Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

"Is that ghost not coming back?"

Michael had been up all night, eyes bloodshot, staring at the front door.

He left the door open, hoping to catch the ghost the moment it showed up.

But things didn't go as planned.

"I can't just sit here waiting for a ghost that might never come back. If it's gone for good, I'm wasting my time, and right now, time's something I can't afford to waste." Michael rubbed his tired eyes, trying to wake up and chill out a bit.

Staying on edge all night would drive anyone nuts.

"If I can't find this ghost soon, I need to prepare for two things." Michael got up from the couch, took a shower, and packed his stuff to head out.

The two things he had in mind were: first, figuring out how to survive if he could stay alive. Second, if he was really going to die, he needed to make some money for his parents. Michael, with a backpack slung over his shoulder, walked out of his old apartment building.

He squinted up at the blazing sun and felt a bit dizzy.

"But it seems like ghosts aren't scared of sunlight." Michael touched the back of his hand and didn't feel any weird reaction from the eye, which meant the ghost could still show up during the day. Michael walked into a small phone shop on the street, and asked, "Hey, man, you recycle phones?"

The shop owner glanced at him and asked, "What kind of phones?"

Michael sat down and said, "These."

He pulled out the phones that David, Sophia, Viktor, and others didn't want from his backpack.

"So many? Where'd you steal these from?" The owner looked at Michael suspiciously, seeing all the different models of smartphones.

"My friends didn't want them and gave them to me. Besides, could I steal such new phones? Dude, check them out. Name a good price, I'll sell them all to you," Michael said.

The owner inspected them; they were indeed good and pretty new.

He was thinking about the price when one of the phones on the counter suddenly rang.

Michael glanced at it, and it displayed: "Dad."

"The owner is calling, right?" The shop owner laughed, "If they come looking for it, I'll be in trouble. I can only give you a hundred bucks for this phone."Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

He was about to turn off the phone when Michael picked it up and answered, "It's not the owner calling, it's my friend's dad."

"Hello." A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line, "Is this Michael?"

"Yeah, it's me. Who's this?" Michael asked.

"Sure enough, Sophia's phone is with you. I'm Declan. I want to discuss something with you. Are you available? I'd like to meet you," Declan said. "I'm kinda busy these days, sorry," Michael said.

Declan said, "It won't take much of your time. Where are you? I'll drive over to pick you up."

"Just say what you need to. I'm really busy here," Michael said.

Declan was silent for a moment and then said, "It's about my daughter Sophia. Do you know what happened to her at school that day?"

"Didn't Sophia tell you about the ghost incident at school?" Michael asked.

Ghost incident at school? Declan was stunned for a moment.

Was there still such a ridiculous thing nowadays?

But Declan didn't laugh because he thought of the school's lockdown in the past few days and some strange things happening to his daughter Sophia. He felt there was indeed something unusual. "Ghost incident at school? You high schoolers still believe in that?" He asked with doubt.

"I didn't believe it before, but now I do," Michael said. "What's up with Sophia? Did she run into the ghost again?"

Declan sighed, "Maybe she's just freaked out. She keeps saying something's looking for her, following her around. And she said you could help."

"Something following her?" Michael's eyes narrowed as he thought for a moment. "Is it a baby?"

A baby? Declan remembered the tiny handprints in the bathroom. Could they be baby handprints?

"You think my house is haunted?" Declan asked, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm asking you seriously. Please don't brush me off with ghost stories. Sophia's not doing well. If you know something, please tell me straight. And don't worry, I'll make it worth your while."

Michael could tell from Declan's tone that Sophia had definitely encountered something supernatural. It was probably the Ghost Baby that had escaped from the school.

But how could that be? Even though the Ghost Baby wasn't as terrifying as the knocking old man, Sophia was just a regular person. If she had really run into it, she wouldn't still be alive.

"Hello, can you hear me?" Declan asked when Michael didn't respond.

Michael snapped back to reality. "I can help Sophia, but it's a big deal. Last time, I barely made it out of the school alive saving your daughter for free. This time, I won't do it for nothing. So, how much are you willing to pay to fix this?" Declan was taken aback but quickly recovered. "If Sophia can get back to normal, I'll give you twenty thousand dollars as a reward. But if you can't help her, you get nothing."

He didn't expect this kid, Michael, to be so blunt about asking for money.

"Twenty thousand dollars? That's way too low. This is dangerous, not as simple as you think. If I don't step in, not just Sophia, but maybe your whole family will be in danger," Michael said.

Dealing with the Ghost Baby would mean using his own ghost powers, which would speed up the ghost's revival. In other words, he'd be risking his life.

Michael needed to get paid for this. Besides, Sophia's family was loaded, and he was broke.

"How about fifty thousand dollars?" Declan countered.

"You don't get it. Solving something like this abroad starts at five million dollars. But since we're classmates, I'll do it for half a million," Michael said seriously.

"Half a million dollars? Are you out of your mind?" Declan, usually calm, couldn't help but get angry.

Michael stayed cool and smiled. "No need to get mad. With your family's wealth, fifty thousand might sting, but it's doable. Your house is worth at least four million. Think it over and get back to me quickly.

Because if you wait too long, either Sophia will die, or I will. I don't have much time left, and I still have a mom to support. Earning this money is risking my life. If it's too late, finding someone else won't be solved with just money. Also, don't call this number again."

After that, he gave Declan Nikolai's satellite phone number and hung up.