War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1906 Retaliation
Inside the Liehuo Wilderness Rescue Station, which is surrounded by shipping containers, a huge inflatable tent is exceptionally warm thanks to the continuous flow of heat from the wood heaters installed in the four corners.

There are six such inflatable tents inside the shelter. In addition to the one in the middle which has a long table, there is another one that is a car repair shop, another one that is a shower and sauna room, and two large communal sleeping areas filled with wooden beds.

Each of these two tents has a total of 30 beds.

Naturally, the cost of staying here is not expensive either. A bed costs only 500 rubles per night, which also includes a dinner and a glass of vodka.

This is definitely a fair price for freight drivers passing through here, not to mention that they also provide refueling and auto repair services, and for an extra 500 rubles you can even take a nice bath and sauna in the fourth tent.

As for the sixth tent, which is separated from the transport vehicle, it is not open to the public and is surrounded by barbed wire.

But tonight, the tent was brightly lit and unusually lively. Inside, several long wooden tables were surrounded by young and beautiful girls, and Wei Ran was hidden among them.

The long table was already laden with stewed potatoes and meat in a distinctly Soviet style, as well as delicacies made from salmon caught from the nearby river, and of course, ice-cold beer.

Before the meal was even served, more than twenty more monster trucks or tow trucks pulled up in the open space outside the aid station—Apoli and the other girls had caught up.

Once they were all seated, the elderly Peter and his wife, who were staying there, along with their son and daughter-in-law who had been called to help, all raised their glasses to begin the celebration.

Out of some tacit understanding, no one mentioned what had happened on the road. Also because of their encounter on the road, the young women drank quite a bit of alcohol, but didn't eat a single bite of the fish or meat.

During the meal, Apoli and Wei Ran quietly left the tent and got into the tow truck parked outside the rescue station.

Apoli adjusted the vent valve between the driver and passenger seats of the tractor truck to be larger, then handed Wei Ran a cigarette and said, "The people involved in the attack have all been dealt with, and the mastermind behind it has also been caught."

"Who is it?" Wei Ran asked calmly amidst the billowing smoke.

"Currently, it appears that the mastermind is a mine owner named Lenat."

Apoli explained, "The abandoned mine that Aurora bought at a low price was the one he sold. Those involved in this included a local supervisor from the Department of Energy and a police chief."

Besides these important figures, even the mechanic responsible for maintaining the vehicles was bribed; he and old Peter used to be colleagues at the maintenance depot in the town of Tula.

At this point, Apoli pointed to the shelter, "He got the exact time we would be here from old Peter, and then he tampered with our car."

The maintenance worker has already been detained and is being used as a scapegoat after betraying us, Victor. Does your revenge need to involve old Peter and his family?

“If they just let it slip unintentionally, that's fine, but that maintenance worker will have to pay a price,” Wei Ran pressed. “But how is the police involved here?”

“Probably because Aurora’s business didn’t make the police the money they expected,” Apoli shrugged.

"As far as I know, the businesses here have already paid the police enough for overtime."

“The police officers who are busy protecting tourists every day may indeed earn a lot more money, but that chief is clearly not satisfied with his income,” Apoli said coldly.

"Then why not change the bureau chief?"

Wei Ran thought for a moment, "Wait a minute, let's find an opportunity to ask Aurora for her opinion. We need to let her vent some of her anger."

“And you?” Apoli asked, “What are your demands?”

"Could you and Mr. Culp please help us find out why they attacked us?"

Wei Ran smiled and said, "The other party is so well prepared, I don't think it's just because of business competition. As for the rest, let's decide after we get the answer."

"no problem"

Apoli breathed a slight sigh of relief. "I want to thank you and Aurora. Thank you for continuing to come here even after what happened."

“Mr. Ivan, please don’t say that. What happened tonight is not your fault.”

Wei Ran shrugged. "Even if we hadn't encountered these things here today, we would have encountered other things tomorrow. On the contrary, Aurora and I should thank you for your protection and help."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that," Apoli breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't want the other person to go crazy here.

"Could you tell me about that military base?" Wei Ran asked, changing the subject.

"That place was abandoned shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union."

Apoli explained, "Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, that military base, like other Soviet-era military bases near the Arctic Circle, served as a radar early warning system, part of the Cold War's multi-layered defense perimeter, and incidentally, also protected the surrounding mines."

Later, due to economic problems and the increase in missile range, these military bases were successively closed down.

