War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1426 The Knight of Justice

Under the leadership of Mrs. Miley and the other three, they returned the same way and left the two buildings left by Mr. Zak. Wei Ran followed Knife Bee and got into the back compartment of the car driven by Zha Xifeng, while Mrs. Miley, Got into lawyer Judy's car.

"Any clues?" Zha Xifeng asked curiously as he started the car.

"Hard to say"

The mysterious Wei Ran shook his head. Naturally, there wouldn't be any valuable clues until he saw the "revenue" that met his expectations.

"I have always believed that there are spies in VN15."

Zha Xifeng said to herself, "Both the death of Mr. Zac's daughter and the death of his assistant are too strange."

"It's not my job to investigate murders," Wei Ran promptly reminded him with a smile.

Why can't he see that this VN15 organization has an eye in it? But is it none of your business?

"That's the FBI's job, but they probably want all the people in VN15 to die."

Daofeng, a young girl sitting next to Wei Ran, said sharply, "Maybe the tipping off and murder were done by the FBI. For them, this kind of thing is better than investigating cases."

"I still won't follow you in," Zha Xifeng said while pulling the handbrake, "I'll wait for you outside."

Cha Xifeng, who was driving, helped explain with a smile, "It's like Chinese cabbage."

"When you officially start your dog hemp cultivation business"

Zha Xifeng reminded patiently, "Even if you use this million dollars to buy a farm, will you have time to run and manage it? Or are you planning to drop out of school?"

As Wei Ran spoke, he opened the car door and left the car with Dao Bee in no particular order.

"Wei Ran, my good friend."

Knife Bee instantly felt like a deflated rubber ball, stretched out his hand towards Wei Ran and said, "Say yes, you will invest one million US dollars in me when the time comes."

Obviously, Zha Xifeng, as a father, knew his daughter very well, so before she could speak, he continued, "Don't expect A Ming to help you. In the future, he will not only be in charge of the demining school, but also the demining company." Things. Also, if you drop out of school, where will you learn planting technology?”

"no problem"

Knife Bee's eyes widened instantly, "Are you kidding or are you serious?!"

At this point, he snapped his fingers and said, "Perhaps I can give you one million dollars now. You can use this money to buy a small farm in each of the states where canine cannabis is legal." First"

"Then it's settled!"

Wei Ran looked at Knife Bee beside him half jokingly and half seriously and said, "You can come to me then and I will invest some money for you. How about one million US dollars?"

"Because in American supermarkets, carrots are almost one of the cheapest vegetables."

Daofeng said excitedly, but she didn't ask at all, or in other words, she didn't even think of asking what the return needed for the US$100 million invested by Weiran was.

"Of course I'm serious"

Wei Ran smiled and comforted the other party, "If we can use only one million US dollars to support a young man and let all foreigners smoke dog hemp, this business is simply too cost-effective."

"Why carrots?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

In short, I am confident enough to persuade them to grow Inuma as long as local laws allow it. "

He was really not joking. Despite her young age, this little girl's mouth was as sharp as her latest surname.

Listening to the little girl Daofeng's vision and plan for the future of dog hemp cultivation, the car driven by Zha Xifeng also followed the car of lawyer Judy in front and drove into the parking lot of a bank.

"Dad, this is a business between me and Mr. Wei Ran." Dao Bee reminded dissatisfiedly.

"never mind"

"Aren't you kidding her?" Cha Xifeng seemed to have realized that Wei Ran was serious until this moment.

Zha Xifeng, who stayed in the cab, looked at Wei Ran's back and muttered to himself, but soon, he relaxed his brows again, "It seems good, I can't stop her anyway, at least it's better than fighting with Wall Street." It’s much safer to cooperate with those hungry wolves.”

"Even if he invests a million dollars in you."

"Knife Bee, you should probably consider talk show as your main career." Wei Ran reminded with a smile.

Not mentioning the self-restraint of the old comrade in the car, Wei Ran outside the car continued to walk into the bank under the leadership of Mrs. Miley and the other three.

Knife Bee rolled his eyes, "There are no good people who talk about talk shows. Most of them are just a bunch of flies who only dare to talk and grandstand.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the scene described in her heroic words.”

"One million?!"

Regardless of whether it was a joke or a promise, at least the girl Dao Feng's attitude towards Wei Ran was much more "flattering", so much so that Wei Ran had the illusion for a moment that there was a handsome Captain Jia by his side.

Wei Ran smiled, "If it's not enough, you can have more. It doesn't matter even if you don't have a planting site. I have a good friend who has a large farm in Texas, and another friend of mine also has one on Lake Superior in Canada. Large farm.

