American Tax Officer

Keanu's heart raced with excitement, but he seemed to still have some reservations as he propped his chin and said, "In that case, wouldn't that upset the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch…"

"As long as he's willing, there won't be any problems. And as for whether the Lake District would be upset… What does that matter compared to one's tax achievements!"

Keanu thought that made sense.

Even though it would cause dissatisfaction at the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch, if David himself wanted to come to their Main Street District, what could the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch say? It was only natural for someone to seek development at a higher platform!

Making up his mind, he said, "Alright, you go and talk to him about this!"

Brunan nodded and immediately went out.

…

National Tax Bureau Lakeside District Sub-Bureau Branch.

With no news on the switched-bag case and the hacker case, Nisen and David spent the afternoon essentially slacking off.

"Your phone is ringing!"

At this moment, Nisen was so engrossed in his card game that he hadn't noticed the incoming call on his phone until David reminded him.

Nisen glanced at his phone, immediately stopped the game, and answered the call.

A few minutes later, an excited Nisen looked at David after hanging up and said, "There's a lead on the switched-bag case."

David made a show of listening attentively.

Nisen continued, "According to the clues provided by my informant, in two days, a wealthy individual in our Lake District will hold a private collection exhibition at the Ward Building. That gang will strike again then. Sadly, my informant doesn't know who exactly it is…"

"I'll look into this!"

Knowing where these people would show up made it easier to handle. After all, he had his golden touch; finding these people would be virtually a matter of minutes.

"OK!"

…

It was 5:00 PM, the official quitting time set by the National Tax Bureau.

However, as the Black Tax Bill period was ongoing, many stayed at their posts in pursuit of better tax performances.

Of course, those people definitely did not include David.

Just as he was about to ride home with Nisen, he found his phone ringing in his pocket. An unfamiliar number showed up, he hesitated but then picked up, "Who's this?"

"Inspector David, is it?"

"Speaking!"

"This is Brunan, Deputy Tax Inspector from the Main Street District Sub-Bureau Branch. I heard Feynman Cafe over in your Lake District isn't bad. Got any time to come over for a drink?"

The self-introduction from the other side took David by surprise.

But after thinking about it, the Deputy Tax Inspector from the prestigious Main Street District wouldn't be contacting him just for a simple coffee.

"Sure, I'm on my way now."

After a moment's thought, he agreed to come down, curious to find out what the Deputy Tax Inspector wanted to talk to him about.

Nisen seemed to sense something was off with David and asked, "What's up?"

"Just drop me off at Feynman Cafe."

…

The National Tax Bureau was just a 10-minute drive from Feynman Cafe.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Nisen said, "Is there any situation, do you need my help?"

"It's okay, just someone who wants a chat, you can go back first!"

After dropping those words, David walked in and began looking around, quickly noticing a corpulent and somewhat familiar-looking man waving at him.

He immediately walked over, extending his hand, "Deputy Tax Inspector Brunan, I'm David."

"Inspector David, hello, please have a seat!"

Once David sat down, Brunan said with a chuckle, "During the last assessment period, you really made quite a splash!"

"You flatter me, Deputy Tax Inspector Brunan."

Brunan shifted the conversation with an amused expression, "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course!"

"This assessment period, do you have the confidence to return to the national top hundred inspectors?"

David shook his head and replied, "The one who's currently at the 100th spot has already achieved tax earnings of 1.36 million dollars, so I can't say I'm very confident."

In fact, he dared not guarantee a top placement, but he was still confident about being in the top hundred.

However, not knowing if Brunan was here to investigate him, he dared not speak recklessly.

Brunan nodded slightly and said, "It's already the third assessment period, and the national inspectors have gotten used to the rules of the Black Tax Law. Plus, with the list that the headquarters have introduced, it has indeed made the competition among the inspectors quite fierce."

"In big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, their inspectors naturally have an advantage over those of us in smaller cities, which I think is somewhat unfair. What do you think?"

David nodded in agreement.

He had discussed this issue with Nisen before, so of course, he understood the disparity.

"So, if you were in our Main Street Sub-Bureau Branch, with your abilities, I think your tax performance could perhaps more than double. On the performance list, I estimate you could rank even higher than your last 89th place!"

When the conversation reached this point, David understood.

So...

Brunan wasn't here to investigate him, but to poach him!

But it made sense...

Main Street is the central area of Las Vegas; such a big district's tax performance being surpassed by Lake District before the last assessment period seemed somewhat indefensible.

And if Lake District were to overtake them again in the next assessment period, the Main Street National Tax Bureau would probably be too ashamed to show their faces.

Yet there was no easy fix to tax performance; Main Street inspectors couldn't just collect it at will, so the best solution was to poach David!

Gathering his thoughts, David pretended not to understand and replied, "Yes, it's a shame I am a Lake District inspector."

Main Street's cap may indeed be higher than Lake District's, but with Lewis about to be transferred, it was almost time for David's promotion; naturally, he wouldn't give up such a good opportunity.

It's a game of musical chairs; who knows how long it would take for him to rise to the position of Chief Tax Officer if he went to Main Street?

After all, he hadn't made any contributions to the Main Street Sub-Bureau Branch; it's not like they would offer him the position of Chief Tax Officer immediately upon his transfer.

"How about this, Inspector David, if you want to come to our Main Street Sub-Bureau Branch, I can help make arrangements for your transfer. How does that sound?"

Brunan was clever with his words.

He didn't directly ask David to come over, but suggested that if David wanted to move, he would help facilitate it.

In case of future conflict with the Lake District's higher-ups, they would have a plausible reason.

It was David who applied to transfer; what does it have to do with our Main Street Sub-Bureau Branch?

David feigned consideration and replied, "I still have some cases in hand that I can't break away from just yet, and as for tax performance… I can't just squander it!"

Seeing David as if declining the offer, Brunan frowned slightly and said sternly, "We have plenty of cases here in Main Street, and you don't have to worry about tax performance. If you come over..."

At that point, he bit his lip, "The 400,000 dollars in tax performance can be made up by our Main Street District!"