War Photographer's Notebook

On the fourth floor of Timov Castle, in a luxurious living room with a hemispherical stained glass dome, Wei Ran and Sui Sui sat side by side on a luxurious retro-style sofa, looking at the front that was just lit by Leia for decoration In the fireplace of the atmosphere, in the ears, Anfisa is listening to the English diary left by Timov translated into Russian in real time and read it aloud.

On a round table not far away, Anfeya was taking out several Austrian-style dishes from the insulated lunch box—and putting them on top.

On the carpet next to this big round table, the three pets, headed by the dog Beria, sat side by side and looked up at Anfeiya in unison. on the carpet.

Naturally, these drooling lunches couldn't have been cooked in this castle, but Anfeya bought them in a small town down the mountain by car.

"Let's eat first"

Wei Ran yelled to stop Anfisa, and greeted everyone, including Leya, to sit down at the table.

Although the diary translated by Anfisa just now records some trivial things in life, Wei Ran and Sui Sui can also feel Timov's sincere feelings for Sophie from the diary.

"Leiya, how many workers are doing maintenance in the castle now?" Wei Ran asked while cutting a tonkatsu bigger than his face.

"There were five plumbers, five landscapers, two electricians and a carpenter, and a team of 5 cleaners."

Leia paused, took a bite of an apple strudel with her hand, and then continued, "In addition, I hired two local chefs for a short period of time. They work in the office at the foot of the mountain and are responsible for preparing lunch for everyone every day. and dinner."

"How long does it take for each maintenance?" Wei Ran asked Sui Sui while distributing half of the cutlet tonkatsu.

"Once in the spring and once in the fall, and each maintenance can be completed in a maximum of two holiday weeks."

Leya explained like a few treasures, "The main maintenance work is to clean all the rooms except the church, and at the same time inspect and repair the roof and windows.

Also, because the castle is heated by geothermal heat, plumbing inspections were a top priority.Especially in autumn maintenance, if there is a problem with the heating pipeline, it will bring us huge troubles and losses.

Finally there is the gardening work, Mr. Dominique requested..."

"So even during the maintenance period, you don't live here?" Wei Ran changed the question before the other party finished speaking.

"No one wants to live here"

Leya said with a little embarrassment, "Although I know there will be no ghosts in this world, but..."

"So you all live in the office under the mountain?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"right"

Leya nodded, "Every day before the sun goes down, we will leave the castle and return to the small town below the mountain. After all, it is more convenient to live in the small town. Although the water and electricity are complete here and there is also a network signal, the castle is too big. Even though we all live here it’s kind of scary.”

"makes sense…"

Wei Ran nodded involuntarily, how beautiful the castle is during the day, it might be so eerie at night.Or to change the truth that all Chinese people understand, if such a big house is not popular, it is really better to sleep in a cemetery.

But having said that, after Dominic finished making his will, Lily, who obviously had a different heart, brought him here, and it was inevitable that he didn't want him to help him catch ghosts.

As the saying goes, using people's money to eliminate disasters, let alone whether he believes that there are ghosts here, I am afraid that whether the ghost will appear tonight will be a question mark.

However, just as he thought of this, he heard Leia say, "Actually, last autumn, there was a plumber who didn't believe that this place was haunted, so he lived here."

"And then?" Suho asked immediately after listening to Anfisa's translation, and took a big bite of the crispy tonkatsu at the same time.

"At two o'clock in the morning that night, he drove back to town."

Leia puts down the half apple left in her hand
Juan said helplessly, "Everyone firmly believes that this castle is occupied by demons. As long as someone stays here, they will come out to scare people."

"This is the 21st century..." Suho couldn't help muttering.

"really"

Leiya nodded, "But the plumber I just mentioned, when he was awakened by the cry of a goat in the middle of the night, he found a goat's head on the balcony railing outside the room."

Seeing everyone looking at her in surprise, Leia spread her hands helplessly, "That's what the plumber said at the time, but we didn't find any goat heads when we went to the castle the next morning.

