Chapter 311: I Have Waited Five Years For This Day (2)

Gou Changzheng paused. "The defense attorney has been constantly trying to divert the public's attention to the Jiang Long murder case. This behavior is a deliberate attempt to evade the defendant's twenty remaining charges. With witnesses and physical evidence present, the remaining twenty charges constitute established criminal facts and have caused severe social repercussions."

"Please mind your phrasing, counselor. I am not intentionally diverting attention; I am simply following the causal chain of the case in my defense," Du Yu interrupted him bluntly. "It is precisely because the defendant was framed and wrongfully accused that he preserved Jiangjin Group's criminal evidence to uphold basic justice. That is why he chose to flee and resist arrest."

"Article 20 of the Huaxia Criminal Law states: Actions taken to stop an ongoing unlawful infringement in order to protect the state, the public interest, or the personal and property rights of oneself or others, which result in harm to the assailant, are classified as justifiable defense and carry no criminal liability."

"Based on the materials provided by the prosecution, the police issued a city-wide manhunt at the time, even authorizing the use of lethal force against the defendant. The defendant was forced to fight back because his personal safety was under severe threat."

"Nonsense!" Gou Changzheng stood up, ignoring the presiding judge's warning glance. "The public security authorities symbolize justice and order in our society. If everyone resisted the police like the defendant just because of some documents of unknown authenticity, society would descend into chaos. He could have fully cooperated with the police investigation, but the defendant clearly never even considered doing so."

"At the Xinhu High School Convenience Store, he goaded the shop owner into calling the police to maliciously interfere with their judgment. When he was finally surrounded and driven into a corner, he remained entirely unrepentant. He exploited the officers' sympathy, drove a vehicle straight into Century New Garden, and injured multiple officers. Furthermore, with utter disregard for the law, he kidnapped Jiang Chen and openly provoked the police!"

"His actions are heinous, his attitude is arrogant and vile, and he must be severely punished!"

Gou Changzheng delivered this tirade in one breath, glaring unyieldingly at Du Yu. Both attorneys completely ignored the presiding judge, acting as if his only purpose was to maintain basic order in the courtroom.

"Counselor Gou, if the police were truly as you described, I believe the defendant wouldn't be foolish enough to take on all of Jiangcheng alone. He resolutely refused to cooperate with them because individuals within the Police Department harbored malicious intentions. They were waiting for a chance to murder him, completely depriving him of the opportunity to speak and tell the truth!"

"Counselor Du, do not spout baseless nonsense and slander the authorities." Gou Changzheng smiled coldly. He knew perfectly well that I was the one who killed Jiang Long; the police's manhunt and pursuit were entirely lawful, and there was no such thing as an attempt to silence me.

Du Yu did not answer Gou Changzheng. Instead, he looked at the presiding judge, Chen Haiyi: "My third piece of evidence is a surveillance video."

He pulled a flash drive from his briefcase and handed it to the clerk. "This video records the behavior of certain law enforcement officers. This is just one segment that happened to be caught on camera."

The flash drive's footage began playing on the courtroom's large screen. I recognized it immediately. It was near the city center, where, desperate to call Blind Liu, I had stopped my taxi and tried to borrow a phone from the mother and daughter in a nearby shop.

I hadn't managed to borrow the phone. Instead, I ran straight into Lu Xing, sparking a fierce shootout. The security cameras outside the shop had clearly captured everything.

Out of everyone present, only Du Yu and I knew that the two police officers who had recklessly opened fire on me were actually Lu Xing and Qiu Ren in disguise.

On the screen, the first police officer entered the shop. Barely a moment later, the police officer impersonated by Lu Xing stepped out of the car, drew his pistol, and fired into the store without the slightest hesitation.

The video continued. In the second half, the courtroom watched as Lu Xing, dressed in full police uniform, turned on his own companion and personally shot his head to pieces.

This scene of hysterical brutality was far beyond everyone's imagination. The courtroom was dead silent, every pair of eyes glued to the large screen.

