War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1791: Impersonating Travelers

In the train station where there were not many people, Wei Ran held down Liuzi, who was tied up with his hands behind his back, with one hand, and walked in while observing for a while. Then, relying on various borrowed identity documents, the uniform on his body, and even his fluent Japanese and stuttering Chinese, he bought a total of 20 tickets from several windows, some to Bingcheng, some to Hecheng, and some to Lushun.

Under Wei Ran's guidance, they passed through the ticket gate with their tickets, but Wei Ran did not take them on the train to Lushun that would depart in about an hour. Instead, they boarded a train that was about to close - a train to Shanhaiguan.

When the train drove out of the train station with clanging noises and whistles, Wei Ran did not relax. The white light still did not appear. In other words, the danger might not have disappeared yet.

"Solved"

Wei Ran whispered some instructions, then led them through half of the carriage and blocked the connection leading to the penultimate carriage.

Taking advantage of the cover of night, he told Zhang Zhengqi and Xiaowu to unfasten the belts of the three troublesome and conspicuous rifles and throw them away.

Straightening his police uniform, Wei Ran pulled out the box gun attached to his waist, loaded the bullets on the trigger, and then fastened the gun back to his waist.

"Listen to my instructions. We have to kill a few devils. When I say we will kill them, you should strangle them with your gun belts until they die."

After saying that, Wei Ran pushed the door and walked into the second to last carriage without waiting for their response.

This is a second-class sleeper car with four people in a compartment. He has experience as he has ridden in second-class sleeper trains of this era.

Walking forward with the three brothers behind him, Wei Ran also listened attentively and looked for a suitable target.

After a moment, he pushed open the compartment closest to the rear of the train. The door next to this compartment was empty, and on the other side was the connection between the carriages, which would be convenient for them to do anything.

The most important thing is that there were four well-dressed Japanese expatriates in the box, chatting and laughing in their native language about their hometown and their regret for not being able to go back to celebrate the New Year together. So when Wei Ran walked in with the three people behind him, the smiles on their faces did not disappear.

"Put your hands up and keep quiet. I am Nohara Shinnosuke, a secret police officer from Fengtian. I am responsible for investigating a case of secret funding for anti-Japanese elements." Wei Ran whispered in Japanese while holding up a box gun.

Hearing this, the four men were stunned for a moment, but perhaps out of trust in the uniform, or perhaps intimidated by the weapon in Wei Ran's hand, they still raised their hands obediently.

He took off the two handcuffs hanging around his waist and waved his hands behind him. Zhang Zhengqi immediately came over, took the handcuffs and handcuffed the two closest to him, then took out his handcuffs and handcuffed the other two.

"Where is the ID?" Wei Ran asked as a routine matter.

"In the jacket pocket," said the first Japanese immigrant, "Mr. Policeman, we are all legitimate businessmen, we have no funding."

"Shut up!"

Wei Ran scolded, gestured behind him, and then took out the documents that the four people had placed in various places.

Although Xiaowu didn't understand Japanese, he was very smart. He immediately pulled the curtains of the box and locked it.

"Mr. Maeda"

Wei Ran sat opposite the first Japanese expatriate, waved his ID randomly, took out a notebook and pencil he had also picked up, and said seriously, "I am questioning you on behalf of the Fengtian police. Please answer my questions truthfully. This is related to whether you can successfully reach the end of your journey."

Such words immediately made the four people, including Mr. Maeda, all nervous.

Wei Ran's subsequent inquiries were also extremely detailed, including where their respective hometowns were, who was in their family, their names, what business they were doing in China, where they were going to meet and who they were going to meet, the identities of the people they were going to meet, and so on.

As these questions were asked repeatedly, Wei Ran also mixed in some unfounded questions - whether he had bribed Hirano Daisho, whether he had bribed other Kwantung Army, whether he knew an Anti-Japanese United Army member named Wang Luffy, etc.

This interrogation lasted for about half an hour. The speed of the train stabilized and the sky outside the window became darker and darker.

Satisfied, Wei Ran closed the notebook full of content and said, "We will conduct a detailed investigation. Please strangle them to death."

The first half of this sentence is still in Japanese, but the last four words are in Chinese.

Amid the puzzled expressions of the four people, Wei Ran suddenly hugged the neck of the person next to him and twisted it hard, causing a crisp sound.

When he killed the man next to him, Zhang Zhengqi and the other two almost moved in unison and pulled out the gun belts they had hidden in advance from their sleeves. They each strangled a Japanese passenger by the neck, and then moved in unison to step on one side of the crossed gun belts and began to assist in exerting force.

Gently laying the corpse flat, Wei Ran walked to the front of the Japanese controlled by Liuzi, hugged his head, and twisted it hard, causing another crisp sound.

After dealing with the other two devils in the same way, Wei Ran walked to the door, lifted the curtain and looked outside, then whispered, "Strip their clothes and change them. I'll tell you about their identities and origins later."

"What should we do with their bodies?" Xiao Wu asked in a low voice.

"Throw it out in the second half of the night," Zhang Zhengqi answered the question in a low voice.

