Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 517 - 512 Checking and Pressuring, Is There Someone Else Behind?

Chapter 517: Chapter 512 Checking and Pressuring, Is There Someone Else Behind?

A fatal blow!

At least, in the eyes of Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong, the testimony presented by Dr. Ding could indeed strike a truly fatal blow against the defense!

Firstly, he himself is a professional technical specialist, an expert witness.

Secondly, he was able to prove that there were errors in the DNA report from 20 years ago.

Last, and most critical, there were problems with the evidence itself; the DNA comparison results didn’t match Mr. Li’s at all.

This last point is key.

"Dr. Ding, please repeat that again, I’m afraid some people didn’t hear you clearly!"

After receiving the anticipated response, Prosecutor Zheng still repeated his question, "You’re saying that the DNA extracted from this strand of hair is completely different from that of the original plaintiff, Mr. Li?"

"Yes, there’s a huge discrepancy in the DNA comparison results. Generally speaking, only a DNA match rate of 99.99% would prove it to be the DNA of the person in question!"

"So, the testing of the hair revealed that the DNA in the hair does not have a 99.99% match with the plaintiff’s DNA, right?"

"Yes!"

Dr. Ding nodded directly, admitting, "The match rate is not even 80%!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the courtroom was again abuzz.

This time, everyone felt there was an issue.

The match rate is so vastly different; couldn’t there be a problem with it?

And isn’t the timing of the evidence discovery also problematic?

For the previous seven victims, no evidence was found, and the serial murder case dragged on for two years without finding the perpetrator.

By the time the eighth victim emerged, within less than a week, a very "coincidental" discovery of decisive evidence occurred, and the suspect Mr. Li was caught.

But now, 20 years later, you’re telling me that the evidence found at that time doesn’t match Mr. Li’s DNA at all!

What does this mean?

If there’s no problem here, then that’s really something!

All eyes in the courtroom focused on the defense’s bench.

This time, it was a complete lack of trust.

Everyone looked at Yang Chunyuan, waiting for an explanation.

You, this woman, are the top forensic expert of Dongfang Capital. Yet the court is telling us that your reputation as the top forensic expert may be undeserved!

Especially with such a huge issue in the first major case you cracked, could it be that there is indeed... a real issue?

Suspicion!

Mistrust!

Even the conspiracy theorists were casting doubtful looks at the investigative department and even the judge.

Whatever they were thinking in their minds, even if you’re not one of them, you could somewhat guess.

"Cough cough, this court is adjourned for today," announced the bench.

Perhaps sensing that the jury was now swayed, Judge Liu directly concluded the hearing.

He knew that the jury, influenced by Prosecutor Zheng and Dr. Ding’s testimonies, would suspect everyone.

If the defense were allowed to speak at this point, it likely wouldn’t have any effect.

Under such circumstances, it’s better to give the jury a night to cool off.

"Everyone can go back and rest, we will resume court tomorrow afternoon!"

The courtroom paused for a recess, and people started to leave their seats one after another.

However, the jurors’ glances towards the defense’s bench were filled with unfriendliness and suspicion.

This, anyone with a bit of experience could tell why.

The jury, it seems, was no longer inclined to trust the defense.

That’s why Judge Liu adjourned early, even before allowing the defense their turn at cross-examination—it was apparently out of concern that the jury wouldn’t be receptive.

All in all, many people left the courtroom, but in their hearts, they all had the same thought.

The verdict was already predetermined!

The defense was sure to lose!

"Lawyer Zhang, Forensic Yang, what are your thoughts now?"

At that moment, Prosecutor Zheng, along with Black and Mr. Li, approached Zhang Wei’s group.

"My suggestion is to plead guilty and reach a settlement with us!"

Prosecutor Zheng said as he directly addressed Yang Chunyuan, "Although I am not from Dongfang Capital, and I don’t serve the Dongfang Capital Procuratorate Headquarters, that doesn’t prevent me from having heard of Forensic Yang’s great reputation!"

"To thank Forensic Yang for your twenty years of support for the investigative department, we’ve negotiated the maximum concessions for you. If you reach a settlement with us, we can reduce your sentence to under 10 years!"

A prison term of less than 10 years, and even the possibility of a reduced sentence for good behavior.

years, 6 years?

