War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1908 Hammer Marks
In the northern part of Irkutsk, in the suburbs some distance from the city center, several vehicles of various sizes drove into a long-abandoned factory that afternoon.

The cars eventually all stopped at the entrance of the only intact workshop in the factory.

Inside the workshop, various machining equipment left over from the Soviet era are still largely intact and complete, except that the floor is covered with a large amount of unavoidable dust and pigeon droppings.

This factory had been forgotten by its owner for far too long, and by the city for far too long. But today, on this sunny afternoon, it has come alive again.

Amidst the busy work of some burly men in hunting camouflage, a basketball court-sized open space was cleared out in the very center of the workshop, just where the sunlight streaming in from the window could illuminate it, and a large red carpet was laid out.

Next, they placed a heavy, long table with the scent of birchwood, along with several heavy solid wood chairs, in the very center of the carpet.

The tables and chairs had barely been set up when a group of beautiful girls dressed in traditional Slavic clothing lined up to bring over crystal-clear wine glasses, decanters, corkscrews, and bottles of red wine.

Once everything was arranged, a man in a suit, two women who looked to be around thirty years old and dressed in designer clothes, and two burly men in suits were walked in with guns pointed at the back of their heads and sat down in chairs with trepidation.

"Crunch... crunch..."

As the beautiful girls in their traditional costumes twisted the corkscrews, they slowly slid them into the corks of the wine bottles.

"Boom!"

With almost overlapping soft clicks, the corks of the wine bottles were pulled out, and the attendees all shuddered.

As the crimson liquid gurgled into the decanter, cold sweat broke out on the foreheads of these people due to the accumulated fear.

They didn't come here voluntarily, and the person who forcibly invited them never offered an explanation.

Just then, a large, fat man in a suit walked in and, with the help of a pretty young woman, sat down at the head of the table.

"let's start"

This big fat man is none other than Uncle Chabu with big ears.

At his command, the girls picked up decanters and poured a glass of scarlet wine for everyone sitting at the table.

"Try them all."

Big-eared Chab raised his glass and, as the girls walked out, introduced, "This batch of wine comes from my winery in Moldova; it's high-quality stuff that I keep for myself."

Upon hearing this, the others sitting at the table quickly picked up their wine glasses and took a careful sip.

Before they could put down their wine glasses, a young, beautiful, and sexy woman of Asian appearance walked in, her eyes blindfolded and barefoot.

By Asian standards, her skin is fair enough, which makes the white dress she's wearing seem somewhat unsuitable for her.

"She was Sergei's lover."

"Many of you know each other," said Chab with big ears. "Some of you are friends of Sergei, and some are his drivers."

Some were his wife's friends, while others were Mr. Lenard's friends or business partners.

The reason I invited you is because you've all been involved in illegal business with their family to varying degrees, so you must know which Sergei I'm referring to.

As Big-Eared Chabu finished speaking, the beautiful woman with a terrified expression was pushed by the shoulder and led to the back of a makeshift hollow brick wall not far away.

Almost simultaneously, a tall, muscular white man walked in.

He was wearing a large leather apron, a magic scarf with a grape pattern on his face, and a pair of large dust glasses. Notably, he was also carrying a hammer in his hands, which were covered in kitchen rubber gloves.

The wooden handle of this hammer is over a meter long, and the hammerhead is shaped and sized like a bunch of grapes.

"His name is Taras Shevchenko, which comes from my favorite poet."

"He's 2.2 meters tall and weighs over 150 kilograms, so we all like to call him the white-skinned Shaquille O'Neal," said Big Ears.

At this point, the white-skinned O'Neal stopped and respectfully bowed slightly to Big Ears Chab, saying, "Greetings, respected father."

Hello to you too.

Big-eared Chabu personally poured a glass of wine for the big man and said enthusiastically, "I'm introducing you to my friends, good boy, say hello to everyone."

"Greetings to you ladies and gentlemen, and may God bless you for a wonderful day."

The big man raised his glass, finished speaking, and then drank it all in one gulp before gently placing the glass on the table.

"Where was I?" Big-Eared Chabu asked.

“Father, you mentioned that people like to call me the white-skinned Shaquille O’Neal.”

"That's right!"

