War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1772 Everything in the dream came true

In the rising white light, Armani, leaning against the tombstone, sang the last lyrics of the Internationale, and Wei Ran also played the last syllable.

In the increasingly intense white light, the two saluted and said goodbye to each other, and were eventually swallowed up by the strong light.

She will survive.

Wei Ran sighed and looked forward to it as the white light gradually faded away.

When the white light faded, everything around him had become the world he was familiar with, and he saw the letter raft pinned to his sleeve at a glance.

"There is a taxi waiting for me downstairs." When Wei Ran saw these words, his memory was brought back to reality.

He took a deep breath and tore up the letter and put it in the ashtray. He focused on the metal notebook. At this time, the metal feather pen had started writing again:

Fighting for your freedom and ours

Yu Yanlin, a soldier of the International Brigade, was a former student studying in Germany. In the autumn of 1936, he joined the 11th International Brigade of the International Column as a postman. He experienced the Battle of Madrid, the Second Battle of Corunna Highway, the Battle of Teruel, etc.

On December 1937, 12, Yu Yanlin was shot and killed while assisting the transfer of the wounded Clermont and medical workers Armani and Hanika.

Clement Domingo, a soldier of the International Brigade, joined the International Brigade in the autumn of 1936 and worked as a postman and translator. He experienced the Battle of Madrid, the Battle of Jarama, the bombing of Guernica, the Battle of Teruel, etc.

On December 1937, 12, he temporarily left the battlefield due to injury.

In March 1938, Clermont went to the battlefield again to participate in the Battle of Aragon. In April of the same year, Clermont was wounded again and left the battlefield.

In November of the same year, the International Brigade withdrew from the Spanish battlefield, and Clermont and Armani decided to rush to China to continue fighting.

In January 1939, Clement and his companions arrived in Shencheng, China. On New Year's Eve of the following month, they unexpectedly met Huang Youze while visiting the ancestral home of Yu Yanlin in Xiafeifang.

In March 1939, Clement and Armani joined the anti-Japanese organization and assisted Huang Youze in intelligence and drug transportation.

On January 1941, 1, Clement fell into the river to attract fire during the battle to transfer medicines. He was shot and killed while rescuing Huang Youze and was later buried in the Yu family ancestral tomb.

Huang Youze, a Communist Party member, was a former student studying in Germany. After returning to China in 1937, he participated in the Battle of Shanghai.

In December of the same year, Huang Youze went to recruit nuclear power plants. After a year, he obtained the status of a nuclear power plant recruit and returned to Shanghai under the name of "Ryunosuke Matsui", the head of Otomo Corporation, to develop business. In fact, he was building a transportation channel for medicines and weapons.

On January 1941, 1, Huang Youze fell into the river in order to attract fire during the battle to transfer medicines. He was rescued by Clermont and survived. After recovering from his injuries, he joined the Songhu Guerrilla Column.

In July 1942, he died in the battle of Guanyin Hall in Qingpu. To avoid being exposed, Armani secretly buried him in the ancestral tomb of the Yu family.

Amani, a nurse of the International Brigade, joined the International Brigade in the summer of 1937 and experienced the Battle of Teruel, the Battle of Aragon, etc.

In November 1938, the International Brigade withdrew from the Spanish battlefield, and Armani decided to follow his revolutionary comrade Clermont to China to continue fighting.

On October 1945, 10, Armani bid farewell to his lover Clement Domingo and left Shanghai alone, going to Spain, Italy and France to visit relatives and friends.

On December 1945, 12, Armani committed suicide by shooting himself in his home in France.

suicide?

Wei Ran was stunned. He never expected that Armani would actually commit suicide!

she.

Didn't he say he would return to Shencheng to continue fighting? Why did he commit suicide?

No, that's not right. Something must have happened after she left China!

However, what puzzled Wei Ran even more was that the metal brush never wrote down anyone else's name or experience afterwards.

There was no American Aaron, no Soviet Joseph, no Viola or Sergei, no Hanika or even the two children.

Under Wei Ran's disappointed gaze, the metal feather pen first wrote down the detailed address of a cemetery in Lyon, France, and then wrote down an address and a contact number in Barcelona, ​​as well as an address and a contact number in Shanghai.

The contact name corresponding to the contact number of the second address is "Hanika Rios". Wei Ran is very familiar with both the first name and the last name. He is almost certain that this name is definitely related to the two children.

The contact person corresponding to the address in Shanghai is named Yu Jinjiang, a name that is very characteristic of the times - just like Hanika Rios is commemorating something.

As he looked on with increasing regret, the metal quill pen wrote another line, "I am still here, the International Brigade is still here. I am still fighting, the International Brigade is still fighting."

But you ended up committing suicide.

As Wei Ran sighed helplessly, the pale yellow page turned to the back, and the metal feather pen wrote a sentence of emotion under the slowly rotating red vortex: "I didn't expect that everything in the dream would come true."

"yes."

Wei Ran looked at the metal feather pen that fell on the paper with a clatter. He reached out to turn to the previous page and took out the negatives from the paper bag to look at them. There were not many negatives, and they were basically group photos with his friends, no, comrades during the Spanish Civil War.

