"""
In the Federation Court, there were quite a few cameras, with eight hidden cameras inside the courtroom alone. Each waiting room also had cameras to monitor the witnesses' every move.
The Sea Emperor easily took control of the network and cameras here. It took less than a second to see the appearance of the remaining four witnesses. It was also very clear that of these four, Guding had only met one; the other three were likely false witnesses arranged by Preston.
"Guding, there are three false witnesses you haven't met," the Sea Emperor reminded.
Guding discreetly nudged Reid with his elbow and whispered something to him.
A moment later, Reid suddenly spoke up. "Your Honor, I have a request before the other witnesses are brought up."
The judge was slightly surprised, not quite sure what Reid intended. "Go ahead."
"To prevent anyone from giving false testimony, I want to temporarily switch places with Guding. I'll sit at the defendant's seat, and if any witness can't tell I'm not Guding, it's clearly false testimony." Reid speculated that Preston might have brought someone to provide false testimony. This method was just a simple filter; if the witness recognized Guding, then this method would be invalid. "All the witnesses can be brought up together, but they must be isolated from communicating with each other to prevent them from aligning their testimonies."
"Your request is granted," the presiding judge nodded.
A moment later, four people were brought in, all wearing specially made electromagnetic helmets that isolated their vision and hearing. Guding, sitting at the lawyer's seat, glanced at the four, pausing briefly on one tall man whose mental state seemed less than ideal. Among the four witnesses, he only recognized this one, the guy who had previously escaped with Brent.
After having the staff unlock their electromagnetic helmets, Guding spoke, "Just answer the questions I ask directly; don't waste time talking about other things."
The tall man's expression froze slightly when he saw Guding. The other three had no reaction, clearly mistaking Reid for Guding.
"First question: Is the defendant currently sitting in the defendant's seat the person you saw at the crime scene?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Three of them gave affirmative answers, but the tall man remained silent, only managing to squeeze out a few words after a moment, "It's not him."
"It's him, I clearly remember this face," one of them immediately countered upon hearing this.
The other two also chimed in, "Exactly, I remember it's him."
"Providing false testimony won't be punished, but it will be recorded in your lifetime file. Didn't anyone tell you three about this before you came? Once you have this kind of **record, the branch institutions under the Federation Government, including the Federation Prison, Federation Court, Federation Military Department, etc., will essentially refuse to accept you." Reid, sitting at the defendant's seat, spoke up.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three changed to a look of panic.
"Your Honor, such action of providing false testimony is strictly prohibited in the Federation Court, correct? How to handle these three is up to your decision, Your Honor," Reid pushed the issue to the presiding judge.
"Record today's false testimony and include it in their files. After this trial is over, the Federation Court will notify their respective departments and other related departments for a reprimand." The presiding judge looked very displeased. Having served as a judge for over twenty years, he could not stand false testimony. Undoubtedly, these three were brought here under Preston's instructions.
"The remaining one's mental state is also quite poor, which should render the testimony invalid like Brent's," the presiding judge continued, "which means, Mr. Preston, you no longer have valid witnesses, and since no concrete criminal evidence has been submitted, I will have to close the case. Does the jury have any comments?"
Several minutes later, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict: Guding was not guilty.
Receiving the jury's verdict, the presiding judge finally declared the case closed, "I hereby declare Guding not guilty and free!"
Hearing this result, Preston's face grew very unsightly, but he also had no further evidence. He glared menacingly at Guding from afar.
Guding looked back at him, flashed a mocking smile, and walked toward him.
"Director, you don't look too well," Guding said.
Preston held in his frustration, said nothing, and turned to leave.
"Director, a friend just sent me some videos, and I think you might be very interested in watching," Guding teased. "I have sent them to your public mailbox, and you can receive them anytime."
Preston glanced down at his Smart Ring, which projected the screen into his palm, only the size of his half palm. There were three emails sent by Guding, and Preston clicked open the first one in silent mode.
In the video, it was him torturing a prisoner, and zoomed in on the prisoner's face, Brent; the video was authentic. His mood somewhat uneasy, he then opened the second video.