At this time, if handled properly, the sentence could still be reduced.

It must be said that the conditions offered by Zheng Fenyong might be considered by someone with a guilty conscience, who might agree to them after some thought.

"Sorry, I have no intention of pleading guilty, because I absolutely did not wrong him!"

Yang Chunyuan firmly refused, pointing at Mr. Li righteously.

"Forensic Yang, do you realize my client is innocent? He has served 20 years in prison because of the so-called evidence you provided. Who is responsible for his loss?"

Black, however, was full of sarcasm, questioning Yang Chunyuan with a cold tone and an unfriendly attitude.

"Both of you, the case hasn’t been finalized yet, and here you are, appearing with the attitude of victors. Isn’t this going too far?"

Zhang Wei was relatively calm, as he stood in front of Black and Zheng Fenyong, retorting coldly.

But at this moment, Zheng Fenyong already had the advantage and naturally was not afraid of Zhang Wei.

"Lawyer Zhang, and Forensic Yang, I believe the conditions we offered are already the best possible deal. I’m giving you 24 hours to consider. If we don’t receive a response before the trial starts tomorrow, we will proceed without waiting!"

With that, Zheng Fenyong left without dragging his feet.

Black and Mr. Li followed behind Zheng Fenyong, leaving together.

"Talking about expiry, it seems they believe they have already won," remarked Zhang Wei, watching the trio leave with a slight frown.

It’s a prosecutorial tactic, offering slight concessions and then applying psychological pressure, all to coerce the defendant into a compromise.

From the current situation, the prosecution does indeed have the upper hand to pressure the defense.

"I will absolutely, absolutely not plead guilty because I haven’t done anything wrong!"

Yang Chunyuan was clearly convinced of her own innocence, and pleading guilty was out of the question.

"Then we should also leave, let’s head back and discuss further!"

Zhang Wei accompanied Yang Chunyuan and her family back to their villa residence.

However, after returning to the villa, Mo Juren said he was tired and went to rest in his room first, leaving behind Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu outside.

The mother and daughter were not in the mood to deal with him, but began to discuss with Zhang Wei instead.

"The most urgent issue in this case is the so-called evidence, why the DNA comparison of the hair is problematic!"

While speaking, Zhang Wei took out the report and handed it to Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu to examine.

"This is the evidence presented by the prosecution. They have conducted multiple DNA comparisons of the hair. Do you see anything?"

"This report seems fine. A new sequence was found in the DNA, which clearly does not belong to Mr. Li!" Mo Yuzhu commented, looking at the data in the report.

This indicates that the DNA hair sample likely did not come from Mr. Li.

"Impossible, even 20 years ago, I couldn’t have made such a mistake!"

But Yang Chunyuan obviously couldn’t accept this result.

It was her first case, the first time she had caught a serial killer.

Since then, she devoted herself to her work, eager to help the investigative department catch the real culprits.

But now you’re telling me, the report I worked on was wrong, that I even caught the wrong person.

Isn’t this denying all the efforts I’ve made all this time?

"Then why does this DNA comparison result not match the one from 20 years ago?"

Zhang Wei pondered over the comparison report and glanced at Yang Chunyuan and Mo Yuzhu.

"In that case, shall Classmate Mo and I make another trip to the First Forensic Office and do another comparison of that hair sample?"

Some things, after all, are better seen than heard.

The comparison results were done by others; neither Mo Yuzhu nor Zhang Wei had participated in them.

They wanted to see for themselves whether the comparison results would differ if they were present during the whole process.

"That’s the only option we have," sighed Yang Chunyuan resignedly but she had to agree, knowing her daughter was also a forensic expert.

Zhang Wei and Mo Yuzhu exchanged glances and set out directly.

Soon, they arrived at the First Forensic Office.

After stating their purpose, the office staff did not make it difficult for them, generously allowing them to use the laboratory.

The key evidence from the case, *hair*, although taken by the prosecution, still had part of it left at the office.

Now, Mo Yuzhu started working with the equipment at the First Forensic Office, beginning the operation.

Since Zhang Wei was not a specialist, he could only watch from outside the laboratory, observing Mo Yuzhu working intently.

Mo Yuzhu needed time for her part, and Zhang Wei also began to contemplate on his own.

