Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 422 - 418: The Truth is Actually a Fish Pond? Zhang Lang Breaks Down! (Extra Update for a Fan’s Birthday)

Chapter 422: Chapter 418: The Truth is Actually a Fish Pond? Zhang Lang Breaks Down! (Extra Update for a Fan’s Birthday)

(Today is Xiuxiu Meizi’s birthday in the book club, so Author Germ is adding one more update. Wishing Xiuxiu Meizi a happy birthday)

...

What exactly did Zhang San use?

How could he completely control the chatroom and ensure that at the necessary moment, he could catch people involved in illegal transactions and carrying out illegal activities?

This issue certainly requires some serious consideration.

However, everyone in the courtroom was clear.

The answer was in someone’s mouth.

Therefore, all eyes in the courtroom turned to Zhang Wei.

What next?

Shouldn’t you finish the story you were telling?

"Cough cough, I believe everyone is curious, right? How exactly did Zhang San intend to choose the perfect moment to find clues of overseas criminals and even perfectly obtain key information, locating the exact times and places of their crimes?"

"Actually, it’s very simple..."

Zhang Wei stated, lifting a finger and slowly articulating two words: "Inducement!"

"Inducement?"

The twelve jurors looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Inducement?"

In the spectator seats, many were also taken aback.

"Inducement?"

At the judge’s bench, both the prosecution seats, Old Li and Qin Yang were surprised for a moment.

Then, someone caught on.

Inducement!

Could it be that kind of inducement?

"What is inducement? Is everyone still puzzled?"

Zhang Wei seemed to sense everyone’s thoughts and immediately said with a smile, "I wonder if you all remember, before this case began, the evidence presented by the prosecution?"

The projection screen displayed numerous screenshots of chat logs.

Among these screenshots were some with an ID "Mission Initiator" speaking, and even some records included the ID of a person labeled "Administrator",

"Let me tell you all how exactly Zhang San did it, making criminals expose their criminal intent at the right moment."

Zhang Wei raised a finger and loudly declared, "It’s simple, all you need to do is induce these people to commit crimes."

"Zhang San ordered his subordinate, Li Si, to arrange Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, and Sun Qi among others, to act as initiators of tasks in the chatroom. They were to issue tasks that could yield high rewards to those with the conditions and capabilities for crime, thereby promoting these people’s criminal activities!"

"This is inducement, and this is also how Zhang San could ensure that everyone committed their crimes just as he wished to claim his achievements, and just right for him to catch them in the act!"

Having said this, Zhang Wei did not wait for the crowd’s reaction and walked up to Zhang Lang.

"Mr. Zhang, do you feel that this Zhang San is utterly despicable?"

"You..."

Zhang Lang’s face had already become unwatchable, his lips twitching madly as he wanted to swear but could not bring himself to.

"Oh, right, Mr. Zhang, I was just talking about Zhang San, this old boy is thoroughly despicable. But I certainly did not mean you, so please don’t take it personally."

Would Zhang Lang take it personally?

Of course.

You’re only a step away from correlating Zhang San’s name with mine, and now you come over to mock me like this, claiming you’re not pointing at anyone in particular?

Whether to take it personally or not, I believe everyone present no longer needs to judge.

Zhang Wei made his point so obviously, who could not see it?

Zhang Lang was now in a difficult position.

Because he could feel the gazes from the people around him, some were overtly scrutinizing.

"Mr. Zhang, what’s wrong with you? You don’t look well,"

At that moment, Zhang Wei opened his mouth "appropriately," "You’ve been coughing all the while, and now you are sweating coldly. Could it be that you’ve caught a cold or fever?"

"These past few days, you’ve been busy with the case, having to keep a 24-hour watch on us; it must be really tough, and we understand that."

Understand my ass!

Do I need your understanding?

If this weren’t a courtroom, Zhang Lang would have been on the verge of hitting someone.

You little brat, putting on airs here with me?

"Let’s get back to the main topic, since my story is finished," Zhang Wei, however, spoke up again at this moment.

"Mr. Zhang, could you please answer my question? You and your subordinate Li Si... oh, sorry, it’s not Li Si anymore, but anyway, your subordinate, did you or did you not do what I just described?"

"What thing? I don’t understand what you are talking about!"

