Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 216 "Home Appliances" to the Countryside

A village within the Pan-Madre Group controlled area.

Bang bang bang!
Outside the village, continuous gunfire could be heard, along with wailing sirens and screams.

"You guys... Ah!!! Ah..."

"what--"

At this moment, the village was in complete chaos—several bulletproof police cars, modified and reinforced in various ways, that you could only see in American blockbusters, rolled over the village's narrow roads, and fully armed police officers got out one by one to block off the village's main roads.

These police officers are different from the vast majority of people who see them wearing simple uniforms, a revolver on their waist, and a cowboy hat.

They were all armed with rifles, wearing tactical helmets and bulletproof vests on the outside, displaying their power and might.

Most importantly, they cannot communicate.

Riley faithfully carried out Milton's orders, coldly saying, "Everyone, get back inside immediately! This is Mr. 'Hell Tax Collector' eradicating a cult!"

After demonstrating mercy, giving ample opportunities for repentance, conducting sufficient propaganda, and cracking down on the cult's leadership, Milton finally stopped tolerating the remaining die-hards.

The officers received very simple orders—to completely destroy all primitive Voodoo cults and other such quack cults.

If we cannot destroy it spiritually, then we will destroy it physically and biologically.

Arrest ordinary die-hards; kill those who attempt violent resistance!

Everyone, dead or alive, must be sent to Quetzaltenango's government for trial.

If everyone in a village is a member of a cult, arrest them all; if everyone in a village resists, kill them all!

Upon hearing the officers' orders, some villagers appeared numb, some were indifferent, and others dared not speak out against their anger.

Riley continued, "After the local church is eradicated, 50% of the seized assets will be used as fines and local development funds, and the remaining money will be distributed equally among individuals who are not affiliated with the cult!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the various expressions on people's faces immediately became unified.

They all became incredibly enthusiastic and rushed into their own rooms.

Some people even shouted before closing the door: "Officers, sirs, I have a lead here! If you need any leads, I can tell you!"

Riley considered Milton's warning, "Don't let the people fight each other, or it will have disastrous consequences," but still shook his head and refused, saying, "We have all the clues ourselves, we don't need anyone else to provide them. All everyone has to do is stay in their rooms and wait for the notification to lift the lockdown."

"The rest of you, follow me!"

After giving his orders, Riley called the other officers to get into the police car and headed towards the local indigenous voodoo church.

The priests of the church were either killed or fled, but some of the higher-ranking believers still occupied the place.

They are beneficiaries of the system and have kinship ties with many people in the village, making them veritable "village bullies."

Upon seeing the fully armed police arrive, one man, with a stern face, pointed and gestured at two local officers who were cooperating with the operation, even hurling insults.

"Kelly, are you still our village's police officer? How could you team up with outsiders to deal with us?"

"Get them out of here right now!"

“From birth, I have been under the witness of church priests. Do you think I don’t know whether it’s useful or not?”

"I used to hold you when you were little, and now that you're all grown up, you come to see me with a gun and so many strangers? Do you have any conscience?!"

"Put down your guns and let those people leave. This is our territory, and we're in charge. Our affairs are none of anyone else's business!"

"Let them out. This is our territory, and we're in charge!"

The other people in the church were shouting the same thing.

At first, they weren't afraid of Milton, but after a while they realized that Milton seemed to be only purging the top echelons of the church, while he was still trying to educate the believers.

Once they realized they had "united front value," many people were no longer so afraid.

Some people were genuinely brainwashed, while others saw an opportunity to make money and wanted to exploit the facade of primitive voodoo to squeeze more benefits out of the Milton government.

You might just become rich!
This is the group of people gathered in the church now.

What's even more frightening is that the police officers in this small town also come from this kind of environment—they even get together to celebrate holidays. When they were yelled at like that, the local police officers were indeed standing there, somewhat at a loss.

But Riley didn't have that worry.

"Step back, we'll handle this."

The local police officers exchanged glances and then withdrew.

Riley stepped forward and said coldly, "Get out of the way immediately, our bulldozers are going to raze this place to the ground."

As they were talking, a bulldozer pulled up behind the police car—it only needed to drive it forward slightly to turn the entire church into rubble.

The man remained standing in the middle of the road, his face contorted: "This is our territory. We paid for it to be built. You weren't involved in the construction, so what right do you have to tear it down? You have no right to tear it down!"

"A cult was involved in a terrorist attack, intending to kill thousands of tourists on a passenger ship. Now they must all be dismantled..."

The man ignored all of that and continued to shout arrogantly, "I don't care..."

