MWC – Chapter 56 Fighting

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JinShun Inn “Conference Room.”

Lu Ming picked up the photos on the table and looked at them one by one, frowning.

These were photos of Cheng Lingyu stabbing a servant to death with a knife.

Yesterday, the prosecution temporarily provided the defense with the existing evidence, including photos of Kato Masahichi killing a young boy.

Today, Kato Masahichi’s lawyer, Yamakawa, brought this stack of photos to Cheng Lingyu.

Now, Cheng Lingyu’s face was livid, “Yamakawa said these photos are fake, pieced together from different negatives. If our evidence photos don’t have the negatives, then they are completely untrustworthy and can be easily fabricated!”

He looked at Lu Ming, “Where exactly did you get these photos? Are there really no negatives?”

Lu Ming shook his head. This Yamakawa is indeed formidable.

Darkroom “PS” technology might just be in its infancy, but he could think of it. His knowledge is extensive.

Moreover, being able to find a photographer with such excellent darkroom skills in a short time shows the depth of his connections.

He seems to be one of the Kato family’s retained lawyers, and also one of the most formidable lawyers among the Japanese. In terms of rank, he’s several levels above Liu Hanming.

Liu Hanming has just been promoted to a Level 4 lawyer, which is unprecedented in Beiguan’s history.

Yamakawa, however, is a Level 6 lawyer, a true “big lawyer.”

And the legal profession is structured like a pyramid, the higher you go, the harder it is to advance. From a Level 4 Senior Lawyer to a Level 5 Superior Lawyer is already like a great divide.

From a Superior Lawyer to a Big Lawyer is even harder than climbing to the heavens.

Over there, seeing Lu Ming shake his head, Cheng Lingyu’s eyes showed even more disdain. He snorted and looked at the other prosecutors, “Any new findings?”

Everyone remained silent, clearly with no substantial progress.

“Get moving! Why are you all still standing around?” Cheng Lingyu impatiently waved his hand.

Everyone quickly got up and left.

…

Sitting in the car, Lu Ming was still thinking, since Jin Zhengyi knew he might encounter danger and hid the evidence, why weren’t there any negatives in the dossier?

Was it stored separately? Or was there a problem with the negatives?

Or maybe, could they really have been pieced together?

Kato Masahichi’s brutal murder of young boys is real, but in fact, he might not have had solid evidence. After all, cameras nowadays are not as small as in later generations, and the chances of him secretly photographing Kato Masahichi killing were not high.

But if they were fake, why go to the trouble of hiding them in a place where ordinary people wouldn’t find them?

…

Just returned to Room 408 of the Wind Bao Club, Lu Ming received a call from Wang Xiaohu.

Because he was worried about missing any new information, he informed Wang Xiaohu of his daily schedule and provided various contact details.

Lu Ming had a good impression of Wang Xiaohu, especially since Wang Xiaohu’s hometown was still the fishing town of Wolong Bay, near his new company building. They were practically neighbors.

Of course, Wang Xiaohu didn’t know who owned that piece of land and wouldn’t pay attention to such things.

“Brother, something happened again!” Wang Xiaohu said urgently.

Lu Ming frowned, “What now?”

“It turns out there was an extortion letter on the Japanese side. Jin Zhengyi was extorting Kato Masahichi, saying he had solid evidence and asked Kato Masahichi to redeem it for 5,000 yuan.” Wang Xiaohu sighed angrily, “This Jin Reporter, still called Justice?! Makes me so mad!”

“They didn’t mention this letter when exchanging evidence with Prosecutor Cheng, obviously intending to spring it on us during the trial.”

“Fortunately, Prosecutor Cheng is very capable. Their legal team had someone familiar with Prosecutor Cheng, but now they’ve been kicked out.”

Lu Ming nodded slightly. Our side has no real evidence, and the court hearing could proceed based on this stack of photos.

So, the other side also knows about these photo evidences. It’s impossible not to show them to the other side.

But the defense is different. They can delay presenting the extortion letter until a critical moment during the trial, simply claiming it was just discovered due to some mistake.

The prosecution would definitely conduct a handwriting analysis, which can’t be faked. So, this letter is most likely real.

That Jin Zhengyi.

Lu Ming hung up the phone, cursing in his heart just like Wang Xiaohu.

Not sure what Jin Zhengyi’s intentions were; maybe it wasn’t as Wang Xiaohu thought and he had other plans. Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed, but his actions increasingly disadvantaged the prosecution.

If the trial were held now, we would definitely lose. Fortunately, the court is somewhat biased towards the prosecution. They scheduled the first session of the trial for half a month later, citing that the court has a busy schedule in the coming days.

We have another half a month.

On the balcony, Lu Ming paced back and forth, his brow furrowing deeper.

“Sir, a call!” Pu Xiuna’s sweet voice came from outside the bedroom.