After a busy period, Zhang Zhengqi and the other two changed into a suit that fit them well. Wei Ran, on the other hand, was still wearing the barely fitting Japanese police uniform, but he put on a stand-up collar windbreaker that he had found in their suitcase.

After packing up the clothes that the three people had changed out of, Wei Ran opened the door and took a look. Then he whispered, "Sixth son, go to the connection to the last carriage to keep watch. If someone comes, let them know immediately. Fifth son, keep an eye on this side of the carriage. Zhengqi, carry the person."

“Right now”

"Yes, hurry up, and replace them before the tickets are checked."

Wei Ran urged, dragged a naked body to the connection between the carriages and pushed it directly onto the sleepers, allowing the body to be smashed to pieces by the chassis of the last carriage.

They pushed the other three bodies down as quickly as possible, and finally threw their changed clothes down. The four of them immediately returned to the box that already belonged to them.

"Zhengqi, where are we going next?" Wei Ran whispered as he handed them three certificates.

"Are we going home?" Liuzi asked subconsciously, and Xiaowu couldn't help but look at Zhang Zhengqi.

"I"

Zhang Zhengqi was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't plan to go back. My grandfather is dead, my father is dead, and my uncles are all dead. I don't have the face to go back, and I don't dare to go back."

After saying this, Xiaowu and Liuzi fell silent. They both felt too embarrassed to go back.

"Where are you planning to go?" Wei Ran asked the most crucial question.

"I I don't know"

Zhang Zhengqi, who looked bewildered, replied hesitantly, "Let's go back to the interior first. If not, let's go to Beiping and ask the master if he can introduce us to a troupe. Even if we can only do odd jobs, it's fine."

"Will anyone want us?"

Xiao Wuzi asked anxiously, "Young Master and Brother Wei, you are both serious students, and Liuzi and I..."

“And we can’t stay away from home forever.”

Liuzi said in a depressed mood, "At least we have to go back and inform Master's wife of the death."

After saying this, everyone in the car fell silent again.

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Zhang Zhengqi said with a slightly irritated look, "We still have a lot of money. Let's go to Beiping first and write a letter home. After the New Year, we can find another opportunity to go back."

After he said this, the only sound in the carriage was the white noise of clanging, and the three young men lying on the bed quieted down one after another.

However, not long after, the silence was broken by the rumbling sounds from the four people's stomachs.

They were indeed hungry. In fact, they had only eaten a few cakes and drank a few cups of tea in the morning throughout the whole day.

"Just bear with it for a while," Wei Ran said in a low voice, "I'll go down and buy some food when we get to the station."

"also"

"Shh-"

Wei Ran, who had been paying attention outside the window, signaled the three to be quiet, "Someone just climbed aboard the train when it turned and slowed down."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhengqi and the other two fell silent one after another, and subconsciously took out their swords.

Soon, the locked door of the box was pulled from the outside. However, the latter was not too persistent, and immediately moved to the next room after failing to open it.

Is it a pickpocket?

Wei Ran thought about it, turned over and sat up, opened the locked cabin door quietly, opened a gap, squatted down and looked out.

Under the cover of night, he clearly saw a figure slip into the cabin that was separated from them by an empty compartment.

"Door locked"

Before Wei Ran finished his words, he had already slipped into the vacant compartment next to him. After closing the door, he immediately opened the car window that was almost blocked by ice and snow.

After waiting for just a moment, he saw a naked body hanging by the ankles with a belt coming out of the window of the box in front.

This man's method was similar to Wei Ran's method of dealing with the corpse. He did not rush to loosen the belt in his hand. Because of this, the face and even the head of the corpse quickly became a bloody mess due to the contact and friction with the ground and even the wheels.

It was not until this time that the man in the front car loosened the belt in his hand and let the body roll and be buried in the snow in the roadside drainage ditch.

Wei Ran closed the car window almost at the same time as the other person, turned around and left the empty box, returning to their original box.

Almost at the same time he closed the door again, the door of the carriage where the body was dumped was opened a crack from the inside.

In the darkness, a man leaned out to take a look, then cautiously went out to take a look at the empty compartment in the middle, and then returned to his compartment and locked the door. But soon, two more bodies were thrown out of this compartment.

"Who is the other party?" Zhang Zhengqi asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," Wei Ran responded in a low voice, "Go to sleep. Someone will check your tickets before we get to the station. You don't need to wake up."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhengqi and the other two could only suppress their curiosity, covered themselves with the quilts and closed their eyes.

In less than half an hour, a ticket agent came checking tickets all the way from the front carriage.

Hearing the noise, Wei Ran left the carriage in advance, lit a cigarette by the window in the corridor, and while waiting for his ticket to be checked, he also carefully observed the "passenger" in the next compartment.

A moment later, the ticket agent walked to the door of the box, and the person inside handed over his ID and ticket shortly after the knock on the door.

The whole process was simpler than Wei Ran had imagined. The ticket agent didn't even look at it carefully and handed the ticket back respectfully.

Soon, the ticket seller came to Wei Ran's side and immediately noticed the police uniform under his windbreaker.

"Sh-!"