Riley didn't even let him finish speaking—according to Milton, hardliners should just be killed directly, and to offer such an explanation was already a sign of Riley's compassion in law enforcement.

"Strike! Execute the 'Home Appliances to the Countryside' plan of the 'Hell Tax Collector' commander!"

The officers behind them could no longer contain their murderous intent—thanks to Milton's careful planning, many of their relatives and friends had been on that passenger ship.

Although the person involved described it as a thrilling and exciting hardcore vacation full of novelty, it sounded terrifying to outsiders.

Today, the "Hell Tax Collector" sensed danger during this trip and had the army lie in ambush in advance.

But what about next time?

What about next time?

What if there's a bomb on the plane?
We can't rely on "hellish tax collectors" to predict things in advance every time, can we?

Today they bombed a passenger ship, tomorrow they could bomb your house!

So when the "Home Appliances to the Countryside" program, which was essentially a program to beat up cults with electric batons, came out, countless police officers and even volunteers began to sign up enthusiastically.

Some of the armed police officers immediately raised their guns, while others picked up Tasers and fired at the man.

The cultist who had just been so arrogant, loudly kissing his superior, suddenly fell straight to the ground.

The remaining officers, armed with stun guns, pressed the discharge button and rushed into the church.

Purple arcs of electricity shot out from the positive and negative electrodes of the stun gun, emitting a terrifying sound.

Crackling!

The police officers went straight for the cult members hiding in the church and started hitting them. The moment the metal electrodes touched their skin, the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

"what--"

"what!!"

The church was filled with howling and screaming. The cultists inside screamed and rolled on the ground when they were electrocuted, their previous arrogance completely gone.

"Arrest them all, handcuff them, and take them back! Take them back to Quetzaltenango!"

The man who had been standing at the door finally snapped out of his daze from the Taser's electric shock and began to wail and scream: "Do you know who I am?! I'm Field's relative, he's the village head, if you take me away you'll offend the whole village!"

Riley thought blankly for a long time before asking, "Field? Is that the guy who stopped us at the village gate?"

"That's right, let me go right now! We can talk this out!"

“Oh, the government is deeply concerned about Mr. Field’s drowning and has immediately launched safety education programs in the village.” Riley, remembering Milton’s teachings, said skillfully, “Everyone else, take them all away!”

"Holy crap, you guys are really ripping me off..."

But no matter what they said, it couldn't change the outcome. Everyone in the church was dragged out and put on a modified bus.

If they didn't have enough handcuffs, they took ropes from their homes, tied them up tightly, and then took them away.

After ensuring that nothing of value had been removed from the church, it was finally the bulldozers' turn to come in.

Boom boom boom...

The tracks rolled over the wooden fence surrounding the church, and the shovel, aimed at the base of the church, pushed it forward without hesitation.

The entire church collapsed completely, turning into ruins, witnessed by countless villagers hiding in the houses and a large number of police officers.

The officers then took out some gasoline, poured it on the ruins, and set it on fire.

The firelight illuminated the entire village.

"On the land of the 'hellish tax collectors,' only secular churches that honestly pay taxes and have no political power are allowed! Their size is strictly limited, they are not allowed to actively preach, they are only allowed to raise funds, and they are not allowed to carry out any other economic activities!"

"There are no gods here, only taxpayers."

"There is no church here, only a local tax bureau that is directly under the jurisdiction of the 'hell tax collectors'."

"Donating money to cults won't bring you any vague protection; but as long as you pay taxes, you can see 'hellish tax collectors' fighter jets flying overhead, protecting your life with real guns!"

"Let's go! The lockdown is over, everyone can move around normally now."

The other officers also returned one after another, each carrying someone in their arms.

Those cult members hiding elsewhere will not escape this thorough purge of cults.

Everyone was put on buses and left the village with the police convoy. Only when the dust from the convoy was no longer visible did the villagers dare to come out of their houses. Watching the church that had been there since their birth turn into dust, they all felt a sense of unreality.

There was no divine punishment, no natural disasters, and no curses.

The church... no, cults, do not exist.

Perhaps there really is no place for gods in Milton's territory? Can this tax collector from hell truly suppress the gods?

As the villagers cautiously ventured out of their homes, they spotted the demolition team that hadn't left with the police.

After the demolition was completed, the demolition team did not leave, but instead set up a simple stall in front of the cult church.

"The tax bureau is under construction, and we are recruiting construction workers and tax bureau staff. We are also offering very high salaries to recruit people who can do math."

The villagers were pleasantly surprised.

