Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 213 explains what a surprise is.
Upon seeing the travel agency's advertisement, Cisel was first stunned, then overjoyed!

There really are passenger ships!
That's the goal they've been most looking forward to seeing!
“Mr. Cecil, shall we go take a look?” the believer asked, a little excited. “Shouldn’t we hurry before they sell out of tickets?”

Cecilia scoffed, "Buy all the tickets? It's not that easy. The high-priced and low-priced tickets for passenger ships are completely different."

"In the cheapest cabin, there isn't even a window, and the meals are the bare minimum. I guess a 5-day, 4-night stay would cost at most $80 per person."

"However, those top-tier suites are very valuable, with some costing as much as three or four thousand US dollars."

The believers asked expectantly, "Mr. Cecil, what kind of tickets should we buy?"

"Of course, the more expensive the ticket and the better the seat, the better," Cecily said righteously as he drove past the travel agency. "The higher the price of the ticket, the higher the floor, the better the view, and the closer you are to the top deck."

"It's also easier to coordinate with reinforcements."

"We can't possibly have to climb up the stairs from the cabins at the bottom of the ship every time we want to cooperate, can we?"

The believer nodded: "...That makes sense, but didn't you say that premium tickets are very expensive? Do we have enough funds to buy tickets right now?"

Cecilia drove to the parking lot of a fairly upscale hotel, turned off the engine, got out of the car, and said, "Someone will bring us the money. Although many people from the 'company' were stopped, some people have managed to get in. They've been operating locally for quite some time, so they should be able to raise enough money."

To avoid exposure, the word "church" was replaced with "company".

"Let's rest here for a while. In a few hours, we'll have enough funds and mobile phones."

Cecilia took out her driver's license, which she had prepared beforehand, checked in at the hotel reception, and walked to a luxury suite.

Since they were big spenders, the receptionist and staff didn't make things difficult for Cecilia this time. Instead, they very attentively led them to a luxury suite.

"Gentlemen, since this is your first time at our hotel, and we happen to have some rooms available, we have upgraded you to a deluxe suite free of charge. We hope you have a great time."

"If you have any questions, please call us anytime. We will have someone to assist you."

"Would you like me to store your luggage?"

Cecilia quickly shook her head, took her luggage into the room, and refused, saying, "No need, we spent a long time getting here and need to rest."

The waiter was very polite, nodded and said, "Then I won't bother you any longer. Have a nice day!"

"..."

After the waiter left the room, Cissel sat on the bed and finally felt a little bit like a superior person.

His insistence on buying a higher-class ticket stemmed from this mentality—he never wanted to experience that kind of treatment at the checkpoint, where he could only force a smile, again.

It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, especially when one is "extravagant" in terms of social status.

“I’ll rest for a bit, you take over the guard duty.” Cissel put his things into the wardrobe. “There should be enough space to make a bed over there, you can sleep there. Wake me up if anything important happens.”

The believer dared not voice any objection and whispered, "Yes!"

Soon, Cissell fell asleep.

And this sleep was indeed very peaceful, without any unexpected incidents throughout, so smooth that when Cecilia woke up after a good night's sleep, she felt a little unreal.

Previously, sending people to the areas controlled by the Pan Madre Group was almost a suicidal mission with a very high failure rate, which led the church to only dare to send its own believers.

As a priest, Cicel felt he had taken a great risk.

But who knew that along the way, we encountered some problems and difficulties, but it was definitely not to the point of near-death as the propaganda claimed.

"Khorne" is not as terrible as it is portrayed in propaganda.

"Heh... I knew those losers got caught as soon as they infiltrated; it must have been their own fault." Cissel got out of bed. "So, has our funding arrived?"

The believer, who hadn't slept, fought off his sleepiness and said, "There are still more than 20 minutes until the appointed time, so I didn't wake you up."

“Very good.” Cissel finally praised, “Now let’s make preparations. This kind of handover is the easiest to expose one’s identity and the most dangerous thing. We must be fully prepared.”

"Our handover method this time is very simple. Other people scattered in the city will complete a handover first, take the funds we need, and then make contact with us."

The believer thought for a moment and asked, "But we had no contact with them at all before we entered the city. How did they know how much to bring? What if it's not enough?"

"So before I left, I told the executives that I wanted 'everything'. So many people died, so much trouble was caused, wasn't the ultimate goal all for what we're doing now? So what's the point of keeping anything?"

