Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 161 I Killed Myself
Sokonusco Theatre.

At this moment, García Lorca's "Blood Wedding" is being performed on stage.

To be honest, Carmen wasn't very interested in the show, not only because the actors in the small-town theater were generally not very good, but also because he had been feeling really frustrated lately.

The drug dealers didn't take him seriously, the police chief looked down on him, and even Milton from that neighboring country didn't consider him a threat!
He is the mayor of Tapachula, the highest administrative official.

"Phew..." Carmen let out a long breath, releasing all her pent-up frustration. She waved her hand and called over a busty female secretary beside her. "Vely, how many more shows are there?"

The female secretary quickly swayed over and said with a smile, "Mr. Mayor, there are still 3 shows left. Which actor do you have your eye on?"

Many of the actors performing at the Sokonusco Theater are like this—not only do dignitaries come to select them, but they also desperately want to be chosen themselves.

This industry has been severely impacted by the film industry, and many people are now struggling to make ends meet.

Some evening shows even have "custom-made" performances.

"I haven't found anyone I really like yet, let's keep looking," Carmen sighed. "We finally have a little peace and quiet, can't we at least get some high-quality actors?"

“Mr. Mayor, I’m sorry…” the female secretary said, swaying her body with effort, “The city has been quite unstable lately, which has also affected the theater’s work.”

"Ha!" Carmen recalled the scene when she was threatened with her life by Cardenas, the head of the Gulf Cartel, and sneered, "I don't think these drug cartels are as scary as the legends say. Any nobody from the neighboring country could beat them to a pulp."

Carmen still vividly remembers being threatened at the villa last time.

"They partnered with the Juarez Group, broke into a prison, and caused quite a stir in Central Park, and what happened? Vic emerged unscathed!"

"Given the current situation, I feel I could also declare a ban on drugs..."

"Milton just wants a mayor he can control, right? I can guarantee I can offer much higher prices than Vic!"

As Carmen cursed the others in her heart and plotted how to sell herself for a good price, a security guard suddenly walked over, looking somewhat flustered.

Carmen frowned, pinched the secretary's thigh, and then waved for him to come in.

"What's wrong? Come in and tell me, and close the door behind you."

"Mr. Mayor, something seems wrong outside!" The security guard's eyes were filled with panic. "We can't get in touch with our colleagues outside!"

"What?" Carmen was taken aback. "What do you mean you can't contact your colleagues outside?"

The security guard swallowed hard. "We had agreed to contact each other every five minutes, but this time it's been a long time and no one has contacted us. I tried to talk to people outside, but there was no response."

Carmen thought for a moment and asked, "Could it be that your walkie-talkie is broken?"

“It’s unlikely.” The security guard shook his head vigorously. “I and several other colleagues have tried, but there’s absolutely no reaction outside. Something must have happened.”

Carmen was so angry her nose almost twisted: "Since you're all sure something's happened outside, why don't you go out and see what's going on? What good are you coming to me? Do you think I have an eye out there?! Huh? Tell me, do I have one or not?"

A flicker of fear crossed the security guard's face, but he could only manage a meek smile and said nothing.

Seeing the security guards' attitude, Carmen immediately understood what was going on.

He's not stupid, he's just cowardly.

Who else can take hostile action against Carmen now? Besides Milton, can we find a second person?
After Milton defeated the three drug cartels vying for control of the area twice, they have long since reached an understanding to first eliminate the anti-drug forces before deciding the victor among themselves.

With Carmen's meager salary, she expects the security detail and Milton's men to fight to the death? Dream on.
That guy was a madman who dropped bombs on the city center! The terrifying explosion cloud and the power to destroy a building with a single bomb made many people think that Tapachula had been attacked by a nuclear bomb!

Whether it's drug dealers or anyone else, they're all here to make money.

Milton looked like he was there to fight to the death.

Only those prisoners who have just been released from prison do not know how terrifying Milton is, and only those drug dealers who have a lot of lives on their hands that they cannot clean up, dare to rush straight up to him.

Being able to help guard the theater entrance and stop the Milton Group's strong attack is enough to justify the salary.

The security guards are here to tell Carmen to quickly call for reinforcements.

"Heh...very good." Carmen nodded, too lazy to say anything more. "Get out of here, hold on for 20 minutes."

