Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi was mulling over how she was yet too inexperienced and had also discovered a newfound respect for He Zhichu. She said to the prosecutor, “I understand and don’t blame you at all. I just hope that you will give the data to me. This isn’t illegal since I’m also a lawyer representing the plaintiff. I have the right to access your information.”
Although the prosecutor was afraid of retaliation from those people, he still had his own sense of justice. He felt the same level of psychological stress being threatened by those people as with not being able to find justice for that unfortunate victim. Seeing that Gu Nianzhi was only asking him to share his information and that it was also legal practice, he agreed without hesitation, “I’ll give it to you when we go back to the courthouse.” He patted Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder, “Good luck! The rest depends on you.”
Gu Nianzhi was very grateful as she followed the prosecutor back to the courthouse to obtain a flash drive from him. “The data is all in there, but it’s all in German so you can use instant translation software to read it in English. Although it won’t be too accurate, the inherent meaning will be the same.” The prosecutor covertly offered his suggestion.
Gu Nianzhi agreed with a smile and returned to her seat. She passed the flash drive to He Zhichu. “Professor He, this information is in German. Can you take a look for me?”
He Zhichu accepted the flash drive and plugged it in the port to begin browsing. There was a lot of information, and the prosecutor had marked down all the key points. He Zhichu quickly translated the case summary into English and also summed up several contradictions and suspicious points for Gu Nianzhi’s reference. Gu Nianzhi also used her laptop to connect to the free Wifi in the Munich District Courthouse.
Since the Munich and Roslau judicial systems were blatantly colluding and impeding justice, she had no choice but to take drastic measures. She also knew this was illegal to a certain extent and at least violated the provisions that made the trial closed to the public. But breaking this law had no direct link to the case itself. Even if she was discovered, it wouldn’t affect the court proceedings. Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips and stared intently at the screen. Her slender fingers flew over the keyboard as she opened a program she had created. By using a heavily disguised IP address, she infiltrated the courthouse’s central control system and connected to the courthouse surveillance camera. She then shared the real-time surveillance footage using the courthouse’s official account on the largest social media network in Germany, in effect sharing the live stream of the entire trial.
To allow the people of Germany to understand how corrupt the judge and police chiefs they had elected actually were, Gu Nianzhi purposely adjusted the angle of the courthouse’s internal surveillance camera to focus on the judge, the defendant’s lawyer, the male defendant Seth, and his parents York and Ramona. She was careful to leave a blind spot in the courtroom so she would not be captured on camera as she attended the trial. The live stream would only broadcast her voice; her face would remain hidden.
Shortly afterward, a live stream started on the official account of the Munich District Court. The Germans who were following case were keenly aware of this, and there was a sudden surge in traffic on the social media site, which nearly crashed the server. Because the court wasn’t too active on its official social media account, it didn’t have many followers. There had only been a small increase in follows due to the notorious case, so the court hadn’t assigned anyone to be in charge of maintaining the social media account. They only had a part-time court clerk log in once a month. So the Munich District Court was completely oblivious when its account started gaining 1,000 followers a minute.
…
When 15 minutes were up, the judge resumed the court session with a bright smile. He said eagerly, “If the defendant’s and plaintiff’s lawyers don’t have any further questions, I announce—”
“Hold it.” Gu Nianzhi suddenly stood up and said quietly, “I have a question.”
The judge’s expression darkened as he stared at her. “What did you say? Speak in German.”
Sure enough, he was being difficult. Gu Nianzhi raised a brow. No wonder the two previous judges who had sympathized with the victim had been replaced—they had changed to a judge biased towards the defendant.
Gu Nianzhi spoke loudly in English. “According to your laws, I can defend in English, and your court must provide an interpreter for me.”
“We don’t have interpreters here.” The judge waved his hands dismissively. “Either speak in German or shut up. I will announce the trial results now.”
When the judge said that, the comment section of the live stream on the court’s official account nearly exploded. The countless Germans watching the live stream trial were all shocked…
How could this be?! He was clearly not allowing the prosecution’s lawyer to speak?! Although German ought to be spoken in Germany, there was no rule that English couldn’t be spoken! He claimed there were no interpreters?! Fine!
At that moment, countless certified German interpreters called the court to offer their services to the lawyer entrusted by the parents of Li Haiqing. A courthouse staff member quickly came to the judge presiding over the case to ask if he needed to send an interpreter over, but the judge glared coldly at him, so he didn’t dare ask.
The judge continued to ask Gu Nianzhi, “Are you done speaking? Ok, I announce—”
“Hold it.” This time, He Zhichu stood up and replied in German, “I’ll act as her German interpreter.” His authentic Hannover accent shocked the judge.
The tens of thousands of Germans watching the stream finally smiled. This was the first time they had sided with foreigners in a dispute between their own people and foreigners…
Gu Nianzhi shot He Zhichu a grateful look and immediately began her cross-examination. She first looked at Seth.
“Mr. Seth,” she said. “I’d like to ask if it was true when your representing lawyer said that you had sexual relations with the victim one day before her death.”
Seth squinted at her but refused to speak.
Gu Nianzhi turned to his lawyer. “May I ask if what you’re saying is fully endorsed by your client, Seth?”
“Of course. I’m his representing lawyer. Don’t tell me you don’t even know what it means to sign the entrustment agreement with a representing lawyer?” The other lawyer sneered at Gu Nianzhi, his eyes vicious.
“Ok. It’s great that you know.” Gu Nianzhi looked at Seth. “Mr. Seth, did you hear that? Everything that your representing lawyer says next will be in representation of you and is fully legally binding.” Gu Nianzhi watched an uncertain look cross Seth’s greasy face. She coughed quietly and continued to explain, “So, do you still plan to remain completely silent? He’s not you, so will he understand the case and understand you as much as you do personally?”
