12
I turned toward the screen and addressed the students on it. “You can announce your findings now.”
The students on the screen hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice:
“Are we allowed to say this?”
“It’s fine. You have nine million judges backing you here. Tell the truth.”
The students nodded and told everyone what Mr. Tôn had been doing.
In recent years, the number of leukemia patients in a fishing village had steadily risen, making up more than half the local population.
Many had died agonizing deaths.
When Mr. Tôn learned about the situation, he organized health screenings for the villagers.
He was shocked to discover that the levels of radioactive substances in the villagers’ bodies exceeded the permitted limit.
He immediately assembled a group of trusted students. He wanted both to treat the villagers and to find the source of the radiation.
After investigating, the team secretly set its sights on a local wastewater treatment plant.
The plant treated wastewater produced by a major company’s semiconductor manufacturing.
The investigation ran into one obstacle after another. Eventually, even the hospital stopped providing the blood test results.
With no other choice, Mr. Tôn personally took these ten villagers to neighboring countries for testing, hoping to bring the results back home.
He had already written an article and was waiting to publish it back home.
This trip abroad was a secret known only to a few people in the group.
Their teacher had specifically asked Tiếu Lâm Na to go with them.
But she trusted the wrong person, and that led to this tragedy.
All eleven people who died were members of our group. And the company behind it all was this semiconductor company.
“Your teacher’s wife was his second wife and a relative of the semiconductor company’s owner. She bribed Tiếu Lâm Na and ordered her to kill the teacher and the villagers, so their deaths would keep the secret buried. Then she invented the affair story to divert attention and make everyone think the plane bombing was the result of a lovers’ quarrel.”
I rubbed the remote control in my hand and looked at Mrs. Tôn. “Take a look at this company owner. Can you identify him?”
Mrs. Tôn tremblingly raised her bloodied fingers. “That’s my cousin, Tả Vũ.”
The lights fell on the courtroom. Tả Vũ, Tả Huy’s father, had a face as dark as a raincloud.
He slowly rose to his feet and stared at me. “Judge, are you trying to kill me?”
13
I smiled but said nothing.
The plaintiff’s family immediately spoke up. “A new mastermind has emerged. Your Honor, we request that another defendant be brought to trial.”
What could I do? Of course I agreed.
[This is explosive. Who knew there was a story like this behind the plane bombing?]
[So Tả Huy’s father’s so-called big corporation with 40,000 employees is in the business of doing something this vile!]
[They’re rich and heartless. The whole family is rotten to the core.]
Tả Vũ was led to the defendant’s seat, and Mr. Tôn’s unpublished article appeared on the screen.
Everything listed was evidence that the semiconductor companies had secretly dumped radioactive wastewater and caused the villagers to develop cancer.
The ten villagers’ test reports from abroad were also released.
The other party had sent them to me over the internet, and I displayed them directly on the screen.
“The truth is clear. Tả Vũ’s company secretly dumped wastewater for fifteen years, polluting the land and rivers and causing the villagers to contract incurable diseases.”
“Tả Vũ’s cousin—Mr. Tôn’s wife—found out that he was investigating the matter, so she secretly told Tả Vũ.”
“Tả Vũ had his cousin bribe Tiếu Lâm Na, Mr. Tôn’s student, and give her a bomb. He ordered her to detonate it when the plane landed and block the escape route of the eleven people.”
“Afterward, the two of them joined forces in court, trying to smear Mr. Tôn and divert everyone’s attention.”
“Unfortunately for him, the net of justice may have wide holes, but nothing slips through. Take Tả Vũ to the gas chamber.”
As Tả Vũ passed me, I whispered, “Your son died the same way. It was a fitting death!”
Tả Vũ said viciously, “Trương Chính Nghĩa, don’t get too arrogant. I’m not the only person you’ve offended, and they won’t leave you alone!”
I nodded. “Then let them come, one by one.”
14
My personal phone kept ringing, but I didn’t answer.
Some people wanted to stop Tả Vũ from entering the courtroom. Why would I give them what they wanted?
Just as expected, the number of people who disliked him shot up, quickly surpassing 80 percent.
Tả Vũ convulsed and fell to the floor in sheer terror.
Before he died, he wept and begged for mercy, saying he would donate all his wealth to everyone, but no one paid him any attention.
Comments kept appearing.
[Justice may be late, but it is never absent!]
[Justice may be late, but it is never absent!]
[Justice may be late, but it is never absent!]
[Justice may be late, but it is never absent!]
That was exactly what I meant.
#Epilogue:
Fifteen years ago, I was still a child.
My father was a renowned researcher at a semiconductor company, and his team had developed a new kind of semiconductor.
I heard my father say that the owner was delighted and immediately put it into mass production.
This semiconductor doubled the owner’s net worth and even earned him a major award.
But my father wasn’t satisfied.
He told the owner, “This semiconductor will generate large amounts of radioactive material during production. It’s not safe.”
Blinded by the enormous profits, the owner had a huge argument with my father and fired him.
My father was going to report the matter. He had prepared all the documents and was ready to leave.
I had a bad feeling, so I said to him, “Dad, please come home soon.”
He knelt down and patted my head. “I’ll be home soon.”
Those were the last words he ever said to me.
He never came back.
My mother got a call, and she and I hurried to the scene.
I saw my father lying on the ground, his head severed and his entire body covered in bright red blood.
My mother fainted, but I saw my father’s glasses clenched in the owner’s hand.
After that, the police said nothing had happened as I described, and they hurried to close the case.
We went to protest countless times and were thrown out again and again.
My mother was so devastated by my father’s death that she died of cancer.
I became an orphan.
But thanks to the success of that semiconductor, the owner rose to great heights and became one of the people at the very top of the pyramid.
His success was built on the blood of countless people.
That was when I resolved to become a great judge and pass judgment on these evildoers.
I wanted there to be no evil under the sun!
I changed my name to Trương Chính Nghĩa and steadily climbed to the position I hold today.
Justice may be late, but it is never absent.
-THE END-