Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 211 We've Been Set Up (Bonus Chapter)

Gina rode her bicycle much faster, pedaling at a much higher speed.

The closer she got to the government's exchange point, the worse her mood became—along the way, she could see people blocking the bank entrance, hoping to exchange their Qachal or other currencies for the border region currency as soon as possible.

Those who had exchanged their currency for border region currency and left the bank rushed to the food exchange point without stopping, fearing that if they were even a step too late, they would miss out on food.

As for Milton's promise that the Borderlands Currency would always be redeemable for food and would never be worthless, many people did not believe it in their hearts.

Who knows when this currency will become worthless? It's wise to take advantage of its value now and exchange it for various kinds of hard currency.

In times of turmoil, the only hard currency is food—even gold and the dollar are less valuable than food in the most urgent situations.

Gina's bad feeling returned, and she quickly rode her bicycle to the redemption point.

Just as she had predicted, the exchange point was already packed with people, all holding their banknotes and anxiously waiting for the others in front of them to exchange their goods and take them away.

Every time someone leaves carrying large bags of food, vegetables, meat, and fruit, the people queuing behind them become even more anxious, fearing that the redemption point will display a "sold out" sign.

Gina is all too familiar with this scene.

Not long ago, when Quetzaltenango was besieged by a large army and supplies from the outside could not get in, it was the same situation.

Gina really wanted to tell these people that the war was over, things were different now, and supplies were available normally—provided that they didn't panic and buy things.

If a run on the bank occurs, many items that should be in normal supply will become unavailable...

But Gina finally sighed and followed the group. Before education was widespread, it was useless to tell the public these things; they wouldn't understand anyway.

We can only hope that the new government can weather this storm.

What reassured Gina somewhat was that even though almost everyone had redeemed all the food they could get, clearly intending to stockpile, the officials at the redemption point even complained that the queue was too slow and simply opened many more lanes to reduce waiting time.

The queue length decreased at a visible rate.

It seems they don't lack food and don't need to rely on increasing queue times to slow down the depletion of food reserves.

"Madam, please show your driver's license or ID. We need to enter it into the system... Each redemption point uses the same system, so please do not attempt to redeem more than the limit."

Gina nodded and took out her newly acquired identification. While registering, she glanced at the exchange list on the table.

"Flour, rice, potatoes, corn..."

"Spinach, broccoli..."

"Chicken has different prices depending on the cut..."

"Bananas (special offer), blueberries, mangoes..."

"Butter, salad oil, sugar, salt, pepper..."

The exchange list is very comprehensive, unlike when resources were scarce, when only one option was offered for each category, or even just staple foods.

Even bananas are on sale... though I don't know why.

Gina paused for a moment, thought for a second, and then only redeemed the food she needed for the day.

Of course, I also redeemed some discounted bananas.

The official in charge of the exchange paused for a moment, then asked, "Is that all?"

Gina was taken aback by the question: "It shouldn't be beyond the limit, right?"

The official quickly shook his head and laughed, "I'm just a little curious... Everyone else is trying to exchange for as much food as possible, why did you only exchange for so little?"

Gina suddenly realized: "Because I think that as long as everyone doesn't panic buy, with the abilities of the 'Hell Tax Collector,' there definitely won't be a famine in the city... Besides, the fact that the exchange point can produce so many exchangeable items must mean that there is a lot of surplus food."

Upon hearing this, the official slammed his hand on the table: "Yes, I've said it many times before, there's no need to exchange so much at once, because there will be beef and other things tomorrow, so we can change things up."

Seeing the officials' attitude, Gina was completely relieved, but she still asked curiously, "By the way, if it doesn't involve confidentiality, I'm quite curious why there was only one exchange window at the beginning, yet the queue was so long?"

“It doesn’t involve any secrets.” The official waved his hand. “It was a higher-ranking official in the government who asked us to do this. I don’t know the specifics.”

Thank you, have a nice day.

"You too, ma'am... next one, next one, no rush, we have plenty of stock, take your time!"

"..."

