War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1955 Key
"I'll have to trouble you with this, Brother Wei."

Li Yizhong said, "Um, the investigation fees..."

"We're family, so let's not speak like that."

Wei Ran waved his hand, "However, these things will probably have to stay with me for the time being."

“No problem, we’ve already discussed this with Zhang Yang,” Li Yizhong quickly agreed.

"Where's Sui Sui? What's she busy with?"

Lu Yue changed the subject at the right moment, "Where are all the other girls in your family today?"

"She's been busy raising investment these past few days, and all the girls have been pulled in to help her."

Wei Ran waved to Liu Bofu to put the kettle and other items on the table into the storage room. "If you're not in a hurry to go back, you can come with me later. They're all at the film studio outside the city right now."

"We're afraid we don't have time this time," Li Yizhong said apologetically. "We've bought tickets for our flight back tonight."

"So urgent?" Wei Ran asked in surprise, "So you came here specifically to deliver this?"

"More or less," Li Yizhong nodded. "We actually have some filming assignments over there."

“We didn’t originally plan to send it so soon,” Lu Yue added, “but we happened to have discounted round-trip tickets.”

"You just said 'take a picture'."

We are currently working for your film and television company in China.

Li Yizhong explained, "We are currently filming a public service documentary about sending veterans stranded in Taiwan home."

Ah Zhong and I served as narrators.

As Lu Yue spoke, she pointed again to the family-finding team armband on her arm, "There are probably no more suitable people than the two of us to do this."

"So you made it your profession?"

"Ok!"

The young couple nodded in unison, and Lu Yue even volunteered, "We two will be in charge of the branch of the family-finding team on Tai Island."

The station manager, perhaps?
Wei Ran couldn't help but chuckle, and even subconsciously thought of a certain Stypunk car salesman and his wife, Cuiping.

Making such a joke at this time is obviously inappropriate, but judging from the couple's enthusiastic expressions, they seem to be very satisfied with their new jobs.

Thinking of this, Wei Ran said, "In that case, I won't keep you any longer. We'll go back and visit after Sui Sui finishes her work."

By the way, when will your filming end?

"It will probably be at least the end of July."

Li Yizhong slapped his forehead. "Speaking of which, Brother Xia asked me to remind you that the Canhua Troupe from the nameless opera troupe will have its premiere in Tianjin during the May Day holiday. He asked if you want to go back."

"I will definitely go back," Wei Ran said confidently.

He also asked me to remind you.

When Li Yizhong got to this point, he even opened the notes app on his phone. "He said that at the same time, a coffee shop in Shanghai was also opening, and asked if you wanted to go and support it."

"Looks like the timing clashed."

Wei Ran said with a smile, "I'll try to make some arrangements. If we have time, we'll also go to the filming location."

"Then we won't stay any longer. We'll have a proper get-together after you're done with your work and go back." Before Li Yizhong finished speaking, the two of them had already stood up.

After seeing off the young couple who had come and gone in a hurry, Wei Ran did not rush to investigate the water bottle they had brought.

These past two days have been a critical time for Sui Sui and Inta to discuss cooperation. Although he doesn't need to be involved on the surface, he really doesn't have the energy to let that living father torment him.

Moreover, with the Russians' Victory Day just over two weeks away, Sui Sui had prepared a surprise for herself, and there were bound to be many things to do before then.

Lost in thought, I returned to the riverbank, where the leader of the delinquents, Katyusha, was busy using a net to scoop up large and small fish and shrimp floating on the surface of the water. Beside her feet lay a used stun gun.

"Boss, is this enough to eat?" Katyusha asked smugly.

Looking at the fish basket that was already full, Wei Ran felt like her head was about to explode.

Just as he was worrying about how to deal with so many fish, in the largest auditorium of the studio's main building, a financing sharing session co-hosted by Sui Sui and Coco was also generating a large amount of "idle funds" through page after page of PPT presentations.

In contrast to the bustling activity here, the hot spring workshop at the Inta Hot Spring Camp presents a completely different scene.

Inside the steamy sauna, pure silver trays floating on the water hold either fine wines or tropical fruits.

