The Mad Prosecutor Picked Up AI - Chapter 107



Only Krnovel

Episode 107: The Best Way to Avoid Falling into a Trap

“If it’s Yang & Ji, they must have come up with a definite plan, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Gong Min-ho bowed his head slightly and answered.

“The amount per person should be lowered to less than one million won.”

“How? Are you trying to say that the evidence is wrong?”

“No. They are probably well prepared for such an attack.”

“Hmm. Then?”

“You don’t have to eliminate all of the newly added 1.1 million won. You just have to eliminate 800,000 won. So, we’re going to change the hostesses into employees and target the bands.”

“band?”

Go Yoon-seok looked around because he didn’t understand. Neither Jeong Min-gu nor Chief Kim Jong-hyeok looked like they understood.

“I don’t know what to do or how to do it, but anyway, is it possible to get rid of 800,000 won?”

“We can. Our job is to make things that were not there before, and to make things that don’t make sense.”

“Oh, right. Right.”

Manager Kim Jong-hyuk burst into hearty laughter and gave a thumbs up.

“As expected from Yang Anji!”

“Huh? Hey, Yang Aechwi… …?”

“Huh? As expected from Yang An-ji.”

“Oh, yes.”

Manager Kim Jong-hyeok spoke with a smile, so his pronunciation was a bit slurred. Gong Min-ho brushed his chest, surprised by something. Go Yoon-seok clicked his tongue with a very displeased expression.

“Is this possible? Shouldn’t there be a more certain solution?”

“Are you sure? Are you going to talk about our department’s Pro Kim again?”

“No, that’s not it.”

When Go Yoon-seok waved his tail, Chief Kim Jong-hyeok patted Gong Min-ho on the back and said.

“Let’s just trust our public opinion. What’s the problem with such a dependable person? Right?”

“That’s right. Just trust me.”

Jeong Min-gu, who had been quiet until then, poured alcohol into the glass on the table.

“Okay, okay. Everyone, put your worries aside and have a drink.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Go Yoon-seok still had his mouth pouting, but he didn’t object and just raised his glass. Chief Kim Jong-hyeok looked around and then started singing.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

“For Yang and Chi!”

“Hic!”

“Hahahaha!”

At the end, Gong Min-ho winced and hiccupped, but no one noticed and he emptied his glass.

* * *

The second trial of the Hwang Dae-bong prosecutorial hospitality case.

‘what’s this.’

As I listened to the defendant’s argument, I felt a pang in my mouth. It was like swinging the bat with all my might, only to miss.

I thought the defendant would try to eliminate the existence of the 1.1 million won that I had newly proposed. So I prepared for that.

What they are after is obviously the legitimacy and credibility of the evidence. I focused on the fact that the order details and receipts were not forged and that they were obtained through proper procedures.

If you want to jump in, then jump in!

That’s what it felt like.

But. What is this kid?

Why a band all of a sudden? What’s wrong with a woman?

“The woman listed on the order form is not a female hostess as the prosecution claims, but a female employee working at Jay Ritz. Therefore, this amount should be corrected from 800,000 won to 300,000 won.”

What are you talking about? The employee expenses were already included in the 2.68 million won receipt.

Anyway, they’re trying their best to reduce the number.

“Also, the defendants Kim Jong-hyeok, Jeong Min-gu, and Ko Yoon-seok all hate singing. However, Hwang Dae-bong, who did not know this, sang the band by himself. When he found out that the defendants hated the band, he immediately sent the band out of the room.”

Gong Min-ho was joking hard at Judge Hong Sang-jin.

“The 300,000 won in performance fees from the entertainment expenses should have been omitted, but was calculated incorrectly. Therefore, the 800,000 won, including the unfairly spent band performance fees and the incorrectly calculated employee fees, should be deducted from the total entertainment expenses of 3.78 million won.”

After deducting 800,000 won, the remaining amount is 2.98 million won.

Trying, trying.

To not exceed one million won per person.

“Can you prove this fact?”

