War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1769: Turning against guests

"boom!"

At the entrance of the stairwell on the fifth floor of the Golden Gate Hotel, Wei Ran hid outside the stairwell and pulled the trigger again towards the platform leading to the fourth floor.

At the same time, he shouted loudly in French behind him, "Mr. Clermont! Go downstairs and call the police! I have already pinned him downstairs! Go to the first floor and stop him! Mrs. Armani! Please hide in the room!"

As he spoke, Wei Ran pointed at the elevator, took out a box gun and hid it under his armpit, then pulled the trigger at the wall behind him.

"Da da da!"

After the dense gunfire, Wei Ran immediately put away his box gun and pulled the trigger of the 1911 in his hand again towards the fourth floor, kicking the three bullet casings under his feet.

At the same time, Clemont and Armani also rushed into the elevator door that had just opened, crouching down seriously.

In this era, people who can live in such a hotel are not only life-conscious but also not stupid. They have no curiosity at all and all hide in relatively safe corners and lie on the floor.

As the elevator went down, the stairwell on the 5th floor, where Wei Ran was standing guard with a gun in hand, gradually became quiet.

Soon, as the elevator went up and the door opened, a group of policemen rushed in. Then they saw Wei Ran still holding his gun, and they subconsciously raised their weapons.

"asshole!"

Wei Ran changed to Japanese and cursed, "Go after him! He's already gone downstairs! Have you blocked the first floor?!"

"It's blocked! It's blocked!"

The leading policeman, who obviously knew Japanese, responded quickly, and then immediately urged his men to surround the stairwell door with guns pointed.

"I blocked him downstairs!"

Wei Ran proudly said loudly in Japanese, "You have blocked the staircases on every floor, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the policeman's face suddenly changed.

"Eight!"

Wei Ran immediately yelled, "Is this hotel fenced off?!"

"The gate is blocked!" the police chief replied quickly.

"Then what are you waiting for! Hurry up and take people to chase after them!"

Wei Ran yelled even louder, "He must have run away now!"

"Yes!"

The policeman didn't even have time to ask Wei Ran's identity. He saluted with his chest puffed out and ran towards the elevator with his men.

"Asshole! Search downstairs!"

Wei Ran kicked the man in frustration, "Maybe he's still hiding downstairs!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

The police chief hurriedly urged his men who did not want to take any risks, and walked slowly into the stairwell. They walked around the two bodies, covering each other and walked downstairs carefully.

"Mr. Clermont, Mrs. Armani!"

Without waiting for all the policemen to get into the stairwell, Wei Ran spoke loudly while bowing 90 degrees to Clement and the other man standing at the elevator door. At the same time, he said loudly in French, "I'm sorry that you were frightened because of me! Please forgive me!"

"Mr. Viktor, you are too polite."

Clermont quickly said in French, "I also want to thank you for saving me and my wife. Anyway, the danger is finally over now. Please forgive our hotel for its inconsiderateness."

While the two of them were exchanging greetings, the elevator that had just gone up stopped and started again on this floor.

"Let's go downstairs together."

Wei Ran took the initiative to extend the invitation and walked into the elevator with Clement and Armani, who were still in shock.

"One"

Clemont gave an order to the elevator driver in out-of-tune Chinese, and at the same time walked a few steps inside, standing in front of the gunman Huang Youze, who was wearing a windbreaker and top hat, with Armani.

They continued the conversation on the topic that they had just been talking about. When the elevator door opened, Wei Ran, Clement, Armani, and even the gunman Huang Youze walked out of the elevator that was surrounded by gun muzzles.

"Crack! Crack!"

Before anyone outside could speak, Wei Ran walked up to a Japanese soldier who had sent him back home, and slapped him twice with great force.

"Cool!"

Wei Ran muttered something secretly, and the soldier almost subconsciously bent down and said "Hi!"

"Eight!"

Wei Ran didn't care what his identity as "Ryunosuke Matsui" was at the moment, but asked angrily, "This is the second time I've been shot tonight! Do you bastards have to see me killed before you can find the gunman?!"

