the familiar hustle and bustle outside the window. Even though it was noisy, it was comforting. At least there were no ghosts.

Sophia was still clinging to Michael. If they were a bit closer, she might've wanted to crash at his place. But she still insisted Michael take her home.

"Michael, are we gonna run into this kinda stuff again?" Sophia clung to Michael's arm, not letting go, finally asking the question after a long silence.

"I dunno, but it's possible. It depends. If we're lucky, we shouldn't run into it again. The world's huge, and the odds should be pretty low. It's not like an earthquake or some big natural disaster," Michael said, glancing at her. Of course, he was just trying to comfort her. Who knew what the future held?

Then he noticed the two dark blue baby handprints on the back of Sophia's neck were still there, like tattoos, and hadn't faded.

'They're not bruises from that Ghost Baby, probably a brand,' he guessed.

Michael was a bit freaked out and didn't know if he should spill the beans.

But seeing how close Sophia was to losing it, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

The scariest thing was freaking yourself out. Maybe it was just a scar and nothing more.

"Just be careful for a while. If anything weird happens, hit me up," Michael said, trying to be nice.

"Thanks," Sophia said, looking up at him with some emotion.

Right then, Michael's phone started ringing.

Sophia, next to him, went pale and screamed instinctively.

Michael said, "Chill, it's probably just a regular call."

He dug through a pile of phones and finally found a walkie-talkie-style one.

It was the satellite phone Nikolai, the Interpol agent, had given him.

This phone couldn't do internet, just calls. It was heavy as a brick. Michael wondered why Nikolai even brought it.

After thinking for a sec, Michael answered the call.

"Nikolai, report the situation," a female operator's voice came through.

"Nikolai's dead," Michael said.

"Dead? How did he die?" The voice on the other end got urgent.

"During childbirth," Michael replied.

"Childbirth?" The voice was clearly stunned.

"Yeah, literally. It was a C-section. The baby couldn't wait and tore open the belly to crawl out. I saw it with my own eyes. But the baby wasn't exactly friendly. Maybe it was mad at me for not helping him out. It bit me as soon as it was born. I almost got eaten," Michael said.

The operator, Freya Schneider, was about to lose it. She said, "Who are you? How did you get Nikolai's satellite phone? Do you know you're involved in an international criminal case? I'm Freya, Nikolai's dedicated operator, part of Interpol in Novaria City. I have the right to ask you to truthfully report Nikolai's situation."

He replied calmly, "I already told you, Nikolai's dead. If you want the truth, can't you send someone to check it out? Do I have to say that Nikolai died because the ghost inside him came back to life? Do you want me to tell everyone on this bus and cause a panic? Your understanding makes me doubt if you're a qualified Interpol agent.

"I'm done talking to you. Get someone who knows what they're doing to take the call."This is property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Meanwhile, at Interpol's Asia office, Freya, the uniformed operator, was fuming. She sharpened her pencil to a point and viciously scribbled on the paper next to her, wanting to stab the arrogant person on the other end. 'Calm down,' she told herself.

Freya took a few deep breaths and said, "Sir, please cooperate with our investigation. If you keep being uncooperative, I have the right to notify the local police to detain you for 48 hours." Michael sneered and stayed silent.

"Sir, Nikolai's situation concerns national security. Please cooperate."

Michael kept sneering.

"Sir, I know you must know about it. If it's inconvenient to speak in public, I can give you five minutes to find a quiet place and truthfully report Nikolai's situation," Freya said.

"Why are you sneering?" Freya was on the verge of breaking down. She forced herself to stay calm and said, "Sir, if it's inconvenient to speak, can you at least tell me your name? We will send someone to verify it later." "Are you trying to investigate me? I don't mind telling you, my name is David," Michael said.

"Fine, just wait." Freya completely lost her cool and shouted back, ignoring the usual protocols.