Lucy could vividly remember one of her research projects into an initiative being run by Sky Tech Technology.
One that focused on emotion. She couldn't recall much about the project itself or even the research she had conducted on it.
All she could remember was that skilled people from all around the world were called to scale emotions using a number-based system.
And she could remember exactly what those numbers were. Her face lit up with joy—she might have just cracked the code to this particular level.
Overjoyed, she began computing all the numbers in her brain. It definitely didn't take much time for her to finally finish.
But she still felt a tug in her chest. What if she didn't make it? What if the results were wrong? What if this wasn't what the Mind Grid was asking for? All of these and more crept into Lucy's mind.
Lucy cleared her thoughts as her gaze settled on the holographic screen once more.
She had already assigned each emotion to its corresponding number in her head. She had just 40 seconds left.
Lucy turned to the set of objects, memorizing the numbers for the emotions one last time.
Warmth – 4
Pride – 6
Frustration – 5
Anger – 3
Perseverance – 5
Sadness – 9
Fear – 7
Joy – 4
Exhaustion – 6
Lucy didn't know on what basis these were ranked, but this was all she could remember at the time.
All Lucy thought of was computing the numbers based on the system. At least she knew the formula: 18 – x.
But what was x? She thought deeply for a few seconds as she approached the scale—and that was when it occurred to her.
"This scale is still inefficient," she said, touching the rusty edges. Then a random thought hit her.
What if the error of the scale was actually the x? Lucy's eyes widened, and she soon decided to act on the thought.
Lucy began placing each item on the right side of the scale, given that it was the left side that lagged behind.
She kept doing this, searching for the perfect balance. Luckily for her, the scale balanced when she placed the gift box.
Going back into her memory, she remembered that the gift box symbolized joy, which equaled four.
Subtracting that from the constant gave her a total of ten. Glancing through the remaining eight items, only two corresponded to five each—
The sticky note and the broken pen. Lucy was quite shocked at the ease with which she solved this level.
She picked up the sticky notes and the broken pen and moved straight to the scale. Just as she was about to place the two items to get the three balanced pieces, it struck her again—
Maybe this wasn't the answer. Maybe it was just a puzzle. Or maybe she wasn't even meant to measure them the way she did.
While all these thoughts ran through her mind, she glanced at the clock once more. She had just 11 seconds left.
Flashbacks from her first level began surfacing. After a few seconds, she dropped the two other items and walked away.
The holographic screen lit up once again:
Level One, Zone One Completed
You have successfully balanced the beam. 10 points added.
Lucy paused for a moment, then clarity washed over her. She was her own problem. She always allowed herself to hold herself back.
With new resolve in her eyes, Lucy clicked the green button. Even though the Mind Grid was already coming to an end, she was going to give the last zone her all.
She thought silently as she awaited the next level.
---
It was five minutes to the end of the gruesome Mind Grid. All candidates began pressing harder, even though they had no watches or timers—they simply sensed the end approaching.
Everyone pushed past their limits, and Derek was no exception. After completing the level with the mirrors, he was completely fatigued, both mentally and physically, as he stumbled to the screen and clicked the green button.
Derek materialized into a mechanical void. A massive sphere floated in the middle of the room. It spun with thousands of equations, riddles, and challenges—some from earlier levels, only now more complicated and less human.
Derek looked closely at the sphere. Not only did it contain all the challenges he had ever faced in the competition, but it also contained several—if not thousands—of other riddles, problems, and equations he had never come across before.
He stared at the blue screen, waiting for an instruction to pop up. But to his surprise, nothing happened. The screen remained blank.
Derek stepped back slowly, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. After some time with no response, Derek decided to try solving every single problem he could see.
But he still knew the bitter truth: He couldn't possibly solve all of this in 5 minutes.
---
Lucian had already begun his work. He had hacked into the system, causing the screen to malfunction. It was originally meant to display the words:
Solve the riddle.
But instead, he had turned it into a void—making Derek's case much harder than it looked.
Lucian kept tapping away at his laptop, finding more ways to corrupt the level and increase Derek's difficulty.
As the CEO of the Cyberbunk Technological Company, Lucian was one of the best computer wizards in the world. Hacking into the Mind Grid was considered nearly impossible—
But Lucian could break that barrier, even if his access remained restricted.
Lucian raised his head, adjusted his hat, and a smile rolled across his face as he saw Derek desperately solving.
He knew Derek was already approaching it from the wrong direction. Just over four minutes remained.
Lucian rested his back against the chair. His work was done, as far as he was concerned. If this succeeded, the timeline could shift a bit—possibly making his future missions less tasking.
He stretched his hand, grabbed the glass of wine from the table, and sipped it gracefully while staring at his screen with triumph.
Soon, three minutes went by. With just two minutes left in the competition, Derek was still lost—approaching the level from the wrong perspective.
Lucian let out a smirk.
Just two more minutes.