Big-eared Chab waved his hand with a smile, and continued on the topic he had just forgotten, "But that's not his real nickname. His nickname is Forging Hammer, which is to help me punish some rats that cause me trouble."

After saying that, Big Ear Chab looked at Forging Hammer and said, "Good boy, show them your abilities."

Please put on your earplugs.

As he spoke, Forging Hammer took out a small bag of earplugs from his apron pocket and handed it to Big Ears Chabu. Then, he picked up the hammer and walked towards the hollow brick wall in the distance.

The wall was built to just the right height, barely covering the part of the forging hammer below its neck.

That's why Forging Hammer could clearly see the person sitting at the table, and the big-eared Chabu who was putting on earplugs.

Just as Chabu, with his back to the wall, put on his earplugs, Forging Hammer raised the long-handled hammer he was holding high above his head and then slammed it down.

"Boom!"

Amidst the dull thud of the impact, the workshop was filled with piercing screams, and those sitting at the tables also let out a gasp of alarm.

Before they could get up or cover their ears, the people behind them pressed guns against the back of their heads again and forced their hands, which they had just raised to try to cover their ears, back down.

"Boom!"

With the second pounding sound, an even more piercing scream echoed repeatedly, violently striking the eardrums of these people.

Amidst screams, they could even see behind the wall the burly man's blood-stained goggles and the dripping blood-stained sledgehammer.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

With each pounding, the screams grew increasingly shrill before rapidly fading and then abruptly ceasing.

But the burly man behind the wall did not stop, and on this side of the wall, the crowd smelled an increasingly strong stench of blood as the beating became more and more watery.

"Snapped!"

After making a noise that seemed to require smashing a watermelon, the burly man finally stopped. He first took off his blood-stained apron, carefully folded it, and hung it on the wall. Then he took off his mask and glasses and placed them on the wall.

Then, he picked up a white towel that was already draped over the wall, carefully wiped the hammer, and then took off his gloves and draped them over the wall along with the red-stained towel.

At the same time, Chab the Big-Eared also took off his earplugs and picked up his cup again. "That beautiful woman just now instigated Sergei to try to seize my property in Tunguska. I believe some of you know about this and are involved."

But I am a conscientious and rather busy businessman. I don't have time to distinguish who participated and who didn't. Of course, I am not bloodthirsty either, so inviting you here today is just a subtle warning.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us raise our glasses and share this with others.

If anyone else takes a liking to my low-profit businesses, or even tries to kidnap my highly paid managers...

Please invite them here for me; I will treat them well.

After saying that, Big Ear Chabu raised his glass and said, "Cheers, I mean, cheers."

At his prompting, the pale-faced men and women at the same table, some even trembling with fear, raised their glasses.

However, when they saw the scarlet liquid in the glass, they all felt like vomiting. Yu Wang covered her mouth tightly, trying her best not to vomit.

May God bless you and give you a wonderful day.

After saying this, Big-Eared Chabu drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, then threw the wine glass on the table and walked out of the workshop.

Almost simultaneously, the burly man nicknamed "Forging Hammer" also walked to the table, swung his large hammer, and slammed it down on the table with a frighteningly loud bang, knocking over some wine glasses and bottles.

“My father said, ‘If you’re told to drink, you’d better lick the glass clean.’”

After saying that, the burly man picked up his hammer and followed Big Ear Chabu step by step, leaving only a hammer mark the size of a cup on the birchwood table.

The hammer marks even bore a beautiful pattern—a sickle and hammer entwined with grapevines.

Almost as soon as Big Ear Chabu got into a car and headed to the airport, the people who had been invited left with their pants soaking wet and faces full of terror, and were taken directly to their respective homes.

As for the long-abandoned workshop, the hollow brick walls and the thick rubber carpet on the ground were dismantled before dark. Someone even took a spray gun and carefully burned the surrounding ground.

In the end, all that remained in the workshop was the birchwood table with hammer marks, a tattered dress stained red, and a strip of cloth, also stained red, which had originally been used to blindfold the blindfold.

The punishment of Big-Eared Chabu has come to an end, but Wei Ran's punishment of the enemy has not yet begun.

At this moment, he was still in the abandoned military base in the wasteland, carefully and meticulously examining the surrounding terrain with Sui Sui. In the factory building that served as a restaurant, he once again set up the hanging oven brought by Apoli and busily made sesame cakes.

