Chapter 95 - 75: Severing the Tail to Survive

To be honest, if someone had said a courtroom hearing would turn into an epic fantasy film before today, no one would have believed them.

But if someone said that now... Xu De would be inclined to believe them.

Brilliant... Absolutely brilliant!

The way Huang Shi racked his brain for legal precedents to attack with, and the sight of Zhang Wei and Sun Bing fighting back—what was the difference between that and a protagonist in a movie casting spells and battling with magic?!

The only difference was that Huang Shi wasn’t literally smacking them over the head with a law book.

But all movies must eventually come to an end.

On the judge’s bench.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin suppressed his anger and said to Xu De, "Counsel, please address the evidence you have submitted without further delay!"

All eyes in the courtroom turned to the plaintiff’s counsel’s table.

Seeing this, Xu De stopped enjoying the show. He took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet.

"Your Honor, members of the court."

"As for the origin of this piece of evidence... we have already explained it."

He paused briefly.

Then his gaze snapped to the witness stand, his eyes sharp and focused.

"This is the ’legal and compliant’ video recording of the witness that we conducted in the office of No. 18 Middle School on December 2nd!"

"The witness has already confirmed the entire recording is valid and legal, and that its contents are entirely true."

"The video has not been edited, spliced, or presented without a beginning or end. I ask the court to accept it as credible!"

"If that’s not enough..."

A gentle smile spread across Xu De’s face as he addressed Lv Guangjun.

"Your Honor, you may question our witness, Lv Guangjun, regarding the evidence."

’Our witness?’

Hearing this, Zhang Wei and Sun Bing, at the defendant’s table, were so angry they nearly coughed up blood. The already ugly expressions on their faces twisted even further.

’What do you mean, *your* witness?’

’We’d heard before the trial that he liked to use evidence submitted by his opponents. Hu Guang and Chen Wei had been screwed over by him a few times.’

’But...’

’He can use the witness, too?’

’We brought him here! Can something like that be shared by both sides?!’

But at this point, it was just as Xu De said: Lv Guangjun was far less useful to the defendants... than he was to Xu De!

A single video, a conversation of just a few dozen minutes, had instantly pierced through a month of the defendants’ preparations, rendering it all for nothing.

"Objection!"

Zhang Wei took a deep breath.

He knew he couldn’t let Lv Guangjun speak now. If the witness said anything at this moment...

’I might not even be able to save my own skin!’

"Your Honor, the evidence submitted by the plaintiff’s counsel has severely disturbed our witness’s thoughts and emotions!"

"We request the witness be excused! He is no longer fit to participate in this cross-examination!"

His voice was loud, and he spoke extremely quickly.

He even interrupted Zhang Bingxin’s conversation with Xu De, which theoretically should have earned him a warning.

But Zhang Bingxin was clearly in no mood to warn him.

He frowned and turned his head to look at the witness stand.

At the witness stand.

"How is this possible..."

"This... how can this be... Didn’t he leave? Wasn’t the recording device held by that lawyer..."

Lv Guangjun stood at the witness stand, his face ashen. His eyes were dull and vacant as he mumbled, though it was unclear what he was saying.

His whole body went weak, and he began to tremble, feeling as if even his bones had lost their strength.

Lv Guangjun was stunned. It was mid-December, a time when the weather was getting colder, yet he was drenched in sweat as if he’d just stepped out of a hot bath.

He wracked his brain but couldn’t figure out when this video had been filmed.

Until...

’I forgot the contract and my backpack...’

’Mr. Lv, as of now, this conversation is officially over...’

’See you in court...’

In a daze, the three sentences Xu De had said to him on the 2nd echoed in his mind.

’This...’

’A huge trap...’

’This was a massive trap!’

Lv Guangjun understood. Now, he understood everything completely.

’From the very beginning, his questions about a so-called ’accomplice’ were designed to put psychological pressure on me. After a few of those questions, the pressure was already explosive. It felt like I was being crushed by a mountain.’

’That’s why I scrambled to make a phone call right after he left.’

’And because of that... I was clearly recorded by the camera in that bag...’

’Even the so-called ’verbal agreement’ at the beginning, and the communication privacy contract, were all traps he designed in advance. Even when he said, ’What’s there to be afraid of,’ he was deliberately provoking me!’

’Madman... This guy is a madman!’

’He never intended to just talk! He thought there was something wrong with me and set a trap from start to finish!!!’

In that instant, Lv Guangjun’s eyes became bloodshot, and his breathing grew rapid. He felt his future rapidly slipping away from him.

"This... This..."

"No, that’s not what I said! That’s not what I said!"

"It’s fake! This evidence is fake!!!"

’If this evidence is confirmed...’

’My job, my teaching license, the compensation, my reputation, my family... gone. It will all be gone!’

’I might even face criminal charges!’

Lv Guangjun suddenly stared at Zhang Bingxin and shrieked, his face contorted in terror, his voice raw with desperation:

"I didn’t agree to the recording! I didn’t know about it!!!"

Seeing this, Counsel Xu De simply smiled and said, "Mr. Lv, please don’t get so agitated."

"In the video, you clearly stated it was legal and valid... you admitted it yourself."

Hearing this, Lv Guangjun became even more agitated.

"I did not! I never said that!!!"

He was like a mad dog on the side of the road, barking a few times in an attempt to scare the other party off. But unfortunately, he was a mad dog on a leash, utterly non-threatening.

Xu De’s face still wore a calm, detached smile.

Seeing this scene unfold, on the judge’s bench, Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin finally couldn’t watch anymore. He sighed and banged his gavel.

"Escort the witness out."