Chapter 2: I Can Be the Chief Tax Officer Too

From one end of the street to the other, people in bizarre and unique costumes could be seen shuttling through the streets.

Some were dressed as movie characters, while others wore their own unique outfits, displaying endless creativity and individuality.

But do not be deceived by the glitzy facade of this city.

Besides being a world-famous gambling city, it also has another title that sends shivers down the spine.

City of Sin!

For a long time, this city has been one of the United States' cities with the highest crime rates.

According to statistics.

In this city, for every 100,000 residents, there are 763 violent crimes, including 4696 robberies and 9296 cases of malicious wounding.

And the worst mass shooting in American history also took place in this city.

One could say this.

While the gambling industry has turned this city into a paradise, it has also thrown it into the depths of hell.

Of course, this is a good thing for the National Tax Bureau.

Because the more crimes there are, the more tax revenue the Bureau can rake in with its new tax policies.

As for the adverse effects of crime, that's your FBI and the local police's responsibility, what does it have to do with the National Tax Bureau?

...

"Wait a minute, Nisen... What are we doing at the Encar Casino?"

Watching Nisen bring the car to a stop, David couldn't help but ask.

"Haven't you heard about the robbery of Encar's cash transport vehicle seven days ago?"

"I've heard, the Encar Casino seems to have lost a million US Dollars in that incident."

"Yes, that's a million US Dollars. If we can find that money, according to the tax rate, that's nearly 400,000 US Dollars in tax revenue!"

Having said this, a gleam shone in Nisen's eyes.

As for David, he finally understood his partner's intent.

Indeed.

Just as Nisen said, finding that money, based on the Bureau's tax rates, would mean nearly 400,000 US Dollars in tax revenue.

That was a substantial achievement!

"But Nisen, Chief Tax Officer Lewis assigned us the African-American zero-dollar shopping case at Caesar Palace Shopping Center, wouldn't it be..."

"Hear me out, David!"

Nisen interrupted sharply, with a piercing look, "The African-American zero-dollar shopping incident at Caesar Shopping Center involves too many people, too messy. It's tough to crack."

"Even if we could crack it, do you think the reward we get would be more than these 400,000?"

"You know I've been in this Inspector position for five years, and Chief Tax Officer Liu Yi is about to be transferred. This is my chance, brother, help me out!"

Inspectors at the National Tax Bureau, seemingly powerful, are actually the lowest rank in the system.

Above the Inspector

are the Chief Tax Officer, Deputy Tax Investigator, Tax Investigator, Deputy Branch Chief, Branch Chief, Deputy City Bureau Chief, City Bureau Chief, Deputy State Bureau Chief, State Bureau Chief.

Reaching the level of State Bureau Chief.

Even the Governor would have to bow and scrape, using a Chinese phrase, lowering his wine cup with a smile on his face when meeting.

The Bureau's power is simply too vast.

With money, authority, and guns, no one wants to be targeted by such a fierce tiger.

And being promoted to State Bureau Chief, the next opportunity for advancement would likely lead to a post at Washington D.C. Headquarters.

Reaching that stage, one would truly hold power over wind and storm within the United States!

Of course.

Let's not even talk about a transfer to Washington D.C. Headquarters.

Nisen could hardly even dare to dream about the position of Tax Investigator, let alone aspire for the position of Chief Tax Officer.

However, all this hinged on securing the taxes from this very case!

David fell into deep thought.

He quite agreed with what Nisen said.

The Black Zero-Dollar Purchase case required a tremendous amount of energy to handle.

And even if they managed to crack it, the tax revenue collected might not be as substantial as from this robbery case.

But there was one thing, the position of Chief Tax Officer—if Nisen could do it, he certainly could too!

But unlike Nisen...

His aspirations weren't limited merely to the position of Chief Tax Officer!

The Black Tax Bill represented a sort of major blood transfusion for the National Tax Bureau to some extent.

Under the impetus of this bill, a major shake-up of survival of the fittest would inevitably occur.

Some would lose their positions while others would skyrocket to the top.

And with this golden finger for tax collection in his hand, David was bound to be one who would rocket upward!

When the time came, vying for the highest seat of power at the Washington D.C. Headquarters and becoming the helmsman of the most powerful law enforcement agency in the United States wasn't out of the realm of possibility!

Of course.

It was still too early to think of all this now.

What he needed to do at the moment was to stand out among the Black Tax Bill and the 140,000 inspectors nationwide, which was the most important!

"The FBI and local police have been investigating this case for so long and still haven't found anything. Do you have any leads?"

Nisen, who had been somewhat worried, visibly relaxed upon hearing David's words and replied, "We did find something. Let's go meet with them inside!"

...

The moment they stepped through the doors of the casino, both David and Nisen, regardless of their thoughts, could not help but become excited, as if every muscle cell in their bodies had been invigorated.

Yet neither of them found this unusual.

They had been in Las Vegas for so long.

They both knew very well that these casinos release a substantial amount of oxygen inside to keep the gamblers engaged and tireless in their play.

Inside the casino, there were no windows at all, the bright, dazzling lights reflecting off the multi-colored chips and smooth tables.

The golden decorations and luxurious seating throughout made the entire environment look incredibly lavish, while the sounds of people's tense and excited voices occasionally erupted around them.

"Hello, gentlemen, how may I assist you?"

While they were still taking in their surroundings, a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit approached them unnoticed.

From his pocket, Nisen produced a badge from the National Tax Bureau Lakeside District Sub-Bureau Branch and stated, "We are inspectors from the National Tax Bureau Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch!"

Upon hearing they were from the National Tax Bureau,

a flicker of fear passed through the middle-aged man's eyes. In an instant, he had reviewed all his recent tax affairs.

Only after assuring himself that there were no tax omissions,

did he finally relax and inquire, "Gentlemen, our casino has not evaded any taxes, and of course, neither have I personally!"

"You misunderstand, there was a robbery at your casino a while back, and I wanted to have a word with the person in charge of that case!"

"Hmm?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback.

In his mind, weren't robbery incidents supposed to be handled by the police and the FBI?

Since when did the National Tax Bureau start dealing with these matters?

"Is that a problem?"

"No, please follow me!"

Though confused about the situation, as he was dealing with officials from the National Tax Bureau, the floor manager didn't dare to offend them and quickly led Nisen and David deeper into the casino.