Fishing for Law Enforcement (Begging for Collections and Recommendation Tickets)

In the world, there are three things that are absolutely untouchable in three different countries.

That is—evading taxes in the United States, trafficking drugs in China, and being taken hostage in Russia.

Evade taxes in the United States, and if you get caught, losing everything you own is the lightest outcome.

Traffic drugs in China, and you get fed a bullet, no questions asked.

Being taken hostage in Russia... the hostage often gets shot first by the police or military, and the terrorists receive this message: "The hostage has been eliminated by us. You no longer have anything to threaten us with. Surrender now!"

Being a hostage in Russia is worse than just asking the terrorists for a gun and joining them—at least then you might survive.

The IRS, the US Tax Service, is an entity that strikes fear into the hearts of all Americans. This department wields power equal to, and sometimes even greater than, organizations like the FBI and CIA!

From dispatching undercover agents to take down mob bosses the FBI can't catch, to sending low-level employees to monitor a single restaurant's income for a year to check for tax evasion... in short, no matter the scale, if it involves tax evasion and the IRS has its eyes on you, no American can stay calm!

This is one of the reasons Zhou Yi directly chose this profession!

What's even more interesting is that this is a private company—a private company contracted by the federal government, not some state apparatus.

It's nothing short of absurd.

"America really is a strange country..." Zhou Yi thought to himself as he mulled over these things, letting out a sigh.

Zhou Yi arrived at a phone store, inquired about a model, opened his satchel, and pulled out some cash to buy himself a phone.

This satchel was issued by the system. It not only contained ten thousand dollars in usable cash but also various documents—a passport, a green card, a Tax Bureau employee ID, and so on—all complete and fully valid, able to withstand any scrutiny.

Back in the last Fast & Furious world, Zhou Yi had received a similar satchel. Aside from some differences in the ID and professional credentials, everything else was basically identical, except for the dates on them.

At the time, to verify some things, Zhou Yi had personally gone to check. He found that in the previous Fast & Furious world, the identity the system had crafted for him was flawless. All the data—anything that didn't add up, like his parents in that world—was completely untraceable, because everyone was already "dead," with only files left behind!

Even though Zhou Yi knew those files were all fake, as long as they couldn't be disproven, they were real!

"Got to admit, it's really thoughtful. Otherwise, I'd have wasted a ton of time sorting out an ID and figuring out how to get hired," Zhou Yi thought. "Not only does it not talk back or scheme against me, it doesn't give me any mandatory missions with threats of erasure... Compared to those flashy, trashy systems other people have, this is way too good!"

Zhou Yi didn't know if his system had any consciousness, but that didn't stop him from buttering it up... ah, no, expressing his gratitude.

As for why Zhou Yi chose the IRS employee profession?

Aside from the IRS's immense power and ample freedom, the main reason was—

Just as Zhou Yi walked out of the store with his phone and SIM card, he turned back.

His sharp hearing caught what the clerk muttered under his breath: "Who knew that Yellow Monkey had so much money. Must have stolen it from somewhere."

That was unforgivable.

But Zhou Yi didn't plan to resort to violence. Instead, he intended to use the power he now possessed.

Besides, he needed to test a few things.

The clerk looked at Zhou Yi with confusion as he walked back in and asked, "Sir, is there something you need?"

Got to give credit where it's due—the guy's acting was decent. At least on the surface, he showed no impatience.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a field agent from the Langley City Tax Bureau, assigned to investigate tax evasion at this store. I just noticed you accepted my cash payment and had no intention of issuing me a receipt afterward." Zhou Yi's face turned cold as he pulled out his ID and showed it to the clerk. "You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law!"

The clerk's eyes went wide, his face full of disbelief.

WTF?

Is this for real?

This is just a tiny phone store!

I figured since you're Asian, you probably don't know how things work in the US, so I thought I'd skip the tax on this sale. The money I save, the boss will split half with me, and that's enough to pick up a girl!

And now you're whipping out an ID and trying to arrest me for tax evasion?

If the clerk had known, he would have screamed right then: "Entrapment! This is entrapment!"

Of course, he also didn't know that if he hadn't run his mouth behind Zhou Yi's back, Zhou Yi wouldn't have targeted him for entrapment in the first place.

"No, sir, please don't." The clerk's legs went weak and he started trembling. He wasn't sure if the ID in Zhou Yi's hand was real, but what if it was?

The name carried weight.

The clerk knew that if he really stirred up trouble and this person actually was an IRS employee, he'd be completely finished!

And he'd drag the boss down with him!

"You're the clerk. Where's the owner of this store? Call him over." Zhou Yi said. "I need to question him!"

"I... I'll call the boss right now!" The clerk, shaking and out of ideas, dialed the boss's number.

"What?" The boss was stunned after the clerk finally managed to explain the situation. "Are you sure? A field agent from the Langley City Tax Bureau?"

"Y-yes," the clerk said, coming back to his senses a bit, and added quietly, "I just saw he was Asian, so I thought..."

"You said he's Asian?" The boss was even more shocked. "How could an Asian be from the Tax Bureau? Are you sure that ID isn't fake?"

"I don't know how to tell if it's fake!" the clerk whined.

"Alright, tell him to wait. I'll be right there!" the boss said. "Ninety percent chance it's fake! I'll bring my cop friend along, expose him, and have this damn fraud arrested on the spot!"

"Got it, boss!" With his boss backing him up, the clerk regained his composure and puffed up his chest, ready to fire back at Zhou Yi.

But when he looked up and saw Zhou Yi's deep, thoughtful gaze, he immediately cowered again and said weakly, "Our boss said he'll be here soon..."

"Heh heh..." Zhou Yi let out a cold laugh, paid him no further mind, and stood still, starting to play a game of Snake.

He had, of course, overheard what the boss on the other end of the phone had said—it was nothing surprising.

White supremacy in America is extremely severe, whether toward Asians or Black people. Basically, the vast majority claim to treat everyone equally, but in reality, they are discriminatory.

For Zhou Yi, when he had first transmigrated into the world of Fast & Furious a few years ago, he had encountered many such incidents. It was only later, after he became wealthy, that these things basically stopped happening.

So, in the end, money is the real hard currency. Most of the time, money represents the right to speak and real power.

Before long, a fat boss arrived at the shop with a fat police officer.

Chatting with the big shots really gives you a lot of inspiration...