Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 17 Non-Standard Villains

The people at the pharmacy realized a neglected but very serious problem.

This prosecutor did indeed deal with Fan Kang's gang of thugs cleanly and efficiently, but that doesn't mean he's an ally.

If smuggling these submachine guns would result in a $10 fine and execution, then by that standard, everyone present would face at least the death penalty.

He could easily kill the assassins from Fan Kang's gang, and he could easily kill everyone present.

Brandon swallowed hard, wondering if he could use his identity as a police officer to ease the tension.

The "boss," however, spoke calmly: "You could have easily killed us all and taken everything you wanted... but you didn't. So, what do you want? Or what do you want us to do?"

Milton was a little surprised: "I'm a prosecutor, not a terrorist. Don't give me this nonsense. I'll give you a tax form to fill out yourselves. Since this is your first offense and your subjective malice wasn't too great, I won't issue a fine this time, but you still need to pay the taxes."

With that, Milton threw a tax bill onto the table.

Even the "boss," who had experienced countless major events, was bewildered at this moment. He scanned the order from top to bottom but found nothing unusual.

This is just a regular tax bill.

A ridiculous and absurd idea popped into the "boss's" mind: Could it be that the inspector, wearing a bulletproof vest, was shooting and throwing grenades, really just there to check taxes?
Are border control stations desperate for money?

After a moment's consideration, the "boss" reminded him: "But these medicines of ours are not on the import list. In other words, they are all illegal income."

To cooperative taxpayers, Milton patiently reiterated his identity for the third time: "I am an inspector, not a police officer. I am not responsible for investigating whether your income is legal; I am only responsible for getting your taxes back."

Inspectors only investigate the legality of the origin of goods when they are in transit.

After completing immigration procedures, this kind of matter should logically be handed over to the police.

When the inspectors come, they only pursue and fine the goods; whether or not they confiscate them depends entirely on whether the inspectors want to double-cross them—you must understand that this is war-torn Guatemala, a country in disarray, not Tokyo University.

Even the police often impersonate gangsters to collect protection money; the division of powers and such has long been a mere formality.

The pharmacy owner understood and immediately asked, "Twenty thousand US dollars, is that alright?"

Milton didn't really want to make things difficult for these sick people who needed medicine, nor did he really want to make money off the poor, so he nodded: "A very reasonable number."

Seeing how quickly the other party agreed, the pharmacy owner's eyes lit up, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Then, how about 15,000?"

"...Do you think this is a market, where you can haggle?"

"Eighteen thousand?"

"Get lost! Twenty thousand! If you're short a penny, I'll shut down your shady business! I bet you'd still dare to haggle with Satan even if you were in hell!"

"..."

After collecting a large pile of odds and ends, consisting of US dollars, pesos, quochars, and even Hong Kong dollars, Milton glanced around and mentally tallied his haul.

First, there's the "boss's" $2 in cash, and the corresponding 8 red points—these drugs are all classified as level-one contraband by the system.

Then he should be able to freely enter and exit this easily defensible underground pharmacy. It's a pretty good safe house—the structure is sturdy, so he doesn't have to worry about being rushed in and killed while he's sleeping. It's also a semi-medical logistics supply point.

Otherwise, with so many enemies watching him, Milton wouldn't know where to sleep!

And these patients who need medication, Officer Brandon, the "boss"... they could all become their companions, or at least informants.

The assassin dropped six TEC-9 submachine guns and a large amount of ammunition, which can be used to arm trusted individuals.

With your own power, the system will unlock more exchangeable items—light unarmored vehicles, most assault rifles, and even small-caliber mortars can be redeemed with points.

Unfortunately, armor-piercing rounds don't seem to be available for exchange yet... Right now, the only bullets available for exchange are regular rounds.

There's also a hitman's blind box that you can open; according to him, it contains at least $2000.

To summarize, it's an underground base with medical support, a group of teammates, a large sum of cash and red points, more exchangeable items, and a batch of submachine guns and ammunition.

Not only did he reap a great harvest, but most importantly, he finally had a sufficiently safe base!

High risk means high reward.

With this small outpost, we can start figuring out how to establish a foothold at the checkpoint... and with the help of Officer Brandon, we might even be able to build some influence within the police department.

In other words, perhaps after a while we can start farming, developing our economy, raising armed personnel, and collecting more taxes.

Life in the future suddenly looks so wonderful!

