War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1846 Hirano's Death
"Sorry"

Hirano Aoi quickly picked up the dropped chopsticks and kept asking, "Did you say anything else?"

"That's all," Zhang Taichuan responded with a smile.

However, everyone present knew that such a thick letter could not have only contained that one thing.

Hirano Aoi seemed to have long been accustomed to Zhang Taichuan's attitude, and she changed the subject and talked about her own affairs, "Mr. Wei, I think I can answer your question now."

"I have already forgotten it," Wei Ran replied. He didn't want to continue this meaningless topic.

"I still remember," Hirano Aoi sighed, "I have asked many people over the years and got different answers."

"Ms. Hirano, there is actually no one."

"No, this is entirely my own free will."

Hirano Aoi shook her head before Wei Ran finished speaking, "Whether or not the nuclear recruits hate the past wars mostly depends on whether their family members died in that war."

"This doesn't make any sense at all," Wei Ran said bluntly.

"Yeah, it really doesn't make any sense."

Hirano Aoi showed a bleak but helpless tired smile, "Most of my compatriots hate losing this war more than they hate the war.

They all felt sorry that one of their family members or friends died on the battlefield, but they also said that the cruel things in the photos were inevitable in war. "

“So I never feel the pain of others.”

Wei Ran picked up the wine glass that Zhang Taichuan had just filled, clinked his glasses with the other party, and then with Hirano Aoi, "Ms. Hirano, you are still the only kind and righteous nuclear recruiter I have ever met and known."

"That sentence sounds even more sarcastic than when you first said it."

Hirano Aoi sighed with shame, "The only kind and righteous nuclear recruiter in your eyes is a traitor to nuclear recruiters in a sense. Such a life is really too painful."

"My hero is his enemy, maybe."

Wei Ran sighed silently, changed the topic to one that might make the other person feel more comfortable, and said, "Tell me about what you are doing."

"Since Mr. MacArthur banned the JCP, I have been working secretly to print anti-war publications."

Hirano Aoi was not in a much better mood, "I don't agree with the use of more radical and violent methods to oppose the United States, and I don't think Zhaohe should accept the US military material production orders.

This will not only make the United States lose its mind due to the temptation of war dividends, but also make it a puppet of the United States. "

"People who are naive and clear-headed are the most miserable."

Wei Ran sighed secretly. Putting aside the issue of stance and looking at it objectively, Japan had no reason to refuse this windfall that was delivered to its doorstep.

Three years before the Mosquito Rebellion, when the Chinese volunteer army was toying with the stupid Americans on the peninsula, the Americans, in order to win the battle, frantically gave them orders for military supplies worth more than 600 billion US dollars. This number is more than the total funding of 5 Marshall Plans.

There is no doubt that this wave of whale milk almost turned the skinny Japanese into a ball, and also laid a solid foundation for the Japanese's subsequent economic take-off.

But at the same time, this wave of sweet treats can be regarded as cooperating with the two big sticks before to completely feed this dog that was beaten half to death - just as Hirano Aoi worried, Zhao Nian has almost completely become a puppet of the United States that can be taken at will.

"Are these useful?" Wei Ran couldn't help but ask after all.

“Maybe it will work.”

Hirano Aoi sighed, "But I have to do something, just like I said back then, even if it's just changing a nuclear recruiter."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just at this moment, brilliant fireworks exploded in the night sky outside the window again, and the two children ran in cheering.

"What are your plans for the future for these two little guys?" Wei Ran changed the topic to a more relaxed one.

“Everything will wait until they grow up.”

Hirano Aoi said with tenderness, "They are still too young. It is not the time to tell them the truth yet."

"Yeah, they're too young."

Wei Ran sighed. No matter whose bloodline these two children had or did not have, he did not want to give them any burden called hatred so early.

As for the wheel being flat, he is still a human being after all.

When talking about these two children, Hirano Aoi talked a lot more, and she became like a normal mother - even though neither of the two children was hers.

Amid the topic of children, this reunion dinner, which was not sure whether it should be considered dinner or midnight snack, came to an end with toasts one after another.