Without waiting for the soldier to say anything, Wei Ran turned around and switched to French, and politely said to Clermont, "I will negotiate with these people, Mr. Clermont, you go and do your thing first."

"Please calm down."

Clement also bowed apologetically, then took Armani to the front desk of the hotel. By the way, the gunman Huang Youze who had just been hiding behind them naturally followed and left the "encirclement" at the elevator entrance.

Next, while Wei Ran was cursing at the soldier, Clement hurriedly found the hotel manager, and more policemen, Indians, traitors and even Japanese soldiers followed and rushed in at the same time Huang Youze left the hotel.

Seeing this, Wei Ran was slightly relieved. After arrogantly accepting the apology and compensation from the hotel manager, he blatantly asked the policeman he had seen on the fifth floor for a box of bullets for a 1911 pistol, and then started loading bullets into the magazine at the elevator entrance.

"Has the gunman been caught?"

Wei Ran asked, "I want to ask him in person who leaked the information and why he wanted to kill me!"

"too"

"Ok?"

"Sir, I'm very sorry. We searched all the way down from the top floor, and we searched every floor carefully, but we couldn't find him at all."

"So what are you waiting for! This hotel"

"Mr. Matsui calmed down"

Clement, who was standing aside, pleaded, "Our hotel has just opened. If something like this happens, Mr. Matsui, please consider my friendship by coming to your house today to brew coffee for you."

"Alright"

Wei Ran first pretended to look at Armani, who was hiding behind Clemont and didn't dare to breathe, and then said reluctantly, "Since we had a good chat today, I won't make things difficult for your hotel. But you!"

Seeing Wei Ran looking at him, the police chief who had just been slapped in the face also straightened his chest and raised his head.

"Find out the murderer's identity as soon as possible and catch him!" Wei Ran said as he loaded the 1911 pistol in his hand with bullets with a "click".

"Hi!"

The surrounding policemen and the two Japanese soldiers also responded in unison.

"Humph!"

Wei Ran snorted coldly, turned around and walked into the elevator again, and invited in French, "Mrs. Armani, oh, and Mr. Clement, let's go back to the room and drink coffee."

"As you wish, sir."

After Clemont and Armani finished speaking, they looked at each other. The former quickly exchanged a few words with the manager, then took Armani into the elevator.

"Who is this person?" One of the police officers asked in a low voice, "This is too arrogant, that big mouth."

"Shut up!"

The police chief glared at his subordinate and already started thinking about which job he should be assigned to that would be both hard and exhausting and would kill him quickly.

Of course, it was not only these policemen and the innocent Japanese soldiers who were beaten up who were secretly wondering about the identity of Mr. "Matsui". Even Wei Ran himself was wondering about the identity of "Ryunosuke Matsui".

I don't know if cousin Mika from Jinmen was embarrassed by Mr. Ueda at this time.

Well, let Mr. Ueda take the blame! What's his name? Crane Feather, right? I'll pluck your feathers clean!

A strange smile appeared on Wei Ran's face. Creating time difference was a favorite trick used by those working in intelligence.

We returned to room 502. At this time, the coffee pot had already been heated by alcohol and the coffee was flowing through the diversion pipe all over the table. Armani immediately picked up a towel and started to clean up.

"Has he left?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice in Spanish.

"He left. I saw him get on a rickshaw pulled by one of our people." Clemont whispered, and then asked worriedly, "Victor, what about you? Will you get into trouble?"

"Don't worry"

Wei Ran waved his hand confidently, "Tell me about the section chief named Kobayashi Daisuke he just mentioned? What's his story?"

"We will raise funds to smuggle some much-needed medicines and weapons into China."

Clemont whispered, "We've been doing this since we established contact with Huang Youze."

"Exposed?" Wei Ran asked with a frown.

"It should have been exposed, but I don't know the specific circumstances."

Clemont whispered as he re-brewed his coffee, “All I know is that Huang Youze’s mission tonight is to kill the president of Otomo Corporation, his wife, and the driver.

