First-Class Lawyer

Joe converted his space hovercar into a space shuttle, benefiting from the exclusive usage of a platinum road to beam himself to Spring Ivy Hospital.

“What are the results now?” He put on the full set of lab dress and a mask whilst entering the door. 

Dr Lin looked helpless, seemingly wanting to say something, yet diplomatic enough not to.

It ended up being Yan Suizhi who turned to check the clock on the wall, saying to Joe, “It hasn’t been half an hour since the call. Even an apple can’t be digested within this time.”

Lin Yuan nodded along, explaining to Joe, “Since the root cause of the illness has been identified, it’ll be much easier to find a solution. But it’s hard to say how long it’ll take. By conservative estimate, it could take a year and a half, so just prepare yourself for the wait.”

“And by optimistic estimate?” Joe asked. 

“A little under half a month,” Lin Yuan said.

“That long?” questioned Joe.

His fingers were still struggling with the mask. Perhaps because his attention was focused on the apparatus and the conversation, he had a lot of difficulty putting on that mask, some slots just refusing to click into place.

“Based on past experience, it’ll take roughly that long.” Lin Yuan understood his anxiety, so supplemented the explanation with a few more sentences about the process and its complexities.

The more Joe listened to it, the more his head hurt, but he showed not a hint of impatience on the surface.

He did his best to absorb the technical terms. Though his face turned green, his expression was extremely earnest.

Having not slept well, Lin Yuan averted his gaze from the display of the machine, took off his observation glasses, and massaged his eyelids, saying, “It’s an unavoidable process. I’ve already called all the trustworthy researchers in the institute to come back on duty to make preparations for the long battle ahead.”

Actually, whether it was a year and a half or half a month, it actually wasn’t too much for Joe to accept. 

He eyed the massive dark eye circles and the near-stationary analyser, saying, “If by long battle you mean sleepless nights, then you don’t have to. I can wait. I’ve already waited longer than this. If Ke Jin can express himself, he’ll surely think so too. Above that, I’m more afraid of you doctors dying from overwork.”

Lin Yuan was conflicted between laughter and tears. “It won’t be that bad. I’m here as a doctor to save lives, not to be buried with them. Besides, which one of you has gotten more sleep than me? Your dark eye bags are hanging down to your shoulder blades; do you have any grounds to talk about me? And you two as well—”

Seeing that the battle fire was about to turn over, Gu Yan interjected, “Pardon, but ours aren’t as obvious as yours.”

After shooting back, he explained to Joe, “We were discussing this before you arrived. It isn’t only because of Ke Jin that Dr Lin is in a hurry.” 

Joe blanked, his brain failing to process his words due to his lack of sleep.

Lin Yuan nodded and said, “Yes, this isn’t only about Lawyer Ke.”

He pointed at Gu Yan, “The victims of the Elderly Bobblehead case are in the same boat as Lawyer Ke. Some of them are doing terribly now. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news?”

Joe, “Ah, right. You mentioned that over the comms. Some of them are in critical condition, right?” 

Lin Yuan nodded. “Yeah. Multiple organ failure.”

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They could often last for a few days, waiting amidst excruciating pain, as if holding on for just a bit longer could bring them hope of recovery. 

But bit by bit, hope always died out. They could acutely feel vitality seeping from them, and would be acutely aware that they were due to depart from this world, parting from those whom they couldn’t bear to leave.

Some struggled. Others howled.

Yet that silly little brother of his, who had yet to grow into his years, smiled at him and said, “Ge, when I get better, I’ll buy you a belated birthday gift.”

However, he never did get better, and the birthday gift never came… 

Lin Yuan wiped his fingers over the machine, as though cleaning it. “In the past, when facing a similar sudden onset of multiple organ failure, I… was limited in what I could do. I had the will and yet I was powerless.”

His downcasted eyes gently blinked twice. After a moment’s silence, he said, “Now, all necessary conditions are in place. There’s no reason not to go full steam ahead. If I can find the solution a day quicker, or even by an hour, those people will have a better chance of surviving. I don’t want them to endure the pain only for it to come to nothing.”

Joe looked at him for a while, then immediately after, he dialled Eunice.

A few seconds later, a document was sent over. 

“I know that research instruments at this level will have access restrictions for individual researchers or teams,” Joe said.

It was implemented to safeguard the confidentiality of different research projects.

Researchers only had access to the instrument within the scope of their project, but didn’t have access to the progress and test data information of other projects on the instrument.

Lin Yuan started. “Yeah. Each of the four lead researchers has access to a portion. Me, Curly Hair… right, that’s Jack White, the old Professor Xu, and Professor Stephen each have about 25% I think, with slight variations depending on the project.” 

Joe slapped the document in his hand. “I was only supposed to pass this to you tomorrow. After all, with how big Spring Ivy’s medical system is, there’s a procedure to be followed for all that jazz. But your words earlier made me feel that wasting even one second is a crime.”

Lin Yuan fixed his eyes on it.

In his hand was a letter of authorisation granting him and his team 100% access to the instrument.

This wasn’t any simple affair. He needed to have sufficient grounds to file a request, then turn the decision to grant or deny it to the Spring Ivy Hospital’s board of directors. 

But now, all of those procedures were no longer relevant. Because of two signatures signed with a flourish at the end of the document: Eunice Yves, Devore Yves.

