Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 133 Let us welcome this exemplary anti-drug ambassador

Of these 40-plus people, the vast majority were in the core area at the front, while a small number were scattered in other places.

He doesn't seem to be a combatant; he's probably someone like Father Raymond, belonging to Lopez or even an intelligence agent.

But now that we know the location... there's no need to say anything more.

On the second floor of a building just one street ahead of Milton, he could clearly see three men, one of whom was holding an RPG and seemed to be waiting for the armored vehicle to pass before opening fire.

Milton's approach was simple: he fired directly in his direction, ignoring any cover!
The houses in this godforsaken place can at most stop a pistol bullet, let alone an artillery shell.

Milton immediately lost sight of the three people, and the panel showed that there were still 39 people left.

The moment the shells hit them, they lost all vital signs.

Using cannons to shoot people is indeed highly effective.

Soon, the news spread to other regions as well.

"Trip mine detected, being defused, everyone stay away!"

"'The Godfather' said someone told him there were enemies in that house, and he should be careful as he crept over!"

"I see them! Fire! Open fire!"

"This is the final battle. Everyone must be on high alert. Casualties will be heavy, but victory is just ahead!"

"Don't worry, I've already written my will. My wife and children will be proud of me!"

"Ahead is Conch Street. The enemy might launch a major counterattack on Conch Street. Be careful... uh, is there no counterattack?"

"All right……"

"Burke Street is ahead. There's a very high probability the enemy will launch a major counter-offensive on Burke Street. Be sure to find cover... Uh, where are they?"

"..."

Milton's troops advanced at an extremely fast pace, and almost none of the landmines or ambushes hidden around the corners were effective.

Even the car bombs had their drivers killed by the soldiers who had infiltrated the area.

The soldiers were on high alert, ready to face the enemy's fiercest counterattack.

However, to their surprise, even though they had almost advanced to the last street, to what was likely Lyman's hideout, they still hadn't seen the planned "major counterattack."

What happened to the promised major counterattack?
Where is the great counter-offensive?

We can't launch a major counterattack from Lyman's last hiding place, can we?
Unbeknownst to them, Lyman's side was also plunged into deep despair.

After losing 10 men in succession, seeing so many dead, and despite setting up so many ambushes, they couldn't even take down one of Milton's armored vehicles, and instead, Milton quickly pushed them to the heart of the town. Even Lyman's men knew they were doomed to lose.

Where is the meat grinder? Why didn't their urban warfare have the legendary effect?

Their most beautiful fantasies proved utterly inadequate in real combat.

Can we hold out for a month?

It would be a miracle if they could hold on for another day or two!
When they saw the armored vehicles and fully armed soldiers approaching, many border control officials and corrupt police officers finally broke down – the number of armored vehicles on the other side was about the same as the number of their remaining combat personnel, how could they fight?
"Surrender! We surrender!"

"Stop fighting! We're not fighting anymore!"
"Our equipment is all there, all the mines have been removed. We were forced into this situation, we're giving up! Long live Milton!"

"No, long live the 'Hell Tax Collectors'!"

"We can pay taxes, and we can be good people too..."

As the armored vehicle was about to enter the last street, a dozen burly men, their hands raised, naked and covered in tattoos, emerged, howling and shouting at the terrifying cannon muzzle.

These dozen or so men were clearly Lyman's elite—the discarded equipment included extremely expensive heavy body armor and firearms with accessories.

There are even weapons like the HK G3, ​​which are obviously someone's prized possessions.

But just as they were waiting to be arrested, they saw a soldier angrily get off the armored vehicle and kick them several times.

"You surrendered? You just surrendered? What about the resistance? What about the great counter-offensive?! Where is the promised desperate counter-offensive?!"

They were kicked for no apparent reason.

Are Milton's men out of their minds? What's wrong with surrendering? Surrendering is unacceptable? And who said they had any major counterattack? They've fought like this, what kind of counterattack could they possibly have?

"Sir, Mr. 'Godfather' is watching from behind," a young soldier quickly stepped forward and whispered. "That reporter is still filming too..."

For the sake of his image on television, and also out of respect for Milton, he naturally couldn't arbitrarily execute the "prisoners of war." He could only wave his hand resentfully and say, "These bastards are lucky. Arrest them all."

Soon, these people were arrested and put into the car.

