War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1892 You Must Survive Too
After dismissing the laborers, Wei Ran looked around, then quickly turned around and opened the paper package that the laborer who had asked for water had accidentally left there.

Inside the oily paper package was a golden roast chicken, but inside the chicken's belly was another paper package.

Looking behind him, Wei Ran pulled out a paper package from inside the roast chicken. Just by looking at the outline, you could tell it was a handgun.

Although I may not need this myself, there's no guarantee that Cheng Bingquan might be able to use it.
That's why, after taking the paper package out, he first rewrapped the roast chicken, then looked around and temporarily buried the gun in the bamboo basket filled with wood ash next to the stove.

Before long, Cheng Bingquan, a thin man, came over from the opposite side carrying a bowl of tofu and leaning on a bamboo cane.

"Boss, could you give the kids some sesame seed cakes?"

Cheng Bingquan placed the large bowl filled with tofu on the cutting board.

"I was just craving tofu."

As Wei Ran spoke, he picked up a few sesame cakes and threw them into the oven, while warmly asking, "How are you feeling?"

"same as usual"

Cheng Bingquan coughed a few times and said with a hint of helplessness, "I'm afraid this is the only way it will be from now on."

Amidst the other person's series of coughs, Wei Ran said in a low voice, "We need to leave tonight. Is there anything we need to take care of?"

"Everyone else is fine, but the worm must be rescued."

Cheng Bingquan said in a low voice, "He will come to find you eight minutes before the ship departs. You take him aboard, and I will take care of the rest."

"He's being controlled?" Wei Ran asked after a moment's thought.

“It should be,” Cheng Bingquan nodded. “We need to rescue him; he is very important.”

"I've come to save them!"

Wei Ran said, "After he's rescued, your family can take him on the boat, and the rest can be left to us."

"Our family is too conspicuous."

Cheng Bingquan paused for a moment, then said, "If possible, I will try my best to keep my son Xiaoxian alive, but the safety of Zhuerchong will be the top priority."

"Try my ass!"

Wei Ran had no intention of agreeing at all. While busy with his work, he explained his arrangements: "After Pigworm arrives, your family should come over immediately, take Pigworm and run out the back door. Leave the rest to me."

"No"

"How long can you stay sickly like this?"

Wei Ran said with feigned disdain, "Listen to me. If you don't listen to me, I won't even save the worms."

"You cough cough cough!"

Cheng Bingquan had barely begun speaking when he was struck by a series of coughs.

"That's the arrangement. Do you have a gun?" Wei Ran asked.

Cheng Bingquan nodded amidst his persistent coughing.

"Don't worry!" Wei Ran said loudly, "I'll definitely add more pickled vegetables!"

As he spoke, he pressed down the lever to move the hanging oven, scooped out a pot full of simply heated sesame cakes, cut them open one by one, added enough pickled vegetables, and, with Cheng Bingquan's politeness, put them into the large bowl that had been cleared out.

Watching him carry a large bowl of sesame seed cakes with pickled vegetables back to the other side of the road, Wei Ran cut the tofu that the other person had brought into pieces and put it into the griddle. Then he poured some oil on it and pressed it onto the hanging oven to fry slowly.

Taking this opportunity, he calmly carried the gray bucket back to the simple bedroom in the inner room. After putting it down, he first took out the PPK pistol and checked it.

Seeing that the magazine of the gun was full of bullets, and there was even an extra one in the chamber, Wei Ran put it away and opened the greasy paper package instead.

Inside was a pistol, also fully loaded with bullets, along with an extra spare magazine and a pocket watch that appeared to be made by the Japanese.

After checking, he hid the bullet under the water ladle on the stove. After putting the pocket watch in his pocket, Wei Ran took two pickled vegetables from the jar and returned to the pancake shop in front.

That afternoon, he didn't care about business at all. While serving customers, he diligently baked a full basket of sesame seed cakes and stir-fried two large bowls of pickled soybeans and vegetables.

He didn't even waste the tofu that Cheng Bingquan brought. After frying it into tofu puffs, he put it, along with the unclaimed roast chicken, into the sesame seed cakes.

