Ch.8989. Tax Office (3)

# NTS!

In truth, the National Tax Service was a love-hate entity for those living in South Korea.

For ordinary citizens or those with low incomes, most would understand it as an organization that forces annoying year-end tax settlements or recognize them as people who take away their hard-earned money as taxes.

However, from the country’s perspective, the NTS was truly an important institution because it performed the crucial role of procuring the nation’s financial resources.

The taxes collected here become the country’s finances and the driving force that allows the country to operate.

That’s why the Balhut Cult also had its own Balhut NTS under the economic official Lee Hyeon-a to operate the cult.

“…It’s terrifying.”

“Yeah. It’s terrifying.”

Of course, everyone knew its importance, but the problem was their tax collection method.

The Balhut Cult’s NTS naturally had service functions to guide and help cult members fulfill their tax obligations properly, in line with the organization’s ideology.

They would check cult members’ income information or company ledgers, calculate taxes accurately, and send them to each cult member, or even provide services to collect taxes directly.

Yes, the Balhut NTS would visit in person to collect taxes.

Considering the current apocalyptic situation, one might think there wouldn’t be any problems up to this point.

“Did they catch another one recently?”

“Most high-value tax evaders are Awakened.”

Before the apocalypse, people thought of taxes as a natural duty of citizens living in this land, but unfortunately, it was now the apocalypse.

The problem was that anyone with the courage to fight zombies could become an Awakened with magical powers or superhuman strength.

In other words, those being taxed were likely not powerless citizens who couldn’t protect themselves, but Awakened individuals armed with powerful weapons throughout their bodies. In reality, there were more freelance Awakened not affiliated with the cult than one might think.

“Well, I understand. Actually, excluding the apocalypse and zombie apocalypse. It’s that thing, you know?”

“Hunter stories, right?”

“Ah, that. In hunter stories, the government is usually either a punching bag or not mentioned at all, right? Honestly, when you gain power, the government does look like a pushover, doesn’t it?”

Considering that Kim Tae-hyun, who ran a transportation business, was also a kind of freelance Awakened not affiliated with the cult, it was a common sight to see Awakened who didn’t belong to the military or cult, but instead gathered among themselves to form companies or guilds and did their own thing… And among these, how many conscientious Awakened would willingly comply with tax payments?

“You paid properly, right?”

“O-Of course! I even hired a tax accountant in advance to make sure NTS employees would never come to our company, paying everything properly!”

If someone’s money-making method was closely related to the Balhut Cult like Kim Tae-hyun’s, they would pay taxes more diligently than anyone else and try not to get caught by the cult.

Knowing the power the Balhut Cult currently wielded better than anyone, they would fear the cult’s power even more and pray desperately that the cult’s NTS wouldn’t come to their company.

However, not all Awakened living in Gyeongju would have the same conscientious mindset as Kim Tae-hyun.

If one thought that Awakened individuals—self-proclaimed chosen ones who had gained powerful abilities—would pay taxes with a diligent attitude to tax collectors who came to collect taxes, they would be sorely mistaken.

“Why should I pay taxes? I really don’t understand. Has the cult done anything for us?”

“Our guild! Our company is this big because we’re great! Right?”

“That’s right! They should be giving us tax exemptions instead, but they’re demanding high taxes…!”

What exactly had the Balhut Cult done for them that they should diligently pay taxes from the money they had worked hard to earn?

Of course, the cult had informed everyone before starting the monetary economy that they would charge for city services or infrastructure usage fees for basic living needs like water and electricity, and had warned about diligently reporting income taxes before the monetary economy began.

But as human greed goes, people only see their own achievements and none of others’, as if the wealth they had accumulated through their own efforts was being arbitrarily collected by the Balhut Cult under the name of taxes—a sight that freelance Awakened or the guilds they formed wanted to prevent by any means.

In this case, one might fear or suspect that the dragon god Bahamut would intervene in their actions.

“There’s no way the dragon god would intervene for something this trivial.”

From the perspective of freelance Awakened, they were certain that a mere petty criminal like themselves wouldn’t warrant the great dragon god’s intervention.

Considering all known actions so far, Bahamut’s direct intervention had only been in fights against zombies, not in conflicts between people… especially not in such trivial matters.

The great dragon god wouldn’t personally step in for such small-scale tax evasion to discipline freelance Awakened. So freelance Awakened only needed to deal with the weak NTS employees who came to collect taxes, not the dragon god.

Yes, weak tax collectors could be driven away with just one shout from a powerful Awakened.

“How does the tax collected from us help anyone anyway?”

“Come on! Try to cut open my stomach if you can! I bet you can’t!”

Self-proclaimed small business owners or low-income earners claimed that their taxes wouldn’t help the cult much anyway, and they lay down challenging the NTS employees who came to collect taxes to try and cut open their stomachs.

“I really don’t understand. I earned this with my own power. By what right does the Balhut Cult collect and take it away?”

From the perspective of freelance Awakened, it truly was wealth obtained by risking their lives.

Freelance Awakened not affiliated with the cult had all risked their lives exploring ruined cities to obtain precious metals sleeping there and gain enormous wealth.

All the supplies and goods in their homes were obtained through their strength.

“Thanks to these precious metals, the monetary economy has been going well! Right!”

They had released these into the private sector and the cult, generating massive income for the private sector as well. So what had the cult done for them to collect taxes like this?

The fact that they were demanding high taxes as Awakened was really displeasing.

“Wow. You really have no shame. After greedily devouring all the benefits provided by the cult.”

Of course, the cult had its own defense.

Strictly speaking, the cult had provided city infrastructure to citizens as a state, such as safe places like Gyeongju or Pohang, energy supply necessary for urban life, and currency issuance for economic activities. So claiming that the cult had done nothing for the Awakened was merely an argument extremely favorable to the freelance Awakened being taxed.

