War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1559 When the First Flare Rises

Almost at the same time when the Ark armored vehicle was once again filled with injured children, Wei Ran also found the SVD sniper rifle wrapped in colorful cloth strips.

Without leaving the kitchen at all, he put on the blanket used to wrap the rifle, then picked up the sniper rifle and placed it on the table at the door about two meters away from the window.

This was aimed at the entrance of the refugee camp. He could even see through the scope the young soldier named Tal, who was smoking a cigarette and chatting with his companions on the front of an armored vehicle at the entrance.

Wei Ran gently loaded the bullet into the chamber, prepared himself for shooting, and waited patiently for the Ark to come into his sight.

This refugee camp was only about one square kilometer in size. Even though the streets were intricate, it took him less than 10 minutes to see the Ark armored vehicle heading towards the entrance, as well as the hot air balloon on the roof.

Fortunately, perhaps because the soldiers guarding the door had changed shifts, no one noticed this armored vehicle leaving the refugee camp for the second time.

Even Tal, a soldier standing not far from the entrance, did not recognize his "new friend" who was sitting in the car with his back to him.

The next step was to wait patiently, waiting for the hot air balloon to come back to pick up the third carload of people, waiting for him to rob a truck to transport the bodies, and waiting for it to get completely dark - and for those flares they didn't want to see.

After changing to another room, Wei Ran held up a telescope and looked in the direction where the ambulance was hidden.

This is indeed a very good sniper position. Not only can you see the gate of the refugee camp from the previous room, but from this room you can also clearly see the alley where the ambulance is hidden, as well as the hospital at the other end of the alley.

Changing to another room again, he was able to see more with the help of the scope.

At this time, the refugee camp has turned into a construction site, with various makeshift burial pits everywhere.

Various burial pits filled with corpses, covered with a layer of construction waste and being repeatedly crushed by bulldozers can be seen everywhere.

Also seen everywhere were the increasingly idle Falangist militiamen, some of whom were sharing U.S. Army field rations with each other, some were sharing cigarettes and Coke from nowhere, and some were sharing women.

  Don't waste this sniper spot.

Wei Ran suppressed the urge to shoot with difficulty and hid behind the window, observing the situation in all directions.

"I found a pack of cigarettes, who wants to trade me some wine?"

Just as Wei Ran once again raised the telescope to look towards the entrance of the refugee camp, a soldier named Tal suddenly asked a question from the walkie-talkie in the chest bag.

"Keep radio quiet" followed closely by another voice on channel 6.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran, who originally had no intention of responding to the message, picked up his sniper rifle again and once again aimed at the entrance of the refugee camp, looking for the awkward soldier Tal.

At 4:42 p.m., the Ark armored vehicle once again drove into the refugee camp and continued to circle around it.

Less than 20 minutes later, a truck carrying corpses drove in - it was the truck driven by Bat.

Letting the sight follow the movement of the truck, Wei Ran also noticed that Bat did not go straight to the hospital. Instead, he drove to a location quite a distance away from the hospital and allowed a bulldozer to load the truck he was driving with corpses.

Before he drove to the entrance of the refugee camp, Wei Ran mounted the telescope on his backpack in advance, then attached the lens of the half-frame camera to the eyepiece of the telescope and secured it with a blanket he found.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Almost at the same time that the Yishilie soldiers guarding the entrance to the refugee camp opened fire on the bodies in the truck bed, he pressed the shutter of his camera.

Driven by the electric motor, this half-frame camera started the continuous shooting mode, but Wei Ran couldn't guarantee whether such a simple "telephoto" could capture anything.

When he put his eyes back on the sniper rifle scope next to him, Bat had already driven the truck out of the refugee camp, and he also heard the unique sound of the armored vehicle tracks rolling over the road downstairs.

Going to the window and hiding behind the curtains to take a look outside, Wei Ran also saw the Ark armored vehicle coming towards him, as well as the hot air balloon in the machine gun tower looking towards him.

Wei Ran quickly wrapped the sniper rifle in a blanket and hid it again. He picked up his backpack and weapons, went downstairs as quickly as possible, and climbed onto the armored vehicle which had slowed down in advance.

“I knew you were here.”

Hot Air Balloon waited for Wei Ran to close the rear hatch before asking, "We've already got it in the truck."

"I saw it, but why is it a bat?"

Wei Ran asked curiously, "I saw him just leaving the refugee camp with a cart of corpses."

"The soldier named Tal is at the entrance of the refugee camp. I was worried that he would recognize me, so I temporarily exchanged jobs with Bat."

At this point, Hot Air Balloon pointed to the building where Wei Ran had just hidden, "And later I can also use a sniper rifle to help create chaos. Bats know how to cooperate with me."

"Okay, what do you need me to do next?" Wei Ran asked.