Wei Ran carefully wrapped the dozens of sesame seed cakes filled with vegetables in two pairs with newspaper, and after rummaging through drawers and cabinets, he found a cloth and wrapped them up.

These were naturally prepared for the already exposed Pigworm and Cheng Bingquan's family.

He didn't know how long they would have to run, nor did he know if the laborers could meet them in time, but these twenty or thirty sesame cakes weren't heavy, and they would at least keep them from going hungry for a day or two—he was truly terrified of hunger.

After seeing off a customer, Wei Ran secretly took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. Seeing that it was already past seven o'clock, he decided to close the shop and put away the food, deliberately leaving a gap in the last board.

Wei Ran added some pickled vegetables to the last three sesame seed cakes he had sold, and then sat on the threshold reserved for the last board, eating while patiently waiting. Every now and then, he would enthusiastically wave to passersby who greeted him.

At 7:20, Wei Ran, having filled his stomach, hastily wiped his hands on his trouser leg. By this time, it was already getting dark, and he should make some preparations.

Turning around, Wei Ran went into the sesame seed cake shop and filled the oven with firewood to keep it burning, even though he no longer intended to make any more sesame seed cakes.

At 7:25, he opened the back door of the pancake shop to check it out, then went back into the shop, tore off his bed sheet, nailed the four corners to the wall, and then poured all the remaining flour in the shop into the bed sheet.

With everything ready, he took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, then moved the bamboo recliner directly under the spread-out bed sheet.

But instead of lying down, he squeezed through the gap in the door panel, sat back down on the threshold, and hummed a few lines of opera he had overheard from the opera troupe in his hoarse voice, while also observing his surroundings.

At 7:49, with only ten minutes left until the agreed time, a group of menacing-looking people, who looked no different from thugs, walked straight into the tofu shop!
Is it you guys?
Wei Ran couldn't help but snort coldly. He recognized the other party; the one who was "back then" had robbed him of his money box.

But if these people suddenly come to visit, then where is the "pig worm"?

Before he could figure this out, the man who had robbed him of his money years ago had already grabbed Cheng Bingquan's son by the collar and led him to the roadside amidst the pleas and cries of Cheng Bingquan's family.

"The 'pig worms' have been captured, and someone else is in charge of the rescue. Deal with these matters and get out of here quickly."

Just then, a laborer carrying a bamboo basket walked past him and said in a low voice.

After glancing at the other person's basket and the weapon hidden in their waistband, Wei Ran got up, grabbed a handful of flour from the cutting board, wrapped it in newspaper, then took the pineapple with the remaining ten or so sesame cakes to cover the paper bag in his other hand, and strode across the street.

"Sir, sir?"

As soon as Wei Ran reached the middle of the road, he bowed and greeted her warmly, "Shaobing, I've brought you shaobing."

"Thanks to your care these past two years, please calm down and don't complain to the child!"

With an exaggerated exclamation from Wei Ran, the basket containing the sesame cakes in his hand was pushed forward as if it were about to fly away.

Just as he was using this accident to attract everyone's attention, Cheng Bingquan and Huang the carpenter each pulled out a claw hammer commonly used by carpenters from their sleeves, while the laborer who reminded Wei Ran also pulled out a Mauser pistol and held it horizontally in his hand, while grabbing Cheng Bingquan's son's arm.

At the same time, Wei Ran had already scattered the bag of flour all over the place, and a Mauser bayonet appeared in his hand. He quickly slashed the hand that was grabbing the child by the collar.

Stimulated by the excruciating pain, the unknown thug leader released his grip with a cry of "Ouch!"

Unfortunately, the flour that was almost entirely thrown onto his and the faces of those around him made it impossible for them to open their eyes.

"Click"

Wei Ran snapped his neck, and at the same time, Cheng Bingquan and his father-in-law swung their claw hammers and smashed them on the heads of the two gunmen who were holding them hostage.

"Go to my pancake shop, go through the back door, grab the bundle on the cutting board, and leave this to me, hurry up!"

