I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 704 The Illegal Encroacher (1st Update)
After a comfortable flight of more than ten hours, the Suzuki Group's private jet landed smoothly on the private tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport.

When the cabin door opened, the morning sun, just past six o'clock, streamed in, bringing with it the dryness and warmth characteristic of California.

Yukiko Kudo was the first to jump down the gangway with boundless energy. She opened her arms, took a deep breath, turned around, and smiled at the crowd behind her, saying, "Welcome to Los Angeles! The City of Angels! Sunshine, beaches, and Hollywood—here we come!"

Despite the terrifying experience in the air, the novelty of stepping onto foreign soil quickly overcame the previous tension. The group exited the airport smoothly through the VIP channel with almost no waiting.

Yukiko had already arranged everything; a spacious black Chevrolet Suburban SUV was already waiting at the door.

As soon as they got in the car, Ran and Sonoko were immediately captivated by the exotic scenery outside the window.

The wide highways, the uniquely styled buildings, the tall palm trees, and the distant mountains faintly visible in the morning light... everything made them feel incredibly novel and excited.

"That's Hollywood Hills! Ran, come and see!" Sonoko clung to the car window, repeatedly beckoning Ran to come over.

After seeing it, Xiaolan exclaimed in surprise, "I often see it at the beginning of movies!!"

Compared to the girls' excitement and enthusiasm, Eri Kisaki seemed more pragmatic.

Sitting in the car, she took out her phone and quietly practiced some basic English conversations. Occasionally, she frowned and sighed softly, "Sigh, it's been too long since I've been in an English-speaking environment. I'm even stuttering a bit and not fluent enough. Looks like I need to practice more this time."

Hearing this, Shiraishi E, who was sitting next to her, casually comforted her, "Don't worry too much about whether you speak fluently or not. As long as you can communicate and the other person can understand you, that's fine. Look at the Indian guys, their English is full of curry flavor, but they still do very well here. It doesn't hinder their work and life here at all."

Yukiko, who was driving, heard these words through the rearview mirror and couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Haha, Shiraishi-kun is so right! In America, especially in a place like Los Angeles, you don't have to worry about accents at all!"

"This place is a melting pot. More than 90% of the people you meet speak English with an accent—Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Middle Eastern…you name it! As long as you dare to speak and can communicate, there won't be any problems!"

After being comforted by the two, Eri realized that it was indeed true, and her mindset immediately relaxed a lot, no longer worrying about whether her pronunciation was perfect.

During the relaxed conversation and while enjoying the view outside the window, the SUV drove away from the airport area and into downtown Los Angeles, eventually stopping in front of a quiet, upscale apartment building in West Los Angeles.

The white modern buildings, meticulously maintained gardens, and strict security all demonstrate the quality of this place.

Yukiko parked the car and proudly introduced, "We're here! This is my house in Los Angeles. It's in a great location, convenient for going anywhere. Everyone, take your luggage upstairs, rest for a bit, and then we'll set off to explore Los Angeles!"

Yukiko led everyone into the lobby of the upscale apartment building, greeted the manager sitting behind the service desk familiarly, and exchanged a few pleasantries.

The building manager was a friendly-looking middle-aged white man who was clearly familiar with Yukiko, the celebrity resident.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yukiko, in high spirits, led everyone to take the elevator directly to her apartment floor.

As she rummaged through her bag for her keys, she excitedly described the views and facilities around the place.

However, when she inserted the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed open the heavy door, the smile on her face froze instantly, replaced by extreme shock and disbelief!
What came into view was not the neat, stylish, and tasteful home she remembered.

Unfamiliar suitcases and miscellaneous items were piled up haphazardly in the living room, wrinkled clothes were draped on the sofa, and there were untied takeout boxes on the dining table... Meanwhile, a strange white couple, dressed in pajamas, were leisurely sitting on her sofa watching TV. They only turned their heads lazily when they heard the door open, without any surprise or panic on their faces.

