War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1546 Elite?

"Da da da"

Amid the chaotic but intensive gunfire, the three Falange members were shot to death by Wei Ran and Hot Air Balloon almost before they could run into the alley, and lay trembling on the ground.

Retracting back to the entrance of the alley, the hot air balloon started talking loudly to the person opposite in Arabic, which Wei Ran and the sewing machine could not understand.

After a moment, he even shone a beam of flashlight at the three bodies. He walked out of the alley, raised his pistol and shot the three bodies again, then raised his hands.

A moment later, a man who looked to be in his forties and a young man who looked to be no more than 20 years old ran over, each holding a civilian hunting rifle.

After some communication between the two parties, the two men who seemed to be father and son hugged the hot air balloon tightly, then picked up the guns from the four corpses and ran away.

“Let’s speed up too.”

The hot air balloon switched back to French and said, "The father and son just now will help us attract firepower around us."

"How far is it?"

While Wei Ran asked in a low voice, he had already replaced the magazine of the weapon in his hand, and quickly walked back to the depths of the alley, put the girls he was responsible for on his back again and wrapped them in bed sheets.

“Very close”

The hot air balloon carried the child on its back and whispered back, "Let's get out of here first."

Almost at the same time as their three teams crossed the street and entered another alley, more intense gunfire was heard again in the direction where the father and son disappeared not far away.

Since crossing this street, the leading hot air balloon has never turned on its flashlight. It relies entirely on the little light cast into the narrow alley by the flares above its head, while at the same time it has to move forward by sticking to the slight shadows of the alley walls.

Because of this, they stopped and walked along the way, and soon Wei Ran and the hot air balloon less than ten meters behind him were completely lost in these intricate alleys.

As Wei Ran was nervous and alert along the way, they even climbed into the window of a house and came out from another window on the other side of the house.

But the magical thing was that when they ran all the way and came to a street again, Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, because just diagonally across the street was the house they rented!

"what-!"

Just at this moment, a woman's scream suddenly came from the yard. When the two of them and the sewing machine following behind realized that something was wrong, the scream suddenly disappeared!

'Protect the children'

"Hide well"

Wei Ran and the hot air balloon reminded the sewing machine behind them one by one and handed the children they were responsible for to him. Then they looked up in unison and stared at the flares that were emitting dazzling light in the night sky.

As they waited patiently, the height of the old flares gradually lowered and the shadows of the surrounding buildings gradually lengthened.

Almost at the same time as a new round of flares rose up, Wei Ran and the hot air balloon took advantage of the shadows, crouched down and rushed to the alley opposite the house at the fastest speed.

After lifting the carpet propped up with wooden sticks, the two of them carefully pushed aside the firewood used as a cover and crawled into an inconspicuous gap in the corner of the wall.

Without any pause, the two of them crawled under the chassis of the ambulance.

They all touched the manhole cover that was tightly fastened together. Wei Ran was the first to crawl through the hole in the wall and got under the car whose wheels were still propped up by the jack. He observed this once extremely warm courtyard with the light released by the flares.

Almost at hand, he saw at first sight someone staring at him with a pair of lifeless eyes.

That was the landlord, Mr. Salah. In addition to the fear and resentment on his face, there was a deep cut on his neck that could be seen to the bone. At this time, the blood gushing from his carotid artery had soaked a large area under him.

After looking at the hot air balloon beside him, Wei Ran made a gesture for silence. As slowly as a hunting lizard, he turned around and hid in the shadow of the rear of the car. He listened expressionlessly to the suppressed and almost inaudible screams coming from the room on the first floor.

At a certain moment, Wei Ran crawled out from under the chassis like a gecko climbing a wall, and moved quickly to the base of the wall almost sticking to the ground.

Behind him, the hot air balloon lying on its side under the car also raised the folding stock AKM that Wei Ran had just left behind. However, he did not cover Wei Ran, but instead pointed the gun at the second floor.

At the foot of the wall on the first floor, the landlady's voice could be heard a little more clearly, but Wei Ran did not act impulsively. He did not even stand up. Instead, he crawled along the wall to the door.