Meanwhile, Carmen sniffed, carefully sensing the smell for a long time before muttering to herself with some dissatisfaction, "Are they disinfecting the back of the theater? Oh well, the smell isn't strong..."

Carmen took out her mobile phone, intending to call Cardenas and ask him to send some people over immediately.

Suddenly, the very sexy female secretary fell straight into Carmen's arms.

Normally, Carmen would never refuse this lamb that's come to her door—she's even had an affair with a female councilor in the city council... But, the situation is different now. Milton, that madman, might send people to try and besiege the theater.

It's not the time for sex.

Carmen pinched the secretary's waist, only to find that she seemed much heavier than usual... It didn't feel like flirting, but rather like she had really fainted.

Before Carmen could realize anything was wrong, the next change sent chills down his spine.

The next second, the security guard who was just talking to Carmen suddenly collapsed to the ground without warning!
Just a moment ago, the security guard was still fully alert!

Soon, everyone else in the theater, including the actors performing on stage, collapsed one after another.

The actors on stage were giving their all one second, and then collapsed the next.

It's like the whole theater is a giant puppet show, and everyone in the audience is a puppet suspended by ropes.

Now an invisible hand has cut the thread hanging over their heads...

A strange and terrifying feeling welled up in Carmen's heart.

How did Milton do it?
Is he a god?!
"No, I can't stay here! Run, I have to run!" Carmen frantically tried to stand up, but suddenly everything went black before her eyes. A strange drowsiness surged up, and her whole body fell down uncontrollably.

He subconsciously tried to pinch his thigh to stay awake, but this was completely ineffective.

When undergoing anesthesia, whether one wants to be awake or fall asleep is completely beyond one's control.

The same applies to these poisonous gases.

boom!
In her final moments before collapsing, Carmen heard an explosion.

……

Outside the theater.

"Check your gas mask and clothing again. Let me reiterate: this toxic gas can enter the body through the skin, and it's impossible to completely avoid it. Even if you're carrying naloxone (an opioid receptor antagonist), you still have to be careful!"

"Safety."

"Safety!"

"Demolition team, prepare."

boom!
"Breach of the door complete, commence the assault!"

"..."

Wearing fully enclosed gas masks, Team B immediately raised their guns and began their assault using a standard room-clearing formation—everyone's physical condition is different, and their tolerance to toxic gas varies; some may still be somewhat conscious, so they cannot be completely careless.

After the combat team entered, war correspondent Olya, wearing the same protective gear, followed closely behind—she was the kind of person who would never miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness an operation.

Milton followed behind the group, partly to check the combat effectiveness of the people he had recruited, and partly to be ready to cover for them at any time.

However, perhaps because Milton had administered a strong drug, the team found nothing but bodies lying on the floor as they stormed into the theater.

The combat team carefully checked their faces; it was the target who had been finished off with a shot.

Of course, those armed security guards don't even need to be looked at; just take them out.

"Mr. 'Kind Father,' there are two luxury private rooms upstairs!"

Milton glanced around the theater and said, "Split into two groups. One group will search for the target downstairs; the other group will come with me and search the private rooms. Keep an eye on the time. Once 15 minutes are up, regardless of whether the mission was successful or not, evacuate immediately."

"action."

As Milton went upstairs, sporadic gunshots could be heard below the theater.

A painless execution is really too good for these scumbags.

Milton shook his head and first opened the door to the first private room.

What came into view was a rather unsightly scene—a woman with a short skirt, a great figure, and dressed in office attire was lying on top of a man, and the two seemed to be about to do something illicit.

Everyone recognized the man at a glance; he was none other than their primary target for this mission: Mayor Carmen.

"Tch! Already can't wait in the theater?" one of the soldiers in the combat squad grumbled. "We fight for the city with our lives every day, and our mayor is hiding in the theater playing around with women?! Who even voted for him...?"

Another soldier said somewhat embarrassedly, "I... I voted for him, but I didn't know he would be like this after he came to power. His campaign speech was very good!"

"Alright, enough nonsense." An officer shook his head. "'Mr. 'Mr. Merciful,' what are you going to do with him? Take him away or execute him on the spot?"

“If we can capture them alive, of course we should,” Milton said slowly. “But we should wait until the reporters have finished taking pictures. Don’t forget our current identities; we are terrorists from the Gulf Group.”