“The weapons, bullets, and protective gear you pigs use were all made with cult technology and handed over to you, weren’t they?”

The supplies they used to explore ruined villages or cities were ultimately made with cult technology, rented or sold items.

Especially since even Bahamut Bullets could be purchased if proper procedures were followed to obtain usage permits, the claim that the cult had done nothing for freelance Awakened lost its strength.

“Despite properly enjoying the cult’s preferential treatment policy for the Awakened. Now that you’ve used it, you’re saying you want to spit it out?”

Above all, the cult had currently adopted a pro-Awakened policy as its main policy.

So those benefits properly went to both cult Awakened and freelance Awakened, making them both the biggest beneficiaries of the cult’s current policy and allowing them to gain enormous wealth and money because of it.

While ordinary people who hadn’t yet received awakening classes and couldn’t properly awaken were living day by day through self-employment or service industries, Awakened were receiving good treatment and enormous wealth just from precious metals and supplies obtained through exploration.

The reason for collecting high taxes from the Awakened was all based on evidence and proof.

“We’re just saying that since you’ve received so much, you should give back to others accordingly.”

And the cult was merely saying that according to the benefits they had guaranteed, they should show diligent tax payment and the duties of the Awakened accordingly.

“No! No! No! Why should I give the money I worked hard to earn to the government for free! It’s unfair! Ah, it’s so unfair!”

“The cult should treat Awakened better in everything! Treat us better in everything!”

“Awaken!”

But everyone hated paying taxes that went out to the state.

Especially since Awakened were classified as high-income earners and charged high taxes, the Awakened who were asked to pay strongly opposed the cult’s untimely outrage(?).

“Hello. Today we’ve come to help you with your tax collection…”

“Get lost!”

They would drive away the smiling tax collectors with force or…

“Do you want to die! Don’t you know how dangerous it is outside! Huh!”

“Go! Paying taxes has always meant death…!”

“The fact is that the tax resistance group stands firm!”

They would physically threaten the tax collectors who came with weapons purchased from the cult.

Yes, Awakened had physical power anyway, and there was still North Gyeongju, which was a lawless zone where law and order had not yet been restored.

If necessary, just escape to the world behind North Gyeongju! With this get-rich-quick mindset, some freelance Awakened even showed movements to refuse the tax collection demanded by the cult at the company or guild level, but…

“Are you crazy?”

Kim Tae-hyun, who had paid enormous high taxes after being classified as a high-income earner for running a business, criticized their behavior as crazy.

Kim Tae-hyun knew.

“The scariest organization in this Balhut Cult is not the military, but the NTS under the Balhut Cult’s Treasury Department.”

That the NTS led by Lee Hyeon-a was the scariest organization in the Balhut Cult!

“If we investigate and dig into this, everything will come out. Hmm. Awakened, will you pay voluntarily? Or will you be made to pay voluntarily?”

“What? What kind of wordplay is that?”

“3, 2, 1, 0. Subdue them.”

The South Korean NTS also had enormous power for smooth tax collection and could issue enforcement orders accordingly. When the NTS appeared, all companies knelt and bowed their heads.

And now it’s the apocalypse.

Since most high-income earners had been given the power and force of being Awakened, the NTS also had to become stronger accordingly.

Yes…

“Crazy.”

“From now on, we will proceed with forced collection. Awakened, I am arresting you on charges of tax evasion along with forced collection as of this moment. You have the right to an attorney, the opportunity to explain, the right to refuse unfavorable testimony, and the right to request a review of arrest legality from the court, but you know all this is just for show, right? Tax evader?”

The NTS agents had transformed into a powerful armed group with just their presence, equipped with the latest magical weapons developed by the Balhut Research Institute—which even the elite units of military official Jeong Dong-geon had not yet properly received—along with powerful riot shields that could break a person’s neck if they hit their face, and protective gear made to prepare for any Bahamut Bullets the opponent might fire.

Yes, if words didn’t work, they would resolve it with violence.

“Are you crazy!? An army came to collect taxes!?”

“We are NTS agents.”

“Stop lying!”

Frankly, the Balhut Cult could neither forgive nor tolerate the act of evading taxes important for state operation.

If there were tax evaders, they needed to show overwhelming sincerity and respect to make those tax evaders pay their taxes voluntarily.

Even if that involved physical elements… or rather, they knew that only by showing overwhelming force could they receive respect.

Yes, violence was a miraculous equation that could evoke respect where there was none!

“What are you doing? Aren’t you opening the door? If you want to preserve your door, you’d better open it quickly.”

“Ah. Please come in.”

Even Awakened with anger management issues became gentle lambs in the face of overwhelmingly ridiculous violence.

They had collectively rebelled and refused to pay taxes as companies or guilds, but what was the use?

The NTS agents before their eyes were pointing guns at the Awakened with the will to shoot the moment they resisted, and were leading with riot shields showing a strong will to collect physically.

“Then, what we just heard is… Awakened?”

“I didn’t say or hear anything.”

“Will you behave properly?”

“Yes! From now on, I will diligently pay taxes with all my effort! Long live the Balhut Cult! Long live! Long live!”

Do you understand? The strongest organization in the Balhut Cult is not the one led by Jeong Dong-geon.

It was the Balhut NTS, which had the dignity to track you to the ends of the earth and collect taxes to the end, wherever you might be.

“The way to gain respect from people is very simple. You have to show overwhelming violence that no one can ignore.”

Yes, with the exchange with America coming up, Lee Hyeon-a had changed only the tax collection method of the NTS to the American style.

From now on, all NTS agents were equipped with the latest Awakened-exclusive equipment and deployed as agents comparable to the military’s elite forces.