Almighty Coach

by Stayrr

How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about! This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll t

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Chapter 477: A Trapped Beast

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

I've finally gotten rid of these three men. Dai Li took a deep breath and immediately picked up the handgun and rifle the men had dropped. He checked them and found both guns loaded.

With guns in his hands, Dai Li immediately felt much safer. He had weapons, so at least he could protect himself now.

If I can escape alive this time, I should be grateful to Adam Holly. If I hadn't gone to his shooting practice center and asked him to teach me how to use a gun, I wouldn't know how to use them.

Then Dai Li picked up the ropes and tied up Santos and the two black men.

In movies and TV series, there were often stories in which the good guy knocked down the bad guy, but didn't give him the last hit to make sure he was dead. Then, one or two of the good guys were killed by the bad guy before he died. Dai Li wasn't going to kill them, but he would not just let them go. If they woke up, they would make trouble for him. Therefore, Dai Li tied them all up.

I have to get out of here now. Dai Li looked around, only to find that the room had no windows at all. Except for the steel door, the only thing which could be connected with the outside was a vent surrounded by iron pipes. However, the vent was just the size of an adult head. It was impossible to get through.

No windows to get through, and the only way out is the front steel door. But I was tied up here. I'm not familiar with this building and don't know where the exit is. That kidnapper still has many men here. It would be really bad to get caught on my way out. Besides, I don't know where this building is, or if I'm even in Los Angeles or not. I'd better call the police first. The police can find me through the satellite positioning of my cell phone.

Dai Li immediately searched one of the black men's pockets and found a cell phone. He called 911 at once.

The phone didn't even ring. Dai Li looked at the screen only to find the cell phone showed no signal.

Why is there no signal? He immediately went to search the second black man's pockets and found another cell phone, but it still showed no signal. Then he found Santos' phone but it had no signal either.

No signal! Am I in a movie? Once it comes time to call the police, the main character's cell phone is always dead! Dai Li was so angry that he dropped the phone on the floor. He wanted to curse.

No other way now. If I can't call the police, I'll have to force my way out. Dai Li picked up the gun, loaded it, and walked out of the steel door.He tiptoed down the corridor. He walked lightly because he didn't want to be discovered by the kidnappers.

A staircase ahead! The exit mustn't be far! Dai Li walked up there in delight.

When he was halfway down the stairs, the sound of footsteps came from the floor below.

Dai Li stopped at once, afraid to make any sound.

However, the sound came nearer and nearer. Dai Li wanted to go back, but he didn't dare to move for fear that he might make noise.

At last, one kidnapper turned around on the staircase and appeared in front of Dai Li, and he saw Dai Li immediately.

All of a sudden, Dai Li raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The kidnapper also responded quickly and attempted to dive for cover.

However, it was too late. The shot hit him in the shoulder, and he fell directly onto the ground.

"What's going on?"

"Where's the gunshot?"

The other kidnapper's voice came from downstairs.

Dai Li realized that things weren't going well. Although he hit one target, the gunshot also got the attention of other kidnappers. They would soon come here following the sound.

As expected, heavy footsteps pounded in the corridor downstairs.

Oh, no! The others were alarmed. I have nowhere to go! Dai Li didn't hesitate to turn around and return back up the stairs.

The nearest kidnapper reached the staircase and saw the man Dai Li had shot, and asked immediately, "What's going on? Who shot you?"

"The hostage escaped! He shot me," said the man on the ground, groaning with pain.

"Where is he now?" the kidnapper asked.

"Ran upstairs," responded the man on the ground.

"There's no exit upstairs. He can't escape."Dai Li returned to the abandoned laboratory. He locked the door from the inside. Footsteps approached in the corridor outside, and drew nearer and nearer to the steel door.

Holding the gun in his hand, Dai Li stood by the side of the door and waited for someone to come in and shoot him immediately.

Bang, bang, bang… Someone pounded on the door.

"The door is locked!" said someone outside.

"Break the door!" said another person.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The pounding grew louder.

"No. It can't open!" one kidnapper said.

"Go away. Leave it to me!" After that, a few cracking gunshots followed. The steel door shook. Obviously, someone outside was shooting at the door.

"D*mn it! It can't open. How can this door be so strong!" shouted the man who shot the door.

Dai Li heaved a sigh of relief. During the last minutes, the kidnappers had tried to shoot and break the door. Dai Li was afraid that they would manage to break the door and come in.

Fortunately, the steel door was strong enough. For now, the people outside couldn't get in as long as Dai Li kept the door locked. Dai Li was safe for the moment.In a room on the ground floor, there were several shabby tables and chairs. They seemed to have been there for years, and some of them were stained and dirty.

Blecher found a relatively clean chair to sit in, lit a cigarette, and waited patiently.

"Mr. Blecher, I assure you, it won't take long for Santos to make that coach tell us everything. You will get what you want," said Leon.

"Leon, when I get it, I'll leave Dai Li for you to handle. Kill him secretly," said Blecher.

"You can rest assured that I will make him disappeared completely. I'm best there is at this," said Leon.

As he finished speaking, a gunshot rang out.

"Who did that?" Leon immediately frowned and said to one of his men, "Go and check what happened."

That man nodded and walked out. Two minutes later, he ran back.

"Boss, the hostage. He escaped, and he's got a gun. He wounded one of our people."

"Escaped? Where are Santos and his men?" Leon asked at once.

"I don't know. We didn't see Santos," responded that man.

"Then Santos is dead. Idiots! Three of them! With guns in hand, they can't deal with one guy who was tied up! But how did he beat Santos and the other two men and get out?" demanded Leon, slamming his fists on the table. Then he asked, "Where is he now? Did you catch him?"

"We haven't caught him yet, but he didn't escape. He went back upstairs. Our men are after him. Boss, don't worry. The upper floors are a dead end. No way out except for the staircase. He can't get away," said that man.

"Let's go and take a look upstairs!" Leon stood up and so did Blecher. Following Leon, he walked out of the room.Dai Li was safe for the moment, but the abandoned laboratory had no other exits.

It was obviously impossible to run out. There were several guns outside, facing the steel door. Once Dai Li opened the door, he would be killed instantly.

Now Dai Li was like a trapped beast, backed into the abandoned lab with no way out.

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Chapter 478: You Know Me?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li couldn't escape, and he couldn't call for help. He was like a cat on hot bricks, not knowing what to do.

The kidnappers outside swore at Dai Li incessantly, and some angry guys even kicked the door hard, but it didn't help. The steel door was really strong. The kidnappers outside didn't know what to do either.

Minutes later, Leon finally arrived.

"Boss, he is inside, but he locked the door and we can't get in," one of them said.

"Didn't you try breaking the door?" Leon asked angrily.

"We tried, but the door is too strong. We even shot the door," said the man, pointing at the dents the bullets had gouged into the door.

Leon looked at the scratches on the door. The door was strong indeed. The bullets couldn't penetrate it, but only left marks on its surface.

Leon was unhappy with this, and he was getting angry again. He banged on the door heavily and shouted at Dai Li, "Hey, you. Open the door immediately, and you'll receive a quick death. Otherwise…"

Dai Li interrupted him. "Idiot! I still have to die even if I open the door. Why should I open it then? Even if you want to trick me into opening the door, you are not sincere enough!"

Leon suddenly felt a little awkward. He wanted to make some caustic remarks, but Dai Li had ridiculed him instead.

Dai Li continued to shout out the door, "Three of your men are still in my hands. Believe me or not, I'll kill them!"

"Do as you like! Three idiots. Since they couldn't deal with you, what do I want from them?" Leon snorted.

The answer was just as Dai Li expected. They were kidnappers, and it was definitely useless to threaten them with their accomplices' lives. As was shown in movies and TV series, villains never cared about the lives of their partners.

I guess I should find other ways. Dai Li sat down hopelessly, leaning against the wall.

At that moment, a faint voice became audible.

"Help, help…""How could this door be so strong!" Leon kicked the door angrily.

"Boss, this room was a chemistry laboratory before, so it was specially designed. There were no windows to prevent the chemical reagents from being changed by sunlight. The door was specially designed too. It was reinforced for fear that someone would steal the research results," said one of Leon's men.

"So how should we open the door?" asked Leon.

"We have to use a cutting machine, like the one firefighters use to cut open car. But we don't have that here," said the man.

"Then go and get one right now!" Leon roared at that man.

That man shivered with fear and turned away immediately.

Blecher was also anxious. He had thought everything would be alright when he caught Dai Li, but he hadn't expected Dai Li to almost escape.

"Leon, is everything alright?" asked Blecher in a low voice.

"Mr. Blecher, don't worry. There are no windows in the room, and the door is the only way out. He can't escape," said Leon confidently.

Blecher nodded, but the next second, a terrible thought occurred to him.

"But if he calls the police, what should we do? He has caught your men. Your men should have cell phones, right?" Blecher asked with trepidation.

"Call the police? Mr. Blecher, you can try calling 911!" said Leon with a smile.

Blecher took out his cell phone and found it had no signal.

"The cell phone has no signal. What's wrong? You did this?" asked Blecher.

Leon nodded with a sneer on his face. "I blocked the cell phone signal of the whole building, so you can't get a call in or out. More than that, we also blocked the satellite positioning signals of GPS, so you lose your connection to GPS as soon as you enter this building."

Blecher took a deep breath and commended him, "You're really prescient."

Leon explained, "People we kidnap will do everything they can to call the police, so the police can track us through the positioning of the phone. In addition to cell phones, many electronic products now contain GPS positioning systems, which is a big risk for us. Therefore, I installed a signal jammer to block cell phones and GPS positioning systems in this whole building."

"I'm relieved now." Blecher was becoming considerably calmer.

"Mr. Blecher, let me deal with it. You go and have a rest first. When my men find the cutting machine and cut the door open, we'll be able to pry his mouth open!""Help, help!" came the faint voice again.

Dai Li was startled by the sound and instinctively pointed his gun in the direction of the voice, only to find that the bloody man had raised his head.

He is alive! Putting the gun down, Dai Li walked over to him.

"Could you give me some water?" asked the bloody man. His voice was still weak.

Dai Li looked around and found several pop-top cans on the table, two of which had not been opened yet. They were both beer, left by the kidnappers.

"No water here. Just beer. Make do with it." Dai Li immediately opened one beer and gave it to the bloody man.

The bloody man drank the beer and regained some strength. "They tied me up too. Could you help to untie me?"

Dai Li took the knife and cut the rope. The bloody man tried to move, but he seemed to be in great pain, as if moving stretched the wounds on his body.

"Are you alright?" asked Dai Li.

"Better than I thought. Just skin traumas," said the bloody man. "I need something to bandage my wounds."

Dai Li searched the room again and found a roll of bandage and a morphine ampule in the interlayer of Santos' leather case.

He hesitated for a moment and handed the morphine ampule to the bloody man. "You may need this now."

"Oh, thank God." The man took the morphine ampule and injected himself expertly.

Soon it worked and the bloody man was no longer as weak as before.

Dai Li took up the medical tape and started to bandage his wounds. At the same time, he asked, "Why did they bring you here?"

"Oh, I almost forget to introduce myself. I'm an investigative journalist. My name's Edward Snow." He paused and went on, "Thank you for saving me, Coach Li."

"You know me?" Dai Li didn't expect to meet an acquaintance when he was kidnapped.

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Chapter 479: Hopelessness

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Edward Snow took a deep breath and said, "You are Coach Li who runs a fitness training center, right? Many excellent athletes have come from your training center."

"Have we met before?" Dai Li looked at Snow carefully, but he could not remember where he might've met Snow.

"I know you, but you certainly don't know me," Snow said, "because I went to your training center and investigated something."

"What did you investigate at my training center?" Dai Li sensed that Snow wasn't telling him something.

"I went there to investigate performance-enhancing drugs," Snow admitted.

"Why the performance-enhancing drugs again!" Performance-enhancing drugs were now the last words Dai Li wanted to hear. Because of performance-enhancing drugs, he had been kidnapped and imprisoned in this room, and his life was in danger. But most importantly, the so-called performance-enhancing drugs were non-existent.

Dai Li thought it would be very unjust to lose his life for something that didn't exist.

Snow, standing opposite Dai Li, said, "I was doing an article recently about performance-enhancing drug use by athletes. The Olympics is coming, and I thought this topic would be interesting to readers. I thought only a few athletes would take performance-enhancing drugs, but the results surprised me."

"A lot of athletes use them, right?" asked Dai Li.

"Yes, the results were far beyond my expectations. I almost couldn't even believe my findings," Snow said, nodding. "Many athletes, even well-known athletes, are using performance-enhancing drugs. Take track and field sports, for example. This Olympics, nearly half of the players of the US team are using illicit drugs, and this is only a survey I have evidence to prove; there is still a lot I didn't get enough evidence to support."

"Their coaches are also involved, and there are many so-called renowned coaches, including this year's head coach of the US track and field team, Sebastian. In addition, I found that some coaches colluded with doctors to give athletes false diagnostic certificates and prescriptions they didn't actually need. The athletes weren't sick at all."

"I also secretly went into many training centers to investigate. Some of them actively advised their athletes to use illicit drugs containing stimulants in their training, while some training centers directly provided illicit drugs for their athletes," Snow said and looked at Dai Li. "Your training center is one of the few training centers that I haven't found using any illicit drugs."

"I've never provided illicit drugs for my athletes," said Dai Li.

"I know. I came to a little while ago, and I heard them questioning you. They seem to think you have a new performance-enhancing drug," Snow said. "I found that the vast majority of illicit drugs are very advanced. They can't be detected by the technology of the Anti-Doping Commission. Therefore, I carried out a thorough investigation, and I found some biological laboratories secretly providing these advanced illicit drugs for athletes. Some of them are well-known biological laboratories, whose scientific research level is at the forefront of the world. Their technology is far ahead of the Anti-Doping Commission."

"I also secretly investigated several representative biological laboratories, and finally found the person behind them. Blecher! So I sneaked into Blecher's company, hoping to get more evidence, but he caught me. He didn't call the police, though. He just thought I was a business spy, so he brought me here and locked me in this room."

"I was also kidnapped by Blecher." Dai Li paused and the added, "There are a lot of rich people on the block where I live, so the security there is very good, and I never thought I would be kidnapped by others in my house. They are too bold."

There was a hard-won smile on Snow's face, and he said, "It seems that you don't know who Blecher is. But you may have heard his nickname 'the father of prohormone.'"

"The father of prohormone, I seem to have heard it." Dai Li thought carefully and immediately asked, "Was the stimulant scandal of more than ten years ago related to him?"

"Yes, it was him—Blecher, 'the father of prohormone'! He killed a dozen athletes indirectly by giving untested enhancers to them. He was a villain and a criminal. He was responsible for everything, and you can't expect a man like that to have any sense of morality," said Snow.

"So, our lives are really in danger. We need to find a way to get out of here quickly." Dai Li pointed to the steel door. "That door is strong enough, but it won't keep them out forever. They'll find a way to open the door. What's more, even if they don't open the door, there's no water and food in here, so sooner or later the dehydration will get to us."

Looking around and frowning, Snow said, "There are no windows in this room, and that door is the only exit. It is impossible for us to get out of the room. Do you have a mobile phone? We can call the police."

"I tried that, but there's no signal in the room," Dai Li said and threw a mobile phone to Snow.

Snow caught the phone and tried to dial 911, but he didn't get through.

"We have a gun. We can rush out." Snow pointed to the rifle.

"There are several men with guns out there. If we rush out, we will die," Dai Li said, rejecting Snow's advice. He looked around, and eventually focused his attention on the ventilation duct.

"I have to open it." Dai Li pointed to the iron pipe on the ventilation duct, then moved one of the chairs under the ventilation duct.

Standing on his toes on the chair, Dai Li held the air-ventilation pipe with both hands. He pulled the pipe with all his might, and then, after a big cracking noise, the whole pipe ripped loose and fell down, scattering rust and dust all over the place.

As the ventilation grate removed, an exhaust fan was exposed on the wall. The air vent of the exhaust fan was not very big, only large enough to allow someone to reach his head out, not his whole body.

"It's supposed to be an air vent that connects to the outside. I need another chair," said Dai Li.

Snow got another chair at once and stacked it on top of the other chair, then Dai Li climbed upon the chair with his face next to the air vent of the exhaust fan.

The exhaust fan was also rusted. Dai Li grabbed the blades with his hands and gave them a jerk. When they shifted down, Dai Li finally saw the situation outside.

"We are probably on the third floor, and it's empty all around," said Dai Li.

"Can you make sure where we are?" Snow asked.

Dai Li shook his head. "I can't see the road, and I can't see any signs. Maybe the road is on the other side of this building, and this room is on the other end of the building."

"Is there anyone outside?" Snow continued to ask.

"No, wait a minute. Someone seems to be coming." Dai Li immediately shouted as loud as he could, "Help, help!"

The man, however, didn't hear Dai Li's cry for help at all and disappeared from Dai Li's view.

"It didn't work. It was too far, and he couldn't hear my cry for help at all," Dai Li said helplessly.

"Help me stand on the chair to have a look," said Snow

Dai Li stepped down from the chair and helped Snow get up. Perhaps because of the effect of the morphine, Snow didn't seem to show much pain. He climbed up the two-tier chair and looked outside through the air vent of the exhaust fan.

"It's so empty around here that few people will pass by. Unless someone happens to pass under us, our cry for help won't be heard." There was a look of despair on Snow's face. "What bad luck. It looks like we are going to die here."

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Chapter 480: Self Rescue

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Snow was so upset that he almost cried, and he seemed to be on the verge of despair.

Dai Li didn't know if Snow was born with poor psychological endurance, or if the morphine had affected his spirit, so he began to comfort Snow by saying, "Edward, calm down, and let's think about other ways."

"What else can we do? We can't escape the room at all, so we're going to die here." Snow began to cry.

Dai Li picked up the phone, pointed to the air vent of the exhaust fan, and then added, "Although we can't get out from that air vent, we can hold the phone out. Maybe there is a signal outside the vent, then we can call the police."

"You are right, give it a try." Snow stopped crying at once.

Dai Li climbed up the chair again, stretched his arm through the air vent to get the phone to the other side of the wall. Then he dialed 911 again.

Unfortunately, the phone still wasn't connected. The phone was so close to the building area that the signal was still shielded.

"Did you get through?" Snow looked expectantly at Dai Li, but Dai Li shook his head.

Snow sat on the ground in despair, and it looked like he was on the verge of despair again.

The next second, he suddenly picked up the rifle on the ground and yelled, "I'll go out and fight them. Even if I die, I can take a few of them with me."

"Wait a minute!" Dai Li jumped down from the chair at once and caught Snow by his hand.

"Do not stop me, I'm going to die anyway, let me fight with them!" Snow struggled to free himself, but he was hurt, so it was hard for him to free himself from Dai Li.

"Calm down. I've just come up with a new way, and I have 80% confidence that we can escape from here," said Dai Li.

"What's your method?" Snow stopped struggling.

"Give me the gun first." Dai Li stretched out his hands.

Snow thought Dai Li was worried that he was going to go out and fight with the kidnappers, so he gave the rifle to Dai Li.

Dai Li, however, climbed up the chair with the rifle in his hands, and then leaned against the vent.

"What are you going to do?" Snow asked.

Dai Li reached the rifle out of the air vent and sighted down the barrel.

"Who are you going to shoot?" Snow continued to ask.

"I will just shoot at anyone who passes by. Let's see who gets unlucky," Dai Li said.

"What on earth?" Snow asked doubtfully.

Dai Li leaned against the wall, aimed his gun at the distance through the vent, and then said, "What would do if you were shot at by someone while you were walking on the road?"

"There is no doubt that I'd lie down right away and then run away," said Snow.

"But what if you couldn't run away?" asked Dai Li.

"I would yell for help and call the police." Snow suddenly understood and said, "I see. You are going to shoot at people passing by, then they will call the police! But what if they run away and don't call the police?"

"I must stop them. I am going to shoot them in the leg, so they can't move and they have to call the police. Then they will have to stay where they are and wait for the police." Dai Li paused and added, "But in that case, I'll be sued. If I'm lucky, I will be charged with intentional assault, but if not, I will be charged with attempted murder."

"Save our lives before thinking about anything else." Snow was more sensible than before. He bowed his head, thought for a few seconds, and said, "But it won't work even if the police come here. We are so far away from them, they won't be able to hear our cries for help at all."

"So, I'll also be charged with assaulting the police," Dai Li joked.

"You mean when the police come here, you will shoot them?" Snow understood immediately.

"Yes, the police are different from ordinary people. If ordinary people are shot by someone, they might not call the police when they run away. On the other hand, you can imagine a cop being shot at the scene of a shooting accident. He would certainly call in a lot of police to help him, and then they would try to find out who the shooter was. Then they will find us and rush towards where we are. When these kidnappers see the police, will they stay here? No, they'll run. Then we shall be saved!" Dai Li explained to Snow.

"Mr. Li, what a genius you are! This is great!" Snow finally calmed down, and added, "But I have a question: how's your marksmanship? We are far away from your targets. Are you sure you can hit someone in the leg?

Dai Li laughed. "Didn't you come to my training center to investigate? You should know Adam Holly received training there."

"But your training center is a fitness training center, not a shooting range," said Snow in confusion.

"What I want to tell you is that I have been with Adam Holly for a long time, and he has taught me everything about shooting!" said Dai Li confidently.

Since he was the world's top sports shooter, Dai Li had certainly preserved Adam Holly in the athlete's illustrated handbook, and it came in handy at this time. Dai Li used the second copy card and successfully acquired 70% of Holly's strength.

In this case, the rifle was clearly the most reliable of their weapons. Although Adam Holly was not a sniper, he was the world's top sports shooter, and his marksmanship must be much better than an ordinary shooter's. A sports shooter could hit the center of a dollar coin from fifty meters away. Therefore, it wouldn't be difficult to hit a man in the leg within the effective range of the gun. A man was much bigger than a coin, after all.

Dai Li was not worried about the range of the gun, because the gun in his hands was the famous Remington 700 rifle.

This gun was first manufactured in 1962, and the Remington 700 rifle was still in production today, and still sold well.

The essential part of a gun was the gun bolt, which was the mechanism that delivered the bullet, locked the firing chamber, hit the percussion cap, unlocked the firing chamber, extracted the bullet casing, etc. The gun bolt of the Remington 700 rifle had multiple layers of packaging, making its gun bolt the safest in the world.

It was the reason that the Remington 700 rifle could keep good sales for more than half a century. In addition, it was quite cheap, so many Americans chose the Remington 700 rifle when they bought guns. It was especially well-liked by farmers and hunters, because the Remington had good stability and long range.

The police version of the Remington 700 rifle was standard equipment for American police, and 90% of the marksmen among the American police force used the sniper version of the Remington 700. In addition, the American version of the M24 sniper rifle and the M40 sniper rifle used by the Marine Corps were also developed from the Remington 700 rifle.

If a gun had large production and good sales, it would be easier to get, and more easily used by criminals. For example, all terrorists have AK-47's, and in the movie series Long Arm of the Law, everyone has a type 54 pistol. The Remington 700 rifle was also the most popular rifle on the black market, and it was one of the most used guns by gangsters.Dai Li kept staring outside, expecting someone to pass by. Time dragged by, and every minute felt like an hour.

Finally, a man appeared in Dai Li's view

"Someone is coming!" Dai Li held his breath and began to aim.

Snow was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe. He was afraid that he might disturb Dai Li. If Dai Li failed to wound the man, the man would run away.

More than ten seconds later, Dai Li pulled the trigger. With just one shot, the man in the distance fell to the ground.

"What happened?" asked Snow.

"I shot him." Dai Li breathed a sigh of relief. "Next, we have to wait for him to call the police."Sam didn't feel much pain, but he could see clearly that there was a small hole in his pants, and his blood was flowing out.

Sam immediately realized that he had been shot.

Shootings were not uncommon in the United States, but Sam didn't expect it would happen to him.

Sam tried to stand up, but his injured leg couldn't support him. Sam knew that if he couldn't stand up, and it would be impossible for him to escape from here.

He looked around in horror, wondering where the shooter was.

Sam knew that he was a target now, and the shooter could shoot him at any time.

However, the shooter didn't shoot him.

Why didn't the shooter keep shooting? Is the place where I fell down out of the shooter's vision? He can't aim at me if I stay here!" Thinking of this, Sam stopped moving. He was afraid that if he moved, the shooter would aim at him again.

But Sam's injured leg was still bleeding. Even if the shooter had stopped shooting, Sam would eventually bleed out.

Sam finally took out his phone and dialed 911.

"Hello, 911? I got shot, I got shot! The address is…"With the sound of sirens, a police car came from the distance.

On the second floor of the building, one of Leon's men saw the police car.

"Hey, watch out, there's the police," the man said.

"Don't worry. There's only one police car, and it's not coming towards us," said the other.

Sure enough, the police car passed the building and stopped not far away.

"See? I told you that the police car wasn't coming for us."The sound of the siren made Blecher more nervous, and he looked at Leon with an appealing look.

"Go and see what happened," Leon said to his man.

Leon's man went out and then came back not long after. "It's alright, boss, just a police car passing by."

"Don't worry, Mr. Blecher, it's safe here. The police won't notice us," Leon explained to Blecher.

"But I can still hear the siren now," Blecher said anxiously.

Leon's man answered at once, "Boss, the police car stopped nearby. It seems that someone in the neighborhood called the police."

Leon waved his hands. "Tell everyone not to stick their heads out, and to mind their own business as long as the police don't bother us."The abandoned chemistry lab on the third floor.

"Coach Li, I seem to hear a siren. Is it the police?" asked Snow.

Dai Li nodded. "I hear it too, and it's getting closer and closer. The man I shot called the police."

As soon as Dai Li said this, the police car was in his sights.

"The police have come!" Dai Li began to aim at the front of the car and was ready to shoot.

The police car stopped and two policemen stepped out of the car. They took out their guns and walked towards Sam.

"Help, police officer, help me! I got shot!" Sam shouted at once.

The two policemen didn't approach Sam. They called out to him, "Sir, do you know where the shooter was?"

"I don't know where the shooter was, he only shot me once," said Sam.

The two policemen discussed for a while, then one of them took out his gun and began to aim around, as if to deter the shooter. The other rushed towards Sam quickly, helped him stand up, and then quickly pulled him back into cover.

Just then, shots rang out again.

The two policemen lay down at the same time. But this time, Dai Li didn't aim at the two policemen, but at the front tire of the police car.

"Hurry up, get behind the car!" one of the policemen shouted. The other immediately lifted Sam up, then the three of them hid behind the police car as fast as they could.

"We've got a flat tire, so we can't drive. Although I don't know where the shooter is, he probably hid high, so he could shoot the tire of our car," one of the policemen said.

As soon as the policeman finished his words, a bullet punched a whole in the car's hood.

"D*mn it, how dare the shooter to attack the police? It could be a terrorist attack! I have to call dispatch and ask them to send backup."In the building, Leon's man stood at the window and looked out toward the street.

"I thought I heard a shot, did you hear it?" asked one of them.

"I thought I must've heard wrong, but I did hear something just before the police car came," said the other man.

"I thought the shot we heard just now came from the direction of the police car. Is someone attacking the police?" said the other.

"Why don't I go over there and have a look?" asked Leon's man.

"The boss said we should mind our own business as long as the police don't bother us."There were sirens again, but this time there were a lot of sirens. Judging by the sound, there were many police cars.

Blecher stood up from the chair directly, and there was some terror in his eyes.

There was also a look of fear on Leon's face. If there had only been one police car, it would be no more than two policemen. He had seven or eight people with more than ten guns. In addition, they had heavy firepower, so it would be quite easy for them to deal with two policemen.

But now there were a lot of police, so everything was different. If there were enough police, they would be wiped out by the police.

"Let's go out and have a look." Leon could hardly sit still, so he went out with his men.

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Chapter 481: Counterattack

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The sirens made Leon feel annoyed and perplexed. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked toward the end of the road.

So many police cars. Leon was shocked.

Because of his guilty conscience, when Leon saw large numbers of police, he naturally felt timid.

They've dispatched so many policemen. It must be a big case. Are they encircling gangsters? Or are they trying to annihilate a drug lord? Leon wondered. The wailing of woo-woo-woo was passing through the sky.

"Boss, there is a helicopter there," a lackey said as he pointed at the sky.

Leon lifted the binoculars to the black spot in the sky and saw a helicopter. There was a symbol on the helicopter. It was an eagle holding an arrow.

"SWAT! How is it that even the SWAT needs to be involved. Is there a terrorist? God help us. This cannot be directed at us. We are no match for a SWAT team." Leon suddenly felt nervous. He couldn't help but start praying to God.

The SWAT Police Unit was part of the Los Angeles Police Department, and it was a special operations force within the police force. It was similar to the SDU Flying Tigers in Hong Kong. It was designed to deal with hardened criminals.

In terms of public order, the United States was less ideal than Hong Kong. The high crime rate in Los Angeles was as famous as Hollywood. Therefore, the usage of SWAT teams was much higher than the Flying Tigers. Moreover, in recent years, the United States had been plagued by terrorist attacks, so the SWAT teams had more opportunities to be exposed to the public.

Leon was wondering what kind of big case would require the Los Angeles police to dispatch SWAT teams. Beside him, a lackey appeared. "Boss, we just heard gunshots nearby. Maybe these policemen came because of the gunshots."

"Gunshots? Where did they come from?" Leon asked immediately.

"It seems like it came from the back. Oh yeah, the police car that just came over also parked at the back. Maybe someone attacked the police. I think the police officers were headed in the direction of the gunshot," the lackey replied.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Leon looked at the lackey a little angrily, and he continued to say, "Did you go and confirm what actually happened?"

"Boss, you said that as long as something doesn't involve us, we shouldn't stick our noses into it. So we stayed here and didn't go out." The lackey looked as if he had been mistreated.

F*ck! Leon cursed in his head, and then said to his lackeys, "Go quick and see if it was one of our guys who fired the shot! If it was one of our people who brought these policemen here, I am definitely going to kill him!""Li, listen. There are a lot of sirens," Snow looked excited.

"I hear them. I think the police backup has arrived." Dai Li nodded. The gun in his hand continued to aim at the police car in the distance.

After a while, other police cars appeared in his field of vision. After the police cars stopped, the doors opened. The policemen hid behind the doors and aimed at all four corners. They didn't know the position of the gunman.

"Let's remind the police where we are." Dai Li fired several shots at the police car.

There were several additional bullet holes in the police car. The police finally saw where Dai Li was shooting from.

"Over there. There is an air vent on the third floor of that building. The gunman fired his shot there."

"Such a long distance? Everyone be careful. It is a sniper! Only a sniper could shoot from such a long distance."

"Maybe they are professionally trained terrorists, and we don't know how many people there are. Tell headquarters. We don't have enough manpower, we need more reinforcements!"

Americans were terrified of terrorist attacks. As a country that allowed guns to be sold in supermarkets, the police had their work cut out for them. If you were unlucky, you would encounter situations where gangsters were more powerful than the police.Leon sat in the room, waiting anxiously. Blecher, who was next to him, felt that the atmosphere was a little off. He understandably kept his mouth shut.

The lackey trotted into the house and said, "Boss, I asked, and it wasn't one of our people who fired the shot."

"That's good. It seems like the police are not coming for us." Leon breathed a sigh of relief.

However, another lackey also rushed into the room.

"Boss, they fired again, and it was several shots, all directed at the police," the lackey said.

"Is that gunman stupid? So many policemen came, even the SWAT arrived. Does he not plan to stop? Is he shooting at the entire LAPD at this point?" Leon said mockingly.

The lackey who just entered the door said, "Boss, I just listened carefully. The gunshot seemed to come from the third floor."

"You mean our third floor?" Leon looked at the first lackey with a puzzled look and asked, "Didn't you say that it wasn't one of our people who fired the shot?"

"Our people really didn't shoot at the police." The lackey stopped there, and suddenly remembered something. "Boss, would the hostage have been the one who fired the shot? That coach caught some of our men. He should have one rifle and one pistol on him."

"Impossible, that room has no windows. How could he shoot at a policeman from there?" Leon shook his head.

"But I think the room has an exhaust vent. It was designed to eliminate harmful gas. But if it really were the hostage who fired the shot, why would he attack the police?" the lackey asked casually.

At that second, Leon's facial expression suddenly changed. He realized Dai Li's plan.

"If they really fired at the police, it was to lure the police over. Not good! The police are coming soon. Tell our men to pack our things, we have to leave!" Leon made a decision.

"What about the hostages? They are still locked there," the lackey asked.

"Nonsense, in this situation, not being caught by the police is the most important thing!"On the helicopter, an observer was staring at the main entrance of the building with binoculars.

Leon and his men ran out quickly and then went to the car in front of the door.

