War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1925 Their Investments

"Are you sure I'm qualified for this medal?" Wei Ran asked, pointing to himself.

"It's just a small piece of iron," Jima said nonchalantly.

He genuinely didn't care. From childhood to adulthood, aside from hickeys on his neck and lipstick marks on his face from women, he had never even received a certificate of merit, let alone something like that. Since he couldn't have it, he naturally didn't care.

That's what they say.

"Teacher Dalia knew you would say that."

"She said the metal plate cost far less to make than the playing card. What's so surprising about that?" Dima continued.

Before Wei Ran could speak, Ji Ma continued, "Also, she asked me to tell you that this metal piece is to prevent you from going crazy easily, and that playing card exists so that you at least have the means to go crazy."

Although I don't understand what that sentence means, I'm sure you do.

"I am very clear about this."

Wei Ran shook his head helplessly. To put it bluntly, it was just giving him a big stick so he could beat a dog, and then stuffing a meat bun into his mouth so he wouldn't easily swing the stick.

For him, the medal he seemed to have no right to receive was indeed more frightening than the playing card, but as Dalia said, how could the cost of such a metal plate possibly compare to what the playing card represented?
In other words, if they were willing to give him that playing card as a gift, why would they care about such a small piece of metal?
—Especially under the demands of Aurora, their real benefactor who provided for their retirement, it really was nothing more than a small piece of iron.

Having figured all this out, Wei Ran asked with a smile, "You came to see me just for this?"

"We just finished filming, and now we have a long enough vacation ahead of us."

Jima explained with a grin, "I heard you were here when I was going home, so I came to check on you. I was worried you were hiding here crying."

"Thank you so much for your concern, I'm feeling much better now."

Wei Ran smiled, not pointing out why the other party had a vacation recently, and simply invited, "You've come at the right time. Some friends will be coming to Kazan on the 20th to discuss the coffee business. How about you help me entertain them?"

"I'll handle it?" Jima thought for a moment and then readily nodded in agreement. "No problem. Where should we host them?"

"It's in the sauna outside your village, isn't it?" Wei Ran said casually.

Dima was more than qualified to entertain him, not to mention that Greva's gang business was growing bigger and bigger and was even starting to transform into a legal business.

But even Greva himself knew perfectly well that the boss behind the gang had always been Dyma, who was already a star.

Just as Ji Ma had always been perfectly clear, from the day he enrolled in the Red Flag Women's Self-Defense School for free, he had been bound to Wei Ran.

That's why he can certainly help Wei Ran with certain things.

"Let's do it in the sauna then. That's where we talk business," Jima agreed.

"Do you remember that girl named Anna we met at Chicken Tofu?" Wei Ran asked with a smile. "She made delicious egg tarts."

"Of course I remember," Jima nodded.

“Greva has fallen in love with that girl, you must help him.”

Wei Ran smiled and reminded him, "Just like when you fell in love with Maya."

"I'm best at this kind of thing," Jima confidently assured.

"The methods you're good at should ideally be legal."

After offering a reminder, Wei Ran extended an invitation, "Let's go to my place and have a good drink."

"You've finally said that. Also, that little piece of metal is a surprise Her Majesty prepared for you, so you'd better pretend you don't know anything about it."

After Ji Ma finished speaking, he turned around and got into his car. With a beautiful and cool launch start and drift turn, he drove out of the forest first.

Wei Ran climbed back into the car and followed the armored pickup truck driven by Ji Ma back to the city, eventually arriving at his home by Lake Kaban.

It was completely dark by then, and Sui Sui had finished her work. She was now studying the documents that filled the long table with the Kajenka sisters and others who had also gone home.

"The great scholar has finally decided to return."

Sui Sui closed the documents in her hand, greeted everyone with a big smile, and then gave Maya, who followed her in, a warm hug.

"What are you doing setting up this stall?" Wei Ran asked, picking up a yellowed paper document and looking at it.

This is actually a report on the distribution of mineral resources in Mongolia compiled by the Soviet Union in the early 80s.

"Where did this come from?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

“It was a generous donation from Mr. Kajik,” Sui Sui explained as she pulled Maya to sit down on the sofa.

"What are you doing?"

Wei Ran and Ji Ma, who looked bewildered, exchanged a glance, put the documents back on the table, and sat down on the sofa.

“When you celebrate Little Mustache’s birthday in a few days, Golden Fleece will also be holding an investment conference in Kazan.”

Sui Sui didn't guard against Maya and Jima either, "We can't just sit together eating and drinking, we have to invest something to make a profit."

"Mongolia's mineral resources?" Wei Ran asked as he poured tea for everyone, taking the teapot from Liu Bofu.

Anyway, that big sheep pen is neither loved by Grandma nor Grandma.

Sui Sui said meaningfully, "This time, we can use the name of that sister named Yana from the Sheep Kingdom to do something."

Do you want to invest?

"If I remember correctly, I still have quite a bit of gold stored with Victor," Jima whispered in Maya's ear.

"Take them all out," Maya replied in a low voice without hesitation.

