The Missing Thirty Seconds

They were evenly matched!

In an instant, invisible pressure surged from both sides and filled the First Courtroom. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the trial area, unwilling to miss a single detail.

"That man... he's got some nerve!"

In the gallery, reporter Zhang Xia swallowed hard. Her heart pounded.

She watched the scene before her.

The two sides were at each other's throats now, nothing like the first Trial Hearing.

Last time, they had argued with cool reason and incisive angles, each point as precise as a scalpel cut.

But this time...

It was a head-on clash!

"Forcing his personal opinion into the proceedings..."

Wang Chao murmured from one side.

It was a brazen challenge to the judge's limits. The air practically smelled of gunpowder.

As for why Xu De dared to do it...

Because this was almost certainly the final Trial Hearing!

At that moment.

In the trial area.

At the Defendant's Bench, Xu De wore an unusually grave expression. Ignoring Wang Wei's displeasure, he stared straight at Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin.

The prosecution had amended its indictment and had ample evidence to support it. The judge would not adjourn and grant them a third hearing.

If Xu De wanted to win under these circumstances, he had to stand firm. Giving an inch would be a failure of his duty to his client!

"Presiding Judge, the prosecution is making assumptions about the defendant based on personal bias!"

"These supposed two acts were actually one continuous action. From beginning to end, the defendant remained within the bounds of Legitimate Self-Defense and did not pursue his attacker beyond them!"

Xu De spoke again, driving home his position.

At the Prosecution Bench.

Wang Wei could barely contain his anger.

Assumptions? Xu De had cut him off before he finished speaking and twisted his words out of context. Wasn't that making assumptions!?

"Presiding Judge, defense counsel has disrupted proceedings and disregarded courtroom rules. I request that he be warned!" Wang Wei turned to the judge as well.

On the Judges' Bench.

The three judges remained still, their expressions stern.

Then Zhang Bingxin raised the Gavel from the Judges' Bench.

Bang!

"Defense, it is not yet your turn to speak. Observe courtroom order!"

"This is your first warning. If it happens again, the court may impose sanctions!"

The order of speaking in court was crucial. If a disruption had serious enough consequences, the judge could even remove an attorney from the Trial Hearing.

Xu De had no objection to the warning. On the contrary, he had achieved his goal.

He had challenged Wang Wei's statement and, in doing so, undermined the credibility of whatever Wang Wei said next!

Zhang Bingxin said:

"Prosecution, please continue."

Wang Wei heard him.

Only then did he take a deep breath, smother the anger burning in his chest, and look back down at the document in his hand.

"That was Wang Qiang's first act that appeared to be 'deliberate.'"

"And what the defendant, Wang Qiang, did next fully constituted the crime of Intentional Injury under Article 234 of the Criminal Law!"

He spoke.

Wang Wei paused, then delivered the rest of the point Xu De had interrupted.

"After the defendant, Wang Qiang, pushed the victim out of the vehicle..."

"The victim, Li Erniu, fell to the ground. Only afterward did he seize a sickle from Li Chunhua, a villager from Li Family Village."

"Wang Qiang then grappled with him, ultimately causing the victim Li Erniu's death."

His words hung in the air.

He paused, then abruptly shifted course and drew out the critical point.

"Take note!"

"From the moment Li Erniu fell to the ground until he seized the sickle, there was a gap of nearly half a minute!"

"During that half-minute—thirty whole seconds..."

"There was no one behind Wang Qiang to stop him. He could have gotten into the vehicle to take cover and left the scene in police hands, escaping the immediate danger."

"Several officers remained inside the police vehicle. All he had to do was step back, and he would have been safe."

As he spoke.

Wang Wei's gaze darkened. His expression was severe, his authority allowing no argument as he declared:

"But he did not choose to do that. Instead, he went forward and grappled with Li Erniu."

"Ultimately causing the victim Li Erniu's death!"

"Taken together with the shove inside the police vehicle, which appeared to be 'deliberate,' we believe..."

"The defendant, Wang Qiang, was emotionally agitated and acted with deliberate intent. His actions constituted the crime of Intentional Injury under Article 234 of the Criminal Law!"

"Furthermore, his actions exceeded the bounds of Legitimate Self-Defense."

"They fully satisfy the conditions for Excessive Self-Defense under Article 20 of the Criminal Law!"

At those words...

The courtroom erupted.

The argument was well supported, its angle incisive, its reasoning tight.

"The prosecution came prepared this time..."

"Seriously. With everything they've laid out, they've practically nailed down the charge."

"Thirty seconds. An ordinary person could run more than two hundred meters. Bolt could make it three hundred, and a vehicle could cover nearly seven hundred..."

"But the defendant kept fighting him... What angle can the defense even use to rebut that?"

In the gallery.

People could no longer hold back. They murmured to one another, brows furrowed.

At the Defendant's Bench.

Wang Qiang sat with his head lowered on the cold chair, his hands clenched so tightly that the skin over his gaunt fingers turned white. His breathing grew strained.

At that moment.

As Wang Qiang listened to the discussion behind him, his perception suddenly shifted. The Judges' Bench, the Prosecution Bench, and the Defendant's Bench swelled to impossible size. Hu Guang, Zhang Bingxin, and Xu De towered over him like giants!

He had become an ant, as small as a grain of sand, trapped at their center and awaiting final judgment.

The pressure and despair turned into icy water that swallowed him whole, leaving him unable to breathe!

Until...

"We object!"

At the Defendant's Bench.

Within mere seconds, Xu De had gathered his words. His face was stern, but his eyes held a calm, rational focus.

On the Judges' Bench.

Zhang Bingxin had not yet finished processing Wang Wei's argument. Hearing Xu De, he turned, nodded, and said:

"Defense, state your objection."

Xu De nodded.

He drew a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet.

Rebutting someone on the spot was difficult. Even in an ordinary job interview, it was hard to manage, let alone under the rapid, high-pressure questioning of a courtroom, where clear expression and logic mattered so much!

But his resolve had not changed.

He was going to argue for a Not-Guilty Defense!

"Presiding Judge, members of the bench."

"The prosecution's claim of 'Intentional Injury' has no basis in what actually happened. It cannot stand!"

"First, the defendant Wang Qiang's actions inside the police vehicle were neither driven by deliberate intent nor by emotion. He acted solely to help someone in danger. It was Legitimate Self-Defense, part of one continuous defensive act!"

"Second, outside the vehicle..."

Xu De paused. Then his words rang through the courtroom.

"Under the third paragraph of Article 20 of the Criminal Law, there is a third category beyond ordinary Legitimate Self-Defense and Excessive Self-Defense: Special Defense!"

"In other words, the Unlimited Right of Defense!"

"The law expressly states: 'Where a person takes defensive action against an ongoing violent crime involving assault, murder, robbery, rape, or a grave threat to personal safety, thereby causing injury or death to the unlawful aggressor...'"

"'Such action does not constitute Excessive Self-Defense, and the defender bears no criminal liability!'"

"During the incident."

"Once Li Erniu seized the sickle, the severity of his attack escalated. What had begun as an attack on Wang Mei became a violent, life-threatening attack on Wang Qiang. It fully met the requirements of the third paragraph!"

"That means that during this period, the defendant, Wang Qiang..."

Xu De spoke with a cold expression. He rapped the knuckle of his right index finger against the table: knock, knock.

"Had the Unlimited Right of Defense!"

"Therefore, even though Li Erniu died as a result of Wang Qiang's defensive actions, the defendant was still..."

"Not guilty!!!"