There are still so many job openings?
The warm church has turned into a cold wage... which doesn't seem so bad?

At the same time, a foreman-like man waved his hand: "We will be taking inventory of the church's property in a little while. Everyone should come here tomorrow, line up to collect their share, and no fighting is allowed. Otherwise, you will be sent to Quetzaltenango."

“Remember, in the dictionary of ‘hellish tax collectors,’ there is no such thing as ‘the law does not punish the masses.’”

"..."

……

Quetzaltenango, tax office.

Large numbers of prisoners were captured from all over the country and sent to Milton's territory.

Among them were high-ranking church officials who were all taken down by Milton, but many more were cult members.

The former is bad, but colludes with hostile forces and will be considered an enemy by the panel; the latter is stupid and bad, and also has his own sycophants, and all his actions are from the heart, so he will not be considered an enemy by the panel.

But their destructive power is almost equal!
Milton glanced at the rows of buses below, then looked away.

Brandon walked into the office and reported, "Boss, including our arrests of high-ranking church officials, special operations in various locations, and cross-regional law enforcement by police officers, we've arrested nearly 2000 people this time!"

2000 people may not seem like a lot, but it's still quite alarming.

For a local church, this is a complete uprooting, leaving no trace.

After that, no one dared to mention the phrase "primitive voodoo" anymore.

Brandon looked a bit troubled: "Boss, we originally wanted to make them into, uh, 'jingguan' as you requested, but it seems like there are too many people, and the cost would be a bit high. Here's the budget."

Milton frowned, took the document Brandon handed him, and examined it carefully.

That's absolutely true. Without Commissioner Smith, turning two thousand people into "souvenirs" and building them into "structures" would definitely cost some money.

“No need.” Milton didn’t have much money in his pocket right now, and he couldn’t just squander the money the church had confiscated. “We’re not building any wonders… How about this, we can simply pile up human heads into a small pyramid shape. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

Milton knew that ideas, if they were to be eradicated, could either be corrected through education and time, or through a major upheaval that caused the collapse of faith.

The former is bloodless, effective, and provides a complete cure, but it is very time-consuming.

But Milton didn't have the time... and besides, he was in a military government, so he chose to have both.

Education must be prioritized, but people must also be killed.

“That way, the cost won't be much.” Brandon thought for a moment, then nodded. “So, what about the rest? Were they buried?”

“Should I let these drug-addicted idiots pollute my land?” Milton rejected the idea. “No need for that. Just load the rest onto a transport ship and dump it directly into Arsu’s territory. That’s his hazardous waste; let him deal with it himself.”

Brandon seemed quite sympathetic to what Arsu was about to suffer, and nodded, saying, "...Understood. In three days, you will be able to see the 'Morch Tower' in Malacan Town. Minors are not allowed to enter and watch it."

As Milton's "birthplace," good things certainly shouldn't be forgotten by fellow countrymen.

As for "Jingguan," Milton actually invented a new word for it, specifically referring to a spectacle built with the corpses of enemies.

Of course, the word is currently only circulating in a small area under Milton's control and has not yet spread beyond that region.

Milton added, "Now we'll check their identities, and then they'll all be taken to the coastal execution ground. I'll be there to watch the executions—if any tourists want to come, we can sell tickets, but again, minors are not allowed."

Flora, while flipping through the newspaper, complained, "I can tell you're really short on money... By the way, the Jingguan construction is going to be in Malacan Town, which doesn't seem very convenient. Over the years, Lopez has only been focused on buying himself luxury yachts and hasn't put any effort into transportation."

Before López came to power, the only way to travel between the two places was by road.

Not to mention the towns of Malacan and Quetzaltenango, even the commute between Quetzaltenango and Puerto Ciampellico is entirely by road.

Commuter planes also exist, but they are almost exclusively used for transporting people.

“Lopez’s yacht has found a buyer. The buyer is a Russian energy oligarch with a lot of money. The cash will be in his account soon,” Milton said. “As for the transportation problem you mentioned, I’m working on a solution. It’s time to address the issue of the four provinces’ economies operating completely independently.”

Milton had absolute control over four provinces, but this was only administrative control. Economic and transportation issues were beyond human control; they were materialistic, and that was where the difficulty lay.

For example, Quetzaltenango, at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, is separated from Porto Ciampelli by a mountain.

The town of Malacan and the province of Vevetenango, where the former rebels were located, are separated by a mountain.

They are connected by only one or two roads, and economic communication is very weak... If there were a convenient and low-cost transportation system, it could unleash enormous productivity.

