Chapter Thirty-Five: Collecting Taxes!

Seeing Xue Peng swagger off arrogantly.

"Stop right there!" Yang Ye said coldly. "Did you already forget what I told you back in the cell?"

Xue Peng narrowed his eyes and turned around. "Ye, you'd best take your people and leave while I'm in a good mood. Otherwise, I’ll blast you to bits right here!"

"Oh?" Yang Ye smiled. "Then go ahead and try. Otherwise, you won’t be leaving today."

"Warden, shouldn’t we do something?" On the high walls at the entrance of Xiajing Prison, Sun Hao frowned as he watched the scene unfold, turning to Zhu Xiong, who was chewing soybeans nearby.

Zhu Xiong shook his head. "My jurisdiction ends at the prison gates. Whatever happens outside is none of my concern. Ye took them out; the consequences are his to bear."

Naturally, Xue Peng knew Zhu Xiong wouldn’t meddle in matters beyond the prison. So, the moment he was outside, he wasted no time revealing his true strength, eager to escape Yang Ye’s control.

"Boy, are you looking for death?" Xue Peng sneered, striding towards Yang Ye. As he walked, the star power within him grew ever more intense.

Most of the newly released prisoners looked at Xue Peng expectantly. If he could get rid of this inspector and the girl at his side, they would finally be truly free.

In fact, quite a few of them had already been planning to escape the moment they were let out.

Yang Ye handed a folder to Long Xiaoqing and loosened a few buttons on his collar.

Xue Peng’s sudden outburst was exactly what Yang Ye had hoped for. He knew that among these fifty-two inmates, many were plotting to run.

Now, with Xue Peng as an example, he’d kill the chicken to warn the monkeys—the rest wouldn’t dare entertain such thoughts again.

On the wall, Zhu Xiong watched with a smile, genuinely interested. Ever since Inspector Ye had arrived, he’d never seen him make a move. It was easy to assume that everything was handled by the little woman at his side. Ye’s true strength was a mystery, and he was eager to see it.

Suddenly, Xue Peng’s figure flickered. In an instant, he appeared before Yang Ye and struck at his chest with his palm.

A muffled thud resounded.

Star power burst out, but Yang Ye stood unmoved, while Xue Peng was forced back several steps.

Impossible!

A wave of shock swept through Xue Peng.

He had unleashed his full palm strike, yet Yang Ye’s protective star force had blocked it!

Before Xue Peng could steady himself, Yang Ye made his move.

In a flash, he was upon Xue Peng, and his palm slammed into Xue Peng’s chest.

A deafening explosion followed.

Blood and flesh erupted from Xue Peng’s back—Yang Ye’s palm had blasted right through him.

But Yang Ye didn’t stop there. His hands struck repeatedly—chest, abdomen, shoulders—blow after blow.

A series of dull explosions echoed, then Yang Ye stopped.

Xue Peng was dead beyond all doubt—his upper body shattered, barely human.

On the wall, Zhu Xiong forgot to chew his soybeans.

What truly shocked him was that Inspector Ye possessed a body even tougher than his own. When Xue Peng struck Yang Ye’s chest, Zhu Xiong had sensed the terrifying speed at which Yang Ye’s star force circulated within him. That was how Yang Ye had neutralized Xue Peng’s attack.

This wasn’t something an ordinary person could do. Such a monstrous speed of star force circulation would shatter the meridians of even someone like him.

The fifty-one newly released inmates stared at Yang Ye in utter disbelief.

A star-level expert, killed just like that by Inspector Ye.

Who was killing whom, after all?

Moments earlier, with Xue Peng strutting about, they’d thought the inspector would be the one to die. The outcome, however, was the opposite.

Any thoughts of escape were immediately discarded. They knew that defying Ye would lead to the same fate as Xue Peng.

Yang Ye and Long Xiaoqing got into the car. The engine roared to life, and they sped toward the city.

The fifty-one inmates exchanged glances, then turned together to follow after the car.

Over half an hour later, Long Xiaoqing parked in front of the Administration Bureau’s main building.

The two led the fifty-one freshly released inmates quickly inside.

"Inspector Ye, you’re incredible! To get so many prisoners from Zhu Xiong’s grasp—amazing!" As soon as they entered, Wang Xiang, with his long hair flowing, appeared before Yang Ye, grinning.

Yang Ye replied coolly, "Let me correct you—they’re not prisoners anymore. They’re now members of the Star Martial Administration Bureau."

"Of course, my mistake!" Wang Xiang said, looking chagrined. Then he turned and called out, "Someone! Prepare uniforms for our new colleagues!"

An hour later, the fifty-one, their hair trimmed, faces clean-shaven and freshly bathed, appeared in the conference room in crisp red uniforms, spirits high.

They were divided into three teams.

The first team, led by Zhou Hun—whom Yang Ye had already appointed in the prison—consisted of twenty members, including Zhou Hun himself.

The second team had eighteen members, led by Yu Shan.

The third team was all women, thirteen in total, led by… Long Xiaoqing.

When the teams were being assigned, Long Xiaoqing had volunteered, and Yang Ye had not objected.

Standing on the stage, Yang Ye surveyed his new subordinates with deep satisfaction.

Every one of them was a late-stage planetary-level expert—a formidable force anywhere.

If not for their criminal records, these people could have joined the great families and clans, earning annual salaries of several billion martial coins.

Under Yang Ye, they might not have as much freedom, but he was determined to see they were well compensated.

Yang Ye understood that brute force alone could only maintain order for a time. Only by offering enough benefits would these people truly serve him willingly.

"You are no longer prisoners," Yang Ye declared, "but the subordinates of me, Ye Tianzu, of the Star Martial Administration Bureau. If I tell you to go east, you will not go west. If I order you to charge forward, and anyone dares retreat, I’ll have your head!

"Of course, I won’t send you to your deaths without reason. You’ll have the proper treatment you deserve—luxury villas, salaries of several million martial coins a year. If you want a beautiful woman to warm your bed at night, or a handsome man, your private lives after work are none of my concern."

With that, Yang Ye gestured.

A beautiful staff member carried over a thick stack of case files and set them on the podium before Yang Ye.

He placed his hand atop the files and smiled. "Your beautiful lives start here. These are the taxes owed by the great families and well-connected tycoons over the years. If you don’t want to sleep in the bureau’s communal dormitory tonight, you’ll come with me to collect taxes!"

"At your command, Inspector!" the fifty-one replied in unison.

"Let’s move out!" Yang Ye waved his hand.