War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1929 The Schäfer Family Business

The journey from Berlin to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, didn't take much time. After all, the straight-line distance between the two cities is only a little over a thousand kilometers.

When Sarajevo is mentioned, most people, regardless of their knowledge of world history, can at least say that it was the "spark that ignited World War I".

As for why this place became the trigger for World War I, who Archduke Ferdinand was, or even what an archduke was, most people don't really care—who the hell cares.

In fact, Sarajevo is in a similar awkward situation today. The city is not large, so much so that it has to restrict the entry of cars.

In fact, the city is not most famous for its history or its beautiful bunny-shaped buildings, but rather for its underground economy—the black market—which is renowned throughout Central and Southern Europe.

Needless to say, what's in the black market is a mystery. From what Wei Ran learned, many of the girls in Hela's village were bought by Hela from here. Some came from the Czech Republic, some from Bulgaria, and some even from faraway North Africa.

As for what else was in the black market, he didn't know but didn't care at all. Fortunately, Miguel provided the answer.

"You can buy most of the things you want for entertainment on the black market here."

As Miguel led Wei Ran and Di Ma out of the airport, he said, "Besides beautiful young women and men, whether they are adults or not, it also includes the country's mineral resources and even businesses in various industries."

"Does Mr. Miguel have business here?" Wei Ran asked patiently after the blond translator finished.

Once the translation was complete, Miguel explained, "In the years following the end of the Bosnian War, I established many blood donation centers in the country."

For those who survived, the only thing they could sell to start a new life was their blood.

"It's not much better now."

Milos Schäfer, a German who accompanied the group, added in German after the translation was finished, "This is still one of the poorest countries in Europe, and the corruption problem here is outrageous."

"Does Mr. Milos come to Sarajevo often?" Wei Ran asked casually.

“I have invested in some wineries here,” Milos explained. “Bosnia and Herzegovina’s wines are very famous.”

As the conversation progressed, the group disembarking from the private jet saw people standing by the ground support vehicle, holding signs that read "Mr. Victor and Mr. Dima," waving enthusiastically at them.

Needless to say, Ji Ma went ahead to greet them. After communicating with the other party, he led Wei Ran and the others into the ground support vehicle, left the tarmac, and completed the immigration process without any hindrance—no one even checked their passports.

“This is the first time I’ve left the airport so quickly,” Milos remarked.

"Gentlemen"

The person who picked them up from the airport led them to a Chrysler Grand Voyager and politely asked in German, "Would you like me to be your driver?"

“No need, let me drive,” Milos said, already opening the car door.

"I will always be here waiting for you."

The receptionist arranged by Mr. Hans remained incredibly polite, saying, "Before you leave, please feel free to contact me anytime if you encounter any problems."

"Please thank Mr. Hans for his help," Wei Ran said, opening the rear door of the car.

Once everyone had boarded the carriage, sat down, and closed the door, Milos immediately started the car and began to drive them around, introducing the city's attractions as he went.

At the same time, Miguel also called his brother-in-law Giuliano to begin an emergency conversation.

"Gentlemen, why don't we go to the city center first and wait there?"

Miguel said apologetically, "My wife and Giuliano won't arrive in Sarajevo until this afternoon."

“We’re OK”

After the translator in the passenger seat finished relaying the message, Wei Ran immediately expressed his agreement and exchanged a glance with Ji Ma, who was sitting behind him.

"Then I'll arrange the hotel."

Milos, who was driving, took out his phone and made a call. After a brief conversation, he hung up and resumed his role as tour guide.

From the local black market to the wine, from the corrupt government to the "Sarajevo Roses" scattered throughout the streets to commemorate the war that has ended, this German, also named Milos, knows the city well enough to introduce it as if it were his own hometown.

During his rambling introduction, Milos drove to the entrance of a hotel and, before getting out of the car, reminded everyone, "If my parking skills haven't deteriorated, you'll be able to see a Sarajevo rose when you get out of the car."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran opened the car door and then noticed a patch of blood-red paint on the road.