As his sense of security slowly returned, Milton fantasized about his future life, only to be overwhelmed by exhaustion and drowsiness. "I'll take a nap first, then deal with other things when I wake up. I also need to make arrangements for that little girl, Leah."

Her mother was a fallen soldier, and both morally and logically, her children should be taken care of.

Milton left the room, intending to take off his gear and rest for a while.

Just as he reached behind his back to remove his tactical backpack, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel without warning.

It was like a pop-up window, forcibly displaying a warning!
The panel has never displayed a message so directly before!
Milton was taken aback.

what's the situation?
[Your informant Horn at the checkpoint received a piece of intelligence marked "Critical". After verification, it was confirmed as "Critical". Since the host is not currently in a state of emergency, a mandatory alert is being issued.]

[Horn spotted a black Chevrolet Suburban, suspected to be owned by the Van Conn gang, passing through a checkpoint carrying five people and heading towards Malacan. He also discovered several long guns and that one of the people was wearing a bulletproof vest.]

[We expect to arrive near the old street in about 30 minutes]

"..."

Upon seeing this message, Milton felt a chill run through his body, and his drowsiness vanished instantly.

Then a huge sense of confusion arose in my mind... It doesn't make sense.

Why did Fan Kang suddenly send someone over again? Is this never going to end?

They also sent a significantly stronger combat team.

Long guns, bulletproof vests...

Their equipment advantage has vanished.

Could they be here to reinforce the assassin team...? Impossible. This was an encounter battle. Fan Kang's gang couldn't possibly know that their stronghold had been attacked, let alone that the six-man assassin team had been wiped out.

At this point, Fan Kangbang only had the information that the assassination attempt had failed, so it was absolutely impossible that they sent reinforcements because they knew the assassin team had been attacked.

Could it be that……

Milton considered one possibility—that Van Conn's realization of the failed assassination attempt would make Milton highly vigilant in the coming days. Six assassins armed with submachine guns could ambush one person, but to launch a direct assault on an enemy hiding in a house, constantly on guard and equipped with automatic rifles, would likely result in heavy casualties.

Upon learning of the failed sneak attack, Fan Kang's gang immediately dispatched even more powerful firepower to provide support, preparing for the subsequent assault.
In other words, this reinforcement team was unaware that the outpost had been taken down; they came to the black market pharmacy to rejoin their teammates!
Thinking about this, Milton calmed down.

"This is the biggest information gap, we must take advantage of it! When they walk into the pharmacy, they won't be greeted by their teammates, but by my counterattack!"

In open field combat, Milton would almost certainly die if he encountered this group... but indoor combat might not be so bad!
still have a chance!

Too many unexpected things have happened during this period... Things don't always go as planned, and the enemy doesn't always act as expected. Instead, Milton has developed the ability to quickly calm down when faced with unexpected situations.

"Who exactly is the leader of the Fan Kang gang? To kill me, they sent a full 11 men, armed with long guns and bulletproof vests? Isn't that being a little too cautious? It seems that the shipment I seized really caused them a huge loss."

Putting aside everything else, this gang is incredibly fast!
If Milton hadn't recruited Horn as a temporary informant, if Milton hadn't used the panel to relay messages in a timely manner, and had simply gone to sleep, he would have died tonight!

There's no escaping it... If he escapes, he'll lose the black market pharmacy as a base, his prosecutor status, and the panel's assistance; he'll only die faster.

The stronghold must be defended, and our identities must be preserved!

We have no choice but to fight!
Breathing time is earned through fighting, not through running away!

No firepower advantage is no problem... Let these gangsters see just how brutal a real indoor battle can be!

Within 30 minutes, Milton will turn this underground pharmacy into a bloody meat grinder, killing as many people as he comes!

Milton took a deep breath, put on his tactical helmet, went back to the second basement level, and pushed open the door to the pharmacy.

At this moment, Brandon was trying to comfort Leah, who was extremely depressed and crying softly.

The "boss" immediately noticed Milton's expression and stood up: "What's wrong?"

The prosecutor's expression is off!

what happened?

Milton glanced at the other people in the pharmacy, then at Leah, and said, "Evacuate all unrelated personnel immediately. I just received reliable intelligence that the Van Kang gang is here and will arrive in 30 minutes."

"Oh right, I tied up an old man at the door when I came in earlier. I just forgot. Those of you who are leaving, please remember to take him with you."

(End of this chapter)