There were quite a few cameras in the Federal Court. There were eight hidden cameras inside the courtroom alone, and every waiting room had cameras monitoring the witnesses' every move.
Sea Emperor easily took control of the network and cameras here. In less than a second, he had seen the other four witnesses. He also knew clearly that Gu Ding had only met one of them; the other three were likely false witnesses Prisson had found.
"Gu Ding, there are three false witnesses you've never met," Sea Emperor reminded him.
Gu Ding silently nudged Reed with his elbow and whispered something to him.
A moment later, Reed suddenly spoke. "Your Honor, I have a request before the other witnesses are brought in."
The judge was slightly surprised. He did not know what Reed was planning. "Go ahead."
"To prevent anyone from giving false testimony, I would like to temporarily switch places with Gu Ding. I'll sit in the defendant's seat. If the witnesses cannot tell that I am not Gu Ding, then their testimony is obviously false." Reed guessed that Prisson might have found people to give false testimony. Of course, this was only a simple screening method. If the witnesses knew Gu Ding, then it would be useless. "The witnesses may all be brought in together, but they must be prevented from communicating with each other so they cannot coordinate their testimony."
"Your request can be granted." The presiding judge nodded.
A moment later, four people were brought in. All four wore specially made Electromagnetic Helmets that blocked their sight and hearing. Gu Ding, seated at the lawyers' table, swept his gaze over the four of them and paused briefly on one tall man. That man was clearly in poor mental condition. Of the four witnesses, he only knew this one—the man who had escaped with Bo Lunte before.
After the staff removed the four men's Electromagnetic Helmets, Gu Ding spoke. "Just answer my questions directly. Don't waste time talking about anything else."
When the tall man saw Gu Ding, he froze slightly. The other three showed no reaction. They had clearly mistaken Reed for Gu Ding.
"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. After a moment, he finally squeezed out a few words. "Not him."
"It's him. I clearly remember that face," one of them immediately retorted.
The other two chimed in as well. "Yeah, I remember. It was him."
"Giving false testimony may not result in punishment, but it will be recorded in your permanent files. Didn't anyone tell the three of you that before you came? Once that **record is on file, virtually none of the Federal Government's subordinate agencies will accept you. And those agencies include more than just Federal Prison—they also include the Federal Court, the Federal Army, and so on." Reed spoke from the defendant's seat.
Upon hearing that, the expressions of the three men immediately turned panicked.
"Your Honor, giving false testimony is strictly forbidden in the Federal Court, isn't it? As for how these three should be handled, that is still up to you." Reed passed the matter to the presiding judge.
"Record today's false testimony and place it in the files of these three. After this trial is over, the Federal Court will notify their departments and other relevant departments and publicly criticize them by name." The presiding judge looked deeply displeased. He had been a judge for more than twenty years, and what he despised most was false testimony. And clearly, these three had been sent by Prisson.
"The remaining witness is also in a very poor mental state. Like Bo Lunte, he falls into the category of invalid testimony." The presiding judge continued, "In other words, Lord Prisson, you no longer have any valid witnesses. And since no concrete evidence of a crime has been submitted, I can only close the case here. Does the jury have any objections?"
A few minutes later, the jury reached a unanimous verdict—Gu Ding was not guilty.
After receiving the jury's decision, the presiding judge finally declared the case closed. "I hereby announce that Gu Ding is acquitted and released!"
Prisson's face looked terrible upon hearing the result, but he had no additional evidence. He glared furiously at Gu Ding from afar.
Gu Ding looked back at him, bared a mocking grin, and walked toward him.
"Warden, you don't look too well."
Prisson forcibly suppressed his displeasure and did not respond. He turned, preparing to leave.
"Warden, a friend of mine just sent me several videos. I think you'll be very interested in watching them." Gu Ding's tone was teasing. "I've already sent them to your public mailbox. Feel free to receive them."
Prisson lowered his head and glanced at his Smart Ring. The ring projected a screen onto his palm, no larger than most of his hand. There were three emails from Gu Ding. Prisson opened the first one in silent mode.
The video showed him brutally torturing a prisoner to force a confession. He enlarged the prisoner's face. It was Bo Lunte. The video was real. Unease immediately rose in his heart, and he opened the second video.
