Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 405 - 401: A New Witness Conceals a Knife, A Tainted Witness Has Arrived!

Chapter 405: Chapter 401: A New Witness Conceals a Knife, A Tainted Witness Has Arrived!

In the courtroom.

"Witness, did you clearly see my client install data theft devices in the equipment room of your factory?"

"No, I did not?"

"Then, are you certain that the person who conducted the cyber-attack on your factory’s network was my client?"

"This... I’m not sure..."

"So, you’re saying that you have no evidence to prove that my client launched a cyber-attack on your factory’s data server in April last year, nor can you prove that my client was the one eavesdropping on your factory?"

"Yes, that seems to be the case..."

Faced with Zhang Wei’s aggressive questioning, this witness proved to have even less mental fortitude than Factory Director Hai.

Under the relentless interrogation, he finally began to show signs of collapse.

Without evidence, he naturally couldn’t prove anything.

He came on stage with a tale of woe, hoping to win the sympathy of the jury by describing the dire state of himself and the factory workers.

But the inconclusive result of his testimony also caused the jury to lose patience.

Sometimes the jury is just that unpredictable.

You might earn a tear or two with a sob story.

But if you keep repeating that act, they grow tired and resentful of you for using the same tactic to influence them.

Even worse, this resentment could turn into hostility towards the witness.

At this moment, the 12-person jury was very unfriendly toward the prosecution’s new witness.

Their gaze uniformly seemed to say, ’Are you done yet? If you’re done, get off the stand already!’

"We have no more questions for this witness,"

Having pushed the witness into speechlessness, Zhang Wei quickly concluded the cross-examination.

However, as he walked down from the stand, he glanced at the prosecution’s bench.

After that look, his brow furrowed deeply.

Even though he had "severely undermined" several of the prosecution’s witnesses, Qin Yang’s expression had not changed in the slightest.

From beginning to end, he maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

It was as if the witnesses he had called had nothing much to do with him.

"How could that be? Didn’t he see the shift in the jury’s attitude, or are all these witnesses, aside from the first one, Factory Director Hai, simply sacrificial pawns?"

For a moment, Zhang Wei found himself unable to guess what Qin Yang was thinking.

But he knew that for Senior Procuratorate Qin to remain so composed, he must be hiding a trump card.

Only those who have a trump card can remain calm throughout a trial.

As long as he doesn’t reveal his trump card, he has the upper hand!

When he returned to the defense bench, Zhao Xiaoxiao couldn’t contain her excitement.

"Zhang Wei, you’re amazing! You actually managed to render so many witnesses speechless," Zhao Xiaoxiao’s eyes were sparkling.

Even Liu Dashun and Zhu Erdan sitting behind them had looks of joy on their faces.

They felt that with Zhang Wei, they could make it!

"Haha, don’t get too happy just yet!"

Zhang, however, poured cold water on their enthusiasm, his expression serious.

"Our opponent is not an ordinary one. I’m feeling the pressure, and I advise you to prepare yourselves. Senior Procuratorate Qin might make his move soon."

As he spoke, he disregarded the almost worshipful looks in the eyes of Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others, turning his gaze to the other side.

"Prosecution, do you need to call any more witnesses?"

"Of course!"

When Judge Li called on him, Qin Yang naturally stood up.

"The prosecution calls Manager Qiu of Yuanfeng Chemical to testify!"

Hearing that another "Yuanfeng Series" witness was called, the jury was speechless.

But Qin Yang’s lips curled into a significant smile.

Soon, Manager Qiu took the stand.

She was a woman in her early forties, dressed in a black business suit, with a quite impressive demeanor and image.

After seeing a group of men as witnesses, the presence of a female witness slightly reduced the hostility of the jury.

But if the testimony of the witness turned out to be no different from that of the previous witnesses, their hostility would not abate.

"Hello, Manager Qiu!"

"Hello, Senior Procuratorate Qin!"

"Manager Qiu, according to the records, your Yuanfeng Chemical encountered a cyberattack in January of this year, is that correct?"

