Other guards who rushed towards the vines to rescue the hostages ended up getting themselves caught in the trap, bound by the vines and hoisted up the tree.
The tiny thorns on the vines pricked them, causing numbness and pain all over their bodies, and the group groaned in agony.
Lin Qianqian glanced at the vine tree, signaling it not to drain their blood, as it was all money and they would have to pay a ransom if they wanted to leave.
The vine tree swayed, indicating that it understood.
The fat man was furious when he saw that his men had not only failed to save the person but had all been captured.
Thinking of something, he turned to Lin Qianqian and said, "Boss Lin, I'm from the Yunmi branch of the Alliance Tax Bureau. On behalf of the Food Alliance, I'm officially informing you that doing business in the Central Continent requires paying taxes."
Pay taxes?
Lin Qianqian had traveled through several worlds but had never encountered anything like this before.
While it's true that legitimate businesses should pay taxes, is it really appropriate to make her pay taxes?
She has no choice but to pay taxes to the system; she has no intention of paying taxes to anyone else.
"You say you're from the Yunmi City Tax Bureau, then show me your identification? Do you have any official documents or notices informing us that we need to pay taxes? According to which regulations are we required to pay how much tax?"
Someone comes along and demands she pay taxes. Does she look like someone who's easy to bully?
"I am Li Yuanjin. Many people here know I work for the tax bureau. As for how much tax I pay?"
Li Yuanjin's eyes darted around. "Taxation for foreign merchants starts at 30%."
After saying that, he laughed smugly and patted his big belly.
Lin Qianqian thought to herself: Why are all the big rebels the same?
Lin Qianqian didn't respond to him. Instead, she turned to the robot beside her and instructed, "Announce over the loudspeaker that this mall is temporarily closed. The reason given is that Li Yuanjin, a representative from the Yunmi City Tax Bureau, is coming to the mall to collect taxes, so the mall will be adjusting the prices of goods, doubling the price."
After hearing the instructions, the robot turned and went to the cashier to make an announcement.
Seeing the mall start playing a notice announcing temporary closure, he said to Fatty Li Yuanjin, "We didn't consider the taxes in your area before, so we set the prices too low. Luckily, we've only just started operating, so the losses aren't too great yet. We can adjust in time, don't you agree, Director Li Yuanjin?"
After hearing Lin Qianqian's words, Li Yuanjin broke out in a cold sweat. This woman is truly ruthless!
I just said I'd charge a 30% tax, and she's already going to double the price.
If the price really rises that much, he will definitely be torn apart by people.
Sure enough, the people queuing around him to enter the mall were already glaring at him angrily.
He knew that there were many powerful families and wealthy merchants in the mall, and many of them were more powerful than the Li family. They were all there for the cultivation techniques.
If he can't buy the cultivation technique because of this, they will definitely not let him off the hook.
Whether he can keep his position is another matter, but he might not even make it out of here today.
Lin Qianqian didn't care what he thought. Since they were on someone else's turf, "obeying the law" was the proper thing to do.
But after all, the goods in the mall belonged not only to her, but also to the Yan Kingdom, and she couldn't let her country suffer losses.
The cost is ultimately borne by the consumer; the portion paid in taxes can only be recouped through price adjustments.
Less than a minute after the broadcast ended, Lin Qianqian heard hurried footsteps approaching.
A short while later, an old man with short silver hair and a goatee rushed out of the mall in a menacing manner.
He darted up to the fat man like the wind and started slapping him repeatedly while cursing him.
"You little brat, what are you doing? The cultivation technique I was about to get is gone. You represent the Alliance Tax Bureau, who do you think you are? Collecting taxes? You dare to collect taxes? I'll take you down first."
The fat man saw stars from the relentless slaps, his teeth loosened, and he staggered back several steps.
He didn't hear what the other person was saying, nor did he see who hit him.
All he knew was that he had been beaten. His life had been smooth sailing; he had always been fawned over and flattered by others, and no one dared to oppose him, let alone beat him.
But today, he was beaten without even knowing why, and his mentality completely collapsed.
He was hit, hit, hit...
He had never been hit before, but now he was being slapped repeatedly.
Under the influence of emotions, it seemed as if all the blood in my body rushed to my head, my eyes turned red, and I became frantic.
Enraged, he moved, unleashing all his inner energy, his body swelling two or three times its normal size, curling into a ball, and hurtling at high speed toward the guy who dared to attack him!
This is a secret technique of the Li family. Although he is only at the fifth level, he can instantly reach the seventh level after activating this secret technique.
The old man opposite him didn't react in time and was thrown away by the force of the impact. He lay on the ground and slid for dozens of meters before stopping, then lay motionless, his life hanging in the balance.
The girl who came out a step behind saw the old man fall to the ground, screamed "Grandpa!" and rushed over to him while crying.
Apart from Lin Qianqian and Yun Ze, no one else realized what had happened.
The middle-aged woman hanging from the tree, because of her high position, quickly saw who the old man who had been knocked away was, and then screamed.
"Ah! It's the old man, it's the old man."
The others, who were also hanging from the tree, were stunned when they recognized who had been knocked away by their master. They even temporarily ignored the tingling and itchy feeling from the tree's blood-sucking vines.
The butler and servants who followed them out were all dumbfounded, stunned and forgetting what they were supposed to do.
After realizing what was happening, Li Chengyin on the stretcher also widened his eyes and momentarily forgot to move.
Only the young girl threw herself on the old man, repeatedly calling out "Grandpa, Grandpa," her cries filled with anguish.
At this point, Li Yuanjin calmed down after hitting the person, and his body gradually returned to normal.
Seeing the scene before them, especially the old man lying on the ground, whose life was uncertain, they were terrified.
He stammered, "Father...Father..."
Fortunately, the old man's steward was reliable. After regaining his senses, he immediately directed the servants to go and help his master.
Second Master beat Master, and such a big thing happened. I am just a servant and cannot bear this responsibility. I must go back immediately to find Master Li Yuanhai to take charge of the whole situation.
The butler directed the servants to lift up his own master, completely ignoring Li Yuanjin and the others, and quickly carried him away.
Lin Qianqian and Yun Ze, who had just walked out of the mall, looked at each other in surprise, not expecting things to turn out this way.
However, who cares about them? It has little to do with her.
At this moment, another group of people rushed out of the mall, asking all at once what had happened.
"What's going on? Why are we temporarily closed?"
"What exactly happened?"
Immediately, onlookers stepped forward to answer.
This group of people were just selecting martial arts techniques on the thirteenth floor when they suddenly heard an announcement that the store was temporarily closed.
He was extremely anxious as the martial arts technique he had almost mastered was about to disappear.
After figuring out what had happened, some impatient individuals immediately rushed up to Li Yuanjin, pointed their fingers at him, and started cursing.
"You fat bastard surnamed Li, who do you think you are? You're just a newly promoted deputy director, yet you dare to collect taxes on behalf of the alliance at will. Do you have that kind of power? Or are you trying to seize your father's position as director? Does he even know about it?"
"How could he not know? He probably knew before he acted, so he could kill me and take over."
"That's right, that's right. Director Li is really unlucky to have such a rebellious son."
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