War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1665 A request for help that cannot be refused

On November 11, Wei Ran, who had stayed at his grandmother's house for a few days, finally decided to leave and took a public flight to Kazakhstan alone.

On the same day, 50 skinny men, reeking of curry and cow dung, boarded a cargo ship docked at the Port of Mumbai with their chests puffed out and their stomachs tucked in, looking proud on their faces.

These people are all from the lowest class of people in Mumbai. Some of them are delivery men, some are gold diggers in the sewers, some are night soil collectors, laundry workers, some are roadside vendors selling Indian food, some are magical cow urine electricians or snake charmers.

There is even a "Kshatriya" who left his original family because he fell in love with a girl of a low caste.

Without exception, these people firmly believe that the Cow Urine Country is powerful.

Without exception, they are currently living in poverty.

Without exception, they all received secret recruitment from the Ministry of National Defense of the Niu Niu Country a few days ago.

Without exception, they all chose to respond to a secret project to "make cow urine great", and after boarding the ship, they immediately received military ranks of varying degrees, officer certificates with their respective photos attached, and generous advance salaries.

With the sound of a low whistle, the cargo ship with Korean flag slowly left the port, carrying these "secret heroes" with "a mission" to leave their homeland and head to Australia, a rich, clean country where they can shit freely on the coastline.

At the same time, the serious criminals who were sent to India by Ninel to perform a "loyalty assessment mission" were already on the same ship. They were stripped naked, put into an oil barrel, filled with cement and thrown into the Arabian Sea to continue serving their sentences.

On the same day, although the people who were tracking down Ms. Naile did find traces of her visit in Morocco, investigations over the past few days did not lead to her whereabouts. This inevitably led those who were searching to suspect that this was a premeditated attempt to fake her death and escape.

Compared with reality, various conspiracy theories on the Internet are still spreading and intensifying. Among the true and false news, there are even mysterious people who reveal some truly amazing things.

No matter which moth flapped its wings first, Wei Ran, who had already arrived in Hasa, had already left the airport in an off-road vehicle driven by Jima.

"How are your wedding preparations going?" Wei Ran asked as he took the cigarette handed to him.

“Everything is ready”

Jima said with a slightly tired look, "Our ceremony starts with the betrothal gift, and the wedding ceremony will be held the day after the betrothal gift ceremony. Maya's father said that normally there should be a gap of half a month between the two ceremonies, but Maya and I can't wait that long."

"Is there any betrothal gifts?" Wei Ran asked with interest.

"Of course"

Ji Ma, who seemed to be sleep-deprived, yawned and said, "I have prepared 77 horses alone, in addition to various gifts. I also gave a car to each of her brothers."

"You are a rich man too," Wei Ran teased with a smile.

"Thanks to you"

Jima's tone was unusually serious. "When I stopped you in our village, I didn't expect that I would have such a good life today."

"You'd better save these stupid words that are so touching for Maya and her parents," Wei Ran said jokingly. Not only did Ji Ma not expect such a day, he himself also did not expect it.

"Let's not talk about me for now"

Jima slowed down the car a little, "What about you? Have you solved those problems?"

“Basically all resolved”

Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "Don't bother with this kind of thing. Tell me who's coming to your wedding?"

"All the members of the Golden Fleece are here, except you and Aurora and the pretty girls you keep."

Jima said happily, "In addition, Teacher Daria, Teacher Anna and Mr. Kalp are here too. Alili, Misha and Greva are here too. Besides them, that bastard Ninel is here too."

"Didn't Mr. Nicholas come?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

“This is too far for him.”

Ji Ma explained with a hint of regret, "We plan to visit him and get his blessing right after the wedding."

"A honeymoon?"

“We don’t have that much time”

Ji Ma said regretfully, "We only have one week to rest after the wedding, and then we have to return to the set immediately. We have to visit Principal Nikolai during this week, so we may only have three or four days left."

At this point, Jima seemed to remember something and said, "Victor, what wedding gift did you bring us?"

"Chinese Gifts"

Wei Ran answered with a smile, but no matter how Ji Ma asked, he refused to explain again, making it clear that he wanted to save the surprise for last.

After repeated attempts and tugs of war over the wedding gift, Jima drove the car to Maya's ranch.