Gina, carrying the food, left the group, got on her bicycle, and her mood immediately improved.

She looked toward the Quetzaltenango City Hall in the distance—the people who had just finished their interviews were leaving, but before they left, some guards seemed to be saying something to them seriously.

"Perhaps it's Mr. 'Hell Tax Collector' asking these reporters for taxes?"

Gina was immediately amused by her own guess, and the grief that had been building up in her heart from her father's sudden death dissipated slightly: "Hahaha, how could that be..."

"..."

……

Barrios, a port city in Izabal Province, northern Guatemala.

As Guatemala's only port facing the Caribbean Sea and with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, this city has undoubtedly become the absolute economic center of the region.

It is also the core area controlled by the Ubiko family.

This family actually owns quite a lot of territory, including the southern provinces of Haut-Vilapas and Petén, but what truly supports their current status is this one port.

Locals even proudly believe that the port of Barrios is more important than Quetzaltenango and can even be compared to the capital, Guatemala City.

At this moment, Eunice was in her private beach villa, wearing a domineering black swimsuit, soaking in her private pool, slowly kicking the water with her toes.

At that moment, a maid was half-squatting by the pool, relaying the contents of the phone call to Eunice.

But the phone call clearly made her a little impatient.

"Arsu wants us to contribute money to buy the grain from the 'Hell Tax Collector'... Hmph, he's dreaming. He wants to drag our family onto his ship completely."

"The power of the Ubiko family can determine the course of this civil war and who will ultimately rule the country."

"Arsu wants us on his ship? Do you think it'll be that easy?"

"I already reminded Milton, what was his reaction?"

The entire private villa was filled with maids of all kinds, dressed in different styles of clothing. As soon as Eunice asked a question, one of them came over.

"Miss?"

Eunice stood up from the pool, stretched, letting water droplets slide down her perfect waistline, glanced at her, and asked, "Should I repeat the question I just asked?"

The maid was startled and quickly said, "I've spoken to Xaltenango, but their response doesn't seem very positive."

“Oh…not very enthusiastic.” Eunice blinked and casually draped a towel over herself. “You mean, even if I secretly eat a little of Milton’s food, he won’t mind, right?”

The maid thought for a long time before nodding uncertainly, "Hmm, maybe that's what he meant."

"Haha, as expected of Milton, as expected of the person I like, he really doesn't want to back down."

Eunice walked into the room barefoot, sat in the bathtub, and asked the maid to turn on the television.

The maid followed her in with her head down and asked softly, "Miss, shall we buy some grain from over there?"

“Of course, since Milton himself doesn’t mind, why should I be polite?” Eunice’s voice was languid as she kicked the water with her foot. “Buy some… I want to see what this man will be like when he realizes the crisis and has to ask me for help.”

“I heard that there are long lines at his grain exchange point.”

"If we buy low and sell high then, wouldn't you say Milton gave me a gift?"

After speaking, Eunice turned slightly to look at the color screen of the television.

At that moment, the TV station was broadcasting footage of Milton's press conference—of course, Eunice turned on the TV at the wrong time, as the second reporter's interview had already taken place on screen.

But upon that one glance, her eyes immediately lit up.

"That stance, that presence..."

"So cool, no wonder he's the man I like."

"If he really loses to Arsu, he can come to me. I'll make a movie for him, or we'll make a movie together. It will definitely crush those Hollywood blockbusters..."

"Hehe... We can smuggle this movie to Cuba later. It will definitely sell better than those movies made by the Americans."

"Answers about education and prison? So profound? How many more secrets do you have yet to uncover? I'm getting more and more curious."

"Even NBA stars couldn't possibly compare to a single hair on Milton's head..."

"..."

As Eunice was taking a bath, gently rubbing her cheeks with shower gel, her face growing increasingly rosy, she heard a maid's voice from outside.

"Miss, we've brought back every single 'border region currency' you requested!"

Eunice's eyes lit up with surprise. She raised an arm to turn off the TV and beckoned, "Let me see it."

“一共五张，1元、5元、20元、50元和100元的。”

Eunice waved away the rising steam, reached for the five banknotes, and eagerly looked at them.

