Final Civilization

Chapter 51: Demon

As soon as these words were spoken, the private room suddenly fell silent.

Zhao Xianyang was stunned, and Zhong Jiawen was stunned too.

Zhao Xianyang looked at his phone, then at Han Ming. Hearing his words, a wave of anger surged up within him.

"Ha, pretty damn cocky, lawyer. Believe it or not, I'll fucking kill you?!"

Instantly, several burly underlings swarmed forward, ready to take action.

"Think carefully before you make a move."

Han Ming looked at this group of people, a smile on his face, showing no fear at all. His single sentence interrupted their actions.

"I called the police ten minutes ago. Given the response efficiency for Tongming Road in Puxin District, police sirens will be blaring outside within three minutes."

"Calling the cops? Good!" Zhao Xianyang laughed arrogantly: "We run a legitimate business, clear pricing, paying for a meal is legal and compliant. I wonder who the police will help?!"

"Is that so?!"Han Ming now directly held up his phone, turning the volume to maximum. It immediately played back Zhao Xianyang's words from earlier, even including what Zhong Jiawen said during the meal. It turned out Han Ming had called the police from the very start and had been recording the entire time.

Zhao Xianyang frowned, now examining the lawyer before him with a scrutinizing gaze, his voice cold.

"Recording, huh? Interesting."

He raised both hands, an indifferent expression on his face: "However, I don't recall us forcing you to pay two million, nor did we lay a hand on you. You want to frame me? There are plenty of witnesses here. Kid, I'm afraid you've threatened the wrong person?"

"I... what does this have to do with me?" Zhong Jiawen was also getting nervous now:

"I just came to eat. I'm not with them."

Zhao Xianyang originally wanted to say something more threatening, but now he was feeling a bit unsure. Firstly, he knew the other party was recording. Secondly, Han Ming had casually thrown out two million, indicating he was definitely not an ordinary lawyer and had some background.

So he couldn't gauge how much influence this person had. Plus, he didn't understand all those legal rules and regulations. If they really got into a dispute and ended up at the police station, it would be a significant hassle for him.

And at this moment, Zhong Jiawen was also somewhat panicked. The other party had not only produced two million but had also called the police. This situation clearly wasn't something that could be resolved peacefully.

She hadn't expected things to escalate like this, nor had she expected this seemingly harmless lawyer to have set a trap to send her to jail?!

She had hooked plenty of fat cats before, encountered all sorts of situations. With Zhao Xianyang as her backer, she wasn't afraid of threats from others.

But now, looking at Han Ming surrounded by the crowd in the middle, she started feeling uneasy. Judging from his earlier actions, he had started preparing after sitting down at the table, completely putting on an act with her.

Hearing Zhao Xianyang's words, Han Ming stopped the recording playing on his phone. With a composed expression, he walked up to Zhao Xianyang and Zhong Jiawen, speaking to the two of them in a seemingly calm tone.

"First, this recording can prove I was in an unsafe, coercive environment."

"Second, this recording doesn't mention a specific amount. Would I intentionally transfer out two million without being coerced? That doesn't make logical sense, does it?"

"Third..."

He pointed at the surveillance camera in the room, speaking to Zhao Xianyang in a low voice:

"You've already turned off the surveillance now, and I'm being held in this room by so many of you. I believe, in the eyes of the police, none of you have clean records, whereas I am a practicing lawyer protected by the judiciary, with no criminal record whatsoever."

"Tell me, who do you think the judge will believe, me or you?"

Silence!

The room was eerily quiet!

Listening to Han Ming's words, cold sweat beaded on Zhao Xianyang's forehead. This seemingly refined lawyer before him spoke calmly, his words clear and fluent, each syllable like the whisper of a demon in a suit, relentlessly hammering at Zhao Xianyang's heart.

Right now, it felt like ten thousand grass-mud horses were stampeding through his mind.

Is this guy even a lawyer?

Aren't lawyers supposed to represent justice?

Why does this guy feel more sinister than I am???

He had just set a trap to swindle sixty thousand from the guy, but this guy, with empty words, directly dumped the two million dirty water on him.

Even though this 'dirty water' seemed full of holes, Zhao Xianyang didn't dare to gamble. He knew jack about the law, and Han Ming's recording, combined with his own surveillance footage from earlier, was almost ironclad evidence.

Two million for a meal? For the police, that would be the case of the year. And Han Ming was right about one thing: his underlings were all thugs with records blacker than coal. If the police just pulled up the surveillance and saw the footage of them rushing into the private room, combined with Han Ming's recording, he wouldn't be able to wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River!

Woo~!!

Just then, as Han Ming predicted, a sharp police siren sounded outside Wanghai No. 7, directly striking Zhao Xianyang's heart.

"Boss, what do we do? The police are here!"

A subordinate looked out the window, breaking the deathly silence.

Zhao Xianyang's back was already soaked with sweat. He looked at Han Ming with uncertain, alarmed eyes. At this moment, he was panicking.

Having been in this underworld for so many years, he'd always been the one making others swallow bitter pills in silence. He never imagined that one day, he'd be the one swallowing the bitter pill.