Moreover, he chose the room on the highest floor at that time, and it was very difficult to place the sheep's head on the balcony of that room on the handrail from the outside. "

"The atmosphere is starting to fill up"

Sui Sui became more excited after listening to the translation, "Ask her if we can stay in that room tonight."

Hearing this, Wei Ran, who also had the same idea, immediately translated the request.

Of course, Leya didn't have any objections to this, and after waiting for Wei Ran and the others to have lunch, she immediately brought them to the room just mentioned.

"The bedding was changed yesterday, and the bedding in all the rooms in this castle was changed yesterday."

"What a waste..." Anfeiya muttered in a low voice before translating to Sui Sui.

Leya just smiled and didn't explain. She just reached out and lifted the dust-proof cloth covering the bed in this bedroom, then pointed to the balcony railing outside the French window and said, "According to the plumber, the goat's head at that time Just put it there."

Following the direction of the other's finger, Wei Ran simply opened the glass door leading to the balcony and looked up, down, left, and right.

From here, if you want to see the city wall, you have to go down, but not far away, there are still two buildings higher than where they are.

"Leiya, what's there?" Wei Ran asked, pointing to the two towers.

"Bell tower and guard tower"

Leiya immediately explained, "Those two towers are also the highest positions in the entire castle. Of course, both the bell tower and the sentry tower have lost their original functions, especially the sentry tower. According to Mr. Dominic's request, it is now built on it. Lots of pigeonholes."

"Can I go and have a look?" Wei Ran asked along the way.

"sure"

Leya immediately said, "But there is no elevator there, and I suggest you go to the clock tower to have a look. The smell on the tower is not very good, and we haven't had time to clean up the excrement accumulated on it."

Hearing this, before Wei Ran had time to say anything, Sui Sui retreated first, "Go and see with her, we won't go."

"Tired?" Wei Ran asked with a smile, how could he not know what this little thing was thinking.

"We're going to go to the hot spring," Sui Sui said and looked at Anfeiya with a smile, "Did you buy it?"

"bought"

Anfeya nodded, "The bathrobes, towels, and all possible things have been bought, and I have bought enough wine and Aludler, as well as fruits and desserts, and they are all in Ms. Leia's car now." . "

"Let's go and see how the temperature of the hot spring is, and you can come and soak in the hot spring later!"

Sui Suo, who only wanted to soak in the hot spring, patted Wei Ran's shoulder with a smiley smile and issued an invitation that he couldn't refuse, and said as he walked out, "Kamei, get all those things to the hot spring, let's go to the hot spring."

"We'll send it over right away," sisters Katenka replied in unison.

"Pay attention to safety." Wei Ran silently made a mouth gesture, and at the same time made a gesture for holding a gun without any trace.

Seeing this, Katenka sisters nodded imperceptibly, and left the room following the yelling Sui Sui.

"Are they going to the hot springs?" Leia asked proactively.

"Yes" Wei Ran nodded, "Let's go to the bell tower to have a look."

"come with me"

After Leya finished speaking, she also walked out of the room, and at the same time

Don't forget to take off the walkie-talkie that has been pinned to your waist, and inform the staff who are still doing maintenance to leave the castle immediately and end today's work early.

"Are those staff working together for a long time?" Wei Ran asked as he followed Leiya towards the clock tower.

"right"

Leya replied bluntly, "Walter, the head of the gardening team, is my husband. He and I met in this castle. He and the other gardeners he leads are all Italian.

The team of plumbers, electricians and carpenters came from the German company that participated in the renovation of the castle. The foundation has cooperated with them for more than ten years.

The cleaners are also a company that has cooperated with us for a long time, and the people who are sent to work here are basically Bulgarians. "

"It can be seen that you like this job very much," Wei Ran said casually.

"Actually, I care more about this castle than Mr. Dominique"

Leiya replied frankly, "This artwork was built under the auspices of my father. Even though it was plagiarized, my father's life ended here. I have spent most of my life maintaining this castle. Even My husband and I met here. Besides, Mr. Dominique is also a very generous boss, why should I not like this job?”

