2026-04-02 17:52:31The glowing blue text didn't vanish when I blinked. It didn't disappear when I splashed freezing tap water onto my face, and it certainly didn't go away when I dry-heaved over my stained porcelain sink.
[Victory Probability: 0%]
It hovered in the upper right corner of my vision, a persistent, silent judge.
I gripped the edges of the sink, staring at my reflection in the cracked mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, surrounded by deep, bruised purple bags. My black hair stuck up in greasy clumps. I looked like a corpse that had been forced to wear a necktie.
"This isn't real," I muttered, my voice raspy. "It's stress. It's a hallucination."
I turned my back on the mirror and grabbed the case file from the folding table. The moment my eyes focused on the police report, the blue screen expanded, dropping a waterfall of text down the center of my vision.
[Analyzing Evidence Document]
[Contradiction Found: None]
[Legal Precedent: State vs. Choi (2021) - Guilty]
[Case Difficulty: F]
[Victory Probability: 0%]
It wasn't just a static image. It was reacting to what I was reading. I flipped to the grainy CCTV photo of the thief in the black hoodie. The system immediately overlaid a green wireframe over the blurry figure, then projected another wireframe based on Lee Ji-Won's physical description in the file.
The two wireframes merged. A red notification pulsed.
[Biometric Match: 98.4%]
I dropped the file. The papers scattered across the linoleum. The system overlay instantly minimized back to the corner of my eye, leaving only that mocking zero percent.
I didn't have time to go insane. It was 7:15 AM. The trial started at nine.
I threw on my cheap grey suit. It smelled faintly of yesterday's panic and old subway air. I grabbed my battered briefcase, shoved the scattered papers inside, and ran out the door into the biting morning cold of Sillim-dong.
The walk to the subway station was a blur of shivering commuters and the sharp smell of frying hotteok from street vendors. I swiped my transit card, wincing at the low-balance beep, and crammed myself into a packed Line 2 train.
Pressed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, the air thick with damp wool and cheap perfume, I closed my eyes. The blue panel remained, vivid against the darkness of my eyelids.
If this was a psychotic break, it was a strangely helpful one. It confirmed what I already knew: the case was unwinnable. But why show me a probability at all if there was no way to change it? A system implies mechanics. Mechanics imply a way to play the game.
I opened my eyes as the train rattled into Seocho Station.
Stepping out onto the street, the atmosphere shifted immediately. This was Seocho Legal Town. The buildings here were monuments of glass and steel, housing the city's elite law firms. Men and women in bespoke suits walked with aggressive purpose, carrying leather briefcases that cost more than my apartment's deposit.
Looming ahead was my destination.
The Seoul Central District Court was a massive, intimidating structure of gray stone and harsh geometric lines. It was designed to make you feel small. It worked.
I pushed through the heavy glass doors, the sudden blast of heated air carrying the distinct courthouse scent: floor wax, stale coffee, and the sharp, acidic tang of nervous sweat. The lobby was a chaotic swarm of desperate families, bored reporters, and lawyers whispering last-minute instructions to their clients.
"Jin Tae-Rin."
The voice sliced through the low roar of the crowd. It was sharp, smooth, and entirely devoid of warmth.
I froze, turning slowly.
Walking toward the elevator bank was a woman who commanded the space around her. Prosecutor Han Seo-Young. She wore a tailored burgundy suit that looked like armor. Her dark hair was cut into a sharp, unforgiving bob, and her heels clicked against the marble floor with the rhythmic precision of a ticking clock.
She didn't stop walking. She didn't even turn her head to look at me. She just spoke as she passed by, her eyes fixed on the elevator doors.
"I hope you brought a toothbrush for your client, Attorney Jin. I'm asking for two years."
My throat closed up. Two years? For a first-time petty theft charge, that was absurd. But Ji-Won had two prior shoplifting offenses as a minor. Han was going to use those to paint her as a career criminal in the making.
I opened my mouth to reply, to offer some kind of witty, confident defense, but nothing came out.
The system panel in my eye blinked rapidly.
[Opponent Identified: Prosecutor Han Seo-Young]
[Threat Level: High]
[Opponent Strategy: Maximum Sentencing via Character Assassination]
[Judge Bias Analysis: Pending Trial Start]
The elevator doors slid shut behind her, cutting off her cold smirk.
My hands were shaking. I shoved them deep into my pockets and headed for the holding cells in the basement.