His extensive battlefield experience allowed him to immediately recognize that it was a crater likely created by an explosive device similar to a mortar.

The crater was filled with red paint, leaving a conspicuous blood-red mark on the ground—that's the Sarajevo Rose, a terrifying memory left to the people here by that war.

Subconsciously glancing around for any possible sniping positions, Wei Ran smiled knowingly as he realized that another battle here had ended, and stepped out of the carriage.

After everyone else got out of the car, Milos parked it in a roadside parking space and then led them on foot into the hotel he had chosen.

"If you don't mind, you can stay here."

Milos simply waved to the manager at the front desk, who then enthusiastically brought over six room keys.

While distributing room keys, Milos explained, "I bought this hotel in 96 and renovated and refurbished it."

The other party did not explain why he bought the hotel, so Wei Ran and the others naturally did not ask. They simply followed the other party into the elevator and arrived at the second-to-last floor of the hotel, where they each checked into a luxurious yet retro suite, which could even be described as being filled with a strong 90s style.

In Wei Ran's room alone, there was an outdated CRT television, a matching VCR, and a small display shelf full of videotapes.

I casually flipped through them and found that these videotapes not only contained some films from various countries in the early 90s, but also some surprises—pornographic videotapes from France and Italy.

After carefully inspecting the room, which seemed to have traveled through time yet was exceptionally clean, Wei Ran drew the curtains, covered himself with the blanket, and began examining the metal notebook.

A few hours earlier, when he first met Mr. Hans Schäfer, the tattoo on the back of his hand had flashed with a fleeting heat. This small, peculiar clue had been piquing his curiosity all along the way.

However, after checking almost page by page, he shook his head helplessly.

He was tricked by that living father; there were indeed changes, but it was practically the same as nothing.

God knows what that living father was thinking. The gas mask pouch containing all sorts of odds and ends disappeared, and the pouch that used to hold oxygen cylinders and other odds and ends was replaced by a long horsehair pouch that used to hold coffee pots.

Correspondingly, the container for coffee pots, coffee powder, and other items was transformed into a retro LV hard-sided suitcase.

This suitcase isn't very big, but it's more than enough to hold a coffee pot and other items.

What's particularly special is that there's an extra photo frame inside the suitcase. The photo inside is a group photo that Wei Ran, Dragan, Milos, and Dr. Gerhard, whom they captured, were hastily taken in the stairwell of the ruins.

Not bad either.
Having satisfied his curiosity, Wei Ran packed away the suitcase and changed into some casual clothes that were easier to move in and less conspicuous. Then, under the cover of the suitcase, he took out the Pentax 67II camera he had obtained from the copy of Cheng Guanyin's seal. Since he had come all the way to this city, which he had only heard of before, he decided to take advantage of the time to stroll around and take some nice photos.

However, as soon as he opened the door, he found that Jima, who had also changed his clothes in the opposite room, also came out—he was also wearing a baseball cap.

"Shall we go for a walk together?" Jima asked with great interest.

"As long as you don't go to nightclubs looking for pretty girls to sleep with," Wei Ran joked as he walked toward the elevator, carrying his camera.

“I’m already married,” Jima said proudly, waving the ring on his finger. “Even if I betray the Emperor, I will never betray my Maya.”

“It’s best”

“Of course,” Jima said, already following Wei Ran into the elevator.

As the elevator descended, the two brothers tacitly remained silent. They didn't speak until they were outside the hotel.

"While in Berlin"

While Wei Ran was taking photos of him as a model on the street, Jima said in Russian, "I mean, when you were guests in the room, Mr. Hans said that he wanted to invest in Her Majesty's Golden Fleece in the name of his granddaughter. I have already asked Maya to tell Aurora."

"It seems to be a large investment?" Wei Ran asked with great interest.

He naturally understood why Jima hadn't spoken up until now—it was safe enough here.

