War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1808 Nakamura's Death

"Teacher Musashi"

In the office of the photo agency, Wei Ran, who had just driven back from the military station, greeted respectfully, and then recounted "everything" that happened this morning "without reservation".

“Kawaguchi is good at these things.”

Musashi, who seemed to be hungover as well, yawned and took the hot tea brought by Nakamura. "Okay, go pick up Mr. Ji. Remember to ask Feng Rong to recruit people as soon as possible. Also, take your camera and take pictures of the damage to Mr. Ji's home."

"Boss, let me go too."

At this moment, Nakamura, who just came in to deliver tea, said, "I can also be a driver. Although I really have no talent in photography, I don't want to be guarding the counter all the time. Please!"

"you?"

Hoshino Ichiro looked at Wei Ran who was also surprised. The latter reacted and suggested, "Teacher, if Nakamura is willing to try to be a driver, why not let him try. Kawaguchi will be the translator for Mr. Hirano in the future, and I will stay in the photo agency to be responsible for shooting and printing. Nakamura has always been very hardworking and diligent, and the teacher really needs a full-time driver and assistant.

"Alright"

Hoshino Ichiro didn't take it seriously and waved his hand nonchalantly, "In that case, let Nakamura go with you. He can get familiar with driving on the way."

"Thank you, President!" Nakamura said gratefully.

"Then we'll set off first." Wei Ran bowed respectfully, then left the office with Nakamura.

After the office door was closed, Ichiro Hoshino couldn't help but yawn, and then lay down on the tatami not far away. He and Mr. Aoi drank a lot last night, and the geisha from Osaka in Mr. Aoi's izakaya was indeed fascinating.

While the old man was reminiscing, Wei Ran, who was carrying a camera box, had already helped Nakamura open the driver's door. After the other person got in, he went around to the other side and sat on the passenger seat.

"Ryunosuke, thank you for speaking up for me just now!" Nakamura said excitedly without waiting for the car to start.

"I just thought of it temporarily, and the teacher really needs an assistant to recruit nuclear personnel."

At this point, Wei Ran added a hint of loneliness to his tone, "No matter what, I am a Chinese after all, so you are more suitable to be the teacher's assistant than me or Kawaguchi."

"Don't say that, Ryunosuke."

Nakamura was quite moved and said, "The president often said that you are very talented in photography. You will definitely become a photographer as good as the president in the future."

"I hope so"

Wei Ran said casually, and then jokingly said, "But even if you compliment me, you have to treat me to a nice drink in the evening when we come back!"

"Of course!"

Nakamura readily agreed, "When we come back, I'll take you to Mr. Aoi's izakaya for a drink!"

"Then it's settled!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he took the initiative to change the subject and started talking to Nakamura about his hometown, Osaka.

As for why Nakamura happened to walk into the office with tea at that time, and why he offered to follow, it was naturally due to Wei Ran's instigation. The bait used to lure Nakamura into the trap was simple.

"Kawaguchi has gone to work as an interpreter for Mr. Hirano. Nakamura, do you really want to be a receptionist for the rest of your life?

Take the initiative, and I will help you become the most trusted assistant beside the teacher. "

With just this one sentence, Nakamura was hooked by Wei Ran and willingly followed his arrangement. He held a cup of tea and eavesdropped outside the office door in advance, then went in and took the initiative when the opportunity arose.

Although there was a high probability that there were no eavesdropping devices in the car, Wei Ran, who was used to being cautious, did not dare to gamble on it, so along the way, except for the first few words to guide Nakamura to get rid of suspicion, he spent the rest of the time until Nakamura drove the car to the door of Mr. Ji's ancestral home, Wei Ran pulled him and curiously asked about everything about Osaka - including the beautiful night view.

When the car stopped, Wei Ran immediately began to praise Nakamura's steady driving skills without waiting for the engine to be turned off.

There is no doubt that, at least for Nakamura, Wei Ran is a colleague who is particularly comfortable to get along with.

Of course, Nakamura, who had already begun dreaming of becoming the president's assistant, did not know that all this actually came at a price.

When the car was turned off, Zhao Jingrong also came out from the house where gunmen were lying on the wall to protect the house.