While the four of them were holed up at home discussing their respective investment intentions, a hospital hidden in an underground air-raid shelter in Dezuo finally completed a weight loss surgery for their customer.

"Because so many bones were removed, their blood-producing ability was affected to some extent, and because they lacked enough ribs for support, they will only be able to lie on their backs in the future."

Outside the operating room, the surgeon explained to the person in charge who came to receive the patients, "So they need frequent blood transfusions, and we have to pay special attention to bedsores."

"What about excretion?" the person in charge of receiving the waste asked.

“We have already performed a colostomy on them beforehand, so all we need to do is connect the colostomy bag.”

The person in charge of the surgery said, "Their penis was also removed as required, and they will need to have their urinary bags changed regularly in the future."

"Eating?"

"Their teeth and jawbone have been removed, and they will have to be fed through a nasal tube in the future."

How long can he live?

"How long they live depends on how carefully these insects are cared for."

The person in charge of the surgery replied, "Let's try to keep them in a sterile environment, that way they can live a little longer."

I will pass that message on to their owners.

The person in charge who came to receive these patients waved his hand, and the deboned squid that had just been wheeled out of the operating room were taken over by his people. Each of them was covered with a white cloth and tied to the four corners of the surgical cart, and then pushed directly into several vans parked in the underground parking lot that had no markings and were not even the same model.

On the same night, the kidnapping of the wealthy man, Awata, continued. And from the moment this kidnapping began, everyone who received the news was certain that the kidnappers seemed to have their eyes on the wealthy man who funded Awata's revenge organization.

For a time, the wealthy people who had not been kidnapped began to make preparations out of fear, but they had no idea who was targeting them—they had offended too many people.

"Did someone lay a hand on those stray dogs?"

In a city in Eastern Europe, Ms. Page, who had met Wei Ran several times, asked with great interest.

"A second kidnapping occurred tonight. Apart from a small boat folded from white paper, the perpetrators left no trace."

The middle-aged man holding the wine bottle and standing behind the woman spoke respectfully.

"Charon? How did those idiots mess with those reckless paupers?"

Miss Paige immediately made a judgment: "Where's the boat?"

“We’ve been keeping an eye on those wealthy people, and I’ve already arranged for someone to take them away beforehand,” said the middle-aged man holding the bottle of liquor.

"Well done"

Miss Paige downed the wine in her glass in one gulp, and as the other person refilled it, she said, "Since Charon has started killing people, arrange for someone clean enough to come see me as soon as possible. I need someone like that to do some things for me."

"Any special requests?" the person pouring the drinks asked.

"Let me think about it."

Miss Paige gently swirled her wine glass and, after a long pause of thought, said, “Find a child, of Chinese descent, preferably an orphan, boy or girl, it doesn’t matter.”

Let him or her take my place.
No, go meet Charon in place of my Sofia and make a deal with those poor bastards who have found a home.

Furthermore, we can package up any unused intelligence we have and send it to the other side.

"No problem," the man holding the bottle replied respectfully.

"You know how to contact Charon, right?" Miss Paige asked, taking a sip of red wine.

"Of course, we're old friends," the middle-aged man holding the bottle of wine said with a smile.

“Then let’s get in touch. Maybe we can become real friends this time.” Miss Paige said, downing her drink in one gulp, then grabbing a handful of potato chips and shoving them into her mouth, eating them in big bites.

That night, Jima and Maya stayed at Wei Ran and Sui Sui's house. The next morning, they slept in as if they were at home and even asked for breakfast without any politeness.

After resisting the urge to find all the shameful videos hidden on Jima's computer for Maya, the Kachenka sisters, who always personally bought breakfast, drove away from home and headed along the lakeside road to the restaurant that sold authentic Chinese breakfast, dropping Anfia off on the roadside halfway.

Before the car had driven far away, Wei Ran, who was jogging with his dog Belial, met up with Anfia, who was obviously waiting for him.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ran asked as he ran with the dog on his leash.

An unexpected situation occurred early this morning.

As Anfia ran alongside, she said, "In Nice, France, a young Chinese boy contacted Charon."

"What? A Chinese-American? A little boy? He contacted Charon on his own initiative?"

"This boy is 10 years old. He was an abandoned baby who grew up in an orphanage, but he is indeed of Chinese descent."

Anfia explained, "His father committed suicide by jumping off a building after going bankrupt, and his mother also abandoned him and disappeared."

"That's not the point. How did he find Charon?" Wei Ran asked, frowning.

“He said that Miss Paige asked him to contact us on behalf of Miss Paige’s daughter, Sophia,” Anfia said.

"It's her again? What else did that boy say?" Wei Ran stopped in his tracks.

"He delivered a lot of intelligence on behalf of Miss Paige, related to the wealthy man, Wartachi, and the revenge organization we are hunting."

Anfia explained, "Also, this little guy told us that Miss Paige hopes to invest in Charon."

"Calling yourself Peiqi?" Wei Ran asked.

"That's right"

Amphia nodded. "Does she believe we're connected to Charon?"