Joe ejected a holographic pen and, taking Lin Yuan’s hand, turned the document towards himself, signing a third one beneath those two names: Joe Yves.

Lin Yuan froze for a beat. Then he dropped the virtual file into the machine’s permission scan port.

The screen that had remained stationary for a long time rolled out three lines in quick succession. 

Signature 1: Verification passed.

Signature 2: Verification passed.

Signature 3: Verification passed.

Permissions have been changed to 100%. 

Joe kept the holographic pen and said to Lin Yuan, “There, use it as you wish. Nothing is forbidden. But don’t let anyone else see this. After all, to the outside world, Old Fo—my father and I are still at odds. That’s what we have to make the Mansons believe, at least.”

“What does Mr Yves have planned?” Yan Suizhi said.

Joe clutched a tuft of blonde hair. “Dean Yan, how do you know that my dad already has plans in place?”

Yan Suizhi smiled. “Maintaining the family feud divides your family into two—Ms Eunice and Mr Yves forming one side, representing Spring Ivy, whereas you stand alone on the other side. If both sides have reconciled, all three of you will represent Spring Ivy. By appearing at odds, one side can maintain the status quo, whereas the other side is free to get things done.” 

In his head, Young Master Joe said—Why do you seem more like Old Fox’s legitimate son than me?

But he only grumbled these words in the depths of his stomach. Did he dare spit it out for the dean to hear?

‘Course not.

“My dad is trying something,” Joe said. “Didn’t he let you take a look at what he had uncovered over the years so that you can comb through it from a lawyer’s point of view? Back then, you guys said that there’s still some evidence missing.” 

Gu Yan, “Mn. We’re lacking direct evidence linking the Manson brothers to the problematic gene surgeries. Other than that, with regards to those influential families and the Manson brothers’—let’s call it collaboration…”

“Collaboration, my ass,” Joe said. “Collusion is more like it.”

“…We are still missing conclusive witness testimonies and evidence.”  Gu Yan finished his sentence.

“You’re just missing these two links?” Lin Yuan was astonished. 

“Only?” Joe shook his head. “That’s what it sounds like, but it’s more than that. For example, the link between the problematic gene surgeries and the Manson brothers. There’s so much scattered information that you can guess who did it even if you used your toes to think. But is that useful? Nope. The courthouse doesn’t permit people to be convicted on guesswork. Everything begins from the presumption of innocence.”

With his arms folded, Yan Suizhi leaned against the edge of an empty lab table, listening to him speak.

Joe completely lacked any awareness that he’d reverted to his behaviour during the elective. He subconsciously elbowed Gu Yan. “Did I get it right?”

Gu Yan, “…” 

“As for the Manson’s collusion with other influential families—” Joe broke it down for Lin Yuan again. “Which families and who were involved in this nasty stuff, whether it was willingly or forced, how deep their involvement is, how much they know; all that is pretty important. We have to go to the root of the problem and dig up everything else with it. I don’t want new tricks cropping up in the future. But you can’t just get them to ‘fess up. Also, if we really bring it to court, all that material evidence, written evidence, circumstantial evidence, direct evidence, and whatnot… they vary in strength of evidence in legal proof. It’s pretty delicate stuff. Right?”

As he went on and on, he wanted to elbow Gu Yan to check if he got it right again, but his elbow jabbed empty space.

And so he saw that Lawyer Gu, who was initially standing next to him, had wordlessly moved next to a certain dean, with a paralysed expression, likewise watching him while leaning against the table edge with his arms folded.

Joe wanted to accuse him of putting hoes over bros, but when the words reached his tongue and he considered who the ‘hoes’ referred to, he hastily swallowed them back down. 

“So what does Mr Yves think?”

“Dad plans to get in from the middle, to get the Manson brothers to have a small spat with their partners, and the easiest target for that is Cliff. He’s been unhappy with old money like ours for a long time; he puts on a smiling front, but who knows what he thinks on the inside,” Joe said, but seeming to think of something, showed a bit of hesitance.

Yan Suizhi carefully studied his expression, smiled, and said, “You seem to have other ideas?”

“Did you read my mind?” Joe was stunned. 

“As luck would have it, I’m not blind.”

“…” Joe said tentatively, “It’s not really that I have other ideas, I just think this method is a bit slow. Old Fox has the patience to set traps for years, but I don’t. So I’ve been wondering if there’s a more direct approach.”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Yan Suizhi incline his head to whisper a question in Gu Yan’s ear.

Gu Yan tilted his head marginally, listening with lowered lashes to his question, then nodded and whispered back in Yan Suizhi’s ear. 

Joe, “…Dean Yan, are you two discussing how many points to award me?”

Yan Suizhi straightened his body. “Nothing of the sort. I was only worried that I had misremembered a few details, so wanted to clarify them before saying anything. For a more direct approach, I do have a suggestion.”

“What is it?”

“I suggest that you make a trip to Tian Qin’s detention centre,” said Yan Suizhi. 

Joe, “??? Did I do something wrong?”

Then, he registered it, suddenly recalling who was in Tian Qin’s detention centre.

Joe, “Dean Yan, do you mean… Zhao Zemu?”

Yan Suizhi nodded. 

Joe, “But…”

“If I haven’t misremembered some details from before, and—” Yan Suizhi pointed at Gu Yan with his chin, saying to Joe, “If this best friend of yours hasn’t as well, then Mr Zhao could be a breakthrough point.”