"I understand……"

Twenty minutes later, Cissell went downstairs to a small market nearby, found a very inconspicuous corner, and had the believers unload all the potatoes from the cart.

They were careful and cautious throughout, and did not attract any unnecessary attention.

Not long after, a man carrying a briefcase hurried over.

“…Mr. Cecil, may…may the Chairman protect you forever.”

Cecilia's lips twitched as she listened, and she quickly said, "Stop talking nonsense, where's what I asked for? Did you bring it?"

“It’s all here.” The believer took out a small handbag and said quietly, “You can check it.”

As soon as the handbag was opened, stacks of neatly arranged banknotes came into view.

Cecil picked up one of the stacks, examined it carefully, and frowned: "Why is it border region currency? Where are the US dollars?"

The cultist, pretending to buy potatoes, shook his head as he examined the potatoes, and whispered, "Milton has ordered a ban. The only legal currency in his occupied territories is the border currency. All foreign currencies, including gold, can no longer circulate as currency."

Cecil frowned: "Does that mean Milton directly forced everyone to exchange their money for Borderland currency?"

“No… If you really don’t want to exchange it, you can deposit it directly into the foreign currency account of the Pan Madre Bank, but you can’t use it as currency in its controlled area.” The believer slung the bag of potatoes over his shoulder and said finally, “If you want to live here, you can only use the border currency. There are 5 here, which should be enough for you for a while.”

“Okay, I got it.” Cecilia waved her hand. “Heh, at least Milton didn’t put his face on the banknotes, otherwise I would feel disgusted just looking at them.”

Having received the money, Cissell felt much better. He simply got up, took a shortcut back, and got into the pickup truck.

"Putting everything else aside, the security in Milton's controlled area is quite good." Cisel put his bag on the back seat and said to his followers, "We've been here for so long, and we haven't seen any theft or robbery here?"

“Perhaps, anyone who dares to do these things will be…will be beheaded by Milton and paraded through the streets on his chariot?” the believer whispered. “So, no one dares to do it?”

The beheading of numerous priests and cultists, and the subsequent parading of their heads on chariots, remains a lingering shadow and source of fear for countless followers of primitive voodoo.

They could only hear similar stories in the most terrifying and vicious legends.

And they are now in the legend.

“Maybe.” Cecil was enjoying driving. He squinted. “Who cares? Let’s go buy the tickets now. It won’t be long before Milton gets his comeuppance.”

"……Yes!"

The pickup truck followed the road it had come from and soon arrived at the "Hometown Travel Agency," where quite a few people were still gathered around.

That very flamboyant, pristine, and incredibly enticing photograph of the passenger ship was displayed in the most prominent position, accompanied by various descriptions of the ship's performances, entertainment, food, and so on.

There were many people watching nearby, and many children were pestering their parents, hoping to buy a boat ticket.

The lowest-class cabin prices and the recent significant increase in income have indeed tempted many people – whether it's one person, two people, or four people sharing a room, the difference in total price is actually not that big.

If a family goes on a trip, the price per person can be quite tempting for many.

Boom boom boom...

The pickup truck was turned off, and Cecilia got out with her bag and walked straight into the travel agency.

A tour guide quickly stepped forward, smiling, and asked, "Gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?"

"What other types of tickets are available? Please tell me."

The tour guide immediately asked the two to sit down and hurriedly introduced, "Don't worry, things are different now than during the Titanic era. Passenger ships won't be too expensive. Look here, this is our most basic..."

“We don’t want the most basic stuff,” Cissell said, raising his hand to stop them. “Let’s look at something more high-end.”

"Oh, great, great!" The tour guide was overjoyed to see such a big client. "Then we'll start by introducing the rooms with balconies. We guarantee that you can wake up every day and enjoy the sea view from your balcony, having breakfast with the sea breeze... The view is unobstructed and has no gaps!"

Cecilia glanced at the price, feeling that this suite still wouldn't cover her entire budget, and remained unsatisfied. She continued, "Are there any more?"

"Shall I introduce you to a suite? It's spacious, fully equipped, with a dining room, living room, and bedroom, as well as a restaurant and club exclusively for high-end guests." The tour guide was even more excited. "We have Silver Suite and Gold Suite. May I ask what your approximate budget is for this trip?"

"Twenty or thirty thousand, I guess."

Cecilia's statement immediately attracted a lot of attention.

