Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 235 - 234: Meeting Chief Liu Again, Only a Fool Would Mediate!

Chapter 235: Chapter 234: Meeting Chief Liu Again, Only a Fool Would Mediate!

City Hospital, Emergency Ward.

Looking at the all-too-familiar bed, but this time, the person lying in it wasn’t himself.

Zhang Wei’s heart was still filled with emotions.

"Sister Xiao Wu, don’t worry anymore. The doctor said your brother has passed the critical phase, and there is no danger to his life now."

Zhang Wei kept comforting her, and Zhang Xinwu’s mood finally improved a bit.

"Once we get back, I’ll start preparing the medicine. As soon as Xiao Yan wakes up, we’ll give it to him!"

Zhang Xinwu looked at Xiao Yan on the hospital bed and let out a long sigh.

Her own brother was usually nothing to brag about, but after all, he was her sibling, and now that things had turned out like this, other than sighing, there wasn’t much else she could do.

"Miss, how about I stay here with young master Xiao Yan, and you go back to prepare the medicine?"

Lu Ma said, then glanced at Zhang Wei, "Little Zhang, I’ll leave the miss in your care!"

"Don’t worry, Lu Ma, I understand. I’ll stay with Sister Xiao Wu!"

"Hmm, then I’m relieved."

Zhang Xinwu didn’t delay any longer and left the hospital with Zhang Wei to return to Zhang’s Martial Arts School.

After the two arrived back at the school, Zhang Xinwu went straight to the kitchen to start preparing the medicine.

Zhang Wei didn’t know anything about traditional Chinese medicine, so naturally, he couldn’t be of much help, and he could only accompany Zhang Xinwu.

Buzz—

Just then, his phone rang again, displaying an unknown number.

"Sister Xiao Wu, I’m going to step out to take a call!"

After excusing himself from Zhang Xinwu, Zhang Wei walked to the front courtyard of the martial arts school before answering the phone.

"Hmm, the case has been transferred to the headquarters’ Serious Crime Team?"

"Head of Serious Crime Team 3, Captain Liu is in charge. Oh, I understand."

"So they’ve already caught some of the attackers, and the rest will be captured soon, right?"

"Oh, okay..."

Zhang Wei glanced back at the rear courtyard of the martial arts school, "Well, I’ll come over later. Please rest assured!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Wei knew it was time for him to get to work.

He returned to the kitchen of the martial arts school and discussed the situation with Zhang Xinwu.

The latter didn’t react much upon hearing it.

After a while, while preparing the medicine, Zhang Xinwu suddenly asked, "Zhang Wei, what should I do?"

"Am I a useless sister who can’t even protect her own brother?"

Unexpectedly, the usually resilient Sister Xiao Wu became sentimental at that moment.

"Sister Xiao Wu, your brother is a grown man. What he wants to do is up to him, and you can’t stop him. Similarly, the responsibility isn’t on you. Whatever he has done, he must take responsibility for himself."

"However, the fact that your brother was attacked this time must have a cause and effect. What we need to do is figure out the situation and then make those attackers pay. Don’t worry; I will help your brother get the best compensation!"

"Hmm," Zhang Xinwu nodded, trusting Zhang Wei completely.

"Let’s do this, from now on, I’ll be your appointed attorney. Don’t get involved in the case yourself. You just need to care for your brother in the hospital; I’ll handle the rest!"

"Alright then, thank you, Zhang Wei."

"No trouble at all. We are neighbors, after all. Isn’t it only right for me to help out?"

After giving a few more instructions, Zhang Wei stood up to leave.

"Ah, Zhang Wei, I haven’t asked you about the lawyer’s fee yet..."

As Zhang Wei walked away, Zhang Xinwu suddenly remembered something—Zhang Wei was a lawyer; shouldn’t she pay him a fee?

But Zhang Wei was already walking fast, and by the time Zhang Xinwu thought to call out, he had left the martial arts school.

...

Martial Association Headquarters.

Criminal Investigation Department, Serious Crime Team’s office.

Team 3 was an old acquaintance of Zhang Wei, not only had he dealt with Captain Liu, but they had also faced off in court.

However, Captain Liu wasn’t particularly fond of Zhang Wei, nor was he rude, he at least followed all the due protocols.