"Yes, at the beginning of January, our company’s internal website started having problems, and even later, we discovered that the stored data and order information had been lost to varying degrees. Even some internal confidential data and personnel information were affected. The factory suffered immense losses, and we had to take remedial measures, but they were unable to recover the losses at that time..."

After the opening statement, Qin Yang asked another question, but the witness’s response was still the same old story.

He explained the extent of the losses at the time to the court, as well as the subsequent remedy plans, and the factory had no choice but to dissolve and even lay off employees.

Yuanfeng Chemical, in the end, could only lay off employees.

The company has already been dissolved, and the human resources department is dealing with employee placement issues.

It could be said that it was a company that had been devastated by hackers.

But her testimony failed to resonate with the jury.

Manager Qiu said a lot, but the jury seemed somewhat indifferent.

It wasn’t that they were cold-blooded, but rather that they were tired of hearing the same thing.

"Thank you for your response, Manager Qiu. We have no further questions for now!"

Surprisingly, Qin Yang actually ended his questioning there.

This witness’s testimony was, to put it bluntly, useless.

Not only could Zhang Wei see it, but any lawyer or prosecutor with some level of competence could see it too.

In the audience, many people looked at each other in bewilderment.

They completely didn’t understand why Qin Yang would summon a witness whose testimony was almost ineffective to testify in court.

Could it simply be to waste time?

But what was the point of doing that?

During the prosecution’s presentation of evidence, shouldn’t they provide compelling testimony to attract the jury’s attention?

Why does it seem that with you, the witness’s testimony is getting weaker and weaker?

Qin Yang returned to his seat, leaving the stage naturally to Zhang Wei.

The latter stood up and walked to the front of the courtroom.

"Hello, Manager Qiu."

"Hello, defense attorney."

The witness’s response showed no emotional fluctuation, her tone was placid, and she did not show any hostility towards Zhang Wei.

This made Zhang Wei curious.

Why were the previous prosecution witnesses all somewhat prejudiced against him, yet Qin Yang’s witnesses seemed so cooperative?

"Something seems off here!"

Zhang Wei looked back at the calm-faced Qin Yang and then at the witness, whose expression was normal, feeling that something was not quite right.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly was amiss.

"Manager Qiu, let’s begin then, the first thing I want to ask is..."

The cross-examination officially started.

The content of the questions was almost identical to the previous witnesses.

"Did you see Liu Dashun?"

"No."

"Did you see him carrying out a network hacking attack on your company?"

"No."

"Then you..."

After a series of questions, all were denied by Manager Qiu.

"So, that is to say, you did not see one of my clients carry out a cyberattack on Yuanfeng Chemical where you work, nor do you have any evidence to prove that he was the one using monitoring equipment to steal data from your company?"

"Yes."

Hearing this familiar response, Zhang Wei was about to summarize, "Since that’s the case, then..."

"But I can prove it was someone else!"

However, Zhang Wei’s words were suddenly interrupted by Manager Qiu.

Meanwhile, on the prosecution’s bench, the corners of Qin Yang’s mouth curled into a smile again.

"Here it comes, this is my real objective!"

"Feinting one way and striking another. A side-ball hit, and it’s not only you who knows how to play this game!"

Qin Yang’s expression did not change, but he was already sneering internally.

"Manager Qiu, what did you say?" Zhang Wei was also stunned for a moment, then he looked at the witness.

"I say, although I can’t prove that one of your clients, Liu Dashun, hacked into my company’s system, I can prove that another one of your clients did."

Manager Qiu said, looking toward the defense bench.

Her gaze directly skipped over Liu Dashun and Zhao Xiaoxiao, finally resting on Zhu Erdan.

"It’s him, he’s the one who hacked my company’s data!"

As soon as these words were out, the entire courtroom’s attention focused on the defense bench.

Similarly, many of the jurors, who had been dozing off, finally perked up.

This different testimony directly pointed the finger at one of the defendants.

Finally, some explosive content had arrived!

If it hadn’t, they might have died of boredom.

"You recognize my client, Mr. Zhu Erdan?"

