Chapter 82 - 70: The Defense’s Hexagon Chart Strategy

Liu Jingqi began to wonder who these eight people were, her mind already turning to the revenge she would take against them once she was free.

After a long while,

Zhang Bingxin exhaled slowly. He had finished reading.

It was like watching a meticulously detailed surveillance recording. The testimonies all corroborated one another; every person’s statement could be confirmed in the testimony of a second, or even a third, individual.

Therefore...

According to the indictment, the defendant’s bullying prior to the incident was absolutely grounds for prosecution!

However...

"Defense, do you wish to offer a rebuttal?" Zhang Bingxin asked, looking toward the defense table.

"Your Honor, this is merely testimony!"

Zhang Wei spoke at once, his words so polished it was as if they had been scripted.

He rose to his feet, gesturing to the identical copy of the evidence in his hand, and said gravely,

"And what’s more, it’s testimony completely devoid of any substantive evidence!"

"Furthermore, the prosecution seems to believe that a greater number of accusers makes the corroboration between their statements more valid. In fact, the opposite is true."

"In our view, this is clearly..."

"The brute-force method!"

There is an interesting concept within the theory of brute-force methods.

It’s the idea that if you give a monkey a typewriter and an infinite amount of time, by letting it hit the keys at random, it is a mathematical near-certainty that it will eventually type out any given text.

Even a masterpiece like the *Complete Works of Shakespeare*, or *Hamlet*.

But in reality, could a monkey ever actually produce such a work?

"Your Honor."

"When you have more than three people testifying, even a complete lie can find matching ’corroboration’ within the others’ statements!"

Zhang Wei’s words were sharp, and his counterargument was seemingly irrefutable.

"We are now in the Second Tribunal."

"There are at least thirty reporters outside. Right now, they are undoubtedly speculating about this trial."

"And it is highly probable that one of their speculations will align perfectly with the events being described here!!!"

This was the very flaw in the prosecution’s evidence.

For example,

If you ask a billion people to make up a lie, there will inevitably be dozens, even hundreds, who tell the exact same lie, potentially down to the very same details.

So, can you claim that this lie is the truth?

"No!"

"Unless there is substantive, objective evidence!"

Zhang Wei denied it outright, leaving no room for argument.

"And neither the police nor the prosecution has ever submitted any such evidence!"

As his words fell,

At the prosecution’s table,

Prosecutor Wang Mang couldn’t contain himself and retorted angrily, "The defendant’s bullying goes back four years!"

"What kind of evidence could possibly be preserved for four years without any protective measures!?"

But Zhang Wei’s reaction was lightning-fast. He shot back,

"That’s no excuse for you to baselessly accuse someone!"

Rage surged in Wang Mang’s throat.

"You!"

Zhang Wei gave him no chance to continue, immediately turning to face Zhang Bingxin.

"Your Honor, that concludes our first point: there is no substantive evidence proving the defendant ever engaged in bullying."

"Furthermore, the defense has a second point we wish to present!"

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin nodded. He glanced at the prosecution with a frown and warned,

"The prosecution will mind the court’s decorum and refrain from interrupting another’s statement!"

At that,

Though visibly resentful, Wang Mang had no choice but to fall silent. He sat back down, glaring at the defense with a sour expression.

’Substantive evidence... where are we supposed to find substantive evidence!? Liu Jingqi’s bullying mostly involved giving her victims bruises with her bare hands. Some of them never even went to the hospital. And even for those who did, how could we prove that Liu Jingqi was the one who caused the injuries? She wasn’t stupid enough to do her beatings under a surveillance camera!’

Zhang Bingxin took a deep breath, looked toward the defense table, and nodded for them to proceed.

"Defense, please continue your statement."

Meanwhile...

...

「Outside the courtroom.」

"What are they saying in there? Sounds to me like the prosecution is challenging the evidence."

"Challenging evidence? What’s there for the prosecution to challenge? I thought this case was a slam dunk."

"Hold on, if you think about it... the defendant might actually not be convicted."

"Of course, I’m talking about the part of the case that doesn’t directly involve Yang Jiale."

"..."

Before the main doors of the Second Tribunal,

The crowd stood, listening anxiously to the intermittent voices that leaked through due to poor soundproofing.