"He is indeed a very generous boss." Wei Ran nodded in agreement, everyone is a worker, this is indisputable.

Led by Leiya, the two walked for ten minutes in the labyrinth-like castle before standing outside the locked iron gate directly below the clock tower.

Pulling out the key and unlocking the door, Leya led Wei Ran into the interior of the clock tower, pointing to the winding stairs and said, "This clock tower is almost a replica of the clock tower of the Elk Castle, but it is bigger and taller. Shall I go up with you?"

"I'll go up by myself"

After Wei Ran finished speaking, he stepped on the thick solid wooden steps and went up step by step, and finally saw a big bronze clock and an electric clock hammer full of mechanical feeling.

Of course, just like the bell tower of Elk Castle, a lot of pigeon feathers and droppings have also accumulated in this airy space.But the slight difference is that there is no secret door leading to the basement hidden at the top of the bell tower.

After taking a look, Wei Ran closed the stair door leading to the downstairs. After observing the place carefully, he took out the telescope from the metal book.

I have to admit that this is the place with the best view of the entire castle. Not only can you clearly see the snow-capped mountains in the distance, but you can also see the small town below the mountain and the cliff behind the castle, as well as the mountains formed by the melting snow at the end of the cliff. small waterfall.

Of course, if you use a telescope, you can still clearly see the three girls who have changed into swimsuits and are soaking in the outdoor hot spring pool, as well as the dog and the two big-eared foxes who are running around in the castle yard.

"Damn rich life"

While muttering, Wei Ran took the focus of the telescope away from the three beautiful girls in the hot spring with great difficulty, and began to look at the structure of the castle itself.

Although Leya kept saying that the castle copied the Pierrefont Castle, but compared with the information on the Pierrefont Castle that Sui Sui searched on the Internet before lunch, it can be found that the walls of this castle are higher from the outside. , but from the inside, it is shorter than the original.

There is no doubt that this shows that the terrain inside the castle is higher, and the change brought about by this difference is that after the entrance and exit of the castle are closed, it is almost impossible to sneak in from the outside.

Especially in the direction of the snow-capped mountains on the north side of the castle, the cliff outside the city wall alone may have a depth of more than 40 meters. In addition, the height of the outer wall of the castle itself cut off the possibility of all vertebrates without wings climbing up. .

and many more!

No wings?

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, and immediately pointed the binoculars in the direction of the cliff.

On the opposite side of the cliff is the gentle slope of another mountain facing the sun. This mountain is not too high, but on the gentle slope facing the castle, there is a large meadow growing lushly, as well as various trees scattered among it. .

And with
Farther away from this short mountain is another high mountain that still has snow on the top of the mountain even in this season.

What's more, from the short mountain on the other side of the cliff to the high mountain farther away, there are still remnants of cable cars that have been abandoned. Even, with the help of a telescope, he can vaguely see on the top of the mountain farther away, there is a A particularly conspicuous red tin house.

On the other hand, he also clearly remembered that on the way here, the Katenka sisters mentioned that when their sisters came here with Ms. Karenina for vacation, they visited the ski resorts and mountains around the town , practiced skiing and paragliding.

If you fly down from that high mountain in the distance...

Wei Ran pointed the camera at the snow-capped mountain in the far distance. If he used a paraglider to fly here from that mountain, at least he would be sure to land in this castle quietly...

As the camera moved, a smile gradually appeared on Wei Ran's face. Whether it was a roof or a city wall, as long as there was no strong wind, it seemed that it would not be difficult.Especially the steaming outdoor hot spring pool, and the open-air platform connected to it, enough to hold a party, is simply the best landing site.

But if the problem of "coming" is solved, what is the way of "going"?

Following the train of thought just now, Wei Ran looked in the direction of the city wall, and soon, he found that as long as he was brave enough, if he used a similar wing suit or simply continued to use a paraglider, as long as he could ensure that he could jump from the city wall , Flying over the cliff to gain room to descend before landing, it seems that he can indeed leave quietly.

