Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

In a public restroom, Michael was scrubbing the nasty blood off his face.

Feeling the cool water, he started to chill out a bit.

"Man, the problem's with me. That ghost can mess with memories, shoving some imaginary person into my head without me even noticing. Even with this eye, I couldn't catch it. If Freya hadn't given me a heads-up, I'd still be chilling at home

with that ghost."

He glanced up at the mirror.

The eye on Michael's face had vanished, and he looked normal again.

"Michael, you there? It's Freya." Suddenly, the satellite phone by the sink buzzed.

The call had been on hold since earlier.

"Yeah, it's me," Michael said, grabbing the phone.

"What went down over there?" Freya asked.

Michael replied, "You were right. My dad did die in a car crash when I was a kid. That guy at home wasn't human, it was a ghost."

"You got away?"

"Yeah." Michael wiped his face. Then he noticed a red piece of paper stuck to the back of his hand.

It was a scrap from that newspaper earlier.

"Good to hear. Can you tell me more about that ghost?" Freya asked.

Michael said, "That ghost can mess with memories. Its behavior is all over the place, and I don't know how it kills. But earlier, my face was wrapped in a bloody newspaper, and I almost suffocated. That's all I got for now." "Got it," Freya quickly jotted down notes.

"If my dad's a ghost, then what about my mom? Where is she? And when did this ghost show up? You should be able to pull up the surveillance around here. Can you check for me?" Michael asked.

Freya replied, "I can look into it, but you'll need to work with us in the future."

"What kind of work?" Michael asked.

"For now, just some basic info-gathering. Whenever you spot a ghost, you gotta report it ASAP," Freya said.

"What's in it for me?" Michael asked.

Freya said, "We'll give you some support and a decent monthly paycheck. But since you're not a detective, no salary for now. But I can help your mom get a more stable job."

"You want me to work for Interpol for free? I saw that website, the bounty for dealing with a ghost is at least a million bucks. If I become a Ghost Handler, I won't last long. If there's no real benefit, I'm out." Michael said seriously.

Freya on the other end was a bit ticked off. "The high bounties abroad are because most Ghost Handlers there are like mercenaries, working for the highest bidder. That's why the spread of supernatural incidents abroad is way worse than here. Living in Astoria, you should know that apart from the supernatural stuff you run into, there are rarely big ghost killings.

Thanks to our domestic Ghost Handlers. If everyone thought like you, how could our country stay peaceful?"

But Michael said, "Let's drop this for now. I got another situation here. I'll hit you up next time."

Then he hung up.

Freya was fuming when she heard the call end.

Michael didn't hang up to dodge her; he needed to deal with the red paper stuck to his hand. He ripped off the palm-sized red paper, planning to toss it.

It was something the ghost always had, giving off creepy vibes. Keeping it probably wasn't smart.

But as soon as he tore off the red paper, the skin where it had stuck split open with a sharp pain.

A red eye popped up again.

At the same time, he felt a weird writhing sensation all over his body.

The eyes inside him started to get restless, like they woke up from using their power earlier.

Michael looked at the red paper in his hand and decided not to throw it away but to stick it back on his hand, covering the eye.

The red eye shut immediately, and the weird writhing sensation in his flesh stopped.

It seemed everything was back to normal.

"Yep, this red paper can keep this eye's power in check. Not completely, but it slows down the eye's revival." He thought.

Seeing this, Michael was kinda relieved.

Then he remembered the saying, "Only a ghost can deal with a ghost."

If the eyes in his body counted as a ghost, then the red newspaper was also a ghost.

The powers of the two ghosts clashed, keeping each other in check.

Maybe this was the key to staying alive.

No, that was not right.

Michael furrowed his brow, "If this theory's right, then why didn't the eye get shut down when that Ghost Baby bit me in the school? Instead, it woke up faster from the jolt?" The red newspaper, the Ghost Baby.

What was the deal between the two?

After mulling it over for a bit, Michael decided to shelve the question. Since the red newspaper could keep the eyes in check, he had to risk it to get it back.

'Cause that was his shot at staying alive.

"I gotta head home again."

Michael's eyes were dead serious as he took a deep breath and walked out of the public restroom, ready to take the plunge and go home.

But just as he stepped out, four or five young dudes, looking like trouble, rolled up on him.

"Using the restroom? Don't bounce yet, we need to chat," one of the guys said, putting a hand on Michael's shoulder.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

"What's up?" Michael asked, giving him a side-eye.

"Nothing much, just wanna get to know you. I'm Santiago Fernandez. What's your name?" the guy said.

"Michael."

Santiago grinned, "Cool, we're friends now. And friends help each other out, right? Michael, can you lend me some cash? Don't worry, I'll pay you back here tomorrow."

Michael tilted his head, "Lend you money? Sounds more like you're trying to rob me. But can't you just pick someone more normal? I'm not exactly normal these days. You might wanna back off, I might accidentally do something bad." "You're pretty cocky. If you wanna die, just say so and I'll make it happen," another guy said, slapping Michael's face with a small knife.

"Guys, don't do this. If something goes down, it won't end well. Let me go and let's pretend this never happened, okay?" Michael said.

"No way. If you don't cough up the cash today, you're not leaving," the guy with the knife said with a grin.

"Bro, it's just borrowing, I'll pay you back next time we meet," Santiago said with a smile.

Michael said, "Since you put it that way, I have no choice. The money's in my pants pocket. Go ahead, take it."

The guy with the knife got excited and reached into Michael's pocket to grab the money.

But as soon as he reached in, he felt something cold, like a glass ball.

He instinctively pulled it out.

But then he found his hand covered in blood, holding a red eye that was slightly moving, staring at him with a creepy gaze.

The guy with the knife screamed in terror, his face going pale as he stumbled back.

But as he backed away, everything around him turned crimson.

The buildings, the streetlights, the moon in the sky, even the ground-all seemed to be bathed in red light.

"Since we're friends, it shouldn't be a problem for you to help me test this Ghost Realm, right?" Michael said, slowly walking out of the restroom. Santiago's eyes widened.

If Michael was walking out of the restroom, then who was the person with his arm around his shoulder?

At that moment, he didn't even dare to look back, feeling that the person with his arm around his shoulder was cold, like a corpse.

"Ghost!" Santiago screamed and bolted, fleeing the restroom, followed by the other thugs who also turned and ran in fear. Michael looked at the back of his hand.

The outline of an eye appeared where the red paper was stuck, but it was quickly suppressed by the red paper again, and then the eye reappeared, seemingly in a struggle. "With six eyes, I can use the Ghost Realm, but with one eye covered by the red paper, I can use the Ghost Realm with five eyes, and the ghost's revival is halted," he murmured. He felt pain in five places on his body where the skin had split.

Five different fields of vision were transmitted to his mind.

He had a clear grasp of everything around him.

'Six eyes are the limit my body can handle, but with five eyes, the situation is much better. Although there are still side effects, they are not severe,' Michael thought, realizing his limits.

Then he thought further, 'If I get that red newspaper and cover all six eyes, does that mean I can use the ghost's power without side effects? No longer worrying about the consequences of the ghost's revival?' 'But before that, I need to master this Ghost Realm.'

Michael looked at the fleeing thugs, thinking they would be the best test subjects.

Mastering the Ghost Realm was a skill Michael needed for his next encounter with a ghost, so using the ghost's power once was necessary, not a waste.