"But they’re clearly slandering me! I’m seventy-eight years old; I’ve seen my share of dogs. What right do they have to say I teased it?"

Zhang Qingyuan, however, stared intently at Liu Chengqiang and Wu Yun, his face flushed red as he spoke. Their testimonies just now... were clearly aimed at him. They claimed that a dog wouldn’t charge at someone without reason, implying he was the one who had provoked the dog and was therefore at fault.

"Old Zhang, please calm down." From the lawyers’ bench, Qin Mu shot Zhang Qingyuan a look, signaling him to sit down. Then, Qin Mu stood up and faced the opposing counsel, his gaze piercing.

He said coldly, "The opposing counsel’s speculation isn’t entirely unreasonable. However, logical and legal inferences should be limited to interactions between human beings."

"I would like to ask the opposing counsel: does a dog having no history of biting anyone mean it will *never* bite?"

"If no one provokes it, does that guarantee it won’t act on its animal instincts and charge at someone?"

"A dog is not a human. In court, using human logic to deduce a dog’s behavior—isn’t that absurd?"

Facing these two, he didn’t mince words and went straight on the offensive. Their entire line of reasoning was that the dog had always been docile and wouldn’t bite without provocation. But in reality, apart from humans, an intelligent species, no one can guarantee that other animals are controllable. Even a dog raised for over a decade can sometimes become uncontrollably aggressive.

On the defendant’s side, after Qin Mu’s speech, Liu Chengqiang and Wu Yun’s previously composed expressions suddenly vanished. Sheer astonishment replaced their composure. The two exchanged a look. Intuition told them this intern lawyer was no simpleton. A typical intern lawyer would likely struggle to speak fluently in court, certainly not with Qin Mu’s confidence.

As Qin Mu spoke, an invisible aura seemed to envelop them, exerting a palpable pressure.

Moreover, Qin Mu’s earlier statement had been highly aggressive. He had clearly distinguished between humans and dogs, emphasizing that a dog is an animal, and its actions cannot be predicted using human common sense.

"What the plaintiff’s counsel says is indeed correct." Liu Chengqiang took a deep breath and responded gravely. "Indeed, a dog is a dog, and its behavior cannot be inferred using human social logic. However, what we proposed earlier was merely a line of speculation." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Based on this line of thinking, our side has already collected sufficient evidence."

"This evidence can conclusively prove that our client’s dog... only acted abnormally because it was provoked and lured by someone else!"

Having said this, he turned to the Judgment Chief and the other adjudicators. He requested permission for the witnesses to testify.

This was the evidence presentation and cross-examination phase, where both physical evidence and witness testimonies could be presented.

Subsequently, the Judgment Chief granted permission, and Lin Gang, along with three other individuals, came forward sequentially.

Liu Chengqiang looked at Lin Gang with excitement and began, "As I understand it, you’re an employee in the service department of the nursing home, responsible for receiving visiting clients and giving tours. The four of you were at the scene and must have witnessed what transpired."

"The surveillance footage only shows the dog charging at the elderly plaintiff."

"However, the moments leading up to the charge weren’t captured. I’d like to ask you: did plaintiff Zhang Qingyuan engage in any provocative behavior at that time?"

"For instance, did he deliberately whistle or wave at the dog?"

After asking these questions, a slight smile touched his lips as he quietly watched Lin Gang, waiting for his answer.

Yesterday, he had already spoken with Lin Gang. If they won the lawsuit, Lin Gang would receive a ’reward’ of fifty thousand yuan, possibly more, along with a higher-paying job. He felt he had been extremely generous, offering all he could. Lin Gang had also agreed to cooperate.

Lin Gang, however, appeared somewhat nervous. After the question, he kept glancing around, as if apprehensive about something.

"There’s no need to be nervous or worried. This is a court of law; you just need to state the facts as they are," Liu Chengqiang quickly tried to reassure him upon seeing this.

It was normal for someone like Lin Gang, facing such a situation for the first time, to be hesitant to speak. Many people testifying for the first time in court react this way. Few can speak clearly under such circumstances.

But Lin Gang hesitated for a long moment, then swallowed hard. The next words out of his mouth left Liu Chengqiang utterly dumbfounded, his face a mask of disbelief.

"At that time, I saw Old Zhang simply walking by. He wasn’t moving fast. Then, the dog, for no apparent reason, suddenly went wild and charged at Old Zhang. None of us even had time to react."

Liu Chengqiang’s expression changed drastically. He stared intently at Lin Gang. What on earth went wrong? He’d offered such generous terms, yet Lin Gang was completely unmoved! Any ordinary person would have agreed in an instant, without a second thought.

Just as he was reeling from this, Lin Gang’s next words made his face turn deathly pale, as if struck by lightning.

"Furthermore, last night, a person claiming to be a lawyer contacted me on my private account. They offered to transfer fifty thousand yuan to me and also promised me..."

As he spoke, Lin Gang took out his phone and displayed the chat history on its screen. He then submitted it to the members of the collegial panel.

At that moment, Liu Chengqiang and Wu Yun felt an icy chill shoot down their spines. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Lin Gang hadn’t just deviated from their script; he had thrown them completely under the bus!