"I've heard..."

Just then, Han Ming slowly leaned closer to Zhao Xianyang, whispering in his ear like a demon.

"...that the style inside Jinghai Prison is quite robust. People with hemorrhoids are quite the 'popular product' inside. Sir, do you have any?"

"You!"

Zhao Xianyang really wanted to kill someone. He felt like he'd run into an iron plate today. This situation really wasn't easy to handle. He wasn't afraid of machetes, but this kind of guy wielding the iron club of the law genuinely made him a bit nervous.

So he directly changed his tone, walking towards Han Ming.

"What do you want?"

"Me?"

Han Ming's gaze, carrying a smile, shifted to Zhong Jiawen behind the crowd. Instantly, everyone's eyes turned to look at her.

Somehow, looking at such a smile, Zhong Jiawen didn't feel relieved. Instead, this seemingly sunny lawyer gave her a suffocating sense of pressure, as if some monster was hiding behind him, ready to turn around, reveal its true form, and bare its bloody maw at her.

'This person is a demon.'

Such a thought popped into Zhong Jiawen's mind. A demon who knows the law, is educated, and has a license... a demon!

...

Thud.

The car door closed. Zhong Jiawen was trembling all over. She looked at the man in the driver's seat with terrified eyes, her face pale, speaking with extreme nervousness.

"Brother... what do you want from me? Do you want me to sleep with you?"

"Let me clarify something for you. You think being a 'restaurant decoy' is just using your looks to lure people to a restaurant and that you don't bear much responsibility. Actually, that's not the case."

Han Ming said calmly.

"According to China's 'Criminal Law,' 'restaurant decoys' and 'bar decoys' are legally the same in nature. The core characteristic is fabricating facts and concealing the truth, inducing others to pay exorbitant fees based on mistaken beliefs. Legally, they are uniformly treated as fraud. As for your amount, if you can hire a very good lawyer, you might be able to get a sentence of around ten years in prison."

"Brother, brother... I was wrong."

Zhong Jiawen was scared out of her wits. Even Zhao Xianyang and his crew had backed down. At this moment, she had no confidence left; her psychological defenses had long since crumbled.

Then, Han Ming turned his head, his gaze deep as an abyss.

"I'll ask you a question."

"What question?"

"How old are you this year?"

"I... huh?" Zhong Jiawen thought she misheard, replying nervously: "Twenty... twenty-nine."

"Quite young." Han Ming said with a smile, a trace of reminiscence flashing between his brows as he said to her:

"Be a good person from now on, go home early, and be safe."

Zhong Jiawen was dumbfounded.

This guy... is he crazy?

He scared her half to death, yet just gave her a verbal lecture, and then... just let her go like that?

She couldn't believe it, but Han Ming's words now felt like a royal pardon. She didn't have the mind to think it through. She immediately took out her phone, trembling as she transferred the money back, then directly opened the car door, not forgetting to give Han Ming a deep bow.

"Brother, thank you. I'll remember this. I'll definitely be a good person from now on."

After saying that, she hurriedly ran off, her heart pounding.

Perhaps it was because he was a lawyer, that's why he was so reasonable.

Zhong Jiawen felt a huge weight lift from her heart. She used her phone to call a ride and returned to the entrance of her apartment building.

But just as she got out of the car, a commercial van suddenly stopped in front of her. The door opened, and several men directly dragged her into the vehicle.

"Mmph..."

The still-shaken Zhong Jiawen looked at the man in front, her eyes widening, then she stopped struggling.

"Brother... Brother Shan."

The man sat in the shadows, toying with a cold, sharp dagger in his hand, its glint chilling to the heart.

"That lawyer, what did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything." Zhong Jiawen said, her face deathly pale with tension: "He didn't ask me anything at all..."

"Oh?"

The man in the shadows straightened his upper body, revealing a lean face in the dim car light, his voice cold:

"He didn't ask you about Xu Yong?"

"Xu Yong? No..." Zhong Jiawen now looked utterly confused: "He just took me into his car, asked me... how old I was, and then let me go?"

"You think I'm stupid?"

'Brother Shan' suddenly erupted, the cold, sharp dagger directly pressing against Zhong Jiawen's neck. A crimson color had already begun to flow.

"Ah!! I... I really didn't lie, ah!!"

'Brother Shan' put away the dagger, signaled to his subordinates. Then, Zhong Jiawen's mouth was covered with gauze. She struggled twice before falling still.

The commercial van slowly drove away into the night.

'Brother Shan' now dialed a number, speaking in a low voice: "Yan Jing's lawyer has found Zhong Jiawen."

"Have they made contact?" A hoarse voice came from the other end of the line.

"Yes. However, they just went to Zhao Xianyang's place for a meal. They talked for two minutes after coming out. It's unlikely anything was leaked."

"Whether anything was leaked or not, this person shouldn't be kept. Clean it all up, then keep a close eye on Yan Jing for me."

"Yes."

...

Just after the commercial van left, from the shadows of the street corner, a white Mercedes C-Class lit up its butterfly-eye headlights and quietly drove away.