Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 108 - 107: Meeting Boss Ying Qingli, a Coincidental Case?

Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Meeting Boss Ying Qingli, a Coincidental Case?

The morning hours passed by quickly.

It was now lunchtime, ready for a meal.

Inside the Criminal Division’s office.

"Wow, Zhang Wei, you can actually cook?"

"Captain, the mentor’s culinary skills are really awesome~"

"Enough talk, you two, eat up quickly. After a break for lunch, we’ve got to head to the crime scene!"

Tie Ruyun couldn’t help but marvel, thinking that aside from Zhang Wei being a bit too casual with him, speaking too directly, and being somewhat disrespectful, the young man had many good points.

He hadn’t expected that this youngster, who didn’t look very old, could have such impressive cooking skills, almost on par with a mother who had been cooking for decades.

Lin Yumeng and Tie Ruyun ate quickly, mainly because it was a chance to have a free meal.

After a satisfying meal and quickly tidying up, although Lin Yumeng was eager to depart immediately, Zhang Wei insisted she take a proper rest first.

"Taking a nap at noon means you won’t feel sleepy in the afternoon, and it will improve work efficiency. Even sleeping for just 15 minutes would be good!"

This was the first piece of work advice that Zhang Wei, as a mentor, gave to his young apprentice.

He could naturally tell that Lin Yumeng was excited, but the consequences of not resting after a full meal would make themselves felt later, possibly leaving her drowsy all afternoon.

Zhang Wei and Tie Ruyun also took a brief rest, and it was only 30 minutes later that they prepared to head out.

Since Tie Ruyun had driven there, naturally, he would be the one to take them to the scene.

The scene of the armed robbery was located in an underground parking garage at the boundaries of the Second Ring City District and near Chengnan District.

Since it was within the Second Ring, the case wasn’t handed over to the Procuratorate’s Office in Chengnan District but was directly handled by the Procuratorate Headquarters.

The traffic congestion on weekends, especially after lunch, was even worse.

What should have been a 30-minute journey took them twice as long, and they finally reached the parking garage.

Upon exiting the vehicle, Zhang Wei scanned the surroundings.

"This looks like an old shopping mall!"

Dongfang Capital was very large, and its development accelerated in recent years, with more than a dozen subway lines constructed.

And because of this, many large shopping malls in Dongfang Capital saw huge shifts in popularity depending on their proximity to subway stations.

Take this place, for example—it should have been a big shopping mall within the Second Ring, but because it wasn’t close to the subway, it wasn’t as popular as it used to be.

Parts of the concrete walls of this mall had started to peel off, posters on the wall were ruined by rain and left unreplaced, and even the barriers at the entrance of the parking garage had been knocked out of order.

"This is going to be tricky!"

Zhang Wei spoke and took the lead into the underground garage.

Inside the parking garage, the lighting wasn’t an issue, indeed, as Xiao Baihe had mentioned, the lighting was sufficient, which also surprised Zhang Wei.

You wonder how a dilapidated mall like this one could have new lighting fixtures in the underground parking garage.

"I remember there were quite a few thefts and robberies here before. These lights must have been installed by the city’s construction department, right?"

Tie Ruyun offered an explanation.

The mall itself would not care about these lights, but due to security issues, the construction department had paid for them.

"What about the surveillance footage?" Zhang Wei pointed at the surrounding surveillance equipment.

"We’d have to go look at the security room for that!"

Tie Ruyun shook his head, unsure whether the construction department had also paid for the surveillance equipment.

When visiting the mall’s security room, Zhang Wei and the others encountered a security guard in his 60s.

"You are here for the investigation, wanting to access the surveillance, that’s going to be difficult..."

The old security guard looked embarrassed as he pointed to the monitors inside the security room: "As you can see, the surveillance screens are mostly messed up, and those in the underground parking are just for display."

Zhang Wei glanced over and saw that it was indeed the case. Some of the mall’s internal surveillance was dysfunctional, and all the monitors for the basement were dark.

"Does that mean we can only rely on that witness’s testimony?"

Disappointed, Zhang Wei and his team returned to the underground parking garage.

"Based on the victim’s testimony, he was in this spot at the time, right..."

Zhang Wei stood in a parking space in the middle of the garage, with many cars parked around. He looked around, but for the moment, he didn’t see any breakthrough.

With no functional surveillance in the parking garage, the investigation unit had to rely on the witness’s testimony.

And since he had identified Ying Qingli as the suspect, the latter naturally became the prime suspect.

