Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

Around 5:30 in the morning, the sky was just starting to lighten up.

It was still way too early. The usually buzzing commercial street was dead quiet, with all the shops still closed.

The streetlights were still on, casting their glow.

But then, outta nowhere.

The streetlights, which had been shining white, suddenly turned blood red, casting this super creepy glow. The round bulbs inside the lampshades looked like they had red eyes printed on them. And the freakiest part? Those eyes seemed to move, like they were alive.

This weird scene popped up outta nowhere and vanished just as fast.

As the streetlights flickered, everything went back to normal.

The red light disappeared, and the eye patterns on the bulbs were gone.

But weirdly enough, the once empty street now had seven people on it. There were both guys and girls, all looking like students. But they all looked messed up, with pale faces, shaking bodies, and eyes full of fear, like they'd just been through some nightmare.

"This ain't school. Where the heck are we?" someone asked.

Michael's body slowly stopped feeling like it was being torn apart. He collapsed to the ground, leaning against the glass door of a shop, gasping for air.

It was so close. Everyone would've been toast in that old man's Ghost Realm.

Luckily, at the last second, he had opened his own Ghost Realm.

The others looked at each other, their terrified eyes darting around, scared of seeing the darkness swallow them again. But when they saw the bright streetlights and the rising sun in the distance, a wave of relief washed over them. This relief slowly replaced their fear, helping them calm down.

"Looks like a pedestrian street," Aria said, crouching on the ground, cautiously looking around.

"It is a pedestrian street. I've been playing here since I was a kid. No way I'd mistake it. My house is nearby," David quickly said. "We made it. We left that school. Look, the streetlights are on, the sky's getting bright, and there are cars passing by over there. I even heard a car horn."

He seemed kinda excited. He'd never found these sights so beautiful in his life.

"It really is a pedestrian street. We left the school," Viktor said, his hands still trembling. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Just a second ago, they had been in that dark school. How did they end up on this pedestrian street in the blink of an eye?

Michael still looked around cautiously. After checking, he was sure they had indeed left the school and the Ghost Realm. As for why they appeared on this pedestrian street instead of outside the school, it didn't really matter anymore. Surviving was already a huge stroke of luck.

The group sat on the street for two hours, finally accepting everything, and their fear gradually faded.

But from their faces, it was clear that this haunted school incident had left a big scar on their hearts.

"The teachers and other classmates must all be dead by now," David said after a long silence, resting on a bench.

The others chose to stay silent. They couldn't yet accept that overnight, their classmates had died, leaving only a few of them.

No one answered David. Sophia, sitting nearby, looked at Michael with some tension and asked, "Michael, what should we do now?"

At this moment, Michael was their leader. The few survivors almost unconditionally followed his lead.

After all, it was Michael who had led them to survive.

Michael touched the now-healed wound on his arm, feeling something with the outline of an eye hidden beneath his skin, ready to pop out at any moment.

This strange sensation told him that everything that had happened last night was not a dream but very real.

"What else can we do? Since we all survived and left the school without any injuries, we should go home and rest to avoid worrying our parents."

"Michael, such an incident happened. The school is haunted and so many people died. Are we just gonna go home and sleep?" Viktor stood up excitedly and said.

Michael shot him a look, "Yeah, what else you gonna do? Call the cops? Tell 'em the school's haunted and a bunch of people died? Don't be naive. Nikolai was an Interpol agent and he bit it at the school. The authorities will definitely look into it. This is way above our pay grade. We're just students who barely made it out alive. Do you really want to get involved in this matter again? Just tell the truth when the cops come for your statement."

Viktor felt Michael's stare and, with a bit of fear on his face, instinctively lowered his head, not saying anything more.

"Michael's right. This isn't something we can handle. Surviving was already a miracle," Aria said.

"So, we're really just gonna go back to sleep?" David was a bit stunned.

After such a big event, they just went back to sleep?

Michael said, "If not go home, you planning to go back to the school?"

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts. They had already made up their minds never to return to the school for the rest of their lives, not even to go near it.

Some were even planning to transfer schools and leave the city altogether.

"I'm really beat. I'm going home to crash. If anything comes up, call me." Michael felt physically and mentally exhausted, feeling like he could fall asleep right there on the ground.

"By the way, there's something I need to tell you about that old man at the school. You should avoid going online recently, especially don't go on this forum to read horror stories." He opened his phone and showed the post to the others. "See this audio file? Do not click on it. This audio file is the sound of knocking, just like what we heard on Marco's phone. Whoever hears it will be visited by that old man."

After saying that, he scrolled up to show a photo of the old man.

"Take it away, get it away." David and the others recoiled in fear when they saw the photo of the old man.

Michael said, "It's just a photo. I've tested it. The scary part is the audio file. So far, this post hasn't been taken down. At least tens of thousands of people nationwide have clicked on the audio file after reading the story. If I'm not mistaken, in the coming days, that old man will be knocking on doors in various cities."

"In other words, what happened yesterday will keep happening all over the country, just with different people?" David said, looking at him in horror.

Michael said, "Here's your phone."

David quickly shook his head and stepped back several paces, "No. Just throw it away. What if that number calls again?"

"This is a brand-new phone that just came out. Are you really willing to throw it away?" Michael asked.

"Bro, at this point, I gotta admit that I am actually rich. See that row of shops on the pedestrian street? They all belong to my family. I, David, am not short of money. I'll ask my dad to buy me a pager. It's safer that way and that call won't get through." David said seriously.

"If your family's so rich, why don't you carry a radio station on you?" Michael asked.

"That's a good idea. I'll consider it." David replied.

The others, hearing David mention that terrifying phone number, were also too scared to keep their phones and threw them away.

"Just give them to me. It would be such a waste to throw them away," Michael said.

"Do you really want those phones? They've been called by a ghost. What if it calls again?" Aria said, wide-eyed.

"Can't I just sell them?" Michael said, picking up the phones they had thrown away. "Are you sure you don't want them?"

"No," they all said in unison.

Michael said, "You all must be rich. I'll sell them. And I won't give you a cent from the sale. Even if we have a gathering next time, you treat me."

"I gotta go." He turned and walked away, carrying their phones.

"Wait, take me with you," Sophia said, still looking terrified and wanting to follow Michael.

"I'm going home to sleep. You wanna sleep with me?" Michael asked.

Sophia said softly, "I don't mind staying at your home for a few days."

Everyone, including Michael, widened their eyes.

Although Sophia wasn't the most beautiful one in his class, she was indeed good-looking. She had practiced dancing before, had a great figure, a slim waist, long legs, and a large chest. But all these had nothing to do with Michael. They weren't close. How did Sophia get so attached to Michael overnight?

The others didn't know, but Michael understood. Sophia hadn't fallen for him, it was because of the Ghost Baby incident.

She was still very scared and didn't dare to be alone.