The section chief named Daisuke Kobayashi should have been in the car as well and was killed along with him."

“He wasn’t in the car.”

Wei Ran said in a low voice with certainty, "Do you know where he went?"

“I’m afraid I’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Clemont replied in a low voice while working, "See if there is any message delivered, and by the way, see if the message can be delivered." "Boom, boom, boom, boom."

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

After exchanging a glance with Clemont, Wei Ran stood up and walked to the door of the room. He first pointed his gun at the door, then looked out through the peephole.

Seeing two Japanese soldiers and a man in formal attire standing outside the door, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and then opened the door.

"Mr. Matsui"

The man in formalwear standing behind the two Japanese soldiers bowed and took the initiative to greet them, "I'm sorry for what happened just now and for scaring you."

"who are you?"

Wei Ran asked, still maintaining his arrogant look.

"I am a detective sent by Akagi Shinyuki, the deputy director of the Special Police Department of the Public Concession Municipal Police Department. My name is Inoue Kenichi."

The man in formal attire said respectfully, "Mr. Matsui, I wonder if it would be convenient for us to have a chat."

"Please wait"

Wei Ran had already opened the door and spoke in French, "Mrs. Armani, Mr. Clement, I'm sorry, but I have other guests now. Would it be convenient for you to leave your coffee pot for me to use? I'll pay for it."

"Mr. Matsui is joking."

Clemont quickly stood up and said gratefully, "You bravely saved my wife. If you like, this coffee pot is for you."

"Thank you"

Wei Ran smiled, and when he watched Clemont and the other two leave the room, he did not hide his emotions at all, and even looked at Armani's butt with a more aggressive gaze.

Not only did the detective who called himself Kenichi Inoue notice this look, even Clemont couldn't help but hug Armani and quickly took her back to room 505 across the street.

"What a beautiful woman, isn't she?" Wei Ran asked Inoue Kenichi in Japanese with a hint of lust.

"Do you need me to frame her husband for a crime that will get him locked up in a cell for a month?" asked Kenichi Inoue.

"That's a shame, please come in."

Wei Ran said as he glanced at the two Japanese soldiers, "Let them leave first. I have to give them a chance."

Hearing this, Inoue Kenichi looked at Wei Ran thoughtfully, then waved at the two Japanese soldiers with slap marks on their faces.

Without waiting for the two Japanese soldiers to enter the elevator, Wei Ran had already walked into the room without any precautions, and asked Inoue Kenichi who followed in to sit down, but he had no intention of sharing the coffee with him.

"You know my identity, right?"

Wei Ran asked first, his tone showing scrutiny, a sense of matter-of-factness, and a tone that was well hidden but revealed a little bit of examination.

“I have a rough guess.”

Inoue Kenichi said cautiously, "Mr. Matsui, are you from Pingjin?"

"You seem to know a lot?"

Wei Ran, who had been waiting for the other party's answer, immediately took the initiative and asked, "So when was my whereabouts leaked?"

As soon as this question was asked, Inoue Kenichi, who had not yet obtained any valuable clues from Wei Ran, couldn't help but panic. This hat was really too big.

"We must clear this suspicion!"

Inoue Kenichi thought about this almost subconsciously, and then he quickly said, "You misunderstood. Their target is not you, but someone else."

"Did you come up with this lame excuse on the spur of the moment, or did Akagi Shinyuki come up with it on the spur of the moment?"

Wei Ran slowed down his speech, with undisguised sarcasm in his tone, "This is my first night in Shanghai, but I was killed twice by that gunman tonight.

Now you tell me they weren't targeting me? Mr. Inoue, I can give you time to come up with a better excuse."

"I need to verify your identity," Inoue Kenichi said cautiously.

"I don't trust you. Let Mr. Akagi come to see me, or take me to see Mr. Akagi."

