Chapter 144 - 95: Announcement, Take on All Comers

"What do we do?"

Zhao Xing wanted a cigarette, but that was obviously not allowed in the courtroom.

He immediately looked at Zhang Bingxin, his anxiety showing.

"For this case, the committee’s recommendation was to announce the verdict at a second hearing..."

The committee had decided on an 18-year sentence.

But the evidence Xu De presented... once the defendant’s minor status was overturned, the lightest possible sentence was death!

The gap was immense...

"You’re going to listen to the committee?" Lu Guowei retorted.

"If the committee is so great, why aren’t they here trying the case themselves!?"

To put it bluntly, given the current situation, even the court president would have to shut up. There was nothing to be done.

They had no doubt that if they delayed the verdict, Xu De would be on his way to appeal within half an hour.

And then, the Provincial High Court and the Supreme Court would bring along some officials from the ’Supervisory Commission’ to conduct a full-blown investigation of the Intermediate Court.

After thinking it through, the judges’ bench fell silent.

The three parties in the trial area were also completely quiet. No one spoke a word, their gazes clashing like swords.

Even outside the courtroom, everyone held their breath, waiting to catch any sound that might leak through the cracks of the door.

Until...

"Given that key facts of this case are still in dispute and require further investigation!"

"I hereby announce..."

On the judges’ bench, Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin suddenly spoke. His voice was abrupt and loud, and he enunciated the word "investigation" with biting emphasis, clearly displeased with it.

His voice seemed to ring in everyone’s hearts, startling them awake.

The next second, two words followed.

"Court adjourned!!!"

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin said through clenched teeth.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up, extended his hand, and jabbed his right index finger fiercely at Xu De at the counsel’s table, shooting him a venomous glare.

Then, he angrily flicked his sleeve and stormed away.

’This man... I really don’t want to see him for another second!’

"The next hearing date is to be determined!"

And as his voice faded...

In the entire courtroom, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The clerk and bailiffs began packing up to leave, with a few bailiffs first escorting the witness away.

"That settles it."

At the counsel’s table, a relaxed smile spread across Xu De’s face.

Beside him, Wang Chao and Lin Yue also breathed sighs of relief. Lin Yue, however, spoke, a little dumbfounded.

"That strategy of yours... honestly, it’s the kind that gets you beaten up."

He was clearly dancing on a tightrope over a bottomless abyss, and the bottom of that abyss was lined with blades.

The slightest misstep would mean a fatal fall...

"At the very least, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a judge publicly point a finger at someone before leaving!"

Lin Yue shook her head, speaking with some lingering fear.

Two ambushes in one trial. It had driven the judge to the brink, yet there was nothing he could do about it... Lin Yue put herself in the judge’s shoes and instantly felt a surge of frustration.

"Heh."

"I had a reasonable and legitimate cause. The time on the paternity test report can prove it."

Xu De, however, was completely unconcerned.

He could tell which was worse: being targeted or losing the case.

But...

"By the way, Director, are we really not leaving?"

Wang Chao, beside him, suddenly spoke thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

He turned his head, glanced at the prosecutors and the people at the defendant’s table, and gave a well-intentioned reminder:

"Lawyer Xu, your strategy dragged everyone through the mud, including ourselves. The judge has left, but there are others who haven’t."

Xu De paused and subconsciously looked up, following his gaze.

Beside them, at the prosecutor’s table, were three prosecutors.

Huang Shi was grinding his teeth, his eyes fixed on Xu De with hostility. He was not in a good mood; his mind was in turmoil.

He had considered that Xu De might not play by the rules.

But he never imagined he could be *this* unruly. Arrogant? No, this was downright audacious!

Forcing the prosecution to cross-examine on the spot... and now, after the recess, they would be swamped, having to deal with the pile of evidence he had just dumped on them...

As for the defendant’s table...

Unlike Huang Shi, the emotions at the defendant’s table were much purer.

Simple hatred. A seething, teeth-grinding hatred.

CRACK!

Zhang Wei stared at Xu De with a look of pure hatred, as if he wanted to chew his bones to dust. His hands were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, the joints cracking audibly.

’You animal... You’re an animal!’

Seeing this, Xu De’s expression changed. He quickly grabbed his bag and stood up.

"Let’s go."

The words had barely left his mouth before he was hurrying away, with Lin Yue and Wang Chao close behind.

Just as Wang Chao had said, this strategy was satisfying. You could take whatever you wanted as if reaching into a bag.