"Let me show you our Gold Suite! How about this one? It's 55 square meters, with a personal butler, free laundry, unlimited TV, all drinks on board, reserved seating in the theater, and you can book all entertainment in advance. You also have priority boarding and disembarking... Oh, and by the way, you can even make phone calls on board—not just onboard, but international calls! Pretty amazing, right?"

The tour guide rattled off a whole bunch of things.

To be honest, Cisel herself was a little tempted—to enjoy the process of doing a mission like this was really awesome.

Cecilia immediately nodded: "Great, then let's take one, for two people." "Okay! Please wait a moment while I register your identification information."

"Please wait a moment, we are entering the data..."

"Please come over and check if your identification information matches your tickets."

"Ticket purchase successful. We can provide luxury car pick-up and drop-off service on the day of purchase. Would you like to share your ticket information with other Gold and Silver card members? As I mentioned before, there is a club on board exclusively for our valued guests. Perhaps you could get to know it beforehand?"

"Oh, okay, okay... Have a pleasant trip!"

"..."

As they left the travel agency, many envious glances were cast their way, which pleased Cecilia quite a bit.

This is a boat ticket, which is almost a year's income for many families!
The money that they could earn in a year without eating or drinking was spent on tourism projects by these two people without batting an eye!

“Heh…” Cecilia chuckled as she got into the car. “So many people have gold and silver cards? Milton talks a good game, but he’s just giving the benefits to those who listen to him.”

"Otherwise, where would we get so many distinguished clients?"

“We’ll rest tonight and set off for Champelli Port tomorrow,” Cissell said. “When we get back to the hotel, I’ll call the company and tell them that we’ve successfully secured VIP treatment from the cruise ship and can cooperate with their operations.”

"By the way, let this attack happen on the last day of the journey, if possible. It's not that I want to enjoy myself, but to lull the enemy, who have been traveling safely for many days, into a false sense of security, understand?"

"Roger that!"

Back at the hotel, in a good mood, Cissé ordered a fine French meal. After eating and drinking her fill, she used her mobile phone to call the church.

Soon, the voice of a high priest came through the receiver.

“Cesare, we are all relieved that you could call… The church has lost too many people lately,” the high priest said slowly. “Do you have any good news?”

Cecilia began, “I am already waiting to board as a VIP. I can assist the company with any tasks at any time. I estimate that this is a passenger ship with at least 1500 passengers. Moreover, I have also secured onboard communication access, so I can contact you at any time, even while on board.”

"Excellent! Excellent!" The high priest's voice carried a rare hint of excitement. "These are just the passengers, not counting the crew... Including timely communication, this time, we will definitely inflict at least a thousand casualties, and we will definitely deliver Milton the most devastating blow!"

"Cisser, when do you think we should launch our attack?"

"For this operation, the Church has decided to borrow a helicopter from Arsu, along with all our assault boats and speedboats, to make Milton pay a heavy price!"

"Our goal is to sink this passenger ship! While killing as many people as possible, we must also saddle Milton with a huge debt... This passenger ship is leased from Brazil. Once it sinks, the already collapsing economy of Milton's occupied territory will be even more devastated."

"Perhaps, after this incident, we will see the Pan Madre Group disintegrate!"

"In the near future, reduce harassment of Milton's merchant ships, and absolutely avoid causing any casualties. It would be a loss if Milton were to become worried over such a small matter and abandon the passenger ship arrangements."

Cecil was also a little excited: "We have warned Milton that he thought his cannon planes could solve everything, but he was wrong, very wrong."

“Very good. You should be able to see the passenger ship’s destinations in the next few days on the map. Tell us, and we will deduce the approximate route,” the high priest said. “Finally, tell us when is the best time to attack.”

"it is good!"

"..."

After communicating the details of the attack with the high priests, Cisel hung up the phone and laughed.

"This time they might even deploy helicopters. Milton is doomed!"

The believer, however, seemed a bit worried: "What kind of helicopter is it? Could it be an armed helicopter? We're on the top deck, what if we get hit by friendly fire?"

“Heh…” Cissel shook his head. “Arsu is also wary of us. How could they possibly lend us their own prized armed helicopters?”

"They are unlikely to equip us with military equipment. At most, they can rent a civilian helicopter to help us lock onto targets from the air and provide support with light weapons. At most, they can try to send a few more people down. It won't be an important offensive unit."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Milton's expression when he hears the news of the liner sinking in his office, he's already overwhelmed with work, hahaha..."