"We'll use the first flare as a signal. When the flare goes up, Uncle Um and Bat will drive to the hospital as fast as they can. I'll follow them. After they get in the car, I'll get off here and return to the sniper position, waiting to create chaos when the car leaves."

"What about me?" Wei Ran asked.

"Next intersection"

The hot air balloon pointed ahead and said, "Get off at the next intersection and go back to the hospital by yourself. Tell Mr. Sewing Machine to get ready, and also tell the children to get ready."

After a pause, the hot air balloon said, "The armored vehicle will go to the hospital to pick up the wounded first, and then pick up Hanward and the others. Also, make sure that the cradle and sewing machine are all on board."

"I see"

  Wei Ran nodded. The other party had made it clear enough. This might be the last chance to evacuate. If he didn't leave this time, he might...

"Get off," the hot air balloon said as the armored vehicle turned, "We will contact you on Channel 6 if necessary."

"good luck"

Wei Ran said this as he jumped off the armored vehicle and walked towards the hospital while checking his weapons and ammunition.

He carries a lot of weapons now. In addition to the silent MP5 submachine gun, Stechkin submachine pistol and spare ammunition in his backpack, the three ammunition bags on his chest are each stuffed with AK magazines wrapped together in groups of two with medical tape to provide ammunition for the folding stock AKM in his hand. The silent Makarov is also fixed on his leg.

Not to mention that the Black Panther vest provided by the metal book is also filled with ammunition, as well as the matching Type 81 rifle.

Are so many weapons heavy?

Of course it is heavy, but even so, he would rather carry it.

He did not forget that the Metal Book not only did not allow him to escape the Southern Fate, but also clearly required him to ensure that Hanward and Dalal survived until tomorrow evening in the return mission.

In other words, he doesn't have to worry too much about being hungry in the remaining 24 hours. After all, it's only one day and he won't starve to death.

  But he had to seriously consider whether he needed to fight a 24-hour death street battle!

Lifting the heavy backpack up, Wei Ran glanced at the prisoner-of-war watch on his wrist and slightly quickened his pace.

After going around in circles and rushing to the hospital again, Wei Ran saw the sewing machine that had been lingering inside the side door from a distance.

"When is the next trip?" Seeing that there was no one around, the sewing machine immediately asked Wei Ran.

"After the first flare went up"

Wei Ran changed into the Rabbit Riding Language that only the two of them could understand and whispered, "How many more wounded are there?"

"There are still many," the sewing machine paused, "there are also many injured children."

"We'll try to send them all away in one trip. You and the cradle should get on board as well."

Wei Ran paused for a moment and gave detailed instructions on the hot air balloon plan. "I'll go check on Hanward and the others. We'll contact them on Channel 6 in case of emergency."

"it is good"

The sewing machine only had time to respond hurriedly before Wei Ran turned and left through the side door of the hospital.

After circling back to the alley where the ambulance was hidden, Wei Ran went to see the conductor who was still alive. Then he climbed through the hole in the wall and gently knocked on the manhole cover under the ambulance. "Hanwad, Dalal, it's me. Are you there?"

"exist"

Before he finished his words, the manhole cover was pushed open from the inside, and Wei Ran saw the situation inside the well in the dim light.

The cellar was not big, but seven children were crammed inside. On their knees, besides a basket of cakes, there was also the confiscated camera and the silenced pistol that Wei Ran gave to Hanward.

"Hold on a little longer"

Wei Ran whispered, "You can leave after dark. Eat your fill before that."

"Has the massacre outside stopped yet?" Dalal asked in a low voice.

"not yet"

Wei Ran paused and said, "Hide well. I will come to find you when I can leave. Before that, do not leave here no matter what."

"it is good"

The children, who were huddled together so tightly that they could barely breathe, responded to his request in a low voice.

Without daring to delay too much, Wei Ran covered the manhole cover again, climbed through the hole in the wall on the other side to the yard where he used to rent, climbed up to the second floor where only the frame was left, hid behind the window, and secretly observed the direction of the hospital.

As the wait got longer and longer, the sky gradually darkened and a helicopter with a rogue star logo appeared overhead.

Amid the rumbling roar of propellers, the helicopters dropped flares with small parachutes.

  About to start

While Wei Ran was pressing the shutter button towards the helicopters, he was also muttering to himself.

After putting away the camera, he quickly pulled out the relatively quiet MP5 submachine gun from his bag and prepared for any eventuality.

At 48: in the evening, Bat drove the truck straight into the hospital and pointed the rear of the truck directly at the window at the end of the corridor. Almost as soon as the truck stopped, the "corpses" climbed onto the truck with the help of the people around them.

But soon, some of the wounded struggled to jump out of the car or even fell down, ignoring the medical workers' pulling, as if... giving the chance of escape to others.