"unimportant"

Wei Ran shook his head. It really wasn't important. Even if he recognized him, so what? He wasn't mute, so he could pretend not to know, right?
Besides, how many people have smeared themselves over the years?
Putting everything else aside, he's practically become Poland's public enemy now. At worst, we can just pin the blame on the Polish government.

"Besides delivering those intelligence reports, what else did that little boy say?" Wei Ran asked.

He also sent all the information about Ms. Page's daughter.

"The little guy said that Ms. Page is willing to invest in Charon and is willing to show the utmost sincerity," Anfia said.

Her only request was that, in the future, if her daughter Sofia encountered trouble and contacted the boy sent to her, Charon would help her out, considering their previous investment.

"That's all?" Wei Ran asked, frowning.

"That's all"

Anfia nodded. "We can't figure out why they suddenly did this."

"This is more like entrusting an orphan to someone. It seems the other party is in big trouble, and Ms. Page believes we are capable of protecting her daughter."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and said, "Have that little boy contact Ms. Paige and tell her that from now on, the little boy she sent will join Charon."

In the future, if her daughter encounters any trouble, this little boy will personally lead a group to help resolve it.

"You're not going to refuse?" Anfia asked in surprise.

"Are you surprised?"

“In my impression, you’re someone who hates trouble,” Anfia admitted, “especially trouble of unknown origin.”

"It would be too impolite to refuse a friendship that is offered to you."

Wei Ran explained with a smile, "And I guess Ms. Page might not know that Charon is in my hands."

"I'd be sorry about that."

“Anfia, we’ve been friends for a long time, and in some ways we’re practically family, so you don’t need to be so cautious.”

Wei Ran comforted him, "In the eyes of some established intelligence organizations, to whom does Charon belong?"

"The Soviet Union? But the Soviet Union no longer exists."

"But Charon has started making moves again, and these are targeted vendettas."

"The Russian Federation has activated Charon?" Amphia's eyes widened.

I guess so.

Wei Ran said with a smile, "They probably wouldn't guess that Charon is in our hands."

"If she didn't guess correctly, what about that little Chinese boy?" Anfia pressed.

"Exchange, it's probably an exchange."

Wei Ran started running with the dog again, while explaining, "If Charon accepts the investment and is willing to promise to protect her daughter..."

Then I guess Ms. Paige will protect me too.

“I don’t understand,” Anfia shook her head as she ran after them. She was missing a lot of key information, so she naturally didn’t understand as well as Wei Ran.

"Peppa Pig is a name I just gave her when we first met."

Wei Ran explained, "Moreover, she deliberately arranged for a young Chinese boy, which was clearly a reference to me."

To put it bluntly, it's just an exchange of interests. There are some things that are inconvenient for Charon, but convenient for her.

Similarly, there are some things she might not be able to do, but Charon certainly could.

"So you can accept investment?" Anfia asked.

"That's right, we'll accept the investment."

Wei Ran thought for a moment and added, "Remember to bring some bureaucratic airs."

You mean the efficiency can't be too high?

"That seems like a valid interpretation."

Wei Ran said with a smile, "Since it's possible that the other party suspects that Charon has been activated, then let's act it out convincingly."

"Will this cause trouble?"

Anfia asked instinctively, still harboring a deep-seated fear of the now-defunct KGB.

"Will not"

Wei Ran replied confidently, "We might even get orders from the official channels."

“In that case, let those old guys think they’ve been put to use,” Anfia suggested even more boldly.

"That won't be necessary. It's better to be honest with each other internally, otherwise those old guys will always cause trouble."

Wei Ran corrected, "To the outside world, it's enough to just create the illusion that it has been activated; don't leave any concrete evidence to support your claims."

"Ok"

Anfia finally agreed, then added, "There's one last thing."

"Tell me"

"The two squads we captured have already undergone physical modifications."

Anfia reminded her, "The entire renovation process was filmed. Should we post it?"

"Send it"

Wei Ran stopped again and said, "Send them to their families and children, to their superiors, to all the wealthy men and women who participated in funding the revenge organization, and especially to the other revenge squads."

"it is good"

Anfia readily agreed, and seeing that Wei Ran had no other plans, she turned around and started running home.

I'm a civilized person who deserves a medal of friendship.
Wei Ran, who was still jogging slowly with the dog, muttered to himself and then picked up his pace slightly.

That morning, a sumptuous Chinese-style breakfast was laid out on the long table on the first floor.

Later that day, as Auschwitz, Poland, also awoke from the early morning, emails with automatic redirect links were sent from the web address of a local toiletries store to destinations around the world.

After the websites that were redirected by these opened emails began playing videos that lasted for hours, they successfully elicited gasps, cries, wails, or trembling fear.

Just as these emails were being successfully received, Mr. Miguel, a wrestler from Spain, arrived in Kazan once again, accompanied by his wife Antonia, his brother-in-law Giuliano, and others.

As soon as the family stepped out of the arrival gate, they saw Greva, who had flown in specifically to pick up Wei Ran after hearing the news.

"Hopefully the outcome will be good."

Giuliano and his sister exchanged a glance, then Giuliano gave Greva a warm hug.