War Photographer's Notebook

While the three of Wei Ran comforted Hawkes who failed to make the bow, Jiro at the northern end of the island fell into a coma again due to fever and fell on the wet beach.

A moment later, Akira, who had just had diarrhea, limped to Jiro's side, reached out and touched his forehead, and then slapped him in front of his eyes. On the contrary, there was a happy look on his face.

Carefully getting close to a tree, Akila pulled out the damp sand with his hands, and dug out a small bag of umbrella cloth from inside.

Opening this small bag, there are two pieces of coconut shells inside, and inside the two pieces of coconut shells is the only compressed biscuit left by the two of them.

Unable to wait to tear open the package, Akila put the compressed biscuit in his mouth, but put the package back into the coconut shell and wrapped it in umbrella cloth again, and then buried it back.

Holding this piece of compressed biscuit, Akila limped away from the camp, found a place where he could enjoy the sunset, and tasted the extremely delicious compressed biscuit at this time, but he didn't notice it at all. In the camp behind him, cold tears overflowed from the corners of Jiro's eyes uncontrollably.

This night, this unnoticed deserted island was once again shrouded in heavy rain.

On the north side of the island, Akira and his nephew Jiro were each wearing one-piece flight suits and squeezed under the umbrella cloth. From time to time, they would take off their clothes and run to the edge of the sky, with painful expressions on their faces for a while before giving up.

But at the southern tip of the island, there is another scene. Not only are there four men sitting around the beating bonfire with umbrella cloth around their waists, but they are also holding water bottles, steel cups, gas cylinders, and even washed them with sand. steel helmet.Even under a palm tree outside the canopy, a budding jasmine was transplanted.

Beside the bonfire, whenever water boils, it will be poured by Wei Ran and others into a thermos bucket not far away. Inside the thermos bucket, there are still some jasmine flower buds and some green leaves floating.

In addition to being busy storing clean fresh water that can be safely drunk, everyone also smeared coconut oil boiled by Wei Ran on the sunburned parts of their bodies.In addition, the small glass bottle filled with coagulated fat was passed over and over again in the hands of the four people.

"Hawkes, your water quality is the best, come with us tomorrow to get that giant clam back."

Lying in his hammock, Sterling extended the invitation, apparently to divert Hawkes' attention and change his mind after failing to make a bow.

“Good offer”

Evans immediately followed up and said, "At that time, you and Sterling will definitely be able to get that giant clam back. I can also continue to walk far away to see if I can find the lost weapon."

"Relax and go"

Before Hawkes could speak, Wei Ran said, "Don't you know how to catch fish with your bare hands? We are all hungry tonight. Even if you can't catch giant clams tomorrow, you still have to catch some fish."

"Well, that's fine!"

While Hawkes was talking, he pulled out a two-meter-long stick from under his simple bed, at most the thickness of a cucumber, and said while swinging the ax, "I still need a speargun. Tomorrow I promise to bring enough fish back."

Wei Ran and the two smiling captains looked at each other, spread a piece of dried umbrella cloth on his bed at ease, lay down on it and said, "Then leave it to you, tomorrow if I If you don’t have enough to eat, you’ll turn into a Wendigo.”

"I'm sure I can bring back enough fish, don't worry!" Hawkes responded while he was busy.

It didn't stop this young man from working overtime to make spearguns. The other three lay on their respective beds with the bonfire and the rain, just like last night, chatting aimlessly about their families and the things they did together. , and agreements that were promised but not yet fulfilled.

Gradually, the rain outside the sky became less and less, and the boiling water in the thermos tank became more and more full. In Hawks' hand, there was also a straight and smooth speargun with a sharpened and carbonized end.

In the blink of an eye, the next morning, the two captains took Hawkes to the atoll in the distance, and Wei Ran took a sneak shot of the backs of the three of them, and then used an engineer shovel to kill them in Sterling. A hole was dug under the hammock, and the insulation bucket filled with fresh water, together with other objects, were wrapped in excess umbrella cloth and buried in it, and a layer of firewood was piled on it.

