Fries once learned about a case that took place in South Korea. A serial killer who killed people randomly appeared in the city. He was brutal and inhumane. Finally, due to insufficient evidence, a gang boss who had been attacked by the other side sat on the witness stand and made a decisive correction. After that, the gang leader was also sent to prison.
Therefore, he actually knew that there was such a thing as a "tainted witness" in the court, and that a tainted witness could reduce his or her sentence by providing clues to the police and identifying the criminals, but... "frozen man"?
——Is this world crazy?
"I know what Gotham is like," he murmured to himself, "I have known this city... Yes, I know what it is like..."
It seems that there are endless criminals in this city, and with the appearance of Batman, they become more crazy and brutal, and their numbers increase one after another. Sometimes people wonder if it is the appearance of Batman that attracts these criminals. Some people hate Batman - why didn't he kill them after catching them? As a result, they began to hate the city of Gotham where there is no "death penalty".
This city is a mad flower that breeds malice and blossoms. They hate it, but never try to escape from it. Some people leave their homeland when they are young, but they will come back many years later, like an indescribable curse.
Equivalent to the "reluctance to give up" of the people of Gotham is the "obsession" of the criminals of Gotham. Most criminals are obsessed with Batman, with Clown being one of the representatives. As for Mr. Freeze, he knows this man, who is on the fine line between genius and criminal. Illness and loss have made him less sober - his file is like the crimes he has committed. As long as it is uploaded to the Internet, it can be viewed and will not be erased.
So he never thought that criminals in Gotham would help the police, that would be like a clever black cat deciding to help the mice it hated.
Fries was stunned for a moment: "No, I mean... Frozen was once sent to Arkham... Why can his testimony be used as evidence?"
"Because a professional psychiatrist believes that he has recovered," the annoying female lawyer said with a fake smile, "Of course, the psychiatrist I'm talking about doesn't mean the ugly little girl."
This is a terrible situation, thought Frizzle.
He listened to the testimony of the anxious man, and his heart slowly sank.
"...I have always known that hell is right beside me. I knew the existence of the mine, but I did not try to understand it. At that time, I knew everything, but I never thought of stopping it, because I felt that I was in hell and that I was the worst one. I was immersed in my own world until that day when the police found me. Under their guidance, I saw the mine that was about to explode and those miserable people. Only then did I know what was happening not far from me. So my thinking changed, and I decided to stand up and identify these demons..."
Damn it! Why didn't you think of identifying it before?
Clearly, some kind of agreement was reached with the police, but in a place like Gotham where there is no death penalty, what kind of agreement can be reached? How much difference does it make whether your family is locked up or not?
Fries has considered various situations where his opponents are the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, but he has never considered that his opponents are criminals in Gotham City? From the ugly girl to the frozen man, do you still remember that you are criminals?
He recalled his communication with Dr. Hadley Queenie, who was obviously the alias of the ugly little girl Harley Quinn. At first, he thought he had found a reputable psychiatrist who quickly convinced him during the conversation... Was this a conspiracy from the beginning?
Fries was thinking quickly about how to solve the problem. Should he delay it until the next trial and prepare more sufficient evidence?
——However, the funny thing is that he actually has no evidence in his hands. On the contrary, the opponent's evidence will become more and more as time goes by, because Friis himself knows best that his defense object, Hal Smith, is a heinous criminal.
As time passes, Friis searches for a solution to his dilemma.
At the back door of the court, a man leaned against the wall, took off his helmet with one hand and placed it on his motorcycle, and held a mobile phone in the other hand, with the trial scene on the screen.
He had two white highlights in his black hair and a hint of green in his blue pupils. This guy's real name was Jason Todd, and his alias was Red Hood. Theoretically, he was also one of the eyewitnesses, but he did not stand in the witness stand.
Jason did not believe that the laws of Gotham could uphold justice. He had always thought so when he was wandering outside. So after gaining strength and returning to Gotham, he decided to use violence to clear everything up and become the greatest violence to curb the occurrence of other violence.
If he hadn't seen the changes on the East Side, he would have shot those people in South Hinckley, as well as the guys in the dock, young and old, and none of them would have survived.
He felt irritated at the thought of breathing the same polluted air with these scumbags.
But...something has definitely changed in Gotham.
He couldn't explain why, just like he couldn't explain why he stood in the alley behind the courthouse after waking up when he could have found a safe house far away to watch the live broadcast. Did he really want to testify wearing a hood? Cryoman would be enough.
