Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 444 - 440: Zhang Wei’s Advisor, The Defense Does Not Question?

Chapter 444: Chapter 440: Zhang Wei’s Advisor, The Defense Does Not Question?

Tuesday morning.

Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters, Serious Crime Division Office.

"What, a network signature?"

Xiao Baihe looked at the two people in front of her, suppressing the desire in her heart to scoff.

"The pretrial is set for today, and now you’re telling me this?"

"It’s precisely because the pretrial is today that we have to bring it up!"

Zhang Wei pulled Xiao Baihe closer and whispered in her ear, "You don’t want any problems with the case, right? Or do you want to wrong an innocent person?"

Facing Zhang Wei so close, a slight look of discomfort appeared on Xiao Baihe’s face.

But she still endured the excessive proximity and countered, "But with the network signature, how do you know if it’s real?"

"I don’t know either!" To her surprise, Zhang Wei spread his hands.

Xiao Baihe almost couldn’t resist picking up the pen in her hand; she wanted to stab the jerk in front of her to death.

So you came here early in the morning just to discuss something so uncertain?

"Old Xiao, I might not be sure, but my Xiao Xiao is sure!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei pushed his second girl forward, "Come, Xiao Xiao, tell Old Xiao about what you told me yesterday."

"Ow~"

Although Zhao Xiaoxiao was somewhat reluctant, she still sat down with Xiao Baihe and explained for a little while.

"Are you saying that network signatures are unique and that Viper’s signature just happens to be with you?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

"Then by presenting this evidence, you’re actually telling everyone that our network investigation department has been derelict!"

"That’s..."

Xiao Baihe’s gaze was filled with warning, as if presenting Zhao Xiaoxiao’s evidence would potentially lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

The network investigation department has gone through so much trouble, yet, bizarrely, lacks key evidence.

Something any hacker on our side could easily get ahold of, but you guys just can’t seem to find.

If that’s not a slap in the face, then what is it?

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, Zhang Wei quickly moved closer and draped his arm over Xiao Baihe’s shoulder.

"Old Xiao, you don’t want your case to end up wronging an innocent person, do you?"

Zhang Wei spoke with a serious expression, "Right now, this network signature is the most favorable evidence. What if the defense gets ahold of it and turns the tide at the last moment? Do you want to lose?"

"I don’t want to lose!"

Xiao Baihe naturally disliked losing, but what she disliked even more was unexpected complications.

"Get your hand off me!"

After swatting away Zhang Wei’s "salty pig hand" from her shoulder, Xiao Baihe hesitated for a moment.

"Xiao Xiao, are you sure this network signature is real?"

"Mhm, mhm."

"So if the network signature from the evidence doesn’t match the defendant Cui Yibin’s signature, that would mean the real culprit is someone else?"

"Mhm, mhm."

Xiao Baihe rubbed her head and finally gritted her teeth, "Really, I have some regrets about agreeing to let you be an advisor!"

Her attitude was obviously one of agreement.

"Old Xiao, then shall we..."

"We’ll talk after the pretrial. I can only ask about this matter for you. Whether it can pass still requires the approval of the special combat team and the network investigation department!"

Xiao Baihe didn’t give a definitive answer but left some room for possibility.

However, she felt the issue probably wasn’t too serious.

After all, this was about the truth, and they couldn’t afford to neglect it.

But there was still one problem, the pretrial.

"Let’s go, let’s head to the courthouse to prepare for the pretrial!"

With that, Xiao Baihe gestured to Tan Yingying, who was sitting at her desk. The latter carefully stood up and then picked up the car keys from the table.

Shortly after, a small pink car left the Procuratorate Headquarters’ parking lot and crept through the congested Dongfang Capital City Center, finally arriving at the courthouse 30 minutes before the session was scheduled to start.

"Xiao Tan, your driving skills need improvement. If I had known it would be like this, I would have let my stinky little brother drive us here."

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but criticize Tan Yingying’s driving.

Zhang Xinyan would have only needed 30 minutes to drive, but she took an hour and a half.

"What can I do? I’ve had my license for less than six months, okay? If you’re so capable, you go drive!" Tan Yingying spoke in a low voice, quietly defending herself.

But unfortunately, none of the three of them would listen because none of them held a driver’s license...

Dongfang Capital Courthouse, criminal court.

At the prosecution’s table, this was the first time Zhang Wei had taken this seat.