The second video showed him torturing another of the witnesses who had just testified in court.
Then, he clicked open the third email. This wasn't a video of him torturing prisoners, but a scene of himself sitting in the Federation Court with a lawyer whispering to him. He vividly remembered this scene from more than ten minutes ago, when the lawyer told him that there was no evidence and they could use severe questioning once Guding was temporarily detained in Federation Prison. In the video, a close-up of his brutal smile toward Guding was captured.
Closing the mailbox, Preston turned around. He knew that if he ignored Guding's threat, he might lose his position as director, or worse, end up in prison. "What do you want?!"
"Director, you should know that the behavior in the video earlier is actually a crime," Guding raised a corner of his mouth.
Preston coldly stared at Guding, remaining silent.
"My friend says he has about a thousand of those kinds of videos," Guding continued. "These should be enough to send you to Tianhe Prison Headquarters for over three hundred years. Just imagine, a director being sent to his own prison; the other inmates should be very pleased, right?"
"What do you want?" Preston felt a twinge of fear in his heart, most afraid of something like this happening. His tone softened. He had tortured many criminals at Tianhe Prison Headquarters, and if he were sent there, the payback wouldn't just be tenfold worse.
"It's quite simple," Guding knew that Preston, with this attitude, had expressed his acceptance of the negotiation terms. "In the future, stay away from me and my friends."
Preston let out a slight sigh of relief. He had expected Guding to take the opportunity to extort something, but upon hearing this, he nodded. "I can do that. If you have any other conditions, you'd better say them now. I don't want to receive a second extortion."
"The second condition is even simpler," Guding summoned his weapon, his right hand clenched into a fist, a powerful Iron Fist swinging down, landing heavily on Preston's face.
Preston made no defense, and although he was a Fifth-Order Genetic Body, his nose started to bleed.
Many people in the courtroom had not yet left, and witnessing this scene, everyone was stunned. Pama, who had just arrived, happened to see this happening and almost cried out. The guards rushed over but were stopped by a wave from Preston, who got up and intervened.
After getting hit, Preston's expression remained calm. "This is a personal vendetta between him and me, so back off!"
"This punch is for Uncle Cain!" Guding said fiercely.
Next, the second punch flew out, hitting Preston's cheek hard once more. "This punch is for those you've tortured!"
Again, Preston made no defense, and his body was sent flying, crushing some chairs. He stood up again, his left cheek swollen beyond recognition. Spitting out two loose teeth, he indifferently walked back toward Guding.
Guding clutched his fists, building up strength for a long time, and when Preston approached, launched another Iron Fist, landing brutally on his nose. "This punch is for myself!"
Preston's body was sent flying again...
Looking at this unbelievable scene, everyone was truly shocked, even Reid, known for his deduction skills, was standing back, mouth half-open. They didn't understand what leverage Guding held over Preston to make him willingly get beaten in front of so many people. To know, that individual not only bore grudges but also cared deeply about saving face. Such a thing, let alone preserving face, was utterly degrading.
Preston, having risen again, his nose now collapsed with unstoppable bleeding, his mouth a bloody mess, and a face swollen beyond recognition, still approached Guding calmly.
"The enmity between us ends here," Guding said, and that statement allowed Preston to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Remember the conditions you agreed to," Guding left these words, leaving behind a group of bewildered onlookers.
Even Pama, standing at the door, didn't know what to say for a moment. She had originally planned to use the reputation of the Medicine God Alliance and her teacher's prestige to warn Preston not to provoke Guding but didn't expect to see this unfolding right when she pushed open the doors of the Federation Court.
"Let's go!" Guding beckoned to Reid and left.
On the way, Reid couldn't contain his curiosity and asked, "What exactly happened just now?"
"Nothing, I just found him annoying, so I beat him up!"
(Aiyo, early in the morning I saw a reward from Ugly God. This time, starting a new book rather quietly, many friends in the circle weren't told. I don't know how he found out... Hmm, anyway, thanks for Ugly God's reward. Everyone, support Ugly God's new book "Demon God" as well!)
"""