In the guest room filled with the early morning sunshine, Wei Ran, who had taken a shower again, sat cross-legged on the sofa, carefully reading the document sent by Katenka.
At present, what Katianka found through public information is not much different from what Diane said. This Diane was indeed a well-known securities trader a few years ago. member, and in the following years, she did volunteer in a similar charity organization.
But what Diane didn’t say was that more than a year ago, she publicly exposed the hypocrisy of that charity organization on the Internet, and personally dismantled that charity organization, and then established the Edelweiss Organization.
And this Edelweiss organization actually has a website, which even sells some worthless gadgets such as keychains with anti-war symbols and peace dove pendants made from helmet fragments. Son.
In addition to this small discrepancy, Katenka also investigated the identities of the current financial supporters of the Edelweiss organization. To Wei Ran's relief, at least the public reputations of the behind-the-scenes financiers were pretty good. And among them are Mr. Hans and Mr. Olaf, who invested in Time Film Studio.
With this semi-public information, Weiran felt more at ease. At least for now, Diane did not have ulterior motives as he feared. .
Almost as soon as he finished reading Katenka's preliminary investigation results, there was a knock on the door, and then Diane's greetings and invitation to have breakfast together came from outside the door.
Deleting the document on his phone, Wei Ran responded happily, immediately put on a set of jackets and pants that were easy to move around and boots that were thick enough, and walked out of the guest room with his backpack.
"How was your rest last night?" Diane asked gently while leading Wei Ran downstairs.
"The air here is very good, and it's quiet enough at night. I haven't slept so peacefully for a long time." Wei Ran gave a half-truthful and half-false evaluation.
The two of them walked downstairs and finished their breakfast while chatting about the nutrient-poor air quality and sleep quality. Then, led by Diane, they changed into an off-road vehicle with a local license plate and drove along the road. The river on the east side of Liuban Town went all the way north until there was a reservoir with no end in sight. Then it turned east and drove into a dense virgin forest.
As we went deeper, the road under the wheels became more and more bumpy. After more than half an hour, the original bumpy dirt road was gone, and the off-road vehicle was simply driving along in the forest. I don’t know how long ago the ruts left were opened.
"How did you find this place?" Wei Ran asked while clenching the handrails tightly, trying to keep his body shaking at the same frequency as the off-road vehicle.
"A member of the digging party team we cooperated with accidentally discovered the well when he came here to hunt about two weeks ago."
Similarly shaken Diane is as tough as a bouncy ballcontinued, "Perhaps out of professional sensitivity, he opened the stone slab covering the well. I don't think I need to explain the rest."
"What's the purchase price here?" Wei Ran asked using a very business term.
Diane did not seem unhappy because of the former wording, but answered calmly in the bumps, "It's cheaper than Russia. Each skeleton that can be identified is about US$20 to US$50." Between US dollars, but for a mass grave like this, it might be more appropriate to call it a burial pit. No matter what it is called, we will pay an extra US$500."
"What if it is finally determined that the bones are from the Soviet Red Army. What to do?" Wei Ran, whose buttocks had just been pushed almost off the seat, continued to ask.
"Of course it will be left to the local authorities."
Diane replied matter-of-factly, "In this regard, Belarus and Russia have done quite well. If we are in Ukraine, we We will directly build a cemetery that is quiet enough for those Soviet Red Army soldiers so that they will not be disturbed."
The topic reached this point, and the off-road vehicle, which looked like a pirate ship in an amusement park, finally stopped in a forest clearing. .
Diane let out a long breath, opened the door and said, "Okay, we're here."
Looked at the two trucks parked in the distance and the two trucks parked a short distance apart. There were several large canvas tents in the distance. Wei Ran then opened the car door, stepped on the damp leaf litter, and followed Diane to the center of the open space.
The area of this open space is not large, with a total diameter of less than 20 meters. There is a swamp covered with shrubs not far away.
But around this forest glade, it can be clearly seen that the trees are only thigh-thick. Even on the edge of one of the fir trees, there is only one collapsed one. Silhouette of fireplace.
Next to another pine tree of almost the same thickness, about ten meters away from the fireplace, was the conspicuous stone chimney he had seen in the photo before.
Obviously, if we push the time forward, the area of this forest glade may not be so small. It was simply because it had been forgotten for too long that it was reoccupied by trees and weeds that grew wantonly.
After seeing enough of the surrounding environment, Weiran turned his head and looked at the two trucks again.