At the edge of the hot spring pool, there were both the youngest, Egger, and the relatively oldest, Mr. Hans.

All the men who were qualified to be invited here, like Kapibals, each wearing a towel of a different color, leaned comfortably against the volcanic rock pool wall, showing no desire to talk at all.

"Friends, we've been lazy long enough."

Jima let out a burp. "Shouldn't we get down to business?"

"Not urgent"

Mr. Hans used a toothpick to pick up a piece of watermelon and put it in his mouth, saying indistinctly as he ate, "We can continue our discussion after Queen Aurora's financing meeting is over."

"Mr. Hans is right."

Nigel said enthusiastically in English, “We’re all on the same side, and it won’t be long before we divide up those businesses.”

"Greeva, I've heard you have quite a few professional foot massage masters here?" Qin Ershi asked in drunken Chinese.

"That's right"

Greva replied in Chinese that was not very standard, but he made absolutely no mistakes, "I studied in China specifically for that purpose."

"Let's go, we've soaked enough, let's go get a foot massage."

Qin Er Shi had already stood up as he spoke; he seemed to be waiting as well.

Tima, who was testing the waters, exchanged a subtle glance with Greva and warmly invited everyone to leave the hot spring and head towards the nearby rest area.

In contrast to the distinctly Chinese "business activities" here, the retaliatory hunting in the scattered European region has not only not stopped, but has instead taken off in all directions thanks to the intelligence provided by Ms. Paige some time ago.

"Isn't this organization called Charon afraid of being labeled a terrorist organization?"

On the top floor of a hotel in Sarajevo, the German Milos stared blankly at the documents Nona handed him and asked a question.

"Definite as what? Kombu weave?"

Nona chuckled dismissively. "Who gets to define that? The Wartau people they've kidnapped?"

"Whoever it is, could it be..."

"These lunatics are still using relatively respectable kidnapping and extortion methods."

Nona seemed to know Charon exceptionally well, and she said with a headache, "But if they're defined as the Combe organization, do you think they might do something in a different way than the Combe organization? For example..."

"911?"

"Who knows?"

Nona shrugged. "It's obvious that everyone is smart. Charon is only hunting Wartati, so the scope and risk are controllable."

However, if it is defined as a pore structure, its properties are completely different.

Moreover, according to my intelligence, these lunatics have been anonymously donating a large sum of money to local child welfare organizations every time they successfully hunt.

So even if there's no benefit, at least there's no harm, right?

"Can"

Milos thought for a moment, "Could this become an excuse, I mean?"

Nobody wants to restart the Cold War.

Nona said with certainty, "Especially now that it's unclear who Charon is working for."

Besides, even the kidnapped Wartani has no objections, so why would anyone else have any?

"That's what I said"

"This hunt has nothing to do with us."

Nona then looked at Zorana, who had been listening in the background, and said, "Tell me the latest situation."

Charon

Zorana spoke up, "It's Charon, whom you were just talking about. They shared a lot of important information that we didn't know."

Especially the black market for human trafficking in the refugee camps along the Kyrgyz border. If their intelligence is true, the person we've been looking for is hiding there, and is involved in the human trafficking business.

After he finished speaking, Nona and Milos both looked over.

On the evening of April 20th, before sunset, Master Wei drove his armored pickup truck, carrying two large boxes full of spiced fish stewed and braised, a large basket of crispy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside sesame flatbread, as well as fried fish, sausage, stewed meat and other of his signature dishes, to the film studio located outside the city, escorted by Baba Yaga's pink-clad delinquent.

Before he could even park the car properly, the food in the cargo bed was carried into the cafeteria by the thugs responsible for protecting the area.

Before these unique dinners were even laid out, the numerous girls, who had been busy with meetings all day, rushed over and started a buffet without any hesitation.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Wei!"

Sui Sui accepted the plate of pickled fish that Wei Ran handed her, which was so tender that even the fish bones were incredibly soft, and forced a smile despite her exhaustion to express her gratitude.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Sui."

Wei Ran pulled the girl down to sit, massaging her shoulders as he asked, "How did the talks go today?" "Not yet."