Wei Ran made a gesture to keep quiet, then slowly took out the tickets for four people and handed them to the other party.

After taking the ticket, the latter just took a look into the half-open door, immediately punched an extra hole in the ticket and respectfully returned it to Wei Ran, then walked to the last carriage at the rear of the train.

Taking a slow puff of his cigarette, Wei Ran glanced inconspicuously at the box occupied by the man who had approached him in the same way, and continued to wait patiently by the cold car window.

About a quarter of an hour later, the ticket agent came back from the last carriage.

"You, come here." Wei Ran uttered something in Japanese-accented Chinese, and the ticket seller immediately came over.

"Food, is there any food?" Wei Ran gestured as if he was shoveling rice into his mouth.

"Yes, yes!" the ticket agent said immediately.

"吆西!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he took out a few military tickets from his pocket and handed them to the other party. Then he pointed to the box, made a number four with his back, and then gestured for drinking.

"Servings for four! Drinks! I'll bring them to you shortly!" the ticket agent said enthusiastically, obviously already used to this kind of thing.

Wei Ran waved his hand to send away the ticket seller who deliberately stopped him, and he still didn't move. He knew that the man who also replaced his identity was watching him. He was even sure that the other party might take the initiative to make friends with him - because of the police uniform he was wearing.

Sure enough, when the ticket agent walked to the door of the box, the man opened the door and ordered some food and drinks in Chinese.

Without waiting for the ticket agent to leave, the man came over and said in Japanese, "Sir, can you lend me a match?"

Before he could finish his words, Wei Ran and the other party were stunned. They recognized each other.

It turned out to be the "guest" from the opera troupe? !

Wei Ran came back to his senses, and while handing the cigarette and matches to the other party, he casually said in Japanese, "Let's smoke one together. Where are you from, sir?"

"Kyoto"

The "guest" took the cigarette, took out one, lit it, and said, puffing out smoke, "What's your name, Mr. Policeman?"

"It is very rude to question the police"

Wei Ran finished speaking in Japanese and pointed to the empty carriage in the middle. "My companions are all asleep. Why don't we go sit there?"

"Alright"

As the guest spoke, he turned and walked into the vacant box, and asked in a low voice in Chinese, "Did you see everything?"

"Um"

Wei Ran responded vaguely and followed the other party into the vacant box. The two of them sat down face to face at the door of the box, and in unison they leaned their upper bodies forward and rested their elbows on their knees, keeping their temples almost in the same line.

"How do you speak Japanese?" The two asked the same question in a low voice.

"I'm Zhang Taichuan's classmate, my name is Lin Qiaoan."

The guest whispered, "His sister married my cousin, it's your turn now. What's wrong with your clothes? Where's Boss Zhang?"

"You just said your name is Lin Qiaoan?"

Wei Ran did not answer the other party's question, "What is the relationship between Lin Qiaozhi and you?"

"My sister, my dear sister."

Lin Qiaoan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the name, and asked confidently, "Did Taichuan tell you that?"

"That's right," Wei Ran answered in a low voice, and the two of them tacitly put away the daggers that they were holding secretly in their hands without letting the other party notice.

"He can tell you Qiao Zhi's name, which proves that you can trust him. You..."

"Didn't the boss take you to the train last night? Why are you still here?" Wei Ran asked without waiting for the other party to finish speaking.

“We did get on the train last night.”

Lin Qiaoan sighed and explained in a low voice, "But the Japanese still found us. The team leader disconnected a car to lead the Japanese away. I guessed that there would be a strict investigation ahead, so I jumped off the train halfway, took advantage of the snow, found a bridge hole and hid for a whole day before I got on this train."

"Master Zhang is dead," Wei Ran said suddenly.

"What did you say?" Lin Qiaoan was stunned.

"Master Zhang is dead, the old master is also dead, and the entire family of Fourth Aunt Wu was wiped out." Wei Ran pointed behind him, "I guess only the four of us survived."

Wei Ran stopped Lin Qiaoan who was about to stand up and pushed him back to sit on the bed. "Can you tell me why you came here?"

"I can't say," Lin Qiaoan clenched his fists and said in a low voice through gritted teeth.

“Then I won’t ask.”

Wei Ran paused, then changed the question and asked in a low voice, "Where are you going next?"

"Shencheng"

Lin Qiaoan replied in a low voice, "I'm going to Shencheng. Taichuan is coming back. He is already waiting for me in Shencheng."

"Can I know what you are doing?" Wei Ran turned his head and looked at the other party and asked seriously.

"Every citizen has a share of responsibility for the fate of a country. We are just doing something useful for the country."

Lin Qiaoan sighed, "It's just... I didn't expect to cause trouble for everyone."

“Then don’t let their deaths be in vain.”

Wei Ran looked back at the dim corridor outside the box and whispered, "Keep going."

"You guys"

Lin Qiaoan shook his head and seemed to change the question. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are you going?"

"Zhengqi doesn't dare to go home. He...he plans to go to Beiping." Wei Ran said in a low voice.

"If we can survive Shanhaiguan, you can come with me to Shencheng."

Lin Qiaoan whispered in the rising white light, but there was no hope of survival in her tone.