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For Pama, Reid did not dare to offend her in the slightest. Not only was she a genius pharmacist, but her teacher was the only A-level Genetic Potion Master in the Tianhe Star Domain—Madico.
Madico's network was incredibly formidable; he was acquainted with nearly all the high-ranking figures of the Tianhe Star Domain and maintained good relations with them. Pharmacists occupied such a special occupation; the Federation Government revered them, interstellar pirates feared to offend them, and all sorts of other forces scrambled to curry favor with them.
As Madico's direct disciple and also a beauty, Pama's popularity might slightly lag behind Madico's, but not by much. The circles she mingled in were mostly high-level Federation Government officials; it seemed that just one word from her could make someone lose their prospects.
After carefully answering a few questions Pama posed, Reid finally mentioned the matter of Guding being brought to the federal court. By this time, it was already more than twenty minutes behind schedule.
"I'll go with you. I've heard of that guy Preston, a bad reputation and quite vindictive. I've also heard about the feud between him and Cain; it's actually not a big deal. But now it seems that with Cain escaping, Preston has transferred all his hatred to Guding, and Guding will definitely suffer. If the interrogation ends without results, I reckon he'll directly propose to send Guding to prison and use torture to extract a confession," Pama, being part of the Federation's upper circles for some time, had heard of some unwritten rules and was worried about Guding receiving such treatment.
"Then I'll go first. You hurry over as well. With your help, Preston probably wouldn't dare act recklessly." Reid suddenly felt a bit tense. As an advance lawyer, he had heard about some unwritten rules in the relevant industry, although he hadn't witnessed them firsthand. Previously, he hadn't thought in this direction because he was confident in winning the case. But now, hearing Pama mention such matters, he was worried about Guding.
He started the car and headed straight for the Federation Court. As an advance lawyer, he had handled hundreds of cases and was naturally familiar with the location of the Federation Court.
It took just about twenty-five minutes to reach the court. He lowered his head to check the time on his wristwatch and found he was still twenty minutes late.
He pushed open the door of the federal court just in time to hear the trial judge say, "Alright, let's bring the first witness up now."
Quite a few people turned to look at Reid as they heard the door open. He walked nonchalantly to the lawyer's stand beside Guding. "Sorry, I got delayed by something and arrived late."
"Are you Reid?!" Preston's lawyer's face turned rather ugly upon seeing Reid. Clearly, he knew Reid.
"Are you Preston's lawyer?" Reid smiled nonchalantly, seemingly not recognizing the other man nor taking him seriously, "I can only wish you luck."
"So your lawyer is Mr. Reid," the trial judge nodded slightly upon seeing Reid, evidently quite familiar with him.
"Who is this kid?" Preston asked quietly.
"He's called Reid, the only advance lawyer on Sea Blue Star and a super VIP member of the Tianhe Star Domain Law Association. He got his advance lawyer's license at fourteen, breaking the record for the entire Tianhe Star Domain, and is ranked among the top ten in the entire Cosmic Country. Although he hasn't handled many cases, only a little over five hundred, he's never lost a single one," the middle-aged lawyer explained in a low voice.
The trial judge knocked the gavel again, indicating that the lawyers should start questioning the witness.
When the first witness came up, Guding and Reid clearly saw that the witness's mental state wasn't good, as if he hadn't slept well and his gaze seemed vacant. Upon seeing Preston, his expression noticeably showed fear.
"This guy was undoubtedly tortured for interrogation last night," thought Sea Emperor, observing the witness's demeanor.
"Wait!" Reid spoke up before the other party could ask the first question.
"Reid, do you have any questions?" The trial judge asked with a slight frown.
"Your Honor, I personally believe that testimonies coerced through torture are unreliable, wouldn't you agree?" Reid stood up calmly and said.
"The federal court does not allow coercion through torture. Testimonies obtained through such means are not accepted by the federal court," the trial judge nodded.
"And what makes you say this witness was coerced by us?" The opposing lawyer immediately objected.
"Very simply," Reid shifted his gaze toward Guding, "Guding, what do you see in this person?"
"His hands are trembling unnaturally. When holding papers, he doesn't dare to apply force, indicating he's enduring significant pain. The nails on his ten fingers are much redder than usual, a sign that these nails are newly grown through the Cell Regeneration Liquid, making them thinner. To verify this, just squeeze his nails slightly with some force, and they should break from the base. However, the reason his hands can't apply force isn't that his nails were pulled."
"Ordinary flesh wounds can heal completely with three hours of soaking in F-grade Cell Regeneration Liquid, but bones don't recover as fast; it requires at least three consecutive days of soaking to fully heal. The reality is that he has multiple fractures in his ten fingers. With just one day of soaking in F-grade Cell Regeneration Liquid, the bones encased in flesh, can only initially heal; exerting force would result in refraction. Of course, these injuries are visible through an X-ray machine. A professional doctor can accurately determine the injury time using an X-ray."
"Additionally, he has been in the courtroom for less than two minutes, yet his expressions occasionally show discomfort. However, the source of his pain isn't in his hands but within his body. With Cell Regeneration Liquid, external wounds are easily healed, but internal injuries aren't something the Regeneration Liquid can fix. To verify whether he has internal injuries, simply have him undergo a full-body scan."
After Guding finished speaking, Reid gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Guding has explained it well. Allow me to add one more point."
"After this witness entered, I noticed a detail. His gaze appeared vacant, and his mental state seemed poor. Just as Guding was describing the situation, I checked his information through a photo comparison. Now let me read it to everyone."
"Brent, interstellar pirate, bounty amount 1.3 billion. Found guilty of murder, arson, and ***, sentenced by the Federation Government to three hundred thirty years of imprisonment." After reading this, Reid looked up at Preston, "A 1.3 billion bounty, which is probably the highest in Sea Blue Star Prison, am I correct, Warden?"
"Before Cain, he was the highest, so what?" Preston answered indifferently.
"So, in other words, this guy, whether before Cain entered the prison or after Cain escaped, always had the highest bounty. Then tell me, who in the prison would dare provoke him? His current mental state clearly indicates he has suffered a blow. And a mental blow usually has two causes: one is to have endured inhuman torture that exceeds a person's capacity, leading to a mental breakdown. The other reason is being jilted by a woman."
Reid paused momentarily after speaking, then continued, "Earlier, when he entered the courtroom and saw our Warden, he clearly exhibited fear."
"That's just your speculation. Show some evidence!" Preston had an unconcerned expression.
"You want evidence? That's easy." Reid nodded, "Then let the Warden assist us."
Preston did not care what Reid wanted to do since he did not believe Reid could come up with anything significant.
"Warden, please stand here," Reid walked straight to stand in front of the witness, Brent, who merely looked at him dully and lowered his head without any response.
Preston quickly guessed Reid's intention, attempting to maintain a relaxed smile as he slowly moved toward Brent's position.
Upon seeing Preston, Brent's expression became noticeably tense. From his perspective, Preston's smiling demeanor was thousands of times more terrifying than when he was stern, as Preston always tortured him with such a smile. Seeing Preston approach step by step, Brent's body began trembling violently, "Don't come over, don't come over... please... I'll tell you everything..."
Reid spread his hands wide, "The witness's reaction suggests everything, doesn't it? I suspect, Warden, that your supposed several witnesses are probably in similar conditions, right?"
"Bring all the other witnesses out. For those with similar mental states, their testimonies are invalid!" The trial judge nodded, knocking the gavel once more.
(The pace of the story in these chapters slowed down a bit because the earlier story developed quite fast. Personally, I feel giving everyone a breather before reaching the next climax would be better. The court segment should conclude tomorrow.)
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