“Mr. Hans said he would invite and introduce many young women to join the Golden Fleece, and would remind them that they would not be involved in the management of the Golden Fleece,” Dima continued.

"I bet he added something else, right?"

"That's right"

Jima walked to Wei Ran's side and lowered his voice slightly, saying, "He asked me to remind you that someone has started hunting down those wealthy warthogs who once threatened your safety."

Moreover, based on his historical experience, those Zion beggars would likely use this opportunity to once again collect funds to fuel their revenge.

"Historical experience? Raising funds to start a revenge campaign?" Wei Ran asked, overjoyed.

"That's right, that's what he said."

Jima shrugged. "That old guy also said he would team up with some clear-headed friends and invest all of it in the Golden Fleece before they collect the money."

"What do they think the Golden Fleece is? A bank?"

While Wei Ran was both amused and exasperated, he had to admit that the old man who had helped him so many times had an overly keen sense of smell.

He guessed you would ask that.

When Jima, who had been acting as a mouthpiece for a long time, explained on behalf of Mr. Hans, "He said he was confident that those Zion beggars probably didn't have the time or energy to do anything to you and Her Majesty the Queen. Moreover, your unique geographical location, as well as the signal that Aurora gave when she appeared in Ulan 8 not long ago, made him convinced that this was a safe and mutually beneficial investment."

"Let Aurora decide the rest."

After listening to Ji Ma's retelling, Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief. He believed that Sui Sui knew better than him what to do next.

"So where do we go next?" Before Jima could finish speaking, an inconspicuous Golf pulled up beside them.

"Mr. Viktor, this is Hela 147, please get in," the girl in the driver's seat said in Russian.

"Get in the car"

As Wei Ran spoke, he opened the car door. This was the person that Kajenka had arranged for him before he set off.

"How come you always seem to know pretty girls everywhere you go?" Ji Ma muttered, his eyes wide, before hurriedly following Wei Ran into the back seat of the car.

"Where are we going?" Wei Ran and Ji Ma asked the same question.

"A nearby underground parking lot"

The girl driving gave a brief explanation, then took two McDonald's paper bags from the passenger seat and handed them to Wei Ran and Ji Ma.

Taking the paper bag, Jima took out a compact CZ75 pistol, along with a matching quick-draw holster and two spare magazines.

"I don't need weapons, tell me about the situation here."

Wei Ran glanced at the weapon in the paper bag and then returned it to the girl.

The other party didn't insist, took the paper bag and placed it on the passenger seat, continuing to say while driving, "This is our recruitment window, so we have a lot of employees. We already sent people to those two addresses yesterday."

The church and mill were rebuilt in 1996. The church is surrounded by a wine vineyard, while the mill belongs to a winery.

After a brief pause, Hela drove the car into the underground parking lot of a shopping mall not far away. After parking it in a corner, she led the two of them out of the car and into the back of a van next to it. The Golf was then immediately driven out of the parking lot by a young woman carrying shopping bags.

According to our investigation

The girl, who identified herself as Hella 147, continued as she drew the curtains of the van, “The owners of these two buildings are a German company, and a significant portion of the employees, whether at the plantation or the brewery, appear to be boys and girls who suffered abuse during the Bosnian War.”

"Anything else?" Wei Ran asked.

"They were also secretly rescuing underage children from the black market. These children they rescued seemed to have moved into the orphanages they established and became employees of their company after they grew up."

"According to the in-depth investigation by the network team, in addition to the wine business on the surface, this company also seems to have invested in an unlicensed security company."

"Security company?"

"War contractors"

Hella147 succinctly explained, "The network team hacked into the company's network and discovered that they seemed to be conducting a targeted hunt against the war hyenas in Deyang."

“This is interesting,” Wei Ran said with a strange smile. “Is there anything else?”

"No more, that's all."

Hella147 shook her head. "The hotel you're staying at is also owned by this company. We were able to find all of this information by hacking into that hotel."

"Thank you for your trouble. Please take us back." Wei Ran said, already opening the car door.

(End of this chapter)