"What distinguishing features does Ying Qingli have? Does he look menacing with tattoos covering him?"

Ying Qingli’s characteristics were indeed very noticeable.

Had Zhang Wei not seen him with his own eyes and asked him many questions in the meeting room, he himself would have doubted whether Ying Qingli was the real culprit.

"Let me simulate it again. The victim was here at the time, and after the robber snatched his wallet, he rushed straight out, dashing out of the underground parking garage..."

Zhang Wei followed the path the robber would have taken to escape from the parking garage, heading outside.

"According to the arrest records publicized by the Martial Association, they found Ying Qingli to the north, which is only a 10-minute walk from the mall; the suspect would have had plenty of time to run there!"

Zhang Wei looked to the north, deep in thought.

"An armed robber, if it were a spur-of-the-moment robbery, would carefully hide and count the loot after the theft, instead of running, which would make him a bigger target and more likely to expose himself!"

"And the victims would surely report the crime immediately. Martial Association Field Staff can respond very quickly; they should be able to reach the scene within 10 minutes. If they started a carpet-style search, shouldn’t they have been able to catch someone?"

As Zhang Wei thought this, he immediately turned back and asked, "According to the public record, did the field staff find the victim’s wallet on Ying Qingli?"

"It seems, they didn’t, right?"

Lin Yumeng wasn’t sure and took out the document to check again before confirming, "Yes, I’ve looked, and there really wasn’t one."

"There wasn’t?"

Zhang Wei thought it over. Although this was a good point of contention, Xiao Baihe would surely counter it by arguing that Ying Qingli could have discarded the wallet along the way.

Even if they had found the wallet, it wouldn’t serve as decisive evidence.

"If Ying Qingli wasn’t the robber, then it seems the real culprit wasn’t someone who robbed on a whim either, otherwise the Martial Association would definitely have caught the person!"

This was the conclusion Zhang Wei arrived at after his analysis.

"No, that’s not right; my goal isn’t to catch the real criminal—that’s the investigative department’s job. My goal is to help Ying Qingli shake off the armed robbery accusation!"

He suddenly slapped his forehead, almost forgetting the "real business."

He was a defense lawyer, not a detective from the investigative department.

"Let’s go. There are no clues here; let’s check the route Ying Qingli took to see if we can find any eyewitnesses to prove he came out of the rented house. We just need one witness to provide an alibi!"

After clarifying his objective, the three set off again.

For a not guilty defense, an alibi was sufficient. Finding the real culprit was a task for the investigative department.

hours later.

Near the house rented by Ying Qingli.

hours earlier, Zhang Wei and his group decided to split up and ask the stores along the street; now, they were regrouping.

"So tiring. I made a whole round, and nobody saw your client!"

"Master, all the shops on the road said they were closed at night. Even the supermarkets that were open haven’t seen this man; I didn’t find any clues."

"Me neither. You’d think Ying Qingli would be conspicuous, right?"

Zhang Wei and company reported their findings, which amounted to virtually nothing.

"Someone must have seen it but doesn’t want to testify in court. Or maybe they truly didn’t see anything; after all, it’s night, and many shops are closed."

Zhang Wei analyzed for a moment but couldn’t find any useful leads.

"Let’s go to Ying Qingli’s company to see if we can find someone to be his character witness."

"If I’m not wrong, the prosecution will surely focus on attacking Ying Qingli’s criminal record. We need a witness who can prove that our client has turned over a new leaf!"

Seeing they couldn’t find an alibi, Zhang Wei had no choice but to look for another solution.

"You’re going to Ying Qingli’s workplace?"

Tie Ruyun suddenly spoke up. "Do you know the background of the company he works for? Are you really going there?"

"Right, Master, the client said before, his boss used to be..."

Lin Yumeng also looked somewhat afraid, her face filled with concern.

"What’s there to fear? We are public interest lawyers, representing the Dongfang Capital Lawyers Association, and we’re from Jincheng. A mere loan shark boss, would he dare to mess with us?"

"Besides, our intent is to help Ying Qingli. Isn’t he the boss’s driver? Could his boss really be that heartless?"

Zhang Wei naturally wasn’t afraid of Ying Qingli’s boss.

Seeing Zhang Wei’s insistence, Tie Ruyun had no choice but to comply.

However, he also knew Zhang Wei was right; a small-time loan shark boss likely wouldn’t have the guts to mess with someone from Jincheng... right?

Zhang Wei and his colleagues drove to Ying Qingli’s place of work.

...

At the same time.