And this time, with Zhang Wei acting as a family representative, Captain Liu would naturally not make things difficult for him.

"Little Lawyer Zhang, what is your relationship with the victim’s family?"

"I’m their neighbor, and also the attorney in charge for this attack case, so I would appreciate it if Chief Liu could keep me informed about the case in the future!"

"Of course, you’re a professional in criminal law as well, we both know how to handle such matters."

Chief Liu said, and brought Zhang Wei to the outside of the interrogation room.

Inside the interrogation room, two investigators from Team 3 were questioning a young man.

"Why did you hit someone?"

"I didn’t!"

"You’re still denying it? We have eyewitnesses, and there’s surveillance video from the scene; how can you still deny it!"

"It was that person who hit me first!"

"Five of you against one of him, and he dared to act first?"

"Anyway, it was him who acted first, our five were all acting in self-defense!"

"Self-defense, self-defense involves sending someone to the hospital?"

"Anyway, it was he who started it, we were just retaliating, just self-defense!"

"You..."

Outside the interrogation room, Zhang Wei and Chief Liu watched the questioning, their expressions calm.

"Did you find the surveillance footage?"

"Yes, we found the surveillance footage, but the location is an open-air parking lot, and the incident happened at night. Moreover, the surveillance didn’t capture the entire process of the incident, so..."

"I understand!"

Zhang Wei nodded, eyes fixed on the suspect inside the interrogation room, "But it’s good that we’ve pinned down the suspects. After all, their attack on others is a fact. What remains is just to assess who acted first. The case really isn’t hard."

"But I’m worried that the five of them may have colluded in their testimonies. What if they all claim it was your client who started it?"

"Chief Liu, in criminal cases, my client is the absolute underdog. I believe that unless he’s foolish, he wouldn’t decide to attack five people alone. Moreover, as you mentioned, the surveillance didn’t capture the entire incident; their testimonies aren’t supported by evidence, are they?"

Zhang Wei said, patting Chief Liu on the shoulder, "I trust the detectives of Investigative Division and Team 3 of Serious Crimes will be fair to my client!"

Being looked at by Zhang Wei like that, Chief Liu could only give an embarrassed smile.

He thought to himself: Kid, are you testing me?

This time, the Serious Crime Team actually arrested three people, but they were interrogated separately.

Chief Liu allowed Zhang Wei to observe the interrogation of the three men; all of them insisted that it was Zhang Xinyan who struck first.

Logically, it was improbable for Zhang Xinyan to assault five people alone, but Zhang Wei knew well that this young man, confident in his martial arts, could indeed make such a move.

However, knowing this didn’t mean much, since he hadn’t witnessed the scene and was unaware of the specifics.

The incident took place in an open-air parking lot with a limited number of internal cameras—apart from the entrance and exit, there were only two or three other cameras.

At this moment, after viewing the interrogations, Chief Liu was now showing the surveillance footage to Zhang Wei.

The Team 3 members had identified the time of the incident, so the surveillance was easy to find.

"Look, this is it!"

Chief Liu pointed to the screen, where a scene of one person being surrounded and blocked by five others appeared.

The five then started to beat that one person, who fell to the ground, and continued to punch and kick him.

Without saying much, the person on the ground was clearly Zhang Xinyan, the victim of the attack, and the five assailants were the attackers in this case.

"The surveillance clearly shows the problem: these five people are engaged in collective crime. So in this case, they can be considered a single criminal entity. It doesn’t matter if their testimonies are consistent!"

"The surveillance tells us not only that they attacked my client but also that they continued to beat and abuse him when he was down and unable to move, leading to his serious injury and coma. Describing their actions as extremely malicious would not be an overstatement, would it?"

"Actually, I think their actions were more than just assault; my client is now critically injured and on the brink of death. Watching the surveillance, it’s clear they intended to inflict such severe harm; it’s very likely that they had the intention to kill. I think charging them with attempted intentional homicide doesn’t seem difficult."

Zhang Wei said, pointing at the surveillance video.

At that moment, Chief Liu finally felt the challenge.

Although it was not right for these people to beat someone, what you, Zhang Wei, were implying was to have them locked up for a long time.

Assault resulting in serious injury, simply put, is the crime of intentional injury. Although it is a criminal case, the sentencing standard depends on the severity of the victim’s injury.

