Blank Charge

The cellphone in the pocket of his trousers suddenly vibrated, appearing particularly abrupt in the empty courtroom.

Jin Zhou instinctively lowered his head to look, but before he could take out his phone, three judges walked in from the door, interrupting his action.

The recess was over, and even the most urgent phone call had to be hung up.

The defendant was escorted back to the courtroom by the bailiff, and the presiding judge struck the gavel, expressionless, saying, “We will now deliver the verdict in court.”

The defense strategy for a minor offense was not wrong, and in the end, the judge accepted Jin Zhou’s defense argument and reduced the defendant’s sentence.

“Attorney Jin, thank you so much!” The defendant kept thanking Jin Zhou. “From now on, I will definitely be a law-abiding citizen!”

Most people who commit crimes have such insights after being sentenced, but whether they will take it to heart after being released is another matter.

Jin Zhou encouraged the defendant with a few more words, telling him to learn more while inside, and then he went outside the courtroom and made a phone call to Hu Zi.

The corridor of the courthouse was silent and empty, covered in a solemn atmosphere. However, as the notification sound rang on Jin Zhou’s phone, there was suddenly a commotion in the neighboring criminal court. A woman in professional attire rushed out, shouting into her phone, “I have a major news story here, save tomorrow’s headline for me!”

She was a reporter.

That thought popped into Jin Zhou’s mind.

If he remembered correctly, the neighboring criminal court was handling a high-profile rape case, and the presiding judge was an acquaintance of his—Yang Shi Yu.

If it were any other day, Jin Zhou would definitely go over to join in the excitement and see what kind of major news it was. But unfortunately, he had something to attend to that day and didn’t have that much time to spend in the courthouse.

“Jin Zhou, when are you coming over?” Hu Zi’s voice came from the phone, dispelling Jin Zhou’s curiosity. “The guys are all waiting impatiently.”

“Why the rush?” Jin Zhou withdrew his gaze from the noisy neighboring court. “Didn’t I say I’m in court?”

Arriving at the courthouse parking lot, Jin Zhou sat in the driver’s seat of his car, adjusted the rearview mirror, carelessly loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

He ruffled his hair, which was chaotically fixed with hair gel, and the young man with an upright appearance in the mirror suddenly looked a bit decadent.

Jin Zhou usually didn’t like wearing suits, but in order to leave a good impression on the judge, he had to portray the image of an elite professional, as that was the look expected of a competent lawyer.

He rolled up the sleeves of his suit to his forearms, and then put a cigarette in his mouth. At that moment, Jin Zhou reverted back to his usual carefree appearance, completely void of the previous image of engaging in a verbal battle with the prosecutor in the courtroom.

About ten minutes later, Jin Zhou parked his car in front of a hair salon.

Hu Zi and a few other buddies had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Jin Zhou arrived, they surrounded him and headed straight for the salon’s storage room.

None of the salon’s staff dared to stop Jin Zhou. In the cramped storage room, the shop owner cowered in a corner, trembling all over, but he stretched his neck and shouted at Jin Zhou, “Let’s talk things out. If you guys cause trouble, I’ll call the police!”

debtors were the ones in charge. As long as the debt collectors went a bit too far, the other party would shout about calling the police.

“Call them then.” Jin Zhou put his hands in his pockets and kicked the chair next to his feet. He approached the shop owner step by step. “We’ll let the police mediate.”

Compared to the several muscular guys behind him, Jin Zhou had a slender figure and was wearing a suit, giving him a somewhat cultured appearance. But in that situation, everyone knew that a cultured thug was even more terrifying.

Seeing that Jin Zhou wasn’t afraid of the police at all, the owner of the hair salon had to soften his attitude and negotiate, saying, “Big brother, I really don’t have the money. Can you talk to Mr. Liu and give me a few more days?”

“You don’t have the money?” Hu Zi took a few steps forward when he heard this and slapped the owner. “You fucking don’t have the money, yet you went gambling?”

The other buddies also wanted to take action, but Jin Zhou’s gaze stopped them.

 

The ” Mr.Liu” mentioned by the owner was Liu Yongchang, who operated numerous entertainment industries in the city and was Jin Zhou’s big brother.

When Jin Zhou was living aimlessly in the past, it was Liu Yongchang who fully supported his study of law. After Jin Zhou completed his studies, he naturally became Liu Yongchang’s “legal advisor” and rectified all of Liu Yongchang’s black market businesses.

Therefore, for matters like debt collection that could easily lead to bloodshed, Jin Zhou had to be present; otherwise, individuals like Tiger, who lacked high ideological consciousness, were prone to trouble.

“Hand over your phone.” Jin Zhou casually gave the command, and before the owner could surrender it voluntarily, Tiger snatched it from him.

“Hey, there’s no money in my phone either!” The owner wanted to retrieve his phone, but Tiger kicked him, so he knelt on the ground and looked up at Jin Zhou, saying, “Big brother, can you give me three more days? I’ll definitely repay the money within three days!”

“Password.” Jin Zhou looked at the phone screen, indifferent.

“I really don’t have money. What’s the use of my phone password?” The owner stubbornly insisted that he had no money, adopting an attitude of “a dead pig isn’t afraid of boiling water.” He continued, “Besides, it’s a society based on the rule of law now. The country talks about eradicating crime and eliminating evil every day. What are you guys doing?”

Jin Zhou laughed and squatted down in front of the owner, patting his cheek, saying, “Are you lecturing me about the law?”

Having spent so much time with Liu Yongchang, no matter how much Jin Zhou resembled a legal elite in the courtroom, he couldn’t erase the scoundrel spirit deep inside him.