“Your Honor, first, I would like to request band members Jang Young-jin and Kim Dae-yoon, and counter employee Ahn Jang-hyeon as witnesses to testify about the band’s expenses.”

Huh, it comes out like this?

really?

Things went smoothly after that, because I had no particular reason to oppose the other side’s witness.

They decided to deal with whether the woman was a hostess or an employee after resolving the band issue.

After taking the oath as witness, the band members who stood on the witness stand looked slightly nervous, but continued to testify in calm voices.

“I went into the room and the old men sitting there were like, ‘Why did you call the band?’”

“They said they didn’t like the song and told us to get out.”

“But even though I came all the way here and offered to perform for him, he just refused.”

“Since I didn’t play the instrument, I shouldn’t be receiving any performance fee, right?”

“Jang Hyun-i must have been mistaken because he even gave me the performance fee. So I just accepted it.”

“I didn’t know it would be a problem. I’ve given it back to you now.”

“I didn’t know that he hadn’t entered the room. I was busy so I couldn’t check each and every one of them. I just paid the performance fee like I usually do.”

You must be stupid.

I bet you had a lot of practice testifying in Yangae-chwi.

After the band members and employees’ testimonies ended as smoothly as silk, Gong Min-ho looked at me with a slightly excited face. It seemed as if he was under the vain delusion that he had hit me well.

It wasn’t a crowd. Judge Hong Sang-jin nodded with a serious expression after hearing the testimony.

Judge Hong Sang-jin looked down at me and asked.

“Prosecutor. Would you like to cross-examine me?”

“Ah, that’s… … .”

To buy myself some time, I put my right hand to my forehead, pretending to ponder for a moment, like Rodin’s The Thinker.

[The person thinking has his hand on his chin.]

‘Wouldn’t it be different for each person where they put their hands?’

Aliotte sighed and started pouring out her words as if she thought she didn’t have much time.

[Hyun-kwang. Let’s do a cross-examination first, but how about requesting a recess first? The trial has been going on for quite some time now, and we also need to prepare for the cross-examination.]

‘Is that the best?’

[The best option would be to postpone the cross-examination until the third trial. However, if that happens, the other side will also have to prepare for the cross-examination. I don’t know if it would be a good idea to give the other side time.]

There is a saying:

The best defense is a good offense.

[Hmm. So you’re going to attack now? You can’t do that. You’ll be dragged out by the court officer right away. You could even get disciplined.]

‘What are you talking about? Are you saying I would physically attack you?’

[Well, if it’s Wi Jun-woo, then maybe, but Hyun-kwang… ]

Aliotta tilted her head and looked me up and down. It seemed as if she was measuring my attack power, but I didn’t feel very good about it.

I ignored Aliotta’s gaze and continued my thoughts.

Similar to the saying that the best defense is a good offense, there is another saying:

The best way to avoid being trapped is to not be trapped.

[Crunch!]

A sound was made when Aliotta tried to hold back her laughter and let out a breath through her nose.

‘What are you doing?’

[What are you talking about? The best way to avoid being trapped is to not fall into the trap? That’s what I’m talking about, Fart.]

I don’t know. This is why it is still difficult for artificial intelligence to catch up with humans.

When fighting, it is better to avoid the opponent’s territory. It is not for nothing that the home team has an advantage over the away team.

It’s not just because there are so many people cheering you on. It’s because having a thorough knowledge of the terrain and geography of the place where the fight is taking place is a greater advantage than you might imagine.

There’s a lot of mud here, so it’s slippery if you step on it, there’s a beehive on that big tree over there, so you shouldn’t go near it, and if you make a lot of noise here, the dog from the house behind will come running at you with its tongue out, so you have to be quiet.

In some ways, it may seem like trivial information. However, these small and diverse pieces of information can determine the outcome of a fight.

That’s why real fighters are reluctant to fight in their opponent’s front yard. Walking into their enemy’s territory? That means they have no intention of winning.

What this means is that I should be able to decide both where and how I fight.

[Aha. That’s what you meant.]

‘Yes. Do you understand now, AI?’

