I'm thinking about which one you're talking about (seeking collections, seeking recommendation tickets)

Of course, that doesn't mean Zhou Yi was going to settle for being some low-level IRS employee scraping by on pocket change to grind experience points.

This was a spy world!

If you were going to dabble in gray income, you had to think big!

Like collecting taxes from terrorists, for instance?

That phone shop earlier was just a case of the clerk happening to cross paths with Zhou Yi when he wanted to run an experiment—so the guy got unlucky.

Now that he'd confirmed gray income could be counted toward his experience points, how could Zhou Yi possibly be satisfied with small-time earnings that not only paid little but could also invite unnecessary trouble?

Waving down a taxi, Zhou Yi went straight to the entrance of the Langley City Tax Bureau.

The thoughtful system had conveniently arranged a position for him nearby, and today was his start date.

So, to be precise, Zhou Yi had just used his credentials to shake down that phone shop owner...

But don't get it twisted—that owner had been evading taxes for years, far more than what Zhou Yi took.

And though Zhou Yi hadn't officially started yet, the credentials in his hand still carried real authority. If a full investigation were launched, the owner's shop would be shut down on the spot, and he'd be fined into bankruptcy.

Don't doubt it—this was exactly the kind of thing IRS agents did, and often.

Otherwise, how would they have earned such a fearsome reputation?

After finishing the onboarding paperwork, Zhou Yi was immediately assigned a task.

From a certain angle, employees in the tax bureau could be divided into two types.

One was desk duty, the other was field duty.

Desk duty meant anyone could send you to investigate; field duty meant you dared to investigate anyone!

And Zhou Yi's position was in field duty.

Once the paperwork was done, he was assigned to a team.

"So... Zhou, can I call you that?" Duke asked as he drove.

"Of course." Zhou Yi nodded.

"Alright, Zhou, since it's your first day, I need to brief you on our future work and show you around the job environment..."

Duke scratched his hair. From the look of his face, he seemed to be in his thirties or forties, but his hairline was already creeping toward the crown of his head, barely hidden by a long fringe.

It wasn't too obvious normally, but when the wind blew... Duke hated the wind.

"First, find a place to live, then wait for task assignments," Duke said. "Usually, there isn't too much to do—most of it's trivial stuff. We're pretty relaxed and free on a daily basis."

Zhou Yi nodded, glancing at his hair.

Didn't look all that relaxed and free to him.

"It's the trivial stuff that drains your energy. Plus, in this line of work, you have to worry about retaliation from some people."

"Don't doubt it—some folks just lose their minds. They'll actually attack government employees. When that happens, don't hesitate. If you suspect they have a gun, you can open fire in self-defense." Duke began imparting his "freedom" experience to Zhou Yi.

"Oh... I see." Zhou Yi nodded in understanding.

"By the way, your gun permit is being processed and should be approved tomorrow. We have a dedicated training range—you can go play with guns there when you're free. Your official sidearm will be issued along with the permit."

Duke continued, "Before that, you'll shadow me to get familiar with our future work... but first, let's find you a place to stay."

Zhou Yi listened casually, not paying much attention.

The two of them weren't from the same world. Zhou Yi hadn't come here just to be a dutiful little tax bureau clerk—he was here to do big things.

So, just over ten days later, Zhou Yi got a promotion for successfully catching a drug dealer and collecting a hefty sum of fines and taxes from him.

That's right—even illegal income from drug trafficking fell under the IRS's tax-collecting authority, and naturally, the rates were much higher than for legitimate income!

This was one of the IRS's legendary feats. Once, in Chicago, a major drug lord had the FBI stumped because there was no evidence against him. But after an internal audit, the IRS realized: we haven't received any tax payments from him?

He didn't pay taxes? Boys, let's get him!

So the IRS sent a special agent to go undercover beside the drug lord, gather enough evidence, and then arrest him on charges of "tax evasion," fining away nearly all his assets!

That was a legend from the past.

Not long after, Zhou Yi cracked several major "tax evasion" cases in a row and became yet another IRS legend!

By then, nearly a year had passed since Zhou Yi first arrived in this world.

Nearly a year later, in an office.

"Leave?" Zhou Yi's superior, Chris, asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Zhou Yi said. "The constant crackdown on criminals has kept my nerves on edge for too long. The mental stress is too high—I'm worried that if this continues, I might develop some psychological issues, so I need some relaxation therapy."

"Nerves on edge, mental stress too high?" Chris looked baffled.

"Uh... is there something wrong with that reason?"

"Is the mental stress you're talking about from when you were dating five female colleagues at headquarters at the same time and it got exposed, or from when you used that drug dealer's money to stay at the top hotel in Dubai for a month?"

"Or is it from that time we went to see a Hollywood movie and you showed up as an extra, stealing the spotlight from the lead actor?"

"Well," Zhou Yi's mouth twitched, though he showed no sign of embarrassment, "a bit of both..."

"Forget it," Chris shook his head helplessly. "I don't know what you're planning again, but Zhou, please rein yourself in a little. Even if what you do stays within permissible bounds, I don't want to see you cross the line one day and have to come fish you out."

"When I do things, you can rest easy." Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow. "Besides, even if I did commit a crime, who could catch me?"

"That's true," Chris nodded, then lowered his voice to ask slyly, "I heard you slept with an FBI female agent last time? How was it? What'd you think?"

"..." Zhou Yi thought it over carefully, silent for a long moment.

"What, no good? That can't be right?"

"No, I was just wondering which one you meant."

Four days until the exam... I'm so nervous...