“If it were someone else coming to collect the debt, your fingers would have been chopped off by now, you know?” Jin Zhou lightly slapped the owner’s face, like a slap, but not with much force.

The owner cowered and shrank his shoulders, realizing that Jin Zhou wasn’t a person to mess with, and pleaded, “Just three days, big brother, please.”

Ignoring the owner’s request, Jin Zhou used facial recognition to unlock the phone and accessed the transfer function of an app. As he operated the phone, he asked, “Why don’t you have any money?”

“My business loses money every day…”

“So, gambling is your business?” Jin Zhou interrupted the owner’s excuse. “I can help you report to the police. Do you know who will come after you then?”

Leaving the hair salon, Tiger followed Jin Zhou, looking uneasy, and asked in a low voice, “Jin Zhou, I read in books that forcing someone to transfer money is also considered robbery. Are we committing a robbery like this?”

“You read books too?” Jin Zhou looked at Tiger in surprise. He suddenly recalled a news story he had read recently about a fugitive being caught while reading ‘Lectures on Criminal Law.’ Looking at Tiger’s tattooed arm, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Shh.” Tiger glanced at the other brothers behind them. “Just reading casually. They don’t know.”

Even a small-time crook knew how to study secretly. It seemed that Jin Zhou was doing a good job as the leader.

“It’s not considered robbery,” Jin Zhou said. “Robbery involves illegal possession. What are we taking possession of? Liu Yongchang’s money?”

“Oh, I see.” Tiger nodded thoughtfully. Jin Zhou wasn’t sure if he truly understood, so he patted the back of Tiger’s head. “Use your brain more.”

Tiger scratched the spot where he was tapped, then said, “By the way, Jin Zhou, the family that owes money at the steamed bun shop is also overdue. Shouldn’t we pay them a visit today?”

“No.” Jin Zhou took out his car keys and walked towards his car. “That family is really struggling. I’ll talk to Liu Yongchang and he gave them more time.”

Jin Zhou didn’t go to court or collect debts every day. Most of the time, he stayed at his auto repair shop.

The repair shop was located on the ground floor of a street-front store. Next door was a second hand shop, and upstairs was a small law firm. Jin Zhou’s lawyer’s license hung in the law firm.  Occasionally, he helped the neighbors write complaints, fight lawsuits, but his main job was running the auto repair shop.

People who had just met Jin Zhou mostly thought he was an uneducated thug like Liu Yongchang’s other henchmen. However, in reality, during the years of working part-time as a lawyer, Jin Zhou had never lost a case in court.

It’s said that rogues aren’t scary; what’s scary is a cultured rogue, and Jin Zhou was a perfect example of the latter.

Upon returning to the repair shop, before he even sat down, a police car pulled up at the shop entrance.

Seeing the rare guest, Jin Zhou took the initiative to greet him, saying, ‘Officer Ren, not busy today?'”

A plainclothes female officer with short hair stepped out of the car. She was around thirty-five years old and was Jin Zhou’s old acquaintance, Ren Wenli.

During Ren Wenli’s time as a patrol officer at the police station, Jin Zhou frequently interacted with her. However, since Ren Wenli was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division, they saw each other less often. Therefore, Ren Wenli’s sudden visit to the shop surprised Jin Zhou.

“I have something to discuss with you. There might be a case in a couple of days that requires your cooperation in the investigation,” Ren Wenli got straight to the point, as she was always swift and efficient in her work, skipping unnecessary pleasantries.

Jin Zhou was surrounded by brothers who loved to stir up trouble, and cases like that had become routine for them. He calmly asked, “What case?”

“You know about the recent rape case, right? The one that was on trial today,” Ren Wenli said.

“I know,” Jin Zhou not only knew about it but was also present in the neighboring courtroom during the trial. Recalling the commotion that had occurred in the courtroom, it seemed something had indeed happened. He just didn’t know how it was connected to him.

“Before the suspect was sentenced, in order to reduce his sentence by performing virtuous acts, he reported something,” Ren Wenli’s expression suddenly became subtle, as if she was carefully choosing her words, showing a hint of hesitation. “The suspect claimed that there was someone named Wang Darong in the southern prison who—”

“Wang Darong?” Jin Zhou’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he heard a name from a distant memory, interrupting Ren Wenli.

“Yes,” Ren Wenli paused, trying to be considerate of Jin Zhou’s feelings, and spoke in a cautious tone, “He is the person who caused the accidental death of your parents.”

Jin Zhou’s expression froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and asked, “And then?”

Nine years had passed since that accident, and Jin Zhou had long moved on from it. Even if he occasionally thought about it, it was difficult to stir any ripples in his heart.

However, the words that followed from Ren Wenli were like a heavy stone thrown into a calm lake, completely disrupting Jin Zhou’s tranquility.

“The suspect revealed that Wang Darong unintentionally mentioned in prison that he was instigated to cause the car accident that resulted in the death of the judge and his wife.”

Those last four words entered Jin Zhou’s ears like a bolt from the blue, causing his mind to temporarily go blank.

If it weren’t for Ren Wenli’s sudden mention, Jin Zhou would have almost forgotten that he was born into an intellectual family. His father was a judge, and under normal circumstances, Jin Zhou would have followed the same path.

But the reason he had ended up living a completely different life was all because of that “accidental car crash” years ago.

The images in his memory had become blurry, and Jin Zhou struggled to recall, but he couldn’t remember any details.

However, at this moment, Jin Zhou was more concerned about one thing—

Yang Shiyu was the presiding judge for the rape case. He wondered what his reaction would be when he heard about that.