Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Which article of the Constitution in Chapter 200 did I sign?

Amidst the bewildered and panicked expressions of the crowd, the armored convoy drove straight into the courtroom!

We drove up to the statue that symbolizes fairness and justice!

The bailiffs responsible for protecting the court had never seen anything like this before. They were so frightened that they dropped their guns on the ground, turned around and ran, rushing straight into the courtroom.

Madman! Milton is a madman!
They had heard that in Colombia, at the height of the previous drug lord's power, armored vehicles had once stormed a courthouse.

On November 6, 1985, the Columbia Justice Building was holding a meeting led by the Supreme Court to amend the criminal code. The core of the meeting was to add various provisions to the law to punish drug cartels and terrorists.

Pablo's tanks just drove straight in!
Finally, all of the Supreme Court's important documents were burned, and 11 Supreme Court justices died.

Although Milton is attacking not the Supreme Court, but only the provincial appeals court, the scene is almost as terrifying as the rumors suggest.

Milton, of course, took it all in and laughed, "They're actually running inside, which means there's some big shot inside? Interesting. News of my entry into the city has spread throughout the city by now, and the judges still haven't left?"

Flora said matter-of-factly, "Since we're going to be destroyed anyway, of course we need to make as much money as possible. Whoever pays, they'll declare innocent... It's normal to make a quick buck before we leave. You came too suddenly, they can't leave, so it's normal for them to make money."

“They can’t leave; they always have relatives outside, and their children may even be in the United States.”

"Besides, maybe they don't think their fate will be too bad?"

Before Milton could speak, he saw several very familiar judges walk out of the courthouse—they were still wearing their solemn judge's robes, and even in the desolate scene before them, it was clear that the lives of these important figures had not been greatly affected.

“Milton!” one of the judges shouted, his beard trembling with rage, as he held a megaphone. “What blasphemous behavior! What utter contempt for the law!”

The sound was very loud, very loud.

Not only were the loudspeakers of good quality, but also various fearless war correspondents had already secured the best viewing spots and were frantically filming this scene.

This is precisely why these judges are somewhat emboldened.

They discovered that Milton was very adept at using the media to cultivate a positive image of himself as a victim.

Or they could pin the blame for something highly controversial on their opponents and spread it through the media.

In other words, if some media outlets were arranged around to create public pressure, Milton's behavior might be much more restrained!

This is the method the judges came up with to save their lives.

The judge continued his impassioned speech: "Where have you entered? This is the temple of law! The fortress that guards the last line of defense for human civilization! The inviolable symbol of our nation!"

"You are trying to use violence against the local government—our legally elected government! Perhaps there were some problems during their rule that could be resolved through legal means, but that is absolutely not an excuse for you, a military adventurer with no legitimacy, to use traitorous forces to overthrow a democratically elected government!"

"Our laws have a sound and perfect error correction mechanism."

“Look at what you’ve brought to this land. I see no glorious victory, only endless fear, a panicked flight of foreign capital, and the investors who have provided tens of thousands of jobs for Guatemala, brought valuable technology and capital, and the diligent and excellent entrepreneurs who follow our mature and sound legal and tax system—like Mr. Polk…”

boom!
The next instant, a Type 59 modified tank opened fire without warning.

In front of everyone, in front of all the cameras, an APFSDS was fired, accurately hitting the judge in the upper body.

The moment he hit the steel nail, his flesh was instantly shredded and exploded, leaving only two incomplete, bloody thighs in place.

boom!
The armor-piercing bullet pulverized the judge and also struck the statue, which had been charred black in a fire a few months earlier and had only recently been repaired.

This sudden turn of events left everyone, including the reporters at the scene, completely dumbfounded.

what's the situation? !

They opened fire immediately?

Pablo at least had some demands that were made, and he only began to execute the hostages when he was completely desperate.

Milton really gave a live performance of starting with 0 frames!

“What entrepreneur? What job?” Milton grabbed Bordeaux by the scruff of his neck and dragged him off the armored vehicle. “Are you referring to this person, Bordeaux?”

Although Milton did not give the order, several soldiers still took the initiative, grabbed Bordeaux, and hung him on the tank cannon.

Make sure all the surrounding cameras can capture this scene clearly.

“As you all probably know, I enjoy watching television, so I started my own television station,” Milton said slowly. “But why are there no people from our station here, in such a large setting?”

"Because they are filming a hell in another place."