"All right"

So I’d better concentrate on learning how to grow hemp. Hehe, just watch! In ten years at most, I want all foreigners to be able to buy the Inuma I grow for the same price as buying discounted carrots. "

With a smile on his face, Wei Ran shook hands with this little girl who was almost ten years younger than him in a very formal manner, "When you finish your studies, if you really want to grow dog hemp, I will invest 100 for you. Ten thousand U.S. dollars."

"He wouldn't really invest a million dollars."

Hearing this, Zha Xifeng shook his head in confusion and wisely did not continue the topic, lest the "joke" he still insisted on become a "promise".

"See you later"

Cha Xifeng, who was driving, had to say, "She has been hoping that I would invest in a farm for her recently. Please stop encouraging her."

After a series of somewhat tedious identity verification, agreement signing, security checks, and other security measures, a group of four people finally entered the vault under the leadership of two bank managers.

What follows is much simpler than the plot in the movie. Judy and the two managers used their own keys and passwords to jointly open the three locks on the three large safes.

With the cooperation of Mrs. Miley, Knife Bee, Judy and the two bank managers, all the items in the two refrigerators were taken out one by one. After checking with the storage list, they were placed one by one. on a long table covered with a velvet blanket.

“Everything is here”

After Mrs. Miley finished speaking, she, Knife Bee, Lawyer Judy, and the two bank managers each signed their names on the list.

It was only then that Wei Ran took off his suit jacket and placed it on a chair, then rolled up the cuffs of his shirt, then took out his white silk gloves and put them on, and began the inspection in the same manner.

In order not to let the people around who had not left see anything, the first thing Wei Ran fiddled with were the four cameras that Mr. Zak had used on the battlefield.

A Nikon F, a Leica M3, a Minolta SRT-101 and a waterproof Nikonos.

These four cameras were packed in camera bags, each with a sealed bag and desiccant in the bag. The casings of the cameras all showed signs of wear and tear, and there was no film inside.

"Please help me, can I find a place to try these cameras?"

Wei Ran asked Mrs. Miley, "I have prepared the film in advance. In addition, I may need a photo model."

After hearing this, Mrs. Miley translated Wei Ran's request into English and conveyed it to lawyer Judy and the two bank managers.

Fortunately, the two bank managers were particularly easy to talk to, and they even volunteered to serve as models.

Seeing this, Wei Ran opened his briefcase on another smaller table, took out a roll of film, loaded it on the first camera, and took a few photos of the two managers sitting on the sofa.

"What's the point of doing this?"

The Knife Bee who was watching the excitement asked curiously, "How are your photography skills? Can you take some pictures for me?"

"The main thing is to try to see if there are any defects in the lenses of these cameras."

Wei Ran pressed the shutter button for the second time and said nonsensically, "After all, the camera and lens survived the battlefield. If there is any damage due to the environment on the battlefield, it may have some impact on the exposure when taking pictures, or even May leave a unique flare, which can be an important aid when looking for photos taken with the same camera.

In addition, you can also check whether there are any faults in these cameras by taking pictures. This is also a very important but easily overlooked detail clue. "

It was obvious that the few people present did not know much about film cameras, so they were all easily fooled by Wei Ran, and they all showed expressions of "Oh - so that's it".

Each of the four cameras was loaded with film prepared in advance, and each of them took half a roll of film using the people present as models.

Wei Ran took out the film that had been rewinded and said, "At least judging from the shooting just now, these cameras with serious exterior wear can still be used normally, and both the lens and the shutter are very smooth, which shows that they have been carefully maintained. "Mr. Zach after all."

"No, he won't take care of these cameras."

While Wei Ran was speaking, he picked up the Leica M3, pointed at the remaining yellow mud dot the size of a match head at the edge of the lens, and said, "Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a big stain."

Immediately afterwards, he picked up the waterproof camera, pointed to a one-centimeter-long scratch on the waterproof glass in front of the lens, and said, "And here, such a scratch can be repaired by simply replacing the waterproof cover.

If Mr. Zack was really maintaining these cameras, how could they have these flaws that make photographers uncomfortable? "

After saying that, he put the camera in his hand into a sealed bag again, put it into the camera bag and put it back on the table. Witnessed by one of the bank managers and lawyer Judy, he put the four pieces of film he had just taken out into another box. In his briefcase on a table.

After checking the four cameras, he slowly turned his attention to the two huge Pentax cameras that seemed to be designed for the Hulk, and the lenses of different models placed around the two cameras.