However——
"If I walked up to the witness stand and took off my hood, the old man would probably drop his cup, right?"
The camera swept over Bruce Wayne in the gallery. Jason thought about the strange scene for a moment, tsk- ...
He and Batman will have ideological disputes, and they will meet again one day, but not now, and not in this situation.
...Maybe he's not ready yet.
...Also, the missing Xiao Chou probably isn't prepared either.
He put on his helmet; it was clear that there was no place for him in the courtroom.
Friis was losing ground, at least on the surface.
But in reality—he was simply recognizing what he had long recognized: his boss was not Hal Smith.
His boss is Mr. Dunlop, the biggest gangster in New Haven. What he has to do is to protect the rights of Mr. Dunlop in the Gotham court. From the beginning, Friis knew that it would be difficult to acquit the case. His real goal was to prevent Hal Smith and his family from leaving Gotham and identifying Dunlop.
Originally, Fries thought that the police did not have sufficient evidence, but after talking with Hal, he found out that this old man who was always tight-lipped in the other world had confessed everything. Fries wondered if Hal could not stand the torture, and at the same time he wondered what kind of terrible place Blackgate Prison was - but fortunately, he could still change his testimony in court.
He planned to prove that Hal Smith had mental illness problems, so his testimony was not counted. But if this trial did not produce a result, and the other party was once again interrogated into something else by Bethevin's strange torture method, then both Hal and Fries would die. Fries would buy a ticket to Africa now and stay away from New Haven from now on, and maybe he could still save his life.
And the old man Hal Smith, the former mayor, asked Friesland to do everything possible to send him to the local mental hospital, and then he would find a way to transfer him from the local mental hospital to Jackson. Neither of these two cities has the death penalty.
As for why I have to leave... Arkham Asylum is not a place for normal people to stay.
As the trial wore on, the lawyer on the other side stood up again, and Friis decided to simply sacrifice Hal Smith's nephew Robert to try to shirk the crime. At this time, the tearful defendant spoke:
"There is no direct evidence to prove my guilt," said the aging man, who has a kind face and is neither fat nor thin. He looks like he can coax his granddaughter to sleep and take his son fishing. He is as friendly as an ordinary neighbor around you, especially his cloudy brown eyes. He said, "Your Honor, I want to defend myself and my innocent family."
"South Hinckley is not a bad town, but I am indeed a bad mayor. When I found out that my family was doing something wrong, I did not choose to stop them, but tried my best to take them away. I am indeed not a qualified chief, but just an ordinary grandfather, maternal grandfather and father..."
He looked at the plaintiff's lawyer and said, "Madam, you accused me of burning the account book and taking out a new account book from the nightclub. However, my signature and fingerprint were not on that account book. As for witnesses and recordings, my voice was not in any of the recordings you provided. They were all made by 'my subordinates'. But is this really the case? Three years ago, I still remembered everything that happened during the Vietnam War. A year ago, I could no longer remember my wife's middle name. But those young people can shift the blame to their superiors, because as long as the superiors bear the greatest responsibility, then they, as subordinates, can get a lighter sentence. For example... a tainted witness?"
He smiled at the frozen man and said, "Sir, I still remember how you looked when you came to this town. You were so sick that you looked like a nobody. But now you look so good, and you look nothing like the image on the Internet. I almost forgot I had ever seen you."
"It seems that your memory is not bad." Frozen Man replied coldly.
Hal smiled and shook his head, wiping away his tears. The old man's laughter grew louder and louder, and then he said, "I am very old, I am almost senile, and even if I am convicted, what will be the final result?"