In Chengnan District, along a certain street.

An old van was parked on the roadside, its black windows closed off, making it unclear how many people were inside.

"Tamu, sit still. There’s hardly any room here as it is, and we also have to keep space for the surveillance equipment. There’s just not enough space. With your size, the van will fall apart if you move!"

"But I need to use the bathroom?"

"Hold it in!"

Old Xing looked at Tamu, who had a pitiful expression, and immediately scolded him.

"Listen to me, when I was in the Major Crime Unit doing stakeouts, I stayed awake for three days and nights, and that was in August—inside the van, it was as hot as a sauna during the day..."

"Deputy team leader, couldn’t you have turned on the air conditioning?" the girl sitting in the passenger seat turned back and interjected.

This girl was none other than Xia Qianyue.

"Xia Xia, look at this old car, how could it have air conditioning?"

Old Xing pointed at the vehicle and said with a wry smile, "Back in the day, even though our Unit 7 was assigned a car, when we were on stakeout missions, we always used the leftover vehicles from the other units, and the air conditioning was always broken."

"It’s a good thing it’s only February now. If it were July or August, we’d probably be sweating buckets..."

"Quiet!"

Just as Old Xing was reminiscing, Wu Yong, who was in the driver’s seat, interrupted him.

He picked up the walkie-talkie, and Ah Ni’s voice came through from the other end.

"Captain, a black vehicle is approaching and slowing down; it’s probably looking for the target."

"Confirmed?"

"Confirmed, they have already stopped."

Upon hearing Ah Ni’s words, Wu Yong frowned deeply.

After several days of watching, someone had finally shown up.

"Quick, Ah Ni has spotted something through surveillance; we stand by!"

Wu Yong gave the order, and immediately the atmosphere inside the car tensed up, everyone’s gaze fixed ahead.

They saw a vehicle pull up to the curb, and then, three people got out.

"Hiss, that’s Zhang Wei!"

"Why did this guy show up? Does he still have contacts with illegal lending firms?"

"Didn’t Xia Xia say he joined Jincheng Law Firm? What sort of law firm is Jincheng to be dealing with gang activities?"

Seeing Zhang Wei appear, Wu Yong and the others lost their composure.

"Let’s just wait and see for now, and not let the people inside notice us!" Wu Yong quickly instructed, ordering the members of Unit 7 to stand by.

He was also curious in his heart as to why Zhang Wei was here.

Up ahead.

"Am I wrong, or do I feel like someone’s watching us?"

Zhang Wei just got out of the car and felt his skin crawl, as if several pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

"Weren’t you saying you’re not afraid?"

Tie Ruyun muttered, thinking that despite what Zhang Wei said, he was actually scared.

"I really am not scared!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Wei then cautioned Tie Ruyun, "But still, necessary precautions are required! Old Tie, you wait in the car, and we’ll keep a WeChat chat window open. If you hear any troubling sounds, help me get in touch with Captain Wu from the Major Case Squad!"

"You’re really going in?"

Tie Ruyun asked again to confirm, there was still time to back out.

"Of course, we are lawyers, and naturally, we have to serve our client!"

Zhang Wei, along with Lin Yumeng, walked straight towards Ying Qingli’s workplace.

This was an old street near the Second Ring in Chengnan District. Although the storefronts had been renovated, they still had an old-fashioned appearance.

Ying Qingli’s workplace was on the second floor of an old building, with no company signboard hanging above.

According to Ying Qingli, their boss’s financial dealings were all managed by subordinates "running operations" outside, so they didn’t need walk-in clients.

When Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng climbed to the second floor, they saw several tattooed youths gathered at the stairwell playing cards, their hair dyed in various colors, looking very arrogant.

"Stop right there!"

One of the card-playing men, apparently on watch, immediately stopped Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng when he saw them approaching.

"Wow, dressed so formally—are you selling insurance?"

"Or maybe pushing credit cards. They asked me to sign up yesterday; I even asked if they wanted my ’business’!"

"This chick isn’t bad, eh? Little sister, how old are you?"

The group of youths stopped playing cards and began making lewd comments as soon as they saw Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng.

"Sorry, you guessed wrong; we are lawyers!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei produced a business card from Tie Ruyun.

"Lawyers?"

The on-duty man took the business card and looked at it closely, "Jincheng Law Firm, Criminal Division?"

He wasn’t a lawyer, so he didn’t quite understand the importance of the name "Jincheng."

"We are Ying Qingli’s defense lawyers, here to gather some information about his case. We hope you will cooperate. By the way, is your boss here?"

