War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1900 Wei Ran's Fist

On March 25th, Wei Ran and his three companions, having had their fill of fun on Qing Island, took a public flight and eventually arrived in Kazan.

"It's time to talk about work."

Just before the flight landed in Kazan, Sui Sui yawned and said, "Before I came back, you visited our home with Chicken Rotten's rumored lover, Anna, and her mother, Mrs. Mora, accompanied by Ms. Diane."

"Can't you use some nice words?" Wei Ran shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

"Isn't it just a rumor?" Sui Sui asked, her eyes narrowing as she smiled.

"It's definitely a rumor."

Wei Ran wisely stated his position and changed the subject, even though he knew Sui Sui was joking, "Is it about the coffee business?"

"That's right"

Sui Sui snapped her fingers crisply. "Mr. Hans from Germany has set up an investment company. He owns 51% of the shares, and the remaining 49% are held by Anna and her mother."

This investment firm acquired a 10% stake in 28 Stars Coffee, a multi-layered scheme, but the profits are likely to be substantial.

"What about the rest?" Wei Ran pressed.

"The remaining portion is held by Mr. Miguel from Spain, Mr. Greva from Kazan, Mr. Niñer from the United States, and Mr. Zhong Zhen from the electricity-free company, each holding 20%, and the last 10% is used to hire professional managers."

"Zhong Zhen was involved in this too?" Wei Ran asked in surprise, as he really didn't know about this.

“International travelers come from all over the world,” Sui Sui replied with a smile. Clearly, it was almost certainly her idea to bring Zhong Zhen on board.

Having explained this much, Wei Ran wisely refrained from asking further questions, and Sui Sui also refrained from providing any further explanation.

Wei Ran knew that those actually involved in management were most likely dispatched by succubi or Hela. Sui Sui also knew that the companies that had contracted out these management businesses were probably also their own people.

But since this matter had absolutely nothing to do with them, they naturally knew nothing about it and didn't even bother to ask.

So, if we calculate it this way, these coffee shops that might one day open all over Europe and America, and maybe even Asia, will not be supported by any idle people except for Mora and Anna, the mother and daughter from Chicken Tofu.

Indeed, the day after Sui Sui, representing Wei Ran, Anna, and Ms. Mora, briefly finalized the investment, everyone involved in the deal began a large-scale store construction plan.

Driven by money or gangs, cafes with logos featuring the tricolor flag adorned with 28 stars have sprung up like poisonous mushrooms after rain in cities across Europe and America, and even in parts of Asia.

These cafes occupy a considerable area, and each has at least one floor of office space not open to the public, as well as an underground parking lot. Even the waiters inside are all burly and well-mannered.

This is why these cafes, which sprang up almost overnight, have acquired a nickname due to a tacit understanding and coincidence among some amused people—the Strongman Cafe.

Regardless of the name, the coffee shop is run by a shared commitment to operating legally, the Internationale played on repeat, and perhaps even the inexplicable sense of security provided by the burly male waiters.

Although these cafes haven't officially opened yet, they've already attracted the interest and discussion of many potential customers—including some lonely women.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Wei Ran, Sui Sui, and the others.

After a long flight, they landed safely in Kazan, where the flamboyant pink-clad girls drove pink civilian armored vehicles to escort them back to their home on the shores of Lake Kaban.

I've been away from home for more than half a month now, and the surface ventilation openings in each room of the underground air-raid shelter that was dug up have all been backfilled and replaced with turf.

The parts beneath the surface were also renovated and maintained by numerous workers working in three shifts.

"Ms. Diane asked me to remind you."

Sui Sui yawned and said as she walked upstairs, "Mr. Hans is waiting for you to help him arrange a meeting with Greva and Ninner."

"Let me first investigate the matter that the Spanish wrestler has entrusted to me."

Wei Ran yawned as well, but what came out of his mouth was the word "delay".

"In that case, I want to eat sesame seed cakes for breakfast tomorrow." Sui Sui had already ordered the food.

"No problem," Wei Ran readily agreed.

The small hanging oven that he had brought to Tainan and then flown to Kazan ahead of time on a transport plane had long since arrived at his home, so making a sesame seed cake was no problem for him at all.

That night, the exhausted Wei Ran and the others went to bed early and drifted off to sleep.

Even earlier, in several major cities on the island of Tai, under Zhong Zhen's management, some shops that met the requirements were acquired, and either coffee shop logos with 28 stars and tricolor flags were hung up, or the logo of the CBI Family Search Team was hung up, and large-scale renovations were carried out.