"Vulture one reporting, vulture one reporting. The suspects have come out of the building. They got into the car and are getting ready to leave. They are carrying something suspicious that looks like a rifle. Repeat. The suspects came out of the building. They got into the car and are getting ready to leave. We can see that they are carrying something suspicious that looks like a rifle. Over."

"This is vulture one reporting, vulture one reporting. They have started the car. They are leaving. Repeat. They are leaving. Over."

On the ground, the sheriff who commanded the operation picked up the intercom. "Attention all squads. Attention all squads. The suspects are getting ready to escape, but we are not ruling out the possible presence of terrorists in the building. The first squad and second squad are to intercept them immediately. The sniper is in place, the assault team is preparing to attack the building, and the helicopter is ready to provide fire support."On the third floor of the abandoned laboratory, Dai Li anxiously waited for the police rescue.

Outside, a barrage of gunfire suddenly sounded. It was like a fierce exchange of gunshots between two groups of people.

"Hear that? They are fighting outside! The police and the kidnappers are fighting." Snow couldn't help but walk over to the door and put his ear on the steel door, trying to listen.

Dai Li nodded with no expression on his face.

"Hey, Li, we are going to be saved soon. You should be happy," Snow said.

"I was just thinking about where I should go to hire a good lawyer," Dai Li said. He pointed to the rifle. "Deliberately wounding a person and assaulting the police. If I am really convicted, I expect I will go to prison for many years."

"You only did those things to save yourself. Your original intention was not to hurt others. If you really need to go to court, I will testify for you. And I also know several famous lawyers. I will introduce them to you." Snow smiled, and he went on to say, "Relax. Government prosecutors are not able to put up a fight against well-known lawyers."The gunshots outside went on and on, but it wasn't as intense as it had been. It sounded like the gunfight was coming to an end.

"The police should have won, right? I wonder if they caught that Blecher." Dai Li slammed his fists with anger. "Now I really want to beat him up!"

"Even if they caught him, I am afraid it will be difficult to accuse him of kidnap and murder," Snow said in resignation.

"Why? Although he did not do it with his own hands, he was the mastermind behind the scene. We can prove it," Dai Li said.

"We are the victims. Our evidence is not as valid as a third party," Snow replied.

"What about the kidnappers? I don't believe that not one of the kidnappers survived. As long as some kidnappers are alive, they are witnesses. They should be effective third-party evidence, right?" Dai Li retorted.

"Those kidnappers are desperate, they would do anything for money. Blecher can just give them a sum of money, and they won't testify against him. And Blecher will hire the most famous lawyers for his court case. I'm guessing the end result will be Blecher making up several similar reasons claiming that he was coerced, or admitting to several less important charges, and then escape the felony of kidnapping or murder. In order to maintain his conviction rate, the prosecutor will also accept such a result. Another way of putting it would be that in order to maintain the conviction rate, the prosecutor will be happy to make such a deal with Blecher."

Snow sighed and said, "Remember what I just said? The government prosecutors are not able to win against well-known lawyers. The deeper meaning of that is that the law is not able to win against money. I have been an investigative journalist for many years. No one knows this better than me. The laws of the United States will always protect the rich."

"Is there any way for Blecher to get the punishment he deserves? He hired someone to kidnap me and almost killed me." Dai Li pointed to Snow. "He also caught you and tortured you to this state. People like him must be punished."

"Actually, it's not that there is no way." Snow suddenly laughed. His eyes flashed coldly, and he whispered, "When I get out, it will be time for a counterattack."

"Do you have a way to deal with Blecher?" Dai Li looked at Snow, and he felt that Snow might have been concealing something.

Snow took a deep breath and said, "We have suffered together, you even saved me, so I won't keep anything from you. Do you still remember what I told you before? I sneaked into Blecher's company to steal information."

Dai Li nodded. "Blecher caught you because of that."

"In truth, my real purpose was not to steal Blecher's information, but to insert a computer virus." Snow calmed down and went on, "I have a hacker friend who can invade Blecher's company's database, remotely stealing the information stored there. The only problem is the firewall. Blecher had a special information security company to create a firewall system, and my hacker friend had no way to bypass the firewall."

"So I sneaked into Blecher's company and released a computer virus in the computer database. This computer virus can temporarily block the firewall. It only needs to block the firewall for five minutes, and my hacker friend will be able to steal all the information in Blecher's database. Then I just turn off the virus, release program, and everything will return to normal. Unless a professional inspection is conducted, Blecher definitely won't know that the data in his computer has been stolen by me."

"Were you successful?" Dai Li asked immediately.

Snow nodded. "Yes, I succeeded. I released the virus and interfered with the firewall. My friend succeeded in invading the database and getting the information. But when I was about to flee, they caught me. But when they tortured me, I didn't disclose this. I just said that I was going to steal their information, but I didn't tell them that I already had."

"What are you going to do?" Dai Li then asked.

"I have already said that I want to mount a counterattack." Snow's eyes revealed a bulldog-like persistence. "I have been investigating the stimulants issue for some time, and I have a lot of information in my hands, and the information in Blecher's database is the last piece of the puzzle. Li, after you get out, you must remember to read the news. I want to blow this wide open!""To the people inside, listen up! We are the Los Angeles police. Put down your weapons immediately, and come out with your hands up!" The voice of the police finally sounded outside the steel door.

"Officer, don't shoot, we are hostages! We were kidnapped!" Dai Li shouted loudly while running towards the door.

"Hostages?"

The police officer in charge gave the SWAT officers around him a look that signaled that they were preparing to rescue the hostages.

The police then asked, "How many people are there inside? How many hostages? How many hostiles?"

"There are five people, two hostages and three criminals. I am one of the hostages. We have subdued the kidnappers," Dai Li continued.

The police officer in charge was a little surprised. He had thought that he would need to stage a huge spectacle to save the hostages, but he did not expect that the criminals would be subdued by the hostages.

"You guys open the door now, raise your hands high up in the air, and slowly walk out," the police officer said.

Dai Li and Snow opened the door as the police ordered, and went out with their hands raised.

"Gentlemen, please place your hands in our field of vision." The policeman made a gesture and several police officers immediately rushed up. Some of them rushed directly into the abandoned laboratory, and some began to search Dai Li and Snow.

The police did not find any weapons on the two of them. They then looked at the miserable state that Snow was in after being tortured, and basically confirmed that he and Dai Li were hostages.

"Gentlemen, you are saved, and the ambulance is at the building's entrance. I will arrange to send you guys to the hospital right away," the head police officer said.Snow was taken into the ambulance. In actuality, his injuries were not light, and he was in a state of excessive blood loss. If it weren't for the morphine, he would never have been able to last until then.

Dai Li's situation was much better. He only had some bruises on his body.

"Li, see you at the hospital!" Snow gave Dai Li a strained smile.

"Edward, you have to get better soon. I am waiting to see the news." Dai Li thrust his hands out and raise a thumbs up to Snow. "Don't forget our counterattack!"

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Chapter 482: The Big News Is Here

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Edward Snow sat in a conference room. Three people sat across him. The men on the left and the right were the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor of a news network, and in the middle was the CEO of the network.

The thing that Snow brought was so shocking that the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor could not make a decision, so they invited the CEO.

The CEO stared at the investigation report provided by Snow. He looked stunned.

"Mr. Snow, can you guarantee the authenticity of this report?" the CEO asked first.

"Of course, I almost died for this report." Snow pointed to the sutured wound on his face.

The CEO took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Snow, the report you brought is really shocking. This may be the biggest scandal in the history of American sports. I hope to get the exclusive right to report this information."

"No problem," Snow promised.

"But I really don't know how much we should pay for it. Shocking news is our business, but this kind of big news on sports… Well, it is our first time reporting something of this scale. Not to mention that we will have the Olympics this year. The value of this investigation is hard for me to estimate," the CEO said sincerely.

Snow smiled and said, "Actually what I care about is not the money. I hope that the public can know the truth."

The CEO nodded solemnly. "I understand. I will use your report as the focus of our work. I will follow up on this myself. I will let the public know the truth!"

Investigative journalism wasn't a very profitable occupation. It could even be said that the income was meager. Most investigative journalists entered the industry because of their sense of justice.

The main source of income for many investigative journalists was from writing books. They would investigate a very important news topic, and when the news was trending, they would go on talk shows and write one or two books related to the investigation. To put it plainly, they took advantage of the heat of the news to make money.Los Angeles Police Department.

A short, pudgy man with glasses walked in front of Dai Li and said, "Mr. Li, the procedure for bail has already been completed. After you sign here, you can go. A special reminder, before the trial, you need to report to the Los Angeles Police Department once a week, and you are not allowed to leave the country during this period."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Wilfrid." Dai Li signed the document and then walked out of the police station with the lawyer.

Wilfrid said as he was walking, "The injured person you hit has already accepted our compensation. He said that he will not sue us again. But he also revealed to me that the prosecutor asked him to appear in court to testify."

"So I can just wait for the court session. The only trouble is the prosecutor?" Dai Li asked.

Wilfrid nodded. "The prosecutor is Nick Reese. He is indeed very talented. He is the only prosecutor in California who has been able to maintain a 100% conviction rate. I've been up against him three times, so I guess we're tied?"

Dai Li did not understand what the lawyer meant. In his mind, if it was four fights, it was possible to get a tie with two wins and two losses, but three showdowns would result in two wins and one loss. It was inevitable that one party would have two wins, so there should be no possibility of a tie.

"Mr. Wilfrid, what do you mean by a tie?" Li Dai could not help but ask.

"My client, although pleading guilty, was not sentenced severely. In truth, all three parties were guilty. All I could do to help them was to reduce the penalty. In this respect, the prosecutor and I each achieved what we wanted. I helped my client reduce the penalty, and the prosecutor was able to convict them." Wilfrid's tone changed and said, "But Mr. Li, you are different. I don't think you are guilty. You were trying to save yourself, and your intention was not to hurt people or assault the police. I think their charges of causing intentional injury and assaulting the police are unfounded. I am sure I can help you win this lawsuit."

"Thank you for your trust," Dai Li said quite sincerely.

"You are welcome. As your lawyer, my job is to help you win the lawsuit!" Wilfrid said.

The two talked as they walked to the police station entrance, and Blake was already waiting outside.

Wilfrid said goodbye to the two, and Dai Li got into Blake's car.

Blake started the car and said at the same time, "Wilfrid is the best criminal lawyer in the United States. We have a good chance of winning with him helping us."

"This really is a disaster! I've encountered these sort of situations even though I was just living my life honestly at home… I am a victim, but I have to pay a lawyer's fee. This is really unfortunate." Dai Li sighed helplessly.

"According to the police, the people who took you are repeat offenders and have committed several large cases of kidnapping and blackmailing. For you to escape from them was no small feat. In fact, I really admire your wit; you were able to figure out a way to contact the police even in that sort of situation. If it were me, I'm afraid I could only have sat there and waited for death to come."

Blake turned to look at Dai Li and asked, "Do you need to hire one or two bodyguards? I had a friend when I was a boxer who opened a security company after he retired. A lot of his men are retired soldiers, including some who came back from the battlefield in Iraq. If you need to, I can ask him to find a few good bodyguards."

"Forget it, I am not an important figure. I am just a coach. But I really hope that I can install a security system in my home. I don't want to be tied up at home again." Dai Li was looking at his phone when he spoke, but he never managed to find what he was looking for.

So Dai Li asked, "Has there been any big news recently?"

"There is all sorts of news every day. What kind are you specifically asking for?" Blake asked.

"Things such as scandals," Dai Li replied.

"Haha, you're actually interested in these sort of things. It seems that your mood is not as bad as you said it was." Blake became jolly, and he continued, "A pornstar is saying that the president once married her. Does this count as a scandal?"

"I am not talking about things like that. I wanted to ask about things related to sports. Were there any sensational scandals recently?" Dai Li asked.

"There weren't any. Li, you couldn't have heard of any gossip, right?" Blake asked.

"I am waiting for a piece of news." Dai Li nodded.

Just then, a phone number suddenly appeared on the car's central control screen.

"My car has Bluetooth." Blake looked down at the screen. "It is Chris Payton."

Blake pressed the button to answer the call, and Payton's voice immediately came through the speakers.

"Blake, I just saw an incredible piece of news on the internet! This is probably the biggest doping scandal in the history of the United States!"

Blake smiled dismissively. "Is it really so amazing? Every year in the United States, there will always be dozens of cases where athletes are found to be using illegal drugs. Those are not unusual."

"But this time it involves thousands of people, including many well-known athletes and coaches, and 27 biological laboratories were said to be providing illegal drugs to athletes. More importantly, the mastermind behind it all was Blecher, the father of prohormone from a few years ago!" Payton said.

When Blake heard the news, he could not help but look at Dai Li.

Dai Li let out a sigh of relief. "The big news I've been waiting for is finally here!"

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Chapter 483: Turning Sour

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Williams, CEO of the American Track and Field Association, looked at the laptop in front of him with a complex expression.

The Track and Field Association chief operating officer, Frey, held a printed list of names and kept shaking his head. "There are so many people involved, this can't be true. That investigative journalist Edward Snow must have made this up to attract people's attention."

Williams looked at Frey but didn't speak.

Frey continued to argue, "I've skimmed through it. More than half of the athletes who are participating in the Olympics in this year's national track and field team are on this list, which means that at least half of our athletes are using illegal drugs. How is that possible! This cannot be true!"

Williams sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I didn't think it was possible when I saw the list. But when you think about it, this list may be true. We have a lot of track and field athletes who use illegal drugs. It's an open secret, and we both know it. And this time it involves a lot of biological laboratories, and the 'father of prohormone' Blecher. Think about what Blecher did in the past. That scum, he destroyed so many excellent athletes. What won't he do?"

"But there are too many people involved. Is it possible that it is exaggerated?" Frey's tone was a little softer.

"I don't know if it is exaggerated, but the molecular formula of the 27 steroid derivatives was published in the investigation report. I just consulted our experts. With the molecular formula of these chemicals, the Anti-Doping Committee will soon be able to develop a method of detection. When the truth comes out, the athletes who used the illegal drugs won't be able to pass the drug test," Williams said with a worried look.

"But I still don't believe that so many athletes are using performance-enhancing drugs." Frey shook his head.

Williams sighed deeply. "There are many athletes on this list, including athletes who use 'legitimate medication.' The journalist's report pointed out that many doctors deliberately gave fake prescriptions to athletes. They can use the medicine reasonably. You and I know about this, and the IOC also knows this. It is just that we pretend we don't see it. No one wants to change the status quo. But now, the investigative journalist has exposed all of this. I think the FBI and the Physician Association will intervene. Prescribing fake prescriptions is illegal. This kind of thing can't be concealed if it is checked."

"The coaches are also mentioned on the list. All the coaches on our national team are listed." Frey pointed to the list. In the coach's column, the first name listed was Sebastian's. "But he is the head coach of the US team! "

"So if this list is true, we will suffer a fatal blow! From the head coach to the ordinary athletes. At least half of our athletes will be unable to participate in this Olympic Games because of the use of illegal drugs. All our coaches will also be unable to participate in this Olympic Games because of their involvement! Right now, I really hope that this list is fake," Williams said. It looked like he had aged ten years.

"What should we do?" Frey asked.

"Let's wait and see. After all, we can't be sure of the authenticity of this investigation yet," Williams said.

In Williams' heart, he still hoped that it wasn't true, but he also knew that an experienced investigative journalist like Edward Snow wouldn't choose to fight a battle he couldn't win. Since he decided to leak the story, it was almost certain that the story was true.Montreal, Canada. The headquarters of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Lewis, the chairman of the Anti-Doping Agency, had just convened a meeting with all the cadres.

"The breaking news in America, I'm sure all of you have seen it, right? If the content of the investigative report is true, this will be the biggest scandal in the history of sports. What are your opinions on this matter?" Lewis asked.

"I think the report is forged. It involves so many athletes, coaches, and numerous biological laboratories. It's not possible if you think about it," someone said.

"I don't think so. I think this report is the real deal. Athletes have been using illegal drugs for decades. Athletes around the world are using drugs every year, and every time we test the B samples that we have stored, we always discover that someone was using illegal drugs. Many of them were Olympic champions," another person immediately raised a different opinion.

Someone nearby immediately added, "And a large number of names on that list are people who are 'legitimate drug users.' They obtained drugs legally through fake prescriptions issued by their doctors. What's more, we of the Anti-Doping Committee are the ones who gave approval. In this regard, we also have to bear responsibility."

"From the statistics, the country with the most applications for legal drug use is the US. Its numbers exceed the total number of applicants from all the other countries. And we grant more approvals to American athletes than athletes of any other country. I think we all know that we had to do this because our funding comes primarily from the United States. So on this matter, we only gave the Americans the green light."

Cough! Cough! President Lewis coughed twice and stopped the person from continuing. He obviously didn't want to talk about this less-than-glorious subject. He said, "The problem of approvals for legal drug use is something we can put aside for the time being. What we are discussing now is the investigative report itself. How true is it? Dr. Lawrence, you are an expert in researching illicit drugs. What do you think about the authenticity of this report?"

A scholarly old man with glasses cleared his throat and said, "I think it is too early to judge, but on the technical side, there is indeed a gap between the first-class biological laboratories in the United States and us. For example, we usually can't detect the illegal drugs in the A bottle sample, and it's usually a few years before we can detect substances in the B bottle sample. Our technique is always behind. So one thing is certain; the latest types of illegal drugs, based on our current technique, cannot be detected."

"I noticed in the report published by the media that there was a 27-substance chemical formula. Although we have not tested it, from the chemical formula alone, I am certain that it is a steroid derivative, and our detection process has never discovered it before. Although I am uncertain about the clinical effects of these substances, steroid derivatives are the most popular performance-enhancing drugs at the moment."

"Steroids and their derivatives, regardless of their clinical effect, are banned from use. Even if they are unable to improve or enhance performance, they are still illegal drugs," President Lewis said. He held his chin and thought about it. After a few seconds, he asked, "Dr. Lawrence, according to what you said just now, if one of these 27 substances were detected in the athlete's sample, could we consider the athlete to have used illegal drugs?"

Dr. Lawrence nodded. "That is the case."

"So, can we detect these 27 substances?" Lewis then asked.

"In the past, definitely not, but now that the chemical formula of the substance has been published… Although we still can't synthesize these substances, if we were to just test for them, it would be relatively easy," Lawrence said.

"How long do you need?" Lewis continued to ask.

Dr. Lawrence raised three fingers. "Three days. Three days is enough for me to design a method to detect these 27 substances."

"Very good. Inform the United States immediately; in three days, we will test the B bottle sample of all athletes who are allegedly using drugs," Lewis said without hesitation.

"Mr. Chairman, this matter involves many things. Do we want to be considerate of the United States?" someone reminded him.

"Things are already getting out of hand. Even the Americans themselves are asking for the truth. If we don't do this, we will lose credibility. Don't forget the Olympics is being held this year! If we let a group of athletes on drugs participate, then what would become of the Olympics in the future?" Lewis said with a deep sigh. "Now that we've come to this, any attempt at a cover-up would be ludicrous."How did the molecular formulas of the 27 derivatives leak out! Finished! This time I am really finished! Blecher's expression was filled with despair.

Did the leak come from the biological laboratories? No, I only gave the laboratories 24 derivatives. There are three kinds of derivatives that I did not let any biological laboratory know, but they were still published! The problem is from my end.

It was that investigative journalist, that d*mn investigative journalist. It must be him! I should have killed him when I had the chance!

Blecher knew that this time, he was completely finished. The 27 steroid derivatives were the clearest evidence that he had been providing athletes with illegal drugs through those biological laboratories. Taking into account his criminal record, this time he might be subjected to a very heavy sentence. And his company would never be able to walk away from this.

Blecher went to the window and opened it, hoping to breathe fresh air and relieve his depressed mood, but he saw a black Chevrolet parking in front of the door to his company.

It was a Chevrolet Suburban. This car was a household name in the United States. For example, in the president's motorcade, that car would be at the front. At the same time, this car was also called the FBI's exclusive vehicle.

The FBI is finally here. Blecher had already guessed their identity. His legs became soft, and he couldn't help but drop to his chair.

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Chapter 484: Moral Coercion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nick Reese was a prosecutor, and he was the prosecutor with the highest conviction rate in California. So far, he had a conviction rate of 100%.

In the Anglo-American judiciary system, the prosecutor in a criminal case was the equivalent of a public prosecutor in China. They were responsible for the prosecution of public criminal cases. Although persecutors were sometimes translated as public persecutors, their responsibilities were very different from those of public prosecutors in China.

For a prosecutor, the conviction rate equaled the "performance" and "highlights" of their work. The conviction rate would directly affect their future and future career development as a prosecutor. Many politicians in the United States started as prosecutors, and their high conviction rates would build their reputation when they became political candidates.

Moreover, the Anglo-American judiciary system was a little biased towards protecting the defendants. And the conviction rate was also a way to protect the rights of the defendants. Because of the conviction rate index, prosecutors would not easily prosecute a suspect without a good chance of full conviction. The prosecutor would not sue a suspect with a "try it out" mentality, as it would lead to a waste of public resources.

The police were responsible for solving cases. From the police's point of view, to maintain the settlement rate, they might be anxious to rush the prosecutor to charge a suspect. The possibility of the police closing a case and charging a suspect without sufficient evidence just to increase their settlement rate couldn't be ruled out. And with a conviction rate index, a sloppy prosecution in the absence of evidence was simply taking the prosecutors and their superiors for a ride. Prosecutors would never prosecute a case without sufficient evidence. This also forced the police to collect sufficient evidence to prove the crime, thereby reducing the probability of suspects being wrongly charged.

Of course, there were also flaws in such a judiciary system. Under this kind of judiciary system, a direct confession from the defendant was considered a successful conviction. As such, a prosecutor would often try to get a conviction this way to boost his conviction rate. Instead of a long and fierce confrontation with the defense lawyers in court, they would often hope for this type of easy convictions. Therefore, the prosecutors would offer a shorter sentence in exchange for the subject pleading guilty. This was so that the prosecutor could get a guarantee on their conviction rate, saving them time and energy, while the suspect would receive a reduced penalty. Whether the suspect was receiving justice wasn't considered important. There was a famous movie with a similar plot.

The conviction rate was very important. Most prosecutors had a high conviction rate, and Nick Reese was definitely one of the best. He had a 100% conviction rate. It could be said that if a suspect were to fall into his hands, they would not be able to escape.

At that point, Prosecutor Reese was drinking coffee in the office of the director of the Los Angeles Police Department.

He was really drinking coffee, not the kind of "being invited" to the police station to "drink coffee" in Hong Kong dramas.

In front of Reese was a man who had a serious case of balding on his hands. He was the director of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"Nick, we are hiring you this time because we have no other choice. You are the prosecutor with the highest conviction rate in California. I believe that you can successfully convict this guy!" the police chief said.

"I have read the relevant files and charging him for murder may be somewhat far-fetched. As for charging him for intentionally causing injury, the injured person has already accepted his compensation and does not intend to pursue it. As for assaulting the police, he did attack the police at that time, but considering the circumstances, that was the only way he could get help. This is also a justifiable excuse."

Reese shrugged and said, "And there is a record in the file. He did not cause any physical injury to any police officer. He just left a few holes on the police car. The policemen who were injured were injured in the gunfight between the police and the kidnappers. If we are only charging him for damage to public property, I could convict him 100%."

"What I want is not damage to public property, I want to charge him with police assault!" the police chief said indignantly. "It is true that he did not hurt our police officers, but if his bullets had strayed slightly, then the holes wouldn't have just been in the police car!"

"How about letting him donate money to your police department? I heard that the coach is very rich," Reese joked.

"Nick, you still don't understand my intentions," the police chief continued with a solemn expression. "He shot at the passerby to get the man to call the police, and he shot at the police to get the attention of the police so that they could rescue him. Maybe he was not wrong to do this, but I don't want this behavior to be encouraged, and I don't want anyone else to learn from him."

The police chief put on a stern expression. "It is understandable that one chooses to hurt others to save their own lives. Anyone who was in the same situation would make the same choice, but it does not mean that this behavior is just. He wanted to save his life, but the life of the innocent passerby does not need to be protected? The injured passerby did not do anything wrong. He was simply passing by, and he got shot. Although he did not die, should this innocent passerby simply have been sacrificed?"

Reese opened his mouth slightly but did not speak. Reese couldn't find an answer that the police chief's fervent sense of justice would accept. When faced with someone who had the moral high ground, everything he said would be wrong.

The police chief went on to say, "In addition, he also fired at our police. Although it could be seen as a way to notify the police, I still feel that this is a very bad method of doing so. As I said earlier, the distance was huge. If his aim were a little off, he would've hit our officers! If his behavior is forgiven, then others will follow his example! That would bring us a lot of trouble."

"Yeah?" Reese asked, then looked at the police chief with interest.

The police chief continued, "Imagine if our police officers were on duty on the road, and then a gunshot is heard. Someone in the distance had fired at a police officer. Afterward, we caught the man, and he said that he did it in order to notify the police. Wouldn't you find that to be ridiculous? What if the gunmanship of that person wasn't very accurate and caused harm to our police officers? Or if someone who deliberately shoots at our police officers, and then argues that he did it in order to notify the police, would he also escape punishment? I don't want our police officers to be inexplicably shot at when they are on duty!"

I was almost deceived by his appearance of upholding justice. I thought that his sense of justice compelled him, but he was just worried about similar situations happening again, and it would bring more trouble to the police or cause accidental casualties. I think this is the real reason why he wants to charge the coach right? He doesn't want to see others behaving like the coach. A strange smile flashed across Reese's face.

"Chief, I now understand what you mean. Your purpose is not to put the coach in prison. You want to convey a message, or to achieve a deterrent effect on others, right?" Reese asked.

"That's right. I don't want anyone to follow the behavior of the coach," the police chief nodded.

"Okay. Although this case is somewhat difficult, I will do my best," Reese promised.…

Nick Reese returned to his workplace.

"Nick, Mr. Terrell is waiting for you," a colleague said to Reese.

Terrell was Reese's boss and the head of all the prosecutors there.

"I'll go there immediately." Reese nodded and walked towards Mr. Terrell's office.

Reese knocked on the door and walked into Terrell's office, and Terrell was indeed waiting for Reese.

"Reese, just came back from the police station? What is the situation?" Terrell asked.

"I talked to the police chief. As you told me, what he wanted was something simple like damage to public property. He wants us to sue the coach for intentional assault and police assault. If it weren't for me, he probably would've wanted to sue for murder." Reese relayed the police chief's intentions to his boss.

"This can be a bit troublesome." Terrell frowned, and he said, "The penalties for intentional assault and police assault are not light. Do you think the coach would plead guilty if we offer the condition of mitigating the penalty in exchange?"

"I'm afraid that will be difficult." Reese shrugged and said, "If he were just an ordinary person, it would be okay, but the coach is a rich man. He has a chain of physical training centers. Many well-known athletes train there. He can afford the best lawyers to help him fight the lawsuit. If we were only charging him for the destruction of public property, he would in all likelihood plead guilty. But intentional assault and police assault? He definitely won't plead guilty; he'll fight this lawsuit till the very end."

"If that is the case, this lawsuit will definitely go to court," Terrell said.

"Yes, and it is possible I will need to go to court many times. I am ready to fight a long war," Reese replied.

Terrell looked satisfied. "It is good that you are determined. Actually, after reading the case file, I am sympathetic towards the coach. He was the victim in the whole incident. But we have had a very good relationship with the Los Angeles Police Department for so many years, so I can't refuse them. Nick, you know, our relationship with the police department is mutually beneficial. Often times, I don't have a choice."

"Mr. Terrell, I understand," Reese said understandingly.

"Alright, I'm handing this matter over to you. If there is anything you need from me, you can come to me directly," Terrell said.

"There is one thing I want to report to you first." Reese lowered his voice and went on to say, "It will be difficult to get a conviction in this case, so I intend to use the power of public opinion."

Terrell thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. "I think it's okay, but it needs to be in moderation. Don't make it into too big of an issue. If things get too big, the trial process would be affected.""Would you hurt an innocent person to protect yourself?"

The topic was sensational, and Dai Li's case provided a real case study.

Very quickly, some media commentators issued their opinions. It was very likely that this kind of issue would attract people's attention, and this led to many people discussing the issue. Some news outlets engaged in online interactive voting. Other news networks went to the streets to engage in random interviews with passersby.

"Sir, I want to ask you a question. Would you hurt an innocent person to protect yourself?" The female reporter walked up to a passerby with a microphone.

"Of course not! How could I do such an unethical thing? I would rather get hurt myself then hurt an innocent person!" the passerby replied without any hesitation. He looked at the camera. The sense of justice he had on his face made it look as if he were a superhero in a comic book.

"Madam, I want to ask you a question. Would you hurt an innocent person to protect yourself?" The female reporter found another target.

"No, absolutely not!" The woman shook her head immediately. "I have a moral bottom line. I would not cause pain to others."

"Sir, I want to ask you a question. Would you hurt an innocent person to protect yourself?" the female reporter asked, this time to a middle-aged man.

"Why would you ask such a strange question?" the middle-aged man asked back.

"It is because of a recent kidnapping incident in Los Angeles. The hostages were unable to contact the police. He shot a passerby to get the attention of the police. He was rescued because of it," the female reporter said.

"Oh my god! That hostage already had a gun, why didn't he just shoot the kidnappers instead of choosing to shoot a passerby!" The middle-aged man looked exasperated. He continued to say, "If it were me, I would use the gun to shoot the kidnappers in the head, not go and hurt an innocent passerby!"

There was not much practical significance to these kinds of so-called questionnaires. If it were a questionnaire that was related to morality, the people being asked the questions would definitely choose to stand on the moral high ground. And they would give the most hypocritical of answers.

This would be like if someone went on the street to ask passersby if they had 10 billion dollars, would they be willing to donate five billion to the poor. Many people would say that they would be willing. They didn't have 10 billion anyway. It was easier said than done. Who wouldn't boast?

But if someone were holding a donation box and wanted passersby to donate 100 dollars, how many people would choose to donate? Almost everyone could afford 100 dollars, but when it came time to actually donate, most people would become stingy.

People have the ability to pretend that they could donate 5 billion, but they would be reluctant to even give 100 dollars. This wasn't just laughable, but a cruel reflection of reality. It was human nature to be hypocritical.

However, this type of moral coercion was not favorable to Dai Li. People would influence one another, especially on issues of morality. Everyone tried to stand on the moral high ground.

When the majority of people started to judge him from their moral high ground, the truth would become unimportant. The only thing left would be criticism from the point of view of "superficial justice."

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Chapter 485: A Battle Outside the Court (Part One)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Prosecutor Reese, this is the data you asked me to collect. It includes media commentary and investigation." An intern passed a thick document to Reese.

Reese took the document and flipped through a few pages before a bright smile appeared on his face.

"The direction of public opinion is very advantageous to us. Our chances of winning in the next court appearance have increased significantly," Reese said proudly.

"Prosecutor Reese, I don't fully understand. What's the relationship between these things and the case? Will it really help us a lot?" the intern asked with a puzzled face.

"That is a given," Reese said with a boastful expression. He then continued, "The direction of public opinion will convey a message to the jury; harming others while trying to defend one's own life is wrong as well as immoral. At the beginning of the court session, the members of the jury will assume that the action of the accused, which was to open fire and harm bystanders, was wrong. Even if he only did it to get the bystanders to help him call the cops. In court, I only have to emphasize that the accused took the initiative to act, and thus, it was an intentional behavior of the accused. Harming others while trying to protect one's self-interest, does it not sound like intentional assault? I hope that I can define the actions of the accused as intentional assault by this method.

"Then, will the members of the jury accept such an idea? What I want to ask is if the jury members aren't influenced by public opinion, then what should we do?" the intern continued asking.

"Relax, they will definitely be influenced by public opinion. It is directly related to the structure of the jury." Reese gestured for the intern to have a seat. He then continued explaining, "The law stipulates that citizens who are above 18 years old, live in the country, are fluent in English, do not have hearing and mental impairments, and have no criminal records, are eligible to sit on a jury. However, in the actual screening process, the prosecutors and defenders will screen out some people."

"For example, someone whose education level or living standards were lower would have a higher chance of being removed by both parties during the screening process. The reason is that these people are limited by their education and living environment. It is hard for them to come to a reasonable judgment based on the evidence. You can't count on a high school dropout to think and analyze problems like a scholar. So regardless of whether it was the prosecuting or defending party, the lawyers would feel that letting someone like that become a jury member was a risk. Unless the accused comes from a particular group; if not, when it comes to screening for the jury, both sides will definitely remove these people."