Putting a heavy bulletproof vest on his already strong body and a steel helmet, he held the camera with a super telephoto lens in one hand and the small PPK pistol in the other. Under the cover of the forest, he quietly He walked towards the northernmost side of the island with a sound.

This time, besides planning to take a photo of Akila and his nephew, he also thought about taking advantage of the chance that the two beasts had been tortured by dysentery all night and had no strength to see if there was a way to get the 1911 The pistol was stolen.

It's just that man's calculation is not as good as heaven's calculation. Even though he expected various situations, he still didn't expect that when he felt that there was less than 50 meters away from Akila's camp, when he was lying on his stomach Behind a rock, when he held up the ultra-telephoto lens to point at the uncle and nephew, he found that Akira was riding on Jiro's body, and was using the helmet he snatched from them to protect Jiro. The arms of the head!
Almost subconsciously, he pressed the shutter for the first time towards the two humanoid beasts.

Soon, Jiro seized the opportunity, raised a handful of sand and threw it on Akira's face, and at the same time kicked Akira's injured sole hard with his foot.

Amidst the clearly audible screams, Jiro finally found a chance to turn over and hold Akira down, strangled its neck and yelled hoarsely in Japanese, "Where are the compressed biscuits! Where did you put the compressed biscuits?! Did you steal it!"

"No! I buried it!" Akira yelled scratching Jiro's arm, "That's our last reserve! I can't"

"I watched you eat it with my own eyes!"

Jiro with red eyes finally let go of his hand, pointed to the sand not far away and said, "I watched you wrap the wrapping paper and bury it there again with my own eyes! Do I need to dig it out?!"

"You burned out your brain!"

Akira, who didn't know that someone was secretly filming, pulled out the 1911 pistol attached to his waist and pointed it at Jiro in frustration, "Now go find food! Find firewood! Go!"

"Shoot!"

Jiro knelt on the ground and cried out, "It is impossible for us to leave this island! It is impossible to rush to Peleliu, and it is even more impossible to hijack the plane and return to Nagasaki! I will never see my father and mother again. There are my younger brothers and sisters! Don’t even think about seeing Shouta!"

Hearing this, the enraged Akira slapped Jiro's head hard with the handle of the gun, and then made another loud slap on the ear.

Seeing that the uncle and nephew seem to have pinched themselves first because of a piece of compressed biscuit, Wei Ran, who originally planned to grab the gun, was not in a hurry.

Leaving aside the excitement of punching and punching, the main reason is that the two of them are like mad dogs at this time, and he is restricted by the metal book from killing people, so if he goes out rashly, he will have an exchange of fire with the other party if he doesn't keep it clean. If you accidentally beat the other party to death, or the other party beat yourself to death, wouldn't you have to live on this island for the rest of your life?

Old Wei would not do such a loss-making business.In contrast, how can it be interesting to record this infighting with a camera while hiding in the distance?
Just like now, the two men clearly started to choke each other just now, but Akira stiffened suddenly, clutching his stomach, and ran to the beach outside the woods, squatting behind a rock, holding a pistol and continuing to babble. He was arguing with Jiro, and at the same time, the back door was not idle to unload the goods.

Jiro is not much better than his uncle. This young man who has been wronged by the world obviously looks dead, but under the urging of the abdominal pain, he took off his pants obediently, but he didn't know it was out of precaution. Still as a provocation, he also pulled out the machete that had been stuck in the sand and held it in his hand.

Seeing that the next scene is really not worth wasting film, Wei Ran hesitated for a while, and wisely did not waste bullets.

The facts are obvious, the uncles and nephews will probably start fighting with real knives and guns soon, rather than going out to help them unite the front at this time, it is better to watch the excitement first.