"My God! What...what's going on?!" Yukiko cried out, almost collapsing. "My house?! How can there be anyone here?!"

She was furious as she looked at the white couple who had encroached on her apartment. She couldn't help but mutter a few curses in Japanese under her breath: "What is that building manager good for?! My apartment has been broken into and occupied for so long, and he didn't even know?! He's so negligent!"

This unexpected situation gave Yukiko a real headache.

"Please wait here for a moment."

Suppressing her anger, she took a deep breath and stepped forward to try to communicate with the couple in English.

Instead of immediately scolding and driving them away, she tried to offer them money and ask them to leave on their own.

Ran, standing behind them, stared wide-eyed in surprise at the scene and whispered to Eri beside her in Japanese, "Mom, why is Aunt Yukiko giving them money? These people clearly broke in illegally! Why don't we just call the police to kick them out?"

Eri gently patted Ran's hand and explained in her usual calm and professional tone, "Ran, things aren't that simple. According to California's Tenant Protection Act and some relevant local regulations in Los Angeles, although these 'unauthorized occupants' are not legally equivalent to 'tenants' with a legal lease, landlords cannot simply forcibly evict them as we might imagine."

She paused, then continued clearly, "The correct legal procedure is that the homeowner must file an 'illegal stay lawsuit' in court, and after the court issues an eviction order, an enforcement officer will carry out the eviction. The whole process takes about 2 to 4 months."

"Yukiko's offer of money was an attempt to 'resolve the issue through negotiation,' hoping to get them to leave voluntarily with minimal cost and time, thus avoiding lengthy legal proceedings."

Xiaolan was shocked and couldn't understand it at all: "Seriously?! It's so complicated to get rid of people who are illegally occupying my house? I have to go to court? This...this is just too unreasonable!"

Sonoko, standing nearby, also gasped in astonishment: "I've been to Los Angeles so many times, and this is the first time I've ever heard of something like this! It's outrageous!"

Eri looked at Sonoko and said with a smile, "Every time you come here, you either stay in your own villa or a top-tier hotel with tight security, so of course you won't encounter this kind of problem."

"But in ordinary apartments and private residences, especially when the vacancy period is relatively long, this kind of 'occupancy' is actually quite frequent in California, especially in Los Angeles. It is a well-known 'characteristic' of the area."

Listening to Eri Kisaki's clear and logical analysis, Shiraishi E raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "Attorney Kisaki, you really know a lot. You even know so much about local laws in California?"

Eri pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and replied casually, "It's nothing. I was just bored on the plane and happened to see some news cases, so I looked up some local laws to pass the time." Sonoko, hearing this, exclaimed in genuine admiration, "Aunt Eri, you're amazing! You can even study the law while on a plane! If it were me, I'd probably just be watching movies and sleeping!"

While they were discussing in hushed tones, Yukiko's "negotiations" seemed to be going poorly. The couple was arrogant and did not seem satisfied with the amount of "compensation" that Yukiko had proposed.

Yukiko walked back to the group with a grim expression. Her once-stylish hair was now disheveled, and her face was filled with anger and helplessness. She lowered her voice and gritted her teeth, saying, "Bastards! These two white bastards are insatiable! I gave them $200 to leave, and they complained it wasn't enough! They even arrogantly wanted more! What do they think this place is? A refugee camp?!"

Seeing her friend's frantic state, Eri Kisaki also felt a headache coming on.

Although she was a lawyer, she was not familiar with the specific legal procedures and details in California, and felt powerless in a foreign country.

She had no choice but to suggest, "How about we find the apartment manager to handle this? It's their negligence."

Upon hearing this, Yukiko became even more furious, angrily saying, "Go to them? They'll definitely take the opportunity to make demands, forcing me to drop the matter of pursuing their mismanagement!"

“I pay a solid $1500 in utilities fees every month! They were seriously negligent this time, letting strangers break into my house for so long without me noticing! According to the contract, I can claim at least a year's worth of utilities fees as compensation!”

