""Alright then..."
Ono Yutaro dared not say much, obediently got into the Volvo, and then started to give directions to the two men.
Under his guidance, and after a journey of about twenty minutes, the three men arrived at the entrance of an auto repair shop located in the old town district.
The sign at the entrance of the factory was somewhat rusty, with the words 'Island Nation Auto Repair Factory Town' in large characters.
Five of the characters had neon lights installed, which shone bright red under the night sky, while the other two were dim, perhaps due to aging circuits or some other reason.
Inside the factory, several old cars were quietly parked on the repair bays, with workers busily fixing them up, the air filled with a pungent mix of paint and oil smells.
"Eternal Taro, what's going on here?"
Seeing the three men walk in, an Island Nation man covered in grease, who had been squatting in front of a car with its engine hood up, stood up and eyed David and Nisen warily.
At that moment, the other workers in the repair shop also stopped moving, looking first at the bruised and swollen Ono Yutaro, then at Nisen and David, which immediately made the atmosphere somewhat tense.
Quite a few workers had even quietly grabbed tools like wrenches and crowbars.
"Everybody, don't be nervous, these two are colleagues of Chief Smith, they're here to meet our boss!"
Up to now, Ono Yutaro still didn't know the real identities of Nisen and David, still thinking they were police officers.
Hearing this, the atmosphere at the scene finally eased a bit, but many still looked at the two with doubt and hostility.
"Inoue, go inform the boss!"
Since they were colleagues of Smith, they must be police officers, so of course, these people didn't dare to act rashly and could only let their boss come out to see what the other party wanted to discuss.
Seven or eight minutes later.
At the staircase entrance of the repair shop, an Asian man in his thirties with a crew cut walked down.
His steps were steady and vigorous, and he exuded a restrained yet grim aura, dressed in a neat kimono, with the collar slightly open, revealing a wolf head tattoo.
In his left hand was a sexy woman in a tight leather coat with bangs, and on his right was Nakamura Ota, whom David had seen before.
"Eternal Taro, what's all this about?"
Seeing Ono Yutaro's condition, Nakamura Ota was stunned.
Weren't you supposed to be backing me up?
How did you end up looking like a pig's head?
Without giving much of an explanation, Ono Yutaro only made an expression as if wanting to cry but being unable to shed tears, and finally, turned his pleading gaze towards the man in the kimono.
[Name: Miyano Masho.]
[Occupation: Car theft gang leader.]
[Monthly Income: 276,000 US dollars.]
[Income Details: On December 3rd, profited 30,000 US dollars through a subordinate's theft of an Aston Martin; on December 5th, profited Two Thousand US dollars through a subordinate's theft of a Maybach; on December 9th, profited 70,000 US dollars through a subordinate's theft of a Lamborghini.]
[More Details...]
[Tax Due: 76,440 US dollars.]
While David was sizing up the information about the other party, Miyano Masho also made a gesture to a subordinate at the door, who immediately pulled out a button and pressed it, causing the iron shutter door to slowly lower.
This situation made Nisen feel uneasy, and while reaching for his service weapon at his waist, he also looked towards David.
But David still remained calm at this moment.
First, they now had two guns on their person, and as far as they could tell, the opposite party hadn't produced any firearms yet. Even if a fight did break out, they might not necessarily be at a disadvantage.
Second, Miyano Masho was savvy enough to maintain a good relationship with the police department, clearly he was among the more clear-headed.
Knowing they were from the law enforcement agency, it was unlikely that he would dare to commit such a foolish act as silencing them permanently.
The reason for this behavior was probably to intimidate them, in order to gain some psychological advantage in the upcoming negotiations.
"Officers, don't be nervous. Our line of work, after all, isn't exactly above board, so it's better to be careful to prevent eavesdropping," said Miyano Masho in a tone of reassurance, his voice slightly hoarse.
David slapped his forehead, feigning sudden realization, "Oh right, Mr. Miyano, I need to correct one thing, we are not cops!"
"You're not cops?"
Miyano Masho's expression instantly chilled, while Nakamura Ota, Ono Yutaro, and others first looked at David with surprise, then their expressions gradually turned icy.
David took out the tax emblem and faced the crowd, "To be precise, we are Inspectors from the National Tax Bureau Lakeside District!"
"National Tax Bureau? Screw you, I thought you were cops. What the hell does the National Tax Bureau have to do with my car theft—following me around like a dog!" exclaimed Ono Yutaro, a car thief who was oblivious to the Black Tax Law matter.
At this moment, he felt played, and after having been beaten up, was nearly exploding with rage, cursing continuously.
But before he could go on, the next second he felt a piercing pain on his cheek, and then he staggered to the ground. When he came to his senses, he spat out two teeth, enduring the severe pain.
Meanwhile, David, who was standing by, withdrew his fist and casually wiped it.
"Damn it, you bastard dare to strike!"
"Brothers, grab your tools, let's kill them!"
"..."
No one expected that on their turf, in front of so many of their people, David would dare to hit someone—it was simply too brazen!
Suddenly, people from the Island Nation grabbed wrenches and crowbars among other tools and surrounded them.
Seeing this,
Nisen didn't care anymore and directly pulled out his service weapon, pointing it at the crowd and warned, "I'm warning you, take one more step and I'll shoot!"
"If you've got the guts, shoot, let's see how many bullets you've got!"
Although Nisen's gun deterred many, there were still some brash individuals who slowly closed in.
"Everybody, hold it right there!"
Just as the atmosphere was about to explode, Miyano Masho's shout stopped everyone in their tracks. He stared at David and said, "We don't seem to have any beef with your National Tax Bureau, why are you targeting us?"
David met his gaze and said, "True, we at the National Tax Bureau don't have any beef with you, but, orders are orders."
"Orders are orders?"
Miyano Masho was somewhat baffled.
"It's like this: on the 3rd of last month, the America Congress passed a law known as the 'Black Tax' Law..."
As David explained the situation step by step, Miyano Masho and the others began to understand some of what was happening, but at the same time, they were left dumbfounded.