Chapter 895: How to motivate the family

Max’s taunting, being called all sorts of names, and even being subject to ridicule didn’t make Zoren flinch. He wouldn’t even budge if someone concocted a scheme behind him, or if he was victimized by it.

Nothing would ever move Zoren, and it would take a lot—more than it should—to get on his nerves.

But if his wife was involved, then that was a different case. An entirely different situation.

"We need to win." Zoren ran his fingers through his hair, revealing his raised thick brow. The side of his mouth twisted, and some of the ladies in the audience squealed at the change in his friendly demeanor. "We can’t just disappoint her, can we?"

As for Charles, he kept his head low for a while, as if he were trying to process what had just happened. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration for the Bennets to say that the sense of déjà vu they felt surely brought them back to the past.

Hugo, Atlas, and even Charles felt like they were back in that time when they had no other choice but to win.

Slowly, Charles raised his head, his eyes burning with intensity. Just like Zoren, his aura changed, as if this game was no longer a bonding opportunity for him, his sons, and his son-in-law.

"This is now a matter of life and death," Charles breathed out, his wide eyes unblinking. "If you don’t do well and lose this match, I’ll kill you. Right here, right now."

And Charles meant that. It was why this was now a life-and-death situation.

"My daughter’s money, company, hard work, and her life... are now in your hands," he continued, his aura now intimidating and not as distressed. "Ruin it, and I won’t just ruin your hands—it’ll be the last time you boys ever use those hands."

Zoren nodded in satisfaction, because just like Charles, he would kill anyone who would make this team fail. He specifically set his eyes on Jonathan, raising his chin, eyes focused on the man.

Jonathan gulped, a sense of nervousness creeping in for the first time in a long time. He first glanced at Charles, sure that the man would kill him if they lost. Jonathan didn’t question Charles and his promise because he knew Penny was his princess, and Charles was more than capable of carrying it out. But even if Charles changed his mind, there was still Zoren.

How irritating, but Jonathan took it seriously because Zoren’s eyes told him this was a matter of life and death. A literal one.

Shifting his eyes to Zoren and meeting the latter’s gaze, Jonathan drew a deep breath. ’Am I the only person he’s going to warn? What about Dean?’

As soon as that crossed Jonathan’s mind, Zoren moved his eyes to Dean. The latter glared back at Zoren, but it was obvious Dean wasn’t planning on causing problems. Just like the Bennets, Dean didn’t want to be a part of Penny’s downfall.

"Hah..." Hugo, having recovered from the shock, couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. "Penny surely knows how to motivate her brothers."

As for Atlas, he casually removed his armband. "Let’s do well," he calmly remarked, snapping his eyes up. His sharp gaze then swept over his Second Brother, his brother-in-law, Dean, and then Jonathan.

"Stand like a figurine again, and you’ll find yourself in pieces on the floor," he warned all of them, referring to those who had been standing like statues earlier. "Test me."

Hugo chuckled, looking at everyone, knowing his teammate wasn’t reluctant anymore. "Well, we had no other choice, did we?" His smile slowly turned vile as his eyes glinted malevolently. "My sister put her entire life at stake because she believed in this team. Let’s not disappoint her."

"I agree with that," Zoren nodded, while Atlas rocked his head.

Charles scanned his team’s faces and nodded in satisfaction. He crooked his finger, signaling them to come closer.

"Let’s strategize again—listen to me."

*

*

*

It took a moment for Max’s team to recover from Lily’s announcement. Even when people started talking about it, with many of them falling off their seats at the whopping two hundred billion at stake, they couldn’t process it immediately.

Max, for once, was shocked by this. Even though Max had inherited his family business and bought a major league basketball team as part of his "business venture," he had never heard of such a thing in the past. Betting had sparked a huge debate, but that didn’t mean it was enough to stop people from doing so. However, the people he knew who were high rollers in these games would only bet millions per game—the biggest being a hundred million.

But Penny had just placed her entire life on this match.

Her entire life.

"She’s really a madwoman," Max blurted out, shaking his head. "Why do all the hot ones have to be the craziest ones?"

"Haha. The Prime Group?" someone from his team blurted out, excitement shining in his eyes. "Is this for real?"

"I only played because it’s been a while, but... even if everyone in this court bet on us, they’d get a huge cash payout if we win."

"Oh, damn... this just became interesting."

"I can’t believe someone is crazy enough to bet everything they have," another person expressed, grinning at everyone. "I like Penny as a person, but I think she has gambling problems. Only addicts would ruin their lives in gambling."

Max scanned his team’s faces, who were more fired up to win this match. After a landslide win in the first quarter, their confidence and morale were at an all-time high. However, Max didn’t share the same excitement or point of view.

"Don’t be too complacent," Max said, gathering his team, his expression now serious.

"Huh?" the rest of the team furrowed their brows. "Senior Max, why are you saying that?"

"Don’t worry! We can win this game—haven’t you seen them play?"

"As long as we guard Senior Hugo heavily, then Senior Atlas, it’s a sure win!"

"We can do all of this—this game will end even before we reach the last quarter."

Max studied their enthusiastic and confident faces, only to sigh heavily. "I know this is crazy, but this game... is not going to be easy. Just take a look." He jerked his chin toward the other bench, causing everyone to check their opponents.

As soon as they all had their eyes on the opponent’s side, they shuddered, feeling an invisible fire engulfing their opponent—Charles included—and the demonic aura seeping out of each individual.

"Why do they look like... they’re going to war, instead of playing a game?" one team member blurted out in disbelief.

"Penny is the only princess of the Bennets," Mark whispered, moving his eyes to where Penny was sitting. "And Penny... simply knows how to motivate her family. The next game... is not going to be as easy as the first."