Sui Sui leaned against Wei Ran, picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth. Suppressing her excitement, she switched to her mother tongue and said softly, "But everyone is very sincere. If we can reach an agreement, we probably won't be able to use up all the mineral resources in Yangquan Kingdom."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.

"It's no exaggeration. Besides, we can't just throw all our money into the sheepfold, otherwise the sheepfold owner will easily get greedy."

Sui Sui lowered her voice even further, while subtly pointing to a rather conspicuous woman not far away, "Did you notice that rich woman?"

"All you see are rich women, which one are you referring to?"

Wei Ran asked in a low voice, trying to crack a joke. With their tacit understanding, he certainly knew which rich woman Sui Sui had asked him to look at.

"The one with the botched plastic surgery," Sui Sui whispered almost into Wei Ran's ear.

Wei Ran glanced again, seemingly casually, at the woman who was eating a sesame seed cake in one hand and a sausage in the other with great relish, before quickly averting his gaze.

He didn't intend to judge a woman by her appearance, but as Sui Sui said, that rich woman was a perfect example of a failed plastic surgery.

To give a more precise description, Wei Ran can only say that this wealthy woman, who seems to have some Black ancestry, and that Swiss catwoman both suffered from the same failed plastic surgery.

But the key to her being more unfortunate, or rather more tormented, than the Catwoman was that she was younger.

"Her name is Marlene, and she seems to be a descendant of an old Junker family whose surname includes 'Feng'."

Sui Sui said in a low voice, "The amount of investment she can come up with is already more than my current net worth."

"So rich?" Wei Ran raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed wealthy"

Sui Sui said with a troubled expression, "There are nearly a hundred wealthy women who have been invited to the cashmere convention by Coco's friends, my friends, Aunt Dalia's friends, and your friends."

It also included some of the older women who already worked at the film studio.

Although a large portion of them were just mascots, they had a lot of money to spare, and each of them had their own demands.

Take Marlene, for example. She hopes to invest in the medical and beauty industries, not only to make a profit, but also to give herself a beautiful face.

"So you're starting to worry about what to invest in?" Wei Ran grasped the crux of the problem.

"It's not just these things that I'm worried about."

Sui Sui took a sip of the juice that Anfisa handed her, and then, using the other person as cover, subtly pointed in another direction.

Following the direction she pointed, I saw a beautiful young woman with light blonde hair, a tall figure, and who looked to be no more than 20 years old sitting on the sofa in that direction.

Although the girl looked young, she had a strong presence, so much so that no one sat in the seat next to her.

"See that? That girl with the light blonde hair and powerful aura, her name is Lyuba, and her surname is Wukelanyingka. Can you guess who she is?"

"Wu Ke Lan Ying Ka? Who would use that as a surname?" Wei Ran asked in astonishment.

This obviously fake surname comes from a famous female poet in the history of Wukelan. If translated literally, it would probably mean "a woman who is beyond reproach".

But even the female poet at the time only used this as a "pen name" or "stage name".

"Who is she?" Wei Ran glanced at her again before quickly looking away.

"Aunt Anna told me that she is Uncle Big Ear Chab's illegitimate daughter."

Sui Sui uttered an answer that Wei Ran hadn't expected.

Wei Ran glanced back quickly, then looked away and asked in a low voice, "Besides her identity and that ridiculous surname, does she have any other trouble?"

There are a lot of problems.

Sui Sui explained in a low voice, "Although she is just an illegitimate child, she is clearly here representing Uncle Chabu with big ears."

"so what?"

"so what?"

Sui Sui repeated Wei Ran's question, "So besides a large sum of funds that seem to have shady origins, she also has a huge tangle of idle resources that's even more chaotic than a ball of yarn in a cat's nest."

Her requirements were simple: it didn't matter if it wasn't profitable, as long as it could launder the money in her hands and make use of those idle resources.

She wasn't even in a hurry to get the laundering funds; it seemed she was treating us like an interest-free bank.

Do you need my help?

"Need not"

Sui Sui, as if her fighting spirit had been ignited, said, "I can still handle this little problem."