Quietly retreating, he picked up dead wood all the way back to the camp, took off his heavy body armor, and continued to carefully reinforce it with the branches he cut, the stones he moved, and even the sand dug out from the surrounding drainage ditches. The dikes used for waterproofing, and by the way, the seawater was boiled with steel helmets in order to extract coarse salt for seasoning.

In his busy work, before the sun rose to its highest point, Sterling and Hawks used the spear gun made by the latter himself, and together they drove back with a heavy object wrapped in umbrella cloth.

"Is this the giant clam you got?" Wei Ran asked curiously while helping to carry it.

"It's just giant clam flesh," Sterling explained. "Its shell was so heavy we couldn't even get it out of the water."

"Its shell is thick and hard, and it cannot be eaten at all, even if it is taken out, it is of some use."

Hawkes nonchalantly pointed to the umbrella cloth bag that was dripping constantly behind him, and said rather ostentatiously, "Not only did we get back more than ten kilograms of giant clam meat this time, but if it wasn't for Sterling and the chief to stop us, I might even catch a shark."

"Shark meat is not tasty, even if you catch it, you won't be able to eat it. It's better not to waste your energy."

As Sterling said, under Wei Ran's instruction, together with Hawkes, he put the bag of giant clam meat that he had worked so hard on on the palm leaves that had been laid out in advance.

As the tied umbrella cloth was opened, Wei Ran also saw the big lump of soft giant clam meat, and the two oversized scallops that looked elastic.

"Leave the meat to me and Hawkes"

Sterling moved his shoulders and said, "Victor, go and send two jugs of water to the chief, and you can catch up with him by walking along the atoll. He may have discovered something by this time. .”

"no problem"

"Wei Ran immediately pointed to the other party's hammock when he heard the words, "Fresh water and things that are temporarily unused are buried under the hammock, and I secretly went to see Akila and his companion, and the two of them started fighting. "

"What did you say?" Sterling asked with great interest, "How could the two of them fight?"

"It seems to be because of a compressed biscuit." Wei Ran smiled, and while picking up two extra water bottles hanging on his waist, he described what he saw.

"But where did they get the compressed biscuits?"

Hawkes, who had already taken out his jackknife and was busy dividing the giant clam meat, subconsciously licked his grease-smeared lips, "Do they have more compressed biscuits?"

"If there is, I'm afraid there won't be a fight." Wei Ran said, and handed the binoculars to Sterling, "In short, you should be more vigilant."

Handing over the camp to Sterling and Hawks, he turned around and quickened his pace, heading southeast along the submerged reefs and beaches to find Evans who was still exploring the atoll.

From about eleven o'clock in the noon until nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, there was only a small dot left on the island behind him, which was not as big as a match head, and a large protruding piece appeared far ahead. A sandy beach and a small piece of black reef.

At this time, Captain Evans had already propped up a not-so-large umbrella cloth with a wooden stick used as a cane, and he was sitting in the shadow of the umbrella cloth, with his back against the reef, holding a The pencil hangs its head to write and draw, and from time to time, it will pick up the pipe ax poked on the beach at hand and bring it to his mouth to take a big mouthful.

"Great chief, what are you up to?"

Wei Ran yelled and asked from a long distance away, and at the same time noticed the large pieces of mussels and densely packed barnacles growing on the reef.

"I'm writing the captain's log, or you can say it's a diary. Look, how is my office environment?"

Evans took off the toad mirror that Wei Ran had given him before, shook the waterproof notepad in his hand and said, "I am comparing the battle with the recruiting nuclear navy and what happened after the sinking of the Johnston to our Write down the difficulties we encountered, so that when we go back, we may have the opportunity to optimize the escape system on the ship and the survival training system for the sailors.”

"Sorry, Mr. Captain, I should have knocked on the door before entering your office." Wei Ran cooperated with the other party and made a small joke. By the way, he also untied the kettle, unscrewed the lid and handed it over.

"It's okay, I didn't close the door at all for ventilation."

Evans took a sip from the kettle, pointed to the surrounding reefs and said proudly, "Look at what I found, these shells are enough for us to eat several meals."