Wingsuit flying... what is the glide ratio? 3:1?It seems so... Wei Ran put away the binoculars and muttered to himself. Although he and Ji Ma had never experienced this thing in Hongqi Forest Farm, they had learned the general theory.

But does anyone really have the guts?

After all, this is not forced by the mustache to rescue Mussolini, parachute down the roof of the castle at night, and then jump off the cliff and fly to the bottom of the cliff. If anyone has the means and courage of 007, why come here to play tricks?
With doubts, Wei Ran focused the telescope on the guard tower of the same height not far away.

Soon, he discovered something that didn't seem to be on that tower.Putting away the binoculars, Wei Ran turned and went downstairs, and returned downstairs along the spiral staircase.

"Let's go take a look at that sentry tower." Wei Ran said before Leiya could speak.

"no problem"

Leya nodded without hesitation, led Wei Ran to the bottom of the sentry tower, and opened the door with the key again.

"I'll just go up by myself," Wei Ran said, taking out a mask from his pocket and putting it on, and then put on a pair of rubber gloves.

"Wait a mininute"

Leya called to Wei Ran who was about to enter the door, then took off the silk scarf tied around her neck, helped Wei Ran cover her hair and most of her face, and while making up the appearance of a devil stealing landmines, she did not forget to ask, "Those The damn pigeon looks like it has been drugged, and it seems that there are several more annoying crows living in it.

Every time someone goes up to clean up the excrement, they will be scratched by them. Mr. Victor, you must protect yourself, especially pay attention not to be pecked by them. "

"Don't worry." Wei Ran smiled, "Thank you for the silk scarf."

"you are welcome"

Leya, a gentle middle-aged woman, looked at the top of her head worriedly, then took out a small bottle of perfume from her pocket and handed it to Wei Ran, "Use it as a bird repellent spray, I don't know if it will work , but at least you won’t faint from the fermented bird droppings on it.”

"OK"

Wei Ran happily took the perfume, then turned around and began to climb up the spiral wooden stairs to the top of the tower.

Unlike the bell tower I just visited, this tower is layered. In the first two compartments, there are only some tools such as vacuum cleaners, high-pressure spray guns, and some carpentry tools and paints.

On the other hand, the third floor closest to the top of the tower was empty, with nothing but dust, towels and brushes hanging on the shelves.

Even, the door on this floor
There was also a plastic-encased reminder posted on it, but unfortunately, even Wei Ran didn't know what the slogan with five or six red exclamation marks was about.

To be on the safe side, he cautiously took out his phone and scanned it with the translation software.However, what made him dumbfounded was that the content of this slogan reminded only one thing - before opening the next door, this door must be closed! ! ! !

Putting away the phone and inspecting the room carefully, Wei Ran untied the silk scarf Liya lent him and tied it to the handrail of the stairs, followed the prompts to close the door of the stairs, and then took out the leather flight hat from the metal book And leather gloves in a hat.

Putting on a Soviet flying cap full of inlays, and American-style B8 goggles and gloves, Wei Ran, still unwilling to give up, even took out the Soviet cloak and put it on his body, and put on the American-style helmet that was put together with the medical kit. Medic helmet.

"Why does this outfit seem to have been used before..."

Wei Ran muttered to himself without thinking too much, and reached out to open the well-sealed aluminum alloy door.

Before he had a clear view of the surrounding situation, there was a burst of noise from "fluttering". Among the swirling feathers and a large amount of smoke that almost obscured his vision, there were at least a hundred or ten pigeons, and a few black pigeons mixed in between. The crows all scattered with flapping wings.

But immediately after, a few crows croaked and dived at low altitude, like a dive bomber, and threw large lumps of bird droppings on Wei Ran's body.

"!"

Resisting the urge to take out his pistol and shoot, Wei Ran stepped on the bird droppings enough to submerge his feet, and walked up the stone steps to the sentry tower.

Waving away a crow that was pecking at the steel helmet, Wei Ran endured his nausea and removed a bird's nest shelf, then leaned over to look outside.

