Evening settled quietly over the Carter estate.
The warm glow of the setting sun painted the sky orange as long shadows stretched across the garden lawn.
Bruce Carter still sat beneath the large oak tree where he had received the mysterious package earlier.
The small metal cube rested in his hand.
Victor Hale's message had been simple.
"Interesting reaction speed."
Bruce rotated the cube slowly between his fingers.
"Testing my intelligence."
Victor Hale wasn't interested in attacking the Carter family.
Not yet.
He wanted confirmation.
Proof.
Bruce leaned back against the tree trunk.
"Unfortunately for you…"
His eyes grew slightly sharper.
"…I've played this game before."
In his previous life, Aron Turner had spent years competing with powerful rivals across financial markets, intelligence networks, and underground organisations.
Victor Hale wasn't the first strategist he had faced.
And he wouldn't be the last.
Bruce placed the cube back into the box.
Then he closed his eyes briefly.
Inside the space world, the archive system updated automatically.
Several small surveillance signals had appeared around the Carter estate.
Victor Hale's observation teams.
Bruce smiled faintly.
"You're thorough."
But Victor had made one small mistake.
He assumed Bruce would only react.
Bruce intended to move first.
Inside Victor Hale's penthouse.
Victor stood beside a large digital screen displaying several surveillance feeds.
Bruce Carter remained seated beneath the tree in the garden.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Victor crossed his arms.
"No fear."
No hesitation.
Most children would have been confused by the mysterious package.
Some might even report it to their parents.
Bruce had done neither.
Instead, he treated the puzzle like a challenge.
Victor whispered.
"You're definitely not normal."
The subordinate standing nearby hesitated.
"Sir… what if the boy simply got lucky?"
Victor smiled slightly.
"Luck doesn't solve mechanical encryption puzzles in twenty seconds."
Victor walked toward the window again.
The city lights had already begun illuminating the streets below.
"Let's increase the difficulty."
The subordinate waited.
Victor spoke calmly.
"Send the second puzzle."
Back at the Carter estate.
Bruce had already returned inside the mansion.
He sat quietly in the library, reading again.
At least that's what it looked like.
Through the drone network inside the space system, he was monitoring the perimeter around the estate.
Victor's observers remained hidden.
Professional.
Disciplined.
Bruce suddenly noticed something new.
Another vehicle is approaching the estate gate.
Delivery truck.
Bruce sighed slightly.
"Predictable."
Several minutes later, one of the house staff entered the library.
"Bruce?"
He looked up.
"Yes?"
"There's another package for you."
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Another one?"
The staff member nodded.
"This one says it's a gift."
Bruce smiled politely.
"Thank you."
He took the package and returned to the table.
Inside the box was another device.
Larger than the cube.
A circular metal disc with rotating rings around its surface.
Bruce studied the object carefully.
Each ring contained engraved symbols.
Arrows.
Numbers.
Letters.
Bruce chuckled softly.
"A combination puzzle."
Inside Victor Hale's penthouse, the screen displayed Bruce examining the device.
Victor leaned forward slightly.
"This one is much harder."
The subordinate asked quietly,
"How long should it take?"
Victor thought for a moment.
"An adult engineer might take thirty minutes."
Bruce rotated the outer ring slowly.
Click.
Another ring shifted.
Bruce analysed the symbol pattern.
Three layers.
Sequential alignment.
Hidden trigger.
The solution revealed itself almost immediately.
Bruce turned the rings again.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The puzzle opened.
Time passed.
Sixteen seconds.
Victor stared at the screen.
The subordinate looked shocked.
"Sir… he solved it faster than the first one."
Victor slowly smiled.
"Exactly."
The boy wasn't guessing.
He was analysing.
Victor leaned closer to the screen.
"Who are you, Bruce Carter?"
Back inside the Carter estate library.
Bruce opened the puzzle disc completely.
Inside was another small note.
"Second test passed."
Bruce leaned back in the chair.
Victor Hale was now fully certain that Bruce wasn't an ordinary child.
Which meant the game had officially begun.
Bruce whispered.
"You're a careful man, Victor."
"But now…"
Bruce folded the note slowly.
"…it's my turn."
Bruce stood up and walked toward the window.
The evening sky was now dark.
Several stars appeared above the city lights.
Bruce activated the system interface in his mind.
Inside the space world, the defence system panel appeared.
Bruce selected a new device.
A small object appeared in his hand when he returned to reality.
A signal tracer.
Bruce placed it inside the empty puzzle box.
Then he walked toward the mansion entrance.
One of the security staff was still organising deliveries.
Bruce handed him the box.
"Could you return this to the courier?"
The guard nodded.
"Of course."
Bruce smiled politely.
"Thanks."
Several minutes later, the courier van left the Carter estate.
Bruce returned to the library.
Inside his mind, the tracer signal activated.
The van moved through the streets.
Then it stopped.
A transfer.
The box changed vehicles.
Bruce followed the signal through the drone network.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The signal moved toward Manhattan.
Toward a luxury hotel.
Bruce smiled slowly.
"Found you."
Inside Victor Hale's penthouse.
Victor watched Bruce's live camera feed again.
The boy had returned to reading quietly.
Victor turned off the screen.
"Interesting."
The subordinate asked,
"What do you mean?"
Victor leaned against the table.
"He didn't report the device."
"He didn't panic."
"He didn't show the puzzles to his family."
Victor's smile widened slightly.
"Which means he's hiding something."
The subordinate nodded.
"So the boy is dangerous?"
Victor looked toward the city skyline.
His voice was calm.
"Extremely."
Inside the Carter estate library.
Bruce closed the drone feed.
The tracer signal now displayed Victor Hale's exact location.
Penthouse suite.
Luxury hotel.
Bruce whispered.
"Game on."