"What we are doing now is to publicize the power and ruthlessness of the Gulf Group, to tell the whole world that the Gulf Group can kill whoever it wants, even if it means poisoning an entire theater with poison gas."

"Once the operation is over, Olya will immediately film the video. I want to declare war on the world on behalf of Cardenas and the Gulf Group."

"I hope he doesn't need to thank me too much."

The others simply nodded in silence.

Meanwhile, she was mentally ranting – if the Gulf Group were even half as terrifying as "Father," they would have already ruled Tapachula, wouldn't they? Soon, Olya's filming ended.

Milton nodded in satisfaction.

"After these operations, the drug cartel is now a notorious super-terrorist organization. And the DEA agent we rescued should have recovered enough to make a statement together."

"Then, we can begin to eradicate the drug cartels from this land."

Direct attacks on police stations, suicide bombings of television stations, and gas attacks on theaters where government officials were located...

Although these scumbag activities have nothing to do with the Gulf Cartel, the outside world generally believes that they were responsible. Many media outlets and newspapers in Europe and America have called them the most terrifying criminal group at the end of the 20th century, the most brutal of the Mexican drug cartels, and their madness is comparable to that of Pablo Escobar, etc.

No matter how corrupt the Mexican military is, we must distance ourselves from them.

Even if they were truly colluding with the CIA, the CIA wouldn't dare to openly help them.

Milton's goal was always very clear—to do everything possible to scatter and isolate the enemy, annihilate them one by one, and face only one or two enemy forces in a single battle.

The drug cartels in Tapachula may appear to be rampant now, but they have actually been completely isolated!

After the soldiers shot the female secretary twice in the head, they dragged Carmen away, their faces showing a mixture of excitement and tension.

"Mr. 'Mr. Benevolent Father,' is our final battle with the drug traffickers about to begin? Will we win?"

"What are you saying? Victory will surely belong to us!"

Milton waved his hand: "Victory is inevitable... but don't think about that now, focus on the task at hand. Don't forget, we have another target. The people in the suite are all important."

"Yes!"

"Olia, watch the camera. Don't record anything you shouldn't, lest you get framed and exposed later."

"Don't worry, don't you trust my professional skills?"

Milton nodded slightly, left the mayor's suite, went to the door of another suite, and reached out to open the door.

"Hey!" As soon as the door opened, a fat man, as big as a Land Cruiser, dressed in a baggy suit and trying to look presentable, shouted, "Whoever you are, don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

He was way too overweight, no wonder he could still barely stay conscious...

Milton glanced at the man's face and found it somewhat unfamiliar; it wasn't on the "cleanup list."

“Interesting. Who are you?” Milton glanced at the time before asking, “You have 30 seconds to explain everything. The timer starts now.”

The man was dizzy, but still smiled apologetically: "Gentlemen, I am a friendly businessman from Nicaragua. Mexico is a beautiful country, and Tapachula is a beautiful city. I love it here."

"25 seconds."

"I'm just here to do business!" The man didn't dare waste any more time. "After the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), wasn't Mexico's economy severely damaged? They need investment, so I've come to invest!"

Milton finally stopped counting down and asked calmly, "What project are you investing in?"

"Hehe..." The man revealed a smug expression, "Gentlemen, what do you think of the quality of these smuggled 'products'? Whether it's coca or poppy, they all have their own problems."

"That means we need to plant!"

"Essentially, they are still farmers, still engaged in agriculture."

"And I've found a way, a really powerful way!"

Milton had already sentenced this man to death in his mind, and sneered, "Oh? What's your line of work, methamphetamine, is it?"

"No, no, no... that stuff is a stimulant. Mine is essentially still an opioid. But it's no longer the kind of opioid that needs to be grown; it's something that can be synthesized in a very simple workshop, and it's at least 50 times more potent than powder!"

"Let me tell you, I've done several experiments, and just a few grains of salt are enough to poison a person!"

The man became more and more excited as he spoke: "This kind of thing hasn't become popular yet, and in many places it hasn't even been officially classified as a 'drug.' It's definitely an untapped market with terrifyingly high profits!"

Milton paused for a moment, exchanged glances with the other officers who were trying not to laugh, and then asked, "The thing you're talking about, it's not Fentany, is it?"

Damn it, no wonder the police were able to seize this thing in 1994 when it wasn't so popular yet; it turns out the source was here!
This man probably doesn't know that the poison gas that brought down the entire theater was made from his own raw materials...