As Wei Ran urged him on, he kicked the thug who was grabbing Cheng Bingquan's wife's hair in the chin.

There were only two people left, and the laborer who was shielding the child with his body was pointing a gun at them.

Wei Ran strode over, kicked one of them in the groin, and grabbed the other, snapping his neck cleanly.

"beep--!"

No matter how quickly they moved, the piercing sound of police whistles could still be heard in the distance.

"What are you standing there for? Run!"

While urging him on, Wei Ran had already picked up the Mauser pistols from the hands of the two corpses. He had been wanting to try out the dual-gun Mauser pistols for a long time.

Urged on by him, Cheng Bingquan gritted his teeth, took his family, and followed the laborer into the pancake shop.

"You all leave! I'll settle this."

"Broken my ass! Hurry up and get out of here! Grab that bundle!" Wei Ran, who was the last to enter, urged, already picking up the last door panel. Amidst the faint shouts, whistles, and even gunshots coming from outside, he finished the last door panel and used the door bar to hold it firmly in place.

Immediately afterwards, he tore down the firewood that had been burning in the stove and placed it on the recliner. Then he took the bowl of ghee that had been soaking in the bucket of water, scooped out a dollop of ghee the size of an egg, and smeared it on the sheet directly above the fire.

After quickly finishing these tasks, he ran into the inner bedroom, grabbed the gun hidden under the water ladle, and urged Cheng Bingquan's family to leave immediately.

Just as he used his bayonet to poke through the crack in the door and bolted the back door from the outside, he heard knocking and even the sound of a pistol firing from the front of the pancake shop.

"This way!"

The laborer gave a shout and led them into the alley, starting a frantic run towards the dock.

Meanwhile, behind them, the pursuers who had arrived had begun to ram the door panel that was blocked from the inside, and another team had even surrounded the back door that was bolted from the inside and also began to smash the door and make threats.

Inside the sesame seed cake shop, as the flames blaze, the ghee spread on the sheets above melts and drips down, further fueling the fire.

"Break down the door! They're definitely burning their codebook!"

Someone in the crowd surrounding the sesame seed cake shop gave the order.

Before the order could be answered, the bed sheet inside the pancake shop was ignited by the flames directly below, causing the flour on it to fall down.

"boom!"

In the violent dust explosion, the front door was blown off, the back door was blown open, and even the roof collapsed.

But at this moment, the pursuers who had been clamoring to come in were now lying on the ground, grimacing and howling in pain, and instead of going in to arrest people.

When the sound of the explosion reached Wei Ran and the others, they were already in an alley near the river.

But at this moment, a large number of people had already appeared behind them, chasing after them.

"Run, run quickly."

As Wei Ran spoke, he and the laborer stopped at the same time and each drew their weapons.

"you."

"It doesn't matter if we get caught."

As Wei Ran spoke, he handed the small pistol, still smelling of roast chicken, to Cheng Bingquan. "I don't even know who Zhuerchong is, and I can't get any information out of him, but you guys can't."

“He’s right.”

The laborer said, "Hurry up, the boat is about to leave."

"military power"

Wei Ran looked at Cheng Bingquan, who was about to say something, and said with a smile, "Come home often."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Bingquan paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly, picked up his child, and, along with his wife and father-in-law, carpenter Huang, continued their frantic run down the alley.

"What's your name?" Wei Ran asked the laborer as he fired.

"Wang Lu," the other side shouted as they fired to suppress the pursuers behind them.

"Wei Ran!" Wei Ran introduced himself and then asked, "Where are you from? What are your wishes?"

“My home is in southern Hunan, and my wish has come true.”

As Wang Lu spoke, he hid back against the wall, pulled out a newspaper bundle containing sesame seed cakes from his pocket, pointed to the half of the news article about the founding of the People's Republic of China, and said with a smile, "Look, it really happened."

"Is there anything else you regret?"

Wei Ran, who had just secretly pressed the shutter button on the other person's camera, asked, "It's too dark here. The other person didn't notice my camera, and I'm not sure if I could get a clear picture of them."

"Pity?"