With the help of the flares outside, he could clearly see that there were three people in the room on the first floor. Two of them were smoking cigarettes and pressing the landlady with their backs to the door, while the third one was the main perpetrator of violence.

After making sure that there were no other enemies in the room, Wei Ran suddenly stood up and rushed forward.

"puff!"

After stabbing the bayonet in his hand into the back of one of the men, a Type 50 engineer shovel with a sharp blade suddenly appeared in Wei Ran's left hand.

"laugh!"

  The shovel almost cut off half of the other accomplice's head. The gushing blood not only splashed on the face of the abuser, but also made him look extremely scared and confused in the light of the flare - how did the shovel appear? Where did it go?

In this moment of surprise, Wei Ran had already jumped onto the bed, and an engineer shovel appeared in his hand again.

"laugh!"

Taking advantage of the momentum of his body rushing forward, Wei Ran, holding the shovel handle with both hands, thrust forward with force and easily stabbed the tip of the shovel into the neck of the last enemy.

"Pfft!"

Almost at the moment when Wei Ran stepped on the chest of the last enemy to pull out the shovel, the enemy whose heart and lungs were pierced by his knife and the enemy whose head was almost half cut off fell to the side of the bed one after another, accompanied by blood spurting out.

"puff"

When the third enemy, whose neck was more than half broken, fell to the ground with splattering smelly blood, Wei Ran also looked down at the landlady lying on the bed in dishevel, with tears of humiliation and despair on her face.

At this time, her neck was tied tightly to the metal railing at the head of the bed with a leather belt, and her chest and arms were covered with at least dozens of small blisters that seemed to be caused by cigarette butts.

"Shh-"

Wei Ran made a gesture to the other person to keep quiet, then pulled a blanket over and gently covered the other person's body.

The landlady trembled involuntarily when the blanket touched her body, and then she wrapped herself tightly, but she could not stop the tears from pouring out.

"Shh-"

The only thing Wei Ran could do, as he didn't speak the language, was to make a common gesture and then pointed to the ceiling above his head and made a gesture of wiping his neck.

The landlady did not give any response at all. Seeing this, Wei Ran could only sigh silently, pulled out his bayonet, wiped the blood stains, and then searched the three corpses at his feet as quickly as possible.

The three bodies looked no different from those of the Falangists who broke into the refugee camp and committed crimes, but he noticed some special details.

Although they all used Soviet weapons, one of them was equipped with an additional silent Makarov pistol.

Picking up the pistol with the silencer on and taking a look at it, Wei Ran glanced at the landlady lying on the bed with a numb expression. After a little hesitation, he carried out the preliminary dismantling of all the weapons on the three bodies to prevent her from committing suicide.

He picked up the silenced Makarov rifle that he had specially left behind, wiped the blood stains off it roughly, loaded it with bullets, crouched down and groped his way out of the room, then moved along the wall to the edge of the outer staircase leading to the second floor.

After observing upwards through the gap, Wei Ran looked at the hot air balloon that was still hidden under the car. He waited patiently for the flare to lengthen the shadow of the stair railing, then he crawled on his stomach again and climbed up the outer stairs silently.

After four consecutive times of the flares rising and falling, he finally reached the second floor.

Hiding behind the half-open door, he found that he could not hear any sound at all, but he could smell the unique odor of burning dog hemp.

Almost subconsciously, he thought of the Soviet veteran who he had accidentally captured near the hospital outside the refugee camp a few days ago.

Why are these Jewish scum always eyeing the hospital?

Wei Ran slowly pulled out the silenced pistol he had just picked up and muttered to himself, but he was not in a hurry to go in. He had to catch a valuable tongue this time no matter what.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes. Just as he was about to wait for movement inside, a man holding a telescope in his right hand and a pipe in his left hand walked out from the second floor, and behind him, there was another person!

After a brief pause that lasted only one tenth of a second at most, the man in front subconsciously started to shout, and the man behind him also quickly reached out to grab the gun!