"Apart from that, we also don't want people who have a very high educational level or experts within industries to become members of the jury. These people have gone through higher-level education and have achieved certain success. They are also more confident. They have better independent thinking ability and excellent judgment, and they are not easily affected by external factors. If someone like this were to appear in a jury, even if an excellent argument were made in court, they would not follow our thought process. They would use their independent thinking and come out with their own insight. The efforts of the prosecutor and the lawyer would be pointless in front of them. They would follow their own judgment and wouldn't be easily dissuaded."

"That is why, when it comes to the selection of the jury members, we usually pick the ones who don't stand out in their lives, the ones who aren't good at multi-layered thinking, who are pliable and easily influenced by external factors. Normal people who go with the flow. These people are the perfect jury members for both the prosecutor and defense lawyers. They will come out with a conclusion based on the most basic evidence as well as the words of the lawyers, never producing any unexpected factors."

"I guess you should understand now that I've said this much, right? The members of the jury are people who are easily affected by external factors. Guided by public opinion, they will make assumptions. And in this case, I've used exactly this point to make them side with us. Or it might be better to say that we have used public opinion and moral coercion to affect their judgment!"

The intern nodded with a distorted expression. It wasn't hard to see that he didn't entirely agree with such behavior.

Instead, Reese advised him, "I know. You probably can't comprehend this sort of behavior, but believe me, you will get used to it. From one perspective, it is indeed moral coercion, but you have to understand, the one who makes the final call isn't us, so we don't have to worry about mental or moral pressure. We have only one objective, and that is to convict the suspect!"Dai Li arrived at Wilfrid's law firm.

"Mr. Li, the direction of recent public opinion, I'm sure you've noticed it, right?" Wilfrid asked.

Dai Li nodded and said with a smile, "I've noticed it. I've already become a negative example; I never knew that there were so many moral and noble people in the world."

Wilfrid felt the sarcasm in Dai Li's tone, he smiled without paying it any heed, and said, "Mr. Li, this sort of situation is very unfavorable to us in the next court session. The jury will easily be affected by the direction of public opinion, which will lead them to make an unfavorable judgment against us."

"They sure know how to pick their time. We're about to start a court session, and something like this happens," Dai Li said in resignation.

"If I'm not wrong, this is a trick of that prosecutor. The reason Nick Reese is able to maintain a 100% conviction rate is that he does things unscrupulously," Wilfrid stated.

"Mr. Wilfrid, you've brought me here. I'm guessing you have already thought up a method of dealing with this," Dai Li said. He knew that a lawyer of Wilfrid's caliber would have already thought of a solution a long time ago.

"I have indeed thought of a solution, but it will require some money. This expenditure is not included in the lawyer fees, so I need to get your consent," Wilfrid said.

"I understand." Dai Li pulled out his checkbook and signed it. However, he didn't fill in the number. He then handed the blank check to Wilfrid.

Wilfrid took the check and continued, "Later, I will send a detailed receipt of this expenditure to you by mail. I suggest you show the receipt to your accountant, as there might be parts that can be used to deduct tax."

The reason Wilfrid requested this extra money from Dai Li was also because of tax. If the money were included in Wilfrid's lawyer fees, then Wilfrid would have to pay personal income tax for it, whereas if it were funds provided by the client, then Wilfrid would not be required to pay extra tax.

"Mr. Wilfrid, I'm now very curious. What exactly is the coping method you thought up? Can you reveal it to me first?" Dai Li asked.

"Of course, you are my client, and you have the right to know everything." Wilfrid smiled craftily. He pointed towards the blank check and said, "With this, there's nothing that cannot be solved! Do you still remember the bystander you injured?"

"Yeah, I remember. I heard that the guy doesn't have a real job. He usually works part-time at a gas station," Dai Li answered.

"He's now living quite comfortably, isn't he!" Wilfrid said as if referring to something. He clasped his hands together and asked, "I guess you won't mind letting him live even better, right?"

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Chapter 486: A Battle Outside the Court (Part Two)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The 30-year-old Sam Gardner didn't have much education, so it was natural he couldn't find a high-wage job. His previous job was working as a salesman, but he lost that job during a company layoff. As such, he could only work part-time at a gas station while looking for a new job.

Sam Gardner felt that he an extremely unlucky person. 30 years old with no achievements, not even a full-time job. His girlfriend, who had been with him for several years, also left him after he became unemployed. And something that happened not long ago made Gardner realize what "bad luck" truly meant.

While Gardner was walking on the road, he was actually shot by someone, and the shot hit him exactly in the leg.

Gardner had thought that he was going to die. He called the cops, which started a large-scale gun fight later. It was only after Gardner was hospitalized that he found out that the guy who shot him was a hostage of the kidnappers. The hostage used him to alert the cops.

For Gardner, it was really an unexpected disaster. He hurt his leg and could not work for quite a while. And because he was unemployed, he didn't have any medical insurance, so he was worried about his medical bills. He thought that he would go bankrupt because of that.

At that moment, an obese lawyer came to him. He indicated that he was willing to bear all of Gardner's medical costs as well as a sum of money as compensation.

Of course, Gardner agreed to it without hesitation the moment he heard that he could receive money. It was the thing he lacked most. Gardner gave the lawyer the medical bill, and at the same time, he received a check worth 200,000 dollars. He then signed an agreement that stated that he would no longer pursue the matter.

200,000 dollars. It was an incredible amount. It would've taken him four to five years to earn that much money when he was a salesman. It was regarded as compensation in damages, which was not categorized under a person's income, which meant that it wasn't even taxable. With this money, even if Gardner didn't work, he would still be able to enjoy a comfortable life for seven to eight years.

Gardner felt that his luck was changing. He left the old apartment that he originally rented, and moved into a better condominium. He even bought himself a car for practical use.

Then the lawyer appeared again. This time, he even brought along a reporter. They said that they wanted to interview Gardner, and at the same time, they even invited Gardner to appear on a talk show. Apart from that, the lawyer also stated that they were in contact with a publisher. They wanted to help Gardner publish a book titled, "The Bullet That Changed My Life."

Gardner never would have thought that he would have an opportunity like that. He was without a doubt an underachiever back when he was a student, and now he was about to get interviewed by a reporter, visit a talk show, and even publish a book!A talk show was live on the television, and the special guest was Gardner.

"Not long ago, I was a man in poverty. I had nothing, and every day was a struggle. I rented the cheapest apartment and relied on food stamps. I could have gone bankrupt at any time. I made my livelihood by working part-time at a gas station nearby," Gardner said pitifully.

"Stop kidding me. I heard that you recently moved into a new apartment, and you even bought yourself a new car," the host said. He then waved towards the big screen. The screen immediately played a video clip of Gardner showing the reporter around his new apartment and new car.

"Yes, you've all seen it. That is my life now. All of those things are because I was shot in the leg!" Gardner pulled up the leg of his pants as he said that, leaving his gunshot scar exposed.

"I don't quite understand. What's the relationship between getting shot and changing your house and your car? Sam Gardner, why don't you tell everyone your story!" the host announced immediately.

Gardner began talking about his experiences.

"Mr. Gardner, are you saying the person who shot you paid for your medical fees, and he even gave you 200,000 dollars in damages? That is the annual income of a lot of people." The host intentionally showed that he was shocked.

"Yes. He is a good man, and I need to thank him," Gardner said.

"Thank him? He shot you! Not only do you not hate him, you even want to thank him? Is it safe to assume that you have completely forgiven him?" The host continued his barrage of questions.

"Of course, he was also a victim. He was kidnapped and locked in a room without windows. He couldn't call for help or call the cops, so he did it to save himself. I can understand him. Not to mention, he has given me enough compensation, this money has completely changed my life. I don't have to worry about my survival every day like before. I don't have to worry about my credit card payments anymore. I can live in my new apartment and own a new car. This is exactly what I want!"

Gardner paused briefly and continued, "I'm only an ordinary person. I don't want to stand out. My dream is simple. To have an ordinary house, an ordinary car, and to marry the person I love, have some kids, and live a peaceful life. But I've worked so hard for so many years without getting any of that, my dream was gradually moving away from me. But now, I can see the hope for me to realize my dreams again!"

Gardner's words resonated with many members of the live audience. Most people were ordinary; they didn't fantasize about being the best, what they wanted was simply to live an abundant and stable life. However, even with that pure desire, many people were unable to realize it no matter how hard they worked.

Gardner then continued, "Although 200,000 won't let me have everything at once, it could significantly reduce my economic pressures. I have settled all my debts, and I still have a significant amount left. I can get in my car and go to a ball game during the weekends, I can go have a good meal in a better restaurant. And all of this is thanks to the guy who shot me. Thanks to him, I can once again see hope! I feel that he didn't actually hurt me. On the contrary, he helped me. If it were to happen again, I would still be willing to take that shot."

Members of the talk show's live audience began applauding. These people were, of course, planted by the lawyer Wilfrid beforehand. Led by the planted audience, the other audience also started clapping their hands.

After the applause, the camera returned to focus on the host. The host then said, "Getting shot by a gun. Not only does he not hate the person who fired on him, he is, instead, expressing his gratitude! This is the first time I've seen such a situation. Although this sounds extremely absurd, after we've seen Mr. Gardner's current living condition, I can actually understand this behavior of his. Although Mr. Gardner was shot in the leg, he received 200,000 dollars as compensation. He is one step closer to his dream of leading a comfortable and stable life."Under Wilfrid's authorization, many media sources had already interviewed Gardner and reported about him. And in all those reports, Gardner created the image of a lucky person for himself. Gardner also spoke of the 200,000 dollars compensation provided by Dai Li as aid from Dai Li, aid that helped him escape poverty.

The reporters found Gardner and recorded videos and took photographs of his newly rented apartment and newly bought car. Although the apartment wasn't big, the surrounding environment was excellent. The car was an ordinary passenger car, but it was the kind that was practical and popular amongst consumers.

Those were all things that were obtainable for the average person. If what was shown were swimming pools, mansions, or sports cars instead, the general population would feel nothing. That was because they couldn't afford a mansion that had a swimming pool, or a luxurious sports car. For an ordinary person, talking about the luxurious mansion and sports cars were fantasies, and naturally, it would not be able to resonate with them.

However, these seemingly normal things were different; they could reach into the hearts of ordinary people, especially the general population. An apartment located in a livable environment, an average but practical car, those were exactly the things they needed. They were also the things they could aspire to obtain through hard work.

Like the movie "The Pursuit of Happiness," stories where a poor person became a millionaire were indeed touching and inspirational, but for an ordinary citizen, the stories were usually far away. The goal of becoming a millionaire was unattainable for most people. However, Gardner's story made them feel very close. It was very close to their lives, and it even made every normal person feel that they could do it too.

Within a short amount of time, another discussion appeared in public opinion forums. Getting shot in the leg for 200,000 dollars compensation, would you do it?

When talking about money, the previous question that asked, "Would you hurt an innocent person to protect yourself?" The question seemed incredibly empty. An actual 200,000 dollars was being discussed, and someone had actually received that 200,000 dollars in real life.

Under Wilfrid's push, all sorts of survey questionnaires appeared online, and reporters once again went onto the streets to interview passersby.

When faced with money, Americans displayed their honesty decisively.

"Of course I would! It's 200,000 dollars! Look at that Sam Gardner guy, he was only a poor failure, but now he has a car and a house. His life has completely changed!" Passerby A said.

"Of course, I'd be willing! I know that guy called Gardner. He received 200,000 dollars in compensation for damages, and he called the cops to help the hostage who was kidnapped. Not only could you help someone, but you could also get out of poverty. Why not?" Passerby B stated.

"If getting shot once could be exchanged for 200,000 dollars, then please shoot me more! If it were me, if you gave me 200,000 dollars, I would also thank the person who shot me. He's really generous!" Passerby C declared.

In a matter of days, the direction of the news media made a 180-degree turn. Previous public opinion made Dai Li a villain who hurt others to protect his life, asserting that Dai Li lacked morality. Now, public opinion made Dai Li out to be a generous philanthropist who helped Gardner escape poverty, and live an abundant and plentiful life. Dai Li was just doing a good deed.Prosecutor Nick Reese held his tablet and stared at Gardner's photograph the media put out with an ashen expression. He knew that his public opinion offensive had completely failed. Gardner, the man who got shot, actually came out to thank the guy who shot him. From that point alone, Reese had lost this battle outside the court.

The photograph posted by the media is too enchanting for the common people. An apartment in a decent area, an economical and practical car as a substitute for walking, it is the standard package for a normal person. And most members of the jury will be exactly this type of people. If they see these pictures, they will most certainly resonate with them. They will naturally think of the problem from Gardner's perspective. They will also feel that they should thank the accused! Looks like the jury will not be on my side in court.

Reese took a deep breath. However, his eyes were filled with a desire to battle.

That's Wilfrid all right, he really deserves to be called the best criminal lawyer in the US. I must also give it my all! I guess I'll have to go to Plan B…

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Chapter 487: Attempted First-Degree Murder

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nick Reese found his superior, Terrell.

"You don't plan on prosecuting him on intentional assault. Instead, you want to charge him with an attempted first-degree murder?" Terrell frowned and said, "This is a very serious crime. Although it is only an attempt, if convicted, the accused will face several years in prison. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Prosecutor Reese nodded. "Previously, I wanted to guide the jury using public opinion, but that plan failed, so I have to use other methods."

"Tell me your current idea." Terrell crossed his legs and appeared to be listening.

"I will first accuse the defendant of a severe crime and let the defendant realize that he might actually be convicted of a first-degree murder attempt once court session begins. Later, I will negotiate with the defendant, with the cancellation of the first-degree murder attempt accusation as a condition, to let him confess to intentional assault and assault on a police officer," Prosecutor Reese said.

"You are planning to use the accusation of an attempted first-degree murder as the negotiating chip? But is the evidence we have enough?" Terrell asked.

"Indeed, we do not have enough evidence to charge him with an attempt at first-degree murder. However, I need to gain the initiative. After that, things will be much easier. During the actual negotiation, I will also propose that, as long as he confesses, I will reduce his sentence accordingly. It is a very tempting exchange," Reese stated.

Terrell shook his head. "From what I know, the accused hired Wilfrid as his lawyer. He's the best criminal lawyer in the US. With Wilfrid's experience, these tricks of yours won't be able to fool him."

"I know that Wilfrid is amazing, but when we dueled against each other last time, he didn't gain any advantage over me." Reese smiled and continued, "Although I can't guarantee that I will persuade the jury with 100% certainty, I can make the accused feel that he actually has a chance of being convicted on an attempted first-degree murder. Next, it will only be a matter of gambling on the chance of conviction, which I don't think the accused will be willing to do. That's because he's a rich person! And if the negotiation were to take place at that time, I will be in a more advantageous position."

"Indeed, what you say makes sense. When there's a possibility of being convicted, rich people do not dare to gamble on the results." Terrell crossed his arms in front of his chest and asked, "Just now you said that you want to magnify the effects of the bargaining chip. That means you already have a plan, right?

"Yes, I think I've found an exploitable point of breakthrough. Once in court, I will silence them! This lawsuit, I have to win it!" Terrell looked confident.Wilfrid's law firm.

"Mr. Li, there has been an update in the situation. The prosecutor, apart from wanting to sue you for damage to public property and police assault, wants to add another charge, an attempt at first-degree murder," Lawyer Wilfrid said.

Hearing the word "murder," Dai Li was shocked. Obviously, he also understood that it was a severe crime.

So Dai Li asked with a frown, "What's going on? Didn't they say they were going to sue me for intentional assault? How did it become an attempted first-degree murder? This should be several times more severe, isn't it?"

"Mr. Li, you don't have to worry. Based on my understanding of Nick Reese, this is just a trick he commonly uses. He starts with a more severe charge, letting the accused worry that he will be convicted of a serious crime. Then with the cancellation of the serious crime as a condition, he asks for the accused to confess to the other crimes. I think that in your case, there isn't enough evidence to sue for attempted first-degree murder. So you mustn't become frantic, and even more so, do not meet the prosecutor alone. No matter what they say or do, leave them to me," Wilfrid cautioned Dai Li.

"Alright. If the prosecutor or the cops look for me, I will remain silent until I see you," Dai Li said.

Wilfrid nodded with satisfaction. He lifted the documents in his hand and said, "Mr. Li, let's organize the charges the prosecutor put against you. First is damage to public property, which is referring to a few bullet holes left behind on the police cruiser when you fired the shots. I feel that we don't have to waste time and energy on this item. We can ask for the police to send us the bill of their car repairs, and we will compensate them accordingly. If they want an additional penalty, my suggestion is to directly submit the penalty amount. At most, it will only be 1,000 to 2,000 dollars.

"No problem. I have no objections," Dai Li answered immediately.

"Next is the assault of a police officer. Although you did shoot towards the police, your real intention was to inform the police and not attack them. Besides, you didn't cause any bodily harm to the police. So in my opinion, we have sufficient reason to deny this accusation." Wilfrid sighed slightly and continued, "Mr. Li, do you know that you made the right decision back then?"

"What decision?" Dai Li asked.

"After you opened fire at the cops, you didn't remain at the exhaust vent. That decision could not have been better. According to what I know, after you opened fire and exposed your position, a sniper immediately aimed at the exhaust vent. If you had appeared again, there was a high possibility that you would have been killed by the sniper of the police force. And from the cases of police assault that I've encountered, there's not even the need to mention opening fire towards the police. Even those who had the guts to point a gun towards a police officer wouldn't appear in the defendant's seat," Wilfrid said.

"Why?" Dai Li didn't immediately understand what Wilfrid was implying.

"They were all gunned down by the police. Even if they didn't die at the scene, they would be lying in a hospital bed, with no possibility of appearing in court." Wilfrid spread out both his arms and continued, "The law gives the police the power to shoot, but most of the time, the power is abused. Sometimes, the police open fire not to subdue the criminal or to defend themselves, but to display the authority of the police."

After Wilfrid finished, he turned to a new page of the document in his hand, and continued, "Finally, let's talk about the attempted first-degree murder. Mr. Li, I don't know how well you understand this charge, but I will still explain it to you. Murder is classified into two categories in most states of the US. They are first-degree murder and second-degree murder."

"First-degree murder includes premeditated killings, multiple deaths caused by manslaughter, and killing in the process of committing a crime. Second-degree murder includes every other situation of killing not included in first-degree murder, such as unpremeditated killings, impulsive killings, killings not in the process of committing a crime, manslaughter that killed not that many people, intent to cause harm that leads to death, and etcetera."

Dai Li's brow furrowed together as he listened. He then asked, "Mr. Wilfrid, according to your description of first-degree murder, I feel that what I have done cannot be defined as first-degree murder. I don't know how to interpret this attempt at first-degree murder in terms of the law."

"When you shot at Mr. Gardner, it was a premeditated act. I believe Prosecutor Reese must be thinking of using this to cause a big fuss. He will associate your act of shooting and Mr. Gardner's behavior with first-degree murder; however, from the law perspective, he doesn't have enough proof. I've said it before, this is just their negotiating chip. He wants to first intimidate you, and later, he will force you into confessing to intentional assault or the police assault," Wilfrid said confidently.

At that moment, the secretary knocked on the door and walked in.

"Mr. Wilfrid, there's a prosecutor called Nick Reese hoping he can make an appointment with you. He says it's regarding a case, he wants to exchange evidence before court session opens," the secretary stated.

An "I told you so" smile immediately appeared on Wilfrid's face. He said to Dai Li, "Mr. Li, it looks like I'm correct! The guy is already here to negotiate.""Mr. Wilfrid, I advise you to seriously consider persuading your client to confess as soon as possible. As long as he is willing to confess, I can still withdraw the charge of attempted first-degree murder, and only sue him for intentional assault and police assault. Furthermore, I will also try to get him a reduced sentence. Perhaps your client will face a heftier cash penalty, but being able to resolve the case quickly is beneficial for the both of us," Nick Reese said in an organized manner.

Wilfrid laughed. "Prosecutor Reese, this suggestion of yours, I only see that it is beneficial to you. I don't see any benefits to my client."

"How could that be? Your client has no need to face charges against him for an attempted first-degree murder. For your client, isn't that a great benefit?" Reese stated.

"My client is innocent." Wilfrid shook his head firmly.

"In that case, we'll meet in court." Reese stood up and prepared to leave. Before he left, he added, "Mr. Wilfrid, this suggestion of mine, do consider it carefully. Or perhaps you can ask for the opinion of your client. Until the judge makes a judgment, my offer is still in effect."Reese walked out of Wilfrid's law firm. The meeting had gone exactly as Reese expected. Wilfrid was the nation's best criminal lawyer; naturally, he would never compromise under Reese's intimidation.

Reese took out his phone and dialed the cell phone number of the chief of the LAPD.

"Chief, the thing I talked about previously, looks like we're going to court. A few officers will need to appear as witnesses. To win this lawsuit, I hope that they will cooperate with me in court."

"No, no, of course, we cannot falsify evidence. Falsifying evidence is against the law, we can't break the law while knowing the law. What I mean to say is that I hope that the officers who will appear as witnesses can side with us when providing their testimonies. You can relax, I will guide them during questioning."It was the first time Dai Li was faced with a lawsuit, and it was also his first time in court.

Who would have thought that my first time in court would be as the defendant? Dai Li shook his head in resignation. He looked towards the witness stand, and the middle-aged man who was seated there.

The middle-aged man was a police officer. He was one of the two who reached the scene the quickest. He ran up to pull Sam Gardner out of the way, then hid behind the car with the other police officer.

"Officer Lori, can you briefly describe what happened on that day," Nick Reese said.

The officer organized his thoughts and said, "On the day of the incident, me and my partner, Pane, dispatched to the scene of a shooting. After we arrived at the scene, we discovered an injured person lying on the ground. The injured person told us that he was shot. My partner Pane was responsible for keeping a lookout, and I went to check the condition of the injured man."

"I walked to the front of the injured person and lifted him up. As I was walking back, we were attacked with gunfire again, and after hearing the shots, the three of us immediately got down. Later, Pane let me hide behind the car, so I immediately helped the injured man move behind the car. Pane then told me that the tire of the vehicle was blown out, so we immediately requested backup. After that, headquarters sent a professional anti-terrorist team, and I retreated back under the cover of the other officers.

Nick Reese listened seriously. He nodded as he listened, and when Officer Lori finished his description, he asked instantly, "Officer Lori after you and your partner arrived at the scene, did you know that the shooter was still hidden around the area?"

"No, we didn't know if the shooter was around or not, so my partner stayed to keep watch," Officer Lori answered.

"Then, even you guys didn't know the location of the shooter?" Reese continued asking.

"We didn't know," the officer answered without hesitation.

Reese looked encouragingly at the police officer and asked, "From what you've said, you helped the injured person up, and you were shot at as you tried to provide aid, is that correct?"

"Yes," the police officer answered without hesitation.

"Then I'd like to ask Officer Lori, what was the first thing that came to mind when you heard the gunshot?" Reese continued his questioning.

"The first thing I thought was that someone had assaulted the police," the police officer immediately replied.

"I object!" Wilfrid immediately stood up. "The opinion of the witness is only formed by his subjective will, it is unrelated to the case! I object to the prosecutor bringing up unrelated issues."

Reese quickly answered tit-for-tat, "Your honor, this witness was not only there at the scene when everything happened, but he was also the officer in charge of handling the case. As a professional, that was the professional judgment he made based on the situation at the scene. It should be able to be used as a reference for this case."

The judge thought for a moment and nodded, "Overruled. As a police officer who was first to arrive at the scene of the crime, Officer Lori's opinions are professional, and can be used as a reference for this case."

A victorious expression flashed over Reese's face. He then asked, "Officer Lori, when you called for backup, did you state that there was a police assault?"

"Yes. When my partner, Pane, called for backup from headquarters, he clearly stated this point. I heard it clearly from beside him," Officer Lori replied.

"After that, did the shooter open fire again at the police?" Reese continued asking.

"He did. That was after the arrival of the backup. The shooter fired a few more shots at the officers," Officer Lori answered firmly.

On the defense lawyer's stand, Wilfrid kept noting down key points in his notebook.

Reese keeps repeating the words "fired at police." Looks like he wants to pin the police assault charge on my client through the words of this police witness. But this sort of thinking is too naive, it might work on newbie lawyers, but to use this against me, haha, he's naive…

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Chapter 488: A Battle in Court

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was Wilfrid's turn to ask questions. He did not speak immediately; instead, he walked up to the front of the witness stand and stared sharply at Officer Lori. It made Lori feel somewhat uneasy.

Finally, Wilfrid asked, "Officer Lori, according to your description, you heard the gunshot when you pulled the injured person back, is that right?"

"Yes," Lori said while nodding.

"Then did you see the shooter firing at you?" Wilfrid continued asking.

"No," Lori answered.

"Then were you shot?" Wilfrid asked again.

"No," Lori continued answering.

"When you heard the gunshot, did you see where the bullet hit?" Wilfrid asked again.

"Also, no," Lori replied.

"Then since you didn't see the shooter fire, your body wasn't shot, and you didn't know where the bullet ended up, how did you know the target of the shooter was you from just the sound of a gunshot alone?" Wilfrid asked with a serious tone.

Officer Lori thought for a moment and said, "The surrounding area was empty, no one else was there, so we were the only possible targets."

"Then have you ever thought of the possibility that the shooter was only shooting at an object, and his target wasn't you?" Wilfrid continued asking.

"Objection! I object to the defense lawyer asking a hypothetical question. The witness doesn't have to answer this question." Reese immediately stood up.

Wilfrid smiled instead. "Your honor, based on the evidence shown at the scene, the shot made by my client did not hit anyone, it hit the tire of the police cruiser. He did indeed shoot at an object. That is the truth, not a hypothetical question."

The judge nodded. "Overruled. May the witness answer the question of the defense."

Officer Lori thought for a few dozen more seconds before finally saying, "I did not think about the situation that you've mentioned. We were the only ones there, and I made a judgment based on my experience. The shooter's target would be the people at the scene and not some random object."

"Which means that you confirmed that you were being assaulted from your deduction?" Wilfrid's tone was still solemn.

Lori immediately said, "Under those circumstances, with someone already shot and on the ground, any normal person would think that…"

"You only have to answer yes or no, did you determine you were being assaulted from just your deduction," Wilfrid interrupted Lori.

"Yes," Lori could only answer.

Wilfrid nodded in satisfaction. He had gotten the answer he wanted. He then asked, "When did you discover the shot did not hit anyone, but hit your car tire instead?"

"After I brought the injured person to the back of the car, my partner told me that my car tire was hit," Lori said.

"Then, when the gunshot rang out and you got down, how far were you from your car?" Wilfrid continued asking.

Lori thought for a moment and said, "Maybe around ten meters!"

Wilfrid laughed mockingly and asked, "Only ten meters? You had a recording device, didn't you? It should be able to clearly show how far you were from the police cruiser."

"I don't really remember. It was really chaotic, maybe it was more than ten meters," Lori immediately changed his words.

Wilfrid took a piece of paper from his assistant instead. The picture was a screenshot taken from the law enforcement video equipment. He pointed at the screenshot and said, "This is a screenshot from the law enforcement video recorder for when Officer Lori got down. From the screenshot, we can clearly see that Officer Lori was between 35 and 40 meters away from the police cruiser. This shows that the target of the shot made by my client was not Officer Lori or the injured person, it was the police cruiser located 40 meters away."

"Obviously, being 40 meters apart, this shows that my client had no intention of harming Officer Lori. His target was the police cruiser. It was only to grab the attention of the police. He used it as a means of calling the police." As Wilfrid said that, he received a photograph from his assistant. On the picture was a police cruiser, a few bullet holes could be seen on it.

"The bullet holes on this police cruiser were created by my client, and they were also the product of the few gunshots after the backup that Lori mentioned just now arrived. After my client fired the shots, not one police officer was hurt, and this photo also proves that my client's target was the police cruiser, not the police officers at the scene. His objective was the same, to call the police, not to assault the police. So the 'police assault' charges brought up by the prosecutor have no grounds to be established. The so-called 'police assault' is just the feeling of the police officers who were there, it isn't the truth."

As Wilfrid spoke, he glanced provocatively at Nick Reese, seemingly telling him that he was going to lose this lawsuit.

The judge also glanced at Reese with a peculiar look. From his perspective, the police assault charges brought up by Reese indeed did not have sufficient evidence.

Prosecutor Reese was, however, very calm. It was as if he did not suffer from any sense of defeat.As the victim of the case, Sam Gardner sat on the witness stand.

"Mr. Gardner, please describe in detail what happened that day," Nick Reese started with the same question.

Gardner was already at home with answering that question. He had already been interviewed by various reporters, and every single reporter asked him to talk about that day. Gardner had long since memorized what he wanted to say.

"I was on my way home, and I decided to use a shortcut. So I passed through the scene of the incident. I then heard a gunshot, I felt a pain in my leg, and when I lowered my head, I found out that I had been shot. Then I fell on the ground, and I called the cops. After a while, a police cruiser came to the scene, two police officers got out of the car, and one of them came and helped me move behind the police cruiser to hide. They then called for backup. An ambulance and the police backup came quickly. After that, I was put on the ambulance and sent to the hospital." Gardner described everything that happened on the day of the incident.

"Mr. Gardner, after you realized you were shot, did you feel scared?" Reese asked.

"Yes, I was indeed quite scared," Gardner answered.

"Did it ever occur to you that the shooter was shooting at you?" Reese asked.

"Yes, I thought of it," Gardner answered honestly.

"Then, have you ever wondered if the shooter wanted to kill you?" Reese continued asking.

"Yes, I did." Gardner nodded.

"When you were injured and lying on the ground, was the wound on your leg still bleeding?" Reese asked again.

"Yes, the wound was bleeding," Gardner continued answering.

"Then did you worry that you were hit in an important artery and that you might die from blood loss?" Reese asked.

Gardner took a deep breath and continued to reply, "I had such a worry."

"Your honor, I've completed my questioning." Reese returned to his seat.

Wilfrid had prepared a long time ago. After Reese finished his questioning, Wilfrid was immediately in front of the witness stand.

"Mr. Gardner, according to the diagnosis of the hospital, was your gunshot wound lethal?"

"It wasn't lethal." Gardner shook his head. "The doctor said it was only a flesh wound, and that it would heal up quickly after the stitching."

"Then after this shooting incident, how much did you spend on medical fees?" Wilfrid asked.

Reese had guessed what Wilfrid wanted to say, so he immediately raised his hand to signal, "Objection! The defense lawyer is bringing questions completely unrelated to this case."

"Your honor, I'm guessing not a lot of the people here are doctors. I want us to get a better assessment of Mr. Gardner's injury through the amount spent on medical fees. This should be useful in clarifying the case," Wilfrid argued.

The judge hesitated slightly but nodded his head in the end, "The basis for the defense lawyer to raise the question is reasonable, objection overruled. However, the treatment expenses are considered personal privacy, the witness may choose not to answer."

"I'll answer," Gardner said immediately. "I didn't spend a single cent, Mr. Li paid for all my medical expenses."

"Then what about the rehabilitation that came after? The cost of rehabilitation should be rather expensive, was it not?" Wilfrid continued asking.

"I also didn't spend any money. My rehabilitation fee was also paid for by Mr. Li. And Mr. Li also gave me 200,000 dollars as compensation. It directly helped me get out of poverty," Gardner said.

"Then, is the Mr. Li that you speak about in this room?" Wilfrid continued with his question.

"He's here. He's there sitting in the defendant's seat," Gardner answered.

Wilfrid showed a satisfied smile. "I think the truth is clear. First, although my client shot Mr. Gardner, he did not aim at his vitals. This shows that my client did not want to kill Mr. Gardner. He never had the intent to murder Mr. Gardner, he only wanted Mr. Gardner to help him call the police."

"Besides that, because my client feels sorry for hurting and injuring Mr. Gardner, not only did he pay for his medical fees and rehabilitation fees, he even gave him a huge sum of financial compensation. From this point, one can tell that the defendant is a kind person, and he was forced to shoot at Mr. Gardner. That is why the accusation of the attempted first-degree murder is completely baseless."

After Wilfrid finished his sentence, he bowed to the judge. "Your honor, I've completed my questioning."

"Prosecutor, do you still have any question you want to ask the defendant or anything else to add?" the judge asked Reese.

"No, I have no questions, and I have nothing to add." Reese shook his head without hesitation, his expression was still very calm.

Reese's display made Wilfrid frown. Nick Reese was way too calm.Edward Snow also appeared on the witness stand.

"Mr. Snow, you were also a kidnapped hostage, and you were also stuck in the room. You personally witnessed the entire process of the shooting. Can you please describe everything that happened then?" Nick Reese started in the same manner.

