CH 202

The Elderly Bobblehead case was presently the highest-profile case in the alliance; the commentary it stirred up peaked on the day the trial officially started.

This was easily the most controversial day of the year, and the easiest day for random passers-by to use the situation to play to the crowd. 

From early morning, a new lead story was being churned out practically every ten minutes or so.

At 8 a.m., prime time, the Manson Group abruptly announced that their infection treatment centres would be expanded today to be outfitted with specialised help facilities for unsupported elderly.

Brewer Manson stated, “From today, anyone who finds a lone elderly in need of help anywhere can call the help facility at the touch of a button, without having to pay a single cent. We commit to giving these elderly people the best medical care and the safest and most secure home. We hope that a tragedy like the Elderly Bobblehead case will never strike again.”

The uninformed masses applauded the Manson Group for this. 

Only Yan Suizhi’s side was able to read the deeper meaning veiled in his words.

In Ms Eunice’s words, “Translating the statement made by the brute brothers, from today, we can abduct elderly in plain sight without even having to do it ourselves as the simple and gullible masses will naturally send the elderly into our hands.”

Cliff Aviation followed suit, stating that it would officially launch green space shuttles on this significant day, exclusively for orphans, widows, and elderlies with special medical conditions. It would also partner with the Manson Group, a new entrant to the healthcare industry, and Westshore Pharmaceutical to ensure adequate medical support on the shuttles.

In Ms Eunice’s words again, translated, this was a ‘money-making murder spree’.

People jumped on the bandwagon in scores, croaking non-stop like frogs after a storm.

Whereas the party who did have breaking news to share, Spring Ivy Group, led by Devore Yves, Eunice, and, stretching it a bit, Joe, was in no hurry at all.

They waited unhurriedly for an extra hour.

At 9 a.m., when the big and small acts were about to take a break after the charade, another announcement hit the headlines. 

Spring Ivy Group formally announced that the highest-end genetic equipment within the reach of current technology had been successfully developed. Its functionalities included but were not limited to analysis, prediction, simulation, and retracing. After a long period of fine-tuning, it passed the Medical Council’s tests and checks last night and would be officially operational starting this morning, open to use for all medical conditions on a genomic scale.

There were two such large-scale machines and one was at Spring Ivy Hospital HQ, which would be directly linked to the entire Spring Ivy healthcare system from today on.

The other was originally housed in Spring Ivy Group’s main offices. It was moved this morning to the Supreme Court of De Carma, where it was officially powered up at 9 a.m. sharp.

By gifting this machine to the Supreme Court free of charge, Spring Ivy Group was also gifting it to the entire legal system, and the database would be linked up to the police force and the prosecutor’s office. 

Every trial henceforth would never face mysteries of genetic nature again.

In addition, Spring Ivy Hospital 7 that had maintained their silence for a few days, finally revealed the situation in the restricted wards, officially announcing that the victims of the Elderly Bobblehead case were out of critical condition and were gradually regaining consciousness.

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At 9:30 a.m., Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi appeared at the entrance of the Supreme Court.

Reporters swarmed around them like a zombie apocalypse, only to be rebuffed by the Supreme Court of De Carma’s renowned security.

Lawyer Gu looked as frigid as ever, as though fame and being in the public eye meant nothing to him. He was here just to defend a case.

He removed the smart device from his little finger, resting it on the conveyor belt along with his photon computer, and went through the pre-court security check. Then, he stood on the other side, looking at Yan Suizhi as he slipped his ring-shaped smart device back on. 

Yan Suizhi, behind the security check, shot him a curved-eyed smile, mouthing a few words at him.

By the time the reporters lifted their cameras, they had missed the secret dialogue. Their perfectionism pitched a fit on the spot, and they were left thumping their chests.

This wasn’t their first encounter with Gu Yan. They were familiar enough with his style not to expect him to say anything to the media, so all recording devices uniformly turned towards Yan Suizhi.

Although no one dared to provoke this hotshot, from past experience, Dean Yan would minimally offer a few words if the mood struck him. 

He was in a decent mood today, so he patiently explained, “Me? I’m not going in now. The name written on the Notice of Representation is Lawyer Gu’s name. Without my intern shield, I can’t use the representative lawyers’ entrance. The security is really tight today.”

Among them, someone unafraid of death piped up with “Use your clout! Demand entry!”. Yan Suizhi heard him.

“Oh?” The dean laughed meaningfully. “And then provide you with more material so you can continue to make up your brainless little stories of a teacher abusing his position of power over his student?”

The press, “…” 

The dean’s smile faded. He said coolly, “Why do I like your lot so much?”

