Chapter 7: Taxes Are Only Within Machine Gun Range! Chapter 6: You Also Have to Pay Taxes

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Protagonist:

Milton

Mins

Three steps!

Take one more step forward, just one step...

However, at that moment, a weak girl's cry suddenly came from behind Lao Mo.

"Inspector, he has a knife! Be careful!"

Damn it, you bitch... I'll play you to death later, dismember you, and mail you to your family!

Lao Mo didn't have time to think much, drew the fruit knife, and was about to pounce on Milton.

Then, he saw a pair of extremely calm eyes.

And a pitch-black muzzle.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Milton's movement was faster than the girl's voice by an instant!

When he noticed the smuggler had a hand outside his field of vision, Milton had already consciously reached for his pistol, without needing anyone to remind him.

Within two seconds, the M29 fired all six. 44 Magnum bullets from the cylinder!

The smell of gunpowder burning violently spread across the street.

Lao Mo felt his body as if bitten by mosquitoes several times, then his consciousness quickly faded, his vision went black, and he fell to the ground.

He was dead.

Along with that whole string of knife-fight scenes he had just imagined in his head.

He also proved with his life that even three steps are still slower than a gun.

Milton ejected the cylinder, dumped the casings, reloaded, and glanced toward where the voice had just come from.

A frail little girl, a weathered man in his forties, looking like a fruit stand owner and his daughter.

Although that reminder didn't do much, Milton still expressed his thanks with his eyes and nodded.

Good citizen!

Just a bit unlucky, selling fruit peacefully, only to have a car overturn everything.

Milton sighed, loaded the bullets, cocked the hammer, looked around, and began looting the corpse beneath him.

With a car covering the blind spots and open terrain in front, he shouldn't be ambushed.

"Damn, this Lao Mo has quite a bit of cash on him, over 120 US Dollars! And a pack of cigarettes, uh, this pack should have gone through legal procedures... never mind, confiscate it all!"

"Not bad on small items, should be able to exchange for some money."

"He actually has a gold tooth in his mouth?! Hiss, so does he have some big goods in his belly? Alright, probably not, if the panel doesn't show it then there isn't..."

"This money isn't enough to pay the fine, so I'll legally seize your car as collateral, this... uh, this Mr. Lao Mo."

A total of 123.21 US Dollars cash, 1.5 grams of gold, items worth about 20 US Dollars, a pack of illegal drugs, and an old but not severely damaged Toyota SR5 Pickup.

Oh, and a fruit knife, just right to pry out that gold tooth.

Full harvest!

At least one car of his own now, take it to the garage to replace the glass, spend money to get a local license plate, and it won't affect driving at all.

With his own car, many things become much more convenient.

Swish swish...

Just as Milton was tallying his gains, a thin figure suddenly appeared before him.

Accompanied by not-so-loud footsteps!

Huh?!

Someone is approaching?!

Milton, who had experienced American Iaido, didn't think at all; the moment he saw the shadow, he had already retreated half a step and completed the draw-and-aim sequence.

As long as his index finger moved slightly, he could pull the trigger, turning any carbon-based lifeform in front of him into a sieve with the cocked pistol!

A revolver can fire without cocking the hammer, but requires pulling the trigger hard all the way. And if the hammer is manually cocked beforehand, only a light touch of the trigger is needed to fire, saving some shooting time.

This bit of time might be the boundary between life and death.

"In, Inspector..."

Hearing the voice, Milton realized this was the unlucky fruit stand owner's daughter.

The fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl looked at the tragically dead corpse on the ground, the blood all over, the man who caused all this, and his pistol, and uncontrollable fear flashed in her eyes.

She carefully, very carefully, glanced at the large pack of illegal drugs under Milton's feet with the corner of her eye, quickly looked away, and asked with a trembling voice: "Inspector, that fruit knife is ours, can I, can I take it?"

Before Milton could say anything, the middle-aged man quickly stepped forward, grabbed his own daughter, and said angrily: "What are you saying, Liya? Hurry up and apologize to the officer!"

Didn't you see the rifle on his back? Didn't you see that corpse?!

And ask him for a fruit knife?

What kind of inspector, police officer, or tax collector in this godforsaken place is any different from bandits.

Getting blackmailed and paying protection fees is considered good enough; what if someone takes a liking to you?

