Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 188 - 187: Found the System! A Chance Encounter with a Radish, Racing Against Time

Chapter 188: Chapter 187: Found the System! A Chance Encounter with a Radish, Racing Against Time

Sunday.

Bang bang bang!

A series of urgent knocks interrupted Zhang Wei’s dream.

"Good grief, it’s not even six o’ clock!"

"Who could it be, up this early?"

Zhang Wei sighed, quickly dressed, and rushed to the door.

Upon opening it, he was surprised to find Zhao Qingyan standing there.

"Xiao Zhang, you don’t have anything to do today, do you?"

"It’s the weekend, and I was planning to continue reviewing the case at home..."

"That’s good, then. In a while, you’ll come with me to Ah Xiang’s house; I’ve found out where another system is hidden!"

Zhao Qingyan didn’t wait for Zhang Wei to finish speaking, and he dropped a bombshell.

The sleepiness on Zhang Wei’s face disappeared in a second.

Good grief, the system was actually found by Zhao Qingyan!

There was nothing more exhilarating than this piece of news.

"Wait for me, Uncle Zhao, I’ll go wash up right away. I won’t even eat breakfast; let’s set off quickly!"

minutes later, after freshening up.

Zhang Wei, with his belongings in order, set off with Zhao Qingyan.

As usual, they were delivered by a driver. Accompanying Zhao Qingyan meant a free ride, which was quite nice.

Zhang Wei also sighed with envy, thinking about when he might be able to hire a professional driver too.

Having a driver to take one places sounds so prestigious; no need to drive oneself.

The weekend morning traffic in Dongfang Capital was light.

After all, it’s the weekend; no work, so who would want to get up early?

Zeng Xiang’s house was located in the outer ring, a 200 square meter townhouse, requiring over an hour’s drive to reach.

After arriving at the community, Zhao Qingyan led Zhang Wei to the house.

The villa was not large, with two floors above ground and a basement, plus a garden.

The only downside, perhaps, was that not all the community’s accommodations were villas; in front lay several rows of townhouses, followed by high-rises in the back.

It was said that Big Sister Peng lived in one of the high-rises at the back of the community. So her connection with Zeng Xiang might not have been so simple.

But none of this mattered to Zhang Wei, who followed Zhao Qingyan into the villa garden.

"Ah Xiang’s house used to have a security system, so I didn’t enter myself before, but I tested it with instruments from the outside!"

After circling around, Zhao Qingyan discovered that the front door of the villa was ajar.

He gently pushed it open and found that someone had tidied up the place.

"Come on, Xiao Zhang, let’s go straight to the basement!"

Zhao Qingyan had previously investigated this house, so he was quite familiar with it and led Zhang Wei directly to the basement.

The basement was spacious, with two rooms and a storage area filled with miscellaneous items.

One of the rooms had been turned into a gym, but Zhang Wei and Zhao Qingyan’s goal was naturally not this.

They headed straight for the other room and discovered, upon opening it, that there were many pictures fixed in large frames inside.

"This is our team from the early days of entrepreneurship!"

Zhao Qingyan walked to one of the pictures, his tone somewhat nostalgic.

In the photo were several young people gathered around an old computer, beaming with bright smiles.

Back in the startup days, they developed new software and sold it to a big company for a price of over a million.

This was their team’s first pot of gold, so they took this picture to commemorate it. Zeng Xiang was also a member of the team at the time.

Thinking back on those days of hard work, Zhao Qingyan couldn’t help but get sentimental.

"Xiao Zhang, are you curious why I brought you here?"

Without waiting for Zhang Wei to answer, Zhao Qingyan went on, "Because I remembered something about Ah Xiang; he has had a weakness from early on – his need for control!"

"For him, anything that’s his must be under his watchful eye. If he developed a new system or software, he would guard it in front of the computer until he delivered it, not moving an inch!"

"So, I speculate that the system is hidden somewhere in his house; I just hadn’t found it before!"

Zhang Wei nodded in understanding.

For someone with a strong need for control, the more private the item is, the closer they want it to be, ideally within arm’s reach.

"I have already searched upstairs; aside from some furniture, there was nothing. Thus, the only place left to hide the system must be the basement!"

Zhao Qingyan said this as he knocked on the walls.