"Oh, Mr. Zhang, you don’t understand? Well, that’s okay, I can make it clearer,"

Zhang Wei slightly smiled and organized his thoughts, "Mr. Zhang, did you instruct your subordinates to set up an overseas virtual chat community, to facilitate criminal communication and information exchange abroad?"

"Did you instruct your subordinates to use their admin privileges to release tasks in the chat rooms that induce members to commit crimes, tempting them with large rewards to engage in criminal acts?"

Zhang Wei raised a finger, his speaking volume escalating, "In this case, did you have your subordinates pose as hacker members and release tasks in the chat room to attack the Yuanfeng Series, enticing them to commit espionage?"

"I..." Zhang Lang’s mouth slightly opened, but he dared not respond.

"Mr. Zhang, such clever scheming. You had your subordinates issue tasks, then used the information they provided to capture people. They completed the tasks, but the stolen information was intercepted by you, and they were caught by you, saving your subordinates the trouble of paying."

"Oh, my mistake, there was never a need to pay in the first place. The data they stole from the Yuanfeng Series ended up in your subordinates’ hands anyway, and then ’returned’ to you. So, not only did you capture people, but you also recovered the lost data!"

"Playing both sides, earning double the credit, catching people and obtaining both evidence and goods – what a profitable venture!"

With each part of this accusation, Zhang Lang’s face grew uglier.

After Zhang Wei finished his taunting, Zhang Lang’s face was as black as coal.

The latter looked toward the prosecution bench.

Unfortunately, Qin Yang made no move.

At this moment, the prosecutor should have stood up and objected, using some "hearsay evidence" excuse to interrupt.

But Qin Yang did not do that; instead, he watched with interest as Zhang Wei and Zhang Lang interacted, displaying an attitude of someone enjoying the spectacle.

Apparently, he had given up, or perhaps he had laid back, resigned himself to failure.

It doesn’t matter if it ends in a mess; I don’t care~

"You, surname Qin!" Zhang Lang cursed inwardly, damn you, old guy, selling out your own teammate.

But he and Qin Yang had never actually considered each other as real teammates; they were just two strangers who had temporarily teamed up for a case.

"What evidence do you have? These are only hearsay!"

Since Qin Yang wasn’t speaking up, Zhang Lang would do it himself.

"Of course, I have evidence. However, before I present it, I’d like to clarify my own doubts," Zhang Wei said as he raised his finger again, "First off, since Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others breached the Yuanfeng Series database and stole data, why has this data never appeared in the hands of foreign powers?"

"In fact, I commissioned Mr. Zhao Qingyan to investigate foreign cyber forces, and it turns out that the Yuanfeng Series data had never been in the possession of any foreign powers from the start."

"Of course, all credit to you, Mr. Zhang, since you not only promptly caught the foreign spies but also recovered the lost data, right?"

Zhang Wei said, laughing at this point, "But if from the outset there were no foreign powers involved, and the whole thing was a drama you staged to add a feather to your cap, doesn’t that still match the facts?"

"You!"

"What’s wrong, Mr. Zhang? Do you think I’m mistaken?"

Zhang Wei looked at Zhang Lang with a cold sneer, "Mr. Zhang, I’m about to disclose the evidence now, be ready to catch it!"

Zhang Lang’s heart suddenly "thudded."

"The first piece of evidence, of course, is to prove whether your subordinate’s company engaged in the criminal acts I just mentioned."

As he spoke, Zhang Wei snapped his fingers towards Tan Yingying, who immediately understood and opened another folder.

Opening the file revealed a series of photographic evidence.

"Among these files are transaction records of your subordinates renting overseas servers in their own and their relatives’ names, as well as records of the servers receiving payments for services provided to overseas criminal organizations."

"Initially, you planned to play the long game to catch big fish, providing these overseas organizations with quite excellent information transmission services. In other words, you hadn’t yet considered using enticement to catch criminals; instead, you were seriously operating this illegal community."

"And your services satisfied those organizations so much that they even renewed their memberships, paying you for some customized services. It must have been tough to genuinely run an internet company."

When Zhang Lang saw these pieces of evidence, his face showed shock, "How did you get this information..."