Where exactly are the issues in this case?

It was clear that there were problems with William International.

Why did they seek out Mr. Li? Was it really just because Laura Campbell wanted to be a city councilor, and Mo Juren stood in her way?

Black was evidently serving Laura, so that was the only possibility left.

But did William International really need to go to such lengths?

"Speaking of which, this Mr. Li seems utterly indifferent to whether or not he’s guilty. He must be the murderer," someone said.

"At the end of the day, if I could discover any intelligence about Black being in contact with the young master of the family, I might be able to prove that there’s something wrong with the case itself, maybe even turn the tables," Zhang Wei thought.

Zhang Wei pondered for a moment, then sent a message to Zhao Xiaoxiao, sharing Black’s information with her.

In the end, he conveyed a request to his second daughter.

It was just two words: do it!

After assigning the task to his second daughter, Zhang Wei returned to the lab to exchange a few words with Mo Yuzhu.

Learning that the experiment results would need a day and wouldn’t be ready until the next morning, Zhang Wei had no choice but to head back to Lin Mansion to rest.

...

The next day, in the morning.

Zhang Wei was awoken by the sound of a ringing phone.

"Classmate Mo, what are you saying? The DNA comparison has an error, but you’ve also made a new discovery?"

"Okay, okay, that’s great news. I’ve found something too, I’ll be right there!"

Zhang Wei glanced at the new email in his inbox and immediately left Lin Mansion for the First Forensic Office.

After meeting Mo Yuzhu in the office, Zhang Wei saw her with dark circles under her eyes as profound as those of the Iron-Eating Beast, her entire face devoid of energy, yawning continuously when she saw him.

It seemed she hadn’t slept all night, reverting to her usual funeral-mourning appearance.

"There’s an error in the DNA comparison results, so I had an idea; if there’s an error with the current testing method, what would the result be if we verified it using the methods available 20 years ago?"

As she spoke, Mo Yuzhu handed a report to Zhang Wei.

"This is the DNA verification of the hair carried out with the tests from 20 years ago, and the result is... ha~~~"

As she said this, she let out a long yawn.

"The result is mismatched!" Zhang Wei could only flip through the report himself and saw the outcome.

"Yes," Mo Yuzhu said, sleepy and lethargic. "So I think it’s not a problem with the testing method, but rather someone has tampered with the hair itself!"

"Someone actually tampered with the evidence?" Zhang Wei was astonished.

Who on earth would have the guts to secretly alter key evidence?

"I think this could help you!"

Mo Yuzhu handed another report to Zhang Wei.

"If we’re saying there’s an issue with the hair, it’s very possible it isn’t Mr. Li’s. But I conducted a few more tests and found a part of the DNA in the hair matches Mr. Li’s genetic traits, meaning the hair does indeed belong to him."

"But if the hair belongs to Mr. Li, why then does part of it come up as not matching the DNA comparison result? I had this question and eventually discovered that there’s something interfering with it in the hair!"

"An interfering substance?" Zhang Wei was taken aback. What was that?

"It’s a kind of pollen... The pollen comes from... I’m so sleepy... I want to sleep..."

As Mo Yuzhu said this, her face was overwhelmed with drowsiness, and she started to sway as if about to topple over.

"Classmate Mo, you..."

Zhang Wei had quick reflexes, catching Mo Yuzhu in time, but his hand unintentionally touched something it shouldn’t have.

He hadn’t thought much of it, acting on instinct.

Zhang Wei had to admit, despite her irregular sleeping habits and somewhat gloomy demeanor, Funeral Mourning Mo Yuzhu had quite an impressive figure.

"I’m sorry, Classmate Mo, I wasn’t paying attention. Hey, hey, hey, wake up, don’t sleep here..."

He quickly apologized, only to find that Mo Yuzhu had already fallen asleep.

It seemed that staying up all night for tests was extremely exhausting, and even she couldn’t resist it anymore.

"What am I going to do..."

Zhang Wei, helpless, glanced at the funeral-mourning girl who had already fallen asleep against him and, with no other choice, had to carry her, leaving the office.

Knock, knock, knock!

With a familiar knocking sound, when Yang Chunyuan opened the door to the villa, she saw Zhang Wei carrying her daughter on his back. Again.