This time, he kindly invited the Kachenka sisters, who were not allowed in the kitchen, to help with the simple task of operating the portable oven and scooping out the flatbreads as instructed.

"Of the two teams that were captured, a total of 21 are still alive."

As Amfiza busied himself picking out the baked flatbreads with bamboo tongs, he whispered in Italian, "Our men have interrogated them and found out their origins and motives for this operation."

"Tell me, what's the reason this time?"

Wei Ran, busy rolling out the dough for the flatbread, responded in a low voice in Italian without looking up.

"These two teams come from a revenge organization called Warts, which is independent of the government. It seems to have been established with the funding of some wealthy people and maintains a very ambiguous semi-cooperative relationship with the government."

Anfisa explained in a low voice, "The ones who attacked us were the organization's number one hunter, Ruben, and number two hunter, Simon, along with their respective squads. They are also the two most fanatical squads in the organization."

Including the hunter who served as captain and the team members, they had all served in the Yise Lie Army, and a significant portion of them came from Unit 269, which had previously clashed with us.

"Hunter? What kind of hunter?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

"Nazi remnants," Anfisa responded with a sneer, "remnants of Nazis during World War II."

"Nazi remnants? And they're from World War II?"

Wei Ran paused for a moment, then sneered, "What kind of Nazi remnants? Old guys who are all 90 years old and have urinary bags? Are they planning to besiege a nursing home?"

"Only nominal Nazi remnants"

Anfia, who was helping to move the hanging furnace, scoffed, "For them, as long as there is profit to be made, we can also be Nazi remnants if necessary."

"Tell me what else you found out."

Wei Ran pretended to be listening to a joke, and asked with great interest as he threw the rolled-out dough into the hanging oven.

"We also found out the website and backend account they used to accept revenge missions, and their family addresses," Anfia said. "In addition, the spy secretary's friend is a cousin of the number one hunter, Ruben, and also the illegitimate son of the missing mutual aid society president. I guess that's why they risked taking action."

Besides plundering wealth under the guise of revenge, these people also amassed wealth through clandestine, at least publicly legitimate, business activities.

“This is a private business competition between the two teams. They are trying to steal our business to enter Russia and cultivate a Far Eastern oligarch,” Anfisa added. “Of course, they also intend to find the missing mutual aid society president.”

"In that case, let's begin our revenge."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and said, "I heard that the Wart People are very resilient, otherwise they wouldn't be able to survive the Concentration Camp."

Find some skilled doctors to remove all the bones and parts that can be removed from these people, but remember to leave them with an eye, a hand, and a mouth that can speak.

After the survivors recover, have them confess their crimes, take photos, and send them to their families. They can also upload these to their so-called "backstage" platform. Remember to remove us from the picture.

"Do we need to support them long-term?" Anfisa asked.

"Let's keep it."

Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "Find a place where we won't be involved to raise them. Also, find out if there are any other teams. That's not important. Find out the specific information about the wealthy people who sponsored them."

"Keep digging along these clues. If they intend to be the hunters, they should be prepared to become the prey."

“Why not let these prey hone the rebuilt Charon?” Amfiza suggested.

"Can"

Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "Remember to make the necessary cuts in advance. If necessary, we can cooperate with Mr. Holler's 8 Lestan friends and share intelligence with them as Charon."

“We will arrange it,” Anfisa assured her.

"Any other news?" Wei Ran asked as he rolled out the dough for the sesame seed cakes again.

"We might have to head to Mongolia immediately after we finish our work here."

Anfia reminded us, "Mr. Big Ear Chab has already warned some people who are watching us. He wants us to get there as soon as possible and take over the copper mine in a high-profile manner, so that those greedy eyes will clearly know who the Lenat family has offended."

“Let Aurora decide this,” Wei Ran paused and added, “Don’t tell her the more gory parts.”

"I'll go talk to her about this right away."

As Anfisa spoke, she picked up a freshly baked flatbread, took a bite, and walked towards Suisui, who was not far away and was busy making venison dumplings with Marta and the other girls, including Hela.

As night fell, Sui Sui treated the gang members and workers stationed there to a delicious meal of venison and carrot dumplings, and also drank another glass of strong liquor that would help her get a good night's sleep.

