Dieu Tinh Phong also felt that this girl had gone crazy.
The first time he saw Giai Moc Vi was at the courtroom interrogation two weeks ago.
Very young, just graduated from university.
At that time she was still wearing a pair of thick glasses that almost covered half her face.
If someone hadn't reminded him from behind, Dieu Tinh Phong wouldn't even have realized that the young girl carrying a pile of books behind Khuong Tich Yen was also a lawyer.
Shy, timid.
She even burst into tears after being scolded by Khuong Tich Yen for fumbling the evidence due to nervousness, bowing repeatedly to apologize.
At that moment, Dieu Tinh Phong thought she was an easy target.
Just scare her a little and she'd surely obey.
After all, they were from the underworld, and they made money through loan sharking.
If other gangs found out that a yakuza group had been intimidated by a lawyer, they would laugh their heads off. After that, he wouldn't be able to control his subordinates anymore.
So he had to get his dignity back.
But he didn't expect the situation to escalate this far.
At first, he only wanted to frighten her a little, record a short apology video, and be done with it.
But the police arrived too quickly and arrested everyone at the scene.
For the first time, Dieu Tinh Phong seriously assessed the girl who used to follow behind Khuong Tich Yen.
He felt frozen by her extremely calm eyes, as if enveloped in an icy pillar formed from her gaze, leaving him unable to resist.
Her gaze provoked him, and as a gang boss, his pride was bruised.
Dieu Tinh Phong leaned lazily against the sofa, pulling a cigar from his pocket.
Someone behind him automatically stepped forward to light it.
He took a long drag, staring at Giai Moc Vi with interest. "Miss Moc Vi, are you joking with me?"
Giai Moc Vi's voice was steady as she raised her wrist to show the marks. "Using rope to tie someone up and restrict their movement is a classic form of unlawful confinement. No matter the reason, whether misunderstanding or miscommunication, the moment that rope tightened around my hands, they were already breaking the law."
Dieu Tinh Phong's expression darkened. "But as far as I know, Miss Moc Vi, you also used that rope on my men. One of them almost got his throat cut by you!"
"I did it to protect myself. And he didn't die, did he?" Giai Moc Vi replied emotionlessly.
Dieu Tinh Phong let out an incredulous laugh. "Do you really think you're worth ten million yen?"
Giai Moc Vi smiled. "Whether I'm worth it or not is one thing. The question is whether your people are worth it. Are you willing to spend ten million yen to get them out?"
The entire room fell silent, eyes widening at the woman calmly sitting across from three underworld members.
Khuong Tich Yen's reaction was similar, though not as obvious. She continued observing quietly.
Earlier at the Metropolitan Police Department, she already sensed something different about Giai Moc Vi perhaps due to the emotional shock of the bombing and kidnapping incidents.
But now… was this still Giai Moc Vi?
Her words stabbed straight into Dieu Tinh Phong.
Yes, he came here today to negotiate and get his men out.
Not because he cared about them.
But because he feared they would reveal things about him.
In recent years, police had been cracking down heavily on gang activities.
Anyone with ties to the underworld was being extremely cautious.
And the police were like sharks—smelling blood and refusing to let go. If they really dug something up, it would be bad.
Dieu Tinh Phong's expression darkened completely. He squeezed his cigar and said with forced patience, "Miss Moc Vi, I came here with sincerity today. If you keep provoking us like this, what do you gain?"
The man who lit his cigar snapped angrily from behind, "Asking for ten million yen right off the bat aren't you the one extorting us?"
Giai Moc Vi let her hand fall. "I only stated a number. Whether you agree or not is up to you."
"Of course, I'll have it notarized later. The money would be compensation for emotional distress and work-related disruptions."
The two men behind the sofa glared at her furiously, but with police present, they didn't dare act. All they could do was glance at each other, then at their boss.
This time, Dieu Tinh Phong had no choice but to take responsibility.
His expression shifted several times before he finally said, after countless cigars, "Five million yen."
Those nearby gasped.
He was actually willing to use money to settle it?
And even bargaining?
Most people who weren't seriously injured would take the money and move on.
Dam Uyen Chi, holding a tray of tea, watched as Giai Moc Vi calmly replied, "Ten million yen."
Dieu Tinh Phong's eyes grew dangerous. "Six million yen."
"Ten million yen."
"Seven million yen."
"Ten million yen." Giai Moc Vi didn't budge.
"…," Dieu Tinh Phong fell silent.
Dam Uyen Chi was tense for no reason.
What kind of… high-end auction house was this?
Giai Moc Vi watched him. Though his expression didn't change much, the drooping eyelids and furrowed brows showed this was the highest offer he could give.