However, Wei Ran, who was also frightened by the door-opening attack, reacted faster. Without even waiting for the other party to make a sound, he had already put the silenced pistol in his hand against the first man's chest and pulled the trigger.

At the same time, his left hand passed through the man's armpit and took out his own pistol with a silencer. In less than half a second, he pulled the trigger almost against the man's arm!

"Bang, bang!" After two almost overlapping faint gunshots, the silent Makarov in Wei Ran's right hand pierced through the other armpit of the corpse that he was almost holding in his arms. At the same time, the gun in his left hand switched to the other arm of the second person and pulled the trigger!

"Snapped!"

The third gunshot rang out almost simultaneously with the scream of the man who was shot, but Wei Ran had already turned sideways to throw away the body in his arms, and kicked the man who screamed in the knee.

"Plop! Snap!"

At the same time as two completely different voices rang out, the other person's screams became fuller as the corpse fell to the ground.

"Snapped!"

Accompanied by another gunshot, Wei Ran aimed at a man who was about to walk out of the room that previously belonged to him and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

Until a scream was heard in the room, he immediately opened the door and shot the man who seemed to have been shot in the abdomen in the chest.

At the same time, the hot air balloonist who heard the noise also ran up quickly, squatted down against the corner of the wall in one smooth movement, and at the same time raised the folding butt AKM rifle that belonged to Wei Ran.

With the other party's protection, Wei Ran felt much more at ease and quickly searched every room.

As expected and unexpected, there were only three enemies on the second floor, but their weapons and equipment were particularly special.

The Soviet-produced silent Makarov pistol is just a standard feature for everyone. In addition, they also have a silenced MP5 submachine gun with a telescopic stock, which can also be called "MP5SD3".

No matter what the specific model of this weapon is, it is almost certain that the Falange Party cannot afford it, nor does it have the need to use these special weapons.

In addition to the special weapons, the three men also have a walkie-talkie, an SSG69 sniper rifle mounted on the table in his room, and of course, a telescope for each person.

"These are weapons that only the elite can use."

Hot Air Balloon picked up the "green gun" and looked at it. "As we all know, the Long Spear Party does not have elite troops."

“These people are unlikely to be Falangists.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he picked up a silenced MP5, pulled out the telescopic stock and tried it out, while asking, "Do you speak Hebrew? Maybe we can try and see if we can get anything out of you."

"What do you mean?" When Hot Air Balloon took the silenced submachine gun and silenced pistol handed to him by Wei Ran, he had already realized what the latter wanted to express.

"Will it?" Wei Ran asked again while picking up the second set of silent weapons.

"Simple communication is no problem, and I guess they can speak Arabic." Hot Air Balloon poked the wound of the only survivor with the weapon in his hand, and asked as the other party groaned with all his might, "But don't you need to bandage him first?"

"If he's still alive after he tells me all the information he knows, I'll bandage him up properly."

Wei Ran said as he walked towards the outer staircase with his weapon in hand, "I'm going to check on the landlady and see if their child is still alive."

"Don't let the sewing machine in with the children," the hot air balloon warned.

Hearing this, Wei Ran paused for a moment, nodded silently, and walked over the corpse without caring whether the other party saw it or not.

Back on the first floor, Wei Ran first went to see the landlady. At this time, she had untied the belt around her neck, changed her clothes, and was sitting on the sofa in the living room on the first floor wrapped in a blanket.

However, when he didn't get a response after greeting her several times, he immediately realized that something was wrong and quickly took out a flashlight and pointed it at the gentle woman.

After a moment, the flashlight beam finally stopped on her chest, where a sharp and slender kitchen knife was stuck, almost piercing her body.

Her hands were tightly gripping the knife handle, and on the table in front of her was a Polaroid photo torn in half. It was a photo of her, her husband, and their two children.

With a silent sigh, Wei Ran took a step back silently, took out the Nikon SP camera with an expressionless face and pointed it at the woman on the sofa. He waited patiently for the moment when a new round of flares would be launched to illuminate her, and then he pressed the shutter button with difficulty.