With the exponential increase in tax revenue from panel manufacturing and the robust transportation network, developing several key independent industrial chains is not a problem.

"Building a railroad?" Flora immediately grasped Milton's idea. "That's incredibly expensive, and where are we going to find such an efficient construction team? It feels like it'll take at least five or six years to build this railroad."

Milton stroked his chin: “I know a country that has the cheapest quotes, the best quality, and the highest efficiency—and they’re really short of dollars.”

Despite Milton's fierce battles and the expansion of his territory, the area he actually occupies is roughly equivalent to the future Israeli-controlled territory, roughly half of Hainan Island. Building a 400-kilometer railway would effectively cover most of the area.

While it's not more than enough, it's sufficient for most needs.

"Okay... even so, building a railway requires preliminary planning and design, which will take at least six months. I feel that the subsequent construction phase will take at least five years?"

“The construction phase won’t take that long.” Milton shook his head. “I’ll figure out the design phase. Right now, I need to find someone to communicate with.”

The panel already indicates that if the controlled area increases further, some administrative capabilities will be unlocked.

It greatly shortens various process issues and can even directly plan the design drawings for large-scale infrastructure projects such as railway bridges. Construction can start immediately as long as the construction party and materials are in place.

The Tanzanian railway, built in 1967, was nearly 1900 kilometers long and took eight years to complete, involving various preliminary explorations and complex terrain.

With the elimination of exploration and design time, the construction process of a mere 400-kilometer railway can be greatly shortened. In addition, with the progress of Chinese engineering teams over the past few decades, it is not a problem to compress the construction time to just over one year.

If you're lucky, it might even be possible to compress it into a year.

Besides, a railway doesn't have to be fully completed before it can be opened to traffic; it can be opened as soon as a section is built.

Therefore, the most important thing now is to continue expanding our territory and unlocking new features.

The panel still has some humanity; it includes the territories of strategic allies... Now, the size of my territory also includes Tapachula, Mexico.

Flora was a little surprised: "You know design? And are you sure you want to use the money to build the railroad? Not to buy military equipment?"

“Investing in gold mines is an absolutely worthwhile investment.” Milton waved his hand. “The railroad is a never-ending gold mine. Of course, I will set up an air defense system… With Arsu’s capabilities, they can’t break through my defense network.”

"Alright, let's go. These two thousand cult scum can't be kept around to eat my food any longer."

After saying this, Milton got up, left the office, boarded a helicopter, flew to Port Champelli, and arrived at the "coastal execution ground".

From the helicopter, you can see a large number of tourists gathered together, very curious about the execution process.

Even if you don't get a ticket, listening to the firecrackers going off outside is still a good experience.

In just five days, Milton presented evidence that forced the court to work overtime to try all 2000 people, and the entire trial process was recorded in the case file.

Without exception, they were all sentenced to death.

When the high priest of the original Voodoo cult produced irrefutable evidence of people being turned into tools, even the government of Arsu began to sever ties with this cult.

Milton jumped out of the helicopter and was taken aboard the warship by Captain Marinho of the Tax Scorpion.

Due to the large number of prisoners, Milton decided to use the ship's machine guns and cannons to quickly destroy the ordinary prisoners.

Similarly, it was also a way to train these still-unskilled sailors—Milton's instruction was to try not to hit the head.

While it's impossible to miss, and some "building materials" will inevitably be destroyed, it's still a decent way to practice.

Milton was not entirely satisfied with the accuracy of the previous "Tax Scorpion".

Three minutes later, the first batch of 200 criminals were escorted to the execution ground, 100 in each row, for a total of two rows.

"Prepare...for the execution!"

Boom boom boom…

The machine gunners and artillerymen on the ship, their faces tense, pulled the triggers.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere on the execution ground!
If a cult member's body is grazed by such a large-caliber bullet or machine gun shell, his body will immediately be torn to pieces!

Many people's bodies were blown apart, leaving only their terrified heads lying on the ground.

A small number of people had their heads blown off due to the executioner's poor marksmanship...

The scene was filled with screams and bloodshed, but Milton just watched without any pity for them—thinking of the couple who died tragically for supporting him, he even felt that their deaths were too easy for the enemy.

Brandon, who was watching the same thing, suddenly asked, "Boss, what weapon do you plan to use to execute those high-ranking cult members?"

"No rush. Kill these people and bring their heads to Malakan Town... Let the high priests watch over the mound of heads and receive their final judgment."

P.S.: Requesting votes at the beginning of the month, please, godfathers!
(End of this chapter)