War Photographer's Notebook

When the white light in his vision faded, the surrounding scene finally returned to the world that Wei Ran was familiar with. He also saw the half-track motorcycle directly in front of him, and the luxury carriage not far away.

Subconsciously gritted his teeth, retracted his neck and clenched his fists, and waited for a few seconds. When Wei Ran realized that the pain caused by the injury had not been brought back this time, he was cautiously relieved, and looked up at the open book in front of him. Metal book.

At this time, on page No.30 of the metal book, the drawn pattern had become a black and white photo. In the photo, a slender hand held a PPK pistol and pointed it at the back of the head.

In this photo, neither the girl holding the gun nor the one pointed at the back of the head can be seen, but Wei Ran knew that it was Sophie and Timov, and they were the first ones in the waterway. The appearance when they met for the first time———except that the big wronged species who was pointed at the back of the head at that time became himself.Glancing at the paper bag pretending to have negatives next to the photo, Wei Ran moved his gaze down slightly, silently watching the follow-up story written on the pale yellow paper by the metal quill:
Weeds under the ruins
Quartermaster Letz Capet, during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest in 1944, by virtue of his status as a quartermaster, rescued a total of 18 teenagers from the battlefield.

On December 1944, 12, on the eve of the fall of the fortress, he escaped and hid in the ruins of Elk Castle. On the 5th, he was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp because he was exposed by using radio to communicate with the outside world.

On April 1945, 4, Timov, a former American Ranger, tried his best to defend and testify, and was acquitted. On April 18, he died of illness due to chronic hunger and malnutrition during his detention.According to the wishes of his daughter Sophie Capet, she was buried in the family cemetery under the church of Elk Castle.

Did he fail to survive after all... Wei Ran sighed secretly, and continued to follow the pen tip to move his eyes.

Sophie Capet, during World War II, spent a long time running in various resistance organizations to fight behind enemy lines. During the Battle of Hurtgen, she cooperated with her father to rescue 18 teenagers from the battlefield.

On December 1944, 12, in order to save Loew's family, he ventured back to the Ruhr industrial area. Until the end of World War II, he insisted on carrying out resistance activities behind enemy lines in the area controlled by Najian.

On February 1945, 2, he and Loew's family were arrested by Nate, and managed to escape from prison through the efforts of the resistance organization.

On April 4th of the same year, Sophie Capet reunited with Timov. On May 15th of the same year, Dominique was found and rescued in the Rhine Camp.

In February 1950, at the invitation of Timov several times, he decided to leave Germany to settle in Alaska, and made profits by selling artworks and investing in the gold mining industry.

In February 1965, the land around Elk Castle was purchased and the castle was decided to be rebuilt.

In February 1975, the reconstruction of Elk Castle was completed. In September of the same year, Sophie left Niansihe due to cervical cancer and now lives in Huagang District.

Dominic Loew, on December 1944, 12, lost his fertility due to a landmine attack while fleeing the battlefield.

In February 1945, in order to find Letz Capet, he pretended to be a soldier of the Boys Corps and voluntarily surrendered to a prisoner of war camp.In May of the same year, Sophie and Timov left the prisoner-of-war camp through various efforts.

In February 1950, he immigrated to the United States with Sophie and Timov in search of family clues.

In 1965, due to Sophie Capet's health problems, he took over the gold mining business.

After Sophie Capet's death in 1975, he inherited his entire estate.

In June 1983, after the death of Timov, he inherited all of his estate, purchased land in Salzburg, Austria, built a monumental building for him - Timov Castle, and established the Elk Foundation to support Timov and his family. Part of Sophie's estate is in trusteeship.

In February 2000, Dominique relocated Sophie Capet and Timov to the cemetery of Timof Castle.

"A castle was also built for Timov?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows in surprise, and moved his eyes to continue looking down.

Qiqi, a member of the White Rose organization, assisted Sophie Capet in activities behind enemy lines during World War II. On February 1945, 2, during his return to the castle, he was ambushed by American soldiers and died, and was buried in the basement of the Elk Castle Church.

Nadia, on February 1945, 2, in order to avoid being convicted of a radio station, along with the rest of the war orphans, was evacuated by the G Group and the Comet Line relay and sent to France for asylum.Later, due to the disbandment of the G Group and the Comet Line Organization, he was separated from the rest.