It's a pity that I didn't have time to take any photos in Shanghai.

He shook his head regretfully, put the negatives into the paper bag, then collected the metal book and took out the things from the latest red vortex.

Looking at the horsehair Swiss backpack in his hand, Wei Ran couldn't help but take a deep breath again. He carried it to the table, opened it, and took out the things inside one by one.

There is the silver coffee extractor, four silver hammered eggshell cups stacked together, and a coffee powder jar of the same style.

Unfortunately, the silver coffee powder jar was not sealed with paint, and there was no Yu Yanlin's name on it. Even after he opened it impatiently, he found that it was only filled with coffee powder and a small silver spoon with a long handle.

After putting the coffee powder can back on, Wei Ran continued to look at the rest of the things in the backpack.

There are also three photo albums, two large and one small, and two thick notebooks.

In addition, there was a Super Ikonta and a Leica in the bag. Wei Ran knew that these two cameras were from Clermont and an American named Aaron respectively.

Compared to the two cameras, Wei Ran's attention was focused on the three photo albums.

The first photo album was not big, but it was exactly the same as the one with bullet holes, except that it did not have bullet holes and was not stained with blood.

Gently opening it, it turned out to be a film album.

But on the first page of the film album, there was a photo of Aaron and a man he had never seen before. They each held such a film album in their hands.

Are the photos in this album the same as the one that was pierced by the bullet? So one is the original and the other is a copy?

So why do this?

After just a brief thought, he subconsciously thought of a possibility - backup.

Or maybe it's just that Metal Book, the father, has a change of heart?

While guessing various possibilities, he also opened the second film album.

This book is slightly larger. Gently opening it, the first page shows a photo of Aaron when he died in battle, and behind it are densely packed strips of negatives.

But just from this photo he could confirm that this photo album probably came from Yu Yanlin.

After quickly flipping through the negatives, he immediately opened the third one.

This time it was finally not a film album but a photo album, and the first page of this album was a photo of Clement and Armani on the Bund.

Just by looking at the size of the photo, you can tell that this photo was probably taken by the Super Ikonta. I just don't know if this is Clermont's album or Armani's album, or both.

He quickly flipped through the pages and found that they were all photos of the two of them taken in Shanghai, but there was not a single photo of Huang Youze.

After closing the photo album, he finally picked up the notebook that belonged to Yu Yanlin and opened it. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. This was indeed the notebook full of family letters, not a single page was missing - he finally had an explanation to the woman named Chuncai.

On the other hand, he finally understood why the metal book did not write down the stories of the rest of the people this time.

Regarding those people, their deaths were recorded in detail by Yu Yanlin, including the time, place, burial location, etc.

Closing this notebook, he picked up the last thick notebook.

When I opened it, I saw a tricolor flag of the International Brigade and a red three-pointed star hand-painted in pen on the yellowed paper.

"International Brigade's Chinese Battlefield Diary"

Wei Ran read the Spanish words under the hand-drawn pattern, and at the same time he roughly determined that this might have been written by Clement.

Without reading any further, he closed the notebook and put it back into the horsehair leather bag. He then put the flag he brought back, as well as Yu Yanlin's seal, pendant and other relics into the bag.

Finally, after putting the Astra 400 pistol back into the lunch box, Wei Ran hurried downstairs carrying the horsehair leather bag and found the online taxi that was still waiting for him.

This time, he sat in the back seat and turned on the overhead lights after getting the driver's permission. While the car was driving to the hospital, Wei Ran took out the notebook written by Clermont again and quickly read his memories of his friends who died in the battle, including Yu Yanlin, after the International Brigade withdrew from Spain, especially the stars on the flag.

It also records the little things that happened to him and Armani on their way to China, their various experiences in Shencheng, and even the process of them falling in love with each other.

Finally, just as the car was about to drive into the hospital, the text in the notebook changed to French and a different font, and the content was everything that happened on the day Clement died.

Continuing to flip forward, the following French text was obviously written by Armani, and the content was mostly about her longing for Clermont, the dangers and troubles she encountered in trying to save Huang Youze, and even the brutality of the Japanese devils.

"Sir, we're at the hospital."

At this moment, the driver also parked the car steadily at the place where Wei Ran had brought Teacher Ge into the car before.

After turning off the reading light and thanking the driver, Wei Ran quickly returned to the door of the ward carrying the horsehair leather bag and greeted Mr. Yu from a distance.

"Mr. Yu, please go home and change your clothes first." Wei Ran said, "Leave this to me."

"I'm sorry to trouble you."

Mr. Yu said gratefully, "I'll go back and change my clothes."

“Don’t rush over after you go back.”

Wei Ran smiled and comforted him, "Go back and have a good rest. Come back after dawn. Leave the rest of the night to me."

"How can this be possible, this."

“What’s wrong with that?”

Wei Ran urged, "Let's not argue here. Go back and have a rest. Come over tomorrow morning and bring me some Shanghai-style breakfast. What do you think?"

"This"

"Don't bother with this or that. Just leave it at that."

Wei Ran said, "How are you going to get home? Do you want me to call a taxi?"