"The jobs you're referring to, Your Honor, are those where people who should be in school are forced to climb into their beds and provide services?"

"Valuable technology and capital refer to casinos where you can never win, superb drug-making techniques, and high-interest loans that you can never repay in this lifetime?"

“Your Honor… I’m a rough man, and there are many things I don’t understand. But I know how to protect our next generation, and I know how to punish corrupt officials who force drugs into the military.”

"You may escape the punishment of the law, but you cannot escape my punishment."

One judge was trembling with fear, constantly regretting and annoyed at himself for speaking so definitively and for misjudging the influence of public opinion on Milton.

His tone softened considerably.

“Milton Mings! I know you have many, many demands. Look at your approval ratings. You could have taken a legal path.”

"We are unaware of what you're saying. If it's true, we're willing to cooperate with your investigation. The condition is evidence, evidence!"

"But none of these things are an excuse for you to trample on the Constitution..."

Before he could finish speaking, Milton flicked the megaphone: "Didn't you declare me a rebel? Does that mean rebels have to abide by the constitution?"

"Also, I never came here to find you. You're just talking to yourselves."

"Just now, my subordinates sent me a report saying that in the hotel of the 'outstanding entrepreneur' Bordeaux, a lot of human tissue that had not been washed off was found. A lot of drug residue was found, as well as a lot of interesting evidence."

"You all cleaned up the evidence so thoroughly, it looks flawless. I can only say that you are worthy of being judges, I admire you... But unfortunately, times have changed."

“A new technology that was only used to solve cases in 1987 is called DNA testing—as long as you have shed a single hair or left a drop of saliva at the scene, I can use this to find you.”

“I have a very interesting list in my hands right now.”

That's obviously a lie; how could Milton have come up with such ideas on the spot?
However, it's enough to fool people.

The judges looked grim, exchanging bewildered glances, unsure whether Milton's talk of DNA technology was true.

But its reliability is probably extremely high—with so many reporters present, Milton wouldn't tell a lie that could be exposed on the spot, would he?
Milton looked at the silence on the other side and smiled: "I'm not here for you all... it's just that 'outstanding entrepreneur' Bordeaux said that the court has all sorts of documents you issued for him, proving that his business is legal."

"Forgive me, I have never heard of a business like murder and drug trafficking being legal, so I came here specifically to verify this."

"Go in and take control of the entire courthouse. I don't want to see even a single piece of paper burned."

The judges were dumbfounded. They immediately destroyed a lot of evidence that was unfavorable to them, but they never expected that the document from Bordeaux would also contain a hidden problem!
In the past, they could have used ignorance as an excuse to deny it, but Milton claims he has DNA technology and is not afraid to deny it!
"Wait, this is a courtroom, you have no right to... Quick, burn all the documents, you can't..."

boom!
Another shell was fired from the cannon, blasting the talkative judge to pieces.

Bordeaux, hanging on the cannon barrel, screamed in agony as he was burned.

"Charge! Anyone who tries to steal or burn documents, shoot them on sight!"

Wow!
The soldiers, guns in hand, stormed into the courthouse.

This utterly absurd scene once again left the surrounding reporters speechless.

Logically, shouldn't it be the militants attacking the court in an attempt to destroy evidence that is unfavorable to them?
Why is it that now it's the other way around, with the armed men besieging the court doing everything they can to protect the court's documents, while the judges are trying to destroy what's inside?
Is this the magical Latin America?
However, the judges' orders were clearly useless. After seeing Milton fire and kill two judges in succession, no one who wanted to live would dare to resist anymore.

Some of the more ambitious individuals even saw an opportunity—a chance to rise to power amidst the chaos.

Milton always needs new judges. Executing this batch of judges will create vacancies for newcomers, won't it?
As a result, those who were not involved, or were not qualified to be involved in the Bordeaux business, even became guides, telling the soldiers who stormed into the courthouse where the important documents were kept.

"That place, where these approvals are handled by... judges, is very likely there!"

"I'll take you there. I didn't bring a gun, I'm safe!"

"To be honest, I've been fed up with these corrupt appeals judges for a long time. It's good that you've come!"

"Found it, this should be the one?"

"Hurry up, take him out and show him to Mr. 'The Godfather'!"

"..."

Soon, under the heavy guard of the soldiers, the document was brought to Milton's face.