If the injury is minor, the sentence is generally 6-18 months imprisonment.

If it is a serious injury, it’s usually 3-4 years in prison.

For intentionally causing serious injury by particularly cruel means, the sentence is generally around 5-10 years, with a maximum of about 10-12 years.

Of course, these numbers are just the starting point for sentencing; many more details of the case have to be considered during the sentencing process.

And Zhang Wei was not looking to charge them with intentional injury but for attempted intentional homicide.

This changes things because it means a higher sentencing standard.

If intentional homicide is successfully committed, the sentence is life imprisonment or at least 10 years of imprisonment, with the death penalty as the maximum punishment.

Even if it’s an attempted crime, sentences could be given as if the crime were completed. Even with a lenient punishment, one might face more than 10-15 years in prison.

"Lawyer Zhang, this is..."

"Chief Liu, I’m just giving you a reference opinion. After all, the prosecution is the accuser, and as the representative of the original plaintiff, I would be making these requests to the prosecution as well."

Chief Liu indicated that he was under great pressure with Zhang Wei.

Despite his always smiling benevolence, those who knew him understood that this young man was a classic example of concealing a knife behind a smile.

"Hey, it’s kind of noisy at the door!"

At that moment, Zhang Wei heard some commotion at the door of Team 3’s office.

"Chief, the other two suspects came in to turn themselves in!"

A member of Team 3 approached Chief Liu with news that surprised Zhang Wei.

"They turned themselves in voluntarily?"

Hearing this, Chief Liu hurriedly went out.

"Voluntarily turning themselves in and cooperating with the investigation?"

Zhang Wei’s eyes shifted, and it dawned on him: "Without some ’expert’ guidance, I wouldn’t believe it. It looks like these two suspects followed some lawyer’s legal advice!"

After muttering to himself, he also followed them out.

Inside the major case office, he saw the other two suspects.

It had to be admitted that all five suspects were young, around 20 years old, full of youthful vigor.

Generally, older individuals are more stable and cautious as they have learned from setbacks in their youth and would not act so impulsively.

It’s only the naive youth, newly stepping into society, who would act without restraint and strike so harshly.

Zhang Wei saw the suspects and also the lawyer accompanying them. Surprisingly, the lawyer was someone he knew.

"Huh, isn’t that lawyer..."

"Madam Zhou, please don’t worry, I’ll take care of these problems for your son. The investigative department is just going to conduct routine questioning, and I will be with him throughout to ensure they don’t cross the line!"

While the two suspects were led away by members of Serious Crime Team 3, the lawyer spoke to one suspect’s family and then followed them towards the interrogation room.

"Hello, Lawyer Yu!"

At the entrance to the interrogation room, Zhang Wei greeted the other party.

This man was none other than Lawyer Yu Liang, from the company adjacent to Jessica’s Office, Southeast Fly Company.

Yet Zhang Wei remembered that this lawyer’s specialty was not criminal cases, but divorce cases. Unexpectedly, he appeared here.

Yu Liang looked at Zhang Wei feeling the young man seemed somewhat familiar.

"Are you... that public defender from before?"

Soon, he remembered who Zhang Wei was.

The Lin Xiao case—it was exactly the one where Zhang Wei took business away from him.

But Lawyer Yu didn’t really care for such minor cases; his expertise lay in divorce cases, which were more lucrative.

"Are you here to help your client as well?"

Lawyer Yu glanced at Zhang Wei, looked around to assure no one was listening, before whispering, "I don’t care who your client is, just make sure the kid keeps quiet and insist it was the other party that started the fight, understand?"

Without waiting for Zhang Wei’s agreement, he walked into the interrogation room.

"So that’s how it is!"

Watching the suspects and Lawyer Yu sitting side by side in the interrogation room, Zhang Wei understood.

Clearly, this group was aware of the incomplete surveillance and planned to shift all the blame to Zhang Xinyan in a blame game.

"Incomplete surveillance is indeed a problem. However, to understand the specifics, I need to go take a look at that open-air parking lot."

"And there’s another question. Why was Zhang Xinyan in that open-air parking lot late at night? What is he working on now?"

After muttering to himself, Zhang Wei went to sit in the waiting area.

"My son, what happened to you!"

"Quick, quick, quick, the child’s mother, our son is right here!"

