"The appellate court has issued its verdict in the Brooklyn programmer's sexual-assault case—upholding the original three-year sentence!"
A short video was spreading like wildfire online.
The case was widely discussed: Ethan Walker, a software engineer from Brooklyn TechWorks, had been accused of sexual assault by his former colleague, Veronica Weiss.
In front of the camera, Veronica cried hysterically, claiming Ethan assaulted her, even presenting photos of bruised knees as "undeniable proof."
Ethan insisted they were lovers.
But he had no evidence.
Predictably, he lost the first trial.
During the appeal, the court skipped a hearing altogether and issued a written review, swiftly upholding the original judgment.
Clean. Fast. Brutally efficient.
Lower East Side, Manhattan — Carter & Associates Law OfficeLucas Carter leaned back in his worn-out executive chair, scrolling through the viral news with a tired swipe of his thumb.
He muttered a curse and crushed his cigarette in a chipped ashtray.
He had been in this parallel world for three days.
In his previous life, he had been a titan of the legal world—
an undefeated legend with a 99% win rate.
But he didn't die in a courtroom.
He died under a dump truck hired by one of his enemies.
When he woke up again, he found himself in the body of another man with the same name—one who owned a failing, debt-ridden law office on the brink of eviction.
Ding—
A bank alert lit up on his phone.
"Dear customer, your account ending in 8848 is currently –$666.60.
Please resolve the negative balance immediately to avoid impact on your credit."
Lucas's mouth twitched.
This world's malice was crude but effective.
"Mr. Carter… M-Mr. Carter…"
A timid voice came from the door.
"It's the landlord again. He said if we don't pay the rent, we're out next week."
Lucas looked up.
A young woman with pigtails stepped inside.
Lily Warren, the law office's only remaining intern, fresh out of law school.
A naturally innocent face paired with dazzling eyes that could charm anyone—she looked like she belonged in a glossy brochure, not a collapsing law firm.
Right now, her expression was full of worry.
Her tight white blouse and black pencil skirt clung to her curves, and she was slightly out of breath, as if she had run up the stairs. The buttons of her blouse looked ready to pop.
"I hear you," Lucas said calmly, turning back to his phone.
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Lily stomped her foot in annoyance, her skirt-hugged hips swaying.
She slapped a stack of overdue notices onto the desk.
"Boss! Are the checks you wrote ever going to clear? If we don't get a case soon, I'll have to cancel my cloud-meal subscription!"
Lucas gave her a sideways glance.
"Relax. There's always a way out."
"Yes, sure, always a way out," she muttered, sinking onto the sofa. "If we actually had one, we wouldn't be in this mess…"
She pulled out her phone to distract herself.
"Oh—there's a new update about that false sexual-assault case…"
Before she finished—
BANG!
The front door slammed open.
A man stumbled inside—hair greasy, face gaunt, eyes sunken like hollow pits.
"L-Lawyer… Lawyer… help me… help…"
He collapsed to his knees with a sickening thud.
Lily gasped and instinctively hid behind Lucas, peeking nervously over his shoulder.
Lucas looked at the man's face.
Perfect match to the haggard face in the news.
Ethan Walker.
The falsely accused programmer.
In this world, all trials were livestreamed on the official justice portal. Ethan was currently within his short window of freedom before being taken into custody.
"You're Ethan Walker the one who sent me an Email ?" Lucas asked calmly.
"It's me! It's me!" Ethan gasped, crawling forward and gripping the edge of the desk.
"Everyone else turned me away, but I asked around… you're the only one—you're the only one who didn't refuse!"
"People online call me a rapist, a monster—but I'm not! I'm not!"
He trembled violently, nearly screaming:
"Veronica Weiss! We were dating! She asked me to meet her! But when her boyfriend found out, she panicked and accused me instead!"
"And her boyfriend—he came with some guys and tried to extort money from me! When I refused, they called the police!"
"The cops didn't believe me. The DA didn't believe me. The judge didn't believe me.
They're the guilty ones—not me!"
Lily tugged lightly on Lucas's sleeve and whispered:
"Mr. Carter… he lost the appeal… Public opinion is completely against him. There's no way he can win. Maybe we shouldn't take this case…"
She wasn't loud—but Ethan heard everything.
"No… no…"
His bloodshot eyes snapped up.
He fumbled out his phone and opened a video.
Shaky footage.
A run-down apartment hallway.
An elderly woman with gray hair surrounded by neighbors pointing and yelling.
"That's her son—the rapist!"
"What a disgrace to the whole neighborhood!"
"Get out of here! Don't dirty our building!"
The old woman clutched her chest.
Her face went pale.
She collapsed backward.
The video ended abruptly.
"My mom…" Ethan choked, tears pouring down his cheeks.
"She has a heart condition… she couldn't handle the shame… She's still in the hospital… the doctor said…"
He broke down, smashing his forehead into the floor again and again.
"I'm not doing this for myself… I'm doing it for my mother… I can't let her die thinking her son is a monster…"
He pulled out a bundle wrapped in old newspaper.
He pushed it toward Lucas.
"This is $50,000… the money my parents got from selling our house back home… It's everything we have…"
Lucas's pupils tightened sharply.
It mirrored the first major case of his previous life—
a young man wronged,
a mother driven to despair,
and a tragedy he had never been able to forget.
A cold fury rose in his chest.
Then—
A mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Strong sense of justice detected. Binding conditions met…]
[God-Tier Lawyer System activated!]
[Mission issued: Overturn Ethan Walker's case and clear his name!]
[Reward: $50,000 (via legal channels) + special bonus reward!
Newbie gift pack distributing…]