Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 481 - 477: Using Media to Cleanse the Source of News

Chapter 481: Chapter 477: Using Media to Cleanse the Source of News

The civil court’s atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

It was because of something Zhang Wei had just said that the courtroom felt the pressure.

Tracing the money would indeed be no easy feat, especially considering the number of transactions Blue Star saw each day and the amount of liquid capital moving around.

But Zhang Wei made a good point: if you knew whose pocket the money would ultimately land in, then it wouldn’t be so difficult to trace.

But how would you know into whose pocket the money would ultimately go?

What evidence do you have that connects that person to these 20 billion?

This statement also sparked strong opposition from the defense.

Master Tang and his apprentice Sun Kongwen both stood up to oppose Zhang Wei.

"Oh, master and apprentice are joining forces, I see!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Wei had naturally anticipated it.

After all, the target of his attack this time was that Lord Tiger.

And Lord Tiger was the boss of Fierce Tiger Hall.

These lawyers of Fierce Tiger Hall were naturally going to defend their own boss.

"What are you two so worked up about? It is just a conjecture," Zhang Wei said with a chuckle, his face full of mockery.

"Lawyer Zhang, please watch your language. As the plaintiff’s lawyer, please don’t make unsubstantiated accusations!"

Master Tang snorted coldly, clearly displeased with Zhang Wei.

"Indeed, be careful, or we might sue you for defamation on behalf of Mr. Zhang!"

Sun Kongwen also promptly added his piece to defend his superior.

"You two really are loyal in protecting your master!"

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but praise their behavior.

But to Master Tang and Sun Kongwen, this praise sounded rather odd to their ears.

"However, as you said, if indeed what I’m saying is unproven, then it certainly amounts to slander and defamation, even false accusations..."

Hearing Zhang Wei say this, Master Tang and his apprentice nodded in agreement.

You’re wise to see reason, lad; if you haven’t gone through evidence, you’d better not be talking nonsense, or we’ll reserve the right to take legal action.

You’d better be careful!

Their gazes still carried a warning.

However, Zhang Wei simply ignored the duo, and after a cold laugh, his tone took a haunting turn, "...But what if, I do have evidence?"

Evidence?

What evidence?

Master Tang and Sun Kongwen were both taken aback.

Where did you get evidence?

Qian Moli was also shocked, almost standing up to question Zhang Wei, what evidence do you have!

But this being a courtroom, the three could only look towards the center, focusing on that self-assured individual.

"I believe everyone present is aware of the trending topic that occurred over the weekend?"

At this, many people looked at each other with bemused expressions.

The incident from the weekend was indeed outrageous.

The thing was, as long as they went online, they would have heard or even participated in it to some extent.

They were also quite clear about the ins and outs of the V blog trending topic.

Seeing the reaction from the jury and the hearing attendees, Zhang Wei had his answer and continued unabatedly.

"We’ll leave aside the event from the weekend for now, because the V blog company has released a statement, obviously, their hot search system had broken, huh!"

Upon Zhang Wei mentioning this, laughter spread through the crowd.

Was it genuinely broken, or was it that the power of netizens was so great that the company couldn’t keep up and had to resort to extraordinary tactics?

That was up to individuals to decide.

But one thing was for sure, the trending topic that day had indeed revealed a lot of information.

"On the hot search list that day, many news items regarding Fierce Tiger Hall were refreshed, which I happened to be paying close attention to, as I was following the existence of this potential organization, so I was particularly interested in those posts and news contents."

"Among them, I saw a post, a revelation about Fierce Tiger Hall’s black industry revenues that surprised me with its content," Zhang Wei said, walking back to the plaintiff’s seat to take a few pages of photocopies from Xia Qianyue’s hands, then went to the projector to start displaying them.

"Please look, this is the content of the original post, which states that since the first incident of risk ten years ago, each time there was internal embezzlement at Dongxing Securities, Fierce Tiger Hall would see a huge sum of money coming in!"

"It’s as if that internal staffer took money for Fierce Tiger Hall and then took the blame, with Fierce Tiger Hall’s ledger clearly recording the income from the previous three incidents, even the amounts were exact replicas!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, the evidence on the projection screen was flipped through page by page.

The first receipt of funds was ten years ago, just a few days apart from when Dai Someone committed the crime, with an incoming amount of 40 million.

The second case was the Lei case six years ago, involving an amount of 200 million.

The third case was that of the trader Wu Mo three years ago, with an amount of 1.5 billion.