"Rest now, we'll head to Port Champelli tomorrow; a week from now, we'll witness the downfall of the blasphemers."

"By the way, try to exchange our border currency for US dollars... Once Milton falls, this money will be worthless."

"..."

A perfect plan has been laid out.

The focus of her work has now shifted to the church headquarters. Cecilia has been spending money non-stop all week, trying to spend all the remaining budget.

But he was completely unaware that on the main roads and in the alleyways, countless cameras hidden in streetlights and under billboards were coldly watching everything they did.

Unbeknownst to Cecil, Milton had immediately notified all hotels after their arrival, requesting them to vacate a special room for Cecil.

Various eavesdropping devices and personnel had long been lurking around the room, listening to their every move and every word.

To put it bluntly, Milton knew that the Cissell Project was progressing faster than the original Voodoo High Priests.

Unaware of what was happening, Cecil and his followers had a great time for seven days, until finally the day they were to board the ship arrived.

Looking at the other passengers queuing to board the ship at another port, Cissel glanced at his own empty ticket gate and felt a surge of satisfaction.

Moreover, there was no need to wait for Cecilia to queue. As soon as he arrived, a beautiful woman dressed as a butler came over with several waiters.

"Hello Mr. Cecil! You are a valued Gold Suite passenger with a private boarding passage—please come this way. Would you like us to help you with your luggage?"

Cecilia waved her hand: "No need, we can take them ourselves."

"Very well, drinks, toiletries, fruit, and the itinerary have all been prepared in your room," the butler continued. "You are welcome to have dinner at the restaurant at any time, or you can go to the club to chat and drink with other distinguished guests and enjoy the sea view."

"I am your personal butler for this trip. If you have any problems, you can contact me via the phone on the ship. As long as it is within my ability, I will resolve it as quickly as possible."

Finally, Cissell asked, "Okay... by the way, where are the other guests? I haven't seen them."

“There are very few suite guests. Some have already boarded the ship, and some haven’t arrived yet.” The butler smiled and led the way, taking Cecilia into the cabin and taking the elevator to the top deck. They arrived at a corridor that could only be accessed by swiping a card, and it was filled with luxury suites. “The second one is your room. Have a pleasant journey.”

After the housekeeper left, Cissell went into the room, looked around with satisfaction, opened the balcony door, looked at the sea view, and felt the sea breeze.

After his men had stored all the luggage, Cecilia turned around and said, "Let's go see how the dinner Milton provided is... Heh, I'll be taking his life soon, and he'll still send people to fawn over me and prepare dinner for me. I can even pick a fight with him."

Milton never dreamed he was licking the ass of someone who was about to kill him!

"This is the price he paid for what he did."

"After dinner, you should also walk around and familiarize yourself with the internal structure of the cabin as soon as possible."

The two went to a private restaurant that wasn't crowded, and glanced at the other people around them—they were all dressed very appropriately.

They ate expensive Italian food.

After eating for an hour, Cissell patted his round belly, strode away, and headed towards the "club".

The club is located on the top deck, lavishly decorated and dimly lit, and to ensure maximum privacy, it is not visible from the outside.

"I want to see just how extravagant these rich people are. I want to enjoy watching them die, hehehe..."

Cissell and his men swiped their cards and entered the club.

The lighting inside was dimmer than he had imagined, so dim that he couldn't even see the faces of people in the distance, but there were more people than he had expected.

Are there really that many wealthy people in Milton's occupied territory?

As the door opened, many people turned their heads and looked at Cisel with various expressions of different emotions.

What kind of look is that...? Is this how rich people are?
Moreover, the club's layout was rather mysterious, with various asymmetrical arrangements and dim lighting, which made it feel like it lacked a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

Cecilia shook her head slightly, ignoring the stares, picked up a glass of chilled champagne from the table, casually found a seat, and struck up a conversation with a man next to her.

The man was accompanied by a woman who appeared to be a healthy and beautiful woman.

Cecilia chuckled and swirled the glass in her hand. "A very nice ship, isn't it?"

boom……

Behind me, I heard the club's doors gently closing.

The man next to him turned his head, clinked glasses with him, and replied in a strange tone, "It's really good."

The next moment, Cissell's gaze froze completely.

Even in the dim light, at such close range, it's enough to see a person's face clearly.

"The ship is nice, and the wine is very good... Don't you think so, Mr. Cecil?"

...Milton!

(End of this chapter)