Imitating him, Zhang Wei began a thorough search across the basement floor.

Knock, knock, knock...

Knock, knock, knock...

Knock, knock, thud!

After a few continuous knocks, Zhang Wei suddenly paused.

In front of him was a wedding photo, with a couple in wedding dress and suit sweetly snuggled up together.

"It’s hollow here!"

Zhang Wei called out for Zhao Qingyan to come over while he took down the photo frame.

Behind the frame was a recess in the wall with a button inside.

"Uncle Zhao, could this be..."

"Obviously, this is it, you’ve found the entrance!"

Zhao Qingyan signaled Zhang Wei not to act rashly and after a careful look, he nodded and pressed the button.

Suddenly, the hidden door opened.

"Good grief, this is illegal construction!"

Inside the hidden door was another room, which extended beyond the basement—it was a space privately excavated by Zeng Xiang.

Not only that, inside this room, Zhang Wei also saw a computer enclosed in a glass cover.

"So that’s how it is, that’s how it is, it’s a ’Faraday Cage,’ no wonder I couldn’t find it, no wonder the investigative department couldn’t find it, it turns out it’s like this..."

Upon seeing the glass cover, Zhao Qingyan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

"Faraday Cage, I remember the physics teacher mentioned it in class, this thing can block magnetic fields, right?"

"Correct, with this cage, no detection instruments can find this place because it shields all electromagnetic signals. No wonder I couldn’t find it with my equipment!"

Zhao Qingyan said, looking at the computer screen.

"Darn, there’s a password, and it was set by Ah Xiang. Decoding it is going to take a long time!"

Seeing the system, Zhang Wei was initially very excited because it represented something significant—it meant a huge breakthrough for the case.

He could be one hundred percent certain that all of Zeng Xiang’s secrets were in this system.

Otherwise, why would one go to such lengths to hide it.

And Zeng Xiang was a person with deep-seated paranoia, always keeping his secrets close by, that is, in his own residence.

He did not trust others and would not place his most important system elsewhere.

"Xiao Zhang, let’s go out first. Now that we’ve found the system, we can prove that Xiao Fang wasn’t lying, Ah Xiang really has been monitoring her!"

After stepping out of the basement, Zhao Qingyan immediately made a phone call.

"Bring people over, there’s a very important system here. Remember to bring decryption tools; I need the most professional people to handle this!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Qingyan and Zhang Wei walked to the first floor of the villa.

"Who are you?"

It was only at that moment that they noticed there were other people in the villa.

"And who might you be?"

"We are from the inheritance handling company, responsible for dealing with the deceased Zeng Xiang’s possessions today. He died without relatives or family in Dongfang Capital, so are you his friends?"

Looking at the two men in black suits, who looked like insurance agents, Zhang Wei and Zhao Qingyan were taken aback.

It turns out these were the people handling the aftermath.

"Zhang Wei?!" Just then, a voice tinged with surprise rang out from the villa entrance.

A chubby and fair-skinned fat man walked in, holding a document bag, looking astonished at Zhang Wei.

"Radish?" Staring at the fat man, Zhang Wei was also surprised.

The person was none other than Luo Xiaobu.

A few minutes later, the situation had become clear.

Zhang Wei and Luo Xiaobu went up to the villa’s garden.

"Gee, so this murder case is yours, huh? Are you representing the defendant?"

Luo Xiaobu was surprised by Zhang Wei’s capability; he remembered that both of them, like himself, hadn’t completed their probation yet, but Zhang Wei was able to represent such an important case.

But Zhang Wei couldn’t be bothered to catch up with Luo Xiaobu and instead asked, "Radish, after your notary office marks the possessions later, how will you deal with these things?"

"Of course, we’ll collect it all and find someplace to store them first, because the deceased is involved in a murder case, we can only deal with it after the case ends!"

"But according to our department’s investigation, the deceased had no relatives or heirs, and he didn’t leave a will. If no one claims these things, they can only be auctioned off!"

Looking at the spacious villa, Luo Xiaobu lamented, "You know, the deceased was quite wealthy, it’s a pity he spent money on a villa, yet in the end, you can’t bring it with you in life, nor can you take it with you in death..."

"Indeed..."

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Actually, a house is enough to live in, buying a villa is mostly for showing off.