But... the problem was, Xu De was reaching into other people’s bowls to get it. He wanted judicial weight, so he ambushed the court with evidence to force a test. He wanted cross-examination, so he made the prosecutor do it. He wanted his desired sentence, so he made the defendant confess first...

He was bound to make enemies!

Take Zhang Wei and Sun Bing, for example. Xu De had no doubt that if he stayed any longer, they would invite him to a 1v1 octagon match right there in the courtroom.

This wasn’t a joke. So-called social elites were still human, and all humans have emotions.

It didn’t matter if you were a corporate executive or the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.

When tempers flared, it wasn’t unheard of for them to challenge someone to a fight right then and there!

So, in the blink of an eye, the counsel’s table was completely empty. They had vanished without a trace.

By the time everyone else snapped out of it, they were long gone.

"Chief, the agent ran off!"

Zhang Qing came to his senses and quickly spoke up, a look of frustration on his face.

The man had screwed over Huang Shi, and he’d screwed him over too. Of course, the key issue was that he still had to go find him to get details on the case...

That’s right. Even though he hated him enough to grind his teeth, he still needed to communicate with Xu De and conduct the cross-examination alongside the court. That was the only way to nail this case shut.

"What do we do?"

Zhang Qing asked anxiously, "Should we go after him?"

Huang Shi shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy.

He was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Go after him. If you can’t catch him, go to his law firm."

"I remember... he’s from Jinmao Law Firm, right?"

Huang Shi had suddenly forgotten which firm he belonged to. His memory was still stuck on Director Han’s Jinmao.

Hearing this, Prosecutor Wang Mang looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What is it?" Huang Shi asked, puzzled.

"Xu De left Jinmao. He went out on his own and opened a firm with those two partners of his," Wang Mang explained.

Huang Shi nodded. "That’s good. Going solo clearly has potential."

"Oh, right, what’s his firm called? We need to find him for the investigation later."

Wang Mang said, "’Houde Law Firm’."

Huang Shi: ?

"What?"

Huang Shi froze for a second, as if he hadn’t heard correctly, and stared at him in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Wang Mang took a deep breath and said, "Lawyer Xu’s new firm is called ’Houde Law Firm’."

Houde...

For some reason, Huang Shi, who had just managed to calm himself down, suddenly felt a surge of hot blood rush to his head.

His blood pressure spiked, and blood flooded his brain.

"Houde Law Firm..."

He ground out the words, a smile... a smile of pure rage... appearing on his face.

"Houde... Haha... Houde..."

Zhang Qing felt a bit awkward. "Chief, when should we go to that Hou... uh, that law firm?"

"Now!"

Huang Shi took a deep breath, stood up, and snarled in a low voice,

"When we get to Xu De’s law firm, hit anyone you see! Don’t let a single one get away!"

He had truly never met such a shameless person... What on earth was he thinking when he chose that name?!

"What about a dog?" Zhang Qing raised an eyebrow. "What if they have a guard dog?"

"A dog? What kind of good dog would be a guard dog for him?"

Huang Shi was extremely irritated.

"I’d even kick a dog just for passing by!"

With that, the men got up and hurried out.

He was obviously joking, but the urgency of the situation was real.

Meanwhile...

...

At the same time, Zhang Bingxin and the other two judges strode out of Courtroom Two, their expressions grim and their pace quickening.

They crossed the corridor and went up the stairs.

Before long, after a few turns, they arrived at their office.

CREAK!

The office door opened.

Inside the office, a few clerks who had been organizing files saw them and quickly stood up.

"Judge Zhang."

Zhang Bingxin just felt exhausted. He waved his hand in acknowledgment and immediately said,

"Clerk Li, go to the court administration office and relay the message to convene a top-level court meeting."

"The Criminal Division... needs to hold an Adjudication Committee meeting."

’An Adjudication Committee meeting?’

Clerk Li was slightly taken aback. ’Hadn’t they just held one not long ago? The committee had already given its decision!’

’Wait... don’t tell me there was another unexpected turn in that case!’

Stunned, Clerk Li still managed to ask,

"Who all should be notified?"

Zhang Bingxin considered it for a moment, then said decisively,

"Notify everyone: the president, the vice presidents, the chief judge and deputy chief judge of every division, and all senior full-time committee members!"

Clerk Li’s eye twitched.

’What kind of incident could possibly require a meeting of people at this level...’

But he still nodded and hurried off to do it.

"Yes, sir."

...