整個法庭安靜極了，只有機器運轉聲與記者端着相機拍攝的聲音。
他自問自答道：“終生監禁？就算我進入了黑門監獄，以我的年紀，也沒辦法去幹其他重活，沒辦法為這個城市再奉獻什麽了，我的确很抱歉，在我管理的小鎮裏發生了這種事，而我卻一無所知，但我願意為無知犯錯的年輕人們承擔責任，也希望南欣克利不再是一座自治的、封閉的鎮子……”
他轉過頭，看向聽衆席上的市長，又轉回來，看向訴訟人律師：“但我拒不承認警方提供的證詞，這段時間我精神一直不清醒，每天都需要吃藥。”
哈爾的這段自白其實沒什麽問題——
美國的法律是有很大的通融餘地的，他正在想辦法自救。
就比如，曾經有一位殺人犯年輕而英俊，法院收到了數千人的請願，要求不要殺死這個“帥氣的人”，即使是在進入監獄後，那位犯人的刑期也一變再變，最終短短幾年就完成了他的“終生監禁”。
而哈爾這般聲淚俱下的表演，無外乎表達了幾項觀點“販毒販人的确有”“但我很無辜，我什麽都不知道”“我年齡大了，就算真的知道也忘記了”“我年齡大了，怎麽可能為了多活兩年就拒不承認呢，何況哥譚市根本沒有死刑，在這種情況下我依舊選擇拒不承認，只能說明我是真的無辜”，其實他真正想要做的，還是推翻他曾經的提供給警方的證詞——
與哥譚黑幫老大黑面具，和紐黑文黑幫老大鄧洛普有關系的證詞。
他真的是腦袋有病才會說出來……所以哈爾·史密斯是真的覺得貝拉·貝蒂文這個女人，她有問題！她怎麽可能沒有問題？
“我對那些受害者感到非常抱歉，但即使他們站在我面前，我依舊能夠說……”老人嘆氣道，“我對此一無所知。”
“您看上去可不像是記憶有問題，”女律師道，“真正判決你是否有罪的是法律，與你單方面的說法無關。”
“法官閣下，我想請我方證人，珍·梅洛普出席。”
她說完之後，看向證人上臺的方向，然後等待了一會兒，法院裏的雜音慢慢變多，女律師的眉頭皺了起來，她看向手機屏幕，又等了幾分鐘，她小跑着上臺，半晌，艾米·希斯特法官敲下了法槌：
“暫時休庭。”
壞消息，網絡上的輿論的确在跟着哈爾·史密斯的說法走偏。
更壞一點的消息，珍那裏出了問題，而就算她沒出問題，哈爾給自己塑造的形象已經固定了，要靠一場庭審打破它……非常難。
在等候室陪伴着珍的，是急凍人的妻子諾拉，而要求她別出庭的，是法院的心理醫生，醫生判斷她的情緒不夠穩定，建議她穩定情緒後再走上證人席。
——否則她只能把一切都搞砸。
她以為自己準備好了，只是走上去，站在她的仇人面前，撕開他們僞裝過的表情，控訴自己的痛苦，讓全世界都聽見，讓所有人都知道……這是怎樣一群人渣，他們不配活在這個世界上。
但是僅僅是隔着屏幕看到那些人的臉，聽到他們說話，她就發現自己憤怒到發抖，她張開嘴，卻根本吐不出什麽控訴，只想要沖上去撕咬他們，扯爛他們，那些絕望的日子又來了，黑暗再次包裹住了她。
珍這才發現，她做不到，她沒法冷靜的，有條理地說出罪犯們的所作所為，護士小姐與醫生都幫助過她，但她做不到，她看見攝像頭，她只覺得自己赤裸裸地站在這些人面前，連為自己聲讨正義都像一個叫住惡客讨錢花的婊子。
罪犯的身影高大起來，而她矮小而無處躲藏。
星星點點的光通過等待室的小窗流淌進來，珍凝視着那點微光，幾乎要看癡了，時間一分一秒過去，她卻覺得時間在這一刻停止了，而時間停滞，沒有誰會傷害她，也沒有人能幫助她。
直到——
有音樂聲推開時間的門扉，沖了進來。
“All the life——she has seen——（她經歷了這樣的一生）”
珍愣了愣。
“All the meaner side of me——（經歷了所有人性邪惡的一面）”
是童聲。
在歌聲傳進法庭內之前，《紐約日報》那位傑夫記者就先一步發現了法庭外的意外情況，他在休庭時間抓住機會出去上廁所，沒忘記帶上他的相機。
在廁所的窗戶處，他看到許多人在法庭外聚集了起來，他們從街頭的四面八方趕過來，有人正在過馬路，有人刷着手機，有人待在咖啡廳裏，可不知道是什麽召喚了他們，他們走到了法院的正門前方。
似乎連法警也摸不着頭腦，這些人并沒有沖擊法庭——
他們也不像是帶了武器。
傑夫思考了一番，立刻沖出廁所，到了法院正門處，一輛貨車嘎吱停下，這大約七八十人開始從貨車上取下……等等，樂器？
這明顯是一個由哥譚本地人組成的樂團，而在他們剛撥弄起樂器時，傑夫就忍不住皺緊了眉頭：太糟糕了，這就是個幾乎沒怎麽訓練過，只勉強能成調的民間樂團。
但民間樂團為什麽要在法院前面演出？
他們将将拉完了一首歌，并沒有人歌唱，傑夫起身，決定進去繼續觀看庭審，但就在他轉身的那一刻，他聽到了更多的，更密集的腳步聲。
從道路的左邊趕來的是數量衆多的小孩，最大的也只有十來歲，最小的應該才七八歲，帶領他們的是神父與修女，這是哥譚本地教堂的唱詩班嗎？數量卻比正常的唱詩班孩子來得多。
從道路右邊來的似乎是剛下班的白領，手臂上露出紋身的嘻哈族，工地工人，被裹挾而來一臉莫名的游客。
然後，傑夫舉起相機，琴弓搭上琴弦，數百人走到了一起，彙流到一起，孩子們站在前面，樂團被圍在中間，随着那并不太悅耳的音樂聲流淌而出，孩子們率先開始歌唱——
“All the life——she has seen——（她經歷了這樣的一生）”
“All the meaner side of me——（經歷了所有人性邪惡的一面）”
她經歷了如此糟糕的一生，她看到了人性邪惡的一面，神明從未垂憐，在惡意面前，所有人同等地渺小。
傑夫下意識後退了一步，然後，其他人也接着童聲開口，成年人的聲音與孩童尖銳而清脆的聲線混在了一處，變得更加低沉，也更有力量。