"Move away, I want to see my son, let me through!"

"What are you doing? My son hasn’t broken the law, he’s been a good kid since childhood, how could he possibly hit someone!"

Suddenly, the office of Serious Crime Team 3 began to bustle.

Clearly, the suspects’ families had all arrived.

There were five assailants in total, none of them old, and their parents were all alive and well.

Having heard that their children were in trouble, these parents naturally rushed over quickly.

"Comrades of the Martial Association, could there be some misunderstanding here? How could my son possibly hit someone!"

"Exactly, someone else must have hit my son, and then he had no choice, please make sure to investigate thoroughly and clear my son’s name!"

Most of these parents held this attitude, convinced their own sons had done no wrong.

"Comrade, my child is still young, may I ask when he can be released?"

"We both took time off work today and our work has been delayed, could you let me see my son?"

These were the emotional pleas, their tone still comparatively good, but unfortunately, the officers firmly rejected them.

The interrogation wasn’t over yet, they would have to wait a while to see their children.

"Lawyer Chen, please help our son, we will definitely pay the legal fees!"

"Yes, Lawyer Wang, my son cannot go to prison, he’s still young!"

There were also some who brought their lawyers, currently in communication with them.

Zhang Wei looked at the messy office and felt like a bystander, taking in all the parents’ reactions.

"Such busy people, only now do they regret when their sons are in trouble..."

He shook his head inwardly, now it’s too late for any prayers or wishes.

"Everybody sit down, please sit down!"

An officer was in charge of calming down the parents; under his direction, they all took seats on Zhang Wei’s side.

"Oh, my son must not get into trouble!"

"It’s all your fault for not keeping an eye on him, now look at the trouble he’s caused!

"What are you talking about, you go out to play Mahjong every day, and you’re blaming me?"

"What about it? You dare talk back; you bastard!"

As these people sat down, Zhang Wei’s ear was suddenly filled with various curses and arguments.

Zhang Wei felt helpless and stood up to find a quiet place to sit.

After waiting like this for 30 minutes, the inquiries finally ended.

Chief Liu took the lead and walked out.

Yu Liang and the other lawyers also emerged from the interrogation room.

"Now everyone, come over here, Lawyer Zhang, you come too!"

Chief Liu specifically called out to Zhang Wei, and a group of parents followed him, along with Zhang Wei, to a large conference room.

Chief Liu took the seat at the head of the room, flanked by two officers, and all the parents found seats. A few even wanted to speak, but Chief Liu shook his head to silence them.

"Lawyer Zhang, please take a seat!"

He directed Zhang Wei to sit in a forward position on the side, then scanned the office.

Besides Zhang Wei who was alone, there were over ten family members of the suspects, along with three or four lawyers—a sizeable group.

"Cough cough, let’s all quiet down, I am going to explain the situation!"

"Your children will be sent to a temporary detention room, but rest assured, there will be personnel watching over the detention room, and your children will be safe!"

"Oh, let me introduce you to someone, this is Lawyer Zhang; he is the representative lawyer for the victim, Zhang Xinyan, representing the victim’s family!"

Chief Liu pointed towards Zhang Wei, and the parents all looked over.

"A lawyer representing the victim!"

Upon hearing Zhang Wei’s role, Yu Liang and the other lawyers were somewhat surprised.

Yu Liang then remembered that Zhang Wei had not yet introduced himself; it turned out they were opponents.

Regardless of their reactions, Chief Liu then asked, "Lawyer Zhang, and the rest of you parents, I want to ask now, do you intend to settle this privately?"

Yu Liang lowered his head and whispered a few sentences into the ear of his client.

The other parents also quickly asked their lawyers beside them what exactly this settlement meant.

However, Zhang Wei merely smiled faintly, and said to Chief Liu, "Chief Liu, are you joking? Do you think I would agree to settle with these people?"

"Lawyer Zhang, this is just following the procedure. If you can settle, wouldn’t it save us some trouble as well?"

"Well then, I’ll answer for my client and the parties concerned: we refuse to settle!"

Zhang Wei scoffed, "Chief Liu, my client is still unconscious; do you think I would accept a settlement?"

"This..."

Zhang Wei didn’t care how the other reacted, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the room.

He wasn’t about to give these people any chance; he was determined to fight this to the end!