"The material is good, it's waterproof, and the quality is excellent. The anti-counterfeiting measures are very well done."

But the next moment, Eunice uttered a questioning sound in her throat: "Hmm?"

"There are no photos on either side?!"

"What's so interesting about two dilapidated buildings?"

Eunice casually tossed the 100-yuan bill aside, then picked up the other bills and examined them closely.

Without exception, none of the banknotes featured portraits; both sides were landscapes!
Eunice's face lost some of its color, and she angrily threw all the money on the ground.

"'Hellish tax collector,' huh? Don't want to put money on banknotes? Won't you show me a picture?"

"If you don't publish the first version now, you won't be able to publish it later."

Eunice spat, then turned the television back on, watching Milton stand coldly at the press conference, answering reporters' questions one by one…

The water vapor rose up again.

……

Guatemala City, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Foreign Minister Koch is reporting to Arsu.

As the president of a country, even if he cannot extend his reach to every corner of the country, he nominally represents the entire nation.

Naturally, he couldn't handle everything related to Milton personally like Lopez.

"What did the Ubiko family say?"

Koch reported, "Just like before, he readily agrees and acts as if he's Milton's mortal enemy in front of us, but once he starts doing something, he always finds all sorts of excuses."

The other two warlords are relatively united with Arsu because of geographical issues, past cooperation, and shared interests.

Arsu said coldly, "They've always been like this. They've long since lost their honor as the 'Napoleon of Central America' and become nothing more than opportunists."

"They are not satisfied with the status quo, they are not satisfied with being gradually marginalized..."

"The Ubico family's idea is simple: while I'm facing Milton, a formidable enemy, they'll demand an exorbitant price from me... If I don't agree to their demands, they'll immediately side with Milton to maximize their own profits."

"To put it bluntly, they are demonstrating their 'united front value'."

Koch agreed, nodding and saying, "But we must admit that the Ubico family is very powerful, especially in the Caribbean. As far as I know, they should be able to get American equipment faster than we can."

Arsu's voice grew even colder: "Nonsense... How close are they to Miami?"

"Unfortunately, despite their strength, they made two fatal misjudgments."

"The first misjudgment was about Milton... They thought Milton just wanted to overthrow me and become president himself? No, Milton wants to be emperor. Even if he can defeat us, he won't leave the Ubiko family behind."

"The current situation of warlord separatism will definitely be broken."

"The second misjudgment is about us—I have received definite information that the CIA's support for us will be unprecedented, no longer the kind of help given to Lopez that merely loosened some import restrictions and sent a mercenary group."

"I can officially import various American equipment for the Guatemalan National Defense Force in the name of the country."

"Milton thought that by using the DEA's name and their banner to secretly acquire a few pieces of tattered Soviet equipment, he could be safe and sound and invincible?"

"He doesn't consider why the DEA always suffers in the open and covert struggles between the DEA and the CIA? He chose the wrong ally, while we chose the right one."

“As long as the military procurement is in place, we can defeat Milton without the help of the Ubiko family.”

Koch thought for a moment, then asked, "So, Mr. President, what attitude do you think we should take towards the Ubiko family?"

Arsu said calmly, "That depends on their choices."

"Well, according to the latest developments, they have chosen to follow our lead and purchased some grain from the enemy-occupied territory. The amount is neither too much nor too little, and it seems they still want to sit on the fence—they don't want to offend Milton too much, but they've also made their stance clear to us."

Arsu thought for a moment and replied, "Then let's leave it for now. This is a phase where we need to build up our strength. We don't need to add another enemy at this critical juncture."

The Pan-Madrid bloc's treasury is now empty, making it unable to launch an offensive. It needs to expand its technical forces, recuperate, and raise funds for the war. With 800 elite troops and 1000 soldiers with poor weapons, it's barely enough for defense and special operations, let alone wiping out the entire government army.

The government forces also need time, waiting for the arrival of American equipment and for Mexican drug lords to launch an attack on Milton's rear.

