mtl008 Chapter 4413 Project Farstar (31)
Chapter 4413 Project Farstar (31)
Chapter 4413 Project Far Star (Thirty-One)
This winter is exceptionally cold; three days before Christmas, it snowed in Washington. In the background of the new president's first televised address, snowflakes drifted outside the White House. Clark Kent, wearing a Christmas sweater, sat before the camera, responding to the Western world's expectations with a very relaxed demeanor.
"I'm so glad to see you all today. Have you bought the food for your Christmas dinner? Has the Christmas tree been moved in? I know you're all sitting so nervously in front of the TV, not to hear these mundane greetings. But I still want to say that nothing is more important than the day you're living right now. All the efforts I and everyone else have made are just to help you think about these more ordinary and mundane everyday things."
The last time you saw me, I was just a superhero with superpowers, and today I'm president. Many of you must be finding it hard to adjust. You might worry that I'll become like most presidents, or even worse, because you didn't vote for me, and I didn't make any promises to you. This seems undemocratic. You might worry that I won't care about your community, that I'll ignore and abandon some people.
You may already know that I am not human, and for that reason, I do not belong to any particular human group. As an extraterrestrial, I see you as a unified whole, and none of your groups is more noble or inferior to me than others. My treatment of you depends on what humankind and human civilization need most.
As many of you are already aware, we now face the problem of Martian infiltration. To resolve the activation tower issue, we need to develop industry, delve into technology, and strive for progress. I have no other goals. And to achieve all this, you need to remain healthy, stable, and educated.
Most people sitting in front of the television don't currently meet this standard. But that's not your fault; it's society's fault. My goal going forward is to correct these errors and enable the vast majority of people to reach a level where they can contribute to the advancement of society.
When discussing societal ills, it's not the fault of one or two individuals, but rather a consequence of the inertia of social evolution. However, if we want to cure them, we inevitably have to address the problems that have gone wrong. As an extraterrestrial who has stayed on Earth to spend Christmas with you, I must value the better aspects of humanity and believe that humankind is full of hope, which is why I chose to stay. Therefore, I believe you will be willing to proactively make changes to eradicate societal ills.
Christmas is just around the corner, a time for family and friends to gather. Even this heavy snowfall cannot hinder the connection between people. As you exchange gifts with your loved ones in a warm, burning fireplace, please also think about the future of humanity. Before the birthday of Jesus Christ, He had ample time to listen to anyone's confession. To avoid disappointing humanity once again, let us silently pray once more and greet the new year with renewed hope.
With a click, the television was switched off. Schiller smiled, clinked glasses with the woman in front of him, and said, "A wonderful speech, wasn't it?"
“It’s somewhat…unconventional,” the woman in the dress said after a moment’s thought. “Other presidents wouldn’t deliver such a long New Year’s address. Perhaps our new president isn’t quite used to it yet.”
“Let’s not talk about him anymore,” Schiller continued. “Have you settled your sister’s estate?”
"Ah, of course. I must say, your reminder came at just the right time. I really didn't expect that she would set her sights on her father's will so soon after finding a reliable husband. Fortunately, her husband, who's in the smuggling business, has made quite a few enemies..."
Would you accept her child?
“No, no, no, I won’t raise her child. Aunt Caroline might be willing, but if she doesn’t want him either, he’ll probably have to go to an orphanage.” The woman shrugged lightly. “But she deserved it. She thought she had married into a wealthy family, but she ended up meeting her death. You’ve seen her body, haven’t you?”
"Yes, unfortunately. A heavy blow to the back of the head, and the assailant got away too quickly, probably a Martian. Oh, right, our president was there at the time."
"Isn't he a Martian too? How come he couldn't stop it?"
Schiller laughed again and said, "Because we are the partners, aren't we?"
The woman smiled knowingly, took a sip of her drink, but then seemed to hear something. She turned to a man standing in the doorway and said, "Anbisi, what's all the noise downstairs?"
"Uh, the tax bureau people are here."
The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Let the lawyer handle them, don't give me any trouble."
"Is everything alright?" Schiller asked.
"Don't worry, I'm using Hong Kong accounts, they can't find out. After all, my family came here during World War II, the new tax law won't affect us."
Schiller nodded and continued talking to her about her sister. But after a few minutes, the noise downstairs didn't subside; instead, a series of crashing sounds and screams came from downstairs.
"What the hell?" The woman frowned, nodded to Schiller, and got up to walk downstairs.
She had just descended two steps when she raised her hands and retreated, a golden trident gleaming with a cold light pressed against her forehead.
"Mrs. Forpass, Arthur Curry of the Justice League Tax Task Force. Please cooperate with our investigation, thank you."
The woman was deathly pale and trembling. She turned to look at Schiller, who also had his hands raised, and said to Arthur, "Mr. Curry, I think you two can have a proper talk, but don't go too far..."