Xiaolan, who was standing next to her, silently did the math and whispered in surprise, "The annual property management fee is... 18,000 US dollars! That's about 2.7 million yen! That's quite a sum!"

Just when Yukiko felt helpless and caught in a dilemma, E Shiraishi slowly stepped forward, extended his hand to Yukiko, and said in a relaxed tone, "Give me $200, and I'll take care of this for you."

Upon hearing this, Yukiko's eyes lit up as if she had grasped a lifeline. Without hesitation, she pulled out two hundred-dollar bills from her wallet and stuffed them into Shiraishi E's hand, saying, "Okay! If you can really get them to leave obediently, I'll give you another 200 as a reward after it's done!"

Shiraishi E laughed and casually stuffed the money into her pocket: "That's enough!"

Conan, watching from the side, was extremely curious and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Hui, what are you planning to do? You can't use violence, it will cause trouble."

Shiraishi waved her hand, indicating that he could rest assured: "Don't worry, civilized people use civilized methods."

After saying that, he walked straight toward the white couple who were still lounging on the sofa.

He began politely, speaking in a calm tone and fluent English, "Excuse me, could you please leave my friend's apartment?"

The white man glanced sideways at Shiraishi E, a contemptuous sneer on his face. Instead of getting up, he cursed with insulting words, "Get out of here, you yellow-skinned pig! This is our place now!"

Faced with such blatant racial discrimination and provocation, Shiraishi E did not get angry; instead, a strange smile appeared on her face.

He slowly took out a pair of white cotton gloves from his coat pocket and put them on gracefully.

Then, he pulled over his suitcase, put it on the ground, opened it, and casually dumped the clothes inside aside.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he took out a black handgun from a hidden compartment in his suitcase.

His movements were unhurried, even somewhat ceremonial, and then he took out a silencer and began to slowly screw it onto the muzzle of the gun.

The sound of the silencer tightening was particularly clear in the quiet room.

The white couple, who had been so arrogant just moments before, instantly lost all color in their faces the moment they saw the gun and the silencer. Their arrogance and provocation vanished without a trace, replaced by extreme fear!

The two men jumped up from the sofa in fright, their voices trembling uncontrollably: "We...we'll leave right now! Please don't shoot!"

They frantically grabbed their suitcases, not even bothering to gather their scattered belongings, and sprinted towards the door like they'd seen a ghost. They even knocked over a chair along the way, dropping their things all over the floor without a second thought, before disappearing down the hallway in a panic.

Shiraishi watched their disheveled retreating figures before leisurely walking back to the group and casually saying, "Done."

Yukiko patted Shiraishi E on the shoulder with delight and exclaimed, "Wow! Shiraishi-kun, you're so clever! You're amazing!"

Eri Kisaki looked surprised and pointed at her suitcase, asking, "You...you also carried a handgun?"

Instead of answering directly, Shiraishi E picked up the gun, suddenly turned to Conan, and pulled the trigger with a smile—

"Puff puff!"

A few soft sounds rang out as several colorful plastic BB pellets hit Conan's body and face. Although they didn't hurt, they startled him!
"Ouch! Why did you shoot me?!" Conan complained, rubbing the spot where he had been hit.

Shiraishi E waved the gun in her hand and laughed, "It's fake, just a toy gun. It's only for scaring people."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on, and seeing Conan's sullen face, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Yukiko chuckled a few times, but her smile quickly faded. Looking at the messy apartment, she sighed, "Sigh, I came back happy, but I didn't expect to run into such bad luck."

She looked at the sofa and floor with disdain: "We can't stay in this house for now. Who knows if those two guys have any fleas or infectious diseases on them. Let's go stay in a hotel."

She paused, her eyes sharpening again: "However, before going to the hotel, I need to have a 'good talk' with the manager about compensation! This time, we absolutely cannot let it go so easily!"

(End of this chapter)