Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 207: Chapter 207

Hearing the sounds of the explosion at the entrance and the chaos that followed, Bruno's men completely lost their nerve. They knew that even if they didn't trigger the self-destruct, once Zoe and the Eminence Nexus crew broke in, they were dead meat anyway.
Bruno slammed his hand on the table. He had made up his mind. He said, "We can't hesitate any longer. Start the self-destruct, now!
"Since things have already gone south, I'll make the call. Hit the button and take them all down with us! I have never known fear!"
With that, Bruno slammed the red button. Instantly, countdowns started flashing across every screen, showing thirty seconds. In just half a minute, this whole place would be blown to smithereens.
By now, Zoe had already led her team into the massive underground control room.
The moment Bruno and his men saw Zoe, they all jumped in shock.
Zoe's eyes were cold and blood-red as she stared at Bruno. Her voice was calm but chilling as she said, "Bruno Finch, when you killed so many innocent people just to avenge your son, you should've known this day would come."
Bruno let out a cold snort. He said, "Firefox, you dared kill my most prized son, so what's wrong with me taking revenge on your people? I'm telling you, now that you're on my turf, not even a fly is getting out of here alive.
"If I die, I'll make sure you go down with me."
At that moment, the numbers on the screens behind him had already dropped to single digits.
Zoe said, "Avenging your son isn't wrong, but your mistake was targeting innocent people. Besides, if you think that busted self-destruct behind you is enough to take me with you, you're giving yourself way too much credit."
Bruno asked, "What do you mean?" He had already steeled himself to drag Zoe down with him, but he hadn't expected her to say that. For a split second, he had a bad feeling, but he still forced himself to sound tough.
Bruno continued, "I'm telling you, I've got dozens of tons of explosives buried here. Once they go off, everyone here, including the entire Eminence Nexus team, will be blown to ashes!"
Perhaps it was the feeling of holding everyone's fate in his hands, but Bruno was particularly arrogant in his final moments.
Unexpectedly, Zoe just replied calmly, "Then why don't you wait and see what happens?"
Bruno's heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned to the countdown. Just three seconds left. "Three seconds! We're all dead!" he shouted, nearly hysterical.
"Is that so?" Medusa said, flashing a strange, unsettling smile.
Bruno squeezed his eyes shut and yelled, "Three, two, one! Blow! Blow!" But nothing happened. He opened his eyes and realized he was still alive, much to his surprise. He thought, 'The self-destruct hadn't gone off. What the hell is going on?'
Just then, several Eminence Nexus members rushed over and reported to Zoe, "Queen, as you ordered, we've already dismantled all the bombs here. The crisis is over."
"No way," Bruce blurted out in shock, "There's no way you pulled this off. I must be hearing things. Yeah, I must be hearing things..."
He thought, 'My entire arms empire, built with my own hands, was gone. The self-destruct system I designed cracked in under thirty seconds. How is that even possible? What cards do I have left to play against Firefox now?
'The people from Eminence Nexus are terrifying. And Firefox, she is even scarier. I am completely outmatched. I am going to die, and it won't be pretty.'
Compared to dying in an explosion, the thought of being captured and killed by the enemy was even more unbearable. "Stay back! Don't come any closer!" Bruno screamed, the once-feared arms tycoon now losing his mind.
Bruno could almost see his miserable end, the feeling of being trapped between life and death, unable to live or die. Regret flooded over him.
As his pupils dilated, it was as if he was staring straight into his worst nightmare. The terror in his eyes was palpable, spreading to everyone around him.
"No, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Bruce shouted, making one last desperate attempt. He yelled at Zoe, "Don't come any closer! None of you! I can tell you something, just stay back!
"I wasn't the only one behind the plan. I didn't even know about the orphanage before this. If you stay back, I'll tell you who the real mastermind is."
Zoe's eyes were so cold that they were almost terrifying. She demanded sharply, "Speak."
Bruno said, "It was Sophia! Sophia from the White family in Clusia. She gave me the exact location of the orphanage, and she was the one who told me to kill those kids. It was all her plan. She hates you. She wants you dead.
"You should go after Sophia, not me. It's not my fault."
Bruno's words made Zoe's expression turn ice-cold. She thought, 'So that's how it is. It is Sophia all along. She's the one who deserves to die most.'
With a voice cold and furious, Zoe gave her final order to her people, "Dismember Bruno. Feed his flesh to the dogs. Burn his bones to ash."
Then Zoe turned slightly. Her gaze was icy as she looked down on Bruno and his remaining men. She spat out a single word, "Kill."
As Zoe and Medusa strode out of the base, the Eminence Nexus launched a one-sided massacre. Anyone connected to Bruno, him or his men, was killed without mercy.
With everything wrapped up, Zoe was ready to catch a red-eye flight back to Clusia.
Medusa called out, "Boss, whatever you decide, we're behind you. But things got a little too wild this time. I'm worried your cover might get blown. How about heading back to Eminence Nexus first? Wait for things to settle down, then go home."
"Yeah, Queen, we're all waiting for you at Eminence Nexus," someone chimed in.
"As long as you're at Eminence Nexus, I'd like to see who dares touch a single hair on your head. I'll deal with them myself," Medusa added, fierce as ever.
All those big shots at Eminence Nexus turned their eager eyes to Zoe, just waiting for her to say the word so they could have their backbone back.
"Queen, my research is stuck. I need your help," one pleaded.
"My martial arts have hit a wall. I need you to push me to the next level," another said.
"Queen, don't listen to them. My problem's way more urgent. I desperately need your guidance," voices overlapped, each more anxious than the last.
The bigwigs in Eminence Nexus might seem strong to others, but compared to Zoe, their skills don't even come close. That was why they were so compliant with Zoe. All their abilities depend on Zoe's unmatched talent to improve.
But Zoe replied coldly, "Not going. I've got things to handle. No time." She was heading back to kill Sophia and make her pay for the lives of over three hundred people.