The next morning, before the increasingly diligent sun had fully risen, several Mi-8 helicopters rumbled and landed on the military base that had been converted for other uses, accompanied by the roar of their propellers.

Get up.

Suffering from a hangover, Sui Sui hooked her arm around Wei Ran's neck and murmured, "We'll take a helicopter today and leave here to return to Tula Town. Then we'll head back immediately."

"So soon?" Wei Ran asked knowingly, pulling the other person into his arms.

"Of course we're in a hurry, we still have to go to Mongolia."

So sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, Sui Sui snuggled closer to him. "We're about to own a mine."

"What's going on now?" Wei Ran asked knowingly, continuing to tease the girl leaning against him.

"hey-hey"

Sui Sui gave a silly smile to her sleepy face, "You'll find out when the time comes."

"So we're setting off now?" Wei Ran asked casually.

"Just a little longer, fifteen minutes, just fifteen minutes." Sui Sui yawned after saying that, and in the blink of an eye, she fell asleep again.

When Sui Sui woke up again, the polar wilderness outside the window was already bright with daylight. As expected, the girl dumped the responsibility for oversleeping onto Wei Ran. Then, she hurriedly got up to wash up and, along with the many girls, Wei Ran, Apoli, and the dog Belial, boarded the three Mi-8 helicopters that had been waiting for a long time.

As for the big trucks that were brought in or even seized, they were naturally left to the gang members who worked here.

Less than an hour into the flight, the three helicopters landed in the town of Tula.

Without even leaving the airport, Sui Sui simply handed over the exact coordinates of the black gold mine, which belonged to Lenat, to the official representative waiting there. Then, she led everyone onto an An-74 transport plane that had been landed for some time.

"Shall we head straight to Mongolia next?"

After Wei Ran sat down, he asked why Apolli hadn't boarded the plane this time, but his student Lyubov had followed and taken the seat that originally belonged to Beria.

"That's right!"

Sui Sui urged impatiently, "Hurry up! Let's get going!"

In fact, without her prompting, the small plane had already begun its taxiing as the cabin door closed and successfully soared into the sky.

Only when the plane stabilized and the polar town on the ground turned into a dazzling array of lights did Sui Sui finally relax completely. Clearly, she had been on tenterhooks these past few days.

Wei Ran, who noticed this, didn't expose her, but instead pulled her aside to chat about food.

Wei Ran and Sui Sui were not the only ones who breathed a sigh of relief; many others in the town of Tula also felt the same way.

In just a few days, these people truly experienced what it means to have messed up a major artery.

Families who were "invited" away by gangs from various settlements and even industrial and mining oil and gas fields to live a better life abroad; officials who were arrested because of conclusive evidence of corruption; and gangs that had been entrenched in industrial and mining areas for decades but suffered a devastating blow overnight.

All of this gives the people living here the illusion of returning to the Soviet era, and this illusion, amidst their tension and panic, even brings a slight sense of...
Anticipation? Or perhaps comfort?
Undeniably, the reactions from all sides after the "Snow Maiden's Attack" incident actually made ordinary locals wholeheartedly accept the Snow Maiden who had brought them a better life, and developed a somewhat blind expectation and Soviet-style awe towards her.

Of course, it's hard to say whether these polar residents who have passively rediscovered some Soviet memories are truly despicable.

But perhaps they themselves didn't realize that the image left to them by this departing snow maiden might not be the Russian blue and white color scheme, but rather more like a queen wearing a bright red cloak.

Regardless of what impression Sui Sui left on the indigenous people on both sides of the Tunguska River, at this moment, Xiao Pa Cai, whose alcohol tolerance was really not worthy of Alexei, had already snuggled back into Wei Ran's arms to continue catching up on sleep and sobering up.

After several hours of flight, the fully loaded An-74 small plane landed smoothly at Ulan Bt Airport. Wei Ran, Sui Sui, and the others, along with their dogs, bypassed the security check and entered the country smoothly with their luggage and even weapons, led by the people sent by Uncle Big Ear Chabu.

Mr. Victor

After leaving the airport, the person who stayed behind to greet them politely said, "My boss said he hopes that you and Miss Aurora can make the trip to Sainsunda, which is 400 kilometers away."

