Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World
Chapter 37 Ghosts, Impossible to Kill

Michael walked back into Declan's place and said, "If you don't wanna get mixed up in this, you better get outta here ASAP. That Ghost Baby's got its sights set on Sophia, and it's getting stronger. Last time I saw it, it couldn't mess with the Ghost Realm, but now it's almost got it down. Who knows what it'll do next.

"I can feel it. Once that Ghost Baby fully matures, it's gonna be a nightmare."

Declan, looking freaked out, asked, "Are you human or a ghost?"

Michael shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. Maybe human, maybe ghost. Doesn't really matter as long as I can save your lives. Now's not the time to debate it."

"Right, let's get outta here. I'll go pack," Declan said.

Seraphina, panicking, asked, "Is that Ghost Baby dead? It's not coming back, right?"

Michael shook his head, "It's not dead. It'll probably come back."

Seraphina, getting more agitated, said, "What? Why didn't you kill it? We hired you to deal with it. Now you've let it go, what are we supposed to do? If you can't kill it, we're not paying you. Who knows if you let it go on purpose." Michael looked at her and said, "Look, I'm not doing this for free, even if Sophia and I are classmates. Are you saying you don't wanna pay?"

"You want to get paid without solving the problem? You think fifty grand is easy money?" Seraphina snapped.

Michael, dead serious, said, "You got it wrong. It's not fifty grand, it's a million."

"Who said it's a million? I heard Declan say you asked for half a million," Seraphina argued.

Michael rubbed his head and flopped onto the sofa, "Oh, God, you're really killing me. I'm reasonable, okay? I'm not good at arguing. I haven't read many books and I lack social experience, so I can't out-argue you. Fine, I'll consider this a freebie for Sophia's sake."

"By the way, what's your favorite flower?" he suddenly asked.

"Roses. Why?" Seraphina replied.

Michael said, "Next time I visit the cemetery, I'll bring some for you. If you run into that Ghost Baby again, you can handle it yourself. You're so eloquent, you can surely convince it not to kill you. I'm outta here. Hope you can still walk out of this building later."

With that, he got up to leave. He wanted to see if Sophia's mom valued money or life more.

Seeing Michael about to leave, Seraphina's face changed. She quickly smiled and said, "Sorry about that, my bad. You and Sophia are classmates, helping each other is natural. Sophia's been missing you these past few days."

"Yeah, we're classmates. Helping each other is cool. I just helped your family. Now I'm broke and down-and-out. Shouldn't you help me with a million bucks?"

"I mean it, not a penny less than a million," Michael said seriously.

He was keeping his cool, not blowing up in public.

Seraphina looked embarrassed. She knew Michael was talking about the time she gave him two hundred bucks for bringing Sophia home.

Michael said, "Even though Sophia and I are classmates, I've only met you a couple of times. So it's better to keep things strictly business. You pay, I help. It's fair. You spend money to save your lives, I risk my life to earn money. That's fair too." "Alright, that's fair. But since we paid up, you gotta replace a way to fix this, right? Why's the Ghost Baby after our family?" Seraphina asked.

Michael replied, "It's not after your family, it's after Sophia. I wanted to mention it at school last time, but there were scarier things than the Ghost Baby there, so I kept quiet."

"I think it's because of the two handprints on Sophia's neck. She got attacked by the Ghost Baby at school once, and I saved her. But it probably marked her, so it came back." "Of course, that's just my guess. I'll need to consult someone for the details," Michael added.

Seraphina asked, "Can it be resolved?"

"Pay first, then I'll tell you," Michael said, looking at her.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a text message.

The message showed a deposit of one million dollars into his account.

Declan came out of the room and said, "Michael, I just paid you. Please take care of Sophia. If you need anything else, just let us know. As long as we can afford it, we won't refuse." Michael smiled, "Ah! Awesome! I knew you were a chill guy. But how'd you get my bank account number?"

"I work at a credit company. Out of habit, I took a photo of some info during a school parent meeting," Declan explained.

"Declan, you're really good," Michael said, admiringly.

Declan just nodded.

"Alright, time to go," Michael said, checking his watch.

The Ghost Realm had less than a minute left.

They quickly left the neighborhood and drove away.

Since Michael's Ghost Realm was still active, they didn't run into the Ghost Baby.

It seemed the Ghost Realm could block other ghosts from replaceing them.

'Gotta remember that,' Michael thought.

"Michael, I'm sorry," a calmer Sophia whispered, tugging on his hand.

"Don't be that. I'm here for the money," Michael said.

"Thank you," Sophia said gratefully.

Declan, driving, asked, "Michael, where are we headed now?"

"Up to you, as long as it's far from that neighborhood. Even if the Ghost Baby wants to replace us, it'll take some time," Michael said.

"Would going abroad help us escape the Ghost Baby?" Seraphina asked.

Michael replied, "What if it doesn't? And you think there are no supernatural events abroad? They're even worse over there. No specialized people to handle them, so they have to hire folks. Dealing with this stuff abroad costs at least a few million dollars. Declan, you can check if you don't believe me. I didn't lie to you on the phone."

"Can you fix the handprints on Sophia's neck?" Seraphina asked politely, not daring to lose her temper again.

They had already paid. If Michael got mad and refused to help, what would they do?

Michael thought for a moment and said, "I can only ask around. If it can't be fixed, there's nothing I can do."

He picked up his satellite phone and called the operator, Freya.

Might as well learn more about Vengeful Ghosts, which could be useful later.

Soon, Freya answered.

"Michael, is that you?" Freya asked.

"It's me," Michael said. "Are you operators available 24/7? Can I reach you anytime?"

"We provide one-on-one service. Each Ghost Handler has one operator. I'm your dedicated operator. Besides coordinating with you, I don't do any other work," Freya said.

Michael said, "I've run into some trouble. I'll tell you the situation and see if you can give me some advice."