After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me - Chapter 1242

Chapter 1242: The Bet
The members of the International Investigation Team didn’t even see Zhouzhou’s shadow before they were all taken down one by one. After all these years, it was the first time they had been defeated without even seeing the face of their opponent. A wave of panic swept through them.

What kind of person had their leader brought in? And they didn’t even see their shadow? This was insane!

“Fugui.”

Grove’s voice suddenly rang out across the island, amplified through speakers that reached every corner. Every screen came to life, showing his face.

At that moment, Zhouzhou was lounging in an office chair, casually resting with a hidden talisman. Hearing the voice, she yawned and looked up at the screen. As soon as she saw the people standing behind Grove, her face darkened.

Grove adjusted the camera angle so that the people behind him could be seen more clearly. His voice followed, cool and steady, “You can hide, but they can’t. I’m giving you one minute. If you don’t show up and surrender, I’ll kill them.”

“Or…” He let his gaze linger on the camera, as though trying to peer through the screen at Zhouzhou, “You can choose to kill me within the minute and deactivate the bombs here.”

With these words, he thoughtfully panned the camera around, showing all the bombs that were meticulously placed in every corner. Every single one had a countdown timer, the red digits already ticking down, glowing ominously with every passing second.

This madman!

Grove was still inside, yet he was willing to risk his life by setting off the bombs! It was a gamble — he was betting that Zhouzhou would never let those people die, especially since they were all from Hua Country.

Those people behind him had once been part of the International Investigation Team, but now they were barely recognizable. Their bodies were covered in wounds, the unmistakable marks of severe torture. They had been confined to a small dark room and were barely alive, shackled and prone.

No wonder Fourth Bureau couldn’t find them. They had been right under their noses all this time.

Who would have thought that they were being held by their own people?

Grove was truly ruthless.

Grover stared at the screen, unhurried, and slowly sat down.

He said calmly, “How you choose is up to you. We all die together, or just you die alone to save the others. The choice is yours.”

On the surface, he even sounded considerate.

The people on the floor raised their heads and shouted,

“Zhouzhou, don’t come!”

“Forget about us!”

“Go!”

They were the ones who had only been captured in the last couple of years. Though they didn’t know that Zhouzhou and Fugui were one and the same, they did know who Zhouzhou was.

Daughter of Ye Lingfeng.

A girl who had joined the Fourth Bureau when she was still in kindergarten—unprecedented, and likely never to be repeated.

A near-legendary figure like that—how could they not know her?

Even if they had never met her, they’d admired her from afar.

And they couldn’t bear to see her take a risk for them.

They’d rather die.

If they could take Grover with them, then it wouldn’t be in vain.

Grover didn’t stop them from speaking—in fact, he allowed it on purpose.

From his experience dealing with the people from Hua Country, he knew one thing clearly:

What they valued most was each other.

They would lay down their lives for their comrades.

To him, that was foolish.

But also—convenient.

Because once they cared, they were vulnerable. And once they were vulnerable, they would walk right into his trap.

He took a slow sip of red wine, utterly composed, already picturing Zhouzhou walking straight into the snare.

Second by second, time ticked away.

The countdown was already down to single digits. And yet, Zhouzhou still hadn’t shown up.

Grover remained calm. At least outwardly.

He refused to believe it. There was no way Zhouzhou would just sit by and watch them die.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two…

The countdown was about to hit zero. Still, Zhouzhou hadn’t appeared. Grove’s composure was beginning to crack. He felt his patience slip, but he kept his calm exterior intact, pressing the button on his device instinctively. The countdown paused at “1”, then stopped.

He stood up, his previous calm gone, replaced by a dark expression. His earlier confidence had been shattered. He had expected her to show up by now, but she hadn’t.

It was as if she were testing him, pushing him to the brink. He hadn’t been this angry in years.

With a cold expression, he took out a gun and loaded it, his finger resting on the trigger. “Fine, since you don’t care about them, I’ll just send them on their way.”

Just as his finger was about to tighten around the trigger, a sharp whistle rang through the air, and a stone suddenly shot towards his wrist.

Grove had been prepared for such an attack, but he still narrowly avoided it. His eyes, sharp as a blade, snapped to the source of the attack. “So you did come.”

A light laugh echoed through the air.

Zhouzhou casually peeled off the invisibility talisman from her body, observing the fury on Grove’s face. She shrugged with a playful smile, “Don’t be so angry. You can plot against me, but I can’t plot against you? It didn’t seem fair, did it?”

He had been betting, but so had she.

She was betting that he wouldn’t actually sacrifice himself.

For people from A Country, the idea of dying for their country simply didn’t exist. They were selfish to the core, and Grove was no different.

Realizing this, Grove’s face darkened even further, the air around him thickening with murderous intent.

But Zhouzhou wasn’t afraid.

Neither were the people lying on the floor.

They chuckled quietly, “Good girl, you are just like your dad.”

“Just as clever as he is.”

“But much more likeable than that old fellow.”

Zhouzhou flashed them a smile and walked over, feeding each of the five men a red pill. They had planned to tell her not to waste the medicine, but the moment the pills went down, a sense of relief washed over them. The pain subsided, and they immediately swallowed their words.

They hadn’t gotten their revenge yet, but if they could survive, that would be the best outcome.

If they had to die, they would make sure to take Grove and his team down first.

Zhouzhou helped them sit against the wall and smiled sweetly. “You guys rest first. Once I’m done with him, I’ll take you home.”

“Alright.” They gazed at her, their eyes filled with warmth.

Home. It was such a comforting word. How long had it been since they had felt that sense of belonging?

Zhouzhou set them up comfortably, then turned her gaze to Grove. Her smile vanished immediately.

She yawned again and said, “How about you call the others over too? Let’s take them all down at once, save some time. I’m hungry, and I need to go home for dinner.”

Hearing this, Grove almost laughed in anger.

At a time like this, she was still thinking about food. Did she think she would actually make it home tonight?

His cold eyes locked on her as he sneered, “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Because you won’t make it to dinner.”

With that, his gun’s black barrel pointed straight at Zhouzhou’s chest…