As I was looking at Aliotta with a satisfied expression, Aliotta pointed to the judge’s podium and said:

[Okay, so answer quickly. No matter how patient Judge Hong Sang-jin is, he’s on the verge of exploding right now.]

‘ah?’

I looked up and saw Judge Hong Sang-jin glaring at me from behind his glasses.

“Do. Hyeon. Gwang. Geom. Sa! I ask you one last time. Would you like to cross-examine me?”

Hehe. How much time has passed since then?

“No. There is no counter-examination.”

The gallery stirred when he said there was no counter-examination. In the defendant’s seat, Chief Kim Jong-hyeok smiled down at me.

I’m sure you thought I gave up on the opposition argument because I had no point.

It’s a mistake.

The defendants are now arguing that the band’s performance costs will be excluded from entertainment expenses. To support this claim, they have brought in band members and employees as witnesses.

How much did they practice those witnesses while preparing for this testimony? Even if I complain that I’m cross-examining them, there’s not much to gain.

Cross-examining thoroughly prepared witnesses is no different from walking into a trap they have set up. It is like walking into a trap yourself.

“Aren’t there any opposing papers? Then… … .”

“Your Honor, I’d like to call a new witness to verify the defendant’s claim that the band left immediately without playing.”

“A new witness?”

“I hereby request defendants Jeong Min-gu, Kim Jong-hyeok, and Ko Yoon-seok as witnesses.”

Instead of calling in prepared witnesses, they are questioning new witnesses.

I decide where we fight and how we fight.

As soon as I finished speaking, Gong Min-ho raised his hand.

“I object. The claim that the band left without playing has already been sufficiently proven by the band members and employees. If you want to object, I think it is sufficient to cross-examine the witnesses without having to call new witnesses.”

I also raised my hand without giving in.

“The lawyer claimed that the reason the band did not play was because the defendants did not like the song. To verify that claim, it is essential to hear the defendants’ testimony.”

“Then I need at least some time to prepare my testimony. I would like you to postpone the testimony until the next third trial.”

If you postpone it for a while, will you prepare the testimony again in the meantime?

“Do I really need time to prepare to testify whether I like a song or not? It’s not that hard. Unless you’re a nerd, even if you are, you can testify like this on the spot.”

Judge Hong Sang-jin closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and gestured toward me. I approached the bench with a puzzled look on my face, and Judge Hong Sang-jin covered the microphone with his hand and spoke to me through gritted teeth.

“The gold of the zappan is the zappan of gold.”

“Huh? Are you crazy? I’ve never said anything like that… … .”

“No, really… … !”

Judge Hong Sang-jin, who had been shouting loudly, looked around at the surprised people around him, cleared his throat, and spoke to me again in a small voice.

“No, you stupid bastard.”

“Yeah.”

As I returned to my seat, still exhausted, Judge Hong Sang-jin sighed and spoke into the microphone.

“I accept the prosecution’s request for witnesses to verify the defendant’s claims. As much time has passed, we will take a recess and resume at 2:20 p.m.”

Gong Min-ho glared at me with sharp eyes.

What are you going to do?

I won’t fall into the trap you set.

As soon as the judge declared a recess and left the room, Wi Jun-woo ran towards me.

“Inspector, are you okay?”

“sure.”

“Wow, those guys. Who would have thought they’d suddenly come in with a band in their mouths.”

“The chief is a mop.”

“No, the inspector said earlier that I was being rude… … .”

“Oh, you’re not allowed to talk nonsense in court.”

“… … .”

He spoke to Wi Jun-woo, who was looking around while collecting the materials he had brought.

“We are in a hurry too.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“Let’s plan out a strategy while we eat lunch. I have a rough plan in my head, but I also need the manager’s help.”

“Okay. Then let’s go to the office.”

* * *

After lunch, at 2:20 p.m.

After the recess, the afternoon trial resumed. Gong Min-ho also took the defendants to their seats. Those guys were looking at me and laughing. They didn’t even know their own fate.

I stood up from my seat, looked at Kim Jong-hyuk and Jeong Min-gu, and spread my hands wide.

Welcome. Welcome to my trap.