Xiao Baihe sat in the center, with Tan Yingying and Zhang Wei on her left and right respectively. Tan Yingying was the second chair, the assistant prosecutor, while Zhang Wei served as an advisor.

Zhao Xiaoxiao sat at the prosecution’s witness stand, glancing around her before noticing Chai Jingjing in the defense’s witness stand.

Upon seeing the latter, she quickly lowered her head, not daring to meet the other’s gaze.

After all, she was aware they were not supposed to have any interaction.

"Is that Chai Jingjing?"

Zhang Wei at the prosecution’s table also noticed Chai Jingjing, presuming the defense intended to call her as a witness.

He then turned his attention to the defense’s table.

Three people sat at the defense table.

The defendant Cui Yibin, the defense lawyers Hu Yaode, and Li Meijia.

Cui Yibin still looked the same, whereas the two members of the defense caught Zhang Wei’s close attention.

The former, Old Hu, was quite familiar to Zhang Wei, but the latter...

"Who is this woman again, should we check her background?"

Zhang Wei could feel a faint hostility emanating from the defense’s table, and it wasn’t coming from Hu Yaode.

Even though Hu Yaode had been beaten up by Xia Qianyue last weekend, and some injuries were still visible, Hu Yaode’s eyes revealed only a coldness, devoid of outright hostility.

It was only Li Meijia, this woman, whose hostility towards Zhang Wei was quite apparent.

"Zhang Wei, it’s time for the pretrial questions!"

Just then, Xiao Baihe nudged Zhang Wei with her elbow.

"Oh, I almost forgot the main issue."

Zhang Wei said, glancing over the hearing seating, scrutinizing carefully.

"Since this is a public prosecution case and you are the lead, I can’t help you much. Let me give you a few common suggestions for prosecution questions."

Zhang Wei said, raising a finger, "Firstly, eliminate those with psychological ’psychic resistance.’

"Psychology?" Xiao Baihe furrowed her brows at that word.

"Psychic resistance?" Tan Yingying echoed, somewhat bewildered.

"What, I’ve recently taken an interest in studying psychology with Jessica, don’t be surprised. Hey, hey, Xiao Baihe, what’s with that look you’re giving me? You’re looking at me like I’m garbage, that’s not right..."

Xiao Baihe inwardly rolled her eyes, thinking, If you’re not a jerk, then who is?

Zhang Wei also secretly thought, could Xiao Baihe have picked up on what was going on with me and Jessica.

"Zhang Wei, what is psychic resistance?" It was Tan Yingying who helped him change the subject.

"Oh, psychic resistance, that’s just a fancy term for a contrary mentality."

Zhang Wei explained, giving an example, "Once they believe their choice is being constrained, they develop a resistance and contrary mentality. For instance, if the majority of jurors select guilty, they’ll choose not guilty!"

"Xiao Baihe, let me ask you, is this case really as you said, with ironclad evidence, guaranteed to convict the defendant?"

"It should be, I can’t say for certain, but it’s very likely!"

Seeing Xiao Baihe’s response, Zhang Wei spread his hands, "That’s just it, when everybody is convinced the defendant is guilty, there will always be a few who think abnormally."

"So, how do we exclude them?"

"It’s simple, you just ask them like this..."

Zhang Wei leaned in and whispered into Xiao Baihe’s ear.

Meanwhile, time quickly passed.

"All rise!"

At the announcement of the court guard, the young Judge Liu, draped in a brand-new robe, ascended the bench step by step.

Once seated, he scanned across the courtroom, eventually resting his gaze upon the prosecution’s table.

Damn!

Am I seeing things, or has a freak appeared at the prosecution’s table?

Judge Liu removed his glasses, wiped them with his hands, and then put them back on.

In his vision, the oddity remained unchanged, still looking just as before.

Zhang Wei!

Wasn’t he a criminal defense attorney? Why was he sitting at the prosecution’s table?

Judge Liu thought to himself, who could have seen this coming?

He had hoped that this case would be relatively straightforward, as neither side appeared to have any formidable figures.

But he hadn’t counted on one thing, that Zhang Wei had been called in as reinforcement by the prosecution.

The young Judge Liu felt he was still too inexperienced.

He thought it wasn’t a major case, yet there sat a significant figure at the prosecution’s table.

"Ahem, before we begin the trial, let me ask..."

Judge Liu quickly bent forwards, leaning towards the prosecution’s table, "Lawyer Zhang, what are you doing here?"