Why would she buy such a military base?

Wei Ran muttered to himself for a moment, then stubbed out his nearly burnt-out cigarette and said, "Let's go back too."

“Let’s go,” Apoli said, already pushing open the door of the tractor.

He had just arranged to meet Wei Ran, partly to reassure him, and partly because he was worried that Wei Ran might harm Peter's family, who ran the shelter.

Although Old Peter's family had only inadvertently revealed their itinerary, just to be on the safe side, after dinner, everyone cancelled their plan to camp there. They left behind the various vegetables, fruits, eggs, and other gifts that they had prepared for Old Peter's family, and then left by car overnight.

On the slightly bumpy big-foot van, Sui Sui fell into a rather long silence after listening to Wei Ran's description.

After a long while, she opened her eyes and said, "This time it's really not Peter's family's fault, but if something like this happens once, it will happen again."

"So what are you planning to do?" Wei Ran asked, pouring the other person a glass of cider he had brought.

"Anfia"

Sui Sui looked at Anfia sitting at the table and said, "Ask Greva if we can replace them with our people, especially the police. It would be best to replace them all with our people."

"What are your plans for the police chief and the energy department official who were replaced?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

“The local authorities will give me a satisfactory answer,” Sui Sui said confidently. “Mr. Greva will give me another answer.”

"Is that all?" Wei Ran asked bluntly.

This is just the beginning.

Sui Sui said like a true queen, "Anfia, I want to take a comprehensive hit on Mr. Lenat's businesses. He needs to be sent to the worst prison in the Evenki Autonomous Region."

While you're at it, check if there are any corrupt officials who have a good relationship with him or who have provided him with protection. Don't worry about whether they were involved in today's events; find evidence of their corruption and send it in with them.

Furthermore, we need to find that official's adversaries and get the people of Greva to befriend them. I need the town of Tula to become our Tula.

“I’ll start making arrangements as soon as possible,” Anfia replied while tapping on the tablet screen.

"You seem to value the business here very much?" Wei Ran asked with interest.

"Of course, otherwise why would I invest all the money I earn here here?"

Sui Sui finally stopped keeping everyone in suspense, "The reason I bought that abandoned military base and abandoned mine is actually to establish a polar wildlife sanctuary."

"A polar wildlife reserve?" Wei Ran was momentarily stunned. "Why would we build this?"

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” Sui Sui waved her hand. “In short, the business here is far more important than the business in Inta.”

At this point, Sui Sui, who had unusually finished a large glass of vodka at dinner, yawned. "Wake me up when we get there. I'm going to take a nap."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran stopped asking questions and helped Sui Sui to the back to lie down on the bed. He then sat quietly by the bedside, watching over her without leaving.

For the last hundred kilometers or so, their massive convoy took nearly four hours to reach their destination.

Under the headlights of dozens of monster trucks and tracked tractors, Wei Ran could clearly see the group of buildings hidden behind a ring of barbed wire.

The barbed wire protecting this ring of buildings appears to be a full three meters high. In addition to being supported by charred logs, the barbed wire is also strung with a large number of windproof steel cables on both the inside and outside.

Inside this barbed wire fence, besides several rows of typical Soviet-style barracks, there were five or six huge reinforced concrete workshops, as well as some buildings protected by stacked shipping containers.

Besides these workshops, the camp also contains a lot of mining equipment. There are bulldozers of all sizes, some excavators, several generator trucks that need to be towed by Kamaz engines, and snow blowers carrying aircraft engines.

But most importantly, there is an electricity and natural gas supply here—every building in this complex has lights on, and there is a gas pipeline that extends all the way into the complex.

Naturally, there were already people waiting for them there: members of Greva's gang and several original Hela girls.

There's an oil and gas field not far from here.

Upon waking up, Sui Sui leaned against the window, yawning, and explained, "The electricity and natural gas here come from there. That's why I bought this place in the first place."

Earlier, this was a thermal power plant, generating electricity for the surrounding oil and gas fields. Later, after a new power plant was built in that oil and gas field, the electricity began to be supplied back here.

"You bought this place just to establish a nature reserve?" Wei Ran asked, puzzled.

Don't you think this place would be perfect for building a small town?

Sui Sui's casual tone made Wei Ran pause for a moment.

"Over there, it should be over there. This is my first time here too. I've only ever seen satellite maps before."