"We were stuck in the room, and the kidnappers were everywhere outside. Mr. Li locked the door so the kidnappers outside couldn't enter, which provided us with temporary safety. The room we were stuck in had no window so we couldn't escape. We wanted to call the police, but there was no phone reception. Later, we opened the exhaust vent and hoped to call for help through the vent, but there was no effect. We were too far away from the people passing by, they couldn't hear our call for help."

"Later, Mr. Li had an idea. He suggested that we shoot at the people passing by. As long as someone was injured, someone would call the police, and then the police would arrive. I thought that the method would work, so Mr. Li stood and waited beside the exhaust vent. As soon as a passerby appeared, he shot at the person and injured the passerby."

"Surely enough, the passerby called the police just like we expected. Not long after, I heard the police siren, and Mr. Li fired at the police cruiser, and the police then called for backup. Mr. Li fired for the third time as he hoped to use that to inform the police of our location, and the police did discover us. They fought against the kidnappers and finally saved us."

Reese pondered for a couple of seconds and asked, "Mr. Snow, based on your description just now, it was Mr. Li who suggested shooting at the people passing by, is that correct?"

"It was indeed his idea." Snow then added, "And I also expressed agreement. I felt that given the circumstances, it was the only way to get to the police."

Reese did not pay any attention to Snow's additional remarks and continued, "Based on this, the action of shooting at a passerby performed by the accused was an action that was planned before execution."

Just as Snow wanted to defend Dai Li, Reese asked again, "Mr. Snow, shooting at the police, did Mr. Li suddenly bring it up, or was it pre-planned?"

"It was part of the plan. We needed to use this method to get the attention of the police," Snow said.

"Which is to say that the police assault was also a deliberate act of the defendant?" Reese asked immediately.

Wilfrid stood up immediately. "I object! My client has not been convicted, the prosecutor's use of the word 'police assault' is directional."

"Sustained. Prosecutor, please be wary of your words," the judge reminded.

"Alright, I take back my previous question and ask again. Mr. Snow, may I ask if the action of attacking the police with a gun a deliberate action of the defendant?"

"Ugh, yes." Although Snow felt that this answer would negatively affect Dai Li, he still gave a firm answer. He could not falsify his testimony.

"Alright, I've finished questioning." Snow returned to his seat.

The few questions targeted at Snow were within Wilfrid's expectation. Before the court session began, he had already guessed that Reese would utilize the words "deliberate action" a lot. And the case of Dai Li shooting at and injuring Gardner, as well as his shooting of the police cruiser, were indeed actions performed after planning. They could also be regarded as deliberate actions.

However, Wilfrid already had a method to deal with that. Although he could not deny Dai Li's deliberate action, he could defend Dai Li from another perspective: Dai Li's motive.

In a criminal case, sometimes the motive for committing a crime was more important than the actual act of committing the crime. For example, if a terrorist wanted to perform a terrorist attack at a public place, even if the terrorist didn't succeed in the end, and there were no casualties, his motive was enough to have him sentenced to life in prison.

And what Wilfrid had to do was to let everyone feel that Dai Li did not have a motive to hurt anyone. Then, even if his actions were considered a crime, he could be acquitted.

Wilfrid reached the front of the witness stand and asked, "Mr. Snow. When you were trapped in the room, if you were unsuccessful in calling for help, would your life have been in danger?"

"If we failed to call for help, we would surely die. The metal door could only hold the kidnappers off temporarily. They could use bombs or cutters to cut open the door. Besides, there was no food or water in the room, so we couldn't have lasted long," Snow answered.

"Then what kind of condition were you in?" Wilfrid asked further.

"I was in a terrible condition. After being kidnapped, I hadn't drunk any water for two days, and I hadn't eaten anything either. Also, I suffered torture at the hands of the kidnappers. I was covered in wounds, my body had lost a lot of blood, and I was feverish. In that situation, without food and water, a normal person might be able to hold out for three days, but I might not have lasted another 24 hours," Snow replied.

"That is to say that if you didn't receive help in a short amount of time, all of you risked losing your lives. In comparison, the defendant's body was in better condition. The defendant could have waited two to three days, but your condition did not allow that. Your life was in imminent danger, and if you didn't receive treatment, you would die. Is my understanding correct?" Wilfrid probed further.

"Yes." Snow nodded.

"So, under such a circumstance, my client could not help but utilize an extreme method to call for help. He used a gun to injure Mr. Gardner, and he also shot at a police cruiser. The motive for him doing all of those things was so that the near-death Mr. Edward Snow could receive treatment as soon as possible. At the same time, it could also lead to his freedom." Wilfrid paused, and continued in an affectionate tone, "Without a doubt, my client's actions were performed based on a plan; however, my client had no motive to commit a crime. Everything he did was to help a stranger he had just met. In my opinion, he is a selfless hero, but now, this life-saving hero is sitting here, receiving judgment!"

Wilfrid's tone and expression touched the hearts of many people. Even Dai Li thought he was a great person after hearing that.

To become a fantastic lawyer, acting skills were crucial.

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Chapter 489: Trump Card

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the trial so far, Wilfrid obviously had the upper hand. Every move Nick Reese made was within Wilfrid's grasp, and every attack he made Wilfrid resolved.

However, Nick Reese's calm expression made Wilfrid slightly uneasy and worried.

Wilfrid had battled multiple times against Prosecutor Reese, and from Wilfrid's understanding of Reese, he was not the kind of prosecutor who would simply accept being in the backseat. As the only prosecutor with a conviction rate of 100%, that was definitely not the entirety of Reese's capability.

I already have the advantage, but Nick Reese is still as calm as ever. He definitely has something up his sleeve. That's the only reason why he is so calm. Wilfrid took a deep breath. He knew it wasn't time yet for him to relax.

Finally, it was Dai Li's turn to be questioned.

Nick Reese walked to Dai Li's side. His gaze suddenly seemed very sharp, and his tone also became serious.

"Mr. Li, based on the data available, you successfully freed yourself from the kidnappers, and moreover, subdued three kidnappers. You even managed to rob them of their guns, is that correct?" Prosecutor Reese asked.

"Yes," Dai Li answered.

"Did you subdue them with your bare hands?" Reese asked.

"Yes. Before I subdued the kidnappers, I had no weapons. It was only until after I beat them up that I took the guns from their hands," Dai Li replied.

"Which is to say you subdued three gun-wielding kidnappers while you were barehanded." As Reese spoke, a cold look flashed through his eyes.

"To be exact, two of them held guns." Dai Li didn't think there was anything wrong with his reply.

Reese did not focus on that. He took out three photographs and continued, "I've seen the information of the three kidnappers you subdued. This guy was smuggled in from Colombia. He used to be the subordinate of a Colombian drug lord. He is a savage, and he has claimed several lives."

The photograph Reese took out was a photo of Santos. He showed the photo to everyone and then changed to the other photograph. The person in the photograph was a very tall black man.

"This guy has multiple priors. He was imprisoned for robbery and assault. His information in the document archive in the police department is around this thick." Reese gestured with his hand, he then moved on and showed everyone the third photograph.

"This guy received professional boxing training. He used to be a boxer, but because he almost beat his opponent to death, he had to bid farewell to the boxing profession. In the crime syndicates in Los Angeles, he is a famous fighter because his fighting skills are very good."

"The three kidnappers are obviously not people with frail or weak bodies. They know how to fight. Truth be told, if it were me, even if they were barehanded, I wouldn't be able to beat any one of them one on one. I believe most people wouldn't be able to achieve this feat. Not to mention subduing all three at once. I think a Navy SEAL might be able to subdue all three of them at once, maybe. So, Mr. Li, I'm curious, were you part of the military?" Reese asked.

"No." Dai Li shook his head firmly.

"Then, are you a martial artist? Or have you obtained any rank in martial arts? Like the black-belt in Judo and Taekwondo, or the armbands in Muay Thai, or something else?" Reese asked directly.

"No," Dai Li answered.

Reese laughed coldly. "Then have you received professional martial arts training?"

Dai Li thought that Reese's question was a trap, he thought for a moment and said, "I used to be the fitness coach of the ultimate boxing champion, Kevin Taylor. In the process of coaching Kevin Taylor, I learned boxing techniques."

"You've only learned some techniques as you coached him, and haven't directly received professional boxing training as a boxer, can I phrase it like that?" Reese asked immediately.

Dai Li pondered for a moment and finally nodded. "Yes."

"Then do you normally have any special interest in martial arts?" Reese asked.

"As a sports coach, I'm interested in all kinds of sports, including martial arts. It's not just a question of hobbies, it is my job," Dai Li answered.

"Then do you conduct specialized martial arts training?" Reese asked again.

At that moment, Wilfrid suddenly stood up. "Objection, the prosecutor's question is unrelated to the current case!"

Although Wilfrid hadn't figured out what Reese's plan was, Reese hadn't brought up the shooting incident all day. He had instead placed his focus on the three kidnappers subdued by Dai Li. It made Wilfrid feel uneasy, so he decided to interrupt and stop Reese's questioning.

Reese, however, said calmly, "Your honor, the kidnapping of the defendant is also part of the shooting, so my questions are completely related to the case."

The judge nodded. "Overruled. Prosecutor, you may continue with your questioning."

Reese turned around with satisfaction and continued asking Dai Li, "Mr. Li, do you train regularly in martial arts techniques?"

"No," Dai Li said.

"A non-military personnel who has no rank in any kind of martial arts, who also does not train in martial arts regularly, how did such a person subdue three kidnappers barehanded? Moreover, one of the kidnappers used to be a boxer! Don't any of you think that this is just too unbelievable?"

Reese turned around to look at the others, he then spoke, "Obviously, the only explanation is that the defendant has a tendency for violence! Based on scientific research, people with tendencies to violence can exert extra strength and power when attacking someone. It is because Mr. Li has a tendency to violence that he could subdue the three kidnappers barehanded."

"Objection! The prosecutor's conclusion is without proof. If the prosecutor thinks that my client has a tendency for violence, please show us actual proof." Wilfrid stood up.

The judge immediately looked over towards Reese. "Prosecutor, do you have proof?"

"Because the defendant did not go through a mental evaluation, I currently do not have actual proof. However, this conclusion was deduced from the truths related to the case," Reese stated.

"Prosecutor Reese, do you actually plan to convict someone based on a deduction?" Wilfrid snorted coldly.

"Of course not. However, Mr. Wilfrid, can you provide another answer or explanation? How did a non-military individual, who does not have any rank in any martial art, who also does not train in martial arts regularly, subdue those three kidnappers?" Reese asked.

"It's because I'm very talented in boxing!" Dai Li suddenly declared.

Everyone's gaze fell on Dai Li. Dai Li then said, "I believe that I am a boxing genius. There are so-called 'geniuses' in all kinds of fields and industries; they don't need to put in a lot of effort to achieve results. I don't think it's hard to find cases like this in real life."

"Boxing genius? Mr. Li, how can you prove that you are a boxing genius? Your opinion alone cannot be used as evidence," Reese asked in a mocking tone.

"Then what proof do you have that I am not?" Dai Li refuted immediately.

The judge felt that it was meaningless to continue arguing about that. He slammed the tiny hammer in his hand and stopped the two people from continuing to express their opinions. "May I remind the two gentlemen that this is a court, don't discuss things that are unrelated to the case. Prosecutor, you are a professional, please be more conscious."

"I'm sorry." Reese showed the judge an apologetic expression, then turned around and asked, "Mr. Li, my next question is, when you shot Mr. Sam Gardner, was it random? Or was it preplanned?"

"It was part of my plan of calling for help. I planned to shoot and injure a passerby so that the injured passerby would surely call the police," Dai Li said.

"Then, before you fired the gun, did you ever think that you might not hit the leg of the person, but instead, hit his chest or heart, or perhaps even his head? The person would have been killed, by you!" Reese asked.

"So I had to make sure I aimed at his leg before I shot," Dai Li said.

"Based on what you've said, you have thought of the possibilities that I mentioned? You only have to answer yes or no." Reese's tone was aggravated.

"Yes," Dai Li nodded.

"Then, before you fired the gun, did it occur to you that the injured person might not be able to call the police due to different circumstances, such as him not having a phone, his phone having no battery, or that he had fainted from the pain?" Reese asked again.

"No. Under the circumstance, I could have lost my life at any moment, so I didn't think that much," Dai Li answered.

"Then did you know that if the injured person did not get help from others in time, he could have died from blood loss?" Reese asked directly.

"I didn't consider that much," Dai Li answered.

Reese's voice suddenly increased by a decibel. He said, "Based on the description of the defendant, we can understand that the defendant knew, prior to firing the gun, that his shot might kill the targeted-person directly; however, he still took the shot. At the same time, the defendant also understood that if the person did not get help from the police in time, he might die from blood loss. Obviously, the defendant isn't as kind and amazing as the defense lawyer said. On the contrary, he is very selfish; he didn't care if the injured person lived or died, the defendant only cared about being saved."

"And from the fact that the defendant was able to subdue three kidnappers, he excels at fighting, and there is a possibility that he has a tendency for violence. Imagine, an individual with a tendency to violence, with a gun in hand, but due to the constraints of the law and morality, he could not shoot at others. However, one day, he had good reasons for shooting someone. Would he still continue to suppress his tendency to violence? Would he look forward to shooting at someone?"

"This is also the reason why our side decided to charge the defendant with first-degree murder. First of all, the defendant's action of firing the gun was premeditated; secondly, the defendant might have a tendency for violence. His action wasn't just a call for help, it could evolve into behavior that endangers public safety. Thirdly, the motive of the defendant. The defendant kept arguing that the motive for him firing the gun was to call for help from the outside; however, in truth, he didn't care if the person lived or died. He still chose to shoot despite knowing he might kill the person. This clearly complies with the law's definition of murder! Added to that, his action was premeditated. This, without a doubt, clearly constitutes first-degree murder."

In the defense lawyer stands, Wilfrid furrowed his brows. There were already members of the jury nodding their heads in the jury stand. They clearly felt that Reese's argument was reasonable.

Just as Reese described previously, the members of the jury were filled with people who were easily influenced by others. When Reese said, "complied with the law's definition for murder," as well as, "without a doubt, clearly constitutes a first-degree murder," he obviously affected the jury members' judgment.

After all, the members of the jury were not well-versed in law, while the prosecutor was a professional in law. When the prosecutor talked about the law in front of them with such confidence, they had a tendency to believe the words of the prosecutor.Wilfrid felt that the situation wasn't good. Initially, he had a complete advantage, but now, Reese had reversed the situation significantly.

Reese has surely played his trump card, I initially thought that he would not let go of the term "deliberate action." Who'd have thought he would suddenly shift to "motivation to shoot." Moreover, he actually forcefully associated both actions with first-degree murder. And his action is actually effective, since some members of the jury have wavered.

Wilfrid took a deep breath. He had to think of a way to turn the tables around. It was his turn next to question Dai Li, which would obviously be the best method for turning the tables around.

I need some time to think of a countermeasure, I also need some time to communicate with the client. As Wilfrid thought of that, he glanced at his watch, and an idea instantly popped into his head.

"Your honor, I would like to apply for a temporary recess," Wilfrid stated.

"Defense, what are your reasons?" the judge asked.

"I have some questions regarding the point the prosecutor brought up just now, claiming that people with a tendency for violence are able to exert more strength than normal when attacking people. The prosecutor said that it is scientifically researched, but I've never seen research results of the kind, so I would like to have some time to consult with relevant experts to check if it is as the prosecutor says," Wilfrid said.

Reese stood up. "Your honor, the conclusion I mentioned is scientifically proven. Because I am a prosecutor, I am often exposed to suspects with a tendency for violence, so experts who conducted such research projects have contacted me for research subjects before. I have detailed research reports, as well as a research thesis published in relevant journals with me. If the defense lawyer has any questions, I can provide him with them."

"Alright. Prosecutor, how long do you need to have the information given to the defense lawyer?" the judge asked.

"I've prepared this information beforehand and placed them in my briefcase. If the defense lawyer needs it, I can give it to him now." Reese was clearly prepared.

"Defense, how long do you need to verify this information?" the judge asked Wilfrid again.

"This depends on how much information is available." Wilfrid gave a vague answer.

Reese waved at his assistant. His assistant then brought a thin document over and handed it to Reese.

"I think that you probably don't need an hour to finish reviewing these documents, right?" Reese asked.

The judge looked at the thickness of the documents before glancing at his watch. He found out that an hour later would be around lunch time, and by then, there was no way to continue with the trial. Thus, the judge lifted the gavel and said, "The court is adjourned. The court will resume at 2pm."

Bang! The hammer fell, and a crisp sound surrounded the room.

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Chapter 490: I'm Owning You Guys

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Wilfrid casually threw Reese's research documents to his assistant. Even Dai Li could tell that Wilfrid didn't really care about them.

Wilfrid explained, "Since Nick Reese dared to just hand over this document to us, there is no need for us to doubt the truthfulness and professionalism of this document. It would be a waste of time to focus on them. We are not experts in psychology, and there is no way for us to find any problems or loopholes within these documents in such a short amount of time."

After Wilfrid finished speaking, he looked towards Dai Li and asked, "Mr. Li, please tell me honestly, do you have a tendency for violence?"

"No." Dai Li shook his head firmly. "Although I haven't gone through any psychological test, I am considered rather calm when I handle things."

"If it is possible, we might have to really have you undergo a psychological test to prove that you do not have a tendency for violence, so that we may deny Reese's charges. Later in court, I will try to bring it up," Wilfrid said.

At that moment, Prosecutor Nick Reese walked over from afar.

"Mr. Wilfrid, you've reviewed the documents that I gave you, right? If there's any part that requires clarification, please do allow me to explain it to you." Reese went ahead and sat beside Wilfrid as he spoke.

"Prosecutor Reese, it can't be that you came all this way just to explain the content of this document to me, right?" Wilfrid asked while staring at Reese.

Reese smiled and lowered his voice. "I can't hide anything from you after all. Mr. Wilfrid and Mr. Li, I hope that you seriously consider my previous suggestion."

"You still want to advise my client to plead guilty?" Wilfrid laughed coldly.

"Yes. If Mr. Li is willing to plead guilty to the intentional assault and police assault charges, I can withdraw the charge on an attempted first-degree murder," Reese said.

Before Wilfrid could answer, Dai Li shook his head first. "I'm innocent."

"Mr. Li, whether you are guilty or not depends on the decision given by the jury." Reese displayed an expression of helplessness, then went on to say, "How they will decide, I don't know, but I really hope that I can help you."

"Help me? Prosecutor Reese, are you joking? I sure don't feel like you are helping me," Dai Li said mockingly.

Reese said instead, "Mr. Li, you are now charged with first-degree murder. Although it is only attempted murder, you have to know that if you were found guilty, what kind of punishment awaits you? You will go to prison, five years, ten years, or even more than ten years! You have to know, prison isn't a comfortable place. It's full of villains, scum, scoundrels, and there are even perverts who like f*cking people in the as*!"

"But if you are willing to plead guilty, with just intentional assault and police assault, your sentence will be much lighter. As a prosecutor, I can apply for you to have a lighter sentence, and you might not even need to go to prison. I can help get you on probation for three to five years, with an added 1000 hours of community service. What do you think?"

"Not great. I'm innocent, why should I plead guilty?" Dai Li shook his head.

"Looks like Mr. Li still doesn't understand the situation," Reese smiled and said. "Mr. Li, I think you should have discovered by now that there are some members of the jury who agree with my points, which means that based on this trend, you might be convicted of an attempted first-degree murder. You might have to go to prison. Of course, I don't know what the probability for this is. Perhaps 10-20%? 30-40%? Or maybe 50-60%? I guess everyone will have their own assessment. Mr. Wilfrid should also be able to give you more professional advice."

"But the important thing is, do you want to gamble on the probability of being convicted? Even if there is only a 10% chance for you to be found guilty, that means that there's a 10% chance that you will have to stay ten years in prison! Can you guarantee 100% that you have such good luck, and that you won't encounter that 10% chance? Don't you feel that even if it were just a 10% chance, it is a high risk? Not to mention when it comes time to finally make the judgment, your chance of getting convicted might not be only 10%, right? That's because I still have cards I haven't played."

"I don't know how you view this, but if it were me, I definitely wouldn't want to bear any risk of going to prison. And now, there is an option right in front of you where you don't have to bear any risk. As long as you confess and plead guilty to intentional assault and the police assault charges, you don't have to go to prison. I've seen your data; you don't have any criminal record after coming to the US. I believe that a few years of probation shouldn't be too tough for you. And using some time in community service to remove the risk of going to prison, I think this is a very good deal."

"So Mr. Li, I know you have a chain of physical fitness centers. It's a huge business, and it brings you a lot of income every year. But if you go to prison, can you still maintain all this? At least when you're in prison, you'll lose all these. There's a phrase that says, if there's life, there's hope. That is why I hope that you will seriously consider my offer."

Dai Li did not answer. Wilfrid was the one who spoke instead, "Prosecutor Reese, the probation you mentioned, does it include intensive probation?"

Reese shook his head. "I don't think there's a need for reinforced probation, but if the probation period is too long, perhaps there might be six months to a year's intensive probation."

Wilfrid fell into a deep state of reflection. Prosecutor Reese felt that he was in business, so he stood up. "Mr. Li, Mr. Wilfrid, you can discuss this first. I shall take my leave. I hope I will hear your good news soon."There were different kinds of probation in the US. The first type was the unsupervised probation, also called informal probation. During the probationary period, the convict didn't need to be directly supervised by a probation officer. It was mostly used on criminals convicted of minor crimes.

The second type was the supervised probation, also called the formal probation. During the probationary period, the criminal was required to report to the probation officer on a regular basis. The criminal could also be asked to participate in consultation services, and they had to accept spot checks for drugs and alcohol.

The third was intensive probation. It was suitable for criminals who had committed more serious crimes. During the probationary period, the criminal had to also report to the probation officer regularly, as well as accept consultation. If it were a particular crime, such as drug dealing or sexual offenses, there would be additional conditions. For example, mental and physical treatment, and also registration in the local crime registrar.

The consultation services mentioned referred to legal and psychological consultation services. The legal consultation services were the equivalent of letting the convict learn more about the law; it was a process of studying law. As for psychological consultation services, those who had watched the movie "Internal Affairs" should have a clearer and better understanding. The protagonist of the movie, Chan Wing Yan, had to go through a lengthy psychological consultation period because he committed a crime.

Apart from that, during the probationary period, criminals normally had to complete a fixed amount of community service. For those who committed less serious crimes, the court would also directly sentence them to community service as the most fundamental punishment measure.

Wilfrid explained all this to Dai Li and said, "You can't commit another crime during the probation period, and you have to report to the probation officer twice a week. You will be restricted when leaving the country. You can only leave the US after the state court's approval. At the same time, according to the law of California, convicts under probation have a curfew, that means that you are not allowed to venture outside at night, you can only stay at home."

Dai Li nodded and said, "Mr. Wilfrid, I'd like your professional advice."

"From the perspective of law, our chances for winning this lawsuit is great, as our discussions and opinions are more persuasive. However, as your lawyer, what I am supposed to do is to safeguard your personal benefits to the best of my ability. It is as the prosecutor said just now; we don't have a 100% chance of winning, there is a chance for you to be found guilty. If we continue with this lawsuit, you have to be prepared to face a prison sentence. Even if the chances are low, it is still a risk. On this, the prosecutor did not lie to us," Wilfrid said.

"So, do you think I should accept the prosecutor's advice and plead guilty to the intentional assault and police assault charges?" Dai Li asked with a frown.

"This depends on your willingness to bear the risk of going to prison." Wilfrid's expression turned serious. "If you plan on continuing with this lawsuit, I will do all I can to help you win, but if you are willing to accept the conditions of the prosecutor, I will also negotiate with the prosecutor and help you get the best possible deal."

"Let me consider it for a while." Dai Li breathed in deeply.

Wilfrid was considerate as he stood up and walked to the side. The Dai Li needed space to think carefully before making a decision."Prosecutor Reese, will the defendant and his lawyer accept our conditions?" the intern asked quietly.

Reese immediately corrected him. "Don't use the word 'condition,' it's called a suggestion."

"Alright, then will the defendant and his lawyer accept our suggestion?" the intern asked again.

Reese did not answer "Yes" or "No," he only asked a question that seemed completely unrelated. "Have you been to Las Vegas?"

"Ugh, yes, I've been there," the intern answered honestly.

"Then you should have been to the casinos in Las Vegas, right?" Reese continued asking.

"Yes, I have." The intern's tone was very low when he answered. As an intern working beside the prosecutor, he felt that having been to the casino wasn't exactly something to be proud of.

"Then, did you play a few rounds?" Reese asked with a smile.

The intern felt that Reese wasn't blaming him, so he got himself together and answered courageously, "I've only played a few rounds of the slot machine. I didn't play at the gaming tables."

"Did you lose or did you win?" Reese continued with his questions.

"Of course I lost. The chances of the slot machines were already low, you'd lose nine times out of ten," the intern answered in resignation.

Reese instead, seemed very interested. "How much did you lose?"

"It was around 50 dollars. I was a full scholarship student in school, so I had some extra money on my hands," the intern answered.

"Did it hurt?" Reese asked with a laugh.

"Not really. It was only 50 dollars, after all. I could lose that much," the intern replied.

"What if you lost 500,000 dollars instead? Would it hurt?" Reese's questions seemed a bit out of the blue.

"I don't have 500,000 dollars." The intern didn't really understand what Reese was trying to say.

"I'm going to give you an example. If you had 50 dollars, and you lost them, you might not feel too bad, since it was only 50 dollars. The amount was sufficient for you to eat a few meals of fast food, ordering a few large hamburgers and pizza. Or you might go to the movies with your girlfriend, and you would probably still have enough for condoms. Or perhaps you could go watch a game on the weekend, but of course, you could only sit in the back. You can easily get 50 dollars. You could find any random job, or perhaps go work part-time, and you'd have earned 50 dollars. That sounds about right, correct?"

The intern nodded. Reese then continued, "If you had 500,000 dollars, and you lost that amount at the casino, I'm guessing it would hurt a lot, right? It is 500,000 dollars, it's almost the equivalent of an ordinary person's ten-year salary. This money can be used to purchase a small apartment in California, or a mansion in a rural area. It can be used to buy several new cars, sports cars, SUVs, RVs, satisfying all your traveling needs. Or perhaps you can thoroughly enjoy yourself in Las Vegas for an amount of time, eat lavishly, find a few beautiful ladies and have fun every night. With that much money, it is enough to weaken your kidneys! Yup, you probably won't need that much to have fun until your liver fails."

"Prosecutor Reese, what are you implying?" the intern asked, as he couldn't wait anymore.

"What I want to say is, if you only had 50 dollars, perhaps you would spend it all on the slot machine, but if you had 500,000 dollars, you definitely wouldn't want to waste them away. You would probably use it to satisfy other material needs, or maybe change ladies every night until your kidney fails, right?" Reese suddenly looked very serious.

He then said, "That's the difference between having money and having no money. The rich live, or to be precise, they enjoy life. The poor survive, working hard just to survive! Between the two, which do you think would value their life situation more?"

"This…" The intern thought for a moment and answered, "I guess it's the rich. It's because they can enjoy life, they might not want to lose their state of enjoying life. As for the poor, they definitely wouldn't want to maintain their daily life of hard work."

"That is exactly correct. For those at the bottom of society, they don't have to worry about losing something because they have nothing, there's nothing to lose for them. If the defendant were someone like that, and you told them that there was a 10 to 20 percent chance of them being found guilty and that they would have to go to prison for a couple of years, they would feel happy. That's because there was an 80 to 90 percent chance for them to be innocent." Reese glanced towards Dai Li and continued, "However, it's different for the rich. Although rich people might have more things, they are also more fearful of losing everything they own. If the defendant were an affluent person, and you told them that there was a 10 to 20 percent chance for them to be guilty and that they would have to go to prison for a few years, they would panic. That's because the 10 to 20 percent chance of going to prison is already a very big risk for them. They would never take that risk."

The intern had an expression of realization. "So the defendant will surely accept our conditions. Oh, no, I mean he will agree to our suggestion!"

"It's not over yet, don't jump to conclusions too quickly." Although Reese said that, his expression betrayed his belief.

Later, Reese used a very light tone and said, "In truth, at the beginning of the trial, I intentionally put us in a disadvantageous position. It was a tactic that intentionally showed weakness to the enemy. I wanted to make Wilfrid think that they were in an advantaged position, that they had a good chance of winning this lawsuit."

"It is easier for one to relax and lose vigilance when close to victory. At the same time, when there is a large advantage, it is the time when one looks for stability. For example, in a basketball match, if there were a 30 point advantage when there were only five minutes left on the clock, the coach would substitute the key players off to avoid injury. This is a display of looking for stability."

"What I used was exactly the psychology of the defendant and the defense lawyer. At this moment, they will make the choice that brings even more stability, and not to try their luck. Even if they continue to have the advantage, and have a high chance of winning."

"It is just like a game of cards. I keep on folding so that the opponents think that my cards are bad. And if I suddenly choose to raise, the opponent's first reaction will be that I have got my hands on good cards. Even if I were faking it, and even if the opponent had a good or decent hand, they still wouldn't choose to follow."

As Nick Reese spoke, he had a triumphant look on his face. He then looked towards Dai Li and Wilfrid and said to himself, "This time, I'm owning you guys!"

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Dai Li looked a little confused. He didn't know what to choose.

If he didn't plead guilty, the trial would continue. However, even Wilfrid, who specialized in criminal cases, couldn't guarantee he would win the case. Dai Li didn't want to be imprisoned, let alone be imprisoned for more than a decade. Just as Reiss said,even if there was only a 10% chance of a guilty verdict, Dai Li would not be willing to take that risk.

Compared with ten years in prison, the sentence that came with pleading guilty was much lighter. A few years of probation was quite acceptable and the community service also could be regarded as physical exercise.

If I was on probation, I would need to report to the probation officer twice a week and there may be 1000 hours of community service. If I could do four hours a day, I would need 250 days in all. That means that if I do community service five times a month, I would need 50 months. That's over four years; however, it's better than ten years in prison.

Why should I plead guilty when I'm actually innocent? The nonsense of the American justice system! Dai became irritated.

Reiss seemed like he was being nice in advising me to plead guilty. He would drop the first-degree murder charge if I did. However, I didn't intend to murder that guy! He wanted to make a bargain with me regarding something that I didn't do. He just let me think I could benefit from it. Why should I accept his condition?

I shouldn't compromise! Dai Li had already decided in his mind. He knew it might be irrational, but he decided to follow his beliefs this time.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked to Wilfrid.Wilfrid sat quietly in the corner of the lounge, thinking about what to do next.

He knew that he had lost to Reiss just now. Wilfrid had to admit that Nick Reiss was indeed a good negotiator. Reiss set high conditions deliberately at the beginning and, when he lowered them, it was easier for his opponent to accept.

What's more, Nick Reiss clearly knew his opponent's thought processes. He knew that a rich man would never bet on freedom. When someone is completely unwilling to lose what he has, he is forced to compromise.

This was what Nick Reiss usually did. As a prosecutor with a 100% conviction rate, Reiss knew how to get the defendant to plead guilty as soon as possible.

In the face of the terms offered by Reiss, if Dai Li didn't plead guilty, Wilfrid had to win Dai Li's case. If Dai Li agreed to plead guilty, Wilfrid would still need to negotiate with the prosecutor for better conditions, such as shorter term of penalty or probation and shorter community service.

Wilfrid therefore had to make two plans, one for each of Dai Li's potential decisions.

What are you thinking? Wilfrid glanced at Dai Li, who stood up and walked over to him.

It seems that Mr. Li has decided."Mr. Li, you should make your decision. Shall we accept the prosecutor's proposal?" asked Wilfrid.

"I don't intend to accept prosecutor's 'kind proposal'. I'll keep the trial going," said Dai Li.

"You sure? I mean, do you really know the risks of continuing this case?" said Wilfrid.

Dai Li didn't answer him immediately. He asked Wilfrid another question. "Wilfrid, do you know about the flood?"

"The flood? Has there been a flood recently?" Wilfrid was confused and asked.

"I'm talking about the prehistoric flood, the legendary one," said Dai Li.

"Sure," Wilfrid nodded, "it is said the great flood inundated Atlantis. What does it have to do with our case?"

"Many ancient civilizations recorded that flood, like Mesopotamia, Greece, India, China, and the Mayan Empire. The all had different reasons for why this flood occurred though. For example, in Sumerian myth, Eniel, the king of gods, felt humans were too noisy and he sent a flood to destroy them. According to Mayan civilization, humans forgot their creator, so the creator decided to send a flood to destroy them. In the Bible, God saw the earth filled with corruption, violence and evil, and he intended to use the flood to destroy all evil people."

Wilfrid didn't say anything, but listened to Dai Li carefully.