"Xiao Liu, I am the prosecution’s strategist, commonly known as the ’dog-headed military advisor.’"

Seeing Zhang Wei spread his hands, feigning an innocent expression, Judge Liu was rendered speechless.

Do you really think you’re the boss here, calling me Xiao Liu?

I’m already over thirty, graduated seven or eight years ago, and you’ve only just graduated a year ago, right?

Calling me Xiao Liu at your intern lawyer age is utterly ridiculous!

If it weren’t for the prohibition of swearing in court, Judge Liu would have been hard-pressed not to curse out loud.

After taking a deep breath, he continued to preside over the court’s order.

*cough cough*, Since that’s the case, then please let both the prosecution and defense explain their respective courtroom arguments."

From the defense bench, Li Meijia stood up, "Judge Liu, I am defense attorney Li Meijia. On behalf of my client, Mr. Cui Yibin, I would like to inform the court and all those present that my client is innocent."

"No matter what charges the prosecution tries to impose on him, he will not yield, and he has never committed any actions that threatened aviation safety. Any charges regarding this case and subsequent accusations by the prosecution are groundless!"

"So, you’re going for a not guilty defense?"

"Yes, Judge Liu!"

Li Meijia nodded, then slowly sat down.

"Well, this is a talking point, declaring their stance first to occupy the initial impression!"

Seeing the action of the defense, Zhang Wei knew that the defense had come prepared.

"Prosecution?"

Xiao Baihe stood up and walked to the front of the courtroom.

"Just last month, on the 15th, the servers at Dongfang Capital International Airlines were hacked. The screens went black for over 30 seconds, leading to the loss of contact between the aviation ground station and several passenger aircraft in transit, causing slight deviations in the trajectories of numerous flight paths. It even nearly resulted in a collision between two airplanes carrying a total of 150 passengers."

"If they had collided, it would have resulted in Dragon Country’s most severe aviation disaster on record. Therefore, someone must be held accountable. The servers of Dongfang Capital Airlines, upon examination by the Network Security Investigation Division, showed traces of a hacking intrusion, with all invading IP addresses leading back to the defendant Cui Yibin."

"Therefore, the prosecution has decided to charge him with the crime of threatening aviation safety!"

Xiao Baihe pointed toward the defendant in the defense bench and said sternly, "This man hacked the servers of the airline and nearly caused the most serious aviation disaster in the history of Dragon Country. That’s over 150 lives that barely missed death!"

Hearing this spirited accusation, the entire courtroom fell silent, and many people looked at the defendant with glimmers of hostility in their eyes.

"Very well, then please allow the jury candidates to enter!"

Judge Liu banged the gavel and signaled the court guard to escort the jury into their seats.

Zhang Wei gave Xiao Baihe a meaningful glance, which she acknowledged with a nod.

Xiao Baihe glanced at the defense bench, and seeing that neither Li Meijia nor Hu Yaode seemed ready to act, she went straight to the front of the jury.

"Counter-suggestibility, counter-suggestibility, I wonder if it really is so mystical."

She murmured to herself, then looked at the jury: "Ladies and gentlemen, I will next ask a question regarding the first emperor in Dragon Country’s history. Are you familiar with the Ancestor Dragon Emperor?"

On the jury bench, everyone laughed.

This was a significant historical figure; how could they not be familiar with him?

"Good. I have a statement here: How many of you agree that the Ancestor Dragon Emperor ’swept across the six directions, and that the people who died at his hands piled up like mountains’?"

"Those who agree, please raise your hand!"

In the jury bench, close to half the people raised their hands.

"And those who disagree, please raise your hands as well."

Out of the remaining half, more than seventy percent raised their hands.

Not many people were left, but there were a few who didn’t raise their hands.

"Sir, why didn’t you raise your hand?"

"I just didn’t want to raise my hand because I’ve never met him!"

Xiao Baihe gazed at the man in front of her who was openly being difficult, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Well, I’ll be!

There really are people who just want to be contrarian.

On the prosecution bench, both Zhao Xiaoxiao and Tan Yingying were looking at Zhang Wei in disbelief.

To have predicted this was really impressive.

"Ma’am, why didn’t you raise your hand?"

"I think the Ancestor Dragon Emperor did kill people, but it was always for a reason. You’re being disrespectful to him by judging him based on one sentence!"

"And you?"

"I simply don’t like raising my hand. If you ask me a question, I’ll answer, but I don’t like doing the same thing as others—it makes me look stupid."

