「Two days later.」
November 19th, 12:17 PM.
"Sun Zhigang, your offense was notable, but the damage was minor and the harm limited. Given that there were extenuating circumstances, that you acted out of emotional distress, and that there was no premeditation or intent to injure."
"The school has expressed its understanding and will not press charges. You have no prior criminal record."
"The case will not be pursued criminally. It has been reclassified as a public order offense, punishable by ten days of administrative detention."
"However, taking other factors into account, the administrative detention will be suspended."
Lusen City, inside the Criminal Investigation Division.
Captain Wu Kang stood in front of the holding cell, looking at the expressionless middle-aged man inside.
Wu Kang spoke.
"You can go. Get out of here."
Hearing this,
Sun Zhigang, who had been detained for two days, stood up, his face still a blank mask. He picked up his jacket and walked toward the exit.
As he passed Wu Kang, the captain suddenly reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Old Sun..."
"The killer in this case has already been caught. If you really want to let off some steam... go find a good lawyer and get the family some compensation."
"Don’t put us brothers in a bind where we can’t get out of it."
Sun Zhigang grunted softly in acknowledgment, then brushed past him and walked out.
Watching his retreating figure, Wu Kang sighed.
Sun Zhigang had smashed the main gate.
That’s right, he’d even flattened the security booth along with it.
Inciting a public disturbance. If they really wanted to throw the book at him, they could even escalate it to a serious crime, potentially punishable by three to seven years in prison!
But thankfully,
back in ’02, very few people who worked construction were simple folk.
Plus, there was a very real reason for what happened. And since Feng Yi didn’t want to blow the situation out of proportion, they de-escalated things, settling for a ten-day administrative detention.
In the end, that detention was suspended, and he was out on the third day.
"Sigh."
Wu Kang thought back to the case with two lives lost. He silently pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket and took a deep drag.
From his perspective as a captain with decades of experience, this case was...
"Tragic."
With that, Wu Kang walked away.
Being a criminal investigator was a high-risk profession for depression, so he had grown used to it.
But...
Sun Zhigang had not.
...
Outside the holding cells.
Seeing Sun Zhigang emerge with his jacket draped over his shoulders, the young worker Tang Xiaohu, who had been sitting on the steps, quickly stood up to greet him.
"Foreman."
Sun Zhigang nodded. He was silent for a moment before speaking.
"How many from the site got taken in?"
Tang Xiaohu replied, "Not counting you, Foreman, there were nine others. Two are detained for seven days, the other seven for three days."
Hearing this, Sun Zhigang said without hesitation,
"Pay those seven a full month’s salary at a mechanic’s rate. It’s compensation for the site’s mismanagement."
Tang Xiaohu asked again, "What about the other two?"
"Give them three months’ pay."
Sun Zhigang continued, "Pay everyone else who was there for seven days’ worth of wages according to their job."
Tang Xiaohu nodded, inwardly stunned.
Most of the nine who were taken in were laborers. A mechanic’s monthly salary was more than double theirs!
’Those two who got seven days... They get to rest for a week, do no work, and come out to what’s basically half a year’s salary... ’
He figured they wouldn’t have a single complaint.
"What about the other things I asked you to do?"
Sun Zhigang started walking toward a black sedan in the parking lot, asking as he went.
Tang Xiaohu hurried to keep up.
"All taken care of. I got most of the case details from the police."
"And I’ve memorized the law firms in Lusen City."
With that,
Sun Zhigang got in the car. Tang Xiaohu opened the driver’s side door, got in, and buckled his seatbelt.
"Take me to a reliable one," Sun Zhigang said from the back seat.
Tang Xiaohu thought for a moment, then said,
"There are quite a few famous law firms in Lusen City."
"Like Jinmao, Mao Sheng, Zhenghe, Yangteng, Lu De..."
"Which one’s the best?" Sun Zhigang asked.
Tang Xiaohu considered it.
"’Jinmao.’ It’s the only boutique law firm in Lusen City. They have seven Gold Medal Lawyers, but they’ve announced they’re undergoing an internal restructuring these past couple of days."
"The next best is ’Lu De.’ Their firm has four Gold Medal Lawyers... fewer, yes, but all four of them specialize in criminal law."
"Then let’s go to Lu De."
"Got it."
With that, Tang Xiaohu turned the key in the ignition.
"VROOM!"
...
...
「1:30 PM, Lusen City.」
A black sedan pulled up in front of Lu De Law Firm.
"SCREECH!"
"Hello, sir. How may I help you?"
Inside the Lu De Law Firm, an intern lawyer saw Sun Zhigang and Tang Xiaohu walk in and quickly stood up to greet them.
"To file a lawsuit."
Sun Zhigang said, his face grim.
"Do you have an appointment?" the intern asked again.
"No," Sun Zhigang replied.
The intern’s eyes lit up at his words.
’A case with no appointment... Is this my chance to make a name for myself!?’
"Come, please follow me."
He enthusiastically led them toward the reception hall, had them sit down, and poured two cups of hot tea.
"May I ask... what kind of case you wish to pursue?"
Tang Xiaohu got straight to the point. "A murder case."
The intern was slightly taken aback, feeling a little out of his depth.
’A criminal homicide case... This is a major crime. Even senior lawyers wouldn’t dare take it on rashly...’
He collected himself and pushed down his thoughts, asking again,
"Could you be more specific?"
"It’s a case with two victims. One was a middle-aged woman, the other wasn’t even 18 yet."
Tang Xiaohu continued, "We’re the plaintiffs."
"The main defendant’s name is Liu Jingqi. There are two others, Jiang Yu and Qiao Wang. They’re all girls, ages 16, 17, and 17."