The two trucks are white and yellow. The yellow truck is also scattered with generators, high-pressure water pumps, air pumps, various steel pipes and steel bars of unknown uses, and diving cylinders. There were also a few dirty metal detectors and some old diving suits hanging out on the edge of the cargo bed waiting to dry.
In comparison, the white-painted truck is much cleaner. Although the truck itself is nothing unusual, the fallen edelweiss on the door glass window is large enough and conspicuous. And on the car door, there are densely written lines of small red characters.
Wei Ran got closer curiously, and then discovered that there were densely written records on the car door that were only the size of cigarette butts.Counts the number of people who died in various countries due to military and crimes against humanity during World War II.
In the data with all the last three digits omitted as 0, there are the Soviet Union and Germany, Britain, France and the United States, China, and some small countries such as Nauru that are rarely associated with World War II. .
At the bottom of the data, two questions are spelled out in German letters as big as a fist, "What can we do? What should we do?"
< p> Turning to look at Diane who was busy asking about the situation with her colleagues stationed here, Wei Ran then stepped towards the well in the center of the open space.This well is not too big, only about one meter in diameter. The stone wellhead is extremely smooth. There is a bristle brush on it, and on the edge of the brush. , engraved with the words that Diane mentioned on the phone before, "This village may become vibrant again in the future, but your actions are like this well that has been polluted by you. It will never be the same." Maybe it should be cleaned."
Ignoring Diane who came over, Wei Ran dug at the scratches on the edge of the well with his fingernails. Although the marks were deep, the scratches were extremely rough and messy. , there is even a Russian letter that seems to have been crossed out and re-engraved due to a spelling error.
"Do you have a bayonet?" Wei Ran raised his head and asked Diane.
"Bayonet?" Diane was stunned, "What bayonet?"
"Anything, a Mauser bayonet, or a Mosin-Nagant rifle bayonet."
p>
"Yes, I have it here!"
As he spoke, a man who looked to be less than 30 years old came over and pulled out an AK rifle from his waist The bayonet was handed to Wei Ran.
While Wei Ran took the bayonet, Diane took the initiative to introduce, "This is the hunter who discovered this place, and he is also a member of the digging party team that cooperated with us. ."
"Plohor" the man who handed Weiran the bayonet extended his hand enthusiastically to Weiran.
"Victor" Wei Ran handed the bayonet to his left hand, and then shook hands with the other party.
After a brief mutual acquaintance, Wei Ran changed positions, took the bayonet he took and tried to leave a mark of less than one centimeter on the edge of the well.
Returning the bayonet to the man named Prohor, Wei Ran picked up the brush on the edge of the well and gently rubbed the scratches he had left. The force he used just now was not too strong. But the mark is deep enough. Obviously, the stone used to build the edge of the well is not very hard. In other words, it doesn't take much effort to carve those words on the door.
I poked my head into the well and saw that there was still damp soil on the well walls, which were also made of stones, but at the bottom of the well, there was already a pool of turbid muddy water.
"Plohor, are you a local?" Wei Ran stood up, took the wipes from Diane, and asked while wiping the soil on his hands.
"Yes" Prokhor nodded and replied, "My home is in a small village not far from Liuban. "
"Is there no local legend about this place? Wei Ran pointed to the surroundings, "For example, the massacre carried out by the Germans during World War II, or the massacre of Germans by the Soviets." "
"The only legend here is the notorious traitor"
Plohor said with a wry smile, "In fact, most of the people here came from other places after the end of World War II. People who moved here, such as my grandfather, who was originally from Chelyabinsk, was sent to work here in the 1960s and eventually stayed. "
Hearing this, Wei Ran looked at Diane and said, "Take me to see the bones? ”
“Come with me”
After Diane finished speaking, she walked towards a military green canvas tent a little further away, and the man named Prohor Then he took out a pair of rubber gloves and a mask from his satchel and handed them to Wei Ran.
Accompanied by the two of them, Wei Ran walked into the large tent with a lighting lamp. At a glance, he saw the complete or incomplete bones lying side by side on the canvas blanket.
There was also a small plastic organizer placed on the soles of these bones. In the box, there are either some clothes and belt buckles, or a rusty and cracked helmet with bullet impact marks, or just some pieces of clothes that are so decayed that they seem to break when touched.