"These lenses are very valuable, it would be a pity not to put them in a moisture-proof box."

Wei Ran said regretfully that although these lenses were also put in sealed bags with several packs of desiccant in the bags, they were still a bit wronged after all.

"If Mr. Victor can find Mr. Zach's friend, these cameras and lenses will be yours."

Lawyer Judy, who had never expressed an opinion before, said with a smile after listening to Mrs. Miley's translation.

"I still have no way of confirming whether I can find them, so I can only let them continue to lie in the safe."

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he heard Mrs. Miley gently stroking the two Pentax cameras and saying, "When Mr. Zach was young, he used these two cameras to take a lot of photos of children who were poisoned by Agent Orange. photo."

"Where are those photos?" Wei Ran asked while inspecting the gifts on the table that were sent to Mr. Zach from Yue Yue. "And where are the negatives of those photos?"

"It's getting harder," Mrs. Miley replied. "He didn't bring those pictures back to the United States."

“This is probably the only good news.”

While Wei Ran was talking, he picked up a gilt-engraved copper bowl the size of a melon and looked at it. It was slightly rusty, and the "carcass" was not too thick, but the carved patterns on it were exceptionally beautiful and delicate.

Moreover, just when he turned the copper bowl over and was about to take a look at the bottom like an expert, he discovered that the bottom of this thing was completely a fired primer!

It was only then that he realized belatedly that this thing was made entirely of half a cannon shell.

I glanced at the matchbox-sized label next to the "primer model". The date and year were written in neat English, as well as an address written in Yuehe dialect.

After placing this exquisite war artifact back in its place, he picked up the second "gift".

After looking at them one by one, he also discovered that these things were all labeled with different dates, years, and addresses that had never been repeated. However, the last designated addresses were temples in various places. .

Keeping this small detail in mind, Wei Ran, after checking the last gift, reached out and picked up a souvenir Buddha statue that Mr. Zaka bought when he was looking for a friend.

As before, the base of this bronze Buddha statue is also labeled with a date and a general address.

And he remembered that the date of one of the gifts he had just seen was not that long ago.

Looking at them one by one, he finally picked up the headless statue of Mazu carved from mutton-fat jade.

With just one glance, he was sure that the statue of Mazu had the same origin as the one he found in the safe left by Yukio Sometani in the basement of the love-letter apartment.

Touching the stains accumulated on the neck of the statue of Mazu, he turned it over and looked at the label attached to the bottom.

The date written on this label is February 1980, 2. At the end of the date is written the general place name "Da Nang" in English. There is also an inconspicuous "Chen" on the edge of the base covered by the label. "Character.

Without looking further, he put the statue of Mazu back in its place, and then picked up another statue of Guanyin that seemed to be made of jade without raising his head.

Taking advantage of the time to calm down while checking the other souvenirs, Wei Ran took two steps back, took off his gloves and raised his head and said, "Put these things in the safe first, and then we will change places to chat."

Hearing this, Mrs. Miley nodded, and after some exchanges with Lawyer Judy in English, the two of them greeted Knife Bee and the two bank managers, and compared the storage list, they took out the full table they had just taken out. The things were put into the three large safes by category.

After Lawyer Judy locked the safe, everyone left the safe and wisely did not go to the conference room provided by the bank. They just opened the door and left, joining Cha Xifeng who had been waiting for them.

This time, Wei Ran followed Mrs. Miley and got into the passenger seat of the car driven by Judy's lawyer. They got into the car with them. Crowded in the back seat with Miley, there was also Knife Bee who obviously wanted to hear the excitement.

"Let's go to the studio," Mrs. Miley said.

"Okay" Lawyer Judy nodded, started the car and left the bank parking lot.

Along the way, the three women tacitly kept quiet when they saw Wei Ran's thoughtful look.

Of course, they didn't know that Wei Ran, who was wandering around at this time, was actually thinking about the headless statue of Mazu.

When the car stopped again, they had returned to the roadside of Mr. Zaka's studio.

Not only that, Cha Xifeng, who drove over a little later, also brought a few cups of coffee bought halfway before everyone entered the alley. Of course, he still did not follow them in this time.

The three of them walked through the studio again, and moved the two cars away in a somewhat cumbersome manner just like when they came here in the morning. When they walked into the first floor of the house on the corner again and opened the curtains again, it was just right. They saw Zha Xifeng parked on the side of the road, holding a cup of coffee and gesturing towards them through the bulletproof glass window.

He also raised his coffee cup and said hello to the other party. Wei Ran also greeted Mrs. Miley and sat on the sofa with the dust-proof plastic sheet lifted.