"Yes, not only do I recognize him..."

Manager Qiu pointed to Zhang Lang at the prosecution bench, saying, "That Mr. Zhang even showed me the photo of your client, as well as some other evidence."

Zhang Wei narrowed his eyes, "What evidence, it’s not on the public list!"

"Yes, those pieces of evidence were taken away by him!" Manager Qiu kicked the ball back to Zhang Lang.

Qin Yang also stood up at this time, "Judge Li, and the defense attorney, the evidence the witness mentioned is the investigation evidence from the investigation launched jointly by the special department of Dragon Country and the CSB after Yuanfeng Chemical suffered a hack attack. Due to a special secrecy clause, this evidence was taken away for archiving by the special department, which cannot be named, hence it cannot be presented in court!"

Zhang Wei immediately countered, "If it can’t be presented in court, doesn’t that mean there is no evidence?"

"You’re wrong, defense attorney, Manager Qiu’s testimony is also evidence!"

Qin Yang, however, smiled slightly, pointed at the witness stand, "Manager Qiu personally witnessed the special department and the CSB department conducting a joint investigation, finally pinpointing one of the suspects in the cyber attack as Mr. Zhu Erdan, your client!"

"She witnessed the entire search and elimination process, her testimony is also a legally protected statement, and can be accepted as evidence!"

As Qin Yang spoke, he looked toward the bench, "Judge Li, our witness Manager Qiu has good character, I have here a character reference from the employees of Yuanfeng Chemical regarding Manager Qiu’s morality. They can prove that Manager Qiu’s character is honorable, and she would absolutely not give perjured testimony in court!"

The character reference was quickly delivered to Old Li, who understood after glancing at it.

This so-called pledge was naturally prepared in advance, with dozens of handwritten signatures scattered throughout.

After Qin Yang handed in the character reference, he also glanced at Zhang Wei, with a look that contained much meaning.

"Good grief, actually using this tactic!"

Zhang Wei also saw that the previous witnesses were all to lull him into a false sense of security.

And Manager Qiu was Qin Yang’s ace in the hole.

Even to strengthen the effectiveness of Manager Qiu’s testimony, the other side had deliberately arranged so many nearly useless witnesses.

All the content before was trivial, but suddenly presenting something explosive naturally had an outstanding effect.

Now, Manager Qiu had pointed directly at Zhu Erdan.

And with Qin Yang delivering another blow, presenting the character reference, it meant that Manager Qiu’s testimony would be deemed valid.

"The court has reviewed the character reference, confirming there is no problem with witness Manager Qiu’s character, therefore her testimony is valid!"

As expected, Old Li announced the acceptance of the character reference.

As a result, Qin Yang naturally nodded his head, showing a hint of a smile.

Zhang Lang, sitting nearby, looked downright smug, giving Qin Yang a mental thumbs up at the same time.

This was the Senior Procuratorate that he had specifically requested, pulling strings to invite from Longdu.

The trial had barely begun, and he had thrown such a curveball at the defense, truly demonstrating his powerful capabilities.

In contrast, the defense, struck by an information deficit, seemed quite passive.

"Information gap!"

Zhang Wei also voiced the reason for his disadvantage.

Due to the involvement of special departments, much of the evidence and testimonies were under the restriction of confidentiality agreements, inaccessible to both him and the prosecution.

But with Zhang Lang on the prosecution’s side, as a head of a special department, although he couldn’t produce the evidence, he knew some details of the case.

Just like Manager Qiu, although the evidence at the time was sealed, as a participant in the incident, she could use her experience as testimony.

Since Zhang Wei wasn’t a participant in the case, he naturally was unaware of the details.

However, speaking of case participants, Zhang Wei turned to look at Zhu Erdan on the witness stand.

If this guy had been investigated by a special department before, why was he now without issue?

"Manager Qiu, please answer a question for me. You said that you saw one of my clients, Zhu Erdan, listed by the special department as a criminal suspect. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Then why is he here now, fine and dandy, not being punished for his cyber attack activities?"