If you're taken away, with good luck, you might expect scavengers to find your corpse in some big trash can a few days later.

With bad luck, you'll enter other people's bodies as parts and never be found again.

Liya was pulled away by her father, but her gaze never moved away, staring straight at Milton, with pleading and stubbornness flashing in her eyes.

Milton glanced at the clothes on the two people, then at the fruit already smashed on the ground, fell silent for a moment, returned the blood-stained knife to the little girl, and asked, "How much are these fruits?"

Hearing this question, the man jumped, quickly waved his hands: "No money, none at all! Take whatever you want, this is to thank you for your contribution!"

He thought Milton wanted to take a few fruits to eat, so he deliberately asked this question.

When someone holding a gun and with an official identity asks you how much a commodity costs, your answer had better be free.

Milton was about to say something when a new reminder suddenly flashed across the panel before his eyes.

【Clue obtained, Level 3 Contraband "Fruit Category," value approximately 20 Dollars】

【You unexpectedly found a stall selling smuggled fruit, can conduct arrears action, more clues can be explored on your own or purchased with points (this entry has been added to the "Arrears" column, viewable at any time)】

The System Panel lists information on various fugitive smugglers known to Milton, for Milton to selectively pursue—of course, smugglers with not a single clue will not be included on the list.

Clues held by Milton's informants or subordinates will also be included in the system list.

But nothing beyond that—for example, information Station Chief Varta knows but conceals will not be listed by the system; Milton must discover it himself.

This is to have me establish my own power, find informants and build an intelligence network...

Milton looked calmly at the little girl, took out 100 Dollars in banknotes from his hand, handed them to Liya, and said lightly: "He damaged your private property; according to the law, he should compensate. Is this enough?"

100 Dollars?!

Compensation?!

Such unfamiliar words.

Their daily income is only 15 Quetzals, about 2 Dollars!

100 Dollars is a huge sum they dare not even dream of!

Is the Inspector playing a little game before killing someone?

In this godforsaken place, no one would believe wealth falling from the sky—only when your own money is taken by someone else does it mean your life is spared.

Fear spread through the man's entire body; he hurriedly made excuses: "Inspector sir... no need, really no need! The child is young and can't speak, please don't blame her!"

Milton ignored him, forcibly stuffed the stack of banknotes into the girl's hand, and continued in a strictly official tone: "The matter of compensation is settled. Now, let's talk about your smuggling of fruit."

It's over...

As soon as the words "smuggling fruit" came out, the man nearly collapsed to the ground.

It's not that he wanted to smuggle; it's that regular fruit subject to customs duty is too expensive and simply cannot be sold!

There's simply no way to compete with others!

This is something everyone tacitly accepts; the Inspector saying it now isn't just looking for trouble?

It's all over...

Despair surged in both their hearts; Liya even regretted asking the police officer for that fruit knife...

It's just that they were truly too poor, and today they lost so much fruit, not knowing how much more debt they would have to take on.

Even a small knife is precious wealth.

She just wanted to live...

Wronged feelings welled up, and the little girl's eyes turned red in an instant.

Milton sighed long in his heart, still keeping a cold face, withdrew 70 Dollars from that stack of banknotes, and casually handed over a fine ticket and receipt: "According to the law, I will fine you 500 Quetzals."

At the same time, Milton coldly threatened: "Put it away! Be careful, don't let me catch you again."

Liya, tears about to well up, looked at Milton in astonishment.

After paying the fine, she actually still had 30 Dollars left in her hand?!

Even when business was best and life was happiest, they could earn at most 100 Dollars a month...

The Inspector didn't rob her?

Liya's mind went blank; from despair to confusion, she completely failed to react.

"Inspector sir..."

"Shut up, I don't like others setting conditions with me! Hurry up and put it away!"

Milton didn't want to linger, didn't want to stay alone in the same place for too long, so he shouted angrily and was about to turn and leave quickly.

Hurry up and release the tow hook, first bring the two cars back to the checkpoint.

Suddenly, a whistling siren sound came from behind him!

The town's police officers heard the gunshots and came rushing!

This...

Milton's gaze froze slightly, and his right hand instinctively reached for his holster.

He wasn't afraid of the police, but worried these police might be colluding with certain people at the checkpoint.

Varta? Or Menard?

In the distance, the two police officers drew their pistols, got out of the car, and shouted sternly: "You over there, what happened?!"