"No, no, I drove here. My car is downstairs."

The old man, who was not sure if he was Yu Jinjiang, was obviously a little overwhelmed by Wei Ran's arrangement, which he had learned from someone unknown. "Then I'll trouble you. I'll bring you breakfast."

"Bring more. I have a big appetite."

Wei Ran made a small request in a familiar manner, which invisibly made the other party feel a little relieved.

Watching the taciturn Mr. Yu walk into the elevator, Wei Ran returned to the door of the ward and waited for a moment, then gently pushed open the door and walked to the only bed where someone was lying.

With the dim light from the monitor, he could clearly see the loose skin and slightly messy sparse hair of the old man sleeping on the bed.

After taking an extra glance at the values ​​on the monitor, Wei Ran turned around and quietly walked out of the ward, closing the door. Then he sat down against the wall, took out the battlefield notes from his bag again and continued reading the second half that he had not finished reading before.

It was also from this second half that he finally found out the reason for Amani's suicide after reading about how she fought in China until the Japanese surrendered and everything she experienced after leaving China.

It was not until she returned to Spain that she learned from this notebook that her good friend Hanica was purged and died in prison by Franco, who had returned to power, shortly after they went to China. If Clermont's uncle had not reacted quickly and fled to Italy with the two children, they would probably have been thrown into prison as well.

But even so, Clement's uncle died soon after, and Clement's mother fell into a coma after learning that her son had died in the battle.

The blow did not end there. When the distraught Armani returned to France, she found that even her parents had been killed by the Germans who occupied France a few years ago - because they harbored guerrillas.

"I am a soldier of the International Brigade. I hope to create a world without Fasu. Now all Fasu have been sent to hell, so I decided to go to hell to see if they have received the punishment they deserve, and by the way, to see if my Clemont is in hell."

After reading the last paragraph in French in the notebook, Wei Ran also saw the 28th triangular star embedded in the middle of the page of the notebook.

“You’re going to heaven”

Wei Ran gently stroked the three-pointed star and said, “You will see Clermont in heaven, and every soldier of the International Brigade you want to see.

If you were sent to hell, it must be because so many International Brigades died that they transformed hell into heaven."

Thinking of this, Wei Ran couldn't help but smile, and continued to mutter in a low voice, "There must be an American bastard named Marshall driving a bulldozer in hell. He must be very keen on attacking heaven.

I hope that after you succeed, God will learn to sing the Internationale as soon as possible, otherwise I am afraid he will have to be nailed to the cross again."

As he spoke, he took off the triangular star embedded in the notebook, then took out the flag from his bag and carefully hung the 28th star on it.

After finishing all this, he put away the flag and the notebook, then walked into the water room not far away. The night was too long, and he urgently needed a cup of espresso to refresh himself.

While waiting for the silver coffee pot to brew coffee, he took out the authenticator, connected it to his mobile phone, and sent an email by tapping the screen.

That night, after drinking a large cup of bitter espresso, Wei Ran stayed in the ward all night.

On the same night, two girls from Barcelona and Lyon, France, which have a time difference of 7 hours, had already arrived at their destinations according to the assigned addresses.

The two girls in Barcelona were luckier, they found a beautiful building with a view of the coastline, which was a cafe.

Fortunately, although this cafe was not open, the girl who drove here only needed to raise her camera to take a picture of it.

The two Hela girls in Lyon had worse luck. They found an old-looking cemetery in the suburbs, which inevitably made them nervous and alert, so they almost subconsciously took out a Glock pistol and a stun gun each.

After following the detailed address and searching for a while, the two of them finally stopped at a remote tombstone that looked like it had not been taken care of for a long time.

The stone tombstone is still inlaid with a tricolor flag made of stones of different colors and a small but clear photo. The person in the photo is of course Armani, wearing a nurse's apron.

"A great and glorious internationalist fighter, Amani Domingo, who fought for your freedom and our freedom." One of the Hela girls read the epitaph on the tombstone softly.

"This should be it, let's take a picture."

As another Hela girl spoke, she raised the SLR camera she brought with her and carefully took a photo of the tombstone in a flash of light.

When the sun was about to jump out of the horizon, Wei Ran also received the photos sent by the Hela girls, and read all the family letters in the notebook left by Yu Yanlin.

"Young man, are you here to be hospitalized as well?"

Old Master Yu, who was lying on the hospital bed, asked Wei Ran, who was distracted while holding a notebook.

"yes"

Wei Ran smiled and nodded, "I'm here to be hospitalized too."

"What disease have you contracted at such a young age?" Mr. Yu asked with concern.

"me."

Wei Ran smiled and said, "I'm greedy. I want to eat free breakfast."

"what?"

While Mr. Yu was at a loss and in shock, his son also walked into the ward carrying two large bags full of breakfast and joked enthusiastically, "I'm here to cure your gluttony. I bought a lot of this free breakfast."

"Grandpa, would you like to eat something with us?" Wei Ran invited with a smile.

"Do you know each other?" Mr. Yu asked puzzledly.

"know"

Wei Ran nodded before Mr. Yu could speak.