"You're finally here!"

Sui Sui, who was wearing a set of traditional Kazakh clothes, threw herself into Wei Ran's arms before she finished speaking and whispered in his ear, "Did you bring the things I asked you to bring?"

"Don't worry, everything is in the suitcase. We have brought everything you want." Wei Ran hugged the girl hanging on him and replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Sui Sui breathed a sigh of relief, got off Wei Ran and continued, "That weirdo Niniel has been waiting for you. It seems like he has something urgent to tell you."

"Where is he?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Over there, Olga is pestering them about when they will get married." Sui Sui said gloatingly.

"In that case, there's no need to rush."

Wei Ran mercilessly pushed Ninel's priority down the list.

After greeting everyone present, Wei Ran picked up the suitcase and followed Sui Sui into the yurt that belonged to them.

Just as Wei Ran closed the door of the yurt, Sui Sui had already opened the suitcase he brought with him and took out a set of bright red bed sheets, pillowcases and a wedding gown with a Chinese character for "happiness" on the back.

In addition, there is a big red enamel washbasin with the word "happiness" printed on it, two iron thermoses of the same style, and a wooden axe tied with a red cloth.

"Are you sure you want to give me these broken things?" Wei Ran asked with a smile. These things were purchased by the girl Sui Sui with the help of her grandparents in Baiyangdian.

"They are not short of money, so it would be meaningless to give them something too expensive." Sui Sui said happily, "This one is good enough."

"I'm starting to look forward to what gifts Jima and Maya will give us when we get married," Wei Ran said with a smile.

"I didn't say I wanted to marry you," Sui Sui snorted complacently and started talking about the plans for the next few days.

Although Hassa is a Muslim country, this wedding is somewhat different from the conventional Muslim wedding. The most important difference is that it does not require the blessing of the mullah. Instead, all the guests sing and dance together.

He had just finished listening to Sui Sui's introduction to the itinerary for the next few days when someone knocked on the door of the yurt from outside.

Before he could ask, he heard Ninel say slowly outside, "Victor, when are you free? I have something very urgent to discuss with you."

"Coming soon"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he hugged the girl in his arms and gave her another wet kiss. Then he signaled Sui Sui to get up and walked towards the wooden door of the yurt alone.

As the locked wooden door was opened, Wei Ran couldn't help but laugh. There were a lot of strawberries planted on Ninel's neck, and there was a fiery red lip mark on his face.

"Don't look at it. Laugh if you want to. Besides, you don't look any better than I do."

Niniel grumbled a little helplessly, turned around and said as he walked, "I heard you can ride a horse?"

"Of course," Wei Ran answered as a matter of course.

"Go choose a horse, and we'll go to a quiet place to talk." Ninel said, and pointed to the horse farm not far away.

Hearing this, Wei Ran followed the other party to the edge of the horse farm indifferently. They each chose a horse at random and rode on it, and walked slowly to the edge of the pasture.

Until the white yurt was only the size of a fingernail in sight, Ninel finally pulled the reins and stopped.

"What's going on?" Wei Ran, who also stopped his horse, asked curiously. "Satisfy my curiosity first."

Ninel asked bluntly, "What are those cow piss people you want?"

Wei Ran spread his hands and said, "I need a few spokespersons."

"I think you should be put in the intensive psychiatric care unit at Morpheus to get your brain healed."

Ninel said unhappily, "The second thing is, are those rumors and conspiracies on the Internet recently your doing?"

"It's not me. I know nothing." Although Wei Ran said this, he nodded.

"Okay, it's my turn."

Niniel said bluntly, "In addition to attending Jima and Maya's wedding, I need you to do me a favor."

"No problem. What can I do for you?" Wei Ran answered simply.

“It’s your area of ​​expertise”

Niniel explained slowly, "One of my friends wants to find her father. She wants to make sure if her father is still alive. If he has died in battle, she hopes to find her father's remains."

"Wait, are you sure I can help with this?"

Wei Ran, who was riding on horseback, looked at the other person suspiciously, "Also, what about 'she'? When did you become a scumbag like Ji Ma?"

"You are insulting me and you are insulting Ji Ma."