Just like I said at the beginning, these coffee businesses have absolutely nothing to do with Wei Ran and Sui Sui.

No, it can't be said that they are completely unrelated.

At least a few days ago, the little-known CBI family tracing team received a donation from a certain queen of an An-74 transport plane that had once transported Cheng Guanyin, a war hero, home.

On the same day, in Kyoto, the professionally packaged He Shaonian finally took to the stage again, and became a hit on the internet with an anti-war rock song—all of this still had no direct connection to Wei Ran and his "girlfriends".

The morning after returning to Kazan, before dawn, Wei Ran got up early, went downstairs to the kitchen, and skillfully began to scald the dough.

While waiting for the dough to rise, he lit the outdoor oven and let it burn slowly. He then returned to the kitchen, lifted the wooden planks under his feet, and went down the stairs into the underground air-raid shelter. From there, he went to the basement of the library next door.

After passing through the heavy, locked blast door, Wei Ran finally had the time and opportunity to retrieve the metal notebook.

Now, the countdown to the final act on the back of the latest page has disappeared, replaced by two slowly rotating vortexes, one red and one blue.

Beneath the red vortex, the handwriting retains a faint trace of homesickness: Eat, eat your fill and you won't miss home.

Then look at that blue vortex, below which is written, "Take them home, even if it's just a photo."

After failing to retrieve the contents, Wei Ran put away the metal notebook and instead took out the contents of the red vortex.

This was an exceptionally sturdy wooden box, and when Wei Ran saw it, a helpless smile appeared on his face.

The box had been sitting on the cargo bed of that three-wheeled motorcycle, and there were even three lines of traditional Chinese characters on the lid:

Authentic hanging oven baked flatbread
One yuan for each Hou Yi enema

Two pickled vegetables for one yuan

“You really are my father,” Wei Ran shook his head helplessly and reached out to lift the lid of the box.

The box had a thick layer of foam for insulation, and there was also a small white cotton quilt inside.

This time, there were no dividers, but one after another, steaming hot sesame seed cakes were placed with sausage or stir-fried pickled vegetables, or simply left empty.

If only I had this box when I was marching through the grasslands during the Long March.
As Wei Ran closed the box, he sighed. There were probably at least a hundred or two hundred sesame seed cakes stuffed with vegetables in the box. Moreover, he had learned this skill, so even if he finished eating them, he could always replenish them.

After putting the box back into the metal notebook, Wei Ran took out the items from the blue vortex.

However, Wei Ran showed a surprised expression when he saw this thing.

This time, he actually got himself a blue and white Volkswagen T1 minivan with 23 windows.

I'm practically a parking lot now.
Wei Ran laughed and cursed, from the earliest half-tracks to the largest DT30, and then to the ambulances, jeeps and now the vans. He hadn't even counted the wooden boat from Baiyangdian and the biting black horse.

Even so, he was still very happy to receive such a generous reward.

In any case, the retro van is quite beautiful, but all those frighteningly many windows are covered with white curtains from the inside.

When Wei Ran opened the double doors in the rear passenger compartment, he was taken aback by what he saw inside.

There is only a row of seats back-to-back with the driver's seat and a table located directly below the sunroof.

In the back row space opposite the table, there were tripods, flashlights, and various light sets, as well as a three-legged bar stool and a folding rattan chair with a wooden frame, all neatly arranged.

In addition, there is a lens cabinet in the carriage, containing more than a dozen Pentax 67 lenses of various sizes, almost the entire series, as well as some spare batteries, various grades of 120 film, and even a complete set of cleaning tools.

He had seen all of these things before, from lenses and lighting equipment to chairs and consumables. He had seen them all in the old Shanghai photo studio of Li Yizhong's grandfather, Li Minghua.

I leaned out and glanced into the driver's seat. In the passenger seat, there lay a Pentax 67ii camera with a 165mm F2.8 lens, a bowl of fried stinky tofu, and a picture frame.

The photo in the frame is the last photo Wei Ran took of Cheng Guanyin, a photo of him standing in front of the stall, smiling brightly at him.

Picking up the stinky tofu packaged in half a bamboo section, Wei Ran sat on the only seat in the back of the car, used a bamboo skewer to pick up a piece of still-hot fried stinky tofu, and put it in his mouth, chewing it in big bites.

After carefully finishing the gift, Wei Ran climbed out of the carriage, closed the door, and then put it back into the metal notebook.

Immediately afterwards, the Pentax camera that had been sitting in the passenger seat of the van reappeared in his hand.