Just hearing the first part,
the intern was already starting to shrink back.
But the second half... made him speak his mind.
"That... it’ll be very difficult to get a large amount of compensation."
With three perpetrators, they would just shift the blame to one another. It was highly likely each party would be ordered to pay the minimum amount in damages. After all, being under 18 meant they would receive a lighter sentence.
But...
"I don’t fucking want compensation."
Sun Zhigang suddenly roared. He took a deep breath and said in a low, heavy voice,
"I want that animal, Liu Jingqi, to pay with her blood!"
Pay with her blood...
’So, a life for a life?’
The intern’s smile froze on his face. He instinctively refuted,
"That’s impossible. One hundred percent impossible!"
Sun Zhigang’s brow furrowed, and his voice grew louder. "I’ll pay two hundred thousand! As long as you can make that animal die, I’ll give your firm two hundred thousand!"
The intern shook his head. "This isn’t a question of money..."
"Three hundred thousand!" Sun Zhigang offered again.
In 2002, three hundred thousand was an absolute fortune. Take it to Hai City, and you could even buy a nearly 100-square-meter apartment in Central.
But there was a problem...
"It’s really not about the money."
The intern was at a loss.
Not far away, a senior lawyer saw this, frowned, and started walking over.
"What’s going on?"
The intern quickly stood up and explained,
"A criminal homicide, two victims. He wants to buy the defendant’s life..."
’The plaintiff in a double homicide?’
The senior lawyer’s eyes lit up. This was a case with a massive advantage!
The intern added, "The three defendants... are all under 18."
Suddenly, the senior lawyer froze.
"I’m sorry, but Lu De Law Firm cannot take this case."
This... it was impossible to get a death sentence.
It wasn’t a matter of low probability.
It was that he was dead certain they could not meet the client’s demand!
Forget immediate execution. They couldn’t even get a suspended death sentence, which in those days might mean getting out after twenty years.
"We can add more money," Tang Xiaohu said, standing up.
"This isn’t about money. Your demand is truly impossible to fulfill."
"Not to mention, you can only hire a lawyer as a civil agent to assist the public prosecutor at most."
The lawyer said.
"If you’re not willing to change your demand... then it’s not just Lu De. No law firm in the entire country will take your case."
Hearing this, the two men fell silent.
After a long while.
"Sorry to have bothered you."
Sun Zhigang turned and walked out, leaving only his back in view.
After leaving the law firm, he got straight into the car.
He closed his eyes, pressing a hand to his forehead, mentally exhausted.
Tang Xiaohu didn’t speak either.
It was so quiet in the car they could hear each other breathe.
After a long time.
"BZZZT!"
The sound of a phone vibrating broke the silence.
Sun Zhigang opened his eyes, glanced at the lit-up screen, and answered the call.
"Hello?"
A voice came from the speaker: "You out?"
"I’m out," Sun Zhigang said, his eyes still closed.
"Where are you?"
"In front of Lu De Law Firm."
"Alright."
"BEEP!"
The call ended.
Sun Zhigang made no move to leave.
After a while,
someone pulled open the back-seat door and plopped down inside. It was none other than Zhang Hu, the owner of the food company.
Having rushed over, Zhang Hu looked at his childhood friend beside him, smacked his lips, and said with some emotion,
"Try to be calmer from now on."
Sun Zhigang didn’t reply, just leaned back silently in his seat.
Zhang Hu paused, then looked at Tang Xiaohu. "Xiaohu, what’s going on?"
Tang Xiaohu said,
"No lawyer is willing to take the case..."
Sun Zhigang couldn’t accept it.
Zhao Li had been with him for so long, following him from the countryside to the city. To just die like that, with no warning at all.
Yang Jiale was gone too. The kid he had watched grow up for nearly a decade, gone in a matter of two seconds. Just dead, so lightly, so surreally.
And... the police actually told him that if the other side got a good lawyer, she could get a lenient sentence of just seven years.
With good behavior, she could be out in less than five!
Two lives, and she gets five years... For fuck’s sake, he could have gotten seven years just for smashing a gate!
Sun Zhigang felt like this was some kind of fucking joke!
"Because of the lawyer?"
Zhang Hu paused, understanding the reason now.
He, too, fell silent. There really was no way around something like this.
Until...
"What if I recommend someone to you?" Zhang Hu suddenly said.
"Someone?"
Sun Zhigang froze. He opened his eyes and looked at his friend with a frown.
"What someone?"
"A lawyer."
Zhang Hu said,
"A... very capable lawyer."
...
...
「3:00 PM.」
Lusen City, Shangzhu Courtyard Tea House.
Sun Zhigang, Tang Xiaohu, and Zhang Hu sat in a simply decorated room, bathed in a warm yellow light.
"CREAK."
The door to the room opened.
A young man in a suit, impeccably dressed, walked in.
Sun Zhigang looked up at him. He paused for a moment upon seeing his appearance, his brow knitting, but he still stood up and extended his hand.
"Hello, I’m the client for this case."
"You can just call me Sun Zhigang."
The young man nodded and shook his hand.
"Hello."
"I’m the lawyer Mr. Zhang introduced. My firm’s license won’t be issued for another ten days, but that won’t affect our retainer."
"Right, let me introduce myself."
He paused, then added,
"My name is Xu De. ’De’ as in ’morality and law’."
A faint, almost imperceptible, professional smile touched Xu De’s lips. He looked at Sun Zhigang and said,
"It seems..."
"You’re in need of some... rare assistance."
Sun Zhigang said, "Do you know what I want?"
Xu De nodded, his expression unchanging. He spoke calmly,
"I do. The death penalty."
Sun Zhigang froze. He stared at the young face before him, his frown deepening.
’Can this guy... really do it?’