Wei Ran said with a hint of pride that he didn't mind meeting Akagi Shinyuki. For him, a traveler in time and space, if he needed to choose between killing an unknown section chief and killing Akagi Shinyuki, it would definitely be worth it to kill the latter.

——Even though he knew that he might not be able to change history, he definitely didn't mind creating a ripple in history.

"This"

Inoue Kenichi hesitated for a moment and said apologetically, "I need to..."

"Can"

Wei Ran said nonchalantly, "Remind Mr. Akagi Shinyuki that if you need to verify my identity with Tianjin, it would be best to send someone over. I have been exposed as soon as I arrived. I have enough reason to suspect that your means of communication have been monitored."

"I will report the truth," said Kenichi Inoue.

"Your excuse just now"

"No, that's not an excuse."

Inoue Kenichi replied, "Just before you were attacked, the president of Otomo Corporation and his wife were killed. The gunman was really targeting them."

"Even if it's them"

Wei Ran picked up the first cup of coffee and drank it slowly, then asked with a smile, "But how did he come here again?"

"The president and his wife of Otomo Corporation are staying on the sixth floor of this hotel."

Inoue Kenichi replied, "I guess the gunman might have wanted to find something in their room."

"Did you arrange for the people upstairs?" Wei Ran asked, "I mean the two people who died in the stairwell."

"He is a security guard hired by Otomo Corporation," Inoue Kenichi answered truthfully.

"Why did that gunman target Otomo?"

Wei Ran deliberately stopped talking halfway, picked up the second cup of coffee and said, "Go verify my identity first, and focus on finding out who leaked the news that I came to Shanghai. This is more serious than the assassination attempt itself."

"Hi!"

Inoue Kenichi agreed immediately, but he didn't notice that since he entered the door, he had been led by Wei Ran.

"ASAP"

Wei Ran then stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "I have more important things to do in Shanghai, but before that, we need to solve the problem of leaks as soon as possible.

In addition, since my identity has been exposed, please withdraw your people. I think the gunman might attack me again.

Also, if you have any progress, please let me know. Mr. Inoue, please don’t let me down on this matter.”

"Hi!"

Inoue Kenichi responded again, and waited until Wei Ran waved his hand before he turned around and walked out of the room.

Waiting until the door was closed from the outside, Wei Ran secretly sighed. He knew clearly that even though the other party's attitude just now was coaxed by him, they would not stop doubting him so easily.

In other words, he had to find Daisuke Kobayashi as soon as possible and kill him before the other party became suspicious and attacked him.

But then?

Wei Ran looked at the coffee pot and backpack on the table and was at a loss. Should he help Clemont and the others escape? Or, would something else happen tonight?

Amid such doubts, Wei Ran picked up the third cup of coffee and drank it in one gulp - he needed to stay awake tonight, and he had a premonition that something would happen next.

Sure enough, almost at the same time when the elevator that Inoue Kenichi was riding started to descend, the doorman who had brought Wei Ran up also knocked on the door of Room 505 carrying a lunch box and delivered it in.

A moment later, Clemont opened the door and walked to the door of Wei Ran's room. Before he could knock on the door, Wei Ran opened the door and pulled him in.

"There's an emergency," Clemont whispered hurriedly before he could even stand still.

"What's going on?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

"We need to move the drugs, and we're going to do it tonight."

Clemont whispered anxiously in Spanish, "Kobayashi Daisuke has been taken away by the police. We probably won't have a chance to kill him, but we need to take the drugs away."

"How to do it?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

“Go to the Pier”

Clemont responded immediately, "We need to move them away before those Fascissors use the drugs in the warehouse to capture more of our comrades."

"How many people can help us?" Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

"Not much. Amani and I are also ready to participate."

After a pause, Clement said confidently, "Huang Youze must have also received the news, and he might go there too."

"Let's set off now?" Wei Ran asked.

"That's right," Clemont said, already looking at Wei Ran, "Do you want to help us?"

"Of course," Wei Ran agreed straightforwardly. He didn't know who would die tonight, but he knew he had to go - even if it was just as a witness.

(End of this chapter)