"Indeed, do you want to continue exploring today?"

Wei Ran glanced at not far from Evans, there were not only a lot of pried barnacles and mussels piled up in the puddle, but also a large piece of thick kelp.Obviously, the captain knew exactly what was edible in the sea.

"Let's be here today"

Evans put away the kettle, tore off the umbrella cloth above his head and handed it to Wei Ran, "Please put away those shells for me! We will carry them back together later."

"Leave it to me, you can continue to write your diary."

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already spread out the umbrella cloth, and together with the former, piled up all the barnacles and mussels that had been pried off the reef, not even the piece of kelp that was as big as a trouser leg Pass.

Finally, the umbrella cloth was tied corner to corner and the stick that was used as the palm was passed through. The two lifted the stick and tried the weight. Although most of them were inedible shells and sea water, it was definitely enough for the four of them to have a good meal tonight.

Not daring to waste too much time, the two of them carried the big bag of harvest with sticks, and left the rocky beach at a faster pace. It took a full four or five hours before the sun set. , Converged with Hawks who greeted them.

When the three of them returned to the camp with the smell of meat and fire in the sunset, the uncle and nephew who were far away at the northern end of the island just threw a piece of the drug into their mouths for dinner.

Before the medicine took effect, Jiro stood up staggeringly, and walked towards the beach outside the woods with the machete in his hand.

"What are you going to do?" Akira asked somewhat vigilantly.

"Looking for food." Before Jiro could finish his sentence, he had already walked out of the dark woods.

Hearing this, Akila showed a somewhat relieved expression on his face, and he took the initiative to say, "Give me the knife, and I'll get some firewood."

"Snapped!"

Without thinking about it, Jiro threw the machete in his hand to the edge of the camp, and with the last ray of sunlight, he searched for anything to eat on the beach.

Bending down to pick up the machete, Akila limped to the side of the dead silver-leaf tree with half of the oar, mustering up the little strength left, and chopping it with every stroke. Cut the gap in the trunk.

With his hard work, the dead tree, which was only as thick as a thigh, finally collapsed.However, until he piled the chopped branches at the root of the trunk and lit the bonfire again, and even when he took the initiative to call back Jiro, who was still wandering on the beach with his head bowed, there was nothing in the other party's hands except two Except for a hermit crab the size of a ping pong ball, there is nothing to eat at all.

What disappointed Akira even more was that Jiro had no intention of sharing even these two hermit crabs with him.Even after roasting them, Jiro stuffed them all into his mouth almost provocatively!

With a gloomy face, he picked up the kettle placed by the campfire, and Akira took a sip of the fresh water that was slightly hot to his mouth, and dropped a piece of the drug into his mouth by the way, before lying down in its own sandpit.

On the other hand, on the other side of the bonfire, after Jiro swallowed the only two bites of food, seeing that his selfish uncle didn't say anything at all, there seemed to be a touch of happiness after successful revenge on his face.

It's a pity that the only two bites of food are a drop in the bucket after all, so it didn't take long before it put on its own one-piece flight suit that smelled like shit, and curled up in its own bunker.

As time passed, Wei Ran and others at the southern end of the island not only made a large bottle of canned meat as emergency food, but also filled their stomachs with all kinds of imagination after returning home.Lying on their respective simple beds, looking at the cloudy night sky in the distance, they were secretly fascinated, and finally fell asleep amidst the thunder and the majestic rainstorm.

But at the northern end of the island, Akira got up shortly after Jiro's snoring, took off his flight suit, held a pistol in one hand, and a machete in the other, and limped around the burning The dead tree, with a gloomy face, looked down at Jiro, who was pale even in his sleep!

At this time, Akira not only had a particularly terrifying expression on his face, but even looked at Jiro's exposed arm and swallowed subconsciously!

After a long time, he muttered something nervously to himself, slowly raised the machete in his hand, swung it round and slashed at Jiro's neck!