Milton, watching all this from behind, was also somewhat surprised—in theory, his detailed deeds wouldn't have spread throughout the country, but at least Lyman's core members had heard of them.

You still dare to surrender?

Flora asked, "Uh, boss, they surrendered, and now it seems only Lyman, who's still hiding in the safe house, is left? What are you planning to do with these people? Execute them outright?"

Milton waved his hand: "No need to execute them for now. If we kill every enemy who surrenders on the spot, will they ever surrender to us again? We've killed enough already. Let's arrest them this time."

"Should we let them go?"

“Who said I was going to let them go?!” Milton laughed angrily. “How could I let them go? I’ll just publicize this a little, trick as many people as possible into surrendering… After the hype dies down, we’ll find a time to try them and then carry them out.”

"Who would care about these things? Who would investigate these things?"

“They’re not people of Lyman’s status or position. Killing them on the spot wouldn’t establish any authority, so there’s no need for it.”

Flora nodded vigorously: "Okay, but you have to be good at lying and ambushing."

"Enough with the nonsense." Milton waved his hand. "How's it going with Olya? How's the filming going?"

"Not bad." Flora glanced in that direction. "By the way, why did you organize this live stream?"

“We need to let everyone know what the situation is like after our troops have entered the country,” Milton explained. “We will definitely face more than just this one town as enemies in the future, and our use of the propaganda machine will certainly not be as poor as Lyman’s.”

"Now that everyone can see that we have not committed any robbery, and that the townspeople are spontaneously helping us, it will be of great benefit to any possible street battles in the future."

"As long as the people in the city where the street fighting takes place are no match for us, even if their attitude is numb and indifferent, it is a great help."

“If the entire city opposes us, the cost of ruling and occupying it will be too high.”

Flora nodded in agreement: "That's right... Otherwise, it would be like Lyman, whose townspeople not only didn't help him, but even stood up against him when others came."

At this point, Flora remarked, "I really didn't expect this urban battle to be won so easily. It's one of the easiest urban battles I've ever seen."

By this time, the convoy had slowly advanced to the last core street where Lyman was hiding—everyone was being cautious, but Milton was more relaxed because he could see that Lyman's team had completely collapsed and there were no threats along the way.

“I told you, it wasn’t us fighting in the streets, it was Lyman.” Milton shook his head. “He didn’t make any use of the city’s complex terrain at all. Instead, the townspeople used the terrain to their advantage and drove him into a panic.”

After saying that, Milton pushed open the door of the armored vehicle, jumped out, and glanced into the safe house.

There were seven or eight marked living people inside.

They were also the last of the Lyman Group's men—but at this moment they were all huddled in the corner of the room furthest from the door, trembling with fear.

He seemed to lack the courage to suddenly open the door and take a few people down with him.

"This safe house is quite well-designed." Milton knocked on the metal door in front of him and chuckled. "It's quite heavy; it would be difficult to open without a large-caliber armor-piercing round."

At this moment, the camouflage of wooden planks and sheet metal next to the safe house had been torn away, revealing a half-buried bunker. The ground level was very low, consisting of a sharply angled iron door and concrete next to it.

To prevent him from contacting the outside world, Milton also removed all the nearby antennas.

This safe house is now a true island.

"Moreover, the angle of the folding iron gate is quite large, making it difficult for land artillery to hit." Flora glanced at Olya, who was recording behind her, and said loudly and seriously, "Are we going to use airplanes to drop bombs from above?"

Before the two had finished their skit, Brandon suddenly came up from behind and whispered, "Boss, um... your phone."

Telephone?

Milton was a little surprised: "Who would call me at this hour?"

“Lopez, that congressman.”

“So it’s because the congressman is so concerned about my counter-terrorism operation.” Milton suddenly realized. “Don’t worry, the congressman. I’ll call him back after I’ve finished dealing with things here. This taxation… the counter-terrorism operation will be a great success.”

Another advantage of capturing the town so quickly is that Lyman will definitely not have time to destroy the evidence of his collusion with Lopez, or at least not completely destroy it.

With a little maneuvering, we might be able to deal another blow to his voter base.

“Mr. Lyman, can you hear me?” After rejecting Lopez’s call, Milton knocked on the iron door. “My men are all over the outside. What good do you think hiding in there will do? How long can you stall for time?”

