163: Chapter 163 Courtroom Observations

Lin Ning was scrolling through his phone at home when he received a call from Judge Zhao, the execution judge.

Looking through the execution bounties from other district courts and analyzing them comprehensively, he had picked out two more suitable targets.

"Mr. Lin, Sun Guoqiang has been found. Is it convenient for you to come to the court? You can collect the reward."

Lin Ning was stunned for a moment. This efficiency was incredibly high!

He replied with a smile, "Sure, I'll head over now."

Hanging up the phone, he stood in the living room and spun around happily.

Although the reward for providing the whereabouts of a judgment debtor wasn't high, even a mosquito's leg is still meat. Besides, this was just the wind-up; once the person was brought back, it would be time for his ultimate move!

By the time he arrived at the court, it was already after ten in the morning.

The Enforcement Bureau office was on the second floor; the corridor wasn't long, and the lighting was a bit dim.

Lin Ning sized up the offices on both sides. As he walked further in, he saw many different types of people in the corridor, most of whom looked distressed.

Finding Judge Zhao's office, he saw a group of people standing and talking by the door.

The moment Lin Ning stopped to knock, their gazes suddenly converged on him. He couldn't help but feel his back tighten, instinctively turning his head in alert.

After his Psychic Power had significantly upgraded again, Lin Ning's perception had become much sharper. He swept his gaze across the scene in an instant, and only exhaled after determining there was no danger.

There was a man in his fifties wearing an old jacket, with rough hands and thick knuckles. Beside him was a middle-aged man in an old suit, clutching something in his hand. There was also an older woman, in her late forties or early fifties, whose clothes were washed until they were faded.

These three seemed to be the leaders of the group. They forced smiles onto their faces, looking at Lin Ning with an inexplicable expression.

Lin Ning was somewhat puzzled. Hearing the response from inside the office, he gave a nod of acknowledgment, turned, and opened the door to go in.

"Hello, I'm Lin Ning."

Judge Zhao was looking over some materials. Hearing the voice, he looked up and saw him, pointing to a chair. "Please, have a seat."

He took an envelope out of a drawer and pushed it toward Lin Ning. "Count it, exactly ten thousand yuan."

Lin Ning didn't count it and just stuffed it into his bag, asking casually, "Is this reward issued by the court?"

Judge Zhao shook his head and smiled. "We are only responsible for posting the announcement. The bounty was pooled by the judgment creditors."

As he spoke, the smile on his face faded, and he sighed. "The people who were scammed by Sun Guoqiang each chipped in a little. They... they just had no other choice."

Lin Ning was stunned.

Before the words could even land, there was a soft knock on the door.

Judge Zhao called out "Enter," and the door was pushed open. The three people from the corridor, plus a younger man, crowded in.

They stood at the door, looking back and forth between Lin Ning and Judge Zhao.

Their gazes were truly strange.

It wasn't scrutiny or curiosity; it was a kind of... Lin Ning couldn't quite name it. They were just watching.

The man in the jacket with thick knuckles took a step forward, his voice a bit tight. "Little brother, was it you... who found that Sun Guoqiang?"

Lin Ning looked at Judge Zhao with some hesitation, then nodded.

The older woman suddenly squeezed forward two steps. "Then he... he's really been found? Can the money be recovered?"

Judge Zhao sighed and lowered his hands to calm them. "Sister, don't be anxious. Finding the person is useless; we have to find the hidden assets. Sun Guoqiang has been brought back now, but he still insists he has no money. The asset investigation is still..."

The scene went quiet for a few seconds.

The man's hands clenched and then loosened. The younger man following him never looked up once.

The middle-aged man in the old suit took a step forward, looking at Lin Ning. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Lin Ning didn't know what to say.

The man spoke again, his voice low as if afraid of disturbing someone, looking at Lin Ning with hope in his eyes.

"Little brother, we... there are a dozen of us fellow villagers who worked with me for a year. Our wages haven't been paid for two years now, and we haven't even dared to go home for New Year. I don't even dare to answer the phone—calls from home, from my wife, from my kids... I don't dare to pick up any of them."

The younger worker finally raised his head, glanced at Lin Ning, and then looked down again. His voice was muffled. "My child is waiting for tuition money. My wife just cries whenever she calls. I... I don't dare to answer the phone either."

The older woman chimed in from the side, speaking very fast as if she had been holding it in for a long time. "Our family saved for two generations to buy a house from him, but it's been a stalled project for two years. He said to go through legal procedures. We did! We went through them all the way until now, but where is he? The person is found, but where's the money?"

The middle-aged man in the old suit handed over what he had been clutching—it was a crumpled business card.

"My surname is Zhou, I'm in the building materials business." He looked at Lin Ning with a very direct gaze. "The goods were delivered but the money never arrived. My loans are overdue, and the company is about to go under. I still have twenty workers under me waiting for their wages."

Lin Ning didn't reach out for it, so the man just kept holding it out.

The foreman spoke again, this time looking Lin Ning in the eyes. "Little brother, if you... if you find any more clues, could you... besides the bounty, we don't have much to repay you with, but we will definitely remember your kindness for a lifetime."

Judge Zhao quickly stood up to intervene. "Don't make things difficult for him. I promise that while Sun Guoqiang is in detention this time, I will definitely restart the investigation into his assets..."

Lin Ning's throat felt a bit tight.

He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

Seeing those stories of bankruptcy and wage-seeking online through a screen, one feels pity, but it truly doesn't have the same impact as facing it in person.

Mr. Zhou stuffed the business card into his hand. The card was warm from being held, its corners curled up.

Lin Ning looked down at it—Zhou Wei, Building Materials, Phone Number...

He looked up, and all those people were watching him.

Lin Ning nodded haphazardly. He couldn't guarantee anything, so he could only lower his head and leave quickly.

The corridor wasn't long, but the gazes of those people followed him as if they had weight.

Stepping out of the court's main entrance, the sun was blinding.

Lin Ning stood on the steps for a few seconds.

Images he had "seen" yesterday flashed through his mind...

Sun Mingxia sitting in her office, complaining about "only being able to live in a shabby place like Mingzhu Garden." Lin Ning had been to that neighborhood; a high-end community like that was a "shabby place" in her eyes.

Sun Jianyu's Moments, with photos of him playing abroad, tagged in Paris and Milan. The caption read: [Picking out gifts for Mom and my little sister, so tiring. A pile of luxury brand bags was in the photo.]

Sun Guoqiang sitting imperiously in a magnificent living room, saying relaxedly to his family, "I've arranged everything..."

As long as Sun Guoqiang really had hidden assets, he...

Lin Ning reached into his pocket and felt the crumpled business card.

He clenched it.

Then he walked down the steps, hopped on his electric scooter, and left.

On the way home, he passed a construction site. Tower cranes were turning, and workers were moving on the scaffolding. Hard hats, dusty clothes, slowly moving silhouettes.

Lin Ning took one look and accelerated past.

While waiting for a red light, a delivery guy stopped beside him, looking down at his phone. On the screen was a photo of a child, a little boy of three or four, smiling at the camera. The delivery guy swiped, and the next photo was of the same child.

Lin Ning withdrew his gaze.

The green light turned on, and he twisted the throttle.

The wind blew against his face.

Lin Ning didn't understand. Life was already so difficult; why were there still so many scumbags?