"In Sumerian myth, there is a kind-hearted water god named Enki. He arranged for a man called Utnapishtim to board a ship and escape the flood. It is very much like the story of Noah's Ark in the Bible, right?" asked Dai Li.

"Yes, God found a good man named Noah, so he instructed Noah to build an ark. He took his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and two of every animal. Then came the flood. All the fountains of the great deep were awoken and the windows of heaven were opened. It rained heavily on the earth day and night and the waters flooded the highest mountains. All the creatures on the land died. Only Noah and his family survived in the ark. After 220 days of flooding, Noah's ark stopped near Mount Ararat. Forty days later, the flood retreated and Noah sent a crow out for information. The crow never returned. Seven days later, Noah sent a dove. This time, the dove returned with a branch from an olive tree, indicating that the flood had finally gone," Wilfrid explained. As someone who had grown up in Western civilization, he obviously knew the story of Noah's Ark better than Dai Li.

"Do you know how the story of the flood was recorded in the east, or in China?" asked Dai Li with a smile.

"I'd love to hear about it," said Wilfrid.

"It is also a story about fathers and sons. According to ancient Chinese books, the boundless flood inundated crops, mountains, and houses. People were displaced and had to leave their homes. The flood brought untold disaster to everybody. Yao, the ruler of that time, decided to control the flood. He found a person named Gun to tame the flood. However, he failed after nine years of work.

"Then Shun, the successor of Yao, killed Gun and let Gun's son continue to tame the flood. His name was Yu. He finally tamed the flood after thirteen years of work. During that time, he never went home, even when he passed by his own house. Thirteen years later, his son barely knew him.

"In Christianity, God saved everybody and the humans just hid on a boat. Inn China, we didn't get any help from gods. Without boats, we didn't compromise to the flood. We had to fight on our own. W fought had to fight against the flood!" Dai Li's tone was calm but his voice was persistent. He took a deep breath and went on,

"There are many similar myths in China. One story says that there were ten suns in the sky, searing the earth, and one skillful archer saved the planet by shooting down nine of them. One story says that a bird called Jingwei tried to fill the sea with pebbles. Another story says an old man called Yugong decided to remove a mountain with a shovel because it was in his way.

"I've heard many such stories throughout my life. Some are about brilliant heroes and others are about fools. However, when natural disasters came, our ancestors never chose to compromise, never chose to escape, and never chose to wait for God's help. They chose to fight, to defeat disasters! If they couldn't do it in a year, they would spend ten years, or twenty years. If one generation couldn't make it, two, maybe even three, generations would try until they succeeded!

"Many people say that the Chinese are materialists. They think we don't believe in gods and that we have no religious belief. That's because we know that no god can save us in times of trouble! We have to fight like our ancestors and never give in!

"In Christian mythology, god may not be perfect, but he is absolutely invincible. In China, we think that a man is the master of his own fate! If God gets in the way of our survival, we will push him down!

"Therefore, today, I will not compromise or give in. I firmly believe that I am innocent, so I will not plead guilty. Even if I am found guilty, I will choose to continue to appeal. I will fight firmly to the end, because an unyielding spirit flows through my blood!"

As he listened, Wilfrid nodded earnestly. "I see. I understand what you mean. Mr. Li, let's discuss the trial this afternoon! I'll do everything I can to help you win this case."Pointing to the document on propensity for violence in his hands, Wilfrid said, "A for the problem of propensity for violence, we can apply for a professional psychological test to prove that you aren't abnormally prone to violence. It will take some time. Therefore, we need to apply for an extension of the case on the grounds of preparing key evidence."

"I have no problem with that." Dai Li then sat in thought for a few seconds before he asked Wilfrid a question. "Since we have to apply for an extension anyway, why don't we prepare more evidence? I have an idea, but I don't know how to implement it and I'm not positive it would work."

"That's why you pay me,because that's where my value lies. If your idea is really good for the case, I can help you implement it in the most effective way," said Wilfrid.

"I remember this morning that Reiss listed the reasons for my first-degree murder charge. One of them was that the gunshot could have killed the victim directly, so he affirmed that I didn't care about the life of the victim," said Dai Li.

Recalling the situation, Wilfrid said, "Reiss tried to distort the reason you shot the gun. He intended to make the jury think you are a murderer who killed people indiscriminately."

"If we can prove that I have the ability to make sure that the shot would not kill that man but just disable him temporarily, wouldn't it mean that I did care about the life of the victim? Could I be cleared of the first-degree murder charge that way," asked Dai Li.

Wilfrid thought for nearly half a minute, then said, "This causal relationship is valid. How can you prove that you are able to shoot somebody with such accuracy?"

"I can prove that I shoot well. Is that enough?" asked Dai Li.

"It depends on how well you shoot," Wilfrid said.

"As well as a professional shooting athlete. I'm as good as an Olympian 50-meter rifle athlete. How about that?" asked Dai Li.

Wilfrid thought for a while. He took out his laptop and searched something. Minutes later, he said, "According to the information I have found, it's complicated because athletes who shoot don't do so in actual combat situations. However most people know they can shoot very well. The jury is made up of everyday people. If they see your results are the same as a professional athletes, it will prove that you can shoot well."

"Then I'll give them a shocking performance!" Dai Li lowered his voice and discussed his plan.Nick Reiss looked at his watch. Court would begin in half an hour. He looked at Dai Li, and saw that Dai Li and Wilfrid were talking about something.

Haven't they talked it over? It's taking so long! Reiss sighed, and reluctantly continued to wait.

Wilfrid finally ended his discussion with Dai Li ten minutes later. He stood up, adjusted his clothes, and walked over to Reiss.

"It seems that you two have reached a decision." Reiss firmly believed that Dai Li would plead guilty, so he was relaxed. He stood up and walked to meet Wilfrid.

"Do you have good news for me Wilfrid?" asked Reiss with a big smile.

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Reiss!" Wilfrid was also smiling. "My client will not accept your proposal. He will not plead guilty and the trial will continue."

"Ah?" Nick Reiss looked surprised. Though he had prepared for this possibility, he thought the probability of Li rejecting his deal had been extremely low. In all the cases he had dealt with, every defendant in similar cases chose to compromise with him and plead guilty.

Reiss couldn't help but ask, "Wilfrid, have you really told your client all the risks involved in this decision?"

"Please don't doubt my professionalism, Reiss." Wilfrid became serious and said, "My client considered his options and decided that this was the course he wanted to take. As his attorney, I will do everything I can to do it well. So…" Wilfried intentionally paused for dramatic effect. "See you in court!"

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Chapter 492: The Fish Took the Bait

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the trial continued. Now, it was Wilfrid's turn to ask the questions.

"Mr. Li, on the day of the crime, you shot and wounded Mr. Sam Gardner. My question is why did you choose Mr. Sam Gardner as your target?" asked Wilfrid.

"Because Mr. Sam Gardner was passing by. At that time, I could only look outside through the air outlet and wait. Mr. Gardner just came into my sight. I did not target him specifically," said Dai Li.

"In other words, you chose to shoot Mr. Gardner because he entered into your sight. You didn't shoot someone randomly. You just shot the first person you saw, right?" asked Wilfrid immediately.

"Yes. Due to the limitation of view, I couldn't choose the target, but had to wait for someone to walk by," responded Dai Li.

"Why did you choose to shoot him in his leg?" Wilfrid continued to ask.

"Because an injury to the leg won't cause any fatal damage," responded Dai Li.

"Why not the arm? A gunshot to the arm wouldn't have caused fatal damage either.".

"Because the arms are in the upper body, so they're closer to the chest, heart, and head. The risk of a fatal injury would have been much higher if I chose to shoot his arm," responded Dai Li.

"In other words, before you shot Mr. Gardner, you fully considered the danger that your gunshot might cause to the injured person's life. In order to reduce the possibility of that risk, you made a choice to avoid shooting the parts that may cause fatal injuries to the victim," said Wilfrid.

"Yes." Dai Li nodded.

"However, you didn't consider the possibility that the person might bleed to death, or the possibility that he wouldn't have a phone, or that he might pass out because of the pain," said Wilfrid.

"That is correct. I didn't think of that then. I apologize for what I did to Mr. Sam Gardner," said Dai Li.

Dai Li didn't tell the other reason why he had shot Gardner in his leg. He hadn't wanted Gardner to run away. Dai Li certainly wouldn't bring that up because it made him look bad.

Nick Reiss looked at Dai Li and Wilfrid with a sneer. As Dai Li's attorney, Wilfrid must have told Dai Li what questions he would ask and how he should answer. Therefore, it was meaningless for Nick Reiss to seek loopholes in Li's responses. He might fall into a trap set by Wilfrid.

Wilfrid said, " The prosecutor's charge that the defendant is completely oblivious to the life of the injured is not true. My client deliberately did not shooting the victim's upper body in order to avoid fatally injuring the victim, which means that he didn't want to threaten Mr. Gardner's life.

"As mentioned by the prosecutor, there did exist possibilities that my client didn't take into account. The victim could have bled to death. He might not have been able to call the police for various reasons. My client has admitted that he didn't think of these possibilities at that time. I don't think anyone can guarantee that every decision they make is perfectly thought out. This doesn't prove that the defendant ignored the victim's life. There was no causal relationship.

" Considering that the defendant was kidnapped at that time, he must have been frightened and hopeless. In that case, he tried to avoid shooting the vital parts of the victim as much as possible. That couldn't have been easy for him. The defendant couldn't sit in a chair and think like we do. We expect the defendant to have thought through everything given the circumstances."

Wilfrid nodded at the judge as he said, "Your Honor, I have no more questions."

"What do you want to add, prosecutor?" The judge turned to prosecutor Reiss.

Reiss stood up immediately. "I have several new questions for the defendant."

Reiss walked to Dai Li and asked, "Mr. Li, according to what you just said, when you shot, you avoided shooting the victim's upper body. That means you chose to shoot him in his leg, right?"

Dai Li thought for a while and couldn't see any reason why he shouldn't answer truthfully. "Yes," he responded.

"How did you succeed in shooting his leg specifically?" Reiss continued to ask.

"Sorry, I don't know what you mean," said Dai Li.

"Well, let me reword my question. How were you certain you would hit his leg and not fatally injure him? If you couldn't make sure that you could avoid shooting the victim's upper body, you might have killed him. You didn't kill the victim because you got lucky that you did not fatally wound him. You couldn't have known you wouldn't commit a murder."

Dai Li understood what he was implying.

Just as Wilfrid expected. The fish has taken the bait.

Dai Li smiled and said, "I certainly knew that I could just shoot his leg."

"How could you have been sure?" Reiss asked.

"I am confident in my accuracy," said Dai Li, brimming with pride.

"Mr. Li, I shall remind you that this is court. Confidence can't be served as evidence," Reiss said coldly.

"Well, let me put it another way then. I can shoot very well," responded Dai Li.

"Very well? that's very broad. Everyone has a different definition of 'very well'. Maybe you think that you can shoot very well, but someone else thinks you can't. It is totally inadmissable as evidence," Reiss said reasonably.

Dai Li thought for a while as if he was hesitating. Seconds later, he said, "I can hit a coin at a distance of fifty meters with a rifle. I would like to ask you, Mr. Reiss, and I would like to ask the jury as well, whether that is line with most people's concept of skilled shooting. If you don't agree that that is correct, you can present your own evidence."

Both the judge and the jury were stunned..

Reiss was also shocked. Of course, Dai Li's proposed standard was fair. Dai Li said he could hit a coin from 50 meters away, that was beyond Reiss' comprehension.

Reiss subconsciously glanced at the door of the courtroom. He stood about thirty meters away from the door, and even he could not see the keyhole clearly.

Bullshit! How could it be possible to hit a coin from 50 meters away? I can't even see the keyhole from 30 meters away. It's definitely impossible to see a coin from fifty meters away! He must be bluffing.

Reiss asked at once, "Mr. Li, are you sure you said 50 meters?"

"It seems that you didn't hear me. I can hit a coin at a distance of fifty meters with a rifle." Dai Li slowed down his speech deliberately so that everyone in the court could hear him clearly.

"Mr. Li, I shall remind you, this is a courtroom. Every word you say is evidence and will be recorded. If you lie, I can sue you for perjury." Reiss looked at Dai Li with a piercing stare.

"Mr. Reiss, just because you don't believe me doesn't mean I'm lying. Just like you charged me with first-degree murder and attacking the police because you don't believe I'm innocent. That's not the truth." Dai Li shrugged his shoulders.

Reiss frowned awkwardly. Dai Li's analogy indicated that he was challenging him.

"Whether you are guilty or not is up to the court to decide. But you said you could hit a coin from 50 meters away. That's not a claim you can make casually," said Reiss.

"If I can hit a coin at a distance of 50 meters, does that prove I was confident enough in my ability to ensure Mr. Gardner's safety?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"Well…" Reiss began to hesitate. He didn't want to give Dai Li a clear answer. Although he didn't think that Dai Li could do that, he thought it was necessary to leave himself some wiggle room.

However, Dai Li continued. "Mr. Reiss, you just said you didn't believe my claim and asked me to prove it. Now I intend to prove it, but you seem to have changed your mind. What are you afraid of? Or you don't think I am guilty?"

Everyone was looking at Reiss now, including the jurors. Reiss could clearly feel that the jury began to distrust him.

It looks bad if I don't agree with him. Reiss took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Li, if you can prove that you can shoot as well as you claim, I will agree that you are capable of hitting the victim's leg without causing fatal injury."

"Good," Dai Li turned his eyes to Wilfrid.

Wilfrid stood up at once and said to the judge, "Your Honor, the prosecutor asks us for new evidence. As the attorney of the defendant, I apply to the court for a temporary adjournment and an extension, so that we have time to prepare the evidence."

The judge nodded and turned to Reiss. "Do you have any comments?"

"Your Honor, I have no problem with the request. However, I think that the new evidence provided by the defendant's attorney must be approved by the court and the prosecution," said Reiss.

"Reiss, what do you mean?" Wilfrid asked immediately.

Reiss answered, "Simple. Since the defendant said that he could hit a coin from 50 meters away, I hope that the court and the prosecution will witness this in person."

"Attorney for the defendant, can you accept this request from the prosecution?" asked the judge.

Wilfrid looked at Dai Li and Dai Li nodded at him.

"We can accept the prosecution's request," said Wilfrid.

"Jury, can you accept the prosecution's request?" The judge looked at the jury.

The jury began to discuss. Most of them were curious about whether Dai Li could actually hit a coin from 50 meters away, so they accepted Reiss' request at last."Our plan succeeded, but I figured we'd just need the notary's witness. Mr. Li, Reiss deliberately created obstacles for you," Wilfrid said.

"I see. Nick Reiss thinks I will be nervous and miss the target if there are a lot of people watching me. He is wrong. My concentration is impeccable," said Dai Li confidently.

If an ordinary man was asked to perform in front of this many people, he would become nervous and miss the target. It was quite normal. Just like athletes who lacked experience, they couldn't perform as well in front of a crowd as they could in training.

However, Dai Li could use a copy card of Adam Holly and acquire 70% of Holly's shooting ability.

As a world-class athlete, Adam Holly had attended countless competitions, including many international ones. It was common for thousands to watch those competitions in person and there were dozens of cameras broadcasting Holly live. For athletes of his caliber, having an audience was not an issue. Dai Li acquired 70% of Adam Holly's ability, so naturally he wouldn't be afraid.

Wilfrid asked, "Mr. Li, can you really do that? I don't mean to question you, but it seems so incredible to me. A coin is so small from 50 meters that people can't see it at all, let alone shoot it."

"Wilfrid, have you watched any 50-meter air rifle competitions?" asked Dai Li.

"Yes, but not much. I have seen Adam Holly's competitions, though."

"You should know then that it is not difficult for a professional athlete to get nine points," Dai Li said as he gestured. "A coin is about as big as the ninth ring on the target of a 50-meter air rifle."

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Chapter 493: A Sharpshooter

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li stood on a platform with a 50m rifle at a gun range. He was facing a piece of white paper with a coin-sized black circle in the center.

The judge, the jury, the notary, and Nick Reiss were all with him.

Wilfried had a coin in his hand and was comparing it with the black circle on the target. "Everyone," he said. "This is the target sheet. The black circle in the center is as big as my coin. Does anyone disagree with this setup?"

No one showed any sign of disagreement. Wilfrid then took out an air rifle and spoke to the notary. "Sir, this is a rifle specially designed for competition. Please check it."

The notary took the rifle and checked it carefully. Later he returned it to Wilfrid and said, "Nothing wrong with it."

"Let me clarify one thing in advance. The scope on this rifle cannot magnify things. The target you see through the scope is as big as the real one. Am I right, sir?"

"Yes," said the notary.

"OK. So, I think we can get started." Wilfrid gave the rifle to Dai Li.

Members of the jury all looked at the target 50 meters away, excited to see Dai Li's attempt.They were disappointed, however, that they couldn't see the coin-sized black circle at all.

"Can you see the target clearly?"

"I can only see the target paper. I cannot see anything on it."

"Same here. Shooting something you cannot see? Impossible for me."

"I think it's hardly possible for anyone to shoot a coin 50 meters away. I don't think he can do it."

"But why did he ask to do this if he can't? I think he can."

"I will admit that he is great at shooting if he can shoot the target at such a distance."

Members of the jury discussed in low voice. Meanwhile, Nick Reiss was very confident.he can't shoot the target if there's no magnifying scope on his rifle."

Dai Li seemed calm. He used the copy card of Adam Holly and had gained the 70% of Adam Holly's strength.

A coin 50 meters away is out of the sight for an average person. From the perspective of a professional shooter, the black circle equaled the size of the ninth ring in a competition and the ninth ring was the lowest standard for such an athlete.

Adam Holly was the top shooter in the world. 70% of his strength equaled the strength of a normal Olympic athlete. It'd be easy to shoot the ninth ring with 70% of his strength.

Dai Li put up the rifle and aimed at the target. He pulled the trigger.

There was no gunpowder explosion because this was an air rifle. Its sound was clear and easily distinguishable. He shot, and the next second people refocused on the target.

"Did he make it?"

"I don't know. It's too far to see."

Dai Li gave a signal to an employee of the gun range and the worker pressed a button to send the target paper to Dai Li and the audience.

"Oh my God. He made it for real!"

"It was such a long distance, but he hit it!"

"How did he do that? Does he have an eagle's eyes?"

Someone in the jury cried out.

Nick Reis froze. Dai Li had done it. It was beyond Reiss' imagination.

Soon, he calmed down. Then he said, "Only once, it might be a coincidence."

Dai Li seemed to read Reiss' thoughts. He said to the worker, "Please set up another piece of target paper. I will shoot again."

A new piece of paper was then set, and the worker pressed the button to send it to the spot 50 meters away. Dal Li again aimed and shot.

The second target paper was sent back. The bullet hole was clearly in the central black circle.

"He hit it again. Hitting the mark twice consecutively is not a coincidence, is it?" a juror asked. Several jurors nodded and agreed.

Reiss was embarrassed. He was proven wrong so quickly.

He refused to give up easily, however. He wanted to find some more excuses to argue.

Dai Li did not even give Reiss the opportunity to complain. "One more piece of target paper, please."The third piece of paper was set up. After the first two shots, Dai Li had optimized his aiming. His third shot was close to the exact center of the black circle. This was even more impressive.

"He shot the center at such a long distance. It's unbelievable!"

"The defendant didn't lie. I must say he is a sharpshooter."

"I don't think a sniper in special forces could do that."

"I agree. A sniper rifle works with a functional sighting telescope. The scope on this air rifle did not magnify the target. He aimed with naked eyes."

"It's not only a matter of sight. His aim was also perfect. At a distance of 50 meters, the slightest movement will lead to a huge difference."

Nick Reiss was annoyed with all of these discussions.

Dai Li didn't stop after the third shot. Before long he had shot the target a fourth time.

His fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth followed.

Every shot was on target.

Everyon went from being stunned to expecting him to hit his targets. They had gradually gotten used to Dai Li's success.

Dai Li stopped after ten and Wilfrid showed the stack of target paper to the audience. "Everyone saw this with their own eyes. My client is fully capable of hitting a coin from 50 meters away. I don't think there will be any more questions about his shooting skills."

Jurors nodded. They obviously recognized Dai Li's abilities.

The only one who didn't want to recognize the result was Nick Reiss.

If he admitted Li was skilled, he had to admit that Li was reasonable to assume he was able to shoot Gardner in his leg. That was to admit that Dai Li had no motive, making a first- degree murder charge groundless.

It's so far away that the target is beyond my sight, but he could hit the target. Why? Is there something wrong with the gun?

Nick Reiss thought about it for a while before exclaiming, "Wait! I want to check the air rifle!"

He decided to not take any chances, although he knew the rifle was probably fine.

"No problem," said Wilfrid.The lawyer gave the air rifle to Reiss.

The notary scowled at once and looked at Nick Reiss angrily. He had checked the air rifle with his own hands, so such a request was insulting. It was almost an accusation of collusion with the defendant.

Reiss took the air rifle and made sure the scope was not capable of magnifying the target.

Wilfrid said, "I think you'd better try to shoot the target, Reiss."

He then asked for another target to be set up.

Reiss hesitated for a moment and finally stepped onto the shooting platform. He picked up the gun. A prosecutor's job was to send criminals to jail, which often led criminals trying to take him out. Given the gun problem in America, he felt as though he was in constant danger. So, Reiss himself practiced shooting often and had gotten fairly good at it. However, all of his skills were useless in this situation He could barely see the target paper. As for the coin-sized black circle, it was totally beyond his sight.

Damn it. I can't see the black circle. How can I aim at it? How could I shoot? How did Dai Li do that? Reiss complained in his heart.

He aimed at the target as exactly as possible, but he found that at such a long distance, even the slightest movement of his arms caused a huge difference in the target paper and might even make him miss the target

As the minutes ticked away, Reiss started trembling more and more.

Three minutes passed before Wilfrid said, "Reiss, the time of the judge and jury is precious. Could you please be faster?"

"I need time to aim! The defendant was given time to ai, wasn't he?" argued Reiss.

"My client was much faster than you though. I don't think another three minutes will help you either. You don't want to keep us waiting forever, do you?" Wilfrid was intentionally irritating Reiss.

Finally, Reiss pulled the trigger.

After the gunshot, Reiss looked to the target expectantly. He hoped very much that he had hit the target. From so far away, he couldn't even see the target paper clearly.

The target was sent back to the audience and there was no bullet hole on the paper at all.

Reiss had missed the target.

"Why don't you take a couple more shots to see if you hit it" Wilfrid said sarcastically.

Reiss was embarrassed. Luckily, the judge said, "Did you find anything wrong with this gun?"

His question eased Reiss' sense of shame. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Nothing wrong with it."

"That is to say, my client has proven that his shooting is excellent. I think you all admitted this, right?" asked Wilfrid.

It was obvious that the jury and the judge acknowledged this. The only one left was the prosecutor, Reiss.

With a notary's presence, Reiss could not deny it. Faced with the fact, he nodded helplessly and admitted with a low voice, "Yes, his marksmanship is great."

Wilfrid smiled. He took his briefcase from his assistant and got out a document. "This is my client's psychological assessment report issued by the Psychology Research Institution of UCLA, which shows that my client has no tendency towards violence. It makes the prosecutor's accusations regarding this tendency totally groundless. I will propose this report be admitted as evidence to the court."

The report in Wilfrid's hands made Nick Reiss more upset. His reasoning had been taken apart bit by bit. There was no way to accuse Li of first-degree murder now

He did not even think he'd win if he accused Li of intentional injury. The jury was obviously favoring Li as of right now. Any further accusations would just turn the jury against Reiss. They would sympathize with Li and pass a verdict in his favor.

It seems that my perfect record is about to come to an end…

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Chapter 494: Everyone Had a Tough Day

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A dozen journalists surrounded Sebastian. Microphones, recording pens, and flashing cameras were all around him.

"Coach Sebastian, claims have been made that you have been giving your athletes performance-enhancing drugs. Is this true?"

"Coach Sebastian, say something about the drug scandal, please!"

"Mr. Sebastian. You are the head coach of the American National Track and Field Team and are now involved in the biggest drug scandal in American history. What are you thinking right now?"

Sebastian was almost in all of these questions. He wanted to leave but couldn't get away. He had to stop and say, "I have said before that I never provided my athletes with illegal drugs and I never will!"

"You are the first name on the list of coaches involved in the scandal. What's your explanation?" asked a journalist at once.

"That's a rumor! That's slander! I've asked a lawyer to sue the investigative journalist for libel! His false report ruined my reputation!" Sebastian shouted.

Another journalist asked, "Three of the coaches on the list have admitted to providing illegal drugs for athletes and more than ten of the athletes have admitted to using them. That investigative report seems to have checked out so far."

"There are about a thousand people and a thousand different drugs on that list. A few admissions mean nothing. Nothing! I can find several athletes who are using performance-enhancing drugs if I look up a list of all athletes of the world," argued Sebastian.

"Mr. Sebastian, reliable sources say that the Chairman of the International Anti-doping Organization, Mr. Lewis, has come to America with the newest drug-testing technology. They will check all the urine samples of all athletes involved, including your athletes. Are you worried about the results of these tests?"

"Of course not. I have never provided them with any drugs," Sebastian said. He paused for a moment and then asked, "You were talking about Mr. Lewis' arrival in America. When did he come? Why wasn't I aware of this?"

"His schedule is classified. The news didn't leak until this morning. He has been here for three days. He's done hundreds of tests already," the journalist replied.

Sebastian controlled his facial expression but, in fact, he was very worried and frightened. There was a lot of attention on him because he was one of the more famous coaches involved in the scandal and he was the new head coach for the American National Track and Field Team. He had immediately denied that he provided athletes with drugs.

It was impossible for him to admit. He fought a tough battle to be the head coach of the American team, the pinnacle of his career. Admitting that he provided illegal drugs to athletes would definitely destroy him.

More importantly, he thought no one can harm him as long as he never admitted it.

Many who made mistakes or committed crimes acted the same way that he was. Their first instinct is to cover up their mistakes, even to the point of making new ones. Therefore, these situations always got worse and worse.Sebastian called Franklin on his mobile phone.

"Professor Franklin, it's me, Sebastian.".

"Why are you calling me? Don't you know that we shouldn't communicate with each other right now? The FBI has been looking into the scandal.They might be monitoring your calls," said Franklin angrily.

"A high-level lab like yours should have anti-eavesdropping measures." Sebastian didn't stop. He said quickly, "Let's make this quick. I want to confirm something with you. Are you sure that the product you gave to me cannot be detected by the Anti-doping Organization?"

"What do you mean?" asked Franklin in reply.

Sebastian lowered his voice and said, "The Chairman of the International Anti-doping Organization just arrived in the US three days ago with new testing technology for performance-enhancing drugs. I'm worried that your product will be detected."

Franklin took a deep breath and replied, "I'm not sure whether they can be detected or not."

"You are not sure? What do you mean? That's not what you said when you gave me your product! You told me that your technology was at least two years ahead of the International Anti-doping Organization. They would never detect your drugs. Those were your exact words. Do you forget?" Sebastian said worriedly.

"I said that before because they didn't know our core secrets. Now, however, they do," said Franklin.

"What are the core secrets?" asked Sebastian.

"Our molecular formulas! There are 27 steroidal derivatives, two of which are exactly what we used in the product. Any lab that is relatively advanced will be able to find the drug as long as it knows the molecular formulas of these derivatives. No one can copy the product, though."

"So, the International Anti-doping Organization will surely find it!" Sebastian's face turned pale.]"How do your security measures work? How could your secrets have been stolen so easily?"

"Our lab didn't leak it. Blecher's company did. That's where the investigative journalist got our secret's from," said Franklin aggressively.

"Blecher, 'the father of prohormone'? Damn it! You collaborated with the devil! You are just as bad! If I had known you two worked together, I never would have contacted you!" Sebastian cursed.

"Do you think I wanted to work with him? Several of my investors want to withdraw capital!" Franklin became angry and he added, "Never call me again. I have a big mess to take care of. Our business together is finished."

"Are you going to get rid of me? Let me tell you, Franklin, you don't want to make an enemy of me!"

"You know you can't save yourself now. The International Anti-doping Organization will soon learn that all of your athletes used my drugs. You'll go down quicker than I do!" Franklin angrily hung up the phone.Franklin was fuming after his phone call with Sebastian. His assistant entered his office and said, "Professor, we just got a fax from Hans Pharmaceuticals. Its board of directors decided to temporarily stop their sponsorship of us."

"Stop the sponsorship! Why? Because of that?" Franklin got up from the chair.

"Yes. It's because of the performance-enhancing drugs scandal. Hans Pharmaceuticals has learned about our relationship with 'the father of prohormone,' Blecher. The company to rid itself of any connection to him.. So, the board of directors voted unanimously to suspend the sponsorship," said the assistant and he gave a fax to Franklin.

Franklin read it and became upset. Blecher had always been notorious. Biological labs did not dare to openly work with him. Even though he was an investor in some of these labs, they still kept their work with him under the table.

Those labs weren't the only things that Blecher invested in. Scientific research was always costly. Even a single research project was usually backed by many investors.

Investors invested in science to make money, not to be sued. However, Blecher was the man who would do experiments on living people. Labs with Blecher's investments, therefore, might also be willing to do illegal experiments, so a public relationship with the man made other enterprises stop investing their money.

The thin fax paper in Franklin's hand felt heavy given its importance.

The telephone rang but it took Franklin a moment to regain his focus enough to answer the phone.

"Professor, I just got a call from a man named Davis who claimed to be the attorney of Qianfan Investment Corporation. He wants to make an appointment with you soon."

Qianfan Investment Corporation is one of our investors. We've been on good terms for years. Why do they want to meet now? Franklin had a bad feeling. He asked, "Did he say why he wants to meet me?"

"I asked. He said that our lab has been involved in the drug scandal that has received a lot of negative press. He says this violates the investment contract between tour businesses. He needs to have a meeting with you to talk about the penalty." The receptionist spoke in a low voice.

"The penalty! You mean we have to give them money!" Franklin was shocked and he almost passed out in the chair.

The withdrawal of am investor was trouble. A withdrawal with the request of compensation was much more serious.

Franklin hung up the phone, locked the door and closed windows. He wanted silence. However, the phone rang again.

"What's up this time? Someone else asking for compensation?" asked Franklin angrily.

"No, Professor. It's the FBI. Two agents want to see you," the receptionist replied with fear.

The FBI comes, finally. Franklin sat in the chair, exhausted.Edward Snow and Dai Li drank happily together at a bar.

"It looks like you have fully recovered, so you can drink now. I propose a toast to you," Dai Li said as he raised his glass.

"I'm not fully healed. I can't make any sudden movements. I'm afraid of my wounds reopening. Drinking a little bit is fine though." Snow said as he drank his wine. "How's your trial going?"

"The verdict is coming soon. Mr. Wilfrid insists that I'm innocent. And I think it will all work out," replied Dai Li.

"I also have a piece of good news for you. Blecher is ruined for real this time!" Snow smiled.

"Ruined? What do you mean?" asked Dai Li.

"All of his assets have been frozen. Next, his company will close and declare bankruptcy. No one can save him this time." Snow drank from his glass again and added, "In fact, his company owes banks a lot of money. After the drug scandal broke, banks stopped lending to him and asked him to pay off his loans. He's being refused by everywhere he's asking for money.

"Actually, Blecher was in a similar situation a decade ago. But at that time, he had a few patents that kept bringing him money. Now, none of his patents are protected. So, they can't make him money anymore.

"Without enough capital, he cannot afford a good lawyer. He doesn't have the money that he used, so he can't get the great lawyers to get him off easily, or bribe the warden of whatever prison he gets sent too. Now, he has to be careful."

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Chapter 495: A Deadly Strike

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

That night, Warton stopped by Sebastian's house.

"The International Anti-Doping Agency has come to America. They have brought the latest detection technology for illicit drugs. You've heard all of this, right?" Sebastian asked awkwardly.

"Yes, I have," Warton looked at Sebastian and asked, "My name was in the investigative report. I'm not going to be caught, right?"

Sebastian thought for a while before saying, "Well, I'm not sure."

"You're not sure? Why? You told me Franklin's technology was years ahead of the International Anti-Doping Agency and that it would never be detected." Warton became angry immediately.

"There was an accident. I didn't expect it," responded Sebastian.

"What should we do? If I'm found out I'll be suspended and won't be able to attend the Olympics." Warton was nervous.

"Calm down." After Warton calmed down, Sebastian continued. "I've always claimed that I've never given any illicit drugs to athletes, so if you are found out I want you to take full responsibility."

"Me? Are you kidding me? I'd be suspended. My whole career would be ruined!" Warton shouted at Sebastian.