This can be considered a form of retribution.

The man slammed his fist into his palm: "Wow! You actually know that? That's great! You must know how profitable this stuff is!"

"I believe you can definitely replace that good-for-nothing Carmen and become the mayor of Tapachula. When we cooperate, with an airport and a port here, we're sure to make a fortune!"

“Those damned poor bastards, once they’ve touched this stuff once or twice, they’re completely hooked. We can squeeze money out of them endlessly… Tapachula has hundreds of thousands of people. If we cooperate, just think how much profit that would be?”

“I’ve seen many people kneel on the ground begging me for some of that stuff—not even powder can satisfy them, let alone what I have in my hand. That way, we can trick them into taking out loans from banks or somewhere else, giving them the money to us, and we won’t have to take on their debts. How about that business?”

"Believe me, this thing that's both useful and cheap, yet can sell for a very, very high price, is just that amazing—it's practically a money-printing machine!"

"Yes... I'm a capitalist, I'm a capitalist, I'm not an official, we can cooperate!"

Milton glanced at his watch and said coldly, "Is that so? What are your smuggling channels? Did you get my permission? Did you pay any taxes?"

The man understood Milton's meaning; wasn't this just asking for money? His face twisted in pain: "But I... I've already paid the city government."

"Five seconds."

"I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you!" The man trembled. "I'll give you my bank account and transfer information! I can produce $120 million, please spare my life!"

Milton raised his gun: "Two seconds."

"Two million, two million!" The man was startled and blurted out instinctively, "That's all the cash I have left! It's all yours, it's all yours!"

$200 million! Plus, this guy really did smuggle it overland, passing through Guatemala, so Milton is eligible to pursue taxes and earn red points.

The long-dormant funds account finally received a replenishment.

It's like rain after a long drought!

Sure enough, people who do this kind of thing are rich.

At that moment, the voices of the team responsible for clearing another area came through the walkie-talkie.

"Reporting to 'Father,' all targets have been cleared. Shall we begin the evacuation?"

Milton, having gained a great deal, nodded in satisfaction: "We can retreat now."

Seeing that the group was about to leave, the man immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, I'm going to live, right? You won't kill me, will you?"

“Of course.” Milton nodded. “Come with me… handcuff him. Don’t forget to bring Carmen with you.”

The man was overjoyed. He happily reached out and put on the handcuffs, then quickly followed the team out of the theater.

The other officers and soldiers looked at the man with pity before putting him into the police car.

Milton turned to Olya and asked, "How did the filming go?"

"No problem at all, it just needs a little editing."

"very good."

The extremely obese "capitalist" shifted his position, chuckled, and fully displayed his talent for conversation: "So, we're friends now, right? Partners, right?"

"Dude, you guys are really amazing! I saw everyone in the theater collapsing one after another, I almost thought I was seeing a ghost!"

"Could you briefly describe what kind of magic you used?"

No one on the bus paid any attention to him; no one even glanced at him.

After an awkward silence that lasted for a while, Milton finally broke it.

"It's Fentany."

The man was taken aback: "Huh?!"

"Don't you understand? We're using your goods." Milton stated a harsh truth in a calm tone. "Congratulations, you'll soon become one of those people you're talking about, kneeling on the ground begging for a little something."

A flicker of fear crossed the man's eyes, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably: "I...this, this..."

At this point, the convoy returned to the police station.

Carmen, who was already showing signs of regaining consciousness, was dragged out of the car and taken to the interrogation room.

A police officer looked at the trembling "capitalist" man and frowned in disgust: "'Mr. 'benevolent father,' what are you going to do with him?"

Milton began, “I promised him I would spare his life… but I have no right to pardon his crimes on behalf of the entire city. So, hang him on the lamppost in front of the police station.”

"Once our video is released, let the public decide whether he lives or dies. That's democratic, free, and more in line with his 'capitalist' status, isn't it?"

"Oh, right, let's figure out how to deal with all the garbage he smuggled in himself. If he really can't handle it, then we can destroy it."

The officer nodded: "...Yes, 'Father' sir."

“The rest of you, come with me.” Milton ignored Mr. “Capitalist’s” protests and cries and turned to walk upstairs to the police station.

“Let’s see what the mayor of Tapachula has to say to us.”

"Cheer up... The final battle between Tapachula and the drug cartel is about to begin."

(End of this chapter)