Wang Lu smiled, fired a few shots at the alley where the enemy had surrounded them, then carefully folded the half-newspaper and stuffed it into his pocket. He then took a big bite of the sesame seed cake and said, "I'll have no regrets once I'm full."

"Then you can eat slowly in the back."

As Wei Ran spoke, he raised two Mauser pistols and began to suppress the enemy, but he only used one of them to fire throughout the entire operation.

"I'm going to blow you up!"

With a roar, Wei Ran threw the empty Mauser pistol with all his might, and then ran over for his life.

"Snapped!"

With the crisp sound of the gun striking the alley wall, a shout of "Take cover!" came from among the pursuers.

But at that moment, Wei Ran had already rushed up to them.

"Da da da!"

In the close-quarters fire that resembled a shooting execution, Wei Ran, hiding behind a wall, displayed an overwhelming advantage with a reckless fighting style.

As Wei Ran released the Mauser C96 that had been fired but had no gun, a PPK pistol appeared in his hand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

While Wei Ran was firing follow-up shots at the wounded but not dead pursuers, he bent down and picked up one of the Mauser pistols in one of the hands. He rubbed the muzzle of the pistol against the sole of his shoe and saw that bullets could still be ejected from it. He immediately replaced the PPK pistol in his other hand with it.

"After fighting this for so many years, the only ones who have gotten worse and worse are the Japanese and you guys."

As Wei Ran spoke, he expressionlessly pulled the trigger towards the last person who was looking at him.

At this point, those who follow the pursuit are unlikely to be on your side, and those who choose to stand on the opposite side are either incredibly stupid or incredibly wicked.

"time to go!"

Wei Ran called out to Wang Lu behind him. He was desperately trying to tear open this gap in the encirclement to draw away all the pursuers, so he knew very well that he, or rather, that laborer named Wang Lu, probably...
It's almost dawn, please don't collapse here.
Wei Ran looked at Wang Lu, who was running towards him with a dazed expression, holding a sesame seed cake in his hand. He didn't know what kind of story this ordinary-looking Wang Lu had gone through. But his hope that Wang Lu could also survive was the same as his expectation for Cheng Bingquan's family.

"Are you out of your mind?" Wang Lu asked, uttering a stupid question.

"You want it?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

“That’s true,” Wang Lu smiled and ate the last bite of the sesame seed cake.

"One minute, change into their clothes, hurry up," Wei Ran urged.

Upon hearing this, Wang Lu's eyes lit up, and he quickly changed out of the clothes that had been taken from the corpse.

"Don't move," Wei Ran said, already smearing blood on Wang Lu's face.

"And you?" Lawyer Wang asked.

"me?"

Wei Ran smiled, and without warning, knocked him unconscious by tapping him behind the ear. "I have to make sure you live too."

As he spoke, he lit a cigarette he had just seized and put it in Wang Lu's mouth as a timer to wake him up. Then, carrying the stripped corpse, he ran swiftly away from the encirclement area, occasionally pulling the trigger to use himself as bait.

Lured by him, more and more pursuers began to surround him. At the same time, Cheng Bingquan and his family finally boarded an inconspicuous little fishing boat and, propelled by the boatman's bamboo pole, entered the river.

"hiss--!"

Almost simultaneously, Wang Lu was also awakened by the burning of his lips from a cigarette.

But at this moment, besides the surrounding corpses, who else is here?
Of course, he didn't know that either.

At this moment, Wei Ran, who had been forced into a dead end, had run out of bullets and had been shot in multiple places. In front of him, besides the increasingly close pursuers, there was also an intense white light that was gradually engulfing everything around him.

"I hope you all survived," Wei Ran murmured to himself as he fled into the white light.

As he waited patiently, everything around him gradually appeared as the white light dissipated, and he gradually smelled the salty smell of the sea.

However, before he could see anything around him, he suddenly felt a burning pain in his back, and then he heard a "snap!" sound.

"Hurry up and move it! If you dawdle, I'll shoot you!"

Just then, a roar reached his ears, followed by another burning pain in his back.

(End of this chapter)