"It’s quite simple, things like transaction records can be traced by the investigative department, one just needs to convince the judge to sign a search warrant. Your subordinates providing network services to overseas criminal organizations is already a criminal offense. As long as the evidence points to this company, it’s not very difficult to obtain a search warrant."

Zhang Lang opened his mouth in response.

Zhang Wei seemed to have foreseen the question: "I know what you want to ask, without exact transaction amounts, how can it be considered solid evidence to obtain a search warrant?"

"It’s quite straightforward, your subordinate is not a programmer by trade, after all. To build a network community, to manage a website and private chat rooms, especially to do it well for your mission, he certainly had to seek help from the best company, right?"

"So guess who he approached?"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Zhao Qingyan in the witness stand.

The answer was almost ready to come out...

Blacksmith Technology!

Zhang Lang’s subordinate had initially commissioned Blacksmith Technology to design the website, chat rooms, and this overseas internet community.

"Your subordinate was indeed smart, at least he didn’t reveal your purpose. When he signed the contract with Blacksmith Technology, he only mentioned the need to build a transnational online community, solely to provide an exchange platform for his own company and the foreign clients they served. Blacksmith Technology developed this community based on that need."

"But unexpectedly, after the project was delivered, you invited a group of people to modify this delivered community, and it eventually became the final version used by Zhao Xiaoxiao and others for chatting and exchanging messages."

Having said this, Zhang Wei looked at Zhang Lang, "Mr. Zhang, this overseas chat community has actually become your private pond, right?"

"Every time you wanted to add a credit to your resume, you would give orders to your subordinates to entice certain members of the community to engage in criminal activities. Isn’t this tactic called ’chumming the waters’?"

"Once those individuals accepted the tasks and prepared to commit crimes, you would wait on the sidelines, ready to strike at the moment they took the bait."

"When they finished the tasks and were about to deliver them for a handsome reward, you would then cast your net wide, catching them. At that time, you had apprehended the criminals, averted the losses, and claimed the credit. The world where only the criminals were hurt was complete!"

"These chat rooms, they’re practically your private pond where you’re responsible for baiting, casting, fishing, and netting. What a calculated plan."

"Mr. Zhang, your calculations really worked out perfectly, all the benefits were yours. Only those criminals, or rather victims, were kept in the dark from beginning to end. They not only had to go to prison because of your enticement, but even in the end, they didn’t realize that all this was your plot, your scheming!"

Zhang Wei walked up to Zhang Lang, slammed the table, "Their criminal actions, they’re actually all your responsibility, aren’t they?"

"If it weren’t for the immense rewards you offered, providing the motive for the crime, they might have simply found a nice community to chat in."

"They didn’t even know that the chat room was yours, the community administrator was your person, the task publisher was also your subordinate, and even the companions chatting by their side were your informants. From beginning to end, it was you who incited them to commit crimes, so you could catch them red-handed!"

"You’re talking nonsense!"

Facing Zhang Wei’s aggressive interrogation, Zhang Lang couldn’t help but roar in court.

"You say I’m talking nonsense; I think it’s you who are talking nonsense!"

Zhang Wei didn’t back down either, and once again signaled to Tan Yingying.

"Since you won’t shed a tear without seeing the coffin, let me show you the irrefutable evidence!"

Following Zhang Wei’s gesture, the projector screen displayed images connected by red lines, and each image was labeled with information.

"Mr. Zhang, could you please explain why every time a task is released in the chat room, you’re able to catch these criminals within a few days, as if these individuals had informed you of their upcoming plans before taking action?"

"The images show records of all the criminals you’ve caught in the last ten years, and the accompanying screenshots are the specific tasks released by the chat room task publisher, identical to the criminals’ targets."

"Similarly, after these criminals prepared to implement their plans, you and your subordinates would always meet at a certain time, and you would receive a box filled with detailed criminal information from them. This box contained all the information about the targets you intended to capture. Before arresting them, you had already mastered their entire forthcoming plans, so you were able to capture your enemies all in one go every time!"

"Mr. Zhang, I’m right, aren’t I?"

Zhang Wei slammed the table again, his eyes bulging as he stared at the person in front of him.

"You..."

Zhang Lang didn’t know how to respond again.

But at this moment, Zhang Wei already had the upper hand.

He leaned in close to Zhang Lang, their faces nearly touching.