"Warton, you are still young. Even after a few year suspension, you'll still be in your prime. That's no big loss for you," said Sebastian.

"Not a big loss? It's funny…" Warton said with a sneer. "You're just trying to protect yourself."

"You are going to be found out anyway. Why do you want me to go down with you?" said Sebastian.

"You gave me those drugs!" Warton snorted. "Don't think you can distance yourself from this."

"You used the drugs to improve your performance then. You couldn't resist the temptation. Can you really blame me?" Sebastian put on a serious look and continued, "I'm doing this for you. If you take full responsibility, I'll try to intercede for you. With my personal relationships, you'll get off easy. You might only be suspended for a year or two. If I'm caught, no one can help you."

"That was what you told to Justin Alexander, right? You shifted all the blame onto the athletes, while you avoided taking responsibility," Warton's tone was full of sass. "I won't be as stupid as Alexander. I guess you are also in trouble now, right?"

Sebastian got much more aggressive. He said in a threatening tone, "You better wrap your head around your situation right now. All I have to say is that you used illicit drugs of your own will. I didn't participate in it and I didn't know anything. What can you do to me? You have no evidence to prove that I gave you the drugs.

"Why not cooperate with me and take the blame? It works out for both of us. You are smart. You must be able to see this is the best option for you."Walking out of Sebastian's house, Warton was distraught. He didn't know what to do.

What should I do? Do I really have to take all of the blame? Will Sebastian intercede for me? Will my career be ruined?"

Maybe I should talk to someone. Warton took out his phone and called his agent.

An hour later, Warton met his agent in a small bar. Warton found a small table near the corner and told his agent everything.

"Sebastian wants you to take all the blame? Really?" His agent shook his head.

According to his agent, if Warton was suspended, he'd lose any chance at getting endorsed and the agent would lose lots of money. The longer Warton was suspended, the more the agent would lose. Therefore, his agent didn't want him to take all the blame. He thought it would mean a longer suspension.

"I really don't know what to do." Warton looked desperate.

Warton's agent got an idea. "We can strike him first. Sebastian wants to shift all responsibility onto you, right? You should put it all on him instead. We can hold a press conference and admit that you have used drugs, but that Sebastian masterminded eveeything. You were innocent until you were corrupted by Sebastian."

"But I have no evidence," said Warton.

"Your words are all the evidence you need." His agent was serious. "It's a battle between you and Sebastian. One of you is gonna take the blame, and the other one will be fine.What's it gonna be?"Williams, the CEO of the U.S. Track and Field Association, was really a successful manager. Since he was appointed to his position, he had signed several large sponsors for the association, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Besides, he had also negotiated with many broadcasters on television relay agreements, expanding the association's influence.

However, now Williams was facing the biggest crisis since his appointment.

The drug scandal was a huge blow to the sports world of America. It was more like a deadly strike to track and field sports. It was known that drug cases were much more frequent in track and field than other sports.

This time was no different. The U.S. Track and Field Association was going to lose a lot in this drug scandal.

Williams' office was closed. Only two people were in the room, CEO Williams and the USA Track and Field's second person in command, COO Frey.

"Mr. Williams," Frey asked. "Have the International Anti-Doping Agency come to a decision?"

"Yes, but it hasn't been announced. Since the Olympic Games are approaching, the International Olympic Committee doesn't want to make such a big scandal public yet. They instructed the anti-doping committee to downplay this problem," said Williams.

"Downplay this problem. Great. That's great." Frey heaved a great sigh of relief.

However, Williams wasn't optimistic. He added, "It will reduce the amount of negative press we get. Our athletes and coaches are still going to face consequences though. Suspension is the best case scenario for many of them, but the Olympics is fast approaching."

Williams picked up a paper on the table and handed it to Frey. "Take a look. This is the list of athletes who have been using illicit drugs. The list has not been published yet. I got it through personal relations. The athletes on the list are definitely not going to attend the Olympic Games."

Frey took the paper. His expression became grim as he looked at every name on the list. When he'd finished, he looked absolutely wretched.

"None of them can attend this Olympic Games?The IOC can't bend any rules? Every year we give them so much money. Don't we get special treatment?" asked Frey.

"I'm afraid not. This time is totally different. The evidence is overwhelming. If the IOC gives us the green light, other countries will be upset. If it looks like they're giving us a pass they will lose some of their authority. If they lose their authority then no one will want to host the Olympics anymore," said Williams.

"I remember some of those athletes had falsified medical records so as to use drugs properly. Will they get higher penalties? We can announce to the public that they didn't falsify medical records," Frey asked.

Williams shook his head and said, "It'd be feasible if we were the only ones involved, but FBI and American Medical Association are in this now too and the media has been watching.. Those doctors who prescribed fake prescriptions will eventually confess. Then, we'd get a lot of backlash from the press and we could be sued."

"But so many athletes are on this list. There are 73 athletes from the national team. If they can't attend the Olympic Games, we'll only have half a team," said Frey.

"Therefore, we have to let other athletes take their spots in accordance with the qualifying rules," Williams said. "According to the rules, the top three performers at qualifiers are qualified to attend the Olympic Games. If someone can't attend, the fourth athlete takes his spot. If the fourth athlete also can't attend, the fifth one takes his spot and so on. There are so many track and field athletes in America. Surely we can find enough."

"I'm not so optimistic. Take the women's 100-meter dash as an example: two of the top three athletes are on the list as well as the fourth, the sixth and the seventh-place athletes. We might be in similar trouble with other events." Frey sighed.

"We have no choice now. We're also going to have a hard time finding a good coach. You should see the list of coaches who are involved. It is more serious than the athletes. All the coaches recruited by the national team are all on the list!" Williams said worriedly.

Looking at the list of namest, Frey said, "How ironic! As the most powerful national team of track and field sports and the biggest delegation of Olympic track and field events, the United States has no suitable coach! All right, the whole world is waiting to laugh at us."

"We will not become the laughing stock of the whole world. We can never allow it to happen. In addition to athletes, we must recruit coaches immediately," said Williams decisively.

"It will be more difficult than selecting athletes. All the coaches who attended the interview for the head coach of the national team are on the list!"

"So those coaches are dirtier than athletes! Sports coaches in recent years have been involved in many scandals.They provided illicit drugs for athletes, took bribes and even sexually assaulted athletes…" Williams snorted, "But we really have no choice now. We have to find a coach as clean as possible!"Sebastian hadn't expected Warton to admit to using drugs but the athlete shifted the responsibility to him.

It was brilliant for Warton to strike first. Sebastian even had no time to react, and the media came to him at once. Sebastian still refused to admit it.

"That's slander. A rumor! I definitely didn't give Warton any illicit drugs!"

"Warton lied. He was slandering me!"

"Why did he lie? Because he wants to pass the buck! He wants to pass the buck to me, so he can get away with it!"

"If Warton thought what he said was true, he should provide enough evidence to prove that I gave him those drugs."

"Warton has no evidence at all. He's talking nonsense! I'll hire a lawyer to investigate his legal liability!"

Sebastian's acting was really good. His solemn and strict expression even made many journalists feel that Sebastian really had been wronged.

Two middle-aged men in suits elbowed their way into the crowd.

"Stand aside please." The two middle-aged men walked through the crowd of journalists and to Sebastian.

"Are you Mr. Sebastian? I'm Agent Smith with the FBI." One of them took out his credentials as he spoke.

"Yes, I am. What's the matter?" Sebastian became nervous suddenly.

Agent Smith said, "When we investigated the Franklin Lab, we found a document which indicates that during the last five years they have provided you with 73 types of steroid derivative reagents. 341 times in total. These reagents probably can be used as performance-enhancing drugs for athletes. So please come with us and assist in our investigation."

"Oh… oh…"

The journalists seemed surprised as they all turned to Sebastian.

He had just been insisting that he had nothing to do with those drugs, and these journalists had believed him.

However, these two FBI agents revealing this information about a document connecting him to Franklin Labs and the illegal drugs. This really was a fatal blow to Sebastian..

Sebastian became so irritated that he fainted. He knew all of his excuses were meaningless now.

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Chapter 496: Different Reactions (1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nelsen, a javelin athlete, was planning on attending the Olympics because he came in third place in the Olympic qualifiers.

The drug scandal sent him into panic. Although Nelsen's name was not mentioned in the investigative report, he had used illicit drugs before. He was worried he would be caught like everyone on the list had been.

Once he found out the International Anti-Doping Agency had come to America, he became even more terrified.

Nelsen wasn't able to concentrate on his training at all. He looked at his phone on the sidelines from time to time as if he was waiting for an important call.

Finally, the phone rang. Nelsen stopped his training and ran quickly to answer the call.

"Hello, it's me. We can talk now." Looking around, Nelsen didn't see anyone watching him.

He asked the voice on the phone, "What's going on? Are those rumors true?"

"They are not rumors. The situation is even more serious than it looks. The President of International Anti-Doping Agency came to America in person with the latest drug-detection technology. Every athlete named in the report was investigated and more than 95% of them were found to have drugs in their systems. The tests of the other 5% came back unclear, so officials could not be positive that they used illicit drugs," said the man on the phone.

"God, it's so serious! It seems that the new drug-detection technology is really powerful." Nelsen took a deep breath.

"Exactly!" The man paused for a moment before asking, "So what do you plan to do?"

"I…" said Nelsen softly, "I want to withdraw from the Olympic Games."

"Withdraw? You've trained four years for this! How can you withdraw?" said the man on the phone.

"I don't want to but, if I don't quit and I'm discovered, my whole career is over!" said Nelsen restlessly.

"That's a waste of four years! You may never get another chance. What if you don't qualify for the next Olympics?" said the man sadly.

Nelsen was struggling. He really didn't want to quit, but his mind told him it was his best option.

"I know, I will lose a lot. However, I'm going to lose more if I don't do this! If I quit the Olympic Games, I still can participate in other competitions. I'll be suspended if they find drugs in my system. Then I wouldn't be able to participate in any competitions!"Richardson was a very good long jumper. Even in the United States, he was considered one of the best.

Unfortunately, being one of the best in the United States didn't get you to a spot on the Olympic team. Only the top three athletes qualified and the long jumping competition in America was intense this year. .

After all, America typically won the long jump. With so many excellent long jumpers in America,all the athletes were under pressure. Richardson got the fifth place, which meant that he would miss the Olympic Games.

Richardson was extremely disappointed. During the qualification trial, the athlete who got first place was only 0.1 meters farther than him.He had been 0.1 meters away from going to the Olympics.

To his surprise, his luck turned. In the afternoon, he received an email. At first, he thought it was a bill or an advertisement. When he read it he realized that some of the athletes who had placed above him had been disqualified and he was being asked to be their substitute.He was going to the Olympics..

Richardson was overjoyed. He immediately called the United States Track and Field Association to confirm the authenticity of the letter and became more excited when the letter was authenticated.

Participating in Olympics was the lifelong dream of many athletes. However, as an American track and field athlete, this dream was very difficult.

Richardson felt lucky. With great excitement, Richardson called his coach immediately, hoping to share the good news. When he told his coach, his coach didn't seem excited.

The coach didn't answer for a long time and Richardson realized that something was wrong. He asked, "Coach, are you there? Why aren't you excited?"

"I'm listening." Finally, the coach responded to Richardson. "Listen to me. You can't go. You must refuse the association!"

"Refuse? Are you kidding me? It's the Olympic Games! This chance only comes once every four years! There are only three spots in the long jump event. This is a golden opportunity for me," said Richardson.

"Do you know why those athletes withdrew from the competition? Do you know why they asked you and not the guy who placed in fourth? Did you ever think about that?"

This time Richardson fell silent.

"The drug scandal is really serious. According to the molecular formula of the illicit drugs' ingredients released in that report, the International Anti-Doping Agency has upgraded their drug-detection technology. You should have heard the rumors. If you go to the Olympics, the drugs in your system will be detected and you will probably be suspended."

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I can't give it up!" said Richardson bitterly.

"Are you going to bet your career on whether the technology of the International Anti-Doping Agency is advanced enough to detect the drugs?" asked the coach.

"Maybe their detection technology is not as good as they say," Richardson tried to argue.

"Maybe? If you think so, go ahead!" said the coach with a grim tone. "I want to make this clear in advance. If you're found out, don't tell anyone that I was involved. I'll claim to know nothing about it. Don't try to get me in trouble."

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Chapter 497: Different Reactions (2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

At the University of Oregon, an old man with white hair was approached by a blond man as he was stepping out of his car.

"Coach Logan, long time no see! I'm Smart. Do you remember me?" The blond man extended his right hand to the white-haired old man.

"I remember you. You're the journalist" Coach Logan shook hands with him out of politeness and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I heard that the U.S. Track and Field Association invited you to become the head coach of this national track and field team. I want to talk about their offer," said Smart.

Coach Logan closed the car door and said, "Let's walk and talk."

As they were walking together, Coach Logan said, "Yes, I received the invitation. They wanted me to replace Sebastian as the head coach of the national team."

"Did you accept it?" asked the journalist immediately.

"No, I refused." Coach Logan shook his head with a smile.

"Why? Isn't it a great position?" asked the journalist.

"Indeed, it's a great honor to become the head coach. Every coach wants to lead the world's most powerful track and field team into the Olympic Games, including me." Coach Logan sighed. "But I am old now. I'm 73 years old. I'm not energetic enough to lead a national team with over 150 athletes. If I were twenty years younger, I would accept this invitation."

"I remember that you were the head coach of the national track and field team twenty years ago," the journalist said with a laugh.

"Yes. So many years have passed since then. I served as the assistant coach for a term, the head coach's assistant for two terms and the head coach for two terms. I served the national team for twenty years and I loved it. However, time and tide wait for no man! Now I am vigorous enough for the job. Maybe I can handle being the head coach of the track and field team for this school, but I don't think I'm a good option for the national team." Logan shook his head once again.After seeing the journalist out, Coach Logan smiled.

His assistant came to him and said in a low voice, "Coach, I still don't understand why you refused the U.S. Track and Field Association's invitation."

"What do you think?" asked Logan.

"It's definitely not about you or your body. They don't know you, but I do. I know you are still Have more than enough energy," said the assistant.

"Yes, I am good in strength and energy. Right now the American national team is like a hot potato. They're trying to pass it to anyone they can," Coach Logan responded.

"I don't get it. The American track and field team is the strongest team in the world, isn't it?" said the assistant.

Coach Logan pointed to the chair next to him, motioning his assistant to sit down. "There are 154 athletes on the national track and field team, but 73 of them are involved in the recent drug scandal. That's nearly half the team. I don't even know if the rest of them are clean. Besides, that means there are going to be 73 people on the team who didn't originally make the cut. Who knows if all those substitutes are clean?

"Therefore, the national team this year is not so powerful. Many of the athletes are likely to be second-rate. I'm afraid that they won't even make it to the finals! If my judgment is correct, this will be the weakest national team that we have ever had. Agreeing to lead such a national team to the Olympic Games is agreeing to fail."

Coach Logan took a long sigh and went on, "I have served as the assistant coach of the national team for one term, the vice head coach for two terms and the head coach for two terms. I have received enough accolades. I don't want to destroy my reputation for this!"In the office of the U.S. Track and Field Association, Frey, the COO, stared at the sheet in his hands with a grim look.

"27 people have applied to leave the national team. We have lost 100 athletes in all, including the 73 athletes who were using drugs. There are only 54 athletes on our national team now." Frey spoke in a low voice.

"It seems that the impact of this scandal went beyond our expectations. Maybe the 27 athletes were worried the International Anti-Doping Agency would discover they were using drugs as well." Williams, the CEO of the U.S. Track and Field Association was almost as desperate as Frey. "How about the substitutes?"

Frey looked at another sheet. "We sent 73 emails to take the places of those 73 athletes, but only 23 of them agreed to join the national team. The rest either refused our invitation or didn't reply to us within the allotted amount of time. We only have 77 athletes in all, including these 23 athletes. We still have over seventy vacancies to fill."

"In the past, everyone was eager to join the national team. Now no one wants to." Williams had a wry smile on his face. "Then we have to keep picking athletes according to the qualification standards."

Frey thought about this for a few seconds. "There were only eight athletes in the finals of the qualifiers for each event. We might have to select the athletes who were eliminated in the semifinals of the qualifiers."

"Yes, we have no choice," said Williams.

Frey put down the sheet and asked, "How are we coming along with coaches? Has Coach Logan agreed to coach our team?"

Williams shook his head. "No, he refused. All the famous coaches we've invited have refused. The national team is going to be so weak this year, no one wants to take on that role of leadership for us."

"Damn it. They'd normally kill for the chance but now, when we need them most, they aren't willing to help us out!" Frey said angrily. "The next training camp is only two days away and we still can't find a coach. Should we postpone it?"

"I'm afraid we can't." Williams rubbed his temples. "I plan to let Rivers substitute as the head coach temporarily. He applied to be head coach but didn't even make it to the interview round."

"Rivers? He is too young! He is not qualified for this at all." Obviously, Frey was not optimistic about Rivers.

Williams shrugged his shoulders reluctantly. Like you said, we only have two days to find someone. Rivers is our only choice."

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Chapter 498: Hard to be a Head Coach

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The second training camp for the American track and field team was underway.

"Jimmy, guess what? Our new coach is Rivers," Alexander said with a big smile.

"Rivers who?" Jimmy Aylwin seemed to be a bit confused.

"Don't you remember? He was a 400-meter runner. I remember you competed against him once. I didn't expect he would even become a coach, let alone ours," said Alexander.

"I know this guy. During the last Olympics, he was an assistant coach for the national team. He was at the very bottom," said Aylwin.

"I wouldn't know about that. I was suspended during the last Olympics." Alexander also felt hopeless. "How good is he?"

"Not very good. He didn't even make the national team as an athlete. He hasn't trained a top athlete since becoming a coach either. There's no way he's qualified to coach us. I think I would be a better head coach than him," said Aylwin disdainfully.Rivers was a 400-meter sprinter, but he was never any good. After he was out of his prime, he decided to retire and become a coach.

So far, his coaching career had been better than his athletic one. He hadn't trained any top athlete, he had trained several decent ones. Additionally, he had been able to be an assistant coach for the national team four years ago. Although he was at the bottom, at least he was on the national team.

This year, Rivers had not been satisfied with an assistant coaching position. He wanted to become the second-in-command. Therefore, he applied for the head coaching position, hoping they'd see his potential. However, Rivers was unlucky. He was eliminated in the first round and didn't make it to the interview round.

When Sebastian was head coach, Rivers wasn't offered any spot on the coaching staff. This year, Rivers didn't think he had any chance of being on the national team, not even in an assistant coaching position.

After the drug scandal, Rivers was lucky enough to temporarily replace Sebastian as head coach. It was really beyond his wildest dreams. He had only hoped to be second-in-command. He never thought that he could be the head coach. He accepted the invitation without delay.

When he reached the training camp, he found that there were not enough athletes on the team.An officer of the U.S. Track and Field Association handed Rivers a roster with all the athletes' names on it. There were only about 70 athletes. This was not enough.

There were over twenty track and field events in the Olympic Games, fifty if one divided them by gender as well. As the number one of track and field team in the world, America had a large number of athletes who reached the A standard of the Olympics. Therefore, America could send three athletes to participate in every event. Normally, the American team had about 150 athletes.

Now, there were only 70. Naturally, Rivers had doubts about this list.

"Are there several pages missing?" Rivers pointed to the roster in his hand and wanted the officer to take a look.

"No," the officer responded without looking at it.

"But there are only about 70 athletes," said Rivers.

"Yes, just 70," the officer said.

"Normally, there should be at least 140 athletes, right?" asked Rivers.

"That's all for this year. The rest are banned," responded the officer flatly.

"All of them are banned? How could it be? Why?" Rivers asked all these questions at once.

"Over ninety withdrew from the team and we recruited twenty from the qualifiers that didn't originally make the cut. Don't you understand? The drug scandal decimated the team. I can't even describe how bad of a position we are in. You'll see when you get to the camp."Soon enough, Rivers saw the truth behind the officer's words.

This American team was really terrible.All of the athletes had lost their morale, it was like they had given up before the Olympics had even started.

The drug scandal had lost them almost two-thirds of their team. Everyone else was panicky now. If two-thirds of an army deserted their comrades, the remaining members of the army are put in an impossible position.

The twenty substitute athletes were also in bad shape. Many of them had ranked quite low in the trail so they were nervous about their competition in the Olympics.

Rivers immediately regretted accepting the head coaching job.

When the training began, Rivers met another problem. No one respected him. Some, like Jimmy Aylwin, even ignored him completely.As a legendary athlete, Aylwin was a powerful force on this American team.However, Aylwin had a bad attitude. He gave Rivers the cold shoulder and he looked down upon him.

There was an enormous gap between them. Aylwin had been a legendary athlete for years, the absolute king of the 400-meter event, while Rivers was just a little-known coach without any achievements.

Perhaps Aylwin would have respected Sebastian, who had been famous for years. How could he show his respect to such an insignificant person as Rivers?

More importantly, Rivers was a 400-meter runner with no good achievements. Aylwin competed against him and beat him handily. In fact, Rivers had never even been a threat to Aylwin. Aylwin would not accept him as a coach.

As the king of 400-meter event, how could Aylwin let his defeated opponent to coach him! Therefore, Aylwin ignored Rivers completely and Rivers couldn't do anything about.

Aylwin's attitude obviously influenced the others' as well. Soon Alexander began to ignore Rivers.

Alexander was not as excellent as Aylwin. He was the second-best in the world in his event. However, he had won many world championships and he really didn't care about athletes that weren't as good as him. Naturally, Coach Rivers didn't deserve his respect.

This was a common problem in coaching.A coach had to be strong to gain the respect of high-level athletes. Otherwise, no athlete would accept him and follow his instructions.

In China, coaches had the means to punish the athletes who refused to follow their instructions.In America, coaches didn't have that right. In the four major professional leagues in America, star players were often seen as more important than their coaches.

Faced with this situation, Rivers really couldn't do anything.

When Rivers was an athlete, Aylwin had been great. Now he was still extremely powerful. Therefore, Rivers had to let Aylwin do what he wanted.

As for Alexander, Rivers also couldn't do anything to him. After all, Alexander was also a world champion!

Without the necessary strength, Rivers knew that he could do nothing but tolerate this bullying. Any qualified coach would not tolerate this. However, any qualified coach would not be in this situation.

The situation got worse and worse. As the training went on, more and more athletes began to refused to cooperate with Rivers. He realized that he had lost control of the entire team.

The root of this problem was his relationship with Aylwin.

The rest of the team looked up to him. They followed his example. Many young athletes, therefore, treated Rivers the same way Alywin did.

Western culture praised individualism. There were many stories about superheroes saving the world. They had been popular since the second World War. In this culture, the obedience of the collective was far less popular than the worship of an individual hero.

If one wanted to control all the athletes in this national team, he must deal with Aylwin first. It would be much easier to get other athletes to obey him if he could get the approval of Aylwin. If the best athlete on the team obeyed the coach, the others would follow him.

Nevertheless, Aylwin didn't accept Rivers at all, so other athletes would not trust him.Rivers sat in the corner of the small bar, drinking alone.

"Coach Rivers, I didn't expect to see you here," someone said. Rivers raised his head and saw a familiar face.

His name was Carter, a doctor for the team. They had known each other since Rivers had been an assistant coach.

Carter sat next to Rivers and stated the obvious. "You look miserable. Did something go wrong?"

By this time, Rivers was a little drunk. He nodded and muttered, "I'm a really bad coach."

"Why do you say that?" asked Carter.

"None of my athletes listen to me. They basically ignore me! They pretend that I don't exist at all!" Rivers complained.

Carter sighed slightly, "Coach Rivers, actually aren't a bad coach. You should have stayed away from this team. the national team is a disaster right now. You can't handle it all."

"Why?" asked Rivers.

"Rivers, have you ever wondered why the position of the head coach of the national team fell to you? Do you think you are qualified for this position or do you think you are extremely lucky?" asked Carter with a grim look on his face.

"You know something, don't you?" Rivers was sobering up a bit. He pleaded earnestly, "Doctor Carter, we've known each other for years. If you know something, please tell me."

"The U.S. Track and Field Association chose you because you were their only option," said Carter.

"What do you mean?" asked Rivers.

Carter leaned forward and lowered his voice. "This head coaching position used to be a coveted spot. This year it's different. The team only has half the athletes it needs. No matter who was the head coach, the team would be awful. We'll fail this Olympics, badly."

"We are the number one track and field power in the world. Our people may accept a bad result, but definitely they will not allow a disastrous defeat. Therefore, someone needs to accept responsibility. Who do you think should be responsible for it? The athletes? Or the head coach?"

"I think now you understand why the position of the head coach fell to you. The coaches who are more famous, more qualified and more powerful than you all know that the national team is a mess right now. They didn't want them to fail on their watch. Being the most unsuccessful head coach of American could be a permanent stain on one's legacy!"

Rivers was now completely sober.

"Doctor Carter, thank you! Thank you so much!" Rivers had decided that after he returned home, he would immediately draft a letter of resignation.

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Chapter 499: Other Possibilities

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Rivers handed his letter of resignation to Williams, CEO of the U.S. Track and Field Association.

Williams took the resignation and asked, "Coach Rivers, why do you want to resign?"

"I don't think I am qualified to be the head coach." Rivers was clearly ashamed of this statement. "I'm not as talented as many of the athletes and they don't respect me. Our training didn't go well.

At the moment, Rivers felt a little gratified. Aylwin's bullying gave him an excuse to resign. Williams had to accept his resignation.

Williams nodded to show that he has understood River's concerns.

As the leader of the U.S. Track and Field Association, Williams certainly had to pay attention to the daily training of the track and field team, so he knew that Rivers was not lying.

The main issue that Rivers had was with Aylwin. Rivers lost his respect so he lost the respect of the entire team. That's why I have to solve the problem from Aylwin first. No one will be able to coach the team if he keeps this attitude of his.

Williams felt helpless.

Aylwin was no ordinary athlete, he was the king of the 400-meter sprint. When an athlete was as famous and brilliant as Aylwin, he had power over the U.S. Track and Field Association. The association needed Alywin to get sponsorships and commercial spots. He was one of their most popular athletes

Moreover, because of the scandal, there were few athletes left on the US team that could win a gold medal. Aylwin was there best shot at getting gold this year.

Normally, the association wouldn't bother Aylwin. If they wanted him to do something, they'd ask him. If he said yes, that was great. If he said no, they couldn't force him to do anything that he didn't want to.

In this instance, Williams made up his mind to have a talk with Aylwin. After accepting Rivers's letter of resignation, Williams personally went to the training ground and invited Aylwin to the training room.Williams handed Aylwin a bottle of unopened mineral water and said, "Jimmy, Coach Rivers has handed in his resignation letter."

Aylwin replied with "Oh." His tone didn't give anything away.

"Jimmy, I was wondering if you were dissatisfied with Rivers?" Williams asked with a smile.

"Dissatisfied with Rivers? No!" Aylwin shook his head, "I just think he is not qualified to be the head coach of the national team. You know, Mr. Williams, that high-level physical training is like sailing against the current. You have to forge ahead or be driven back. If a coach is bad, then his athletes get worse. I didn't follow Rivers' instructions, because I don't think his training ability can help me maintain my current competitive state. On the contrary, it may cause it to become worse."

"I see!" Williams pretended to understand what Aylwin meant. "But you must know our current situation. We are greatly affected by the performance-enhancing drugs scandal. Most of the best track and field coaches in America are involved, so it's really hard for us to find an excellent track and field coach to lead the national team. Rivers, at the moment, was the best choice for us."

"I understand." There was still a look of defiance on his face.

Williams continued. "Now, Rivers has resigned, so we need to look for a new coach to replace him. We might not be able to find a better coach than Rivers but, for the sake of the team, I hope you can accommodate yourself to the new coach and support his work."

As Williams spoke to Aylwin, he observed Aylwin's expression, hoping that Aylwin would nod and agree.

However, to Williams' disappointment, Aylwin shook his head.

"Mr. Williams, all I can promise is that I won't make trouble for the new coach. If he can't help me to maintain the current state, I won't follow his training programs," said Aylwin.

Williams was back to feeling helpless, because what he said was no effect on Aylwin. All the members of the track and field team followed his leadership. If he didn't accept the new coach, then the new coach would be the next Rivers, and leave the national team in dejection.

Realizing that Williams was in quandary, Aylwin felt he should make a concession, so he said, "Mr. Williams, I won't participate in the national team's training next time. I will continue to train with my former coach so that I won't affect other athletes, I think it's a viable solution."

"So, you are not going to participate in the training camp? No! That's impossible!" Williams immediately shook his head.

Aylwin was the top star of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. They needed him to attract the attention of the public. Aylwin was more of a symbol than an ordinary athlete. Aylwin to the team is what the giant panda is to a zoo. Without him, the team would not be much less attractive.

"I'm sorry that I have no other solutions." Aylwin looked helpless.

Williams came up with an idea immediately.

"Aylwin, now that you have some doubts about our new coach, we can hire your former coach to the national team and appoint him a coach of the national team. He can continue to train you, and your training won't be affected. I think this plan is feasible, right?" Williams asked smugly.

Aylwin thought for a while and said, "This is a feasible solution, but I think Coach Li may not agree. He may not be energetic enough and he may not be willing to be an ordinary coach led by someone else."

"Coach Li? He is your coach, right? What's his name?" Williams asked subconsciously. Williams thought his name was Lee, which is a common surname in British and American countries.

"His name is Dai Li, and he has a chain physical training center in Los Angeles. You may have heard of him," said Aylwin.

"Dai Li? That Chinese coach! He is your coach! He's also the coach of Justin Alexander!" Williams looked surprised.

Williams began to think about other possibilities.

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Chapter 500: Finding a Scapegoat

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Frey, the Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Track and Field Association, stared at Williams, surprised.

"Mr. Williams, did I hear you right? You mean 'the head coach'? You want to hire a Chinese man to be the head coach of our American track and field team?"

Williams was pleased with Frey's surprised reaction. He nodded, "Yeah, you heard that correctly."

"America is the best in track and field. Our team is the Dream Team! Ae you sure we should hire a Chinese man to be our head coach? His country only wins one gold medal in track and field every Olympics.

"I have thought carefully about this," Williams said. "I was so blind and optimistic about the appointment of Rivers, but it turned out to be a bad decision. Rivers was not qualified enough to be respected by the athletes, and they would respect Li. So far, the only American coaches we can find are lie Rivers."

"Yeah, the coaches who are qualified are either involved in the performance-enhancing drugs scandal or have turned down our invitation," said Frey.

"I think other less qualified and less competent coaches would face the same situation as Rivers. If they can't be accepted by the athletes and lead the whole national team, then they are not capable of being the head coach. So, I think we should find someone who is competent, no matter their nationality.

"Dai Li is qualified. He coaches Aylwin, Alexander, and Ford. They won't resist their own coach, so they will help Dai Li to get a foothold in the national team."

Frey nodded, "I agree with you, but Dai Li is Chinese! I'm very uncomfortable a Chinese man as the head coach of our American team. The public opinion won't be on our side. People might think that our going outside the country to find a head coach shows that we are incompetent as an organization!"

"But that's true. We do lack qualified talent right now, right?" Williams composed himself. "There's no shame in owning your flaws in front of the public."

"But…"

Frey was about to say something, when Williams waved his hands to interrupt him. "In fact, after Rivers handed in his resignation letter, I was wondering if we handled the scandal badly. Coaches don't want to work with us now. Is that our fault?

Frey gritted his teeth and said, "This is all on the damn investigative journalist who exposed the performance-enhancing drugs scandal. It cost us a lot of brilliant athletes. Before his report, coaches would be scrambling to become our head coach. Now they all know that this Olympics is going to be the Waterloo of the American track and field team."

"That's normal. Why would they get on a sinking ship? We all know this year the team is like the Titanic. When the Olympics begin, it's going to hit the iceberg. Although we don't want the ship to sink, we can't stop it."

Williams paused and became more serious. "We want to save a ship that's bound to sink, but we can't. We should find another solution. We should consider who should take responsibility for the sinking?"

"You mean find a scapegoat? You want to Dai Li to be the scapegoat?" Realization dawned on his face.

"Of course, we need to find a scapegoat. Otherwise we will bear responsibility for the failure! The media will blame the team's failure at the Olympics on our association. Someone will even force us to resign. You don't want to see that happen, do you? Don't you think it's great to put the responsibility on someone who's Chinese?" Williams said with a strange smile on his face.

Frey hesitated for a while, lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Williams, I don't think it's a good way to solve this in such a racially motivated way. Now everything that involves race is very sensitive. If you can't handle it properly, you will get yourself into trouble."

