Summons

Chapter 63 Summons

After buying the car, Ethan still had 120,000 in cash.

This asset made him want to buy his own house.

There was nothing he could do; he had already realized that this family no longer had a place for him.

He was robbed in his own orchard! He called for help but no one responded!

This indifference truly chilled him to the bone!

Okay, I'll stop being cheeky.

The real reason he wanted to move out was because, as mentioned before, they were incompatible in terms of lifestyle.

Before, when Evelyn lived at home, the discomfort might have been lessened, but now that Evelyn has moved out, Ethan truly feels that his position in the house is somewhat awkward.

So when he got home that night, he told Thomas and Linda about his idea, and they both expressed their understanding and support. However, they also had a little selfish motive when it came to choosing a location for the new house.

Thomas rubbed his hands together and said earnestly—

"Ethan, if you really want to buy a house, I personally hope you can settle down in Palo Alto."

"Isn't that villa next to Evelyn's listed for sale? You should buy that one."

"That way, we can take care of each other."

"You know, I've never really been in favor of her moving out, because it can be dangerous for a girl to live alone, especially since our place is so close to San Francisco and Oakland."

"And those two sides are in complete chaos."

"I don't know if you've seen the news, but it was on the 5th of this month, right? There was another shooting in California, and it was orchestrated by the Manson Family?"

"If it were anything else, I might not be worried, but the Manson family..."

Thomas pursed his lips, his face showing concern.

As for what he was talking about, Ethan had heard a little about it.

The Manson Family was a criminal organization active near San Francisco that began committing crimes in the late 1960s. They broke into the home of Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and stabbed her, her unborn child, and four of her friends to death, one of whom had more than fifty wounds. They also broke into the home of California billionaire Reno LaBianca and tortured and murdered him, his wife, and daughter. When the police arrived at the scene, the victims still had a knife sticking out of their throats and stomachs as a provocation by the murderers.

These two cases are just the most famous ones. There are several other cases, such as the one where a woman broke into the home of a female music teacher at the University of California and committed a crime, which is even more horrifying.

Because these men preferred to prey on young women, single women were terrified of Manson during those years.

Because their methods of committing crimes were so extremely cruel, the Manson Family was dismantled by the California Police Department and the Federal Reserve in the 1970s. But unexpectedly, on the 5th of this month, members of the Manson Family reappeared, and this time...

They actually attacked Mi Daizong.

Although assassinations of the president are commonplace in the United States, even in such a common situation, when an assassination attempt comes into contact with the Manson Family, all ordinary people are worried about their safety.

After all, no one knows exactly how many members of the Manson Family have escaped legal punishment!

As for Ethan...

He didn't know if the Manson Family members would continue their crimes, but he knew that Midaizo was in a bad situation. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have another accident this month, and the location would be San Francisco, California.

There was nothing he could do; after all, he was the first US president in history to be assassinated twice within a month.

Knowing that the United States was a dangerous place, Ethan agreed to the old man's request.

"Okay, I'll go take a look tomorrow."

To be honest, Ethan originally wanted to live closer to Evelyn, so that it would be easier to find her if anything happened in the future.

His words prompted Thomas and Linda to express their gratitude repeatedly.

After confirming the target, Ethan went to Evelyn's current residence the next day, wrote down the numbers on the power strips for sale, and called them directly after returning home.

Since both parties were willing to make the deal, all the details were finalized in just two days.

Ethan acquired the 6,600-square-foot villa for $182,000.

Initially, Ethan wanted a loan because he had over two years of tax records and belonged to the group with excellent credit and income. Whether it was Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or any other bank, they could all offer him a loan with a 5% down payment. However, when Ethan discovered that bank loan interest rates had been raised to 8.5% due to stagflation, he immediately chose to borrow money from Thomas.

Ethan is rich, but he's not sick!

With a loan interest rate of 8.5%, who in their right mind would borrow that!

The point is, it's not like they're short of money, right? Today, Thomas will help cover the shortfall, and Ethan can pay him back in two weeks at most, once the dividends from "Snake Game" come in.

Since Ethan has no financial pressure, there's no way he'd let the bank make money off him!

After resolving these matters, Ethan felt completely relieved.

He's already got a car and a house after only half a year of transmigrating?

Hey! This is such a comfortable life!

Over the next few days, Ethan spent his time buying furniture for his new home.

After he had finished decorating his villa, the time came to September 16th.

The Western Electronics Show has officially opened in San Francisco.

As a shareholder of Chuck Patel, Ethan naturally had to go to the event to join in the fun.

However, when he arrived at the exhibition, he discovered a problem: he felt out of place with his surroundings.

At this moment, he was dressed very casually, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, prioritizing comfort. The guys next to him, on the other hand, were all wearing suits and ties. Even though it was hot, they had only taken off their suit jackets, revealing their white shirts.

This fact puzzled Ethan.

When he asked Chuck Patel why these people were dressed so formally, the guy revealed the purpose of the exhibition—

"Ethan, don't you know? This exhibition is organized by IEEE and is a large-scale academic exchange platform. Most of the people here are IEEE members or researchers in electrical and electronic fields. Since everyone is here to discuss technology and academic matters, it's natural to dress formally."

"oh……"

"I see?"

After wandering around for a while, Ethan felt it wasn't very interesting.

Although Ethan could understand each word these people spoke individually, he couldn't understand them when they were put together.

For example, someone was introducing their own chips, and after listening to their long explanation, Ethan only understood one thing: semiconductor packaging technology. Or, another person was demonstrating their equipment, and after listening, Ethan only knew that their product was called a charge coupler.

As for the others?

I don't understand!

"Why do I feel like I'm here to suffer?"

After inquiring with Chuck Patel and learning that the MOS 6502 presentation would be held on the afternoon of the 18th, with a small stage and fifteen minutes for the speaker, Ethan told Chuck Patel he would come back on the afternoon of the 18th, and then…

He then slipped away.

Because he didn't want to torture himself.

Just as Ethan was pondering where he should go to have some fun before the official presentation of MOS 6502, he returned home to find two young men in suits standing at the door of his villa.

"Hello, Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Ethan asked, opening the car window.

The two young men exchanged a glance, then moved closer.

"Excuse me, are you Ethan Jones?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah~" Ethan nodded and asked, "Who are you?"

The affirmative answer made them laugh.

Then, the man who had asked Ethan for his identity opened his briefcase, took out a business card, and showed it to Ethan. "Mr. Jones, we are lawyers from the California office of Sidley Austin."

"At the request of your employer, Milrohua, I am now delivering to you a court summons and a copy of the complaint."

At this point, he pulled a file folder from his briefcase and showed it to Ethan.

The document bag was transparent, so Ethan could clearly see the words on it.

When the San Francisco courthouse sign appeared, Ethan's brow furrowed.

"I've been sued?"

"And the plaintiff is Milrohua?"

"Holy crap! What the hell is this?!"

Ethan looked completely puzzled.

Note: ① Sharon Tate is very famous; she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and is the wife of Roman Polanski, the director of "The Pianist." ② IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Western electronics exhibitions are organized by them; they are academic in nature, not for sales. ③ Subpoenas in the United States are different from ours. We consider the service of a subpoena a judicial act, while in the United States it is considered a private act, generally handled by the plaintiff's lawyer. Furthermore, the methods of service are quite varied. Previously, the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York allowed the plaintiff's lawyer to serve a subpoena via Facebook private message. Service is considered complete if either the defendant replies or the plaintiff's lawyer sends private messages for three consecutive weeks. This kind of direct in-person service, as described in the article, is quite common in the United States.

(End of this chapter)