“She's got a lions in her heart（一頭雄獅住在她心裏）”
“A fire in her soul（她的靈魂有一團火焰）”
“He's a got a beast in his belly（他的胸膛有一頭猛獸）”
“That's so hard to control（難以控制）”
幾百人發出的歌聲遠不是之前的樂器聲與孩童的聲音可以比拟的，歌聲傳入了休庭中的法庭，人們下意識走到走廊，而珍被諾拉攙扶着來到窗邊。
聲音壓過了樂聲，變得更加響亮，幾乎是在怒吼——
“Cause they've taken too much hits（因為他們受到太多打擊）”
“Taking blow by blow（身心俱疲）”
現在照亮他們吧。
現在照亮這一切吧。
珍用額頭抵着窗戶，聽着外面傳來的歌聲，讓玻璃都開始震動——
“When you've been fighting（當你為了）”
“For it all your life（你的一生而戰）”
當你拼盡全力，改變自己的命運，改變你的人生——
你就是英雄。
巨大的、洪流一般的聲響，穿進門扉，除了待在被告席無法随意走動的被告，其他人幾乎都離開法庭內，走出去，讓歌聲來包裹他們。
傑夫按動快門，拍下一張張臉，卻覺得根本不夠，他看見更多的人彙聚了過來，有些人似乎本就知道要做什麽，還有些人帶着茫然的神色，卻因為周圍人都在歌唱，于是也跟着歌唱，遠方有人在錄制視頻，法警握着槍，不知道是不是該鳴槍示警。
傑夫靠近法警，聽到這個抓着槍管的男人聽着聽着，也小聲跟唱起來。
“That's how a superhero learns to fly（這就是英雄如何在痛苦中學會飛翔）”
歌曲結束，音樂聲微低，但最前方有人跳上了貨車頂，開始用外行人的手勢指揮起來，樂聲重新回到最開始的調子，他們又開始唱起來，暮色深沉，神父捧出許願蠟燭，一個個點亮，一個個傳遞過去，他們一直在點亮，一直在傳遞，一直在歌唱，直到聲嘶力竭。
——But the light has already gathered into a sea of stars.
Jeff had no idea when he returned to the courtroom. He saw a woman in the witness stand, but he couldn't see her face clearly. There were flashing orange lights in front of his eyes. The woman's face seemed to be hidden in the firelight, and only hazy lines could be seen.
He heard the other party's calm but slightly trembling voice, and he also heard the increasingly irritable and strange tone of the men in the dock.
When Jeff finally came to his senses, he only heard the sound of the Chief Justice's gavel falling.
The trial is over and the dust has settled.
In addition to some local people, a total of 1,187 people involved in the South Hinckley case need to be transferred to Washington for retrial together with people involved in the case in New Haven and Detroit. After the retrial is completed, this drug and human trafficking case that has traveled almost half the world from South Hinckley to New Haven, into Detroit and then into St. Petersburg can be said to have been settled.
Among them, it can be predicted that some of the people involved in the case will need to be extradited and shot in a foreign country.
This includes the black masked Roman Sionis. The only regrettable thing is that Roman Sionis is "on the run for fear of crime" and cannot be arrested, so some people have to take the gun before him.