"You misunderstood me. I'm not going to make anything about race. It's not about race it's about nationality." Williams waved his hands and added, "I heard that Dai Li never got American citizenship. He just got the green card, so he's still a Chinese citizen. We can take advantage of this. Our President, our members of Congress and other politicians are saying all the time that China is stealing American jobs, China is stealing America's intelligence, China has polluted the earth, China has hampered the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and China has driven up the housing prices in California. In their view, whatever the Chinese do is wrong! And more importantly, the public is also happy to believe what these politicians say!

"Really, it's our politicians that are incompetent, but they passed the buck to China. It's very effective, so why don't we imitate these politicians!" With a conspiratorial smile on his face, Williams continued. "Since the end of the Second World War, our government has been engaging in ideological propaganda and several generations have been brainwashed. They don't care whether it's wrong or right, they're just willing to believe what they want to hear. They to believe their values are real. So why do we insist on the truth when we can give the public an answer that they want.

"So, finding a Chinese scapegoat and making him take responsibility for the failure of an American team is the best solution. The public will want to believe it as well. We just need to say is 'Look, we failed and it's all because of the Chinese coach! The public will take out their anger on Dai Li. After one or two years later, when the drugs scandal is forgotten about, everything will be OK for us…"

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Chapter 501: A Disaster

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"The defendant is found to be not guilty of first-degree murder and not guilty of police assault." As the judge finished speaking, he slammed his gavel with force.

Dai Li exited of the defendant's stand and immediately walked towards Wilfrid to shake his hand.

"Thank you very much, Wilfrid," Dai Li said.

"Mr. Li, it is the least I can do. Besides, I've always believed that you were innocent." Wilfrid's plump face was filled with a bright smile. Apart from winning the lawsuit, there was a generous sum of lawyer fees waiting for him. It was worth opening up a bottle of champagne to celebrate once he reached home.

Upon leaving the court, Blake was already waiting in the car. After saying goodbye to Wilfrid, Dai Li entered Blake's car.

"First, I'd like to congratulate you on winning the lawsuit." As Blake spoke, he handed a letter to Dai Li. "Take a look, this is an invitation letter we just received. From the American Track and Field Association. They're inviting you to become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

"Recruiting me to become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!" Dai Li wasn't sure if he shouldn't believe what he had heard or if he shouldn't believe Blake's words. He wasn't an American. There was no need for the almighty US national team to find a foreign head coach to take the reins.

"When I first saw this invitation letter, I also thought it was a prank! Why would the US National Track and Field Team want a Chinese guy to become the head coach? However, I've called and checked with the Track and Field Association; it's real," Blake started the engine as he spoke.

The car moved steadily forward along the road. Dai Li reviewed the invitation letter in detail. He read it from beginning to end three times before asking, "Regarding this invitation letter, what do you think?"

"There are pros and cons! Becoming the head coach of the U.S. national team can definitely boost your fame and reputation. It's certain to be beneficial for the development of our fitness centers. These are the pros," Blake said as he slowed the car down.

He then continued, "As for the cons, the current state of the U.S. National Track and Field Team is terrible. Before I came here, I called and asked Irwin; he told me that the current team is only half-filled. The athletes who were able to compete for gold medals were mostly caught up in the performance-enhancing drugs scandal, and have left the U.S. National Team. The current team will become the worst national team in history. Leading such a team to the Olympics is like going to meet your doom. Regardless of who becomes the head coach, he has to bear the responsibility of failing in the Olympic Games. So if you ask me, I feel that becoming the head coach of the US national track and field team has more cons than pros. My suggestion is to say no. Just reject the Track and Field Association."

Dai Li nodded, but did not speak.

Dai Li's behavior somehow made Blake feel uneasy, as if there was a possibility of something terrible happening. With his understanding of Dai Li, it wasn't a look that said that he was going to reject the Track and Field Association.

"Don't tell me you're planning to take head coach job. I admit 'the head coach of the US National Track and Field Team' sounds wonderful. However, there's also a lot of responsibility you need to bear. Don't be blinded by the glory and prestige in front of you. Think about it carefully; there are so many excellent track and field coaches all over America, it can't be that everyone has been involved in the performance-enhancing drugs scandal, right? There will always be people who weren't part of it, but why didn't they become the head coach of the national team? Why didn't they look for an American coach when there are so many of them lying around? If it were really a good job, how could this job opening fall to a Chinese coach like you?"

Blake sounded a little anxious. He continued advising, "The current U.S. National Track and Field Team is too weak, even ignoring the fact that they're missing a lot in number; they aren't exactly the strongest either. The result and performance of this Olympic Games will be unbearable. It's like a gamble that you are sure to lose. If you know that there's no chance of winning, why would you waste time placing a bet?"

Blake's anxious look made Dai Li laugh. He said, "Looks like the miracles that I've produced these past few years aren't enough!"

"Are you really going to accept that disaster?" Blake asked.

"Don't you think that taking on the impossible is an interesting thing to do?" Dai Li asked with a laugh.

Blake shook his head and said, "I've never thought that it was interesting. I prefer the taste of victory. I'd rather lead an unbeatable team than to challenge the impossible or something."

"Leading a winning team is boring! All the opponents you meet are weak; they pose no threat to you. Sooner or later, the joy of winning will dissipate. You will become used to winning and you will lose the joy you feel when you achieve victory. You might even become numb. Try and think about it, if competitive sports is always one-sided, and you lose the joy and thrill of competition, then wouldn't it be better to just sit in front of the TV and watch a soap opera?" Dai Li asked.

"How do you know all this?" Blake asked.

"Have you forgotten? I used to be a fitness coach for such a team. It was our national table tennis team. We kept on winning; it was boring," Dai Li sighed as he spoke. He then changed his tone and said, "You should just relax and stop worrying. Before taking over this disaster, I will first try and understand things, to learn where I stand. I will not fight a battle that I cannot win."Dai Li arrived at the headquarters of the American Track and Field Association and met with the CEO of the association, Mr. Williams.

"Coach Li. Welcome!" Williams was warm as he invited Dai Li to the meeting room. He then personally introduced the situation of the U.S. Track and Field Team to Dai Li.

Actually, Dai Li already knew the team's situation. Before he came, he had already received a lot of information from Irwin, and it was all intelligence from the front line of training. It was far more detailed than what Williams mentioned.

"Mr. Williams, according to what you've said, we currently don't even have enough athletes to participate in the competition?" Dai Li asked.

"As of now, yes. However, we are still recruiting athletes," Williams nodded as he replied.

"Based on what I know, before the 15th of July, we have to submit the name list of all the participating athletes to the International Olympic Committee. And now, there's only around a week left before we reach this date," Dai Li said.

Williams nodded awkwardly, "That is indeed the case. We are really short on time."

"Then in your opinion, do you think that we can recruit enough athletes within the timeframe given by the International Olympic Committee?" Dai Li continued asking.

"We, the Track and Field Association, will work hard to settle this." Williams gave a vague answer. It actually showed that he wasn't confident in that regard.

"Mr. Williams, if that is the case, I have a demand," Dai Li said.

The fact that Dai Li wanted to make demands wasn't beyond the expectation of Williams. After all, since he was willing to take over in this awful situation, surely there was no way he wouldn't make any demands.

"Coach Li, please speak. As long as it is within our powers, we won't deny it," Williams declared.

"I want the right to select participating athletes. Half of the current U.S National Track and Field Team has not been confirmed. I want to personally select these athletes!" Dai Li announced.

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Chapter 502: Well-Prepared

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In Asian countries, if one were to reach the B standard of the Olympic Games in track and field, it meant that the person would be able to represent the country in participating in the Olympic Games. In European, African, or South American countries that weren't great in sports, reaching the A standard would make one eligible to participate in the Olympic Games.

Only in the US, as the world's number one nation in track and field, reaching the A standard of the Olympics was the lowest standard. In any track and field event, the number of athletes who could reach the A standard of the Olympics was numerous.

In the Olympic Qualifier not so long ago, Dai Li was at the stadium. He personally witnessed many excellent athletes getting eliminated because they didn't make it into the top three. Among them, there was no lack of incredibly talented athletes or athletes with a high ability value that were eliminated because of a bad performance. Upon using his detector, Dai Li even discovered athletes with A grade talent potential getting knocked out in the first round. It must be said that athletes with A grade talent potential were people who could become world champions without much problem; however, these athletes had faced elimination in the first round of the qualifiers.

That was the athlete selection system in the U.S. Everything was decided in one round. It didn't matter if the athlete was extremely talented, extremely capable, very famous, or if the athlete had multiple past achievements and glories. It didn't even matter if the athlete was a world record holder, as long as he failed to qualify, he could not participate in the Olympics.

Although a selection system like this was very fair and just, it resulted in many excellent athletes missing out on taking part in the Olympic Games.

During the qualifiers, Dai Li used his detector on every single athlete when he had nothing to do. He discovered many "lost pearls" during that time. Some failed to qualify because they didn't perform at their best, and some could not display their full strength due to training issues. Some were simply faced with far better opponents, so they were eliminated.

For Dai Li, this was a waste of these athletes. If they were not in the U.S., they would have definitely had the chance to appear in the Olympic Games. However, Dai Li did not plan on helping them either. After all, they weren't his athletes.

However, things were different now. Dai Li was going to become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. The "lost pearls" Dai Li discovered back then had suddenly become important. For example, the athlete with an A grade talent potential who was eliminated in the first round could definitely become a champion in the Olympics, if Dai Li had some time to train him properly.

As such, Dai Li requested that he select the participating athletes. His objective was to recruit and gather all the athletes who had a chance of achieving great results in the Olympic Games. It was also the reason for Dai Li's confidence in taking over that pile of mess.

Any other coach would be bound to fail at taking over the current U.S. track and field team. As the saying goes, "Even a chef wouldn't be able to cook a good meal without rice." No matter how good or amazing the coach is, when the athletes suck, nothing works.

However, Dai Li was able to find hidden but excellent athletes. If these athletes were to succeed in joining the US national team, the overall strength of the U.S. national team wouldn't drop too much.

Dai Li was actually well-prepared.After listening to Dai Li's request, Williams did not agree to it immediately. Instead, he started thinking.

In other countries, there was nothing more ordinary than the head coach selecting the participating athletes. However, the US was different. The right to participate in every individual event for the US national team was fundamentally due to qualifiers. This rule had been in place for over a decade.

Now, Dai Li had requested to select the participating athletes. It not only undoubtedly broke with the traditions of the US national team, but it also violated this rule that the US national team had maintained for over a decade. Of course, Williams could not simply make a promise. Deep down in his heart, he was even against Dai Li's demand.

Breaking with tradition was not an easy feat. Moreover, Williams had more to consider. Williams was worried that, if he agreed to Dai Li's demand, future head coaches of the US national team would make the same request.

After much deliberation, Williams finally said, "Coach Li, the US national team has always been selecting athletes through the qualifiers; it has been like this for over a decade. Your request, it does not comply with our rules."

What Williams actually meant was that he had no intention of accepting Dai Li's demands.

Dai Li then advised him. "Mr. Williams, I don't plan to disobey your rules, and I have no intention of challenging your tradition; however, the current issue at hand is that we don't even have enough athletes to participate in the competition. This issue should be solved first. Isn't the reason you asked me to become the head coach so that I could solve problems?

"As the saying goes, when times are abnormal, the methods should be abnormal too. The time between now and the deadline for submitting the participating athletes' name list is only slightly more than a week away. If we follow the standard selection procedure and go about things step by step, we won't make it. Besides, I will also need time to train and integrate the team. If we can't do even that, then I can't guarantee good results for the athletes."

Williams furrowed his brow and pondered over the issue for a while before finally nodding. "Alright, Coach Li, you've persuaded me. However, I hope that you can submit the participants' name list three days before the deadline of the International Olympic Committee."

"No problem," Dai Li promised with a nod.As Dai Li's silhouette gradually disappeared from afar, Frey asked in a whisper, "Mr. Williams, do you really plan on letting Dai Li choose the athletes himself?"

"I've already promised him, do you expect me to go back on my word?" Williams answered.

"But we've never done something like this before, we've always selected athletes through qualifiers," Frey said.

"We're already at this stage. Unless you want us to organize another qualifier?" Williams smiled slyly. He then said, "I know what you want to say. You think I've given Dai Li too much authority, right?"

"That is a concern of mine, yes," Frey admitted without hesitation.

"Don't forget the reason we deliberately found a Chinese man to become the head coach. We just need him to be a suitable scapegoat. So what if we gave him a little authority? Besides, something like selecting athletes, do you really think that it is some kind of power?"

Before Frey could answer, Williams said, as if responding to himself, "In my opinion, that isn't any form of authority or power, only a troublesome task. There's only slightly more than a week left but he needs to add at least six or seven athletes. That is an arduous task in and of itself. At first, my head hurt trying to solve this problem, but now it's all better. Someone is here to solve our problems.

"During the Olympic Games, if the track and field results of the US national team are subpar, we have all the more reason to push all the responsibility onto Dai Li. He is the head coach. Moreover, the athletes were handpicked by him, but the results were terrible. So, all responsibility for failure will be borne by him!"

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Chapter 503: The Student has Surpassed the Master

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"New Coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team Announced!"

"The First Foreign Coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

"Facing Danger, Chinese Coach Taking Over the Reins of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

"The Decline of the U.S. National Track and Field Team? We've Found a Non-American Coach!"

The following day, all the major media outlets ran a piece in their sports section announcing Dai Li as the new head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

Most media reports were relatively neutral or, more precisely, they were relatively simple. They only gave a brief overview instead of going into a detailed report.

Some media outlets, however, found Dai Li's resume and discovered that he was the one who groomed the "Blade Warrior" Phillip. They also found that the 400m sprint king Jimmy Irwin, upon making his return, chose Dai Li as his coach. At the same time, Dai Li also had his fitness training centers. From this point of view, Dai Li did indeed have the qualifications to become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

There were also a lot of news outlets that generated negative opinions. They obviously felt that the U.S. National Track and Field Team should not have a Chinese guy as its head coach.

"The U.S. is the best in the world when it comes to track and field, but now we actually need a foreigner to become our country's track and field team's head coach!"

"Does the United States' track and field need to be saved by a Chinese coach? What are our American coaches doing?"

"Has the Track and Field Association gone mad? They actually let a Chinese person lead our national team! The number of gold medals they have can't even be compared to amount we have!"

"Although China isn't a country that's weak in track and field, it definitely isn't a strong one. How can a Chinese coach have the qualifications necessary to lead the world's strongest and mightiest team, the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

The U.S. was an immigration nation. The society was considerably inclusive, and foreigners holding the position of a head coach in a particular national sports team wasn't actually rare. In the history of the U.S. Olympic delegation, there have been multiple instances where the head coach was not born in America.

However, in events that the U.S. was strong in, there had never been a non-American head coach. For example, basketball in the U.S., every coach had been American, and in the many years of NBA history, there had never been a foreign head coach. Occasionally, there would be coaches with dual nationalities, but they always grew up from American basketball culture.

The track and field event was a traditionally strong event for the U.S.. In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States conquered the world of track and field and all of the previous U.S. National Track and Field Team were far stronger than the current U.S.A basketball dream team. Therefore, there had never been a non-American track and field coach in the history of the U.S.

As such, there was no way the Americans would accept a head coach leading their national track and field team if he wasn't born in America.

Some media outlets gave Dai Li negative reviews, and some also voiced their objections. People also expressed themselves on the internet, saying that they shouldn't let a foreigner become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

However, overall, it didn't really cause a huge public uproar. After all, coaches did not attract as much attention as athletes. Not many would pay special attention to whomever it was that coached a particular athlete. There were some who only paid attention to who won the championship, they didn't even bother with the second and third-placed athlete. These people obviously wouldn't care about news regarding coaches.In the age of the internet, the spread of information around the world in seconds. As soon as the news was broadcasted in the U.S., people on the other side of the ocean would see it.

It was morning in the U.S., and night in China. At that moment, most people who worked for internet corporations in China had not yet finished their work for the day.

For an internet corporation in China, a 996 work system was common. Going to work at 9 in the morning, leaving at 9 in the evening, working six days a week. It had already become the rule of various internet corporations. These sorts of schedules far exceeded the stipulated time allowed by labor law. However, internet businesses simply enjoyed that work system, many even took pride in it.

It was also because of the 996 work system that many editors who were working overtime had the chance to see the news right away.

In the editing room of some web portals, Editor A read a piece of news on an American site.

"'New Coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team Announced.' That was such a huge scandal, even the head coach was involved. Looks like the chances for the U.S. National Track and Field Team is slim this time. I wonder what kind of head coach they found to become the savior of the American team," Editor A said to himself.

He actually didn't care too much about this piece of news, the people in China were similar to the people of the U.S.. They don't follow coaches as much as they did athletes. Even if it were the coaches of their respective countries, no one really bothered, and this guy was the coach of some foreign country.

A piece of news like that wouldn't garner much attention even after being translated, so the editor didn't really plan to click on the link. However, considering the performance-enhancing drug scandal that rocked the U.S. recently, the editor still clicked and opened the news webpage, albeit with just a curious and not-really-thinking-about-it mentality.

"Eh? I'm not mistaken, am I? The head coach of the U.S. national team is actually Chinese!" Editor A exclaimed loudly in shock.

"What's all the noise? That scared the hell out of me!" A complaining sound came from the side. The guy had been secretly sleeping before the shout from Editor A woke him up. After all, not every employee could take the 996 work system. It was common to nap if one couldn't hold on.

"Guys, hurry up! Come and see this! The new head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team is actually Chinese!" Editor A repeated.

"That's fake, right? With the American's standard, why would they need a foreign coach? There's a ton of exceptional track and field coaches lying around everywhere over there."

"If you think about it, there's no way that's possible. After all, how strong is the U.S. track and field team? And how strong is our track and field team? We're not even one-tenth of their strength! What gives us the right to teach the Americans track and field?"

Everyone thought that Editor A was just exaggerating things. Some people walked over to expose Editor A's lie but, instead, found out that the editor was telling the truth.

"Damn, it's real. It really said so on the news!" Someone said.

"It can't be, right?" Some people surrounded Editor A, while others started frantically searching on different website. A few even went to the American Track and Field Association's official website. All the information they obtained was consistent.

The U.S. was the strongest track and field country in the world. The mighty U.S.A National Track and Field Team actually went and hired a Chinese guy to become their head coach. To the editors, it was big news. It definitely was seen as bringing glory to the nation.

In truth, a lot of Chinese citizens still had an inferiority complex, believing that everything overseas was more developed and, therefore, better. Everything the foreigners said seemed better because the grass is always greener outside the country. As such, when a Chinese citizen achieved something in the developed western countries, it was regarded as bringing glory to the country.

Extreme self-belittlement and xenophilia were, of course, not something to be encouraged. However, regarding track and field, the U.S. was indeed sufficiently developed and strong; no other countries in the world could compare. That alone was an indisputable fact.

So, the poor editors started another overtime shift. Dai Li becoming the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team instantly appeared in the sports section of all the big news outlets' websites. Some sites even made the news their headline.Early in the morning, in a quiet community situated within the third ring of the capital of China, Beijing, a ferocious-looking old man with a shaved head walked on a bent path as he hummed a tune.

The old man was the ex-assistant head coach of the national track and field team of China, Li Xue. The current Li Xue had long begun enjoying his life of retirement.

In front of the community area, there was an old soybean shop that Li Xue visited every morning. He walked straight in and ordered a bowl of soy milk. He glanced at the freshly fried ring and swallowed his saliva, but in the end he ordered a tea egg.

"Aiyo, old Xue, why didn't you order a fried ring today?" Someone beside him asked.

"Fried food is unhealthy and I have high blood pressure. I need to eat less of these things. I ate them yesterday, so I dare not eat them today." Li Xue shook his head in resignation. Later, he grabbed his soy milk and tea egg, found a table, and sat down.

Li Xue knew everyone at the table. Two old men also ate their breakfast there every morning. A thirty-year-old, middle-aged man who was a manager at a nearby real estate agency also sat at the table. The man lived nearby, and also became a part of the neighborhood.

As is the case when a few old men are gathered together, they began gossiping. The real estate agent started browsing on his phone instead of joining in the gossip.

"Aiyo, fresh news! The U.S. national team made a Chinese man their head coach!" The real estate agent suddenly announced.

"What did you say? Is it real? The Americans are so strong, they wouldn't need on of us to be their coach" one of the old men exclaimed.

"It says so on the news, Uncle Chen, see for yourself if you don't believe me!" The real estate agent passed his phone to the old man.

The old man took out his reading glasses from his pocket and began reading that piece of news on the phone.

"It really is true, huh. 'The U.S. National Track and Field Team welcomes their first foreign coach.'" The old man read the title of the news and said, "Look at the picture, this guy is still young. He must be pretty amazing if he can become the head coach of the Americans."

"Let me see!" The other old man grabbed the phone, read the news once, and spoke to Li Xue. "Old Xue, this fellow is better than you. You've worked for your whole life, but you were only ever our national team's assistant head coach. You didn't even become the head coach. Look at this guy, he might be half your age, and he's already the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

The way the old man spoke, one would know from a glance that he was the type of person that provoked people whenever he could.

With a dissatisfied look, Li Xue said, "That must be fake! The American track and field standard is so high, turning to one of us to be their head coach? In my opinion, it must be fake news!"

"See for yourself if you don't believe us! It says that it was announced on the official American Track and Field Association's website, and there's even a picture there!" The old man passed the phone to Li Xue.

Li Xue took the phone with contempt, but when he saw Dai Li's photograph in the news on the phone, his expression suddenly became stiff.

In the next second, Li Xue's chopstick dropped to the floor and tears began welling up in his eyes.

As soon as the old man who just spoke saw Li Xue's expression change, he mistakenly thought that he had agitated Li Xue. He immediately said, "Old Xue, what's wrong with you? Don't be like this! I was only kidding. My mouth stinks, I was only messing with you! Is it alright if I just say sorry to you?"

However, tears rolled down Lie Xue's cheeks.

"Old Sun, look at you. Never know when to shut up, now you've done it!" The other old man blamed him.

"It's not Old Sun's fault, I'm happy!" Li Xue wiped the tears off his face. He pointed towards Dai Li's photo on the phone and said, "This guy here is my apprentice! His name is Dai Li, and he is my apprentice!"

"What? He's your apprentice?"

"Are you serious? Old Xue, aren't you amazing, grooming a head coach of the U.S. national team!"

"Even the head coach of the U.S. team is your apprentice. Old Xue you sure have some hidden moves!"

The surrounding people who were more familiar with Li Xue immediately gathered around them.

Even the owner of the place walked towards them. He looked at Dai Li's photo and said, "Old Xue, this apprentice of yours sure looks young. When you were around his age, you'd only just joined the national team as a coach, isn't that right? This sounds like the student surpassing his master, doesn't it?"

"Yes, the student has surpassed the master! It's good that the student has surpassed the master!" Li Xue breathed in deeply. However, he felt that there was still an uncontrollable feeling within his heart.

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Chapter 504: Different Reactions

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhongyi Xu went from his position as a first-team coach to an administrative position. Due to his excellent performance as a coach, his career had been relatively smooth. He was now the assistant director of the General Administration of Sport in Hanbei Province. The Provincial Sports Bureau was considered a departmental level unit.

In the morning, Zhongyi Xu went to his office. The room had already been cleaned by his comrades in the office. The hot water in the water dispenser was already boiled. Zhongyi Xu made himself a cup of instant coffee and stirred it with a spoon. The coffee's aroma filled the entire room.

Most sports coaches in China liked to drink tea. A large teapot, half filled with camellia sinensis, would relieve the heat and quench their thirst. It could last an entire morning. However, Zhongyi Xu was different. He was a swimming coach, so he stayed in the swimming pool all day. He was not hot in the summer, and he was not cold in the winter. He hated the humidity of the pool, so he chose coffee. He felt that it helped dispel that humidity. Over time, drinking coffee became a habit.

There was a knock on the door. Zhongyi Xu shouted to invite the person in and he saw that it was the director.

"Director! Why are you here?" Zhongyi Xu immediately got up and greeted him.

"I need to talk to you about something." The director didn't consider himself an outsider in Xu's office, and he promptly sat on the sofa in the room.

"If you needed me for something, you could have just called me over. Why did you have to come personally? Let me pour you a cup of tea." Zhongyi Xu smiled and walked to the water dispenser.

The director sniffed with his nose and said, "Are you brewing coffee? That's good. I don't drink tea anymore. Give me a cup of your coffee."

"Alright. I will make one for you, but I only have instant coffee, I hope you don't mind," Zhongyi Xu said.

"I don't know what that is. I usually drink tea every day. It's good to have a change of taste here and try something different," the director replied.

Zhongyi Xu made the director a cup of coffee. He then sat down on the sofa and asked, "Director, what is it that you wanted to see me about?"

"Our provincial training team used to have a coach named Dai Li. He was later taken away by the National Table Tennis Team. This person was recruited through a talent search, and he was recommended by you. You are familiar with him, right?"

"I recommended Dai Li. At the time, he was very capable. I felt that he had talent, so I recommended him to the training team. I heard that he has not been part of the National Table Tennis Team for the past two years. He seems to have gone to the United States."

Zhongyi Xu actually knew that Dai Li was operating a physical fitness training center in the United States, but he was not sure why the director was asking about this. Because of his uncertainty, he gave a somewhat ambiguous answer. He neither dared to admit that he was very familiar with Dai Li nor dared to say that he was unfamiliar with Dai Li.

It all depended on whether the director was going to talk about something good or something bad. If it was bad, Zhongyi Xu would say that the two of them had not kept in touch after Dai Li left for the United States. He would try his best to sever his relationship with Dai Li. If it was good, then Zhongyi Xu would definitely say that he and Dai Li had a close relationship. They were practically brothers. Zhongyi Xu was politically sensitive.

He heard the director ask, "Do you still keep in touch with him now?"

Zhongyi Xu secretly observed the director's expression and found that the director's appearance was not very serious, but was rather one of expectation.

"I can contact Dai Li," Zhongyi Xu replied. Instead of saying the words "keep in touch," he said "can contact." This was a deliberate move to create room for him to maneuver.

"It would be good if you could get in touch." The director smiled and went on to say, "If you can, please invite Dai Li to visit our sports bureau and give us some guidance."

"What? Let him guide us in our work?" Zhongyi Xu was shocked.

"It seems that you still don't know! Our 'old colleague' is now the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team! The United States is number one in track and field and they hired him to be the head coach. He made us proud," the director said.

"Really?" Zhongyi Xu could not believe it, but he knew that the director would not make jokes about such matters with him.

This Dai Li. I thought he had gone to the United States to run a large gym, I did not to get such huge news about him! Zhongyi Xu thought.

By then, Zhongyi Xu already understood the intention of the director. The director was looking for Dai Li to "claim kinship." Asking the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team to be a guest was obviously more valuable than asking domestic coaches. It was more glamorous.

The director went on to say, "I wonder if his position should be consider a result of our successful coaching system! So, are we going to take this opportunity to highlight our experience in training coaches? We will continue to work harder, and continue to train more talented coaches.

"Old Xu, as you are a coach, this matter will be handed over to you. Give me a detailed report later.

"In addition, the General Administration of Sports of China will have a meeting next week and I am to report this matter at this meeting. Meanwhile, see if you can get them to give us some special itemized funds.

"Old Xu, are you free next week? If you have nothing going on, come to the general meeting with me. After all, you know Dai Li. If I miss anything in my report, you can help me out."

Zhongyi Xu finally understood the director's intentions. It went without saying, the current funding for sports was not enough. The director was going to take advantage of Dai Li's reputation and try to get more benefits from the General Administration."Psshhhhhhh." The sound of a can opening filled the room. Zhizhong Gu gulped down a few mouthfuls and took a deep breath.

His retreat from the competition years ago shut the door on Zhizhong Gu's return to the national team. Those who held power would not allow a person who had such a large influence over the China National Table Tennis Team to teach again. So they assigned Zhizhong Gu a job. They said they were honoring him, but he wasn't allowed to do anything.

One needed to know that Zhizhong Gu was only in his forties. He was in his prime, but he was forced to retire. That kind of blow really hit him hard.

In the past two years, Zhizhong Gu had entered the world of business. He worked on some projects with a few well-known businessmen. At the very least, he had something to do. However, Mrs. Gu knew that Zhizhong Gu still couldn't get table tennis out of his heart and he couldn't let go of his disciples.

Zhizhong Gu would occasionally be a guest commentator for table tennis games. Of course, he could only work on the online platform that broadcasts table tennis competitions. Zhizhong Gu's current situation made it so that TV stations dared not invite him. The fact that the former head coach of the China National Table Tennis Team was going to an online platform to commentate was an illustration of how difficult it was for him to give up table tennis.

Zhizhong Gu's wife came out of the kitchen with a plate of food in her hand. She looked at Gu Zhizhong and, not knowing why, asked, "Why are you drinking alcohol again? The only time you touched alcohol this year was when you drank with my father on New Year's."

"I am happy today! Especially happy!" Zhizhong Gu's tone showed that he was excited.

A trace of pity flashed in Mrs. Gu's eyes. Ever since Zhizhong Gu 's retirement from his position, she rarely saw him in such a happy mood.

"Why are you so happy?" His wife came over and sat next to Zhizhong Gu.

"There is good news," Zhizhong Gu took out his mobile phone and handed it to his wife. "Look at this."

"The U.S. track and field team is looking at a Chinese person to be their next head coach? This sure is news." Mrs. Gu wondered why her husband cared about this, as it was not about table tennis. She asked, "When did you start paying attention to track and field?"

"I don't pay attention to track and field. It is this person!" Zhizhong Gu pointed to Dai Li in the photo and said, "This is Dai Li. I scouted him from the Hanbei Provincial Track and Field Team for the China national Table Tennis Team. He became a physical fitness coach."

"So that's how it is!" Now Mrs. Gu understood why her husband was happy.

Zhizhong Gu drank all the beer left in the can in one gulp and said, "After I left the China national Table Tennis Team, my people either had to choose between siding with other groups or being removed from the national team. Because I was the reason Dai Li joined the National Table Tennis Team, he also suffered. He was assigned to some kind of boxing committee. Hehe, the person who has the ability to be the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team was taking care of applications for boxing over here! Ridiculous!"

Zhizhong Gu calmed down and said, "I am really happy to see Dai Li's development. He is a capable person and he needed a platform to display his abilities. Now that he has found this platform, I am happy for him!"

Mrs. Gu frowned slightly. She knew that Zhizhong Gu had been blaming himself for years. After the dropping out crisis that year, Zhizhong Gu's people on the China National Table Tennis Team were either left out or suppressed. For example, Dai Li was given a promotion but in actuality lost any real power. He was assigned to a Tai Chi Application Committee to serve and spend his time doing useless work.

Zhizhong Gu always felt that he was the cause of his colleagues' suffering. He felt guilty because he could not help them in any way.

However, today, Dai Li became the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team, an even better position than his place on the China National Table . This helped ease Zhizhong Gu's sense of guilt.In the back seat of a luxurious car, Zhicheng Huang reported the contents of his notebook to Dingtian Xiao.

"Chairman, this is your itinerary for today. Do you see the need for any changes?" Zhicheng Huang asked.

"Let's just follow it for now; make a change only if something offhand comes up," Dingtain Xiao answered.

"Okay." Zhicheng Huang closed the notebook. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yes, there is one more thing to report to you. Dai Li became the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. The media is reporting that he has brought glory to the country."

"Oh, I know," Dingtain Xiao answered disinterestedly as if he didn't care.

Zhicheng Huang smiled slightly. He then sat up properly and stopped speaking.

Soon after, the car had arrived at the Dingtian Group and Dingtain Xiao had began a day of work.

There was a lounge outside the chairman's office. Dingtian Xiao's bodyguards sat on the sofa waiting for instructions. After Zhicheng Huang completed his work, he ran to the sofa and sat down. He could finally relax a little.

"Assistant Huang, our future son-in-law became the head coach of the American track and field team. He has brought us a lot of pride. Now the media is bragging about him, but the director doesn't seem happy at all!" The bodyguard said.

"Unhappy? Why on Earth would you say the director is unhappy?" Zhicheng Huang asked with a smile.

"I was sitting in the passenger seat at the front of the car just now. Looking into the rearview mirror, I noticed that after you told the director about the news, he answered plainly. He didn't seem happy at all," the bodyguard answered.

"The director is the kind of person that doesn't express his emotions explicitly. He is thrilled in his heart," Zhicheng Huang said as he looked at the door of the director's office.

Inside the room, all of Dingtian Xiao's usual dignity was gone. He was humming a song and his body swayed with its rhythm. He looked delighted.

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Chapter 505: Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The University of Tennessee.

Even though it was already the summer holiday, there were still a lot of students on campus.