The second video showed him brutally interrogating another prisoner who had just testified in court.
Then he opened the third email. This one was not a video of him forcing a confession from a prisoner. It showed him sitting in the Federal Court while a lawyer whispered to him. He clearly remembered that scene from over ten minutes ago. The lawyer had told him that if there was no evidence, they could wait until Gu Ding was temporarily detained in Federal Prison and then torture a confession out of him. The video gave a close-up of the cruel smile he had shown Gu Ding at the end.
After closing the mailbox, Prisson turned around. He knew that if he ignored Gu Ding's threat, he might lose his position as warden or even end up in prison himself. "What do you want?!"
"Warden, you should know that what you did in those videos is a crime, right?" Gu Ding curled his lips.
Prisson stared coldly at Gu Ding and said nothing.
"My friend says he has nearly a thousand videos like those." Gu Ding continued, "That should be enough to send you to Tianhe Prison Headquarters for more than three hundred years, right? Just imagine it—a warden sent into his own prison. The other inmates should be thrilled."
"What do you want?" Prisson's heart skipped a beat. This was what he feared most, and his tone softened. He had tortured quite a few criminals in Tianhe Prison Headquarters. If he were sent there, it would not be as simple as paying back tenfold.
"Very simple." Gu Ding knew that Prisson's attitude meant he had accepted the negotiation. "From now on, stay farther away from me and my friends."
Prisson relaxed slightly. He had thought Gu Ding would take the chance to extort something from him. Hearing this, he nodded. "I can do that. If there are any other conditions, you'd better state them all at once. I don't want to receive a second extortion demand."
"The second condition is even simpler." Gu Ding summoned his weapon and clenched his right hand into a fist. He threw a fierce Steel Fist, smashing it hard into Prisson's face.
Prisson did not put up any defense. Though he was a Fifth Order Gene Body, blood still flowed from his nose.
Many people had not yet left the courtroom. Seeing this, everyone was stunned. Pa Ma, who had just arrived, happened to see it too. She covered her mouth, nearly crying out. The guards rushed forward, but Prisson stood up and waved them back.
After taking the blow, Prisson's expression remained calm. "This is a private grievance between him and me. Stand down!"
"This punch is for Uncle Kane!" Gu Ding said fiercely.
Then came the second punch, once again slamming hard into Prisson's cheek. "This punch is for all the people you tortured into confessing!"
Prisson still did not defend himself. His body was sent flying, smashing apart a row of chairs. He stood up again, his left cheek swollen beyond recognition. Spitting out two broken teeth, he expressionlessly walked back toward Gu Ding.
Gu Ding clenched his fist and gathered strength for a long moment. Once Prisson drew near, he unleashed another Steel Fist, smashing it viciously into the bridge of Prisson's nose. "This punch is for me!"
Prisson was sent flying backward once more...
Watching this unbelievable scene unfold, everyone was truly dumbfounded. Even Reed, who excelled at deduction, stood in the distance with his mouth half-open. They had no idea what leverage Gu Ding held over Prisson to make him willingly take a beating in front of so many people. That man was not only incredibly vengeful, but also extremely concerned about saving face. This was beyond losing face—he had thrown his dignity away entirely.
Prisson rose to his feet with his nose already collapsed, blood streaming endlessly from it. His mouth was full of blood, and his face was swollen until he was unrecognizable. Yet he still calmly walked toward Gu Ding.
"Our grudge ends here." Gu Ding's words made Prisson finally let out a complete sigh of relief.
"Remember the conditions you agreed to." Gu Ding left those words behind, leaving everyone staring in shock.
Even Pa Ma, standing at the doorway, did not know what to say for a moment. She had originally planned to use the Medicine God Alliance's name and her teacher's prestige to warn Prisson not to provoke Gu Ding. Yet the moment she pushed open the doors of the Federal Court, she witnessed this scene.
"Let's go!" Gu Ding waved to Reed and strode away.
On the way back, Reed could no longer restrain his curiosity. "What exactly happened just now?"
"Nothing. He annoyed me, so I beat him!"
Before you continue