The press, “………………”

The lawyers on both counsels passed the security checks and went in to conduct the customary pre-trial conference.

As there was more than one defendant, as well as the high level of public scrutiny on this case, the judge gave the defence lawyers ten minutes more for one last opportunity to meet with their clients. 

When Gu Yan reached the conference room, Horace Lee had just arrived from the hospital.

He had taken a comprehensive medical examination in the morning as required by law, and therefore wasn’t allowed to eat. For humanitarian reasons and to avoid the farce should the defendant faint in the middle of the meeting, the court provided him with a nourishing meal in the conference room.

“What else do you want to ask me?” Horace Lee took his time eating, not forgetting to throw in a disparaging remark, “The nourishing meal really tastes like crap.”

Gu Yan rested his interlocked fingers on the table, looked Horace Lee in the eyes, and said calmly, “Past experience has shown that this is not the right time to ask complicated questions, and the simple ones are unnecessary.” 

“Don’t you usually end off with whatsit…” Horace Lee waved his spoon around, narrowing his eyes and quoting something he heard from somewhere, “Let me ask you one last time. Are you guilty, or not guilty? Did I get it right?”

Gu Yan regarded him for a while, then said icily, “Last questions like these are only applicable for some people not others. You belong to the latter category.”

“Really? So do people in the former or the latter category have a higher probability of being good people?” Horace Lee was rather curious.

Gu Yan didn’t respond to his rubbish questions. 

Horace Lee raised an eyebrow and took a few more bites. “I heard that the victims of the Elderly Bobblehead case were saved. No one died, so the maximum sentence for this case is 200 years of incarceration, at De Carma Longwood Prison?”

“Not on De Carma. You’ll be sent to Planet Ashen.”

“I see…” Horace Lee mused, “The prisons on Ashen are harsh.”

His thoughts were unreadable. He chewed a bit more in silence, then snorted. “Too harsh… It’s not somewhere I should go. I don’t want to go there.” 

Gu Yan was silent for a moment before saying in a businesslike manner, “I’ve mentioned before. You shall not have to bear the weight of any crime that is not yours to bear.”

✵

At 9:50 a.m., the reporters at the gallery entrance were making a commotion.

This was the largest number of gallery seats ever opened for a trial, and a live feed was being streamed across the alliance to ensure that everyone could witness divine justice being carried out. 

All equipment had to pass through security before they could be brought into the Supreme Court.

At 9:52 a.m., several limousines slid into parking lots. The Manson brothers entered the security gate with their assistants and bodyguards clearing the way.

Scarcely a few seconds passed before Cliff arrived as well.

At 9:55 a.m., the Yves family of Spring Ivy Group walked into the courtroom. 

At 9:58 a.m., the First-Class Lawyers of the alliance filed into the courtroom, led by Maze University’s law school dean, Yan Suizhi.

At 9:59 a.m., the pre-trial meeting ended.

Seemingly determined to stretch out the time, Horace Lee only finished his last bite of breakfast then. Even so, before being escorted into the courtroom by the bailiff, he didn’t forget to request for an antibacterial paper napkin.

He stepped into the glass-enclosed booth before raising his hand to wipe the corners of his lips and his fingers with the napkin. 

Gu Yan took his seat at the defence table. When he glanced over, all of a sudden, his brows creased minutely.

Almost at the exact moment, his smart device buzzed, alerting him of a new notification.

The courtroom had always been a place of solemnity and dignity. All who came to view the trial had to remove their smart devices and other means of communication before entry, the only exception being the lawyers.

However, once the court was in session, the lawyers were also mandated to block irrelevant interfaces. 

Gu Yan had planned to ignore the notification and check it after the trial was over, yet discovered that the sender was Hersey. Thus, he opened the email at the last minute.

To Lawyer Gu,

As promised, I have found the man with a habit of folding origami.

I don’t know if he is the… Sweeper as you guys call it? But the photo shocked me. 

I hope you have the time to see it before the court trial.

Scratch that. I don’t know if it would be better or worse for you to see this before the trial…

Attached to this irresolute email body was two photographs of the same person from different angles.

Short black hair and a wheatish skin tone. He had brown eyes, and his expression seemed calm and arrogant, with a slight shadow of smugness in his brows. 

Hardly anyone would be unfamiliar with this face.

For this man was now sitting in the defendant’s dock.

His current name was Horace Lee; Gu Yan’s client.

After reading the email, Gu Yan looked up. He saw Horace Lee in the booth, having wiped the corners of his mouth and his fingers, folding the paper napkin, every crease following the unique method that Ke Jin had once pointed out.