"The number of surviving World War II veterans is dwindling."

As Wei Ran put away his camera, he muttered to himself, then opened the blast door, went through it, and followed the underground air-raid shelter back to his own kitchen. He focused on rolling out the flatbread, took it outside, and patiently used the small hanging stove to make breakfast for the many girls in his family.

That morning, after saying that she would eat sausage and stewed meat that evening, Sui Sui and the girls started working.

Upon receiving the mission, Wei Ran personally drove Beria to Jima's village, selected a castrated wild boar, slaughtered it himself, and brought it back home.

While he was busy preparing the sausage and stew in the kitchen, far away in Tainan, Lu Yue's braised pork rice shop also put up a sign for a new dish—authentic oven-baked sesame flatbread.

The nameless theater troupe, whose residence is located south of Beijing, the capital of China, and along the airport flight route, also enjoyed oven-baked sesame cakes and sausages.

For these performing arts workers who are busy rehearsing every day, the three meals a day cooked by the troupe's newly recruited chef are all home-style dishes, but they taste exceptionally good.

Also in the last few days of March, another group of refugees from Donetsk arrived at Golonid Island in Volgograd. After registering their identities, they moved into the abandoned Soviet factory at Marta House.

These "refugees" were mainly middle-aged and elderly patients, and because of this, a medical team that seemed to be quite familiar with them also moved in.

These "refugees" are not the only ones starting new lives. Now, after losing Mrs. Samantha, the wizard housekeeper, the coffee bar at the Time Library has welcomed two women of similar age who seem to be very familiar with both Ms. Anna and Mr. Culp.

On the other side of the villa, the winery, the kindergarten that had not yet started enrolling students, and even the employees recruited by the bar that was only in its infancy, all seemed to be exceptionally familiar with these two.

The existence of these people is naturally a good thing for Wei Ran; in short, the two sides are in the same boat.

Even if Wei Ran himself didn't value his life, those old guys would do their best to protect Wei Ran and Sui Sui and the others for the rest of their lives.

On March 30th, while Sui Sui was busy having a video conference with Qin Qi in China about filming,

Wei Ran drove alone to the shooting range outside Ji Ma's village, set up a sturdy tent next to his own lakeside campsite, and lit a fire.

Before the water on the stove could boil, an inconspicuous van drove into the camp.

As the car door was pushed open from the inside, it was Anfissa who stepped out.

Bending down and crawling into the tent, Anfissa sat on the folding chair that had been reserved for her by the fire.

“Go ahead and say it, it’s safe enough here,” Wei Ran said while busy making coffee.

"Hela's new nest on the border is ready, and the new seeds are all in place and training has begun."

As Anfisa spoke, he reached out and unzipped his jacket, pulled out a loose-leaf notebook from his pocket, picked up the pencil tucked inside, and began his report.

Is there any trouble?

As Wei Ran spoke, he poured her a cup of coffee using an eggshell cup, and then added extra milk and sugar.

"Thank you"

Anfisa took the coffee before continuing, "We've been discreet enough this time; all our investments have come from Japan and South Korea and have formed a closed loop."

"Continue," Wei Ran said noncommittally.

"Hella is the brain"

Anfisa put down her silver coffee cup and said, "A succubus is the face outside the brain."

Of course, further outwards, there's Hela, a cyberbullying organization led by French woman Monica, acting as a mask.

Seeing that Wei Ran did not intend to speak, Anfisa turned the loose-leaf pages and continued to report, "Currently, all of Succubus's businesses have begun to make a profit."

In particular, the family business of the nuclear recruiter that we seized not only brought us huge profits, but also helped us expand our manpower significantly.

"How many people are there respectively?" Wei Ran finally asked.

"HeLa has only 197 official members, of which 74 are currently undergoing assessment and training."

Amphisa lowered her voice slightly, "There are quite a few succubi with lifetime employment; there are already 524 of them."

"No one tried to betray us?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

Not yet.

Anfisa replied, "Everyone cherishes everything they have now." "Continue."

Wei Ran sat down at the tent entrance as he spoke, then lit a cigarette.

"Under the Hela organization, besides the cooperative Morpheus, the most important organizations are the 17-year cicada and the Seven-Colored Elephant organization, which has brought huge profits due to the comic book submissions."

Anfisa explained in a low voice, "The 17-year cicada has basically been burning through money, but fortunately the cost is not very high. The seven-colored divine elephant is currently the most profitable."

"Where is Morpheus?"