Zhang Wei flipped to the third page and then, with a slight smile, turned directly to the fourth page.

On the fourth page, there were many account transfer records, and Zhang Wei had thoughtfully marked the total with a red pen. The combined sum from these various accounts was exactly 20 billion.

Seeing this page, the courtroom was in an uproar.

If the first time, with 40 million, could be considered a coincidence.

Then the second time with 200 million, the third time with 1.5 billion, and the most recent 20 billion, weren’t they all a bit too coincidental?

If once or twice can’t be considered patterned, then what about three or four times? Clearly, there was a problem.

Had Fierce Tiger Hall really profited from the Dongxing Securities case?

"Objection!"

As expected, a lawyer from the defendant’s side raised an objection again.

Sun Kongwen stood up, his face filled with indignation.

"Judge Ni, what is Lawyer Zhang doing? What kind of evidence is he presenting? Why is he allowed to present these unverified pieces of evidence in this sacred courtroom?"

"Judge Ni, my evidence is not unverified. In fact, by merely summoning one witness to the court, it will become crystal clear whether this evidence is true or not," Zhang Wei replied, quite composed, to the opposing lawyer’s denial.

"Who?" Ni Qiuping instantly perked up with interest and quickly asked.

"Of course, it’s ’Lord Tiger’ from the legend of Fierce Tiger Hall, also known as Zhang Dihu himself!"

Upon hearing Zhang Wei call out this name, Ni Qiuping couldn’t help but think, damn, that’s bold.

You’ve got the nerve to summon just anyone, huh?

Do you have any idea who Zhang Dihu is?

He’s a famous philanthropist in Dongfang Capital, and most importantly, his brother is the chairman of the city council.

Zhang Wei, can you please cut me some slack?

I, Ni Qiuping, am just a minor judge in the civil court of a city court. I can’t afford to offend the chairman of the city council!

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei’s proposition was strongly opposed by Master Tang and his apprentice, Sun Kongwen.

"Master Tang, Lawyer Sun, I think summoning Mr. Zhang is the best chance for him to prove his innocence, wouldn’t you say?"

Master Tang opened his mouth to say something.

But Zhang Wei was quicker, pointing at the "evidence" on the projection screen and saying, "Don’t start with ’whoever questions must produce the evidence’. I have lots and lots of evidence here. If you want, I can make copies for you!"

"This evidence can prove that Zhang Dihu is the boss of Fierce Tiger Hall. He and his men are linked to over a hundred cases of murder, kidnapping, extortion, and other organized crime activities. If the weekend reports are true, then the number of lives lost at his hand over the years that he has been in charge of Fierce Tiger Hall would surely be at least in the hundreds, wouldn’t it?"

"Right, one post highlighted that he likes to put people in oil barrels and fill them with concrete, creating so-called ’concrete coffins’, and then have them sunk alive in the sea. That is one cruel method!"

"You, you... you are slandering!"

Master Tang could no longer sit still; feeling the shift in the courtroom’s atmosphere, he stood up, pointing at Zhang Wei, his body trembling with anger.

"Isn’t it slander? Bringing Mr. Zhang to court would settle it, wouldn’t it?"

Zhang Wei chuckled as if he was amused by Master Tang’s outburst.

"Judge Ni, you wouldn’t allow such an unreasonable request, would you?"

Turning his head towards Ni Qiuping, Master Tang’s tone carried a hint of warning.

"Judge Ni, the defense strongly opposes this demand!"

Sun Kongwen echoed similarly, his expression unfriendly.

Ni Qiuping rubbed her forehead; to be honest, she was truly afraid of Zhang Wei.

Why do you always have to cause me trouble?

However, after thinking it over, she felt that if Zhang Dihu were to come to court, it would indeed solve many issues.

Moreover, Zhang Wei had now presented so much evidence, albeit the authenticity of that evidence was yet to be verified.

"Come here!"

Ni Qiuping called a court guard over and whispered in their ear, "Go out and make a call. Ask if Mr. Zhang Dihu is available today. If he is, explain the situation in court and ask if he would be willing to come over!"

The court guard took command and left.

Ni Qiuping then looked at Zhang Wei, her eyes wildly signaling.

"Lawyer Zhang, the evidence you have presented... is it..."

"Judge Ni, these pieces of evidence actually aren’t important; what matters is how many people believe them."

Zhang Wei, of course, saw the court guard leave and knew what Ni Qiuping was trying to do.