Flora sighed and said, "Actually, we can't even buy time. This safe house is obviously his own design. It looks very sturdy, but it's only good for keeping honest people out of trouble... Look at this ventilation system. If we use poison gas, he'll be finished."

Enraged, Lyman retorted, "I have oxygen tanks and gas masks inside. I'm not afraid of your poison gas!"

“Really?” Milton was surprised. “Have you considered this? You need to eat, right? How are you supposed to eat while wearing a gas mask? You have to choose between starving to death and being poisoned.” Lyman: “…”

Yes, why didn't he think of that?

His tone softened considerably: "You, what do you want? Do you want money? No, you definitely don't want money. So many people in Malakan are rich, and the Fan Kang gang is also very rich, yet you didn't let them go... What do you want?"

“Isn’t what I want obvious?” Milton wasn’t in a hurry at all. Instead, he sat down. “You, a mere checkpoint chief, couldn’t possibly organize such a massive smuggling network involving people, organs, drugs… and everything else. Tell me, who else? Or rather, who are you working for?”

"Don't try to deny it. In such a short time, you won't have time to deal with the evidence. I've already completely taken over the town. It won't be long before I find a lot of things that you can't deny."

"Think it over carefully. Are you going to cooperate with me, or will you just cower in your turtle shell and wait to die?"

No sooner had he asked the question than Brandon came up from behind and whispered, "'Godfather,' it's Lopez on the phone."

Oh, so you're in a hurry now?

Milton, however, was in no hurry. He waved his hand and said, "I'll call him back later. Don't answer now."

Just as he finished speaking, several trucks drove up.

Balam excitedly said, "'Hell Tax Collector', we found a lot of things in Lyman's warehouse: poppies, coca (cocaine raw materials), and some things I don't understand."

Milton nodded: "Lyman, the filming of this operation was done in one continuous shot. You can't deny it, so you'd better explain yourself properly."

To get Lyman to cooperate quickly, Milton also brought over the men he had just captured.

“These are your men. Come, listen to their voices. They’re doing well.”

"If you can cooperate like they do, I can give you a chance to turn over a new leaf. I can even make you my anti-drug ambassador, how about it?"

Lyman was intrigued: "Really?!"

Milton nodded and said, "Of course it's true, otherwise I would have attacked your safe house right now, wouldn't I?"

“Alright! I can cooperate with you.” Upon hearing that some of his men were still alive, Lyman immediately agreed to surrender. “I only have a few very simple conditions.”

“Yes, go ahead,” Milton said very kindly. “I’m listening.”

The other core members who knew Milton even slightly now showed a hint of reluctance on their faces.

Another naive and innocent smuggler... oh, this one's already a drug dealer, a naive and innocent drug dealer led astray by Milton...

Lyman quickly said, "I can give you my money, and I can confess everything, with irrefutable evidence... but I have three requirements. First, I need a fully furnished house, not too big, 100 square meters will do. Second, I need enough money to live on for the rest of my life. Third, you have to leave these women around me to me. Is that alright?"

He believed that these demands were not excessive.

Compared to the money that was about to be handed over to Milton, these conditions were practically "free".

Milton sighed and nodded as if he had remembered something funny: "Okay, fine, no problem, I promise you."

"Come out already, stop testing my patience."

With a whoosh, the iron gate was pushed open from the inside.

Lyman walked out nervously, praying that Milton wouldn't break his promise.

Several soldiers rushed forward, grabbed Lyman and the rest of the men, and put them in the car.

Flora asked quietly from the side, "Where should we send it for interrogation?"

“He’s from Akoch, so the trial will be held in Akoch.” Milton waved his hand. “By the way, find him a house, according to his request. Doesn’t he want women? No problem, bring those women with him.”

"Roger that!"

Flora watched the warriors go off to their mission and muttered to herself, "I'm really curious what kind of torture art you'll come up with this time..."

"..."

Two or three hours later, a dozen people appeared in a 100-square-meter room that looked like a makeshift interrogation room, but with its doors, windows and walls reinforced and sealed off.

A police officer gave Lyman a cold look and handcuffed him to the table—which was now integrated with the ground.

He was accompanied by the women who had been in the bunker, but they weren't treated as well; they were thrown into a small room with iron bars on the windows.

"Hey, bro, no need to be so rough!" Lyman's wrist hurt a little. "We might even have to work together in the future. Didn't you hear what the respected, great 'Hell Tax Collector' said? I'll be his anti-drug ambassador from now on!"