Wei Ran asked, "How many mental patients can we mobilize?"

The total number has reached nearly 20,000 mental patients.

Anfissa reported an exceptionally alarming number, "However, the language spoken by these mental patients is not uniform."

"How come there are so many?" Wei Ran asked in astonishment.

“Mr. Ninell’s mental hospitals across the United States and Canada care for thousands of mental patients, but he owns only a small fraction of them.”

"Let me guess, Qin Er Shi?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"That's right"

Anfisa nodded. "He and your other friend, Mr. Zhong, have already opened a large number of mental hospitals in South Asia and Southeast Asia through acquisitions."

After a brief pause, Anfisa added, "And I suspect that some people are being illegally detained inside, especially Ms. Jiaya, who is the agent for the Seven-Colored Elephant in Southeast Asia."

She appears to have forcibly taken over and acquired a stake in Mr. Qin's mental hospital business, and has housed quite a few recruiters there.

"Jia Ya?"

Wei Ran thought for a moment, then said nonchalantly, "It seems like something she would do. Continue."

Seeing that Wei Ran didn't care about this, Anfisa turned a page of the loose-leaf notebook in her hand, skipped over some content, and said, "Generally speaking, most of these mental hospitals are profitable."

Although Hela wouldn't profit from this deal, the previous practical experience showed that Morpheus's mentally ill patients were extremely effective at disrupting public opinion, making them a nuclear weapon in the hands of Hela's network.

After a brief pause and seeing that Wei Ran did not press further, Anfisa continued, "Regarding legitimate business, Hela is currently focusing on supporting the Seven-Colored Elephant to make money through its call for submissions."

Boss, I have to remind you that we've already started soliciting submissions in Europe and the United States through the Seven Colors Divine Elephant. This business could potentially be even more lucrative in the future.

so."

"Just say what you have to say," Wei Ran said.

"The Seven-Colored Divine Elephant may become a purely profit-driven organization in the future."

Anfisa suggested, "This deal is more profitable than anyone expected, and it's very convenient for money laundering."

"Then let's do it your way."

Wei Ran agreed to the other party's idea indifferently. He just needed a spokesperson that he could use at any time. As for whether the spokesperson came from the Seven-Colored Divine Elephant or the Eight-Colored Divine Elephant, it didn't really matter to him.

"Next up are the people who recently joined the company."

Anfissa turned another page of the loose-leaf notebook in his hand and continued, "Almost all of those people joined some industries in Russia. Only a few joined castle hotels and ski resorts in Austria."

The remaining elderly, infirm, and disabled have all been sent to Golonid Island in Volgograd.

"How's the situation in Papua New Guinea now?" Wei Ran asked, changing the subject.

"The 17-year cicada has recently welcomed several new teachers. The president of the association, who was caught a while ago, was also sent there. It is said that a lot of interesting things were asked of him."

Anfisa replied, "The rest hasn't changed much. Also, there's been someone watching us in the neighborhood lately."

"At the doorstep?" Wei Ran asked.

“That’s right,” Anfisa nodded. “Our surveillance footage is very clear.”

"so"

Wei Ran thought for a moment and said, "Set up a large screen in the winery yard and play footage of the people monitoring us on a loop. If anyone breaks in, catch them and send them to Papua New Guinea to pick bananas."

"Ok"

Anfisa smiled and agreed. She knew that many of the things Wei Ran was involved in were handled by her and her sister. Now that their power was strong enough, they could finally be a little more arrogant.

Moreover, this is also a reliability test, specifically a reliability test of that playing card.

"The next thing is the most important thing in the near future."

Anfisa turned another page and then tossed the loose-leaf notebook into the cast-iron furnace. "The 28 Stars Coffee business, a multi-partner partnership, will extend Hella's reach to every major city in Europe, America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia."

Of course, that includes Japan and South Korea. Boss, how about we take on some side jobs?

"How to say?"

Wei Ran asked with a smile, this was one of the main reasons he called Anfisa over.

"In short, this is a business partnership between four gangs."

Anfisa explained, "The reason they were willing to cooperate was that they intended to do something using the coffee business."

Although the Hela girls have been dispersed, each taking a few girls originally trained for succubi to serve as managers in coffee shops in various places, they can't really be used just to sell coffee.

Such gains are simply not worth the cost of training them, let alone the risks we share.

“Tell me your suggestions,” Wei Ran said.

“Do you remember Charon?” Amphiza asked.

"The former owner of the jewelry store?"