After carefully examining the bones and relics, Wei Ran raised his head and asked, "Didn't you find anything else? "
"In the past few days, we have also found some worthless things in the wreckage of nearby buildings." Prohol pointed outside, "Do you want to take a look? "
"Let's go"
Wei Ran stood up and followed the other party out of the tent full of bones, and then got into the tent that was only five or six meters away. Another tent.
In contrast, the atmosphere of life in this tent is much stronger, except for the wood stove in the center that is continuously releasing heat to heat the coffee pot. There are also four folding beds, and near the tent door, there is a plastic storage box containing various rags.
"The things inside are what we found nearby in the past two days"< /p>
Plohor said, picking up a pair of tattered leather gloves from the folding bed and handing them to Wei Ran, "Put on the gloves. Many things inside are rusty. If you accidentally scratch them, It's troublesome to use your hands. ”
“Thank you”
Wei Ran took the gloves politely, first took off the rubber gloves that the other party had given him and put them aside, and then put on the thick leather gloves. I took it in my hand and patiently looked through the junk in the box.
“If there is anything you like, I can sell it to you at a low price. "Plohor said proactively, sitting on the bed next to him.
"Does anyone buy these things? "Wei Ran asked, picking up an empty wine bottle covered with dirt.
"Of course" Prohor responded.At the same time, he kicked a wooden box to Wei Ran, "There are people who collect everything. I have met a weirdo who specializes in collecting can wrappers."
"I don't understand the fun of rich people"
Wei Ran muttered, sat on the wooden box kicked by the other party, and began to take things out of the box one by one.
The most in this box are various empty wine bottles. In addition, there are two kerosene lamps with bullet holes and a lamp full of rust, with at least one third missing. A German helmet.
When he took out all these things and put them aside, a completely rusted metal box appeared at the bottom of the box.
"What is this?" Wei Ran did not rush to move the box out, but raised his head and asked Prohor who was sitting aside.
"Ammunition box"
Plohor said without thinking, "An ammunition box specially used to hold German FLAK30 or 38 type 20mm anti-aircraft gun magazines, like this There are usually two 20-round magazines in a box. Of course, it is also often used as a glove box. There may be some treasure inside. ”
It’s so blind. Box...
Wei Ran couldn't help but glance at the tattoo on the tiger's mouth on his left hand. He had opened the blind box by himself to open that broken book.
“Do you want to buy it?” Prokhor encouraged, “It’s only 500 rubles. Of course, I’m talking about our country’s rubles, not Russia’s waste paper.”
More than a thousand yuan to buy such a scrap metal box?
Wei Ran, who only figured out the exchange rate last night, thought about it secretly. Instead of making a decision in a hurry, he asked, "Can you first tell me where you found it?"
"Near the swamp next to the clearing"
Plohor raised his hand and pointed in a random direction, "We just discovered it yesterday morning. As you can see, It hasn't been opened yet. If you want to take a chance, you can buy it."
"Try the weight?" Wei Ran raised his head and asked.
"Of course" Prohor nodded happily.
Hearing this, Wei Ran picked up the plastic box and weighed it gently with both hands. The plastic box certainly didn’t weigh much, but the iron box inside was quite heavy. Forty pounds.
Gently putting down the packing box, Wei Ran sat back on the wooden box. He first glanced at Diane standing outside the tent, then took off his gloves and asked, "Plohor, take me with you. How about finding the location of the iron box? Then I will buy it at the price you mentioned, but the two kerosene lamps and the broken helmet will be given to me."
< p>"No problem"Plohor happily took the gloves from Wei Ran and threw them away. After getting out of the tent, he took him and Diane to the swamp not far away.
"What can be found in that box?" Diane asked in confusion.
WeiRan Wenyan spread his hands and said, "I don't know either. Let's see where we found it first. There are too few clues left here."
Diane glanced at the tent behind her and finally nodded. Head, silently followed behind Wei Ran.
Led by Prohol, the group strolled to the edge of the swamp, and then saw three men in the sparse woods, each holding a metal detector and paddling aimlessly. The ground was overgrown with weeds and shrubs.
"Did you find anything?" Prohol asked loudly.
“No,” one of the big fat guys responded immediately, “This damn place is cleaner than my wallet.”
“Should we try our luck in the swamp next? "
Another young man, probably in his early twenties, poked at the metal detector and asked, "Maybe there is something valuable in the swamp."
"That kind of thing. The weather is not suitable for trying your luck in the swamp."