Sui Sui pointed in a direction and said, "Let's pretend it's over there. Anyway, there's a river not far from there. Just run south along that river for about 400 kilometers and you'll reach the town of Tula."

"The terrain here is high enough that we should be able to see the river after dawn; it's right below the mountain."

Anfia pointed to the window on the other side and said, "Also, Aurora, you're pointing in the wrong direction."

"Okay, it's over there."

Sui Sui pointed in the opposite direction, "Back then, this place was not only a thermal power plant, but also a coal preparation workshop for the surrounding coal mines. The coal that was sorted by the coal preparation machine would be sent to the town of Tula via the river not far away, regardless of winter or summer, and then sent to even more distant places via the river."

“But haven’t the coalfields here already dried up?” Wei Ran asked.

"yes"

With a slight hint of drunkenness on her face, Sui Sui said with a beaming smile, "So this place can only be a tourist town, and all the residents who come here have to make a living by catering to tourists."

"So there's no way for me to leave you?"

"Ok!"

Sui Sui nodded vigorously. "I will pay a salary to every family that is willing to settle here, and this place will become a special polar travel town." "Can this make money?" Wei Ran asked strangely, his intuition telling him that Sui Sui's purpose was far more than that.

"Of course, they can. In the future, those living here will be nomadic tribes, and this place will showcase the unique lifestyles of various nomadic tribes."

Furthermore, once a nature reserve is established, we can set up patrol teams.

Sui Sui finally revealed her true purpose: "Just like Inta, patrolling is patrolling anyway. We can legally and legitimately contract the patrol of the surrounding mining areas and the official anti-poaching and anti-mining work and emergency rescue work in the name of Baba Yaga at a low price."

So this is just...

"This is just an excuse."

Despite her drunkenness, Sui Sui remained remarkably sober as she said, "The straight-line distance from here to Turuhansk is less than 700 kilometers, and it's only 1500 kilometers from Irkutsk."

Even the straight-line distance to Inta is only two thousand kilometers, and Vladivostok or Khabarovsk are both within the An-74's range.

"You're planning to build an airport?" Wei Ran finally realized what the other party was planning.

"There's plenty of free coal gangue here."

Sui Sui yawned. "These coal gangue piles even cover an open-pit mining area a kilometer away, which is also within the area of ​​the abandoned mine I bought."

I consulted with people in the aviation field, and they said all we need to do is level and compact the coal gangue there, and at most lay a layer of concrete, which will be enough for the 74 to take off and land.

"so."

"In the future, we will use the cheaper An-74 to fly these routes, and we will also establish a polar airline."

Sui Sui said, "With airplanes, we will have a town that belongs entirely to us and does not rely on mining for profit. We will also have a legal semi-armed force that is independent of gangs, police and the military."

"I have no idea who you're guarding against," Wei Ran said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"Of course, it's that gentleman who's good at reaping the benefits from oligarchs, although I'm not an oligarch yet."

Sui Sui pointed to the ceiling, "I can create enough jobs, and naturally I can also make enough people unemployed."

Compared to coal miners who swing pickaxes wherever they go, do you really think those who are used to making money from tourists would willingly pick up the whip again to herd reindeer once they lose their livelihood?

"Like those people in Inta?" Wei Ran asked.

"Hehe," Sui Sui smiled brightly, but neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Okay, the last question is, will anyone come to live here?" Wei Ran asked.

"The nomadic tribe we visited on Easter Sunday was the first inhabitants of this area."

Anfisa helped explain, "This is 66 degrees north latitude, less than 50 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, so it's cool enough even in the hottest part of summer."

The ice melt season on the nearby river is very short, so this place can basically operate year-round.

"Won't the town of Tula have any objections?"

Wei Ran asked a final question. At this moment, the monster truck had already driven to the entrance of one of the workshops after passing through the gate of the barbed wire fence.

"of course not"

Sui Sui said confidently, "Those nomadic tribes don't stay in Tula Town in the summer; their reindeer will die from the heat."

But it's cool enough here, and there will be plenty of veterinarians and veterinary medicine.

"If they wish, I could even fly their children to study in the town of Tula or Turuhansk."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran, who had completely understood Sui Sui's thoughts, finally stopped asking questions. He simply drove the car into a brightly lit workshop and stopped, then opened the car door.

The coal preparation equipment in this workshop has been removed, but large amounts of coal dust and coal lumps are still piled up on the ground and in the corners.