The two sides, who should have been fighting, are now desperately trying to outrun each other in this "race".

Koch felt that the government forces clearly held a huge advantage: "Although the military conflict has not yet begun, Milton is clearly powerless against our other offensive tactics."

“I heard that after our people infiltrated and began buying up food, food prices in Quetzaltenango and other cities have been soaring at an alarming rate.”

“Currently, according to reliable intelligence, the price of grain in the city of Quetzaltenango has exceeded the price of grain in the ‘border region currency’.”

“Mr. President, the first and most important step of our offensive has been successful. Now, just wait for Milton’s territory to fall apart and for the ‘Borderland Currency’ to become a pile of worthless paper.”

Arsu was very satisfied: "The soaring price of food on the market means that everyone can only buy food from Milton. I want to see how long he can keep his new currency from being decoupled from food." "There is even a possibility that some officials in Milton's new government, seeing that the price of food on the market is so high, will seize the unused rations, buy food for themselves, and sell it at a high price on the black market to make a profit for themselves."

"Hehehe... If we're lucky, this move might be enough to cripple Milton and eliminate the need for any large-scale military operations."

“Koch, tell me, what do you see in the city of Xaltenango right now? Milton’s secret police are too powerful. These spies are the ones we managed to infiltrate with great difficulty. We must make the most of them.”

Koch immediately said confidently, "According to intelligence, there are often long queues at government food exchange points. It seems that Milton is trying to slow down the food exchange process in this way to ensure that his reserves are not depleted too quickly."

Arsu was still not entirely at ease and pressed further, "Is this how all the informants report it? Milton is extremely cunning. My intelligence experts have analyzed it, and his methods are very dirty. Be careful that he doesn't deliberately spread false information."

Many people strongly suspect that Milton was likely involved in the plane crash.

However, no one had any evidence to charge Milton.

Even the Juarez Group itself reluctantly admitted it.

"All three informants have reported almost identical intelligence, which is highly credible," Koch said confidently. "No matter how capable Milton is, there will always be a few who slip through the net. Believe me, these informants are well hidden and there is no risk of them being exposed for the time being."

Arsu's tone softened: "That's right, time is on our side. We just need to keep putting pressure on Milton, and one day he'll implode on his own."

Koch then asked, "What about the original Voodoo cult? You were in charge of liaison there before, do you need to connect them to me?"

Arsu thought for a moment and cautiously declined: "Primitive Voodoo is an absolute cult. They are not as easy to control as gangs. If we let them develop, it may affect our own territory. My policy is to erase as much of the trace as possible when we have contact with them, and to minimize it as much as possible."

"I've heard that the original Voodoo cult has failed several times in its attempts to infiltrate Milton's territory, and has now shifted its focus to the sea."

“A high priest asked me about the passenger ship in Champellico Port. I suspect they might be planning to hijack it to offer sacrifices to their gods…”

"In short, cooperate with them, but don't treat them as real friends. It's best to just do what you're doing now, sell them some things, and watch them keep causing Milton trouble."

"Let's leave it at that for now. You'll continue to coordinate with the other warlords in the country..."

After Arsu finished speaking, he hung up the phone, glanced at the beautiful scenery outside the window, and was in a good mood.

Perhaps soon he will hear news of a major upheaval in Milton's territory—in any case, Milton's men are too formidable. If he can drag Milton into a quagmire without bloodshed using non-combat methods before the war begins, greatly weakening his fighting power, the chances of victory will be much, much greater.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of President Arsu’s office.

"Mr President."

Upon hearing this voice, Arsu couldn't help but frown—it was his Deputy Minister of Finance, and to be honest, he was dissatisfied with this deputy minister.

Because he doesn't always listen to me and often raises objections.

But this person was also very capable, managing to stop several landmines from exploding.

Therefore, this is someone who can be used, but not a trusted confidant.

In other words, he was a "reformist" who, while opposing Milton, was also trying to find ways to change the various shortcomings of the current government.

This infringes on the interests of many people.

"Viran, come in," Arsu said. "What is it?"