When Lu Ming worked in room 408, she would wait in the servant’s room, acting as both the receptionist and the room’s attendant.

Lu Ming went out to take the call. It was from Wen Liangren, saying he had made some discoveries.

Lu Ming’s spirits lifted immediately. This guy was really efficient—he had something already after talking at noon?

Wen Liangren didn’t arrange to meet at Dashunfa but at his suburban residence, a garden villa by Bihu Lake. There were dozens of garden villas in this area, making it one of the affluent neighborhoods in Beiguan.

But true elites mostly lived on Heputao.

Lu Ming arrived at Wen Liangren’s garden villa and was quickly led by Wen Liangren’s men into a dim basement.

“Hey!” “Hey!” In one corner of the basement, a man was tied up, and someone was whipping him hard with a belt.

As Lu Ming’s eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that the man tied to the rack was an elderly man with graying hair. His sweat-soaked undershirt was stained with blood. Though his face showed immense pain, he didn’t utter a sound despite the heavy beating.

Lu Ming frowned slightly. This Wen Liangren was indeed brainless, Wen Liangyu would never let him see such a scene.

“Lawyer Lu, come over!” Wen Liangren, a burly figure standing in another corner, waved with a smile.

Lu Ming slowly walked over, noticing a skinny, monkey-like man with a lewd appearance kneeling before Wen Liangren, looking so frightened he seemed about to wet his pants, his face drained of color.

“Hey, you, tell Lawyer Lu everything you know. If you dare lie, you’ll get another sample!” Wen Liangren barked.

Immediately, a muscular man, bare-chested, took a red-hot iron from a brazier and pressed it onto the elderly man’s chest. The old man groaned, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

The kneeling man was so scared he kowtowed repeatedly, “Master Wen, I’ll talk, I’ll talk! I wouldn’t dare lie! Master Wen, have mercy… Master Wen…” He pleaded bitterly, tears and snot streaming down his face, looking ready to faint at any moment.

He had probably been scared half to death already.

Wen Liangren turned to Lu Ming with a smile, “Can you believe it? When I checked, I found out this guy has been specifically looking for boys around seven or eight with birthmarks on their legs, asking around several places to buy one. He even came this afternoon. It’s this guy!” He pointed at the terrified skinny man.

Lu Ming’s slight excitement cooled instantly.

“Sir, I was just helping someone ask around! Helping someone ask around!” The skinny man cried, extremely aggrieved. “I heard that a rich man’s child went missing in my area. I don’t know much else, just that the kid has a birthmark on his leg. I came to try my luck. I don’t know the rich man. I swear I won’t say anything when I go back. I won’t say anything… Master Wen, have mercy… Master Wen, Master Wen…”

He crawled forward to hug Wen Liangren’s leg, but Wen Liangren kicked him away and grinned at Lu Ming, “Lawyer Lu, you’re looking for the rich man’s kid too, right? This guy must be hiding something, needs a good beating!”

The skinny man cried and wailed, “No, I’m not lying! Sirs, sirs…”

Lu Ming waved helplessly, “Forget it! Don’t make it hard for him.”

It’s not his fault; after all, Wen Liangyu must have kept his intentions very tight-lipped and not told his second brother what he was really up to.

“It’s not him,” Wen Liangren rolled his eyes and cursed, “Take him out and give him a good beating. Waste of my time, making Lawyer Lu come all this way for nothing!”

Two burly men dragged the crying and screaming skinny man away. Lu Ming glanced at him, “Second Brother, it’s my fault, causing him unnecessary trouble.”

As he spoke, Lu Ming walked out, pausing by the rack, “Second Brother, what’s the story with this person?”

Wen Liangren walked over to the elderly man, spat on him, but the man remained motionless, eyes closed.

Wen Liangren caught up with Lu Ming, chuckling, “This old bastard came to Dashunfa looking for his grandson. Found him at my place. Initially, I was fine with letting him take the boy, but after taking him, he came back a few days later, wanting to fight and kill. Can’t have that, can we? So, I’m going to skin him alive before burying him.”

Lu Ming frowned slightly. Once outside the basement, he said, “It’s understandable he’s distressed over losing his grandson to traffickers. Second Brother, we should still leave some leeway in our actions. Let’s not harm the natural order. How about letting him go?”

“Let him go?!” Wen Liangren looked at Lu Ming in surprise, then chuckled, “Come, Lawyer Lu, I want to show you something.”

He led Lu Ming to the backyard, to a colorful tile-roofed carport by the lawn, where several cars were parked. One car, in particular, looked dented as if it had been in an accident.

“Lawyer Lu, take a close look!” Wen Liangren pointed at the dented car.

Initially puzzled, Lu Ming stepped closer and stared intently. He was stunned—the indentations seemed to resemble fist marks, as if someone had punched the car repeatedly.