In September of the same year, Nadia passed away due to dystocia, leaving behind a son who was raised by the local church.

"Nadia has a baby?"

Wei Ran let out an exclamation, but the quill did not stop, and continued to work stroke by stroke.

Jonas, on February 1945, 2, in order to avoid being convicted of the radio station, along with the rest of the war orphans, was evacuated by the G Group and the Comet Line relay and sent to France for asylum. lost.

In June of the following year, Jonas and his brother-in-law Okan returned to the country house in Mons, Belgium as agreed. After waiting for a long time but no results, they went to the Belgian-German border and settled in Derwent Farm after being persuaded by the Walters.

In 1948, the brothers finally reunited with Dominique.

In 1955, Jonas voluntarily went to Woodland Mill to settle down and start a family.

In the spring of 1992, Okan died without a cause.

In the winter of the same year, Jonas passed away, and the two were buried successively by Dominique in the basement of the Church of Elk Castle.

After writing this, the metal quill started another line, listing two addresses in Bethany, France, and a detailed address in Salzburg, Austria, as well as the detailed coordinates corresponding to these three sets of addresses.

Immediately afterwards, the quill listed a person with the same name as "Dominique" but with the surname "Louf" and a contact number from France.

The metal quill paused for a moment again, and then wrote smoothly, "War can easily turn all beautiful things into the cruelest tragedy. But cruel wars will eventually end one day, and those good things will eventually give to those who Bring happiness and comfort to the unfortunate."

Under Wei Ran's watchful eyes, the light yellow paper full of words was slowly turned to the back, and the metal quill also continued to write under the slowly rotating red swirl: Dear partner, let's make big strides!Bravely pass through this minefield, pass through this man-eating barbed wire, and beyond the mist is a peaceful world!
Is it Okan, or Horst and Heike...

Amidst Wei Ran's murmurs, the metal quill did not fall down, and even the pages of the metal book began to flip forward quickly!
Finally, when the page stopped at the first page, under Wei Ran's sluggish gaze, the column of "military rank" also changed from lieutenant to captain!In the "Nickname" column, in addition to "Veterinarian", there is also the title of "Magician".

Got promoted again?

Wei Ran, who selectively couldn't see the word "veterinarian" and didn't even want to see the column of "nickname", also had a look of surprise on his face.But obviously, the surprise didn't end there!
In the almost frightening white light, the self-fastening metal book became larger than the naked eye, and the few rust spots on the cover completely disappeared, and even the first hourglass relief on the cover had become There is a real glass hourglass inlaid on the cover. This hourglass is only the size of a thumb. When the blue fine sand on it falls down, it has turned into a scarlet color.

When the blue fine sand leaks into the bottom and turns red, it will automatically turn over again, and the falling red fine sand will turn blue again like a reciprocating cycle.

Just as he was about to touch the metal book that had become much more beautiful, the metal quill that had also become much more refined was slowly inlaid on the cover.Immediately afterwards, the enlarged cover was opened, and the pale yellow pages began to flip slowly.

Under his gaze, the metal book turned to the back of page 28, and then the blue swirl with the Soviet pilot's winter leather flight cap on it lit up like coals blown by the wind and then returned to calm.

Immediately afterwards, the red swirl on page 29 containing the bamboo basket from the cooking class brought back from Savage Mountain also flashed.

Until this time, the metal book finally calmed down. Ever since it was snapped together, the old

It honestly fell into Wei Ran's hands.

He weighed the metal book that hardly changed in weight, no, no, no, maybe it would be more accurate to call this flamboyant metal book right now a metal book.

No matter how you call it, Wei Ran lightly touched the hourglass on the cover that didn't seem to be affected by the angle change, and then waved his hand to take out the things in the two swirls on pages 28 and 29.

"It turned out to be given to this"

Wei Ran laughed dumbly. At this time, the Soviet winter flight cap in the red swirl on page 28 is not only inlaid with various trophies of the eagle over Stalingrad, but also now has an American-style B8 goggle .