“I have nothing to say to people who use illegal means to evade taxes. Madam, you have two choices: either pay the taxes immediately or come with us.”
"I didn't evade taxes!" the woman screamed. "The tax bureau has already investigated, and my money flow is normal! You have no evidence!"
“We don’t need evidence,” Arthur said, shaking his head. “We just want 95% of your assets. Go liquidate them now, or sign the will and we’ll talk to the heirs.”
"you……"
“Madam! Madam!” Schiller called out quickly. He walked over to the woman and whispered, “The Justice League are all superhumans. If they kill you and destroy the evidence, the police won’t find any evidence. Once you’re dead, they can change your will at will.”
"This is outrageous!" the woman screamed in despair. "Why is no one here to protect us?!"
“I’m sorry, but I’ve already stepped down as head of the Sky Eye Association,” Schiller sighed. “The best course of action now is to keep them on their toes.”
Then he turned to Arthur and said, "Mr. Curry, 95% of the assets is outrageous. Can we talk?"
"This is a requirement of the new tax law. Part of it is back taxes, part is late payment fees, part is the cost of asset liquidation, and part is the labor cost of the Justice League to recover taxes. Even if you bring in the best actuaries, it will still be 95%."
"No, no, no, what I mean is, could we perhaps reconsider the scope of the assets? This lady has many charitable foundations, as well as overseas assets and trusts..."
“I don’t have any overseas assets anymore.” Arthur pointed his golden trident at the woman’s head, climbed the stairs step by step, and then winked at the tax officials behind him. The officials immediately produced a document.
Schiller carefully reached out and took it, glanced at it, and then gasped in surprise. He walked over to the woman and whispered, "It's data from a bank in Asia."
"Damn it! How could they possibly..."
"It's hard to say, ma'am. After all, they had technical cooperation before in order to remove the nails, and the tax bureau can negotiate with them."
"...Only Asian?"
"And Switzerland and Belgium."
The woman's face darkened further. She gritted her teeth and said, "The property in Switzerland belongs to my husband; we can't give it to them."
Schiller then looked at Arthur and said, "I don't think we need to stir up marital discord and destroy other people's families at this time. Perhaps we could consider our Swiss overseas assets..."
“All cash must be handed over,” Arthur said. “And I won’t give you time to transfer it; it must be transferred to my department’s account immediately. That way, I can overlook the physical assets in Europe.”
Schiller breathed a sigh of relief and said to the woman, "This is the only way. If you don't give it to them, and they reach an agreement with the European government to seize the property directly, it will be even more troublesome."
“But that’s almost all of my assets! I have over ten billion dollars in my trading accounts alone…”
Before she could finish speaking, the golden trident pointed forward, and a biting wind grazed the woman's forehead. She could only stammer, "No, please don't do this, I'll give you transaction verification right now..."
The woman signed all the documents with trembling hands. Arthur glanced at Schiller and said, "Come with me, we need to talk about the president."
Schiller gave the woman a somewhat apologetic look, then followed Arthur away. Once outside the villa, Schiller curled his lip in disdain, then said, "I thought she was a big fish, but it turns out the bulk of her assets are with her husband. I miscalculated."
"The cash used for the transactions alone amounts to tens of billions of dollars. Isn't that huge enough?" Arthur said, somewhat shocked.
Schiller shook his head and said, "He just received the inheritance from his sister and her sister's new husband. I thought these things would stay with him, but they were transferred anyway."
"She's been moved to her husband's place? Should we go find him?"
"Her husband is one of the industrial giants who monopolizes the shipbuilding industry in the United States, and his family has a strong foundation dating back to World War II. I should send someone to investigate first..."
Before he could finish speaking, Schiller's phone rang. He answered it and said, "Mr. Forpas? Yes, it is. You want to contact the president? Is there something you need?"
"Ah, I just heard. I feel sorry about what happened to your wife. Do you want the president to intervene on your behalf? What? Voluntarily surrendering it?!...I see. Okay, I will report this to the president truthfully. He will be very happy that you support his new policy so much. Okay, goodbye."
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked. "Is her husband thinking of complaining to the president?"
"On the contrary, her husband voluntarily handed over almost all the cash in his financial accounts and also transferred the shares of hundreds of factories in the industrial chain to the state account."
"Why?!" Arthur asked in surprise. "That would probably cost hundreds of billions of dollars, wouldn't it? Is he really that willing to spend it?"
“It’s not about being willing to spend, it’s about being clever,” Schiller said. “This kind of fishing method only works on some young nouveau riche, it won’t work on these old foxes. They know very well that their entire fortune and lives are now tied to the president. As money to buy their lives, this is not enough.”
Schiller took out his phone and sent a message while saying, "Have Victor investigate more carefully and come up with a detailed report on overseas assets. Then we need to negotiate with them and at least acquire shares in the major shipyards."