In their eyes, the courtroom doors had become a Pandora’s box—full of immense temptation, yet they could only stand and watch, unable to open it.

But even so,

The snippets of sound that escaped were enough to fuel the crowd’s discussions.

"What do you mean, ’might not be convicted’? How can you kill someone and not be convicted!?"

"Not every case is like the one in Li Family Village!"

Someone interjected with a frown.

"The only reason Wang Qiang from the Li Family Village case had such a hard time getting acquitted was because Xu De stubbornly clung to the ’justifiable self-defense under special circumstances’ angle. That, combined with the extenuating circumstances, was what led the judge to break with the long-dormant precedent for such acquittals."

But...

The dormant precedent was for *justifiable self-defense*.

Not acquittal in general!

Liu Jingqi and her two friends may have acted atrociously, even causing a tragedy that resulted in the loss of two vibrant lives.

But... arguing for an acquittal here is, in theory, far simpler than it was for Wang Qiang!

"The defendant’s alleged murder and bullying can’t be proven!"

A veteran reporter with a furrowed brow spoke in a low voice.

The acquittal Zhang Wei was aiming for wasn’t the kind Xu De fought for. It was a much easier, and not at all uncommon, type of acquittal.

By...

Breaking the chain of evidence!

If there isn’t enough evidence to secure a conviction, then the indictment and prosecution will naturally be dismissed.

Once dismissed, there’s no trial, and the defendant is considered not guilty.

"But..."

The person began to object, but a reporter closer to the door suddenly had a change in expression.

"SHH~!"

The reporters at the front made repeated ’hushing’ gestures and then strained to listen.

"Something’s happening!"

...

「The Second Tribunal.」

Inside the courtroom,

The initial cold and quiet atmosphere of the Second Tribunal was long gone.

The air between the prosecution and the defense was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

Looking over at her colleague at the prosecution table, Huang Shi, who had just been shut down by the defense’s ’brute-force’ argument, the team’s experienced Lin Yue shook her head and whispered,

"Prosecutor Huang is being targeted."

"Zhang Wei’s legal team must have studied his tactics. They’re clearly running a targeted assault on his one weakness: his tendency to rely solely on hard evidence."

Thanks to her upbringing, she had a knack for seeing the bigger picture. She had realized from the start that Zhang Wei wasn’t here to argue the evidence.

He was here to dismantle Huang Shi himself by exploiting his flaws!

"Interesting," Xu De murmured, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched the defense attorney.

And at this moment...

At the defense table,

Zhang Wei nodded, a calm smile on his face. He continued,

"Second..."

"Regarding the prosecution’s charge that the defendant intentionally injured and murdered the victim, Yang Jiale, leading to her death..."

"We, the defense, do not concur!"

As his words fell,

"Objection!"

A voice suddenly cut through the air.

"My apologies, Your Honor. It was not my intention to interrupt the defense’s statement."

It was Xu De who had spoken. Without giving the defense attorney time to continue, he said,

"Counsel for the defense."

"A moment ago you argued that the prosecution has no evidence. So... I would like to ask now..."

"...do you have any substantive evidence to support this second point of yours?"

Everyone in the court understood Zhang Wei’s strategy.

He was clearly trying to use ’possibilities’ and hypotheticals to his advantage, banking on the fact that the victim was dead and the only other person involved was the defendant, giving him free rein to distort the truth.

’Since he’s just trying to twist the facts with words... what kind of substantive evidence could he possibly have!? After all, even though there were no cameras on the roof, the evidence the police collected from the chaotic scene was more than enough to prove that Liu Jingqi’s actions against Yang Jiale were ’intentional’! How could he possibly talk his way out of that?’

Hearing this,

"The victim’s legal representative is correct."

However, the lawyer, Zhang Wei, showed no sign of urgency or annoyance at being interrupted.

Instead, he pivoted smoothly and said,

"We..."

"Have a witness and physical evidence!"

A witness?

Xu De paused. He raised an eyebrow, then his expression grew serious. He narrowed his eyes, studying his opponent thoughtfully.

"A witness?"

"May I ask... what witness?"

Zhang Wei said:

"The teacher of the deceased, Yang Jiale. The homeroom teacher for Grade 12, Class 4 at No. 18 Middle School—Lv Guangjun!!!"