But he was even clearer about one thing: Zhang Dihu wouldn’t be coming today.

Because the media attack had already begun.

To counter the immense public opinion, the investigative department was bound to take action.

And just as expected.

Within 5 minutes of the court guard’s departure, he hurried back and whispered something into Ni Qiuping’s ear.

Ni Qiuping’s expression changed slightly before looking at Zhang Wei, Master Tang, and the others with an odd expression.

"Judge Ni, has the court received any news about the evidence my side wishes to present, and may we make it public?"

Zhang Wei wasted no time and immediately asked, seizing the opportunity.

"This..."

"Judge Ni, I understand your concerns, but this matter will come to light sooner or later. Perhaps some in the audience have already received the news. Wouldn’t it be better for you to announce it sooner rather than later?"

Zhang Wei gestured towards the audience seats, where many had already started to look down at their smartphones.

"This..."

Ni Qiuping instantly realized that Zhang Wei might have already received advance notice, knowing that there would be such a development today.

"Cough cough, the court would like to clarify—Mr. Zhang Dihu has been taken by the investigative department to assist with an investigation regarding his involvement with Fierce Tiger Hall and related criminal cases; he will not be able to attend today’s hearing!"

With these words, the entire courtroom was in an uproar.

"Objection, this is provocative hearsay!"

Sun Kongwen immediately stood up, trying to regain some ground.

"Objection overruled, because this is a clarification made by Judge Ni herself, and the court guard has already verified it. It’s not a rumor but evidence!"

Zhang Wei sneered and took it upon himself to announce the matter in place of Ni Qiuping.

And whether there was an objection or not, it didn’t really matter anymore.

With all the evidence that had been reported online—all of it unfavorable to Zhang Dihu—and now with Ni Qiuping declaring it in public, the influence on the jury was almost irreversible.

"By the way, not everyone might know the relationship between Mr. Zhang and Ms. Qian Moli, but if you search their names online, you will find quite a few explosive stories!"

Zhang Wei added fuel to the fire, aiming directly at Qian Moli and Zhang Dihu.

Qian Moli’s face turned pale, while Master Tang and Sun Kongwen both stood up almost simultaneously.

"Objection, the defense strongly objects. Judge Ni, the prosecution lawyer is attempting to influence the jury through improper methods!"

Following the defense’s vehement objection, Ni Qiuping nodded.

"This court now announces that today’s hearing is concluded prematurely, and the court issues a stern warning to the prosecution lawyer. When the hearing resumes next time, no evidence that has not been confirmed by the investigative department may be presented in court!"

As Ni Qiuping spoke, she glared fiercely at Zhang Wei.

But both of them knew how effective such a threat would be.

Its deterrent effect was about zero.

Ni Qiuping struck the gavel decisively, and the court session was temporarily adjourned.

Master Tang, along with Sun Kongwen and Qian Moli, hurriedly left the witness stand and the defense team left the courtroom at a brisk pace, nearly rushing out.

They all knew one thing now: Zhang Dihu had been taken by the investigative department, and they needed to move quickly to save their boss!

"Goodbye, Qian Moli. Cherish your time now..."

As Zhang Wei watched them leave, his gaze fixed on the woman with a frantic expression, filled with anxiety, he felt unusually calm.

He was just quietly taking in the change of atmosphere in the courtroom.

He had won!

Using not-altogether-honorable means, he gained an early victory for himself.

"Zhang Wei, why is the court adjourned again?"

Xia Qianyue came up, looking confused.

"Yes, yes, it’s not satisfying at all!"

Zhao Xiaoxiao was even more displeased, pouting and complaining, "That Judge Ni is really, why call a halt? We were just about to properly deal with that woman!"

The woman whom both the daughters detested so much was obviously Qian Moli.

"You don’t have to worry, Qian Moli’s end is already decided."

Zhang Wei waved his hand dismissively and then, draping his arms over the shoulders of his eldest and younger daughters, led them out of the courtroom.

"Actually, from now on, I don’t need to make any effort. Let nature take its course from here."

"Let nature take its course?"

Xia Qianyue and Zhao Xiaoxiao exchanged glances, both somewhat puzzled.

"Right, right, why did you release so much news on the internet? Isn’t it better to keep it to yourself?"

"Keeping it to myself would just tell Zhang Tianlong and Zhang Dihu that we were the ones behind the fire that day, wouldn’t it?"

"But releasing it on the internet dilutes its impact, doesn’t it?"