Sure enough, just like what he saw on the opposite tower just now, on the edge of the outer wall of the sentry tower, there are indeed several spotlights with a diameter only the size of a mineral water bottle cap. There is also a signal receiver the size of a lunch box on the base.

With difficulty, he leaned forward and wiped the nameplate on the spotlight with his gloves. It was clearly written in German. This is an infrared spotlight with a signal receiver.

"Infrared spotlights...you can still control the switches remotely. Tsk tsk tsk... Suho is really right, now hauntings have to be scientific..."

Wei Ran muttered to himself, while driving away the pigeons and crows that kept attacking him, he circled around and carefully observed the outside of the sentry tower.

Sure enough, the same spotlights were installed almost a full circle outside the watchtower, and the wiring was all along an inconspicuous plastic tube, passing through the depression of the female wall, and extending to the watchtower against the wall internal.

Holding up the binoculars and looking left and right, Wei Ran first moved the bird's nest shelves back to their original positions, then took out the newly obtained wire cutters, clicked twice, and cut the plastic tube together with the wires inside. Cut off a length of about ten centimeters.

Pulling out the cut wires, Wei Ran put away the wire cutters and left the top of the sentry tower.

It wasn't until the aluminum alloy door was closed to block the pigeons and crows that had been attacking him that he shook off the bird droppings on his shoes, endured his nausea, took out a towel from the shelf next to him, and wiped his helmet, cloak, and shoes indiscriminately The bird droppings on the clothes, and then put the contaminated outfit back into the metal book.Opening the door, she took off Leiya's silk scarf, and walked down the stairs quickly.

Meeting Leya who had been waiting for him under the tower, Wei Ran hurriedly said before the other party spoke, "Leiya, from now on, before we leave, all staff are prohibited from entering the castle."

"Just when Ms. Aurora decided to go to the hot spring, I informed everyone to leave." While Leiya was speaking, she also took her silk scarf and perfume from Wei Ran.

"Where is the main water and electricity gate of this castle?" Wei Ran continued to ask, and at the same time took off his shoes full of bird droppings and threw them on the steps of the sentry tower.

"come with me"

Leya wisely didn't ask any more questions, and walked to an inconspicuous but locked room with the barefoot Wei Ran, pointing to the various switches inside and said

"The water and electricity switches are all in this control room. Only I have the key to get in here."

"Is there no surveillance system installed in this castle?" Wei Ran asked while familiarizing himself with the switches of each power system.

"Yes, but only to the outside world. Surveillance is not allowed inside the castle."

Leia paused, and continued, "And the monitoring will only work when there is no one here, and it will not work the rest of the time."

"Did the surveillance system capture anything when the plumber had an accident last time?" Wei Ran asked quite inquisitively.

"Unfortunately, not."

Leya shook her head and repeated again, "Surveillance is not allowed inside the castle, this is Mr. Dominique's request."

"Where is the surveillance room?" Wei Ran asked as he walked out.

"The office in the small town at the foot of the mountain," Leya replied while locking the door, "There is a special monitoring room there, and I am the only one with a monitoring account."

"Is there a network?" Wei Ran continued to ask while walking towards the main building.

"Have"

Leya nodded, "It's too far from the town, and the cost of cable transmission is too high, so we share a high-speed network signal with a nearby ski resort."

"The base station belongs to the ski resort?" Wei Ran asked, and Leiya nodded immediately.

"Help me buy a pair of suitable hiking boots and a pair of jackets."

Wei Ran said, took out a few euros from his pocket and handed them to the other party, and then reported the size he needed to the other party, "In addition to clothes, buy some food and drink, we may live here for a few days .”

"No problem, I'm going to buy it now, and it will be delivered soon." After Leiya finished speaking, after Wei Ran nodded, she immediately turned and walked towards the entrance and exit of the castle.

Watching the other party go away, Wei Ran glanced at the dog Beria who was still rolling and having fun under the olive tree, walked into the main building of the castle with confidence, and ran to the two buildings on the second floor. The hot spring pool with steaming mist and girls' laughter.