"Don't do anything illegal," Wei Ran finally couldn't help but remind him.

"I'm not stupid."

Sui Sui said meaningfully, "I don't need to do illegal business."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was already more than half relieved. She didn't need to do it because someone else was in charge of these things.

They tacitly ended the topic. Sui Sui put down the pickled fish she had barely eaten, picked up a sesame seed cake with sausage filling from the plate Anfisa had brought her, took a big bite, and mumbled between chews, "The meeting here will probably take another three or four days. How's the situation at the hot spring camp?"

"Jima told me that everyone had drunk too much, and I guess they were waiting for the results from here."

"Then let them wait."

Sui Sui said with a hint of helplessness, only she knew that this cashmere convention had actually gone too far.

First of all, the fact that so many people came, and that they were so "wealthy," far exceeded her expectations.

Secondly, just as the girl named Marlene was introduced by Hans, and the illegitimate daughter named Lyuba was introduced by Ninner.

Several of those who came to support her makeshift troupe had some connections, open or covert, with people from Inta's side.

In other words, until her cashmere convention satisfies the many girls in attendance, Inta's side probably won't make any progress.

Although it seemed incredibly troublesome, Sui Sui perked up after eating the dinner that Wei Ran had personally cooked.

"Are there any activities tonight?" Wei Ran asked with concern.

They knew each other so well that they could tell she was exhausted.

With this in mind, he decided to temporarily suppress the fact that Li Yizhong and Lu Yue had come today.

"Gone"

Sui Sui took the second glass of juice from Anfia, took a sip, and said, "Tonight they're going to experience those Soviet sanatorium programs and a performance by the esteemed Mr. Gorbachev."

After taking another big gulp of juice, Sui Sui stood up and, leading the Kajenka sisters, walked out of the cafeteria, saying, "But I have to go work overtime."

"I"

"Don't come here and cause trouble."

Sui Sui waved her hand, "I'll call you over when I'm done. Could you keep an eye on the meeting venue setup for me later?"

"Oh, right, Cinda, take him to see those two gifts."

"A gift? What gift?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"The gifts from those two rich women I just mentioned."

Sui Sui casually said, "Let Xinda explain the details to you."

"Boss, come with me!"

Upon learning that she could take a break, Lu Xinda immediately greeted Wei Ran warmly and led her into another elevator, heading straight for Sui Sui's private office.

As soon as the girl took out a card from her pocket and swiped it to open the door, before Wei Ran could even sit down, she eagerly started boiling water and making tea.

Knowing that this lazybones wanted to dawdle a little longer, Wei Ran was too lazy to expose him.

While he waited patiently, Lu Xinda waited until she had brewed the tea and poured a cup for Wei Ran before skillfully opening the safe embedded in the wall and taking out two gift boxes.

"This gift box was sent by Miss Marlene."

As Lu Xinda spoke, she handed the first gift box to Wei Ran, and then placed the second gift box on the table.

Gently opening the rather high-end-looking box, Wei Ran was somewhat bewildered upon seeing its contents.

These are two plugs encapsulated in a glass tube, resembling a cigarette lighter.

One of the plugs was green at one end, and there seemed to be some dark brown stains on it that were hard to tell whether they were rust or something else.

One end of the other plug is red and has no stains or rust.

By gently turning the glass tube, Wei Ran saw a black and white photograph inserted into the wrist-thick glass tube at the other end.

This palm-sized photo shows a B-29 bomber.

On the side of the bomber's nose facing the camera, amidst the flashing lights, the bomber's name—Enola Gay—can still be faintly seen.
and many more!

Wei Ran's eyes widened, and he quickly turned the glass tube in his hand to look at the two "cigarette lighters" again.

After involuntarily shivering, Wei Ran's face revealed a crazy smile that made Lu Xinda somewhat panicked.

He recognized what the two cigarette lighters were; if he wasn't mistaken, these two little things were to him.
Perhaps it is a key, a key that can heal all his heartaches, and with excellent healing power!
"Boss, are you alright?"

As Lu Xinda spoke, she had already moved to the office door with small, quick steps.