Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

After Michael wandered around the village, he didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. It was super chill here.

But that kinda made Michael uneasy. The intel said there were definitely some paranormal happenings here, and the company wouldn't send Michael and the Enigma Elite Club on a wild goose chase. 'There's gotta be something weird here, maybe I just haven't found it yet. Better ask someone,' Michael thought.

Before he knew it, he ended up at the back of the village.

There, an old guy in his sixties was working on his veggie garden.

Michael walked over and said, "Hey there."

The old man glanced up and then went back to his gardening.

"Hi, I'm just visiting. Why does this village seem so empty, and what's up with the funeral at the entrance? Did something happen?" Michael asked.

"Get lost!" the old man snapped.

Michael didn't get mad and kept asking, "Do you know how the person at the entrance died? It's sad to see someone so young go."

"Get lost!" the old man repeated, his tone firm and sharp.

"Can't you be civil? Is 'get lost' the only thing you can say?" Michael asked.

"Get lost, can't you see I'm busy?" The old man squinted at Michael, clearly not in the mood for chit-chat.

Michael thought for a second and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket. "How about a hundred bucks for three questions?"

The old man was taken aback for a moment, then quickly dropped his seedlings, rushed over, snatched the bill, and grinned, "Ask away, there's nothing in Stormcrest Village I don't know." Michael sneered inwardly, 'Money talks, huh?'

Then he asked, "Has Stormcrest Village always been this empty, or is this a recent thing?"

"It's always been like this," the old man replied.

"Anything strange happen here recently?" Michael asked.

"Nope, nothing strange," the old man shook his head.

"Whose family is the person in the funeral from?" Michael asked.

"I don't know," the old man said. "He's not from around here, maybe a relative of someone."

Michael was stunned. Someone died in the village, and they were having a funeral, yet the old man didn't know who it was. That was definitely odd.

"Actually, what I really want to know is, has there been any ghost activity in Stormcrest Village recently?" Michael finally asked directly.

The old man looked shocked, almost like he couldn't believe it, but then he rubbed his fingers, hinting for more money.

Michael almost forgot, that was the fourth question. He didn't expect the old man to be so straightforward.

Michael handed him another hundred dollars.

The old man then said, "Every year someone says there's ghost activity in the village, it's been going on for decades, but nothing's ever been seen. You look educated, why do you believe this stuff? Do young people like ghost stories now?" "Not really, just curious," Michael said casually.

He felt a bit let down, like he hadn't gotten any useful info.

Was there really a paranormal event in Stormcrest Village?

"By the way, is there any place here where I can stay? I want to stick around for a few days," Michael asked.

"I've got a room, a hundred bucks a night. Interested?" the old man offered.

And just like that, Michael ended up staying at the old man's place.

The old man's name was Emilio Vasquez.

Emilio mentioned his two sons lived in Astoria and only came back if something happened at home. His wife had passed away last year.

'Three days. I'm only staying here for three days. If nothing happens, I'm heading back to Astoria to have a word with Susan,' Michael thought.

'Even if there is some ghostly stuff going on, if the spirit's playing hide-and-seek, I don't have time to keep searching,' he mused.

With that, Michael drifted off to sleep in Emilio's house.

But the restless spirit made sure Michael's sleep was anything but peaceful.

He felt paralyzed, like something was trying to take over his body. It was a creepy feeling he couldn't quite describe.

While he was sleeping, a weak, raspy cough echoed from downstairs.

It seemed to come from Emilio's front door.

The sound jolted Michael awake, his eyes snapping open.

'Is that the same sound from earlier?' he wondered.

Something felt off. Someone was coming upstairs.

Michael's face went pale as he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs.

He was on the second floor, Emilio was next door, and no one was supposed to be on the first floor. It was pitch dark outside, and the door was locked. No one should be able to get in. 'Am I really this unlucky, running into a ghost now?' Michael thought, breaking into a sweat.

He was paralyzed, unable to move.

The heavy footsteps echoed closer and closer.

From the sound, Michael could tell someone was coming up the stairs, one slow step at a time.

He tried to look towards the door, but his head wouldn't move. He could only shift his eyes a bit. He couldn't see clearly. It was too dark outside to make out the door.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Whatever it was had reached the second floor.

Michael didn't care how it got in or where it came from. He only cared if it was coming for him or Emilio. Or maybe it was just random.

But in a simple rural house like this, the two rooms on the second floor had doors facing each other.

If it was random, Michael had a fifty-fifty chance of not being chosen.

'Wait, it doesn't seem to be coming in,' Michael thought.

Then he heard footsteps again, pacing back and forth in the dark hallway.

The coughing sounded like someone terminally ill, as if they could die any moment.

The thing outside didn't leave.

Inside the room, Michael stared at the door, terrified it would come in.

In his current state, he couldn't escape. He could only pray.

'It shouldn't come in, right?' he thought.

After a while, the footsteps outside the door didn't seem to be coming in, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But then he remembered how the knocking ghost killed people at school. He couldn't relax.

What if the thing outside didn't need to come in to kill?

'No, that can't be. If it was like the knocking ghost, everyone in this village would be dead by now,' Michael reassured himself.novelbin

But then, the footsteps stopped. In the darkness, he heard the sound of a door opening.

Michael tensed up instantly.

Was the ghost that had been pacing outside about to come in?