Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 60 The Godfather of the Old Streets
In 15 minutes, the three of them turned the manor upside down.

When everything was laid out, even the well-informed Milton couldn't help but marvel at Carlos's wealth.

Cash, jewelry, luxury watches, fine wines, gilded Brownings…

Roughly estimated, these items are worth no less than $15. Even if sold at a discount, they would still be worth at least $10, and Milton would still keep all $10 for himself.

Luz and Veronica did not participate in the battle to attack the checkpoint, so according to the rules they were not entitled to a share of the spoils—of course, they would receive overtime pay for working the night.

Including the previous deposit, Milton has already taken a full $20 from Carlos's personal pocket.

In this country where the average annual income is less than $1500, Carlos has $20 in assets that can be quickly converted into cash!
It's true that the poorer the place, the more ruthlessly officials exploit it.

The most important part is the 100 million red points it corresponds to—this number should be enough to redeem a lightly armored armed military vehicle.

We'll just wait to develop our power a bit more and wait for the system to unlock the corresponding item exchange.

They're making a killing!
The only pity was that no "confidential documents" were found; Carlos probably didn't have the habit of bringing documents into his home.

However, Milton was extremely satisfied with his harvest.

The three continued to count the remaining spoils.

Lutz then pulled a black rectangular box with an antenna from his bag and placed it on top of the pile of odds and ends: "Boss, take a look at this thing. I think it's worth some money, so I brought it over."

Milton turned and glanced at it upon hearing this.

Flip phone, external antenna, single-line number display on screen...

Milton, who used to watch movies a lot in his past life, was stunned for a moment. Good heavens, isn't this a giant cell phone?!
The "cell phone" from 1994 has actually appeared in front of us in physical form.

In a place where there aren't even 3 phone lines for 100 people, Carlos is actually using a Motorola Micro TAC 9800X, right?
This thing is actually quite valuable.

You could say it's useful, but it's not really useful either—it's bulky and heavy, unencrypted, has a poor signal, and the battery only lasts for an hour of talk time. What use is it besides showing off?

In the border town, it's practically just a decoration.

Seeing the boss's strange expression, Lutz immediately said, "If it's useless, I'll just throw it away."

Milton raised his hand: "Never mind, we don't need it, but we can't be without it. This thing should also have a matching charger, can you get it for me... Right now we can't use other people's phones directly, we have to find the carrier to re-flash the EPROM chip."

"That's about it. Load your things into the car and let's go."

This raid was very quick, taking less than half an hour to collect a large sum of cash, which immediately improved the pharmacy's precarious finances.

Lutz glanced at the manor behind him and asked, "Boss, what about this house? Should we send someone to occupy it?"

“This dilapidated house is in a simple environment, on flat terrain, easy to attack but difficult to defend, a pure sitting duck, with no strategic value whatsoever, what’s the point of taking it?” Milton waved his hand, “Just burn it down.”

"Okay, I'll go find some fuel..."

"..."

More than ten minutes later, Milton drove along the road toward the town of Malacan. Behind him was a burning manor and a building that twisted and deformed in the fire before finally collapsing.

Lutz was filled with excitement. He realized that he might be witnessing... no, participating in the rise of a new and powerful force!

He believed that in the future, Milton's group would definitely rise to prominence and become a force to be reckoned with in town, rivaling Pedro, Varta, and Van Cam's gang. "Raul and Varta have suffered heavy losses this time, and they've lost all face in the process."

"Most importantly, their cooperation is definitely going to fall apart. I really want to know how Raul and Varta will look when they find out..."

"If we win two or three more victories like today, we will have the strength to truly confront them."

"..."

The three returned home laden with their loot, arriving back at the old street before dawn.

"Is it just my imagination? Why does it seem like there are so many people at the black market today?" Lutz glanced out the window. "And... um, why does it seem like they're all gathered at our pharmacy?"

Normally, there wouldn't be so many people on the old streets at this time, and even if there were, most of them would walk quickly with their heads down, rarely lingering in one place for long.

It is extremely rare to see eleven or twelve people gathered in front of an illegal pharmacy.

They don't seem to be particularly poor.

Upon seeing the iconic Defender, some of them even walked over, and Milton would have already fired if they hadn't been deliberately showing their hands.

Milton ignored them, quickly parked the car in the garage, and found Flora crouching in a hiding spot with her gun at the ready—they had already dealt with the medical truck and returned to the pharmacy to do their guard duty.

"What's the deal with these people?"

"They said they came to see you, and it seems some of your pharmacy customers know some of them," Flora replied. "Don't worry, I'll shoot them immediately if they make any dangerous moves."

Milton quickly pulled aside a customer at the pharmacy and asked them, finally finding out who these people were.

These people are some of the merchants in the black market of the old street, as well as the merchants of several legitimate shops and restaurants not far from the old street.

After hearing about Milton's exploits and seeing that he not only survived his repeated mad actions but also grew in power, earning the nickname "Hell Tax Collector," many who had been watching the spectacle with amusement finally stopped laughing.

Because they discovered that they themselves seemed to have evaded taxes...

Milton demonstrated to everyone through his actions that doing so carried a high risk of being mowed down by machine guns or even blown up by artillery.

Are all people who can do business on the black market stupid? Many sharp-eyed people have noticed that the influence of Fan Kang Gang and the police station in this area has begun to decline.

Power doesn't disappear, it just changes.

Who is the new person in charge?
Milton, of course!

Lutz frowned as he listened: "They all seem like opportunists, like they're here to pay protection money."

“Most people are just opportunists; they'll go whichever way the wind blows. There’s no need to be too critical,” Milton waved his hand. “Since so many people have come here, it means the wind is starting to blow in our direction, which is a good thing.”

It seems that the rudiments of his own power, or at least the rudiments of his own sphere of influence, have gradually begun to take shape.

"Then...let them in?"

Milton nodded. "Let's see what they have to say. Remember to search them first."

“Okay…” Lutz nodded, then muttered, “Hmm, why does this scene feel a bit familiar? A dimly lit basement, meeting all sorts of people, it feels like you’re really like the Godfather of the Old Streets.”

(End of this chapter)