Wei Ran thought for a moment and asked, "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, what was that intelligence-trading circle that spontaneously formed among the unclaimed KGB members in the European part?"

"That's right"

Anfisa nodded. "They got into big trouble a few years ago because of their greed. Although they have been trying to reorganize in recent years, they have been facing many difficulties due to a lack of fresh blood."

“Acquisition?” Wei Ran used a business-specific term.

"Perhaps 'devouring' would be a more accurate description."

Anfisa said, "Those old guys just want to cash out and live more comfortably. We can actually try to reach out to them."

"Through the kind of authenticator developed by Anfia?" Wei Ran asked.

"That's right"

Anfisa nodded. "Boss, want to give it a try? If we succeed, we will..."

"I need at least two fuses connected in series."

Wei Ran stated bluntly, "I don't trust those outdated old guys, so I need fuses to connect every Charon and every café."

“No problem,” Anfisa agreed, as that was her original plan.

Or rather, their nearly identical training methods led them to make almost identical arrangements—a nested structure.

"Go do it."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and added, "Focus on financial business intelligence and make targeted investments."

Furthermore, it is crucial that all future legitimate investments based on the aforementioned business intelligence leads be conducted within China.

"Making money is the primary goal?" Anfisa concluded.

"That's right"

Wei Ran smiled and said, "The Cold War is over. Future battles will mainly be economic and information warfare. Calling for war and even occupying territory are outdated."

Hela's main strategy is to output our voices through the seven-colored divine elephant and to disrupt other people's voices through Morpheus.

Secondly, it is necessary to establish two transnational conglomerates, or even tycoons, both overtly and covertly, through the overt investment activities of Aurora and the Golden Fleece, as well as the investment activities of succubi.

"Doing business behind the scenes, bypassing China?" Anfisa wisely confirmed.

"certainly"

Wei Ran chuckled and countered, "Don't you like Chinese food? Or do you want to be banned from entering China in the future?"

"I wouldn't do it even for the sake of candied hawthorns."

Anfisa smiled and finally asked, "What about force? Are you relying solely on the 17-year cicada?"

"The 17-year cicada is just a highly poisonous seed, and relying on them alone may not be enough."

Wei Ran said, "Let's give strong support to our friends who run coffee businesses together, as well as our friends in Austria and 8 Lestain."

At this point, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Does Greva have ulterior motives?"

“Not at all”

Anfisa shook her head. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Mr. Greva seems to have fallen in love with Miss Anna, who visited us recently."

"The chicken tofu one?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

“That’s right, Miss Anna from Chicken Tofu,” Anfisa nodded in confirmation.

“Since Greva has no ulterior motives, go and contact my friend Zhong Zhen and ask him to help Greva and Marta train more combat engineers.”

"Boss, is our target the Far East?" Anfisa asked abruptly.

"Target?"

Wei Ran put down his coffee cup. "No, no, no, Anfisa, we have no objective."
We will not subvert any political system, nor will we occupy any land; we will only focus on the economy and public opinion.

"Only when your voice is loud enough can others hear you; only when you have money in your pocket can others acknowledge your voice."

"A ghost without a physical form?" Anfisa concluded.

"A ghost without a physical form, that only fights guerrilla warfare."

Wei Ran snapped his fingers, "But remember to let the people who recruit nuclear agents, those from South Korea, or those from the country of cow urine take the blame for us."

"Don't worry about that," Anfisa assured confidently.

She was confident, even if Hela or the succubus, who were hiding the deepest, were exposed, even if the 17-year cicada or even Morpheus were exposed.

Even with meticulous investigation, the final destination would only be the bounty hunter, codenamed Shrike, Chiba Kagami, who had disappeared from the assassin world for a very long time, and his female partner.

As for the nationality of this shrike that has been kept in a cage for a long time, let the nuclear power recruiters and South Koreans argue about it slowly.

"Is there anything else?" Wei Ran asked.

"Should we bring the elders along for all of this?" Anfisa asked as she got up and crawled out of the tent.

"elder?"

Wei Ran smiled and said, "They've retired. Let them rest well. This world will always belong to the young."

“It will belong to us,” Anfisa said, already striding towards the car in the distance.

At the same time, Wei Ran took out a steaming hot sesame seed cake with sausage filling from a box that suddenly appeared beside him and took a big, satisfying bite.

Before he could finish the pancake, another car drove into the campsite.

This time, the person who pushed open the door was none other than the scumbag Qin Er Shi.

"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for ages," Wei Ran greeted him warmly.

(End of this chapter)