Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 31 Talent

coming!

Milton showed neither excessive excitement nor complete indifference, but rather displayed just the right amount of skepticism.

"A new drug this cheap?" Milton coughed twice, expressing his strong skepticism. "Could it be a counterfeit drug?"

"This is troglitazone, imported from the US! You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you. If it weren't for the US... tsk, how could you poor bastards possibly have access to this kind of stuff?" the shopkeeper said proudly. "If you want it or not, don't ask so many questions."

The shop owner, dreaming of acquiring advanced gadgets from the world's leading superpower and selling them to his "compatriots" as if it were charity, unconsciously straightened his back a little.

Troglione...

After hearing the name of the drug, Milton didn't need to ask anything more—this pharmacy must have a supply channel with the Qing Teng Foundation!
Unless Brandon and Lutz are idiots, they should already be out of the car and running towards the pharmacy.

To be honest, if Milton himself were involved in the illegal sale of drugs, he would definitely keep it a secret, sell a small amount on his own, and if he couldn't sell it all, he would just let it go. He would never subcontract the business to others.

After winning the Cold War, even an American company has become unscrupulous.

Seeing that Milton didn't speak, the shopkeeper assumed he was still hesitating, so he continued to promote the medicine, saying, "Such cheap medicine is in short supply; once it's sold out, it's gone."

He would never tell this poor wretch the fact that a pregnant woman had died of a heart attack in the middle of the night after taking this drug, resulting in the deaths of both her and her unborn child.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door of the pharmacy was suddenly pushed open.

The shop owner immediately turned his head away: "Welcome... uh?"

Two men, like Navy SEALs from a blockbuster movie, burst into the pharmacy from a blind spot, one after the other!
Brandon stepped forward, raised his rifle, and aimed it at the shop owner; Lutz, behind him, turned around and flipped the "Open" sign on the shop door to the "Closed" side, while simultaneously pulling down the roller shutter.

Boom!

The pharmacy was completely shut down.

They're all veteran police officers and prosecutors; they're very familiar with this process.

Before the shop owner could react to this sudden change, Milton abruptly drew his gun, aimed at the shop owner's left hand which had been hidden under the counter, and pulled the trigger!
Click!
A .22lr bullet pierced his arm.

pat!

A short-barreled shotgun fell to the ground!

Then came the shop owner's piercing scream: "Ah!!!"

Milton nimbly flipped over the counter, kicked away the shotgun on the ground, grabbed the shopkeeper by the neck, and squeezed hard, strangling him to death!
The pharmacy immediately fell silent.

Milton pulled out the search warrant—more for entertainment than for practical use—signed to him by Station Chief Varta, slapped it on the shopkeeper's face, and coldly read aloud: "Now, I have ample evidence that you are involved in an illegal drug smuggling case. You must cooperate with the investigation and have no right to remain silent. From this moment on, my power over you will be unlimited."

After saying that, Milton grabbed the shopkeeper by the neck and dragged him to the pharmacy's restroom.

The movement just now was quite large, and there's no guarantee that someone won't see it... So, from now on, Milton needs to start the countdown immediately, and get everything done as quickly as possible!

All contingency plans must be prepared for the worst-case scenario!

Once in the restroom and after closing the door, Milton released the shopkeeper.

"Cough cough..." The shop owner, who had been dragged to the bathroom, felt his neck being released. He gasped for air and shouted angrily, "You... cough cough, are you police or border control? I've already paid them!"

He tried to figure out the current situation, while also trying to use his connections to threaten the people in front of him who might have official status—those who could afford such equipment were definitely not bandits.

Milton didn't care who he had bribed or what their background was. He coldly replied, "I ask, you answer, understand?"

Brandon kicked him and asked viciously, "Does the boss mean that if you tell a lie, he'll kill one of your family members? Understand?"

That's not what I meant, don't misinterpret... Milton's brow twitched slightly, but he couldn't easily contradict his subordinate at this point, so he could only continue in a cold voice, asking, "Do you have the original packaging of troglitazone?" "Ahem... I sincerely suggest you leave this matter alone!"

The pharmacy owner didn't give a straight answer. He could tell clearly that these people were trying to extract information from him and wouldn't kill him.

The anomaly here will be discovered soon. As long as we can stall until the police or someone else arrives, the crisis will be over!

Milton was indeed anxious, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he put on an air of leisure.

Don't reveal your hand too easily!
He said slowly, "Luz, bring me a wet towel and a kettle. I need to keep him in line."

Luz immediately turned around and took the item.

A bad feeling rose in the shop owner's heart, and he began to struggle: "What, what are you going to do... um!"

Milton gestured to his two teammates to hold the shopkeeper down, while he himself picked up a folded wet towel and tightly covered the shopkeeper's face!

Then Milton grabbed the water bottle and started pouring water onto the towel.

Waterboarding!

I can’t cure you yet!

Soon, the shop owner, whose mouth and nose were covered, began to desperately try to breathe through his mouth, but each breath caused more water to enter his lungs, resulting in a stronger feeling of suffocation and pain, creating a vicious cycle!
This is a double torment of the body and mind, capable of quickly breaking the will of the vast majority of people.

Under the dual torment of suffocation and drowning, most people can't even last 10 seconds!

The shop owner's body soon began to spasm and convulse.

He wasn't some professionally trained agent with strong beliefs.

Normally, choking on a sip of water would be excruciating, but Milton went so far as to count down the seconds on his electronic watch, making the whole process last a full minute and a half!
The pain involved is unimaginable.

Milton poured water onto the towel indifferently, at a leisurely pace.

The shop owner thrashed desperately on the ground. Lack of oxygen forced him to breathe and swallow instinctively, but the water in his trachea not only couldn't be drained, but even more water poured in!

The feeling of gradually approaching death even caused the shop owner to lose control of his bladder.

This is a near-death reaction!
However, Milton didn't want the shopkeeper to be tortured to death like this—he still needed to get information!

Feeling that it was about time, Milton moved the towel aside, signaling Brandon and Lutz to release the shopkeeper.

The two teammates looked at Milton with a renewed sense of inexplicable fear.

The boss is really ruthless!
After regaining oxygen, the shop owner rolled on the ground in extreme pain, coughing and vomiting, struggling for a full two minutes before gradually regaining consciousness.

At this point, the snot and water he coughed up already contained traces of blood.

Milton crouched down to look at him and said calmly, "Let's continue."

Brandon really wanted to say, "Do you know how ruthless the 'Hell Tax Collector' is?" but fearing the warning of a pay cut, he didn't dare to say it.

The shopkeeper coughed a few times, propped himself up against the wall, and barely managed to maintain a sitting position before weakly saying, "Cough cough! You're not afraid of those people I mentioned at all... cough! I know who you are, 'Hell Tax Collector' Milton, right?"

When Milton heard this nickname being called out by a stranger, it felt like he had been hit hard on the back of the head!
He almost stood up and gave the shop owner another performance of torture art, to show him the consequences of uttering that nasty nickname!
It's spread like wildfire now, hasn't it?!

But time was of the essence, so Milton could only forcefully control his facial muscles and keep his voice high and mighty: "It seems you recognize me, very good, hopefully this will make our question and answer more harmonious."

(End of this chapter)