The siege on Winster United Bank continued until dusk.

Military vehicles kept leaving and coming back during this time, either bringing news of criminals being shot dead or directly bringing people back, detained off to the side without even being given a chair.

The atmosphere on site was oppressively tense, and Joseph's display of authority was executed exceptionally well. It was certain that after today, everyone in Winster would tremble at the mention of the Statistical Bureau.

However, even if that were the case, Ethan wouldn't have felt much about it.

After all, he's seen people with firm resolve before.

But it was Joseph's latest move that truly made one realize he was a formidable figure.

Before the night turned completely dark, the onlookers were about to disperse.

At this moment, the captain who had previously cautioned the reporters about their reports appeared again. He stood in front of the crowd once more and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you really don't need to be too afraid. The Kingdom Statistical Bureau is not here to oppress or frame anyone. We are here for the prosperity and stability of the Kingdom. We only value the law; only those who violate tax laws will be punished. We are impartial. To show our determination, in the coming days, we will distribute tax forms to everyone, and we hope everyone will fill them out well. We will publicly release the tax forms, and if anyone evades taxes, feel free to report them; there will be a reward for doing so."

With these words, the originally anxious people instead became slightly excited.

After all, even if the average person evades or misses taxes, it's just a small amount, but for some people, it's not necessarily the case...

The Kingdom Statistical Bureau's move was equivalent to throwing a knife among the populace.

The human mind is the most unpredictable thing; sometimes just a small spark can turn into Hell.

The Kingdom Statistical Bureau had left, but the repercussions they caused continued to ripple outwards layer by layer.

"True to being from a major family of the Royal Capital, truly terrifying." John Hott couldn't help but take a deep breath.

His own affairs were certainly not clean, so he couldn't wait to stand up and return.

The other partners were the same.

Ethan, however, was still fine. When it came to the loyalty of subordinates, the Mafia held an advantage over businessmen.

But this guy named Joseph...

Joseph Evans, a native of the Royal Capital, is the second son of Lauren Evans, the current head of the Evans family, and is highly regarded by Lauren.

He himself is indeed excellent. At thirty-one years old, he graduated from the Polytechnic Department of the Royal University. After graduation, he joined the military, rising to the rank of Major before the age of twenty-eight; it's said that he's now a Lieutenant Colonel, an absolute young talent.

Clearly, his transfer to Winster to oversee the Kingdom Statistical Bureau is an opportunity to secure a major achievement, whether to advance further into military ranks or enter politics in the future; it would be excellent political capital.

This is truly someone with hostile intentions.

In the evening, when Ethan returned home, the important members of the family were already gathered.

Today's act by Joseph was absolutely nerve-wracking, and everyone knew it was time to quickly devise a strategy.

Upon seeing Ethan, Eugen stood up first and said, "Young Master, the casinos in the city that belong to us are all arranged, there won't be any issues. The company's accounts have also been cleaned up, even if they raid tonight, they won't find anything valuable. However, this month's bootlegging business is better than last month's, we need to quickly handle that money, or the cash flow will have problems..."

"You set off tonight, head to Butan City. There's a bank there, and John Hott has almost sorted out the procedures and whatnot, but remember, be sure to be careful."

Ethan knew this was a step that had to be taken.

"Yes!" Eugen spoke somewhat loudly, seeming excited, as his childhood dream was to open a bank.

"Additionally, I've prepared something for you, it contains some of my suggestions, you can refer to them, they should be useful."

What Ethan prepared for him was actually various money laundering techniques using banks, things he stumbled upon while harvesting various online information in his previous life.

Among them were techniques like using travelers' checks for cross-border exchanges, as well as fragmented deposits using a large number of couriers for depositing and withdrawing cash.

He hadn't spent all his time socializing and painting these days. Since knowing about the new tax law, he had been considering various avenues and had also researched the current statutes of the Kingdom, as well as underground money laundering methods.

He found that currently, the Kingdom, whether it was in terms of money laundering or anti-money laundering, was still in a relatively early stage, mostly just offshore companies. The others were still under development. His methods should temporarily help the family avoid a disaster.

After settling the bank matter, the next focus was the offshore company.

Ethan had to send someone to the Old Continent.

Initially, his chosen person was Virel, but now with Vito lurking nearby, he was reluctant to lose such a formidable general.

Especially since, in recent days, Virel and Anya had both advanced together.

They had ascended from their original Black Butler true names to the second tier.

Whether it was due to the evolution of Ethan's 'True God's Name' or their long-term immersion in the blood and fire of black mud, coupled with the family's expansion bonus, they had become absolutely different.

Now their true names were—Crimson Attendant.

If previously, as first-tier true names, the contrast was not obvious, now that they had both ascended to Crimson Attendant, the comparison began to stand out.

This was because the true name granted by Ethan was indeed a higher substitute for the Destruction God's true name, where every level, its abilities were similar, yet just a bit stronger.

Ethan had already compared the abilities of Crimson Attendants with those of the second-tier leaders of Destruction God.

He just hadn't decided what to name this true name series, so he simply put it on hold for now.

The person who had his favor now was actually Palon.

Palon's performances in recent days had made Ethan take notice; he decided to let this hostage take on bigger tasks.

So he shifted his focus to Palon.

"Young Master, do you want me to go to the Old Continent?" For some reason, initially, only two people called him Young Master, but now, even Palon, this hostage, started to address him as Young Master.

From this sentence, Ethan knew, his choice was not wrong.

"Do you want to go?" Ethan leaned against the backrest.

"I... want to." Palon pondered for a moment and then nodded firmly.

Ethan could see some kind of fervent longing in his eyes.

This was someone who used to only hide under the bed trembling, begging for mercy, who seemed to be gradually transforming into a true man.

And sometimes, the meaning of black mud is like that; it makes people fall, makes people rot and stink, but if you have the courage to stand back up, you can reinvent yourself.

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