And also the highest value of those two men.
His voice grew harsh. "Miss Moc Vi, I don't want to make this bigger than it is. Your firm has been operating here for a long time you must want to keep working here, right?"
Giai Moc Vi tilted her head, glancing at Ve Dinh Tieu who was still watching the scene unfold. "Officer, does this count as a threat?"
Hearing the word "police."
All three gang members stiffened.
Ve Dinh Tieu, finally given an opening, straightened up and walked to the coffee table. "If this 'deal' can't be agreed upon, we can end it here."
He glanced at the wall clock and clicked his tongue. "Almost late for the Metropolitan Police Department. Tsk, Inspector Ngan will scold me again. If I arrest a few criminals for making threats, will that balance things out?"
"…" Dam Uyen Chi went silent.
Now that was a real threat…
After hearing it from a police officer, Dieu Tinh Phong didn't explode with rage; instead, he carefully examined Giai Moc Vi again.
She met his gaze without flinching.
For a moment, she saw complicated emotions in his eyes.
"Let's go," Dieu Tinh Phong said coldly.
The two behind him panicked. "Boss, Vu Phong and the others"
"Go!" he barked again and stormed out.
Luckily the door was open, or with his temper, he might have broken it down.
Once Dieu Tinh Phong left, Giai Moc Vi was immediately surrounded.
"Moc Vi, are you okay?" Dam Uyen Chi asked worriedly. "Were you really planning to demand that much money from him?"
Giai Moc Vi stood and shrugged. "That's not what matters. What matters is that those two guys turned out to be worth seven million yen."
Dam Uyen Chi was still confused.
Khuong Tich Yen, who had been observing everything, finally understood.
She said, "This 'Poker' gang in Tokyo has always been quiet. But a gang is still a gang. In the loan-sharking case we handled earlier, their interest rates were outrageous."
For the underworld, being quiet was actually the most suspicious.
If they caused trouble, at least the police could track it.
But this eerie calmness made them unpredictable.
Giai Moc Vi smiled. "So I intentionally named an impossible price, because I knew they couldn't afford it. I didn't really want ten million. I wanted to see how much they could pay to settle it privately."
And now they knew.
Ve Dinh Tieu shrugged. "Those two are surprisingly valuable."
Seems the Poker gang wasn't as "honest" as they looked.
Dam Uyen Chi gasped. "So you were helping the police figure out their real value?"
Giai Moc Vi nodded.
Ve Dinh Tieu laughed. "That's very much the style of a clever lawyer. But I don't think that was your only goal."
Khuong Tich Yen was startled.
Was there something she missed?
Giai Moc Vi nodded. "Yes. After suffering a loss today, Dieu Tinh Phong has only two options."
She raised two fingers.
"One: hire a better lawyer. But once the case reaches the prosecutor's office, they have a 99 percent chance of being convicted. A lawyer can only reduce the sentence. And if police find more evidence, whether it links back to the Poker gang is out of his control."
Dam Uyen Chi nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! And the second option?"
"Two: destroy all evidence tied to those two men, cutting them off completely from the Poker gang. That way, no matter what police find, it only implicates those two."
"But acting leaves traces."
"As soon as the Poker gang moves, the police will see everything. They'll learn the true scope of this gang's activities."
"They were willing to pay seven million yen. That means they've done a lot more than we know," Giai Moc Vi said calmly. "Whether police can trace that value back to their crimes… that's for the detectives to handle."
Ve Dinh Tieu smirked. "Exactly."
Khuong Tich Yen couldn't stop staring at her student, amazed at how calm she'd been.
"Moc Vi… was this all your idea?" she asked.
Ve Dinh Tieu raised a hand. "I didn't give her any suggestions."
Khuong Tich Yen fell silent, deep in thought.
Dam Uyen Chi was still confused. "But Moc Vi, what if they were willing to pay ten million yen?"
Giai Moc Vi shrugged. "Then I'd take it. That's ten million yen. I can bow a little for that."
But that wasn't the important part.
What mattered was that she had shown the gang her strong ties to the police.
They wouldn't dare touch her again.
Dam Uyen Chi looked at her in awe. "Moc Vi, you're amazing! Totally different from before! Right, Lawyer Khuong?"
Khuong Tich Yen smiled and nodded.
Giai Moc Vi twitched her eye. "Was I really that bad before…"
"At least today you shocked me," Dam Uyen Chi said, giving her a thumbs up.
"Moc Vi, you were more like a gangster than the gangsters themselves!"
"…" Giai Moc Vi went silent.
Ve Dinh Tieu: "Ahem."