Plohor stopped here and pointed to a pit with traces of excavation at his feet. "That ammunition box is here. Discovered."
Hearing this, Wei Ran looked in the direction of the swamp. It was less than 10 meters away from the swamp and was at the junction with the forest.
Looking around, the trees growing here are thicker than the others, which are obviously different from the miscellaneous trees in the open space behind them.
Wei Ran stepped on the solid ground thoughtfully, raised his head and said, "Let's go back, Ms. Diane, can you lend me 500 rubles? Belarusian rubles."
"You want to buy that iron box?"
Seeing Wei Ran nod, Diane simply took out her wallet, took out 500 rubles and handed it to Prokhor, "That iron box is Consider it a gift from me."
"Then I'm not polite," Wei Ran said, turning to look at Prokhor, "Can you help me open that metal box first? "
"Of course it's no problem." After receiving the money, Prokhor was even happier than before. Before he finished speaking, he jogged back to the forest glade and packed the metal ammunition boxes from the tent. He pulled the box out and started working.
After sending the outsiders away, Wei Ran stopped and suggested to Diane, who was standing next to him, "Based on what has been discovered so far, it can actually be determined that there is a high probability that those bones were from World War II. German soldiers, Diane, do you want to continue the investigation?"
"Just confirming that they are Germans is not enough," Diane said without thinking, "In addition, the commission... ."
"The commission matter is not urgent."
Wei Ran once again rejected the topic. However, before he could express his thoughts, Proho came over from the camp. There was a panicked yell from you.
Hearing the sound, Wei Ran and Diane immediately ran over.
"What's wrong?" Wei Ran asked from a distance.
"Don't come here yet! Prohol quickly responded, "Stay away!" You all stay away! "
Hearing this, Wei Ran's heart sank. Without saying a word, he pushed Diane, who was running with him, and hid behind a waist-thick pine tree.
"Pu Rohor, what's going on? "Diane poked half of her head out and shouted.
"Don't disturb him yet"
Wei Ran, who had already guessed the general situation, took off his backpack as he spoke, and then added Using the cover of his backpack, he took out the telescope in the metal book and looked over.
In the middle of the open space only twenty or thirty meters away, Prohor carefully pried open the metal box. He took out a rusty spring, and then dug out some similarly rusty metal pieces.
Under Wei Ran's gaze, Prohor calmed down a little and continued from there. He took out two long-handled grenades and more metal fragments from the metal box. Finally, he took out something as big as half a brick from the metal box, and then he seemed to be discouraged. Sitting down on the wet ground
Seeing this, Wei Ran put away the telescope under the cover of the backpack in his hand, then walked over quickly and asked before the other party spoke, "Landmines." ? "
Looking at Wei Ran in surprise, Prokhor picked up a spring the size of a teacup, tried to press it into the middle with both hands, and then said with a thankful face, "It is indeed a landmine. , although it is very simple, it is very effective. Fortunately, the grenade's firing wire has rotted, otherwise once it explodes, I am afraid I will become the first digger to be killed by an unexploded bomb this year. ”
He glanced at the long-handled grenades whose back covers had already been unscrewed, then looked at the remaining spring in the opponent’s hand that pulled the fire wire and the large and small helmet fragments around them that seemed to have been smashed. Weiran has figured out how to use this simple mine.
To put it bluntly, this thing relies on a spring to connect the ignition wire of the explosive, and then presses the spring tightly with a closed metal cover. p>
Once the lid of the metal box is opened, the spring that expands instantly will drive the fire line, followed by an explosion with a huge range of damage. And it is obvious that the two grenades are obviously to prevent the spring from failing. The safety was set up for the successful detonation, but the person who originally deployed this large mine may not have thought that it would have a chance to be opened again after so long.
"It seems that just now. 500 rubles did not buy a surprise, but a shock. "Diane, who came a little later, joked with a smile.
"That's not certain."
Wei Ran picked up the pried open metal ammunition box and looked at it, " Anyway, this is also a gift from Ms. Diane to me, and the scene just now is indeed memorable. So I will keep it well. ”
“Do you want me to help you put this metal piece in?” Prohol asked proactively, "As long as you don't put those two grenades in, even this explosive will be safe." "
"Forget about the grenades and explosives, help me put all the metal pieces back. "Wei Ran said, and happily handed the metal ammunition box he just got to the other party, "There are also the two kerosene lamps and the steel helmet. ”
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