When the criminal was taken away, the judges left their seats and the people in the audience stood up. Then, I don't know who started it, the first person applauded, then the second person, and they applauded and looked at each other with smiles.
The increasingly low music and singing outside gradually faded away, and suddenly, through the door and the outer wall, there broke out a cheer so loud that it could be heard inside the room. The cheers lasted for several minutes until the applause in the courtroom stopped, but it had not yet disappeared.
Bruce looked at Mayor Alec with a smile. She was staring at a blank wall, as if in a daze, or looking at something through the crowd, but there was a faint smile on her face.
Maybe they should go out for a meal, bring Dick and Tim, the warden and Vicki, Gordon and Barbara? Bruce thought it was like a family dinner, which was a bit weird.
But before he could open his mouth to invite her, the warden came over, the mayor walked over to meet her, and the two ladies walked out side by side, nodding and greeting everyone, but also declining other people's invitations to the banquet.
……All right.
In fact, Bruce was right. Weiwei was indeed looking at something.
She saw her reputation rise.
To be honest, she almost forgot about the reputation panel.
When the reputation module was just activated and 50% of the people in Gotan City knew the mayor, her rating on the module was [Medium to Evil]. But just now, her reputation increased a lot, and the system prompted that 75% of people knew her as the mayor, and her rating changed to [Medium to Good].
[Current Influence: No matter where you are, your influence will cover your subordinates, and all subordinates' obedience level will be 3]
[Current bias: When a person is too far away from them, they tend to be reluctant to make an accurate evaluation of her. Therefore, they vaguely think that you should be a good person, but some people naturally do not trust you because of your profession.]
[Attribute: Moderate to good]
[You are unable to promote changes to the laws of Gotan City at your current level. Please continue to improve your reputation.]
It seemed that although her reputation had greatly improved, it couldn't change anything for the time being. Weiwei left it alone and quickly changed her identity.
All criminals will be escorted to Washington tomorrow morning, and she must achieve her goal tonight.
Weiwei was transported to Blackgate Prison.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one, but——
"Doctor?"
Dr. Stephen Strange appeared silently. Before this, he had been to one of the three major hospitals in Gothenburg.
The wizard, who was called Doctor Strange, stared at the girl in front of him for a long time. He said, "...I have never tried to make so many people out of their bodies. For ordinary people, it would be very dangerous to have their souls out of their bodies for a long time."
"Hurry up, doctor," the girl complained. "I'm not going to hurt them. That's impossible, is it?"
Strange closed one eye and then opened it again, staring at the dark fog that was thicker and more dangerous than before, and hesitated to speak.
Just one day later, the strange aura around Vivi White became even more terrifying, and he still hasn't figured it out.
But Strange discovered through getting along with her that Vivi herself had nothing to do with evil. This girl seemed to simply want to change the city and was working hard for it. In this case, thinking about what happened in New York, Strange guessed that Vivi was either chosen by the sleeping evil god to absorb these malicious forces, or her physique was suitable for sealing evil, so evil attacked her, but she called Strange a "reward", which made him suspect that the former was more likely, or even that the gods from other dimensions might not be really asleep.
...Because it is still unclear who is behind the other person, Stephen generally will not refuse a girl's reasonable request.
For example, teaching students and building roads.
In Blackgate Prison, thousands of people in South Hinckley were sleeping soundly. Their souls were knocked out of their bodies. Then, Vivi followed behind them, seemingly holding something invisible in her hands. Under the cover of shadows, the prisoners' bodies disappeared one by one.
——There are serious criminals here who should be shot in theory, and there are also scum who are "only" convicted of rape and abuse and can barely be considered as light criminals. Stephen treats them all equally.
The soul floating in the air was in a sleeping state, and then the girl who had used Stephen and discarded him turned around and disappeared.
Stephen: “…”
He stood in the corridor of Blackgate Prison, staring at the sleeping prison guards and the destroyed surveillance cameras, feeling as if he was an ally of the girl in doing bad things.
rose garden.
Cards that cannot be seen by anyone except the players appear in mid-air one after another, with the left and right clearly separated. The bronze card [Item: Compression (One-time)] is copied using the [Copy Card]. The soulless human body is nothing more than an "object" composed of various elements. The victims and perpetrators float equally on both sides, and their bodies have all turned into cards.
After a while, Weiwei took out the golden scale.
Justice will not be late. After completing the justice in the trial, she must bring true justice to these people - this part is what the law cannot do and is called the realm of magic.