"Yes, but at least with the power of the internet, I can whitewash the origin of the information!"

Zhang Wei chuckled.

Using the internet to whitewash evidence was a method he didn’t usually like to use, but facing an enemy he still couldn’t deal with at the moment, it was actually the best tactic.

If he were to reveal evidence of a collusion between Zhang Dihu and Qian Moli in court, though he could win the case more quickly, he would also offend Zhang Dihu and Zhang Tianlong in the process.

Zhang Wei had yet to be confident in his ability to handle the retaliation from the Zhang Family.

But if it were spread through the internet, even though the evidence would be significantly discounted, as long as he erased the traces, he could make it impossible for the Zhang Family to find out who disseminated the information.

"Although I, Zhang Wei, have the evidence in hand, I only saw it ’online.’ What proof do you have that I’m the distributor?"

You can’t catch any flaws, so you have no way to act against me!

It’s possible the distributor is someone else.

An enemy lurking in the shadows will make the Zhang Family more cautious.

Moreover, the two brothers of the Zhang Family should already be at their wit’s end by now.

"Next, all we need to do is wait!"

Zhang Wei laughed heartily, leading them straight back to Lin Mansion.

As for whether there would be further court sessions, that was no longer important.

...

Meanwhile.

Criminal Investigation Department, Major Case Team office.

Inside a certain interrogation room, Zhang Dihu was receiving attention from several captains of the Major Case Team.

"Mr. Zhang, here is direct evidence of you as the leader of Fierce Tiger Hall, linking you to over a hundred murder cases, both direct and indirect. Do you still intend to maintain your silence?"

"Mr. Zhang, to think you are such a great philanthropist in Dongfang Capital, yet secretly you hide such an identity. You really are quite the revelation!"

"Zhang Dihu, there’s no use in hiding any longer. This evidence is enough to land you in deep trouble. We didn’t expect so many strong pieces of evidence to appear online. There’s no escape for you!"

"Zhang Dihu, you..."

The captains went all out, holding stacks of evidence transcriptions, trying to break Zhang Dihu’s silence through psychological pressure.

Unfortunately, no matter how they attacked, they couldn’t compel Zhang Dihu to speak.

He sat there as if he hadn’t a care in the world, so composed that he even asked Lin Ruonan to make him a cup of tea.

This time it was the Anti-Gang Team leader’s turn to question him, but aside from taking a sip of his tea, Zhang Dihu’s face remained unperturbed.

After more than ten minutes, the Anti-Gang Team leader also gave up. He had exhausted all his techniques and yet could get nothing from Zhang Dihu.

"Mr. Zhang, we have arrived!"

Just then, Master Tang and others arrived.

The Major Case Team members realized that once the lawyers arrived, their opportunities had ended.

Now, it was time for investigation work, to prove one by one the things mentioned in the evidence and then hand it over to prosecution.

"Mr. Zhang, although your lawyer has arrived, let me warn you, we have our eyes on you. I advise you not to leave Dongfang Capital anytime soon!"

Zhang Dihu left the Criminal Investigation Department without saying a word and once he got back into the car, he could no longer contain himself.

"Who exactly is it, who took away my secret?"

In the car, Master Tang and the others didn’t dare to make a sound.

The situation was now quite apparent.

The fire at the manor was suspiciously strange, and unfortunately, most of the men responsible for guarding the territory perished in that fire, leaving no clues.

No one knew who had taken the documents from inside.

Whether it was long premeditated, or there were undercover agents or traitors, no one could be sure.

But they knew that the secrets of Fierce Tiger Hall had been thoroughly exposed.

"This is bad, Lord Tiger, there’s a new video!"

Just then, Sun Kongwen exclaimed, opening his phone in shock.

Zhang Dihu quickly snatched the phone to take a look.

He discovered that it was a video of himself with Qian Moli.

"Lord Tiger, I’ve brought in 20 billion this time. How will you reward me?"

"Hahaha, you are my little darling, you can have whatever you want!"

"Then, I hope Lord Tiger can be with me every day~"

"No problem, I’ll be with you every day..."

The video was very short, only a couple sentences long, but the content was explosive enough.

Zhang Dihu and Master Tang, looking at the paused video on the phone, turned completely pale.

It was over. How could this video have appeared? Wasn’t this making it completely impossible to clear their name?

Who could it be?

The person who leaked these videos and documents, who could it be?

How much more evidence does he have in his hands?