Milton glanced at the document briefly, then smiled and waved lightly at the reporter: "Not bad, it seems that in San Marcos, murder, drug trafficking, and human smuggling are indeed legal businesses."

Brandon glanced at the ashen-faced judges and sneered, "Boss, what's next?"

“Arrest them all first,” Milton said. “Since they are legitimate businessmen, let’s see if they have paid their taxes legally and fulfilled their obligations as taxpayers.”

"Then……"

Before Milton could finish speaking, a man suddenly approached and reported, "'Godfather,' someone called looking for you. They sounded very anxious."

"At this time?" Milton asked curiously. "Who? What is it?" "He said he wanted to speak to you personally."

Milton found it even more interesting and said, "Take it."

A dedicated mobile phone was quickly handed to Milton.

"Hey?"

Milton?!

"Keep your voice down. Also, you should tell me who you are first. That would be polite enough, wouldn't it?"

The man on the other end sounded flustered: "You don't need to know who I am... Someone in Guatemala City asked me to pass on a message to you!"

Guatemala City... that's President Alzu, right?

Is there something he can't say in person?

Milton leaned against the armored vehicle: "I am indeed very interested."

"There are some names on your list that you'd better pretend you never saw. That would cause you, everyone, and even our country unimaginable trouble, understand?!"

Milton almost blurted out, "What list?"

Fortunately, he quickly realized that this person was probably referring to the list that Milton had just lied about, claiming to have created using DNA matching technology.

These people are truly illiterate. To make a comparison, you definitely need specific suspects to do so!
Otherwise, Milton would only have obtained DNA information that was "unidentified".

So Arsu was in such a hurry to call and warn us?
This really piqued Milton's interest.

“Oh? You want me to keep this list from being released?” Milton laughed, continuing his phone scam. “That’s not out of the question.”

The man took a deep breath, and it was clear that Arsu was truly exasperated: "What do you want? Let me tell you, we won't accept your blackmail. Don't even think about using this to take advantage of us. At worst, we'll release the list and make a huge scene!"

Milton didn't expect to blackmail a president for life with this so-called secret, he just said: "You should have seen the news broadcast, these appeals judges must have made a lot of money, right? And it seems that none of that money has been paid to me in taxes."

"They must have family and relatives scattered in different places..."

"How about this, you put a little pressure on them, and I'll promise not to release this list, how about that?"

The man thought about it carefully—these appeals judges had become Milton's prisoners and had lost their value. And the money wasn't coming from the president's faction, so it seemed there was no problem.

It's just using other people's money; I don't feel bad about it.

"I can make the decision, no problem. Just let them answer the phone when it's appropriate. As for the list, keep it to yourself, or even better, burn it. It'll be better for both of us, understand?!"

After saying that, the man hung up the phone without waiting for Milton's response.

Before Milton could even hang up the phone, Brandon, standing nearby, leaned in curiously, rubbing his hands together: "Boss, is this list really that impressive? What names are on it?!"

"Arsu was threatening you yesterday, and now you're in such a sorry state. It's quite funny..."

Milton slowly put down the phone, waved his hand, and asked, "What list?"

Brandon looked puzzled: "You mean that thing, the DNA thing, the list! Boss, didn't you just mention it?"

“There’s no such list at all.” Milton looked at him like he was an idiot, then patted him on the shoulder. “I made that up… If it were true, do you think I would have agreed so quickly? You think you can just fob me off with a few appellate judges’ money?”

Brandon was completely dumbfounded.

Good grief, this is made up?!
So serious, yet it was all made up?
Flora, standing to the side, covered her forehead and exclaimed, "My God, I knew it... to exchange a single wisp of air for potentially tens of millions of dollars, at least several million dollars, you truly are a genius, 'tax collector'."

"By the way, weren't you quite concerned about public opinion? Why did you start firing off so directly this time?"

Milton looked at her with great curiosity: "What was my strength back then, and what is my strength now? If I'm still afraid of public opinion now, wouldn't I have won this battle for nothing?"

Flora nodded: "What are you planning to do next?"

"Arrest those who should be arrested, and then fully restore the economy—those who had to do illegal things under the old order can be spared. Drug dealers, of course, are an exception," Milton said. "All drug dealers and human traffickers must be arrested and publicly executed, with no excuses for leniency."

"Take over the media, take over the police station. Replace them all with our own people. At the same time, we also need a group of absolutely reliable people to establish a political vetting team."

"Dissolve parliament, arrest its members—the new order doesn't need them."