"Zhang Lang, you’re finished. There’s still a lot more evidence in that USB drive, enough to send you and your subordinate to prison, to ensure you never see the outside world again for the rest of your life."

"Let me calculate it for you, you’ve provided facilities for overseas crime facilitation, incited your subordinates to build an overseas internet crime community, and you have failed to report it, relying on your position as the second-in-command at the CSB department, to cover up your subordinates’ illegal activities. Most importantly, you were in on these criminal activities, devising plans."

"The theft of sensitive information from the Yuanfeng Series was actually masterminded by you, and your actions not only resulted in the loss of core secrets from Dragon Country but also caused tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs. They required countless resources for network security checks because of that hacking incident, and you’re well aware of just how much was lost."

"I think you are the mastermind behind the treason. In order to earn yourself some merits, you didn’t hesitate to induce Zhao Xiaoxiao and the others to commit crimes. Even the simple act of incitement is enough to ruin your reputation."

"You and I both know that your retribution is only starting now. You might have to meet those you sent to prison soon, and who knows, you might even end up sharing a cell with an acquaintance?"

After finishing his words, Zhang Wei spread his hands with a smile, "Zhang Lang, you’re done for!"

"Impossible, I belong to the Zhang Family, and my older brother would never..."

"Your older brother won’t care about you. He only cares if his reputation will be affected by your actions."

As Zhang Wei spoke, he pointed to the prosecution bench, "Why did you have to bring in someone from Longdu’s prosecution? Senior Procuratorate Qin is not someone your brother can just summon at will. You’ve really tied your own noose!"

"Impossible, my older brother is..."

"Zhang Lang, you’re done for. Stop bringing up your older brother Zhang Tianlong. You are completely finished now. You will never be able to turn this around in your lifetime!"

Zhang Wei spread his hands and said with a beaming smile, "What you should be considering is whether your brother is afraid of being implicated by you, and whether he will visit you in prison during holidays or send you some living expenses."

"You..."

Zhang Lang was rendered speechless by Zhang Wei’s words, anger and frustration building up inside him.

His face turned red, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

In the end, his rage burst forth, naturally from his mouth.

Puh—

Zhang Lang, in the courtroom, vomited blood profusely, a pitiful sight to behold.

Zhang Lang was overwhelmed, directly spitting blood in court due to what Zhang Wei said.

"Hmph, done and dusted!"

As the instigator, Zhang Wei let out a breath of relief, a smile finally gracing his face.

This case was finally coming to an end.

The real mastermind wasn’t Liu Dashu, nor Zhu Erdan, not even Liu Xiaotao and Cui Yibin, and definitely not Zhao Xiaoxiao.

The person responsible for Yuanfeng’s losses and the severe damage to Dragon Country’s network, was this individual sitting in the witness stand.

He deserved his punishment.

Zhang Wei, like a victor, approached the defense bench.

"Judge Li, regarding this mastermind, I have no more questions!"

Zhang Wei walked to the defense bench with the composure of a victor.

The majority of the courtroom breathed a sigh of relief because the case was finally over.

"Kid, I’m going to kill you!"

But just then, an unexpected change occurred.

Zhang Lang, with blood on the corner of his mouth, somehow mustered a breath of air and suddenly charged at Zhang Wei.

He had now completely abandoned all pretense since he was about to face an internal inquiry. With so much evidence against him, he was definitely done for.

So, if that was the case, he decided to make this youngster pay the price and join him in downfall.

Although Zhang Lang usually worked in an office, as a member of the Zhang Family, he had also learned a bit of martial arts. At the very least, dealing with Zhang Wei shouldn’t be difficult.

"Since I’m done for, I’m taking you down with me!"

Zhang Lang said, his face twisted with ferocity.

However, seeing Zhang Lang acting like a cornered beast, Zhang Wei revealed a sly grin.

"Mr. Zhang, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten that I have a bodyguard with me?"

As Zhang Wei spoke, a figure shot out from behind the listening bench, charging straight at Zhang Lang.

The person’s speed was almost dozens of times faster than the latter. A black blur flashed by, and before Zhang Lang knew it, a fist was flying towards his face.

Bang!

His body took a heavy hit, and then he completely lost consciousness.

His last thought was: Who is this bodyguard, and how can he be so fast and hit so hard?