While Hirano Aoi and the two nannies were cleaning the table, Zhang Taichuan took Wei Ran, who had picked up his suitcase again, to a separate room.

This not-so-big room is arranged like a photo studio and even has a window and door facing the street.

"Take this letter back with you."

Zhang Taichuan took Wei Ran into the darkroom, lifted the floorboards, took out a letter from the crack, handed it over and whispered, "Give it to Qiao An personally, this letter is very important."

"Second uncle."

Wei Ran took the letter, pondered for a moment and asked, "When do you plan to go back?"

"back"

"Go back to China," Wei Ran said, "You've been out for so long, don't you plan to go back?"

"It's almost time to go back." Zhang Taichuan sighed with longing, "When the war between China and the United States is over, maybe we should go back."

Hearing this, Wei Ran opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say much. He just reopened the suitcase, took out all the yellow and white things inside and put them on the table, "Keep these, you will definitely use them"

"Take it back, I can't use it."

Zhang Taichuan stopped Wei Ran and helped him put the valuables back into his suitcase. "Take them back. I don't need them."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Wei Ran asked finally.

"Go back early"

Zhang Taichuan patted Wei Ran's shoulder gently and said, "You should go back now. When you go back, please help me visit Zheng Qi and then visit my mother. Just kowtow to her and show your filial piety to her for me."

"Okay, I promise you." Wei Ran nodded solemnly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Zhang Taichuan was about to say something when brilliant fireworks exploded again in the night sky outside the window.

"Is it the same in China with all the lights on?" Zhang Taichuan asked in a daze.

"Yes, it's the same in China." Wei Ran nodded, "Although everyone is poor at the moment, it will definitely get better and better."

"Will it be better than this little devil?"

"Yes, definitely, definitely."

Wei Ran answered confidently, "There is no need to beg for mercy from the United States or the Soviet Union. We can live a good life with our own hands and straighten our backs little by little."

"Okay, that's good."

Zhang Taichuan looked up at the fireworks exploding again and again in the night sky and sighed, "Okay, let's go, you should go back."

As he spoke, he was the first to walk out of the darkroom, took Wei Ran out of the street-facing photo studio, and returned to the yard.

At this time, Hirano Aoi was already waiting for them with her two children, one big and one small, along with the disciplinarian and the wet nurse.

"Mr. Wei, please help me take this letter back." The nanny said, "If someone receives it or if there is no one at that address, forget it. I have given up."

"I will try my best to deliver it." Wei Ran solemnly took the letter and put it in his arms, then looked at the mother who was disciplining him.

“My whole family is dead.”

The mother who was in charge was unusually calm and composed. "My husband sold me out for opium. I have no family left."

Hearing this, Wei Ran opened his mouth and subconsciously looked up at the night sky above his head. In such a weather, he couldn't even make such an unrealistic request as taking a group photo.

In the end, he could only walk out of the gate of this Japanese-style house amid the farewell of a family that was not his own.

"Mom, who is he?"

Gentaro Hoshino looked up and asked Hirano Aoi. Just as Hirano Aoi said, the two little guys were too young. They didn't know and couldn't possibly remember what had happened.

They only know that their mother's name is Musashi Aoi, and they only know that their father's name is Hoshino Yoshiyoshi.

"Bang!" With another explosion, a gorgeous firework exploded in the night sky.

However, this time, Wei Ran's body trembled violently. Instead of looking up at the brilliant fireworks so close, he looked behind him with a look of horror - he clearly heard the sound of gunfire hidden in the explosion of fireworks!
He saw with his own eyes Hirano Aoi fall face down into Zhang Taichuan's arms, and he saw with his own eyes a blurry figure flash by behind him.

"mom!"

Amid the fireworks that exploded one after another, the two children with blood on their faces let go of the lanterns that were also covered in blood, and let their mother and wet nurse pick them up one by one while crying. Then they followed Zhang Taichuan, who was holding Hirano Aoi, and hid in the yard.

"Don't shoot! Come in quickly!" Zhang Taichuan's reminder made Wei Ran, who had already raised the box gun, release the trigger that had already been pulled down, and hide in the yard as quickly as possible.

