American Tax Officer

"It will take them some time to get here, Director David, so why don't we go sit in the living room and talk it over slowly?"

David thought it made sense, and then led everyone inside.

Once inside, he looked up at the chieftain's throne and pondered for a moment. He was in the superior position now, and he would be levying taxes on the crime leaders in the commercial street later, so he certainly couldn't let his imposing aura falter!

Afterward, he walked straight up and, facing the chieftain's throne that originally belonged to Gael, he sat down on it boldly and confidently.

Gael and the others who followed inside were stunned at this scene, and the young Indians showed anger on their faces one after another.

The chieftain's throne was not just a seat, it was the face of their tribe, and now it was being occupied by an outsider—they felt as if they had been slapped hard in the face.

Just when a few fiery young men could hardly restrain themselves from reacting, they were scolded by Gael who noticed something was amiss, "You lot, this is none of your business now, go outside and stand guard!"

As a symbol of his own status, Gael was certainly very angry.

But there was no helping it; when under someone else's roof, one must bow their head!

Those armored vehicles and tanks, planes, and fighter jets were just outside. If they dared to act rashly, what awaited them would be a dire fate.

Gael hadn't lost all reason yet to not know what was at stake; of course, he chose to endure!

After finding a seat below, Gael, in order to mask the embarrassing atmosphere, spoke again, "Director David, didn't you say there were a few things earlier? Now, dealing with those lawless leaders is one, so what are the others?"

David turned his head to look towards Tewin, who had been playing ostrich since his arrival, then back at Gael. "Chief Gael, to my knowledge, your Indian tribe does not have the authority to use RPG rocket launchers, could you explain where they came from?"

Earlier at the entrance, Colonel Cleveland had said their Apache helicopter was nearly hit by an RPG, and David certainly couldn't let this matter slide so easily!

"This..."

Although Tewin had betrayed him, Gael didn't want to doom his own brother to death, but now David was clearly asking for an accounting, and he could only continue in the vein of renouncing kin: "Our tribe does not have the authority to use RPGs; they were all illegally armed by some individuals inciting our warriors!"

Pretending to be ignorant, David asked, "Oh? And who might that be?"

Gael, feeling helpless, raised his hand and pointed towards Tewin, saying, "It was all him acting on his own to arm them; it has nothing to do with us!"

"Gael, you bastard!"

Tewin was already heartbroken that Dieter had fallen into the hands of the National Tax Bureau, but when he heard that he was also going to be implicated, he became even more frantic with rage.

"Because of this RPG, we almost lost an Apache helicopter of the National Tax Bureau. Since your brother is the mastermind, he must be severely punished. No problem with that, Chief Gael, right?"

As soon as David finished speaking, two inspectors immediately came to Tewin's side and took hold of him, one on each side.

Tewin panicked, struggling while shouting, "Gael, I'm your brother and an elder of the tribe, you can't just hand me over to them like this!"

Gael, as if he hadn't heard his words, calmly replied, "No problem from me!"

"You bastard, are you selling our tribe to the National Tax Bureau? Are you really content to lead our tribe to serve them like slaves…"

Watching a nearly berserk Tewin, David, impatiently, waved his hand, and the two inspectors dragged him out without delay.

While the other elders not only did not seem angry at this scene but some actually seemed rather pleased.

If it weren't for Tewin's son, if it weren't for him arming the hot-blooded warriors of the tribe, would the situation have escalated to this point?

You, Tewin, want to protect your son, then fine, you two father and son can go look after each other in the National Tax Bureau's prison!

However, while these elders were secretly rejoicing, Weidingled, in a corner, was shivering with fear.

Though Tewin was the mastermind behind the purchase of arms to equip the tribal warriors, he was also an accomplice.

Now that Tewin had been dealt with, it wouldn't be his turn next, would it?

But fortunately, in the time that followed, David did not express an intention to pursue the matter further, and Weidingled secretly wiped away sweat.

About 10 minutes after Tewin was dragged away, the sound of vehicles arriving could be heard from outside.

Soon, Gael's confidants led a group of people into the room.

Among them, David also met a few old acquaintances, precisely those lawbreakers he had assessed with his golden finger during his undercover visit to the Indian commercial street the day before.

It was apparent that possibly due to the presence of tanks, armored vehicles and armed helicopters, and fighter jets outside, these lawbreakers were quite shaken, entering with expressions of anxiety and scanning their surroundings.

"Cough cough, let me introduce myself first. My name is David, Chief Tax Officer of the National Tax Bureau Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch."