Vilan was a man of average height. He hurried into the house and handed Arsu a few banknotes: "These are the Milton Control Zone banknotes you mentioned before. They're all here."

Arsu glanced at the "Border Region Currency" and wondered, "I thought he would print his own headshot on it, but it's all landscapes instead?"

“Mr. President, I don’t think that’s the most important thing right now.” Vilan said somewhat anxiously, “The price of food in Guatemala City is much lower than in Quetzaltenango. Now, I don’t know who leaked the news, but even here, quite a few people have started hoarding food.”

Milton's occupied territories and government-controlled territories have a long border, making it impossible to send soldiers to defend every area.

As long as the lines that allow both the main force and supplies to pass through are controlled, a small number of scouts can be deployed elsewhere to prevent a second Guderian from entering the battlefield, thus stabilizing the front.

This method can prevent the military from moving between the two areas, but it cannot prevent civilians from breaking up into smaller groups and moving back and forth.

Even without large-scale trade, such exchanges would lead to prices on both sides converging to be similar.

Many corrupt officials and people who received advance notice saw a way to make money and began to secretly hoard food, attempting to sell it at high prices to those in Milton's occupied territories.

"So be it." Arsu frowned, flicked the Cuban cigar he'd smuggled from the Ubico family, and took a puff. "What does it have to do with us?"

Vilan raised his voice and reminded him, "Your Excellency, ... current food prices are significantly higher than the market price. This is the result of artificial manipulation and requires funds to maintain."

"I don't think it's a good option to use up our foreign exchange reserves to speculate on grains. We're already buying at high prices."

"Moreover, gangsters are also hoarding grain... There's a growing trend of everyone speculating on grain now, and in my opinion, a collapse is just around the corner."

Arsu was even more dissatisfied. He put down his cigarette and said, "Isn't this your job? To monopolize all the grain on the market, sell it at a high price to Milton who wants to maintain the value of the border currency, and then dump the market, causing Milton to suffer heavy losses, or forcing him to abandon the anchor of his currency."

This was the suggestion of the Minister of Finance, which received a large number of votes in the cabinet.

As for officials who want to take this opportunity to make money, let them make their money.

Vilan sighed and said, "Your Excellency, I believe our current economic environment is very unhealthy. We could have taken advantage of Lopez's defeat in this war and used external pressure to complete internal reforms, instead of deepening our internal contradictions as we are now."

"For example, pharmaceutical conglomerates..."

"Furthermore, we should learn from Milton and find ways to regain control of governance at the grassroots level. I think we can start with the cities, which would greatly help our tax revenue."

here we go again……

It's that same old "open source and cost reduction" approach again.

Arsu's voice was impatient: "What you see is different from what I see, understand? First of all, by doing this, we are likely to lose the CIA's help. Without the Americans, how am I supposed to fight Milton?"

"To save a little money for those scumbags lying on the streets, you want me to take down our allies? Do you know how much political donation they give to the government every year? Do you know how much tax revenue they pay to the government every year? Do you know how many jobs they provide?"

"War requires money. If you cut off our drug importers and medical insurance, where will we collect our money?"

"Let those people suffer a little more."

"Your reform proposals are all too unrealistic. Just focus on the tasks I've assigned you, and don't think about or talk about anything else that doesn't concern you, understand?"

“According to our information, long lines have already started forming at food exchange points in Quetzaltenango and other cities. Milton is about to break down, so there’s no need to say anything discouraging.”

“He still has many cult members inside him that he hasn’t cleaned out, which is a real headache for him.”

"clear?!"

Vilan finally shut up, sighed, and said, "I understand."

After leaving the government building, Vilan got into his secondhand car and slowly drove towards the favela, glancing at the homeless people on the streets of the Guatemalan capital.

Only wealthy and middle-class communities have adequate police presence; elsewhere, the situation is simply appalling.

“Milton may not be so easily drained, but these poor people… have been lured by loan sharks to borrow money and hoard some grain in the hope of selling it at a high price in the future.”

"If the bubble bursts, these people are doomed...sigh."