“Can’t shoot”

Zhang Taichuan said anxiously in Chinese, "This is a conspiracy. Once the shooting begins, they will have an excuse."

"who are they?"

While Wei Ran was asking, he had already followed Zhang Taichuan back to the room, "I need a light, quickly lay her down, and also, take the child away."

"The government needs an excuse to take action against the JCP"

Zhang Taichuan put Hirano Aoi on the tatami and answered in his native language, "She published a lot of anti-war books, which even printed the crimes committed by her brother. And at least in name, she has a husband from China."

"Don't. Don't. Let. The Child Leave"

Hirano Aoi said with difficulty at this time, "Gentaro"

"Mommy mommy!"

With blood on his face, Gentaro cried and screamed. He clumsily tried to reach out and cover the wounds on Hirano Aoi's lower back and abdomen to prevent the dark red blood from flowing out.

"I want to save you"

Wei Ran, who had just replaced his suitcase with a medical kit when he entered the room, said, "They are here."

"Just give me an adrenaline and morphine."

Hirano Aoi said with difficulty, "Gentaro, listen to your mother. Don't harbor hatred and stay away from war."

"Yeah, I heard it, I heard it!" Gentaro replied with tears streaming down his face, covering the wound that he could not cover at all with his little hands.

"Take good care"

Hirano Aoi took a breath, and after Wei Ran injected her with a shot of adrenaline and morphine, she continued, "Take good care of Chiyoko. You are her brother and you must be her role model. Promise your mother."

"I promise you, I promise you, don't die!"

Gentaro cried sadly and desperately, while Chiyoko, who was standing in the corner with blood also all over her face, stared blankly at Hirano Aoi who was lying in a pool of blood under the light.

"Feel sorry."

Hirano Aoi looked at Wei Ran apologetically, "My compatriot, let you..."

"Let's not talk about this for now," Wei Ran responded while checking the other's wound.

However, after just one glance, he sighed. He was almost certain that the shot just now was a single-headed bullet fired from a shotgun. He...he could not save her.

"Mr. Zhang"

Hirano Aoi looked at Zhang Taichuan, her tone still full of apology, "Please break the knife. Leave the blade to me for burial, and send the handle to the emperor."

"Ms. Hirano? Ms. Hirano?"

Wei Ran and Zhang Taichuan looked at each other, and then in the rising white light, they looked at Gentaro, whose hands were covered in blood, and the little girl in the distance, Chiyoko Musashi, whose eyes were wide open and her face was full of fear and dark red blood.

Fuck you
Amid Wei Ran's murderous curses, the white light swallowed up everything around it, and then gradually spit out everything it had swallowed in a different form.

After seeing everything around him clearly, Wei Ran couldn't help but shiver. It was a snowy day and the surroundings were extremely cold, but the sun was also extremely bright.

Listening to the Japanese with a strong Kansai accent that hit his ears, Wei Ran took a few deep breaths, looked around as usual, and observed his own dress as usual.

This is not a very busy intersection, and a low mountain can be clearly seen not far away.

Right at the corner of the intersection facing the low hill, there is a two-story stand-alone building with what seems to be a large yard at the back.

On one side of the building's street-facing gate, there is a charred tree trunk that is only one meter high. Many new branches have grown around the trunk.

Some of these branches are as thick as wrists, while others are only as thick as fingers.

But no matter how thick or thin they are, they have obviously been carefully trimmed, especially this dead tree, which is even surrounded by a fence less than half a meter high.

Looking at the building again, on one side of its gate hangs a sign that reads "Hirano Izakaya".

Resisting the urge to walk in and shoot the owner of the izakaya, Wei Ran also looked himself over.

His outfit was no different from Bai Guang's before, except that he was wearing a thick scarf and did not have a suitcase in his hand.

He looked at the pub again, but did not go in. Instead, he turned and walked towards the low hill a few hundred meters away. He climbed up the stone steps that seemed to have been burned long ago, step by step to the halfway point of the mountain, found a sufficiently hidden place, and took out the Willys Jeep from the metal book.

He pointed the aerial camera at the pub at the foot of the mountain, and then took off the hexagonal tent from the jeep. He set it up in front of the jeep, using the shape of the tent to block half of the front of the jeep.