Summer vacations for students at American universities were very busy. Due to the high tuition fees of universities, most students relied on student loans to go to universities. Therefore, summer jobs became the best way for university students to reduce their personal financial burden. Many businesses offered summer jobs that catered to students.

In addition, many university students participated in social activities, especially those who were graduating. They would also use this time to prepare for employment.

Universities offered summer courses as well. These types of summer courses were short and, although the coursework was stressful, one could earn credits quickly with them.

For university students on full scholarships, their summer vacations were much more enjoyable. Scholarships for American universities included living allowances, so students who received full scholarships did not have to worry about money. They could live nicely at the the university and they could do what they wanted to do during the summer vacation.

Ellis Mett was such a university student. He did gymnastics when he was a child and had started practicing sprinting in high school. The coach found that he was very flexible and had excellent control, so he moved him to the 110m hurdle. In his fourth year of high school, Mett won the Georgia statewide hurdle competition. Because of that, University of Tennessee wanted him to go there and they gave him a full scholarship.

The University of Tennessee also had a tradition of great hurdling. There were many well-known hurdlers among their alumni, but within Mett's first year of entering the University of Tennessee, he broke the the 24 year old record in the 110m hurdles.

Of course, compared to many older athletes, Mett was still young. He also had many of the shortcomings that were common in young athletes. His techniques was less refined, he lacked experience in large competitions, and wasn't consistent in his performance during competitions.

Mett participated in the Olympic qualifiers this year. It was the most prominent competition he had competed in, and the results were not satisfactory. He was eliminated in the first round of the preliminaries.

Clearly, that was not a good illustration of Mett's ability. He performed terribly in the competition, but that was due to the fact that he was a young athlete. He also felt a sense of shame and became more determined. After he was eliminated in the qualifiers, he immediately immersed himself in training.

Mett sweat profusely on the training ground. Even in the summer, he chose not to rest. On the contrary, he increased his training load.

Mett knew that he kept the school's full scholarship by doing hurdles. If he couldn't perform well, the full scholarship would be withdrawn.

After a day of training, Mett dragged his fatigued body back to the locker room. After taking a shower, Mett lay on the bench in the locker room to rest.

A teammate asked, "Ellis, do you have any plans tonight?"

"No." Ellis shook his head.

"I know a place that is going to have a party. Do you want to go together? There might be a lot of beautiful girls!"

Mett hesitated for a few seconds, and finally shook his head. "No, I have to rest early today. I have to train early tomorrow."

"You train so desperately. Looks like the Olympic qualifiers really dealt a big blow on you!" The teammate paused for a while and said, "Do you really want to join the national team that much? There are only three places for a sports event, and there are so many athletes in the United States. Hehe, I'm not looking down on you, but it really is too difficult."

Mett sat up and said, "I thought I could enter the semi-finals, but I was eliminated in the first round. I think it was because I didn't put in enough effort, so I have to double my training. The World Championship is in two years and I have to join the national team!"

Seeing Mett's determination, his teammate decided to comfort him with a few words. The teammate said, "Ellis, I think it's a good thing that you didn't enter the national team this time. You know about the performance-enhancing drugs scandal. The national team's head coach, Sebastian, turned out to be a senior 'pharmacist.' If you went to to the national team, you might've also been corrupted by him.

"A lot of athletes on the national team were involved in that scandal and were forced to quit. The scandal generated some really negative attention. The current national team has low morale; they have no will to fight. I'm afraid the team isn't going to win anything at the Olympics!

"Also, the news mentioned that the Track and Field Association announced the candidate for the new national team head coach yesterday. He turned out to be a foreign coach. He is Chinese! Can you imagine a Chinese man as the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team? We couldn't even find one qualified coach! The national team is completely finished."

"You sure you're not mistaken? A Chinese coach? Has the Track and Field Association gone crazy? If it were a British or a German coach, then it would still be passable, but a Chinese coach? His country's track and field program is so bad that they aren't even the best in Asia. Have all of our American coaches died?" Mett couldn't believe his ears.

"I am telling the truth. See for yourself if you don't believe me," the teammate handed his phone to Mett. On it was a report on Dai Li taking on the role of head coach for the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

Mett read through the news carefully several times. He then took a long breath. "It really is true!"

"Well, do you feel lucky now that you didn't join the national team?" The teammate smiled and said, "So you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself. Even if you had joined, it might have gone badly. Stop always thinking about training. You need to relax and go to tonight's party."

"What you said makes sense. A national team led by a Chinese coach? Even if I am invited to join the national team, I will not go!" Mett snorted.

At that time, a school administrator appeared at the door. Instead of entering the locker room, he knocked on the door and said, "Ellis Mett, someone outside is looking for you."

"Okay, I'll be right there," Mett quickly put on his clothes and left the locker room with his bag. His teammate followed closely behind him.

Crossing the hallway Mett saw a Chinese man.

Is that the person looking for me? I don't think I have any Asian friends! Wait, that person looks familiar. Where have I seen him before? Mett suddenly remembered the photo he had just seen on his teammate's mobile phone.

It's him! It's the new head coach of the national track and field team. I just saw his photo!At the end of the corridor, Dai Li looked around and checked his surroundings. At that moment, Mett started walking towards him.

Dai Li saw him and waited for him to walk closer before asking "Are you Ellis Mett?"

"Ah, yes!" Mett looked very surprised.

"Hello. My name is Dai Li. I am the new head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. I'd like to ask if you are interested in representing the U.S. in this Olympic Games?"

He really came to invite me! Mett was suddenly as dumb as stump.

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Chapter 506: Coach Logan

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Just a few minutes ago, Mett had been discussing with his teammates that the new head coach of the U.S. national team was Chinese. His tone had been full of disdain, as had been the language he had used. He had even sworn that if the coach were to personally invite him into the team, he would refuse to join.

However, this was before Dai Li really appeared in front of him. He had even been invited to join the national team. At that moment, Mett was genuinely stunned; he seriously felt that the universe hated him.

The head coach of the U.S. national team had come to personally invite him to join the team. What should Mett do?

Only an idiot would reject the offer.

"Coach Li, did you say that I can join the national team? I can participate in the Olympics?" Mett's voice trembled with excitement.

"Yes, if you're willing," Dai Li said calmly.

"I'm willing! Of course, I'm willing! I'm very willing!" Mett said without hesitation.

His declaration that he "wouldn't go even if he was personally invited" just a few minutes ago had long been forgotten. Bragging was indeed fun, and exaggerating stuff could definitely make you seem cool, but when push came to shove, Mett was still very honest. He didn't care about being awkward in front of his friends; he agreed immediately.

Any athlete who said that he didn't want to join the national team or didn't want participate in the Olympic Games was 100% lying. In truth, what Mett had said earlier was simply sour grapes. When the opportunity to join the U.S. national team and participate in the Olympic Games appeared in front of him, there was no way he was willing to say no.

Ellis Mett was the athlete with a grade A talent potential who was eliminated in the first round. In Dai Li's professional eyes, Mett's performance on the day of the race had been unbearable to watch. He made a lot of errors professional athletes shouldn't be associated with.

Dai Li felt that his performance that day was not representative of his true strength. Mett was paying the price for being young. He definitely could have ran faster. Dai Li even felt that, with Mett's talent potential and ability, if he performed better, it wouldn't be surprising if he won a gold medal.

This was the reason Dai Li personally went to invite Mett.

Dai Li had obtained the right and authority to select the athletes himself, and he already had an idea in his mind regarding the athletes he wanted to choose. However, the gap left between the U.S. national team was really too big, and Dai Li didn't know how to split himself in two. Therefore, it was impossible for him to personally invite every single athlete. For most athletes, Dai Li sent invitation letters in the name of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. As for the athletes whom Dai Li regarded as most important, he went to them personally to ensure that they would join the U.S. National Track and Field Team.The University of Oregon, located in the town of Eugene, is a famous sports school in North America. It is famous for both football and track and field. Among the delegates and representatives of the previous U.S. national team, ten of them were alumni of the University of Oregon. The U.S. National Track and Field Team consists of around 150 people, meaning that one-fifteenth of the athletes on the team came from the same university. One had to keep in mind that there were a lot of exceptional universities in the U.S., and the competition between each school was very fierce. Moreover, the U.S. has a long history in sports and a huge amount of excellent athletes. A ratio of one-fifteenth is very impressive.

The head coach of the University of Oregon was named Logan. He had served two terms as the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team and, therefore, was considered an experienced and skilled track and field coach.

Not that long ago, when the scandals of performance-enhancing drugs broke out, the American Track and Field society had contacted him and invited him to be the head coach, hoping that he would help them turn the tide. Unfortunately, they were rejected. Logan knew that the current U.S. national team was doomed. A person like him, who valued his reputation, had no intention of being deemed a "failure" before his retirement.

Logan was already more than 70 years old that year. He had lived in England for a while, so he had a habit of drinking tea in the afternoon. Because of this, whenever it came time for afternoon tea, the track and field team would have their break. The coaches and the athletes would all stop as Logan would make himself a cup of black tea, bring out some desserts, and enjoy his afternoon tea.

Today, the taste of the desserts was to Logan's liking. He leaned back on the sofa with a bright smile on his face. He was in peace and looked comfortable.

On his side, a few coaches, who were his subordinates, were discussing interesting events that had happened recently.

"Who'd have thought the Track and Field Association would actually choose a Chinese coach in the end. Is it so hard to find an American coach?"

"That's right! This might be the worst decision in history for the Track and Field Association."

"Who knows if the Chinese coach bribed the officers at the association? I heard that the Chinese guy is very rich. He has a chain of training centers all around Los Angeles."

"I personally don't think that that Chinese coach really has what it takes. If you ask me, it would have been better if you'd have gone and become the head coach!"

"Hehe, you'd also be a better choice than him!"

"Anyone would be a better choice than him!"

Everyone laughed without fear or restraint.

However, there was no sign of a smile on Logan's face. He coughed once, which stopped the discussion in its tracks. He then asked them, "Why don't you guys use your brains and think? If that Chinese coach really didn't have any skills, would he dare to take over the disaster that is the U.S. National Track and Field Team?"

Everyone looked towards Coach Logan.

Coach Logan continued, "He has several chain physical fitness training centers in Los Angeles, and he is quite reputable. None of you have any training centers, right? Besides, the first track and field athlete that he groomed was that 'Blade Warrior' Phillip. I don't think any of you will be able to make a person who has lost both legs run faster than a normal person. Will you?"

"It might be that he has good luck and that it's a coincidence," someone said.

"A coincidence? When Irwin returned, he had so many reputable coaches to choose from, but he chose him. Was that also a coincidence? Do you really think that an athlete of Irwin's standard is an idiot? Would he go and choose a coach without skills?" Logan countered.

Everyone was silent.

Logan then said, "Stop always thinking that you are smarter than someone else, and don't go and criticize others without using your brain! He has achieved more than you people and that means that he has qualities that you don't have. If you lot had qualities like that, you should be able to achieve the same things he has. You lot should learn to see other people's qualities and stop always imagining their weaknesses! Regarding everyone else in the world as idiots doesn't make you any smarter."

At that moment, a school management officer walked inside and said, "Coach Logan, someone is looking for you outside. He's claiming that he is the national track and field team's new head coach."

"Is it the Chinese coach? Speak of the devil," Logan stood up as he spoke, tidying up his shirt. "Let him in!"

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Chapter 507: Not a Simple Coach

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li entered the room and saw Coach Logan. They both greeted each other before heading to their respective seats. Logan then began the conversation by asking a question. "Coach Li, may I know the purpose of your visit?"

"I'm here to recruit athletes for the national team." As Dai Li spoke, he pulled out a lit of athlete's names and passed it to Logan. He then said, "The five athletes on this list are all currently enrolled in the University of Oregon, and they're also your students. I hope to invite them into the U.S. National Track and Field Team."

Logan took the list and reviewed the names. The expression on his face suddenly became serious.

"Coach Li, on what do you base your selection of these five athletes? From what I know, their performances at the Olympic qualifiers were terrible. According to the rankings, they have no chance of getting onto the national team. There are more than one or two names above them," Coach Logan said.

"This list wasn't made based on the results of the qualifiers. These five athletes are athletes that I believe will do well," Dai Li said.

"But according to the rules of the national team, athletes should be selected according to their rankings in the qualifiers." Logan's expression became even more solemn. He then continued, "Coach Li, am I mistaken or are you free to select athletes by yourself?"

"That is the case," Dai Li nodded.

Coach Logan's expression relaxed a great deal and an unpredictable smile appeared on his face. "Coach Li, I'm guessing that was a condition you had for taking over the U.S. national team, am I right?"

"That's right. Due to the time constraints, I need to have some sort of autonomy. If I don't, I might not even be able to get the numbers needed for the team," Dai Li stated.

Logan shook the list with the names of the five athletes in his hand and asked, "Who recommended the athletes on here?"

"No one recommended them to me," Dai Li said.

"Then how did you come to the decision of selecting these five from a huge pool of athletes? Like I said, their results and performances during the qualifiers weren't exactly great," Logan said.

"I've seen their performances during the qualifiers. Still, I believe they have what it takes to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games. As for their results at qualifiers, I believe these athletes did not perform to the best of their ability," Dai Li said.

Coach Logan glanced at Dai Li with a faint smile on his face.

Logan did not believe Dai Li's statement that no one recommended them. However, Logan completely agreed with Dai Li's latter statement that the five of them had the skills and strength to represent the U.S. and compete in the Olympic Games.

The five athletes on the list were all trained personally by Logan. No one knew their capabilities and strengths better than Logan. He had also once been the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team and, based on his estimates, the five athletes were indeed strong enough to join the U.S. national team.

However, there are times when a man stumbles. There were times when an athlete was not at his best, and all five of the athletes did not exhibit enough of their skill during the Olympic qualifiers. Because of this, they didn't even make it into the final.

Situations such as these were common in every selection of the national team. It was, after all, decided in one race. Even the best athlete could keel over in the qualifiers. A world record holder might not make it through the U.S. qualifiers. So of course it was normal for a more average athlete to fail in the contest.

However, what surprised Logan most was Dai Li personally making the trip there to select those five specific athletes.. It was apparent that he knew how strong each one of them was.Logan would never believe this was a coincidence.

There were a lot of athletes competing in the qualifiers. To handpick these five from all those contestants, this Dai Li isn't a normal coach! As Logan thought this, his curiosity in Dai Li piqued. He wanted to get a chance to test Dai Li.

"My afternoon tea is about finished." Logan glanced at his watch and said, "Coach Li, are you interested in visiting my training?"

"It would be my honor!" Dai Li nodded as he agreed.The University of Oregon was located in the city of Eugene. The track and field team of the University of Oregon was a level above the track and field teams at other universities. Whether it was the facilities, the standard of the coaches, or the talent of the athletes, the University of Oregon was among the best.

"Coach Li, what do you think about these youngsters," Coach Logan asked with a bright smile.

"They're pretty good, and it's all thanks to your great coaching," Dai Li said politely.

Coach Logan wasn't satisfied with Dai Li's answer. He pressed on. "Coach Li, you are the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. If you could just give these youngsters a pointer or two, they would be delighted."

Logan didn't wait for Dai Li to answer. He waved directly to the assistant coach beside him. The assistant coach understood and immediately gathered a few athletes from the training ground.

Is he putting on an act for me? Or is he testing me? Although Dai Li did not yet understand Logan's thoughts, he knew that his opponent had already dealt his card. There was no reason Dai Li shouldn't deal his own card.

At that moment, the other coaches all stopped their work and gathered around. They wanted to see just what kind of tricks Dai Li, the new head coach of the U.S. national team, had up his sleeves. They also wanted to see Dai Li make a fool out of himself.

Dai Li looked towards the first athlete and at the same time, started the detector.

"You injured your thigh not that long ago, is that right? You haven't recovered fully yet, but you've already started high-intensity training. That's not good, as this might cause an even more severe injury which could destroy your career path. You're still young, so you still have time. My suggestion would be for you to lighten your training load and perform more rehabilitative training that would aid in your recovery," Dai Li said to the first athlete.

"How did he know Jim got injured a few days ago?" The surrounding coaches all looked at Dai Li, shocked.

Coach Logon then asked directly, "Jim, has your leg not fully healed?"

"Ugh, the doctor said it's almost there, but I feel like it's fine…" The athlete answered weakly.

"You feel like it's fine? Are you a doctor?" Coach Logan grunted coldly and said, "You will stop training now. Go to the team doctor for a checkup. I forbid you to come back to training before I see the doctor's report."

Dai Li then looked toward the second athlete.

"You've dislocated your shoulder joint before, have you?" Dai Li asked.

"How did you know?" The athlete asked instantly, "Am I like Jim? And I haven't fully recovered? I feel weird in my shoulder, now, when I throw the javelin. I always feel like I can't exert all of my power."

Dai Li shook his head, "No. You're different from the athlete just now. You are fully recovered. However, you don't feel like you've fully recovered. To be more precise, you are physically fine, but psychologically, you have not recovered. You're worried that your shoulder will get dislocated again, so subconsciously you dare not fully utilize your strength. I suggest you visit the psychologist and have a rehabilitative counseling session."

Dai Li then looked towards the third athlete, who was a long jumper.

Before Dai Li spoke, the third athlete said first, "Um, I've never been injured."

"I know that you haven't been injured before, but your technique needs to improve. In high school, you managed to defeat your opponents with your physical advantage and natural talent. However, in college, although your body might still give you some advantage, if you want to really become a competitive professional athlete, your natural abilities won't be as important. You have to have better technique," Dai Li said.

"But I think that my technique is decent," the athlete said unhappily.

"Really? I saw your long jump practice just now. You have 11 areas in your technique that need improvement. Number one…" Dai Li began explaining in detail.

Dai Li spent around five or six minutes talking about the weaknesses of that athlete. By that time, the surrounding coaches had gone silent. All of them looked at Dai Li in disbelief.

As for that athlete, apart from being shocked, he was visibly grieving. He had actually actually thought that he was a decent long jumper.Now, after Dai Li's comments, he realized that he was actually worthless.

How is that possible? He only took a glance at this kid. How could he know so many details? He sounds as if he has been training with the athlete for a few months. Is it possible that some of my coaches leaked information to him beforehand? Coach Logan subconsciously looked at his subordinates. The shocked expression on their faces made it clear that none of them leaked any information to Dai Li.

It can't be leaked information. None of my coaches have the ability to discover all of those 11 areas of improvements that Dai Li just highlighted.

Could it be that this Dai Li really found out about them himself? Discovering so much just from a short observation, how is this possible? I don't believe it.

At that moment, Dai Li turned towards the fourth athlete. The fourth student was instantly engulfed in fear.

Having one's weaknesses, let alone 11 of one's vulnerabilities, pointed out in front of so many people was certainly not a pleasant experience.After more than ten minutes, Coach Logan was convinced by Dai Li. Dai Li's review of every athlete was spot on. Some of the weaknesses highlighted by Dai Li were things that Coach Logan himself had never noticed.

No wonder he could open so many chain physical fitness training centers in Los Angeles. His sharp observation skills alone are unequaled. Based on that, he is far better than me. Coach Logan could not help but admit Dai Li was much better than him, a past head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. He no longer had any desire to test Dai Li.

Dai Li's gaze turned to a tall athlete in front of him.

He was a Caucasian who was more than 1.90m in height. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and very distinct features. He was undoubtedly regarded as a handsome guy.

However, Dai Li's expression froze when he U.S.ed the detector on this athlete.

This guy's ability value is around 800. This young athlete's level is already close to a world champion. More importantly, his talent potential is grade S, meaning he's capable of breaking world records! Who is this guy? Coach Logan really has such a hidden talent within his ranks! If I were to train this guy for a month, he might be able to compete for a gold medal.

As Dai Li was thinking, he asked, "Coach Logan, what's this athlete's name?"

Dai Li actually noticed Muller! Logan thought. He then responded, "He's called Muller, Franz Muller. He is a pole vault athlete."

Franz Muller? Dai Li thought deeply and said, "I don't think I've seen this name in the list of the athletes who participated in the qualifier. Did he not attempt to qualify?"

"His mother was involved in a car accident during the Olympic Qualifier, so he did not compete," Coach Logan answered.

"Then, has his result reached the A standard of the Olympics?" Dai Li asked impatiently.

"Early this year, he reached the Olympic A standard," Logan answered.

Dai Li's face suddenly lit up. Logan continued, "Muller's parents are both Germans and he was born in Germany. He grew up there, he's only been in the U.S. since high school."

"So he's a German?" Dai Li suddenly looked disappointed. A German could not represent the U.S. national team in the Olympic Games.

"He has both German citizenship as well as American citizenship," Logan answered.

The U.S. was a country that allowed dual citizenship. Although there was no specific law focused on the issue of dual citizenship, U.S. policy allowed it. However, the government had always maintained that they did not encourage it. As for Germany, they only started recognizing dual citizenship in 2002.

"I assume he hasn't joined the German national team, right?" Dai Li asked immediately.

"That's correct." Logan nodded and said, "His father is an auto engineer and their family came to the U.S. a few years ago. They have all even obtained U.S. citizenship. Muller hasn't gone back to Germany in a few years."

"Which is to say, he can represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games!" Dai Li's face lit up with excitement once again. He then said, "Coach Logan, there's a need to add one more name to the list. This Franz Muller, I want to bring him onto the national team!"Coach Logan personally escorted Dai Li out of the main gate of the University of Oregon.

"Coach, you sure think highly of this Chinese coach, it's been a while since we saw you personally sending someone off at the gate," an assistant coach by his side said sarcastically.

"This Coach Li is no simple person!" Logan smiled. "Suddenly, I feel that the current U.S. National Track and Field Team still has a glimmer of hope."

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Chapter 508: The Ambition to Win Gold Medals

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The American Track and Field Association.

Frey knocked on the door and entered the office of the Track and Field Association CEO, Williams.

"Mr. Williams, we've received a few letters recently. It's from some athletes and supporters who are questioning the fairness of our method of selecting athletes for the Olympic Games," Frey said.

"They're all aimed at Coach Li, aren't they? After all, we expected this. Before him, we selected athletes based on their rankings in the qualifiers. That way, even when the athletes failed to get selected, it would be due to their lack of skills. They had nothing to complain about," Williams sighed lightly. He then continued, "However, we've broken this rule. It's reasonable that we're being questioned by people."

"But among these, there are three letters of complaints. The complaining athletes think that the athletes Dai Li selected aren't as good as them. Their results in the qualifiers were good, but Dai Li did not select them. Instead of them, the athletes who were eliminated in the first and second round of the qualifier were selected and joined the national team," Frey continued.

"If I had been pushed down the pecking order by athletes who performed worse than I had, I would also be miserable. However, getting eliminated in the first round of the qualifier doesn't signify a lack of ability. I'm sure you're well aware of the weakness of our selection system." Williams laughed and continued, "It's just like Black Friday. You've made a huge shopping list and are in front of everyone in the line. You could be the first to rush into the mall to buy the things you want, but that doesn't mean that you are the biggest client of the mall. Perhaps someone did not arrive as early as you, didn't get in line as early as you, and didn't want to be the first to rush into the mall, yet, he buys an item that costs 100,000 dollars whereas you only buy items worth several thousand dollars. In this instance, of course, the mall would give him preferential treatment."

"Mr. Williams, I understand what you mean. However, one of the complaint letters mentions an athlete who didn't even participate in the previous Olympic Qualifier, but was still selected by Dai Li into the national team. I think that this might be a little overboard," Frey said.

"There's such a case, huh?" Williams frowned.

"I've looked into it myself. Dai Li never referred to the qualifier results of the athletes. He went straight towards a university and directly met up with the athletes and coaches of the university to tell the athletes that they had been selected for the national team. With all due respect,I have a strange feeling about this. I don't get what he uses as the basis for selecting athletes. I think that he select them based on his personal preferences. A coach should not behave like this. He's more like a talent scout looking for superstars! What we need are excellent athletes, not superstars," Frey said with dissatisfaction.

"It really does seem like a valid complaint if that is the case. But we've given Dai Li the authority to select the athletes. So however he selects them, we should not interfere. What do you think?" Williams countered.

"But I'm worried the media will use this as an opportunity. It could be very harmful to us. The performance-enhancing drugs scandal has already hurt us, the Track and Field Association. We cannot be involved in another scandal," Frey said.

"The media is really troublesome." Although Williams said this, he was still all smiles. He then said, "Have you forgotten why we chose Dai Li, the Chinese coach? We only need him to bear the responsibility. We need him to take the blame. So if the media really does come, we will just put everything on him."The third training of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

A few fresh faces could be seen in the dressing room. They were all athletes Dai Li had recruited to the national team.

The new arrivals looked forward to the upcoming national team trip. Initially, they didn't have the chance to take part in the Olympics, but now they were selected by Dai Li. It was as lucky as winning the lottery.

However, the other athletes were not as optimistic as them. In the span of three training camps there had been three changes to the head coach. The older athletes were anxious, a sense of panic in the hearts of many of them that was spreading to others.

"This training camp, we've got a new head coach. Who knows how long this guy will last. I remember the last guy, Rivers, he quit around halfway through camp. I heard that before the training camp ended, he had already handed in his notice of resignation to the Track and Field Association," someone said.

"I think this new head coach won't last long either. The news said that he's Chinese. That means he's the first ever foreign head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. In our current condition, most American coaches can't help us, not to mention a foreign coach!" Someone else said.

"I sure won't trust a Chinese coach. The Chinese can play table tennis, sure, but track and field? They haven't got what it takes yet," a third person said.

"If everyone thinks like you, then the new coach really won't last long. The previous coach, Rivers, was exactly like this. He wasn't able to gain the trust of the athletes, so the only option left to him was to scram!" The person who spoke earlier stated.

At that moment, another voice came from the back, "Devon and Lock, I know that you guys are faultfinders and that you like to cause trouble, but I'm warning you, respect the new coach, Coach Li."

Who would dare to speak to me like this! Devon was obviously annoyed. He turned around and saw Jimmy Irwin standing there, looking at him coldly.

"It's Jimmy!" Devon suddenly looked scared, even his posture lowered considerably.

Although Devon was a little nitpicky, he knew who was the boss in the current U.S. national team.

"Jimmy, do you know the new coach?" Devon asked with a smile. He wanted to change the awkward situation.

Irwin nodded coldly and said, "The new coach, Coach Li, is my current coach. So I hope that every single one of you will not make trouble for him. Causing problems for him means causing problems for me."

"Understood. We understand!" Devon quickly nodded. At that moment, no matter how dissatisfied he was at heart, on the surface, he obeyed.

After warning the few troublemakers, Irwin returned to his locker in resignation.

The current U.S. national team has long lost all its morale. Coach Li, this is all I can help you with.Dai Li never lead a national team that consisted of over 100 people.

However, while he was in China, Dai Li had been on the Chinese national team, and he worked beside Li Xue for a long time. Back then, Li Xue was only the assistant head coach. However, he was in charge of the daily operation and training of the national team and while Dai Li followed Li Xue, he gained a lot of knowledge.

Athletes in the U.S. were usually all about themselves. The national team of the U.S. was always formed hastily prior to a prestigious competition. That being they way it was, the time for American athletes to train together was insufficient. Slightly reputable athletes would individually purchase training courses from famous coaches, and the top-class athletes would even hire a team to service them.

As for the athletes in China, they trained together on different levels of training teams. The moment they entered the national team, they would train at the training base of the national team. There would often even be group camp and field training, where they would draft outstanding provincial team athletes to join. So for the athletes in China, almost all of their training was conducted in training camps. Therefore, just looking their experience with training camps, 100 American coaches couldn't compete with Dai Li.

In terms of the amount of people they had, the U.S. National Track and Field Team had the most in the world. On the Olympic stage, the other countries could not muster that many athletes who could reach the A standard of the Olympics, so they could not send out that many participating athletes. To lead that many athletes into the competition was actually a severe test for the head coach.

However Dai Li was not worried about that; he was confident in himself. When he was in China, whether it was the national team or the provincial team, he dealt with more athletes than this. For example, there were hundreds of athletes on the provincial youth team that Dai Li used to be on. The management difficulty of that group was comparable to the management difficulty of the entire U.S. Olympic representative group.

Moreover, Dai Li also had experience in the Asian Games. In the Asian Games, the Chinese National Track and Field Team also sent out over a hundred athletes. The number did not differ much from the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

Dai Li was seated alone in the office, with an Olympic track and field event list in his hand. He was looking at it in detail.

I should not have any problem handling this training camp with my experience. The most important thing is the results. Without good enough results, it doesn't matter if I was an awesome head coach. Not to mention that I am currently leading the U.S. National Track and Field Team, the world's strongest track and field team. I need have to achieve the best results in the world. Anything other than that implies failure.

In the recent Olympic Games, the U.S. has consistently been able to obtain around 10 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals in the track and field events. This truly showcases the overall strength of the U.S. team. If you include the relays, the total number of events in Olympic track and field is 47, which means that there will be 47 gold medals and 141 medals in total. Around a quarter of those need to be won by the U.S. team. They definitely deserve being called the number one track and field country in the world.

But the current U.S. national team has been affected by the performance-enhancing drug scandal. They've lost half of their gold medal winners, so the number of medals won will be affected. There are only four events that we are confident that we can win: the men's 400m sprint, the women's 400m sprint, the men's 4x400m relay, and the women's 4x400m relay. Among the track and field events, the U.S. has the most advantages in the 400m sprint. It shouldn't be a problem retaining these four gold medals.

We're still six short of achieving the target of ten gold medals. The world's fastest man, Kittel, has already retired. Although the overall strength of the Jamaican sprinting team has decreased, they still shouldn't be underestimated. When it comes to men's sprinting, with a little bit of luck, Alexander's 100m sprint should be able to get us a gold medal. Shawn Ford will also have a chance of getting gold in the 200m. On the women's team, the two fastest women of Jamaica are both in the Olympics, so they are the double insurance of the Jamaicans. Looks like the women's team can at most fight for the bronze medal.

However, we can try to go for the two gold medals in the 4x100m relay races. What's important in relay races is cooperation, a good bar transfer could save up to 0.1 seconds and three successful transfers equal 0.3 seconds. In a world-class contest like this, 0.3 seconds is can decide a victory. I still have the bonus called the continuous iron chain. When it comes to the cooperation in relay races, we should be slightly better than the other teams.

In terms of the men's middle distance running, African nations are a level stronger. Kenya, Algeria, Morocco are the best at middle distance runs. As for the women's middle distance running, Russia's strength should not be underestimated. Initially, the U.S. team could have competed for a medal but, due to the effects of the performance-enhancing drug scandal, their best middle distance runner can't participate. It seems as though the chances for a medal in the middle distance running event seems slim.

The long distance running and the marathon. Both of these have always been dominated by the African nations. The Ethiopians and the Kenyans will most likely take all the medals. We can be satisfied with just participating in this huge event.

As for the hurdle and obstacle course, we can go for it. Ellis Mett on the 110m hurdles has a talent potential grade of A. However, he is currently still some distance away from being an Olympic champion. I have to focus on giving him training.

The long jump and triple jump have always been the U.S. team's strength. Although several of the best players have been affected by the performance-enhancing drug scandal, the substituting athletes are still very strong. They should have the strength to compete for gold medals after some specialized training.

The high jump and pole vault. Although the U.S. team isn't weak, the Russians are obviously better. However, I got an excellent accidental acquisition at the University of Oregon. Franz Muller, the pole vault athlete with an S grade talent potential will definitely bring us some unexpected joy. I will at least take one gold medal from the Russians.

The hurling events. The Eastern European countries and Germany have an indomitable position. The Slavs' strength is incomparable, so even the African Americans could not compare. However, the U.S. team also has a few Slavic athletes, so they should also be able to contest for a medal.

Not only does the race walking event emphasize the individual ability of the athlete, but the tactics selection is also important. The race walking athletes' strength of the U.S. team is indisputable, but if they want to achieve something, the key is to select the correct strategy. Before the race, I'll have to take a good look and research the issues of race walking strategies.

The men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon can be regarded as the events that the U.S. team has the biggest advantage in. However, the Western European countries also have quite a number of athletes in these events. In particular, Great Britain. They might become our toughest and strongest opponent. The training for the decathlon and heptathlon events is too complicated. A lot of it relies on the accumulation of the athlete's daily training,so to improve performance in the short-term is too difficult. I don't have that much time for training, so I guess it's up to fate for these two events.

Dai Li conducted a detailed analysis for every event and found out that it wasn't impossible to obtain ten or even more gold medals. The key was to have the athletes perform targeted training. For this training to be effective, they had to have enough time.

"What I need most right now is time," Dai Li sighed lightly.

There was one month left before the Olympic Games started. Dai Li had to transform the athletes in this one month.

"There's no time. A few days of training is definitely not enough. I need to extend the training time!"

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