"By the way, since you’re involved in the case, do you know any of the deceased’s close friends? There are some small items that our notary office doesn’t accept, but if he’s interested, we can let him take them away!"

"Friends?"

Zhang Wei glanced at Zhao Qingyan inside the villa, wasn’t he once friends with Zeng Xiang?

"Speaking of which, Zhang Wei, do you have a business card? We should get together in a few days, and I’ll contact you then!"

As he spoke, Luo Xiaobu handed Zhang Wei a business card with "Dongfang Capital Notary Office" printed on it.

"Business card..."

At the thought of business cards, Zhang Wei sighed again; as a trainee lawyer, he was not allowed to put Jincheng’s name on his card, which was really annoying.

Luckily Luo Xiaobu had Zhang Wei’s number, so it wasn’t impossible to get in touch.

"By the way, what are you and that person doing here? I remember the crime scene should be at the ex-wife’s house, right?"

"Ah, we came here to investigate something. Fortunately, we found a clue, and now we’re just waiting..."

Zhang Wei hadn’t finished speaking when the sound of footsteps arose.

Thud, thud, thud!

Not far away, a group of people was rushing over quickly.

Among them was a mix of bodyguards in black suits, researchers in white coats, and workers in uniforms, carrying their equipment on their backs.

"Are these the people Uncle Zhao called for? Do they really need so many?"

Seeing so many people appear and head straight for the villa, Zhang Wei couldn’t help but click his tongue.

"Good grief, what are they up to?"

Luo Xiaobu was also confused. How could this group look more professional than his own notary office?

"Hurry up, set up the scene!"

"Where is Mr. Zhao? Where is Mr. Zhao?"

"Mr. Zhao, where is the system? We need to start the decryption work now!"

"What, in the basement?"

"Then hurry up, move all this equipment down there, go on, quick, quick, quick!"

Watching such a large group enter the villa and head straight for the basement, Luo Xiaobu contemplated whether to call his boss to inquire about the situation.

"Radish, I suggest you start work in a few days. Today happens to be the weekend. Are you working overtime?"

"Yes, our notary office is coordinating with the inheritance processing company, I’m working overtime today!"

"That’s fine then. Just say you found the deceased’s friend, who plans to take some things from the villa. You guys can come back in a few days!"

Zhang Wei said this and hurried to find Zhao Qingyan to explain the situation.

The stuff in this villa was crucial; they couldn’t let the notary office and the inheritance company handle it.

Zhao Qingyan naturally understood the priorities and, after explaining his relationship with Zeng Xiang to the inheritance company, they had no choice but to agree.

As for the password decryption work inside the villa, it had little to do with the inheritance company.

Luo Xiaobu also gave Zhang Wei face and agreed to come back in a few days to deal with the villa’s affairs.

In this way, the matters concerning the villa were finally resolved.

What remained was the progress of the decryption work.

Weekend, evening.

"Xiao Zhang, the decryption work is not going smoothly. According to my estimation, we might need at least another 12 hours to solve it, and even if we do decrypt it, it’s still uncertain whether we can find out what the evidence is..."

"So, after court tomorrow, your task will be to buy me as much time as possible until I succeed in decrypting the system!"

This was what Zhao Qingyan had just told him on the phone.

Zeng Xiang, as a top-notch programmer, obviously knew professional-grade encryption methods.

Even though Zhao Qingyan deployed Blacksmith Technology’s top research and technical personnel, some things were not necessarily effective with more people, especially with delicate software-related tasks.

Zhang Wei’s task was equally important; he had to buy time for the decryption work.

"Given that, if I need to buy time, I have to think of a way to do it elsewhere."

Thinking this, Zhang Wei promptly dialed a number.

"Hello, is this Silly? Can I ask if your father-in-law and mother-in-law have gone to bed?"

...

The following day, the day of the trial.

Jincheng Municipal Court, main entrance.

The media reporters arrived early once again, forming inner and outer layers around the entrance of the courthouse.

However, they didn’t expect that someone would be ahead of them, having anticipated the enemy’s moves and already entered the courthouse.

Inside the waiting room.

Zhang Wei yawned out of boredom; it was his fault for getting up before dawn, after all.