Meanwhile, on the other side of this huge factory, some bulldozers were clearing away coal dust.

“Your Majesty, Mr. Victor.”

A gang member dressed in extra thick clothing came up and greeted us warmly, "This is the last workshop that hasn't been cleaned yet. Just give us another whole day, and we can clean it up."

“There’s no rush for this.”

Sui Sui said, "Let everyone stop and rest. We brought a lot of food."

"Everyone, stop and rest. Her Majesty the Queen has brought Easter gifts."

The gang member, who still had mixed-color hair, waved from his handheld device and then enthusiastically led them along a cleaned corridor to a three-story building next to the factory.

This place is clearly used as an office, and it has obviously been thoroughly cleaned.

"How many people are here now?" Sui Sui asked as they walked.

"The gang/company sent 100 security personnel, along with 100 recruited workers."

The gang member explained, "We arrived here on the 1st and have been busy with cleaning and basic maintenance work these past few days."

You have done a very good job.

Sui Sui seemed quite satisfied with the current progress. "Let's arrange for everyone to rest first. We can talk about other things tomorrow."

"Everything is arranged. Please come with me."

The gang member enthusiastically led everyone up to the second floor, saying, "This floor is for accommodation. We've prepared every room; please feel free to choose one."

Everyone should get some rest.

Although she had taken a nap on the way, Sui Sui, who was still so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, yawned and said, "We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."

At her command, the girls immediately went into their respective rooms in pairs.

At the same time, Anfia nodded slightly to Wei Ran, and received a nod in response.

Following Sui Sui into the room she had randomly chosen, Wei Ran nodded with satisfaction.

The room was small, but warm enough, and it also had a separate toilet and bathroom.

While Sui Sui went into the bathroom to take a shower, Wei Ran excused himself to go downstairs to get his forgotten luggage from the car and left the room. He then went downstairs with An Fiya, who was waiting at the door next door, and walked into the corridor leading to the workshop.

"The culprit, Lenat, left Irkutsk for Mongolia shortly after the incident."

Anfia whispered in the dimly lit corridor, "Nominally, he was going to inspect his mining business, but in reality, he has already been taken over by Mr. Big-Eared Chab."

"Continue," Wei Ran said, lighting a cigarette.

He has two sons and five daughters.

Anfia continued, "According to a message sent by Mr. Chab through Ms. Dalia, his eldest son is in prison and will soon be sent to Black Dolphin for attempting to escape and assaulting someone."

His youngest son is currently in France, and our people have taken him into custody after receiving detailed intelligence.

In addition, his daughters, his eldest and second daughters, and their respective husbands, have been taken to Mongolia by Mr. Chabu.

His other three daughters and one of his French wives were also recruiting nuclear weapons, and they have now been located and apprehended by Hela.

"One of the wives?"

He also has a Mongolian wife.

Anfia said, "According to the message sent by Mr. Chab, Lenat's mining business in Mongolia seems to have been taken from his Mongolian wife's father."

Furthermore, his wife, as well as the French wife mentioned earlier, and his second daughter were all classmates.

"Send a few trustworthy people to Mongolia to participate in the torture."

Wei Ran calmly said, "Find out who made the suggestion first, and find out who each participant was involved."

“Our people have already set off, and the people from Greva have also arrived in the town of Tula.”

Anfia paused for a moment and then said, "Boss, we happen to need some open enemies."

"Control this Lenat?"

Wei Ran squinted and asked, "He must be sent to the autonomous region's prison, and he must die in prison."

"Or his children could also work."

Anfia wasn't picky. "Once we send Lenard to prison and kill him, his children will naturally become our enemies."

We can conveniently dump some hot potatoes on them, and incidentally use them as bait to see if anyone else will continue to target us.

"Go do it."

Wei Ran smiled in the night and said, "My intuition tells me that this family was just instigated. There must be someone hiding behind them. Find them."

"it is good"

Amphia nodded. "All those who helped surround us today are dead. What will happen to their families?"

“Send them to Papua New Guinea to pick bananas,” Wei Ran said, stubbing out his cigarette. “Don’t let a single one escape.”

"it is good"

As Anfia agreed, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. In any case, her boss had at least left those people a way out.

As for whether they are innocent
Anfia didn't care at all and scoffed at the idea.

She knew very well, and everyone knew very well, that if the siege and kidnapping tonight succeeded, those families might have tropical fruits on their tables to celebrate the harvest.