"We will then establish an examination system for civil servants to provide upward mobility for those at the bottom of society... All government budgets will be reported to me for approval. Now, not a single penny can be wasted. This is a long process, but we can quickly lay out the framework now."

"Post-war reconstruction work can provide many jobs, which can quickly stabilize social order."

"And then there's the school, which I care about most. Talent, talent is the most important thing."

"Not only schools, but we also need to recruit some real talent for the military—we've reached our limit in terms of military personnel drawn from the rebels, from Mexico, and from our own territory. Do you know what that means? It means our military size is completely capped! I need more talent, Flora. This is your responsibility. As the PMC, you should be able to recruit some people with specialized skills."

"..."

"We need to find a new trading partner, based solely on economic considerations, without any political factors. That's the advantage of being a warlord; as long as you don't act in the name of the state and do it secretly, no one will pay any attention to you."

"Build up reserves and diversify assets into different currencies and precious metals as much as possible... The tsunami triggered by NAFTA is coming, and we must be prepared. Hmm, we can't rely too much on the Guatemalan quechar, as we don't have the power to mint currency, and it could very well become a weapon for others to attack us."

"Finally, we're all set. After the city of San Marcos is pacified, we should go and take down Quetzaltenango, and then take down Lopez, who's still hiding there, to end this cat-and-mouse game."

After listening, Flora sighed, "To be honest, I have a feeling that our enemies are almost forming an 'anti-French alliance'... We really need to speed things up."

Brandon looked at both sides of the street and said, "Wasn't it supposed to be that these entrepreneurs control all kinds of economic lifelines, and that touching them means touching the livelihoods of countless people? Why haven't I seen many people protesting?"

No, not only that, but Milton's armored convoy was warmly welcomed by the people wherever it went!

Without Milton's relief station, many people might not have made it to today.

Milton said, "It just shows they overestimated their influence. By the way, didn't Ross provide several CIA safe house addresses? Did they send anyone to check them? I'm really curious what Lopez did."

"They had already evacuated beforehand. They found some special equipment and poisons, but not much useful information."

"Alright... let's hurry up and take down the last one, Xaltenango."

……

Quetzaltenango.

Wow!

The large villa that Lopez used to entertain his VIP guests was breached by angry and hungry people and completely set ablaze.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Milton deserves to die, Arsu deserves to die, the CIA deserves to die, everyone deserves to die!!!"

In a basement, Lopez, covered in filth and dressed in tattered clothes, began to curse loudly.

When news of the defeat and the annihilation of his army arrived, Quetzaltenango, who had been under constant pressure, finally erupted.

Soldiers who couldn't get their pay either sold weapons or became armed gangs. Lopez and his cronies could no longer command even a single platoon.

Without the army, Lopez also lost "public support." The people, already highly dissatisfied with him, rose up and began looting his properties and food...

The once invincible warlord, who possessed a massive army and controlled a large part of the economic lifeline, has now been reduced to hiding in a basement and barely surviving.

"Iker, give me, give me a bag of biscuits..."

"Sir, we don't have much food left, please be careful."

Lopez never imagined he would fall to such a state. He gasped for breath, "What about the airport? Is it still under lockdown?"

"Yes... Milton's planes monitor the airport 24 hours a day. Not to mention planes, even if a mouse moves, it will immediately be met with fire."

"Where is the land?"

Iker paused for a moment: "That won't do either. Everyone's looking for us now. Milton has offered you a huge bounty, and he said he'll starve the city if you escape..."

"Grey only peeked out yesterday, and then..."

“Milton has taken San Marcos and will be on his way to Quetzaltenango soon. No one can stop him.”

“We can’t get in touch with anyone…nobody wants to answer our calls.”

"How to do?"

"Do you... have any other ideas?"

Lopez was furious: "If I couldn't do anything when I had so many troops at my disposal, what can I do now?!"

"How about this... Perfect timing, we're all starving and have lost a lot of weight, let's see if we can paint something on our faces and try to sneak out."

“As long as we can leave this city, we can fly to Australia and get rid of Milton for good. I spent most of my money on equipment, but I still kept a little, not much, but enough to live a comfortable life for the rest of my life.”

“Iker, you go out and try first, you take the lead.”

P.S.: Day 6, no signs of improvement. Am I going to be in pain for two weeks? The pain is so bad I can't concentrate on typing at all; this is terrifying.

(End of this chapter)