"Mr. Musashi is worried about your danger, so he arranged for the two of us to come and check out the situation and take you back." Wei Ran took Nakamura and followed Zhao Jingrong in, explaining in Japanese.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Musashi," Zhao Jingrong said with great gratitude.

"Are Mr. Ji and the old lady okay?" Wei Ran asked the second question.

"My master is fine"

Zhao Jingrong, who also responded in Japanese, sighed, "The old lady was really frightened, and I heard that several servants were injured."

At this point, Zhao Jingrong stopped and pointed at the damaged wall and the burnt barn not far away. He continued with lingering fear, "Thanks to the guards, otherwise we would have been almost let in by those people."

“The teacher has already made the arrangements.”

Wei Ran, who had taken another step, did not shy away from Nakamura. "After we return, you will be the captain of a cleanup team of about 100 people. You need to prepare the manpower in advance. In addition to ensuring the safety of Ji's house, these people will also be responsible for the transportation of goods."

“This is really great!”

Zhao Jingrong had already guessed something when he heard Wei Ran speak these words without reservation in front of Nakamura, and he said enthusiastically and excitedly, "You two, we must have a good drink today!"

"And I'd like to ask Nakamura-senpai to have a few more drinks."

Before Nakamura, who had no chance to get a word in, could speak, Wei Ran said, "Senior Nakamura may become Mr. Musashi's personal assistant in the future. Mr. Ji's business will have to rely on Senior Nakamura's care in the future."

"I've long said that Senior Nakamura is a talented person and will definitely be used by Mr. Musashi. Sure enough!"

Zhao Jingrong's attitude became even more enthusiastic. He and Wei Ran greeted Nakamura and walked into the reception room.

While waiting for the food to be served, Wei Ran whispered to Nakamura while Zhao Jingrong was arranging the food, "Senior Nakamura, hold them back for a while while I take some photos of the fire location."

"Leave it to me!" Nakamura, who had no idea that he was about to die, immediately patted his chest and made a promise.

Not long after, Zhao Jingrong led Mr. Ji into the reception room. After some greetings, Wei Ran left the reception room on the pretext of going to the toilet. Seeing this, Nakamura immediately started chatting with Mr. Ji with the help of Zhao Jingrong's translation.

He first walked to the side yard and took a few photos of the burning barn, the collapsed wall, the dense bullet holes on the wall, and the bloodstains on the ground that had not been cleaned up in time. Led by the housekeeper, Wei Ran walked along the corridor to the backyard and saw Liuzi lying on the bed recuperating in a bedroom.

Liuzi had already woken up at this time, but looking at his sallow complexion, one could tell that his wounds would probably take some time to heal.

"Brother Wei"

When Liuzi saw Wei Ran walking into the room, there was finally a hint of vitality on his face. However, when he called out "Brother Wei", tears in the corners of his eyes fell like beads that had broken off the string.

"Brother Wei, that beast, that beast..." Liuzi said with sobs, but could not utter a complete sentence.

"Don't worry, leave the revenge to us." Wei Ran sighed, "Lie down, I'll take a look at your wound."

"Skin it alive!" Liuzi, crying, clenched his fists and said with red eyes.

"Yes, don't worry, I will." Wei Ran said as he untied the gauze.

After some observation, he winked at the butler, then asked Liuzi to wait for a moment before leaving the room with the butler and saying, "Find a way to notify Mr. Ji and immediately arrange for someone to shoot at our car on the way back."

"I'll arrange it right away," said the butler.

"I will drive, Uncle Zhao will sit in the passenger seat, Mr. Ji will sit behind me, and Nakamura will sit behind the passenger seat."

"Then let the master get in the car first." The butler understood immediately and obviously understood Wei Ran's arrangement.

"Right, next comes the shooting part."

Wei Ran slowed down his speech and said, "Make sure to find someone with good shooting skills. Remember, the first shot should be fired from the side, hitting my arm that is holding the steering wheel. Just scratch the skin. Don't break it, and don't hurt Uncle Zhao. I will slow down to create an opportunity for you, and let Mr. Ji use the excuse of dizziness to open the window as a signal."