After a long wait, Fang Yunshu finally arrived here, escorted by the Martial Association Field Staff.

"Where’s Big Brother Zhao?"

Looking at the empty prep room, Fang Yunshu didn’t look pleased.

"Uncle Zhao is busy with something; it will be just the two of us in court later!"

Zhang Wei explained briefly but didn’t plan to go into too much detail with Fang Yunshu.

He feared giving her hope, only for Zhao Qingyan to fail to decode successfully or, even if he succeeded, not to find the system – turning hope into disappointment.

"Ms. Fang, if you need to testify in court later, is there any difficulty for you?"

"Testify in court? What do I need to do?"

Zhang Wei had anticipated Fang Yunshu would be afraid, but her response took him by surprise.

"You only need to personally recount your story with your ex-husband and be ready to handle cross-examination. I’ll teach you a method – if you really can’t answer or don’t want to answer, you can exercise your right to remain silent. You’re also entitled to this right in court!"

"Will Big Brother Zhao come?"

"Of course, I can assure you of that. He’s helping you right now and during the court session later, and he will definitely make it in time!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s assurance relived Fang Yunshu.

Minutes later, as the time for the court session approached, the two naturally entered the courtroom.

After a short while, Tie Ruyun and Lin Yumeng also arrived, and this time Li Yueqin was with them.

The three took the front rows of the spectator seats, nodded to Zhang Wei and offered their encouragement.

The defense is in place.

Soon after, the prosecution arrived.

The team from the Procuratorate Headquarters, still the same people, headed by Zhao Chunming and escorted by a group of newcomers.

Lan Zhengye arrived later, presumably tied up with the media outside.

"Lawyer Zhang, to be honest, I’m disappointed in your choice!"

As soon as he entered the courtroom, Lan Gaojian approached Zhang Wei, shaking his head continuously.

Clearly, he was disappointed that Zhang Wei had not chosen to make a deal, signaling that the two would have to battle it out in court.

"Lan Gaojian, what are you talking about? My client is innocent; why would she admit to a crime she didn’t commit?"

"Innocent? Lawyer Zhang, you’re really naive!"

Lan Zhengye sneered and said leisurely, "Once I prove your client intended to commit murder and establish her motive, it will be too late, and you’ll face a thorough defeat!"

"Ms. Fang, you should have chosen to plead guilty. After 30 years, you could still breathe fresh air upon release. Even if the jury sympathizes with you, even if Judge Chen opposes the death penalty, you’ll most likely be sentenced to life without parole!"

Fang Yunshu didn’t speak; she just looked at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei nodded, signaling her to keep her composure.

"Lan Gaojian, you seem very confident?"

"Lawyer Zhang, I think you’re the one who’s blindly confident!"

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Zhang Wei, Lan Zhengye turned and headed back to his seat, no longer wanting to waste his breath.

Now, both the prosecution and defense were in place, ready for the fray.

At 9 o’clock, the time for the court to convene arrived.

"All rise, please welcome the honorable Judge Chen to the courtroom!"

The Court Guard announced, and Judge Chen slowly walked to the bench.

"I wonder how everyone’s weekend was—did you have a pleasant time?"

"Lan Gaojian, as I recall, you mentioned last Friday that the prosecution was planning to conclude its opening statement, is that correct?"

"That’s right, Judge Chen, the prosecution rests its case!"

"Oh, then it’s time for the defense to speak now!"

Judge Chen looked towards the defense, "Lawyer Zhang, call your first witness."

Zhang Wei stood up, straightened his suit, and looked towards the clerk’s desk.

There, Li Qinghua looked back at him with a cold and discontented gaze.

"Your Honor, the defense calls its first witness, Martial Association Field Staff member Xia Donghai, to the stand for testimony!"

The mention of the defense’s first witness changed the complexions of everyone, including Judge Chen and the prosecution.

Judge Chen remembered that Xia Donghai was Li Qinghua’s husband, which would mean...

Did Zhang Wei just summon his own father-in-law?

And Lan Zhengye stood puzzled, looking at Zhao Jing next to him, his eyes filled with confusion.

Who was this Xia Donghai, and what was his relation to the case?

What they didn’t know was that Xia Donghai had also been assigned to the crime scene before.

Alas, who would remember the name of a field staffer who was stationed on-site?