After hesitating for a moment, he found a piece of newspaper, carefully wrapped the torn photo and stuffed it into her shirt pocket, then slowly pulled out the kitchen knife that she was holding tightly against her heart, which was supposed to be used to cook food for her family.

Gently picking up the humiliated woman, Wei Ran walked out of the room, walked to the car that once symbolized the family's affluence, opened the door with difficulty, and placed her in the back seat.

He carefully helped her tidy up her clothes and the headscarf on her head, and helped her fasten her seat belt. Then Wei Ran carried the body of the landlord Mr. Salah, who was not far away, into the back compartment, and also tidied his clothes and helped him fasten his seat belt.

He closed the car door gently and put down the tattered blanket that covered the car. Wei Ran let out a long sigh, turned around and walked upstairs again.

"Why are you back so soon?" the hot air balloon who was torturing the prisoners asked in French.

"The landlady." Wei Ran was silent for a moment, "She just committed suicide."

Hearing this, Hot Air Balloon was stunned for a moment, then he pressed his finger into the prisoner's wound again and said in an irritable tone, "This is the last time I will ask you. Should I send you to hell or to the hospital across the street? It's up to you to decide."

What surprised Wei Ran was that even though he was grimacing in pain and wanted to roll over, this prisoner whose teeth had all been knocked out was actually quite tough and had no intention of speaking at all.

"Let me do it"

Wei Ran didn't want to waste any more time, so he signaled the hot air balloon to loosen the wound of the injured man.

"I want to know which unit you are from and what your combat mission is."

Wei Ran finished speaking in Hebrew under the surprised gaze of Hot Air Balloon, then stood up and walked to his room. When he came out, he had a pair of German wire cutters in his hand.

"You have 21 chances, and I'm going to start with your least important little toe."

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already used wire cutters to cut the man's boot laces. "For the last time, I will cut off your dick. But don't worry, you will survive. You will definitely survive. I also need you to stand in front of the camera of the news reporter and confess everything you have done."

After saying that, he signaled the hot air balloon to help tear off the prisoner's boots and socks. The prisoner, who had just looked tough, now looked panicked.

"I'm in a hurry, so I won't be very gentle. If you want to say it, remember to shake your head wildly."

After saying that, Wei Ran grabbed a rag and stuffed it into the prisoner's mouth. Then he stepped on the prisoner's ankle and clamped one of his little toes with wire cutters while saying, "Go check on the children. I've hidden the landlord and his wife in the back compartment of the car."

"it is good"

Almost at the same time as the hot air balloon rose up, Wei Ran used both hands to easily cut off a little toe.

Suddenly, the prisoner's body twitched, and then he began to shake his head wildly.

Unfortunately, Wei Ran seemed not to notice and slowly cut off two more toes. Then he pulled off the rag and reminded her, "You only have one chance to speak, so say it all. If you have reservations, just keep resisting. I'll be happy to help you trim the extra branches."

"269, I'm from Unit 269!"

The prisoner slurred, "My rank is Sergeant, my name is"

"Say something useful." Wei Ran placed the wire cutters on his feet intentionally or unintentionally.

Trembling uncontrollably, the prisoner immediately said, "We are only responsible for keeping an eye on the Acre Hospital and being ready to answer questions raised on the intercom in code at any time."

"What questions have you asked?" Wei Ran asked slowly, but at the same time he snorted disdainfully in his heart.

Sure enough, in Mr. Culp's description, the 269th Unit, which was more boastful than the Koreans, was just as he said at the beginning, a pet dog barking behind a strong master.

"We just arrived here half an hour ago," the prisoner replied, trembling with pain, "The only question is whether we have reached the observation position."

"When was this place chosen?" Wei Ran asked, shaking the wire cutters.

"Temporarily selected"

The prisoner nervously curled up his feet and replied, "We just need to keep an eye on this hospital."

"What is the code word?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

“My code has failed.”

Seeing that Wei Ran was about to attack again, the prisoner said quickly, "Each person's secret code is only valid for two hours. Mine is no longer valid. The other two..."

"Then it's useless."

Before Wei Ran finished his words, he had already raised the pistol that suddenly appeared and decisively pulled the trigger.