American Tax Officer

And now, with just three days left in the assessment period, getting a tax achievement of twenty or thirty million wouldn't be an issue for him, but to surpass David, he would need to pull in an additional 30-40 million. Where could he possibly find such a massive amount of tax achievement?

Even if he could find it, there hardly seemed to be enough time.

The more Brown thought about it, the angrier he got—not just at Bellamy, but he also cursed every ancestor of everyone at the Long Beach Branch.

Washington D.C. Headquarters.

Donald was in his office processing documents when the sound of knocking caused him to pause before he called out, "Come in."

"Deputy Director Donald, there's been a change. David from the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch suddenly accounted for 56 million, now topping the leaderboard with a total tax achievement of 125 million."

"What did you say!?"

Donald put down his pen used for signing documents and looked incredulously at the person who had entered.

"David accounted for 56 million and is now at the top of the leaderboard."

Hearing the report again, Donald confirmed that he hadn't misheard, but he still couldn't believe it and immediately operated his computer to check.

Soon enough, the taxation achievement leaderboard from the IRS popped up, and when he saw David's name at the top, with Brown and Bellamy slipping to second and third place, Donald truly believed it.

Belief aside, his face still showed shock and disbelief as he demanded, "What on earth happened? Where did this 56 million in tax revenue come from?"

"According to the data, it came from GCO's nearly 80 million in tax revenue. This amount was first transferred to the Sand Bay Branch in Rio City, which retained over 20 million, and the remaining 56 million was then directly transferred to the Lake District Sub-Bureau, ending up in David's name."

"From GCO Corporation? So, you mean to say that the Long Beach Branch unfroze these funds?"

"That seems to be the case."

"How could this be..."

Hearing that the Long Beach Branch had unfrozen the funds, Donald was both incredulous and unable to understand.

If the Long Beach Branch were that easy to persuade, they wouldn't have found reasons to freeze the funds earlier.

And more importantly, the Long Beach Branch was home to one of the biggest candidates of the "Making Gods" project, Bellamy Hattie.

How could he have possibly let these funds be unfrozen so easily and fall into David's hands?

Could it be...

David had caught the Long Beach Branch in a bind, a vulnerability of sorts, forcing them to hold their noses and unfreeze the funds?

This seemed to be the only explanation...

But then again, David had only been in Los Angeles for one day, and Long Beach was Bellamy's turf.

How could David possibly dominate in someone else's territory?

Apart from Donald, at this moment within the headquarters, all the higher-ups who had received the news were sufficiently shocked.

But as shocked as they were, those who supported David along with Donald quickly became joyful once they regained their composure.

Those who supported Bellamy and Brown, like Rohan and Consultant Welton Heng, now had their faces ashen.

Chief Advisor's Office.

"Damn it, what the hell is Ducray up to?"

Welton Heng had learned that it wasn't Bellamy but rather Ducray, the head of the Long Beach Branch, who had ordered the funds to be unfrozen, and this naturally infuriated him.

Initiating the freeze on GCO's funds was a decision he had fought for at the executive meeting for the Long Beach Branch.

And now by doing this, wasn't the Long Beach Branch essentially slapping him publicly?

"Ducray couldn't possibly do this. After all, if Bellamy wins, it'd be a shining achievement for him, and if David wins, there's no benefit for him. The only explanation is that David has got something critical on him."

On the other side, his confidant Bankroft pondered aloud.

"Being the head of the Long Beach Branch, on his own turf, how could he let David get the better of him? Don't you think this is preposterous?"

"Preposterous as it may be... But David, having taken down the senior officials of Sparks and Henderson, as well as Governor Stevenson, must possess some skill that others don't."

Hearing this, Welton Heng became silent.

Indeed.

David couldn't be regarded as an ordinary person; someone who had taken down top officials of two city halls and even a governor. If Ducray was dirty, maybe David really did catch something on him.

But as this thought occurred to Welton Heng, a wave of concern suddenly surged in him.

When he heard that Stevenson was taken down by David, he was only briefly shocked, without much worry deep down.

But now, David's blade had unexpectedly struck someone within his own IRS.

What if one day David was manipulated by other scheming individuals and turned the heat on him?

This couldn't happen; he had to take precautions.

Welton Heng was a person with a strong sense of danger, preferring the IRS to have less prestige and revenue rather than allowing uncontrollable people or factors in front of him!

"Dudu dudu..."

As Welton Heng was still deep in thought, the vibration of his smartphone on the desk brought him back to reality. Picking it up and seeing that it was Brown calling, he immediately answered, "Speak."

"Consultant Welton Heng, I assume you've seen that GCO's funds have been unfrozen. I want to consult with you on what I should do... What should I do?"

"You're asking me?"

Suddenly filled with ire, Welton Heng couldn't help thinking, is it me competing for the "Making Gods" project, or is it you?