Then he took out the oversized Schneider anti-aircraft telescope and aimed it at the pub at the foot of the mountain.

The straight-line distance between the two was probably less than one kilometer at most, so he could use this super-large-magnification telescope to clearly see the door of the izakaya and the guests vaguely visible in the glass windows of the first and second floors.

Wei Ran was not in a hurry. He patiently took out the long horsehair bag and placed it on the hood of the car and opened it.

The father was kind-hearted, as the bag contained not only coffee powder in a silver hammer-patterned jar, but also two German kettles containing milk and water respectively, and even a box of sugar cubes.

This small surprise also made him unconsciously reveal a forced smile on his face, but it could not eliminate the murderous intent in his heart——

The only nuclear recruiter he currently recognized also died, also at the hands of the nuclear recruiter.

While waiting for the coffee to be brewed, Wei Ran put the lit pocket warmer into the inside pocket of his shirt. Then he took out the cigarette case, took out a cigarette, put it on the holder, lit it and took a few deep puffs.

After calming down his inner emotions with these trivial matters, he finally got close to the eyepiece of the huge anti-aircraft telescope and silently peeked at the Hirano Izakaya, which seemed to be doing good business.

He was tired. He didn't want to have any verbal communication with Hirano Daisho anymore. He just wanted to hide in the dark and watch, waiting to shoot a bullet at Hirano Daisho and tear the beast to pieces.

As he waited patiently, he drank cup after cup of coffee with plenty of milk and sugar, and the sky gradually became darker.

Finally, as the street lights came on one after another and as the street lights in the pub also came on one after another, he could see more clearly even though he was hiding in the dark.

He saw Zhang Taichuan, who was rushing over with a suitcase, and saw him standing at the intersection looking at the izakaya in surprise.

I watched him walk into the izakaya, saw Hirano Daito with a surprised look on his face, saw the two of them go up to the second floor and sit down at a window seat, and saw Zhang Taichuan handing a few photos to Hirano Daito.

He also saw Hirano Daito grab Zhang Taichuan's collar but then let go, and finally poured him a full glass of beer.

He saw all of this.

Finally, he saw Zhang Taichuan leaving the izakaya with his suitcase and being seen off by Hirano Daisho.

"Ugh"

Wei Ran sighed tiredly, put away the telescope, jeep and other things as quickly as possible, then hurried down the mountain, took out the jeep again, started it, and chased in the direction Zhang Taichuan left.

Perhaps it was because the American jeep was intimidating enough that the people from Osaka kept moving away from him along the way, allowing him to see Zhang Taichuan who was still walking slowly with his suitcase.

"Uncle, get in the car." Wei Ran said as he stepped on the brakes.

"Wei Ran?"

Zhang Taichuan looked in surprise at Wei Ran who suddenly drove after him, and then jumped into the car with extremely quick reaction.

"Why are you here?" Wei Ran asked first.

"I originally wanted to deliver the relics that Ms. Hirano asked me to send."

Zhang Taichuan gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't expect that beast to be still alive!"

"Where are the children?" Wei Ran asked calmly.

“Still in Kyoto”

Zhang Taichuan said, "I didn't expect Hirano Daisho to be alive. It seems that the two children must leave."

"What about killing him?" Wei Ran pointed behind him.

“Not yet”

Zhang Taichuan shook his head and said, "We don't have the energy to do this right now. We have more important things to do."

"Keep it?"

"In 46, Jing Rong relied on Lao Gui's recommendation letter and his status as his son-in-law to become friends with the remnants of Tongwen Academy, and they joined Aichi University together."

Zhang Taichuan said, "He has now been sent to Yindi as a spy for the devils. I just told that bastard that Hirano Aoi and the children are in Yindi, and gave him the address of the old devil."

"Where shall we do it?" Wei Ran asked.

“Let’s see if he’ll go.”

Zhang Taichuan sighed, "I just talked to him about the Moss War. He was showing off how much money he made from the war. He even showed off that he was funding some gangs to murder JCP members."

"What did you say?" Wei Ran stepped on the brakes to the bottom.