Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

Michael shot David a look that screamed, "Are you serious?"

David was freaked out by the hacker. He thought he might've run into a ghost and was so scared he didn't sleep a wink. "You dragged me here for this?" Michael asked, clearly annoyed.

David scratched his head. "Well, there's more. Remember after that school incident, only a few of us made it out?"

"Yeah, so? Something happened to the others?" Michael asked, a bit concerned.

Sophia's mess had just been sorted out. If something else went down, it would be a real bummer.

"Not exactly. Viktor thinks we should all hang out sometime. Some of our classmates are still messed up from the incident and are thinking about transferring to other schools, probably out of town," David explained. "Leaving Astoria?" Michael paused, thinking it made sense.

The ghost incident at the high school was so bad, who'd want to stick around?

But would moving away really help?

Not necessarily.

Ghosts and weird stuff weren't just a local thing; they happened everywhere.

"Maybe a change of scenery will do them good," Michael said, though he wasn't entirely convinced.

"But I'm not sticking around for school. My grades are meh, and even if I keep at it, college isn't a sure thing," David admitted.

"So, what's your plan?" Michael asked.

"I'm gonna work at my dad's construction company. They're still building stuff in the suburbs of Astoria. I'm thinking of working on the site. Hey, you wanna join? It's a bit out there, but the commute's easy. Just a fifteen-minute drive to the city. I can ask my dad to hook you up with a house," David offered seriously.

Michael thought it over. "I'll check out the site when I get a chance. If it looks good, I might consider it."

Michael's mom was coming back from a business trip soon, and they couldn't go back to that rental.

He had some cash now and could think about settling down.

Even with all the ghostly stuff, life had to go on. He couldn't just sit around waiting for the worst.

"Cool, I'll save a few nice houses for you," David said, excited.

If Michael moved there, David would be right behind him.

"Thanks," Michael said.

"No problem. Hey, have you eaten? Wanna grab lunch?" David asked.

Michael was about to say yes when his phone buzzed.

A message popped up: [We're being watched. Protect the box.]

'It's Ethan.' Michael's face went serious as he replied: [What's up?]

Ethan replied: [Not sure. Someone hired people to steal the box. Our ghost capture got leaked. Could be the club or some other group. It's messy. I'm not used to this, so I can't tell.]

Michael: [Someone's dumb enough to mess with a Ghost Handler?]

Ethan responded: [They know my limits. My ghost powers don't mess with people much, so they're not scared. But they probably don't know about you since you joined Interpol. Your files are locked down.] Michael thought for a second and asked: [Need backup?]

Ethan replied: [Not right now, but I'm worried someone might come after you. If you can handle it, come help. If I go down, the deal's off. The buyer's already in touch.] Then, he sent his location to Michael. "The situation's way messier than I thought," Michael muttered, frowning at his phone.

What seemed like a simple deal had caught the eye of all sorts of people and groups.

It had even turned into a full-blown conflict.

'These folks are nuts, not even scared of Ghost Handlers. They've got some serious guts,' Michael thought, feeling uneasy.

But he knew people went crazy for two things: power and money.

Those after the ghost in the box were definitely in it for the cash.

'A ghost's worth way more than a hundred million bucks. No one would risk going up against a Ghost Handler otherwise.'

'Being a Ghost Handler sounds cool, but basically, they're just ghosts themselves,' Michael thought.

"Michael, what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost. Need any help?" David asked.

Michael shook his head. "I've got some trouble heading my way. Can't do lunch. Let me know when the gathering starts. If I'm free, I'll be there." With that, he got up to leave.

But as soon as he stood, six or seven guys in suits barged into the café, shooing people out and locking the door.

They moved like pros and even hung a "Closed" sign on the door.

"Michael, run. These guys are here to cause trouble, probably for kidnapping or extortion. You're exposed and in danger," Michael suddenly said loudly. "What?" David was stunned, not getting it. Michael's words seemed off.

The next moment, the men rushed over.

"What the hell, call the cops! I'm outta here," David said, bolting.

"Stop, don't run," one guy said, pointing at David.

But the middle-aged man leading them said, "Ignore him. He's not Michael. You are. I checked your info."

With that, he tossed some photos on the table.

They were taken in front of a mall, showing him, Ethan, Jane, Leo, and others.

"Who are you?" Michael put down his phone and glanced at the photos.

The middle-aged man sat down and said, "I'm Hugo Santos, a business manager at a company. Here's my card. Nice to meet you, Michael."

Michael took the card and glanced at it. It just had a name and phone number, nothing else.

It seemed deliberately vague.

"Do you need something from me?" Michael knew their intentions but played dumb.

Hugo looked around the café.

His men had cleared out everyone, including the staff.

Seeing this, he said, "First off, congrats on becoming a new Ghost Handler in Astoria. Hard to believe you were just a high school senior. You're special, a real talent. Want to join my company? I can offer you a hundred grand a month." "Sure, but you need to advance three months' salary," Michael nodded.

Hugo was taken aback. He was just testing Michael to see how much he knew about Ghost Handlers and if he was smart and mature. He wasn't really hiring him.

"Can't do it? You want me to work for you with such a high salary but can't advance the pay? Clearly, you're scammers," Michael said disdainfully.

Hugo laughed, "If you really join my company, I'll advance a year's salary."

If he could recruit a Ghost Handler for that money, it would be worth it.

Could it be that Michael was just interested in money? Satisfied with just a few hundred grand?

He seemed like a student with no social experience.