With a sigh, Vilan couldn't help but think of Quetzaltenango's new government—which was almost the direction of his reforms, and could even be considered a phase of the reforms' achievements.

He had been pushing for it for several years with little success; but once Milton arrived, a new order was established in no time.

"Unfortunately, Milton was a rebel..."

Vilan shook his head, stepped on the gas, and left the slum.

……

In Quetzaltenango, Milton is eating the meal he made himself.

"Great! Now we have enough food, and we don't have to eat those horrible canned foods and porridge anymore."

Flora, shameless as ever, ate with relish: "Then why don't you just spend money to hire your own chef? I must say, I quite enjoy the food."

“Forget it, we’d be better off saving that money and working towards our ultimate goal of $20 billion.” Milton shook his head. “The new government has just been established; where would we get that much money?”

"I also hope that Arsu can hold out a little longer and spend more money to buy my food, thus emptying his foreign exchange reserves."

Flora sighed: "Arsu is targeting your 'border zone currency' because you want to swallow his foreign exchange reserves. That's ruthless."

“It’s not that simple.” Milton picked up a piece of rib with his chopsticks. “I also need to keep those informants that Arsu sent. I’ll put on a show based on their movements, making them think that my food supplies are about to run out.”

“I also have to pretend there is internal corruption, with officials secretly selling grain, otherwise the limit of 1.2 kilocalories per person per day might deter the Arsu government.”

"Do you know how hard I've worked to maintain the illusion that a famine is about to break out in my territory, that they can make me starve by spending a little more dollars and a little more gold?"

Flora glanced at the chopsticks, then used her fork to pick up a piece of rib: "But there are indeed officials who are secretly selling grain."

“The city has only just been captured, and the remnants of the old government are bound to remain everywhere.” Milton shook his head nonchalantly. “It’s a good opportunity to use this to wipe out these deeply hidden corrupt officials in one fell swoop.”

“I think the most ruthless thing about this is that you can swallow up a large amount of Arsu’s foreign exchange reserves.” Flora thought carefully for a moment, “If you can control the grassroots level of the occupied territories and keep creating the illusion for Arsu that they can buy up all the food with a little effort, you can even turn around and attack their currency, and turn around and attack the Gachal.”

Milton looked up at her and said, "Not bad, you've improved. You're finally not like a boss who bankrupts his company. Go on."

"...Don't bring this up again. Our 'War Wind Company' is thriving now." Flora squinted her eyes. "I think that since you've kept Arsu hanging on until the very end, he might become a gambler who's blinded by losses. He might be thinking of taking out a loan to deplete your food reserves and turn the tables in one fell swoop."

Milton nodded approvingly: "Good, what's next?"

“Then he’ll find that your food reserves are bottomless,” Flora sighed. “His own cash flow is drying up, but he has a huge pile of food to rot in his hands.”

"When there is a sufficient supply of grain in the market, any surplus grain should either be exported or sold at a significant discount to alleviate the liquidity crisis."

"Selling at a discount can make some money back, but not selling means losing everything."

In the end, Arsu got nothing but a treasury with empty foreign exchange reserves and a series of IOUs.

“If Arsu doesn’t handle this well, he might come up with the evil idea of ​​printing money to pay off his debts.”

"At that time, we might see the Gechare completely turn into waste paper."

Milton nodded slightly: "If we're lucky, we might see people in Guatemala City using Guechal to wipe their bottoms and switching to my 'border currency' instead."

"This is hell... The main thing is, who would have thought you actually had so much food? You're setting a trap for Arsu!"

Milton shrugged: "If you want to play the finance game, you have to be prepared to be devoured by it... Let's not talk about finance anymore. How's the situation with the Primitive Voodoo Cult?"

Before long, ships laden with all sorts of cheap industrial goods will arrive at the port of Ciampellico.

Milton's gunboat is still in transit and cannot be escorted. It can only be escorted by a few assault boats that were previously in the hands of the rebels and are now the Second Tax Collection Battalion of the Tax Police Corps.