"This... I’m not too sure about that."

"Not sure, you say?"

Zhang Wei squinted slightly and turned to look at the bench, "Judge Li, given the uncertainty of the witness’s testimony, my team needs to temporarily adjourn for 10 minutes, so I can communicate with my client."

Old Li raised his hand to look at his watch, "You want to ask questions, right? Court time is precious; I’ll only give you 5 minutes!"

"Fine then!"

Five minutes it is—after all, Zhang Wei only had a few simple questions.

He didn’t say much else, just gestured to Zhu Erdan, and the two huddled together, leaning over to "communicate."

"What was the situation during that hacking attack?"

"It was a joint operation; besides me, many others were involved!"

"Then why did this witness only identify you?"

"Because my network signature was left at the scene; I was careless and forgot to delete some images. However, I later realized this and deleted the images."

Zhu Erdan hurriedly explained as he spoke.

Zhang Wei asked him to cut to the chase, and naturally, he left nothing unsaid, quickly clarifying the reason.

The five minutes quickly passed.

Zhang Wei already had a game plan.

"Witness, I have further questions!"

Zhang Wei approached Manager Qiu, "You just accused my client Zhu Erdan earlier; was it because a special department told you about the record of ’network signature’?"

"It seems so; I do remember someone mentioning it."

"This so-called network signature is generally a record of the underlying code that hackers leave on the network during their activities; each hacker’s signature is unique. Because of this, the investigative department found an image on a website, and my client’s network signature was discovered on the image."

After offering an explanation, Zhang Wei deduced, "Precisely because network signatures are unique, the investigative department marked him as the prime suspect, right?"

"I believe that was the case," Manager Qiu did not deny.

"Now let me tell you why my client was not categorized as a criminal or even taken away for investigation."

Zhang Wei took a deep breath, beginning to organize his words, "Because a network signature on an image alone cannot convict my client."

"The investigative department found neither traces of my client breaching the system nor any log files of his hacking activities; they also didn’t find any user information or confidential data my client might have stolen from your company."

"Relying solely on an image with a network signature naturally cannot convict my client. Even more so, if my client wishes to countersue, he could demand the investigative department prove where the image came from, whether it was intentionally placed in the system to misdirect the investigation target onto himself."

"So, Manager Qiu, isn’t it inappropriate to accuse my client in court as the hacker who attacked Yuanfeng Chemical using this yet incomplete testimony?"

With that, the tide of the courtroom finally turned in his favor.

"This..." Even Manager Qiu herself did not know how to respond.

She was not an expert in this field, not even understanding what a network signature was, let alone answer these questions.

Moreover, the investigative department only listed the suspects and found her to confirm this information.

She had no qualification to know about the follow-up investigation, so she instinctively thought that Zhu Erdan must have been investigated.

But unexpectedly, Zhu Erdan was still untroubled up to now.

"Regarding this witness, my side has no more questions!"

Zhang Wei hurriedly concluded the cross-examination without giving Manager Qiu another chance to speak.

"The witness may step down!"

Old Li motioned slightly, and Manager Qiu could only stand up.

The whole courtroom, as the witness left, was plunged into confusion.

Had Zhu Erdan really done these things?

If he had, why was he still all right now, with the investigative department not having taken him away?

But if he hadn’t, how did he become a suspect at the time?

Old Li, however, did not concern himself with the courtroom’s doubts but looked at Qin Yang.

"Prosecutor?"

Qin Yang’s expression remained calm, even unaltered by Zhang Wei’s counterattack.

He had plenty of ways to prove whether Zhu Erdan did it and even whether Liu Dashun also participated in the hacking attack.

And next, he was about to deploy his real trump card.

"Judge Li, the prosecution calls the tainted witness Liu Xiaotao to testify!"

Once this witness was brought in, everything would be over!

Hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar name, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Liu Dashun, and Zhu Erdan all turned visibly angry.

This ungrateful wretch, who betrayed his own, was finally going to take the stand.

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Wei’s expression also became grave.

The tainted witness had finally arrived!