"Are you the lawyer for the boss’s driver?" the on-duty man asked, his eyes flickering slightly on hearing this.

Zhang Wei also took note of his reaction.

"Wait a moment, I’ll go notify our boss!"

The man gave a sign to the young guys before heading into the back room.

The group of youngsters immediately surrounded Zhang Wei and another person.

"Gentlemen, how well do you know Driver Ying?"

Zhang Wei didn’t waste the opportunity and began to inquire immediately.

"He’s the boss’s driver, we’re not close!"

"Exactly, heard he used to be an underling of the boss, now he only drives for the boss!"

"Normally when we see him, we just call him Brother Li."

"Speaking of Brother Li’s case, you guys are helping out, right? Seeing how young you all are, you can’t all be students, can you? If so, Brother Li’s really out of luck, might end up sitting in jail for a few years."

Among them, a young man with yellow hair chuckled, his eyes, however, stayed fixed on Lin Yumeng.

They had no interest in Zhang Wei, but naturally, they were very interested in a cute girl.

"Cut the crap, everyone quiet down. What are you making a fuss about!"

The man standing guard quickly returned and scolded the youngsters.

"Come on, the boss is letting you in!"

Zhang Wei, with Lin Yumeng in tow, followed the man into the room.

There were two rooms, with the outer one filled with miscellaneous items and the inner one a large office.

On a rosewood desk, a man puffing on a cigar was clearly the boss.

However, Zhang Wei’s gaze fixated on a bald man sitting comfortably with his legs crossed at a nearby tea table.

Zhang Wei noted that this man’s tattoos resembled those of Ying Qingli; they must have been made by the same master.

Considering that both men followed the same boss, it wasn’t hard to understand; they might have started out together.

"Are you Ah Li’s lawyers?"

The cigar-smoking man glanced at Zhang Wei and Lin Yumeng, fixating on Zhang Wei while automatically ignoring Lin Yumeng, who shrank behind Zhang Wei.

He could tell that the two had different auras and levels of experience.

Zhang Wei remained calm from start to finish, likely the one in charge, with experience dealing with many criminal offenders, which is why he wasn’t afraid even upon seeing the boss.

Lin Yumeng, however, was a different story; appearing timid and clearly just starting out.

Like in every industry, masters bring along their apprentices.

"Correct, we are from Jincheng Law Firm’s Criminal Division, responsible for Ying Qingli’s case!"

Zhang Wei presented Tie Ruyun’s business card, "This is our team leader’s card, how should I address you, Boss?"

"My surname is Wang, Wang Tianmeng. On the street, everyone calls me Brother Meng!"

Wang Tianmeng made a gesture, and the man responsible for bringing Zhang Wei and his companion in took the business card and passed it to him.

"Jincheng Lawyers, that’s a big law firm indeed. Even a small fry like me has heard of their reputation. But why would you take my driver’s case?"

"That’s all our big boss’s doing; he also oversees Dongfang Capital’s legal aid organization. How else could he sit as the Chairman of the Lawyers’ Association?"

"Hahaha, that’s right, the big shot of Jincheng Law Firm is indeed a big boss!"

Wang Tianmeng laughed heartily, but a glint of something else flashed through his eyes.

Zhang Wei, who had been observing him, noticed the subtle change in his expression.

"Mr. Wang, we are here about your driver’s case. Could you, or any of your subordinates, vouch for him?"

"That’s tricky. Even if my people wanted to vouch for him, I doubt anyone would believe them, right?"

Wang Tianmeng sneered, glancing at the other two subordinates in the office.

They both started laughing.

The implication was clear: all of them had shady backgrounds; how could they testify for Ying Qingli?

"Then, regarding Ying Qingli’s situation, what assistance could your company possibly provide to help his case?"

"On that point, I really can’t help you. Whatever trouble Ah Li got into, that’s his own problem; we really can’t be of any assistance!"

"But my client says he’s just your driver, and that he has turned over a new leaf..."

"Young lawyer, I don’t know if you’ve heard this saying, but there’s no one with a clean history in this line of work!"

Saying this, Wang Tianmeng gave a signal to the man on guard.

"We have nothing that could help him; please, show them out."

"Please leave, our boss has other matters to attend to!"

Since Wang Tianmeng was showing them out, there was not much Zhang Wei could do but to leave with Lin Yumeng.

"This boss... there’s something off about him..."

As they left the house, Zhang Wei looked back one more time, his eyes filled with doubt and speculation.