Even, inside the flight cap, there is a pair of U.S. military A10 flight gloves.He remembered clearly that the goggles and gloves were small gifts from Captain Wrights back then.

Try wearing the Soviet military flying cap on your head and buckle the goggles. I have to admit that although the goggles and flying cap come from the two different ideological camps of the United States and the Soviet Union, they match together perfectly and complement each other perfectly.

Putting away the flight hat, goggles and gloves, Wei Ran turned to look at the bamboo basket beside him.

At this time, the bamboo basket full of various kitchen utensils was still wrapped with a waterproof canvas.So at first glance, nothing has changed at all.

However, when he patiently untied the tarpaulin, he immediately found that in the back basket, there are now not only two more American Coleman 520 oil stoves in metal storage tanks, but also an extra heavy one. Dutch pot and a radiator converted from a German gas mask canister.

Compared with the crude radiators made in the trenches and castle ruins, the workmanship provided by the metal book is much more refined.Of course, just like the self-made radiators on the battlefield, the finely wound inside is still barbed wire with barbs instead of fine spring-like tungsten wire.

Not in a hurry to put away these things, Wei Ran took out the contents from the latest red vortex—the wire cutters that were distributed in large quantities by the German army in World War II.

In a daze, he seemed to see that young man named Okan again, seeing him running into the minefield without hesitation, and using his life to open up a passage to a peaceful world for his partner.

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran took the wire cutters marked with the hourglass mark and the pannier full of kitchen utensils back into the metal book.

He glanced at the half-track motorcycle and the mortar group installed in the trailer beside him, and then at the carriage next to him.Wei Ran patted his butt and got up, and while walking to the cave outside the moat that was originally used to store treasures, he secretly analyzed the current situation.

According to the information given in the metal book, it is obvious that Nadia left a child for Dominic, and it seems that Dominic does not know about it.

Obviously, if that child is really Dominic's son, his main goal has been achieved this time, but I don't know whether the now old Dominic is satisfied with the result, and whether he is willing to believe that Sophie cheated on him with Timov.

Compared with these real things, Wei Ran was wondering about another thing. After all, although the metal book recorded enough details, it didn't mention why Dominic didn't look for Nadia and why Nadia didn't Contact Dominic about this.

In addition, there seemed to be some secrets hidden behind the three addresses provided by the metal book.

With these doubts in mind, Wei Ran finally discovered the cave where the treasure was hidden once again after passing through the pine trees growing in the river channel and the surrounding grass.

Walking into the cave along the bluestone steps, when the light of the flashlight sweeps across the surroundings, you can no longer find the shadows of those years. The artworks that were once hidden here have long since disappeared. All that remains is a rusty oil lamp hanging on the iron fence.

Sighing secretly, Wei Ran turned and walked towards the church, climbed up the stairs first to the bell tower, and then followed the steps inside the bell tower to return to the catacomb.

When the light of the flashlight swept over those names that did not use the surname "Capet", Wei Ran also saw it from inside.

Too many names of familiar partners.

There are Jonas and Okan mentioned in the metal book, as well as Horst, Heike, Bernd, Stefan and even Juta and Boyi who have not been mentioned.Of course, there is even a brave girl like Qiqi in it.

He took out a pack of wet wipes from his pocket and carefully wiped Qiqi's tombstone. Wei Ran, who had no habit of smoking, touched his pocket, and then simply took out the medical box in the metal book. He removed a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes from the American helmet, took out one of them, lit it, and placed it lightly in front of Qiqi's tombstone.

And he himself sat down on the medical box, quietly looking at the inconspicuous small tombstone in front of him in the lingering smoke.

The two time-spaces separated by seven or eighty years made him wonder how to treat Qiqi's affection for him.But even if the two are in the same time and space, facing a brave girl who is just beginning to fall in love, all Wei Ran can do is try not to hurt the other party as much as possible.

"War can easily turn all beautiful things into the cruelest tragedy, but cruel wars will eventually end one day..."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, comforting himself, and comforting the children and girls who failed to survive the war more than half a century ago.

Finally, as the cigarette burned out, Wei Ran stooped to pick up the extinguished cigarette butt, took back the medical box that served as a bench, turned around and strode away from this grave full of family, friendship, love and sad memories.