Blank Charge

The cellphone in the pocket of his trousers suddenly vibrated, appearing particularly abrupt in the empty courtroom.

Jin Zhou instinctively lowered his head to look, but before he could take out his phone, three judges walked in from the door, interrupting his action.

The recess was over, and even the most urgent phone call had to be hung up.

The defendant was escorted back to the courtroom by the bailiff, and the presiding judge struck the gavel, expressionless, saying, “We will now deliver the verdict in court.”

The defense strategy for a minor offense was not wrong, and in the end, the judge accepted Jin Zhou’s defense argument and reduced the defendant’s sentence.

“Attorney Jin, thank you so much!” The defendant kept thanking Jin Zhou.
“From now on, I will definitely be a law-abiding citizen!”

Most people who commit crimes have such insights after being sentenced, but whether they will take it to heart after being released is another matter.

Jin Zhou encouraged the defendant with a few more words, telling him to learn more while inside, and then he went outside the courtroom and made a phone call to Hu Zi.

The corridor of the courthouse was silent and empty, covered in a solemn atmosphere.
However, as the notification sound rang on Jin Zhou’s phone, there was suddenly a commotion in the neighboring criminal court.
A woman in professional attire rushed out, shouting into her phone, “I have a major news story here, save tomorrow’s headline for me!”

She was a reporter.

That thought popped into Jin Zhou’s mind.

If he remembered correctly, the neighboring criminal court was handling a high-profile rape case, and the presiding judge was an acquaintance of his—Yang Shi Yu.

If it were any other day, Jin Zhou would definitely go over to join in the excitement and see what kind of major news it was.
But unfortunately, he had something to attend to that day and didn’t have that much time to spend in the courthouse.

“Jin Zhou, when are you coming over?” Hu Zi’s voice came from the phone, dispelling Jin Zhou’s curiosity.
“The guys are all waiting impatiently.”

“Why the rush?” Jin Zhou withdrew his gaze from the noisy neighboring court.
“Didn’t I say I’m in court?”

Arriving at the courthouse parking lot, Jin Zhou sat in the driver’s seat of his car, adjusted the rearview mirror, carelessly loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

He ruffled his hair, which was chaotically fixed with hair gel, and the young man with an upright appearance in the mirror suddenly looked a bit decadent.

Jin Zhou usually didn’t like wearing suits, but in order to leave a good impression on the judge, he had to portray the image of an elite professional, as that was the look expected of a competent lawyer.

He rolled up the sleeves of his suit to his forearms, and then put a cigarette in his mouth.
At that moment, Jin Zhou reverted back to his usual carefree appearance, completely void of the previous image of engaging in a verbal battle with the prosecutor in the courtroom.

About ten minutes later, Jin Zhou parked his car in front of a hair salon.

Hu Zi and a few other buddies had been waiting for a long time.
As soon as Jin Zhou arrived, they surrounded him and headed straight for the salon’s storage room.

None of the salon’s staff dared to stop Jin Zhou.
In the cramped storage room, the shop owner cowered in a corner, trembling all over, but he stretched his neck and shouted at Jin Zhou, “Let’s talk things out.
If you guys cause trouble, I’ll call the police!”

debtors were the ones in charge.
As long as the debt collectors went a bit too far, the other party would shout about calling the police.

“Call them then.” Jin Zhou put his hands in his pockets and kicked the chair next to his feet.
He approached the shop owner step by step.
“We’ll let the police mediate.”

Compared to the several muscular guys behind him, Jin Zhou had a slender figure and was wearing a suit, giving him a somewhat cultured appearance.
But in that situation, everyone knew that a cultured thug was even more terrifying.

Seeing that Jin Zhou wasn’t afraid of the police at all, the owner of the hair salon had to soften his attitude and negotiate, saying, “Big brother, I really don’t have the money.
Can you talk to Mr.
Liu and give me a few more days?”

“You don’t have the money?” Hu Zi took a few steps forward when he heard this and slapped the owner.
“You fucking don’t have the money, yet you went gambling?”

The other buddies also wanted to take action, but Jin Zhou’s gaze stopped them.

The ” Mr.Liu” mentioned by the owner was Liu Yongchang, who operated numerous entertainment industries in the city and was Jin Zhou’s big brother.

When Jin Zhou was living aimlessly in the past, it was Liu Yongchang who fully supported his study of law.
After Jin Zhou completed his studies, he naturally became Liu Yongchang’s “legal advisor” and rectified all of Liu Yongchang’s black market businesses.

Therefore, for matters like debt collection that could easily lead to bloodshed, Jin Zhou had to be present; otherwise, individuals like Tiger, who lacked high ideological consciousness, were prone to trouble.

“Hand over your phone.” Jin Zhou casually gave the command, and before the owner could surrender it voluntarily, Tiger snatched it from him.

“Hey, there’s no money in my phone either!” The owner wanted to retrieve his phone, but Tiger kicked him, so he knelt on the ground and looked up at Jin Zhou, saying, “Big brother, can you give me three more days? I’ll definitely repay the money within three days!”

“Password.” Jin Zhou looked at the phone screen, indifferent.

“I really don’t have money.
What’s the use of my phone password?” The owner stubbornly insisted that he had no money, adopting an attitude of “a dead pig isn’t afraid of boiling water.” He continued, “Besides, it’s a society based on the rule of law now.
The country talks about eradicating crime and eliminating evil every day.
What are you guys doing?”

Jin Zhou laughed and squatted down in front of the owner, patting his cheek, saying, “Are you lecturing me about the law?”

Having spent so much time with Liu Yongcha