A Perfect Candidate.

Laura slowly opened her eyes. Her head was in pain due to a slight hang-over.

"Alex?'

The Van wasn't moving, and it was morning now. She tried to move, only to find her upper-body covered by a jacket.

She took the jacket and placed it to the side. After sitting around for 2 minutes, she opened the door to the van.

"A runway?"

11 planes in sight, but too far away to be clear.

"What are you looking at?"

She knew that voice, but his sudden appearance left her startled.

"Don't scare me like that!"

She sent out a slap towards his face, and he grabbed her hand before it could connect.

"It is 12 pm now. The call will arrive in 2 hours."

He let go of her hand.

"Is there a toilet here?"

His grip was very strong. Her wrist had turned red.

"At the small building behind the Van. Do you want me to come with you?"

She got out of the van and walked away.

"You didn't need to come out here."

He turned towards the opposite direction.

A woman in a bodysuit walked out of her hiding spot.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

It was Zira. For some reason, she had been waiting at the base for Alex and his client.

"Madam's orders."

What other reason could there be?

"Figures. I guess she wants to know what I have been up to."

"Bingo."

She placed her hand on his head and playfully ruffled it.

"You have grown a lot in the past year."

"How is everyone there?"

She sighed.

"Except for two new additions and a renovated mansion, nothing has changed."

Perfect.

"Well then, you can tell her that I am good."

A pause, a look, and a smile.

"And also that I see through her plan."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

He pointed his finger towards her left ear.

"It is scary how much further you can see into my intentions, mother."

Zira was wearing an earpiece.

"Sending me on this world tour, only to make me more accustomed to the families."

Ronald had moved on.

Zhao Lei was only in it to spite Ronald.

Lucius understood him,

And Maxim couldn't care less.

"A great plan, probably because it would solidify my foundations into the Kramer family. The only thing that I don't understand, is why would they indulge your request to this extent?"

Lucius was his teacher. He imparted his knowledge out of the Student-Teacher relationship.

Zhao Lei had barely provided an entrance test to him, mainly to test his abilities, and a book that was readily available to all the students under him. No secrets, just basics. Zhao Qiao had probably trained him because of his intrigue, and Lei didn't have any hand in it.

As for Maxim, he had pushed all of his responsibility to Aglaya, who was hell bent on being his partner. One couldn't rule out his influence, but Aglaya was probably acting on her own.

"Is this to warn the other Head candidates about complacency?"

Ronald taking the other prospects to his camp, and including the children from his own family that were obviously not good enough, and leaving him out.

"Am I supposed to act as a catalyst to push them forward, and curry some favors in the process to help the Kramer family grow?"

On the other side, Sylvia was stood with a grim expression on her face. After a moment of silence, she said,

"Hand it to him."

Zira took out her earpiece, and handed it to Alex. He inserted it into his ear.

"Surprised?"

He was the one to speak first. She was taken aback.

'Sylvia Kramer and Aglaya Smirnov. Two like minded people.'

He decided to take the shot. If he was wrong, there was nothing to lose. But if he was right, he would have the upper-hand on his mother for the first time since the transmigration. To be honest, he was continuously thinking about this ever since Aglaya gave him that information.

"Well played."

She finally spoke, and her words were filled with pride.

"So I was right?"

"Mostly."

She confirmed it.

Zira was in complete shock.

"The gamble paid off."

He sighed.

"Do you hate me for it? Am I still the same person to you?"

This was a test. Was he mature enough to give the right answer?

"Kind of."

She smiled.

"And what is the reason?"

"All you were waiting for was the moment I take my final step, and become what you want me to be. That makes me hate you."

This moment was 5 years too early.

"You wouldn't be satisfied with a pawn, rook, a horse, a bishop or a queen. This could have continued for years, and I still wouldn't be closer to your ideal."

He was mentally there.

"And being the king would further hinder my ability."

A proper monster.

"The one who plays the pieces to perfection, yet has no role on the actual battlefield."

A player. More specifically,

"A Grandmaster."

A proper analogy. She slowly clapped for him.

"Bravo. You are the real thing."

She was ecstatic. As an assassin, he had a long journey ahead of him. But as for his presence of mind, he was unparalleled among his peers, including his immediate seniors. She would know, as she had tested all of them with similar methods of manipulation. No matter what help he got, and no matter how he came to this conclusion, no one other than Sylvia knew of her plans. To get to that information, and confront her head on.

That sort of attitude made him the perfect candidate.

"Complete your mission, complete your time in the Smirnov family, and come back to me. We have a lot to discuss."