When Lawyer Judy and Daofeng, who served as a temporary translator, also took their seats, Wei Ran said straight to the point, "I would like to hear any additional requests you have regarding the search for Mr. Zach's former friends.

For example, you, I mean the VN15 organization, what criteria do you use to determine that the person I found is Mr. Zack's friend?

And, what kind of help and restrictions will I get when investigating this matter?

Not to mention it is far away, at least it is in a sealed state, and some key clues are also placed in the bank's safe. This alone will bring a lot of constraints to the investigation. "

After the knife bee who was acting as the translator translated it into English, Lawyer Judy and Miley looked at each other, and after a moment of silence, they said, "We don't ask for much. At least as for how to judge whether the person you found is Mr. Zack's friend, we have sufficient and accurate judgment methods."

"This is not an accurate answer," Wei Ran said with a smile after Daofeng completed the translation.

"Mr. Zach also left a safe in the bank before he died."

Miley helped explain, "The donation he planned to give to VN15 and the money he planned to let his friends inherit are all in that safe. Of course, this was confirmed by Judy's lawyer."

After a pause, Miley continued, "But only his friend knows the password to open the safe, and he can guarantee that his friend must know the password very clearly."

It's just nonsense.

Wei Ran muttered secretly in his heart.

"As long as you find the right person, the other party will definitely know about those gifts, and as long as you find the right person, you will definitely not receive any more gifts in the future." After listening to Daofeng's translation, Lawyer Judy , finally gave a relatively reliable "accurate answer".

Also after Dao Bee finished translating, Lawyer Judy continued, "As for your concern that some of the clue items are in the bank's safe, you can rest assured."

Once again, after Knife Bee finished translating, Miley communicated with lawyer Judy for a few words and said, "After signing the employment agreement, all clues and items you deem necessary can be temporarily brought back to Russia."

Seeing the surprise on Wei Ran's face, Miley smiled and said bluntly, "We even hope that you can take away everything in the bank safe, so that you can at least save a lot of safe rental fees.

In addition, the reason why VN15 has so much trust in you actually comes from the guarantee Comrade Channing has given you. "

At this point, Miley patted her forehead lightly as if she had just remembered something, "I almost forgot that Lawyer Judy asked Channing in advance and learned about your trading habits from him, so if If you are willing to accept this job, in addition to taking away clues and items, we can also pay a portion of the investigation funds in advance.”

This time, Miley hurriedly added without waiting for Weiran to speak, “Of course, VN15 basically couldn’t afford much budget before getting the funds donated by Mr. Zach.

So the activity funds I just mentioned actually refer to the 'tractor' outside and those cameras and lenses you just saw at the bank.

Of course, in this matter, Comrade Channing is willing to hold an auction specifically for those things."

"No need"

Wei Ran did not wait for the other party to finish speaking, then waved his hand, stood up and said in a very formal manner, according to my rules, unless there are special circumstances like Mr. Cha Xifeng, part of the commission and investigation funds must be paid in advance. "

Giving Knife Bee enough time to translate, Wei Ran quickly began to show his kindness before Judy and Miley got up and said, "This is a special situation. In any case, this business was introduced by Mr. Cha Xifeng." .

So for his sake, for Mr. Channing's vouching for me, and even more for the VN15 organization's noble ideals of opposing war and the use of chemical weapons, as well as its selfless help to children with Agent Orange, etc. For the sake of various practical actions, I can make some concessions. "

Leaving Dao Feng some time to translate again, Wei Ran said with a smile, "So forget about prepaying the commission and event expenses, and don't bother Mr. Channing to hold the auction.

After we sign the investigation commission agreement, just let me take away the clues and items that may be used and everything in the bank safe. As Mrs. Miley just said, this can also save a lot of money on insurance certificate rental. fee. With the money saved, how about hosting a party after I find Mr. Zach’s friends? "

As he said that, he raised his hand and pointed to the transport truck outside the door, "Also, since that car is the symbol of VN15, why not just leave it, leave it to the VN15 organization, and leave it to this house.

Letting more people who pass by and see it know about Agent Orange used in that war and the long-term harm caused by it may be far more meaningful than putting it up for auction. Of course, it would be better if the party could be held outside on the basketball court. "

"Mr. Victor, you are a kind and very righteous historian, a true gentleman. No, maybe I should call you a knight of justice."

After listening to Knife Bee's translation, Lawyer Judy said with great emotion, "Anyway, thank you for your generous help. Mr. Victor, I wonder if you are interested in joining VN15 and becoming one of us?"