This was the second time.

"This girl, how has she fallen asleep again?"

"Classmate Mo was busy all day yesterday; she probably didn’t sleep last night?"

"This child, just like me!"

Yang Chunyuan nodded her head and didn’t say much about Mo Yuzhu’s behavior; after all, she herself often did the same.

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Forensic Yang, no offense, but you’ve started a bad example here.

After having Mo Yuzhu rest in her room, Zhang Wei checked the time and, with Yang Chunyuan, hurried to the city court.

Because the court session was about to start in the afternoon.

...

City court, in the preparation room.

"What did you say, the evidence has been tampered with!"

When Yang Chunyuan learned of the news that Mo Yuzhu had told Zhang Wei, her entire demeanor became unsettled.

"Yes, this report, Forensic Yang, did you notice anything wrong with it?"

Zhang Wei quickly passed the last report Mo Yuzhu gave to him.

"Eh, this genetic sequence, it’s..."

Yang Chunyuan, being a professional, spotted the issue in the report with just a glance.

"Right, Forensic Yang, I can also tell you that there seems to be a problem with this case. But rest assured, today I will investigate everything thoroughly!"

Zhang Wei then informed Yang Chunyuan about another matter concerning the potential background of the case.

After hearing this, Yang Chunyuan’s face remained unsettled for a long time.

She had originally thought that the problem with the case might have stemmed from her own work error, and although she believed it impossible, she could have understood if there had been a mistake on her part.

But unexpectedly, as Zhang Wei delved deeper into his investigation, the case’s connection to Yang Chunyuan herself seemed to shrink.

Even whether Yang Chunyuan had made any work errors became irrelevant.

Clearly, she was just a breakout character, a target selected by the person behind the scenes to achieve their objectives.

"So, Lawyer Zhang, are you saying that all the trouble I’ve been through is only because..."

"Exactly, it’s just as you are thinking, but as for who the person behind the scenes is, I still need to carefully sort through the situation!"

Zhang Wei spoke and walked out of the preparation room with Yang Chunyuan, once again entering the courtroom.

The Tuesday hearing was about to begin shortly.

As the time approached, not only had the defense arrived, but the prosecution also arrived quickly.

Then came the audience in the public gallery, followed by the jury, escorted by the Court Guard.

After resting for a night, the jury’s complexion seemed to have improved a lot, but their hostility towards the defense had not diminished in the slightest.

It appeared that one night was not enough for them to thoroughly reconsider; the hostility from the previous day was still fully present in their hearts.

"Did I shoot myself in the foot by selecting so many jurors who like conspiracy theories, only to have them suspect my client of being involved in a conspiracy theory in their past work!"

Zhang Wei sighed helplessly as he looked at the jury.

It was his choice to select such a jury after all.

Once the jury had taken their seats, the courtroom began to quiet down.

"All rise!"

Judge Liu briskly walked into the scene at the announcement of the Court Guard.

"Heh, everyone, please be seated!"

He took his seat and asked everyone to sit down.

But as he was preparing to scan the room to confirm if anyone was absent, he noticed there was someone on the defense bench who hadn’t sat down.

Zhang Wei!

"Lawyer Zhang, why aren’t you sitting?"

"Judge Liu, our side requests a pre-trial motion!"

These words left Judge Liu flabbergasted.

The trial hadn’t even started yet, and you’re already up to something?

Although he was a bit apprehensive inside, Judge Liu still nodded at Zhang Wei and Prosecutor Zheng Fenyong on the prosecution’s bench.

Both immediately approached the bench.

"Lawyer Zhang, what are you planning?"

"Judge Liu, and Prosecutor Zheng, our side requests to summon an urgent witness!"

Hearing this request, Judge Liu’s heart skipped a beat.

So you’re indeed planning some drama.

"Who?"

Zhang Wei pointed at Laura Campbell from William International on the prosecution side, speaking earnestly, "Laura Campbell from William International!"

"Who?"

Judge Liu had never anticipated that Zhang Wei, when he decided to make a move, would make such a significant one.

Darn, of all people to summon, you choose the representative attorney’s boss from the original plaintiff’s side.

Indeed, it was a move only Zhang Wei could pull off, truly a skillful play.

But the question remained, would the prosecution agree to such a request?