"Ah, this..."

Xiao Baihe, looking at the last person, was too weary to complain.

She quickly turned toward the bench, "Judge Liu, the defense appreciates the responses from jurors number 7, 8, and 11 and requests their dismissal."

Judge Liu nodded, gave a sign to the three individuals, and then began to take notes.

At the defense bench.

"This tactic is Zhang Wei’s. He loves to ask these seemingly irrelevant but actually clever questions."

Hu Yaode leaned close to Li Meijia and began to explain in a whisper.

"So, Lawyer Hu, have you figured out his purpose yet?"

"This..."

Li Meijia’s question stumped Hu Yaode.

How could he possibly guess what that kid was thinking?

But whether he could guess it or not didn’t matter.

Because they were certain to win this case!

Neither Li Meijia nor Hu Yaode showed the slightest hint of panic on their faces.

In the courtroom.

Seeing that the defense was delaying their action, Xiao Baihe asked again:

"A man lies dying below, while next door someone plays a phonograph; opposite, someone is making a fuss with children. Upstairs, two people laugh wildly; there’s also the sound of card playing. On the river, a woman weeps for her deceased mother. Human joys and sorrows do not communicate—I find their noises irritating."

"If I say this was spoken by a venerable one surnamed Lu, would you all agree?"

"Those who agree, please raise your hand and let me see you, thank you."

Quite a few jurors raised their hands, indicating agreement.

"Judge Liu, the defense requests to dismiss jurors number 1 and 5."

Judge Liu continued to take notes and had the two jurors leave their seats.

Xiao Baihe continued to look toward the defense, but Hu Yaode and Li Meijia remained calmly seated, with no intention of getting up.

"Defense, don’t you have any questions?" Even Judge Liu on the bench was growing frustrated.

During previous trials, the defense couldn’t wait to ask dozens of questions, even wishing they could dismiss the entire jury.

How come when it’s your turn, you’re so Zen about it?

"Judge Liu, the defense does not plan to ask any questions for the time being. If the prosecution would like, they can continue to question and select the jury."

Since Li Meijia had said this, Xiao Baihe decided to ask more questions.

Before, Zhang Wei had given her a bit of insight.

The prosecution needs "people who follow the crowd," so that once the majority feels guilty, the minority will also decide on guilt.

This avoids the possibility of irreconcilable contradictions within the jury

"May I ask everyone, would you buy gifts for your loved ones or the women in your family?"

Many nodded their heads.

"Then, have you all bought necklaces? I think heart-shaped necklaces are very pretty, what do you think?"

As Xiao Baihe spoke, she made a "heart" shape with her hands.

Many nodded their heads again.

Xiao Baihe’s gaze swept over the jury and then approached a middle-aged man.

"Sir, would you buy a heart-shaped necklace for your loved one?"

"Of course, I just bought one yesterday."

Xiao Baihe inwardly rolled her eyes; he must have gone drinking last night, his breath still reeked a little of alcohol.

"Judge Liu, the prosecution accepts this juror."

Judge Liu noted this in his notebook.

"Madam, you must really like heart-shaped necklaces, right?"

"Yes, although the necklace I’m wearing is nice, I also like heart-shaped ones."

The woman spoke while showing off the square necklace she was wearing.

Xiao Baihe internally rolled her eyes again, you’re really telling bold-faced lies.

"Judge Liu, the prosecution accepts this juror."

Although Judge Liu didn’t understand why the woman could say she liked heart shapes while wearing not a single heart-shaped piece of jewelry, he still nodded and kept her in the jury.

"Sir, do you like buying heart-shaped necklaces for your loved one or daughter?"

"I think they all have their own taste. They can buy whatever they love; anyway, it’s fine as long as it’s not with my money!"

The man’s response made Xiao Baihe pause slightly; he didn’t follow the crowd and seemed to have a somewhat nasty character.

"Judge Liu, the prosecution appreciates the gentleman’s answer and requests that he be dismissed from the panel."

Judge Liu signaled with his eyes to the man, indicating him to leave his seat.

After that, Xiao Baihe’s questioning came to a close, and she looked toward the defense.

Unfortunately, no one from the defense got up.

"Very well, this court declares that we now have a jury, and the trial will start tomorrow!"

In the end, Judge Liu declared with a gavel that the trial was set for tomorrow.

The pretrial conference ended, and the courtroom began to disperse.