"I've got it." The butler nodded, without even asking why he shot Wei Ran.

"The second shot came from the other side, and the bullet went through the car window and hit Nakamura's neck."

"Okay," the butler responded again.

"After I'm shot, I'll speed up. Uncle Zhao, who's sitting in the passenger seat, must draw his gun and fire back. Mr. Ji must lie down. Your gunman must break the rear window. Mr. Ji must press the wound on Nakamura's neck with his hand, lie down and hold him in his arms, and make him covered in blood."

"Noted," the butler said again.

"After we get far away, the gunmen must flee immediately and ask the nearby guerrillas if they want to set up an ambush. If so, arrange an ambush. We will notify the puppet troops we meet on the road."

Wei Ran said calmly, "If we have enough manpower, we can arrange another group of people to take advantage of the puppet army's counterattack to either cut off their retreat or demolish their strongholds at the intersection. If we don't have enough manpower, we should fight and run, and never fight to the end."

"I've noted it all down," said the butler.

"Go and make arrangements quickly," Wei Ran said, "I'll change Liuzi's medicine and then go back."

Hearing this, the housekeeper turned around and left. Wei Ran also took out the medical box from the outer room, picked out some medicine from it, and changed the medicine for Liuzi as quickly as possible.

"Just stay here and recover from your injuries," Wei Ran said, "I'll come to see you again when I have the chance. I can't stay any longer now, I have to go back quickly."

"When you take revenge, you must call me." Liuzi said worriedly.

"I will definitely call you"

Wei Ran smiled and said, "If you have time, learn the Japanese language. It will be useful in the future."

"Yeah!" Liuzi nodded vigorously, but he grimaced in pain because he accidentally stretched the wound.

Turning around and leaving the room, Wei Ran washed his hands carefully, then took out the remaining four or five cigarettes from the cigarette box and lit them together. He held one in his mouth and two in each hand, and walked back quickly while fumigating his body with the smoke to remove the odor.

When he returned to the reception room, Zhao Jingrong and Mr. Ji were chatting enthusiastically with Nakamura. Some cold dishes and warming Japanese sake were already placed on the dining table.

"I just went out to smoke a cigarette, how come you guys are drinking first?" Wei Ran said with a smile as he walked in.

"Mr. Nakamura is a humorous man, so I picked up the glass unconsciously." Zhao Jingrong said apologetically in Japanese, "Well, I will drink three glasses as punishment."

“I won’t drink anymore.”

Wei Ran waved his hand, "We have to drive back later, and this road may not be safe, so we'd better leave early."

"No delay!"

Zhao Jingrong said, "Mr. Nakamura and I hit it off right away. Come, let's drink."

"Mr. Nakamura, please accompany Mr. Ji to have a few more drinks," Wei Ran said with a smile.

Nakamura was already so overwhelmed by the flattery that he picked up his glass without thinking and clinked it with Zhao Jingrong's. After drinking it all, he continued to talk about his experiences before coming to China.

During the dinner, Mr. Ji left early on the grounds of his old age. However, shortly after he left, his trustee brought him a small gift - a pocket watch with a silver case.

Just give me a clock?

Wei Ran almost laughed at this meaningful gift, but Nakamura's grateful look on his face as he held the watch made Wei Ran begin to hesitate whether to kill him.

Of course, it was just hesitation.

After a few drinks, Zhao Jingrong found an excuse to leave, while Wei Ran held the teacup and continued to feed the already tipsy Nakamura some drug-fueled potion.

The lunch took about an hour and a half. Wei Ran and Nakamura even found their own rooms to take a nap for half an hour under Zhao Jingrong's arrangement before getting up and preparing to go back.

After helping Mr. Ji, who was holding a gift for "Mr. Musashi", into the car, Nakamura also sat into the back seat from the other side at Zhao Jingrong's insistence, while Zhao Jingrong himself sat in the co-pilot seat as he wished.

On the way back, Wei Ran and Zhao Jingrong were still chatting with Nakamura, patiently listening to him bragging about his "glorious history" during his student days.

"Xiao Wei, drive slower," said Mr. Ji. "I drank too much at noon and I'm starting to feel dizzy."