Ninel said slowly, “It is well known that among the three of us, you are the only one who is surrounded by beautiful girls.

And I heard from Olga that even Olena seems to have a crush on you, so there is no doubt that you are the one."

"Let's talk about business," Wei Ran grinned and brought the topic back to the topic that had gone off track.

"Her father went missing in the Afghan War"

"Afhan War? Which year's Afhan War?" Wei Ran asked.

Ninel, who "disappeared in 1988," answered the former's question by making the time more precise.

"It's the Soviet Union's Afkhan War." Wei Ran couldn't help but tense up.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, my friend and her mother immigrated to the United States."

Ninel continued, "But in 2000, 12 years after her father disappeared, someone found her in the United States and gave her her father's belongings as a gift for her 18th birthday."

"Where is the person who sent the birthday present?" Wei Ran asked.

'No clues'

Ninel replied, "The relics suddenly appeared in her house. There were signs that the door lock had been pried open. Nothing was missing, but her father's relics were added."

"What is the relic?"

Wei Ran suppressed his inner reluctance and asked.

Of course he was reluctant, just like the Vietnam War to the United States and the Afghan War to the Soviet Union. It was a quagmire full of dangers.

But he and Ninel were friends who helped each other, and he had no reason to refuse. Even if he had a reason, he could not refuse the other party's first request for help - especially in the field he was good at.

“There are many relics”

Ninel answered slowly, "An APB Stechkin submachine gun, an Arrow watch, a family photo of their family, and a wedding ring."

“Is that a lot?”

Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, then muttered vaguely, "Why is it another Arrow watch?"

"What did you say?" Ninel asked.

"nothing"

Wei Ran paused and asked with certainty, "Is her father a Soviet pilot?"

"Mi-24 co-pilot"

Ninel replied, "To be precise, it's a Mi-24D, a plane that's specifically designed to rescue downed pilots."

"How is he?"

"Ambushed while rescuing downed pilot"

Ninel glanced at Wei Ran strangely. "According to my friend's own investigation, the archive records he found showed that the helicopter was ambushed, just like the helicopter trap that the Americans encountered on the Vietnam War battlefield."

"Okay, last question."

Wei Ran asked bluntly, "What price is your friend willing to pay to hire me?"

"Hiring you? No no no, you're wrong."

Ninel shook his finger. "I hired you, and the results of the investigation will be my work. My friend won't know of your existence."

"It seems like he is a very special friend," Wei Ran teased deliberately.

"I told you, I'm not a scumbag like you, and the other party is almost 40 years old, and her daughter is in a relationship."

Ninel still spoke in that slow tone, but there was no reservation in what he said, "Her husband is a doctor of medicine. I need to become her husband's student to obtain some important intelligence, so I must gain her trust and gratitude."

Hearing this, Wei Ran decisively stopped asking, "Let me think about it. Take some time to give me the key information and her father's relics."

“I know the rules”

Niniel said, "Everything has been delivered to your home. After attending Jima's wedding, you can start your investigation."

"You don't know how to be polite," Wei Ran muttered unhappily.

"It would be best if you could give me an accurate result by Christmas"

Ninel added an increasingly rude deadline, "I want to give the good news of finding her father as a Christmas gift."

"I wanted to give her the good news of finding her father as a Christmas present."

Wei Ranchao raised his middle fingers and repeated the other person's nonsense, "What do you think I am? A Doraemon who can fulfill all your wishes? Mr. Nobita Nobi?"

"That's your problem to worry about," Niniel said nonchalantly, "I won't let you help me for nothing."

"Why don't you ask Mr. Culp for help with this matter?" Wei Ran asked unwillingly.

"Officially he has disappeared."

Ninel said as a matter of course, "And it was Uncle Kalp who recommended you for help. He said you are good at finding missing people."

"Thank Mr. Culp for his recommendation for me," Wei Ran said reluctantly.

"He's over there. If you want to thank him, just go over there now."

Niniel, who didn't think it was a big deal, shook the reins before he finished speaking, and said as he walked back, "I will help you kill some Yishili merchants hiding in North America to cooperate with your conspiracy."

"Thank you so much."

Wei Ran twitched his lips and swallowed his increasingly bitter saliva. Having said that, he had no reason to refuse.