"I already had the authentication department verify this video before coming here. This is their certificate of authenticity. Does the plaintiff's attorney still dare to swear that I am slandering the authorities?" Du Yu smiled at Gou Changzheng. His smile never wavered, making it impossible to read his true thoughts.

The surveillance video continued. Later on, more police cars and an ambulance arrived, followed by the scene of me hijacking a police cruiser.

"Do you see it now? The video evidence provided by the plaintiff is incomplete. The defendant, Gao Jian, hijacked the police cruiser and seized a police firearm only after those officers went mad and tried to gun him down—even murdering one of their own when they failed. The defendant was merely protecting himself, because in that situation, the police were no longer trustworthy." Du Yu smiled faintly, his eyes sweeping over the plaintiff's desk. "Furthermore, we can make a bold guess as to who instructed those two officers to act with such madness, desperately trying to silence him at any cost. I imagine Jiang Chen, the manager of Jiangjin Group, and the prosecutor for the public security authorities are well aware of the answer."

With just a few simple words, Du Yu turned the tide of the trial. Everyone looked at Jiang Chen and the public security representative in confusion and suspicion.

"The two officers in the video have gone missing. Their current whereabouts are unknown, so I cannot give you an answer." The public security representative stood up to speak, then hesitated, unsure if he should sit back down. He was completely baffled himself. Those two officers had never shown any abnormal behavior before. Why would they suddenly gun down a fellow officer that night?

"Oh? Whereabouts unknown?" Du Yu chuckled lightly. "Perhaps another phrase might be more appropriate. Fleeing to escape punishment, for instance? Or being silenced to tie up loose ends?"

When he said that, Jiang Chen's and the public security representative's hearts went cold. Jiang Chen was unaware of the old patriarch's schemes, and the representative knew even less; he had merely been sent to walk through the legal procedures.

"Alright, I'm sure by this point, everyone can see the attitude of Jiangjin Real Estate and the relevant authorities. Next, let's take a look at what this so-called unforgivably heinous suspect actually did that night. Let's see if he truly was committing murder and arson, acting arrogantly, and openly fighting the police, just as the rumors claim."

Du Yu beckoned toward the courtroom doors. "Next is my fourth piece of evidence. Please bring in the witness!"

The courtroom doors were pushed open. A police officer leaning on crutches, his thigh heavily bandaged, entered the courtroom, supported by a mother and her daughter.

"The footage just now didn't capture what happened inside the shop. Now, I invite the shop's owner and the witnesses to that night's shootout to restore the defendant's true image for everyone!"

Du Yu signaled for the witnesses to speak. Filmed by the numerous cameras in the front row, the mother and daughter were quite timid. The daughter shrank behind her mother's back, leaving the injured officer to speak first.

"I am an officer from the Hanyang District Police Station, badge number 112101. I was the first officer to enter the shop in the surveillance video. I was conducting a routine inquiry when I was suddenly shot from behind. I collapsed to the floor. My teammates behind me had gone completely insane. They fired wildly, solely intent on killing the suspect. They didn't fire any warning shots or ask any questions, nor were they acting in self-defense."

"Stray bullets grazed my body multiple times. When my teammates entered the shop, preparing to silence me as well, it was the suspect who braved the hail of gunfire to drag me into the back room, saving my life."

Leaning on his crutches, the officer's expression was resolute. "Perhaps I shouldn't testify in court for a suspect, but if he hadn't saved me that night, I would already be dead! So I am willing to stand up today. I know I will be ostracized by my colleagues and looked down upon by my neighbors for doing this, but I have no regrets. I decided to become a police officer because I was drawn to the honor of this profession. If I were to cower now, it would be an even greater disservice to the police badge symbolizing justice and fairness on my uniform!"

After he finished speaking, he gripped his crutches with both hands and looked straight at me. "There's a sentence I never got to say to you that night, and I want to make up for it now."

Turning around with great difficulty, he grasped his crutches tightly and offered me a deep bow. "Thank you for saving my life!"

After the officer finished speaking, the expressions of the spectators in the gallery had completely shifted. Even the judges looked astonished.

This was only the fourth piece of evidence Du Yu had prepared, but the tide of the trial had already completely turned.