"Is it because the air is unsafe, or is it because we need to assert our sovereignty?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Please rest assured, Miss Aurora, you are perfectly safe here," the man in charge of reception immediately assured them.

Wei Ran actually remembered this man, and not only him, but Marta, who was standing next to him, also remembered him.

When Wei Ran went to Donetsk, it was this man who received him and put Wei Ran and Marta on Chab's private plane.

In fact, after Martha's House was established, this man was in charge of everyone who moved in there.

"In that case, let's take a car and head over there." Seeing Wei Ran looking at her, Sui Sui immediately made the decision.

She trusted Wei Ran, so if Wei Ran felt there was danger in doing so, he would definitely refuse directly instead of letting her make the decision.

"Please come with me"

The man in charge of receiving them breathed a slight sigh of relief and led them out of the airport.

At this moment, more than a dozen Delica D5 commercial vans, all painted in the same color, were lined up in the parking lot, waiting.

All of these vans have eye-catching symbols of grapevines entwined with sickles, and some even have obviously been temporarily pasted on—the symbol Sui Sui used in the town of Tula: a little golden sheep wearing a crown and sticking out its tongue.

Beside these vehicles, men dressed in Mongolian robes held hada scarves in their hands.

At the head of their line, a woman dressed in ethnic clothing, who looked to be no more than 30 years old and clearly of mixed race, had been waiting for a long time.

"She is Lenat's ex-wife, named Yana, and the mine is now in her name."

The man who greeted them introduced them, "Yana, this is your new boss, Miss Aurora, and this is Mr. Victor."

“Miss Aurora, thank you for saving me and helping me get revenge.”

As Yana spoke, she presented a pure white hada scarf and draped it around Sui Sui's neck.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Victor," Yana said, presenting the second hada to Wei Ran.

At the direction of the man in charge of reception, Wei Ran and Sui Sui followed him into one of the vans. The woman named Yana continued to take out hadas (ceremonial scarves) and present them to each of the girls who came with her. She even prepared a small hada for Beria, who was being led by Lyubov.

She was not Lenard's favorite.

In the van carrying Wei Ran, Sui Sui, and the Kazhenka sisters, the man who was in charge of picking them up explained as he got into the passenger seat, "She was able to become Lenat's wife entirely because Lenat had his eye on her family's copper mine."

After seizing the area, the mine was handed over to Lenat's eldest daughter and her husband for management, with Lenat merely serving as the nominal owner in Ulan 8t.

"That Lenat just brazenly stole the mine?" Sui Sui asked incredulously.

"This is Mongolia"

The man in the passenger seat explained, “In a place where there are more sheep than people, the law may not be that effective, but there are many things that are more effective than the law.”

“I never do illegal business,” Sui Sui said casually.

Please rest assured about that.

The man in the passenger seat quickly said, "My boss will handle the illegal parts. Miss Aurora, you just need to operate legally."

"There must be some requirements, right?" Sui Sui asked with a smile, but she had already secretly tightened her grip on Wei Ran's hand.

"My boss said that all we need to do is take half of the profits from this mine and give those poor people a raise."

"Is that all?" Sui Sui asked in surprise.

"Of course, that's all."

The man in the passenger seat said, “My boss doesn’t think much of the business here, especially since that copper mine is actually very close to the border with China. Selling the output to China would be the most profitable option, but my boss isn’t suited to doing this kind of business with China.”

But Miss Aurora is different; you have a natural advantage in doing this business.

"I guess this will come at some cost, right?" Sui Sui asked warily.

"If it's convenient, my boss would like to order some sporting goods from the toy factory run by your parents and Mr. Alexander, and obtain a portion of the distribution rights."

"make a deal!"

Sui Sui agreed immediately without even consulting her mother. She had no idea what kind of business Uncle Chabu with big ears was in, but she had no reason to refuse the deal.

Just then, the woman named Yana finished presenting the hada, opened the car door, and climbed into the driver's seat. Clearly, she was going to drive herself.

This was undoubtedly a process of increasing one-sided understanding, and it was during Sui Sui and Yana's casual conversation that this happened.

The convoy, led by an LC200 with its hazard lights flashing, slowly drove out of the parking lot, joined a dozen or so dump trucks from China parked on the roadside, and formed a long convoy before heading into the urban area of ​​Ulan Boutuo.