To ensure the safety of the waterway, Milton also dispatched several helicopters to the vicinity of the port.

Flora replied, "We've wiped them out as much as possible. The location you provided was very accurate, and those cultists couldn't hide at all... Moreover, your name 'Khorne' is very threatening. Many cultists have a natural fear when they see us coming."

Milton continued eating: "We've won, now we can say 'but'."

Flora clicked her tongue: "Look at you, you're not happy when your subordinates report to you in a nicer way."

"However, the biggest problem is that the headquarters of the original Voodoo Cult has now moved to the territory of Arsu. We have no way of knowing the exact location there, and it is not easy to behead them."

"So they keep sending people to harass us..."

“As long as these high-ranking officials are not eliminated and the religious spiritual totem is not destroyed, they will always have a chance to make a comeback.”

“My biggest concern is that their disruption of shipping routes could lead to the end of our trade with the other side.”

Milton nodded: "Moving the headquarters and making the higher-ups hide is certainly a sign of how much they value their lives."

As a result, Milton's panel could no longer locate them.

To find the location, you can only do so through the information system on the panel. Ideally, you should capture one or two high-ranking priests, extract information from them, and then use points to purchase the complete information from the panel.

“I think…” Milton thought for a moment and said, “we can dig another trap for them.”

Flora immediately became interested: "How so?"

"To guard against pirates, I specifically arranged for Chinese merchant ships to have armed security, but this will increase shipping costs and is not a long-term solution. Besides, there are many other small merchant ships and small businesses. We can't just stop doing business with these people, can we?"

"This primitive voodoo cult must be eradicated completely."

Flora was very interested and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

“First, I need to know more about this cult,” Milton said. “Call Riley, the cop. I want to know just how crazy the original Voodoo cult can get, so I can design a trap.”

Riley answered the phone very quickly.

His voice held a hint of anticipation and excitement: "'Hell Tax Collector' Officer! I have completed the task you assigned me, and you are welcome to come and inspect it at any time!"

Milton chuckled inwardly, then said, "I have a question."

"You asked."

"Original Voodoo is an evil cult, but just how evil?" Milton began. "To what extent are they capable? Could they, like me... like the Juarez Group, commit such heinous acts as crashing planes into buildings?"

Riley paused for a moment, pretending not to hear Milton's slip of the tongue, and replied, "I think so... Don't forget, they are capable of using people to 'please' the gods."

“Very good,” Milton said. “I can see your enthusiasm for your work… Once my men have checked your work, if you perform well, I will assign you an even more important task.”

Riley, eager to advance, became excited, his voice trembling with enthusiasm: "Yes, 'Hell Tax Collector'!"

Flora shook her head after hanging up the phone.

"Alright, now that you know what kind of people the Primitive Voodoo Cult is, what are your plans? How do you intend to completely eradicate them?"

“According to the intelligence I’ve received, the original Voodoo cult seems to be planning something big, a terrorist attack. However, every time they try to infiltrate, I catch them, which has prevented them from carrying out their plan.” Milton tapped the table. “But blocking them like this isn’t a solution. We need to lure them out.”

"Given that there's no hope of infiltrating my occupied territory, what kind of scenario would the Primitive Voodoo Cult see as the perfect opportunity to strike? What would they do to retaliate against me to the greatest extent possible and create terror?"

Flora thought about it carefully and then gave her answer: "...You mean, the passenger ship?"

Milton clapped his hands: "Yes! If I announce in a high-profile manner that a passenger ship will be departing soon, deliberately showing the time and the structure of the cabin, and they see a passenger ship with its route layout exposed, and unlike cargo ships, it doesn't have armed security, wouldn't they be tempted?"

"In order to attack this passenger ship, and to prevent us from canceling our flights due to security concerns, the cultists might even reduce their attacks on merchant ships."

"Perhaps this can ensure the safety of future ships during the gap when the warships arrive in port..."

"Similarly, as long as we can catch this big fish, we might be able to completely eliminate the cult's top brass and eradicate this cancer from my territory."

P.S.: Update complete! 1 words!
(End of this chapter)