The holding area was a sterile, fluorescent-lit nightmare. Cages of thick plexiglass and steel bars lined the hallway. I found Lee Ji-Won in Interview Room 3.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 200: The Silver Drive
The freezing wind rushed through the narrow gap in the glass door, biting at my face and cutting through my cheap dress shirt.I stood perfectly still, blocking the entrance to the Yeongdeungpo building. The streetlamp outside cast a pale, yellow glow over the man standing on the concrete step. Rain poured down in heavy sheets, bouncing off his shoulders.Lee Jae-Hyun looked like a ghost wrapped in ruined luxury. His expensive dark trench coat was soaked through, clinging to his thin frame. Water dripped from his messy hair, running down his pale cheeks and dripping off his chin. He shivered violently, his teeth chattering in the cold.Three years.It had been thirty-six months since I last saw his face. The last time we sat in the same room, we were in a bright, warm coffee shop near the university. We were laughing. I had just showed him the draft of the pharmaceutical indictment. I had trusted him with the culmination of my entire early career. The next morning, my files were gone,
CHAPTER 199: Midnight Visitor
She stepped out, and the heavy door swung shut. I stood up, walked over, and slid the thick steel deadbolt into place with a loud, reassuring clack.I was completely alone.The silence of the office settled in quickly. The hum of the cooling fans in the server rack became the only sound in the room. Outside the reinforced window, the deep, rumbling thunder of a late summer storm echoed across the city. A moment later, a heavy sheet of rain began to lash against the glass.I walked back to my desk and sat down. I opened a thick manila folder, picking up a cheap blue pen to start reviewing the witness statements.The hours bled away. The rain outside turned into a steady, rhythmic drumming. The sweet scent of baking yeast from the bakery downstairs had long faded, leaving the air smelling cold and damp.I took a sip from a paper cup of coffee. It was ice cold and incredibly bitter.It was 1:15 AM.A sharp, sudden noise cut through the quiet room.It was the intercom buzzer connected to
CHAPTER 198: The Guillotine Files
The smell of fresh paint and heated plastic from the new server rack filled the second floor above the Yeongdeungpo bakery.My office didn't look like a desperate hideout anymore. Thanks to the labor union, it had been transformed into a functional fortress. Thick steel plating reinforced the front door. Three high-definition security cameras blinked with steady red lights in the corners of the ceiling, feeding directly into a secure monitor on my desk. The windows were fitted with shatterproof glass.I sat in my desk chair, squinting against the harsh, bright glare of two tall ring lights.Reporter Kim Soo-Yeon stood behind the camera tripod, adjusting the focus lens. She wore a sharp black blazer, her dark eyes scanning the glowing screen of her laptop connected to the recording feed."Audio levels are green," Soo-Yeon announced, tapping a key. "The proxy servers are masking our IP address perfectly. We are live in three, two, one."The red recording dot appeared on the screen.I le
CHAPTER 197: Orphanage Secret
The wooden chair in the witness box groaned under Kim Min-jae’s weight.He sat down slowly, his movements stiff and careful. The harsh overhead fluorescent lights glared down on him, washing the last remaining color from his skin. The stark white bandage wrapped around his throat stood out like a beacon against his cheap gray suit. It was a visual anchor for every single person in the room. A reminder of the violence hiding just beneath the surface of this trial.I sat at the secondary prosecution table, my hands resting flat on the cool, polished wood. The dull throb in my fractured ribs beat in time with my pulse. I tasted old coffee and dry copper in the back of my mouth.The gallery behind me was completely silent. You could hear the faint hum of the air conditioning vents and the quiet, nervous shifting of fabric as hundred of reporters leaned forward, their pens hovering over their notebooks.Han Do-Woon stood at the center podium. His dark suit was immaculate. His posture was r
CHAPTER 196: Witness Agreement
The federal safehouse smelled of cheap bleach and old dust. It was a cramped, windowless room hidden deep inside a police precinct, completely cut off from the outside world. The harsh fluorescent tube directly above us flickered constantly, casting sick, yellow shadows against the bare concrete walls.Kim Min-jae sat on the edge of a narrow cot.He looked entirely hollowed out. A thick white bandage covered the raw, purple line burned into his neck from the garrote. He held a small paper cup of lukewarm water in his hands, his fingers trembling so violently the liquid splashed over the rim, soaking into his gray sweatpants.I sat in the folding chair across from him, watching the quiet devastation ruin his posture."They wore guard uniforms," Min-jae whispered. His voice was a ruined, scraping croak. It hurt to listen to him. "They walked right into the shower room. They were going to kill me, Attorney Jin. Assemblyman Park sent them to cut my throat."He crushed the paper cup. The r
CHAPTER 195: Undercover Rescue
The glowing red text hung in the empty air of the courthouse hallway, flashing with a violent, urgent rhythm.[Emergency Alert Triggered][Target: Kim Min-jae][Threat Level: Lethal][Assassination Window: Open. Estimated Time of Death: 45 Minutes.]My breath caught in my throat. The cold marble floor seemed to tilt beneath my cheap dress shoes. Titan Law wasn't waiting for the cover of night. They were moving right now.I ignored the sharp, stabbing pain in my fractured ribs and broke into a full sprint.I pushed through the heavy glass doors of the courthouse and ran down the wide concrete steps. The humid morning air hit my face, thick and heavy after last night's rain. I flagged down a passing taxi, throwing myself into the back seat before the driver even fully stopped."Seoul High-Security Correctional Facility," I gasped, pulling the door shut. "Get on the expressway. Do not stop for yellow lights."The driver looked at my pale, sweating face in the rearview mirror and slammed
You may also like
Secretly Godly
Chessman85.3K viewsThe Ultimate Man
M. K. Diana72.7K viewsThe Invincible Arthur Gardner
Herolich103.9K viewsDivine Sword Art System
Rafaiir_22.4K viewsShattered Jade: Ascending soul
Lorenzovalentino 260 viewsASCENSION OF THE HIDDEN PLAYER
AR401 viewsThe Broke Billionaire's System: Spend to Survive
Putri Arsyila430 viewsSUPER DOCTOR REVENGE
Saranghae384 views