“Then I’ll drive slower.”

While Wei Ran slowed down the car, he rolled down the window a little, then lit a cigarette and drove slowly while holding the steering wheel with one hand.

The car moved slowly in the lingering smoke, but until he could see the puppet army's stronghold at the intersection in front of him, the gunshot he had been waiting for still did not sound.

Was there an accident?

Wei Randan threw away his cigarette butt and prepared to roll up the car window. It was winter after all, and he couldn't breathe all the time even if he wanted to.

"boom!"

Just at this moment, a gunshot was suddenly heard outside the car window. Immediately afterwards, Wei Ran felt a burn on his arm that was holding the steering wheel, followed by a piercing pain.

"boom!"

Almost at the same time when he felt the pain, the second gunshot was heard. A bullet passed through the car window on Mr. Ji's side and accurately hit Nakamura's neck!

"Get down quickly!"

Wei Ran and Zhao Jingrong shouted almost in unison, and Wei Ran stepped on the accelerator even harder.

Looking at the back seat of the car, Mr. Ji, whose face was scratched by the broken window glass, was lying down while covering Nakamura's gunshot neck with his hands and holding him tightly in his arms.

In order to prevent insufficient bleeding, Mr. Ji not only left a finger-wide gap between his fingers, but also tried his best to pry Nakamura's head to prevent the wound from closing.

It was at this time that the third gunshot was heard. The rear wheel of the car was hit by a bullet. The puppet soldiers in the distance also lay down subconsciously, and then they started firing belatedly.

Of course, they fired, but the puppet soldiers hid themselves more securely than one another. There were no devils watching them, so why risk their lives?

In this sporadic but uninterrupted counterattack or cover, Wei Ran finally drove the car behind those puppet troops.

There was no time to turn off the engine. He and Zhao Jingrong hurriedly pushed open the car door, not even caring about the wound on his arm. They opened the door of the back compartment, pulled out Mr. Ji, who was covered in blood, and Nakamura, who was shaking from losing blood, and hid them behind the bunker.

Wei Ran saw clearly just now that the bullet that shot him not only left a scary groove on his arm, but also a bullet hole on the "C-pillar" of the car body right next to Nakamura.

The second shot came from the same direction, passed through the window of the rear car, and hit Mr. Nakamura, almost brushing Mr. Ji's nose.

Wei Ran was secretly surprised. The two shots were fired in a very short time but with such good accuracy. The rifle the other party used was most likely Lao Yin's Ying-77.

Moreover, it was obvious that these two shots were aimed at "killing two people with one shot". Now even if he looked at the "scene" in the car himself, he would think that the other party had killed them.

Where did such a terrifying gunman come from?

Out of curiosity, Wei Ran couldn't help but look at Zhongcun. Although this guy was still twitching, he was bruised and battered due to the unstoppable bleeding and the violent dragging on the dirt road just now.

This is what you would do if you sprinkle some cumin on it and fry it in a pan.

While Wei Ran was covering the wound on his arm and thinking about something, Zhao Jingrong had already started shouting. Seeing this, Wei Ran did not waste any more time and also started wailing and screaming.

Even Mr. Ji, whose face was scratched by glass fragments and was also covered in blood and mud, cried out in pain.

Of course, compared to the three of them crying, which was not very powerful but had a long aftertaste, the silly boy Nakamura kicked his legs and stopped moving. Only the silver-cased pocket watch that he was wrapping around his palm and secretly looking at just now was left, lying quietly in the pool of blood and continuing to tick - the dark red blood also dripped onto the watch case.

So, no matter what you give as a gift, you can’t give a clock as a gift. Isn’t it just given away?

While Wei Ran was muttering to himself, he did not delay at all and pressed his knee against Nakamura's chest twice, causing the wound on his neck to bleed again.

He was having a great time here, and the gunman hiding in the forest full of graves and wild tombs a hundred or two hundred meters away was not in a hurry to leave. He responded to the gunshots from time to time, and actually took the life of a puppet soldier every time.

Because of this, in less than five minutes, the puppet soldiers hid in the bunkers and had no intention of showing up. They started to make phone calls to mobilize people!