Upon entering, the lawbreakers who were still surveying their surroundings looked up in unison upon hearing this. They saw that the person sitting on the chieftain's throne was no longer Gael, but this man claiming to be the Chief Tax Officer of the National Tax Bureau. This left them somewhat dumbfounded for a moment.

Soon after, they quickly located Gael on the left side and discovered that the chieftain, who usually exuded so much authority in front of them, now seemed to have completely lost his edge. This made some of them even more uneasy.

After all, many among them were aware of some matters concerning Dieter.

They also knew about the new "black tax" bill introduced by the National Tax Bureau, which mandated that a certain amount of tax must be paid on any illegal earnings from this point on.

Could it be that the reason the National Tax Bureau called them this time was for this same purpose?

"Everyone, please remain calm. We just had a small misunderstanding with Chief Gael's tribe, which has already been cleared up!"

"A small misunderstanding?"

The criminals were somewhat speechless in their minds. If this was a small misunderstanding, would the National Tax Bureau really need to roll in tanks, armored vehicles, and fighter jets?

This was clearly about teaching Gael's tribe a lesson!

Ignoring what everyone was thinking, David continued: "As it stands, our misunderstanding with the tribe has been resolved. From now on, those of you conducting business here can continue doing so with peace of mind, everything can stay the same!"

"However, there is one condition!"

"I believe many of you have heard about our National Tax Bureau's black tax initiative. Let me explain it to you. This law stipulates that from now on, whether it involves..."

After listening to the explanation, the criminals who knew about Dieter's case weren't too surprised. However, those unaware of Dieter's case were left looking dumbfounded.

But on second thought, while the idea of paying taxes on their illicit gains seemed absurd, it wasn't as ridiculous as the National Tax Bureau rolling out those tanks, armored vehicles, and fighter planes outside, coming armed to collect taxes from them!

"You all understand now, right? If anyone has any opinions, feel free to share them. We at the National Tax Bureau are reasonable and operate according to the rules. We're not out to specifically trap you!"

David's words left the criminals internally speechless once more.

If the National Tax Bureau were really reasonable, they wouldn't have brought out those tanks, armored vehicles, and fighter jets, let alone launching missiles around the tribe to intimidate people!

Of course, they definitely wouldn't dare to say this to his face.

After some careful consideration, a loan shark plucked up the courage to stand up and said in a low voice, "Director David, we have to pay a considerable amount of protection money to the tribe here every month. Now, we'll have to pay another share to your National Tax Bureau every month, which is a bit too much to bear..."

"Yes, indeed, we don't earn that much to begin with. Having to pay another share to the National Tax Bureau too, it would be a bit overwhelming..."

"Exactly..."

The man's words instantly garnered the agreement of the other criminals present.

David looked at the first man who spoke up and asked, "Your name is James Leve, right?"

The man called out was surprised that David knew his name, but then his mouth twitched violently as if he suddenly realized something.

If David knew his name, the logic was simple; he must have been secretly investigated by the National Tax Bureau.

Without a doubt, he was about to be in trouble!

"According to the data we have, on the 7th of last month you made a loan to a company executive named Fast in the main street area and collected a return of sixty thousand US dollars."

"Furthermore, on the 11th, you lent money to a landlord in Newtown District named Tony and harvested another sixty thousand US dollars in returns, and there's more..."

"Just these transactions, along with various other lending gains, amounts to a net income of about five hundred thousand US dollars a month."

"From this sum, you only need to pay us, the National Tax Bureau, around one hundred and fifty thousand. You still have a profit of three hundred and fifty thousand. Are you telling me it's a bit too much for you now?"

"Do you know that in America, many CEOs of listed companies don't earn as much as you do in a month? Don't be ungrateful!"

Prior to David's reproach, the man named James had anticipated his impending misfortune.

Now it had indeed come to pass!

The National Tax Bureau had not only unearthed the rough details of his monthly income, but they were also fully aware of the specific sources of his earnings.

It seemed this time, he had to pay whether he wanted to or not!

David then turned his gaze to another man who had just echoed James's remarks, saying, "And as for you, Thompson, you make a tidy sum of over four hundred thousand US dollars a month just from drug trafficking in the commercial street area under Elder Weidingled's jurisdiction. Are you saying you can't handle paying a share of tax to us?"

"And then there's you, Base Morgan..."

"..."

In the ensuing time, David singled out several other high-earning criminals and pinpointed their exact incomes.

Now, these individuals could no longer argue back and all hung their heads in defeat.