The police officer gave a cold snort: "I'm not your brother."

“Fine, whatever.” Lyman shrugged, looked around the “interrogation room,” and nodded in satisfaction. “Looks like this is my cell? Not bad, ‘Hell Tax Collector’ is a man of his word.”

The space was large, with a TV, a separate toilet, a large bed... the environment exceeded Lyman's expectations.

He was even more reassured, believing that Milton would keep his word as long as he told the truth.

Not long after, Milton and Brandon and the others came over and sat down at the interrogation table.

"Money... fine." Milton didn't waste any words; he took out the ticket and threw it over. "Hand it all over."

"Okay! I'll tell you, and you write it down..."

Lyman knew he couldn't keep the money, so he spit it out quite readily—some of it wasn't even his own money, but rather payments for goods and Lopez's investments that had flowed into his hands, but so what?
I feel less pain if it's not my own money.

Moreover, he had already decided to betray Lopez and buy his life from Milton.

"On... street, turn left... there's a box buried underneath, filled with gold and US dollars, I can't remember the exact amount."

"I have a wealth management product at Lehman Brothers... I'll tell you how to cash it out..."

"Wells Fargo's certificate of deposit..."

"Swiss Bank..."

"..."

As Lyman spoke, someone outside was verifying the information.

Milton soon saw his red points steadily increasing.

The red points pool, which was almost depleted by this battle, has finally ushered in a new round of gains.

It has to be said that Lyman's ability to amass wealth is even greater than Varta's. After several hours of investigation, Milton's red points reached 6200 million!
It surged by 5200 million!
In other words, Milton got over $1000 million worth of cash and goods from Lyman!
Even after deducting the drugs, which must be destroyed and cannot be converted into cash, and after deducting various losses, Milton's account still had at least $800 million more.

Of course, the reason there is so much money is because a considerable portion of it consists of outstanding payments for goods that have not yet been delivered, as well as Lopez's wealth.

Make a lot of money.

Milton was so excited that he wanted to abandon Lyman and immediately begin arranging the construction of the airport.

“Very good.” Milton suppressed his impulse and nodded. “You’re still relatively honest… So, let’s get down to business. Olya, turn on the camera and prepare for the live stream. Of course, set the delay to 1 minute, that’s enough to eliminate any risks.”

Now, Milton is going to shake Lopez's voter base!
“Actually, you can probably guess what happened.” Lyman shrugged. “Senator Lopez… he’s the only politician with this kind of influence in the military around here.”

"Where's the evidence?" Milton asked calmly. "Do you know the consequences of slandering a congressman like this?"

“Of course I have evidence.” Lyman laughed. “I’m not a fool like Varta. I also need to consider my escape route… Given the chance, I will definitely find a way to secretly record the transaction between me and Lopez and store it separately. I never thought it would actually come in handy now!”

“I’ve worked with him for over 20 years, and he’s long since let his guard down around me.”

"There are also various transfer records, transaction records, and documents..."

"These things are very difficult to fake; a simple check can confirm their authenticity."

“I’ll tell you exactly where I hid these things… Hmm, one of the places where I hid the video recordings was probably blown up by you, but it’s okay, luckily I stored them separately, so losing one piece of evidence won’t matter.”

"By the way, Lopez bought a howitzer, intending to use it against you. It's the kind with a long range. I don't know the specific model, but it's something that will happen this month."

"..."

Under the on-site command, the documents and disks were quickly located and broadcast on television in front of Olya.

These seemingly ordinary videos, with their simple words, contain explosive content!

"I wonder what kind of ripples this will cause..."

"Hopefully, we can influence Lopez's voter base as much as possible."

Milton shook his head slightly and got up to leave.

Lyman tried to get up, but was firmly handcuffed to the table. He shouted, "Wait... um, Mr. 'Hell Tax Collector,' could you help me unlock these handcuffs? They're hurting a bit! Now, we're friends, aren't we?"

“Oh, right, I almost forgot about you.” Milton nodded slightly. “I promised you I’d make you an anti-drug ambassador, didn’t I?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lyman nodded vigorously. “I want to be an anti-drug ambassador. It sounds so cool and righteous!”

Milton nodded: "Okay, then you can help me destroy some drugs."

After he finished speaking, the police officers immediately came over and pushed a pile of drugs over.

(End of this chapter)