Wei Ran could clearly see through the telescope that those who gave up escaping were either seriously injured or elderly people with gray hair.

"Ugh"

As he sighed helplessly, the Ark entered the hospital at 53: and allowed the medical staff to carry one injured child after another into the carriage.

At the same time, the truck full of "corpses" drove out of the side door of the hospital and headed towards the entrance of the refugee camp at a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow.

However, just as the armored vehicle was about to be filled with injured children, the truck was stopped by several Falange militiamen.

  Before the truck stopped, a bulldozer drove over with several mutilated bodies and construction waste mixed in with them in its trailer!

Be bad!

  Wei Ran's heart sank and he quickly picked up the silent submachine gun beside him!

Before he could turn on the safety, the truck driven by Bat suddenly accelerated. At the same time, one of the militiamen seemed to have discovered something unusual and raised the AK rifle from his shoulder while shouting!

"Da da da!"

Almost at the same time that the militiaman pulled the trigger, the sewing machine lying next to the "corpse" suddenly sat up, holding a silent Makarov pistol in both hands, and almost at the same time as Wei Ran, pulled the trigger at the militia who discovered them!

"Bang, bang, bang! Da-da-da!"

Amid the piercing sound of gunfire, the militiaman who had just fired a few bullets was successfully killed, but the piercing sound of the bullet he fired before his death also made the nearby militiamen more alert!

"Ta-ta! Ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta!"

Wei Ran fired again and again to clear the threats around the truck, but the bulldozer also drove up, trying to use its huge body to provide cover for the surrounding militiamen, but at the same time it also blocked Wei Ran's shooting range!

"Bang bang bang!"

Amid the continuous and intense gunfire, the edge of the window where Wei Ran was hiding was hit by bullets repeatedly, and he had to shrink back.

  Fortunately, at this critical moment, Um drove out in an armored vehicle, and sitting in the hot air balloon in the machine gun tower, he also controlled the Lao Gan Ma and pulled the trigger at the Falange militiamen with happy eyes and even the bulldozer!

"Thumbs up!"

Amid the deafening sound of machine gun fire, the cab of the bulldozer was instantly destroyed, and the militiamen hiding around it also had their sinful bodies torn apart by bullets.

"Boom!"

  With a crash that almost made Wei Ran fall, the armored vehicle driven by Wum slammed into the wall of the building where he was hiding, easily creating a hole big enough in the wall!

"Go to the sniper position!"

While shouting, the hot air balloon jumped out of the armored vehicle and crawled into the hole in the wall that had just been knocked open.

  At the same time, the armored vehicle also turned roughly, and with the rapid rotation of the tracks, it crushed the bodies of the militiamen and caught up with the truck!

In the camera that Wei Ran raised almost subconsciously, between the Uncle Um and the big man with the bat, the sewing machine, covering its thigh, staggered from the cargo box to the armored vehicle, and then sat in the machine gun tower.

"Where is that mine!" Hot Air Balloon asked loudly as Wei Ran put away his camera.

"what are you up to!"

"Tell me quickly!"

  After that, the hot air balloon picked up the intercom and shouted in Arabic, "Attention! There is an ambulance heading to the direction where the refugee camp was damaged last night!

There's a terrorist in there holding our people hostage! He just attacked our bulldozer with a machine gun! Stop him!"

"Where?!" the hot air balloon shouted anxiously to Wei Ran.

"Come with me!"

Wei Ran, who had already guessed what the other party was going to do, did not dare to delay. He ran out of the yard quickly and opened the half-open trunk of the shabby car.

"You go and create chaos with your sniper rifle, and I'll drive the ambulance to draw fire! The sewing machine will shoot in your direction!"

As Hot Air Balloon spoke, he had already taken out the fuse and screwed it onto the mine as quickly as possible, then roughly pulled off the safety clip.

"Do you know what you are doing?" Wei Ran asked.

"If you survive"

As the hot air balloon spoke, he was already pulling the bag and trying to crawl under the car, "The children are now in your care, go to the sniper position! Otherwise, they won't be able to leave alive!"

Before Wei Ran could say anything, the hot air balloon pushed him away, rolled under the car, climbed through the hole in the wall nimbly, and unscrewed a jack pressure relief valve that supported the car chassis.

"Hide inside, don't make any noise, and don't come out!"

On the other side of the wall, the hot air balloon loudly warned the children in the cellar while tying the backpack containing the mines tightly to the generator on the front of the car.

He pulled off the canvas on the roof and got into the cab of the ambulance. He took a deep breath and started the car. Then he stepped on the accelerator and drove out of the alley with the firewood pile used as a camouflage amid the roar of the engine. He almost brushed the wall and drove into the yard, into the charred house, and through the hole in the wall that the armored vehicle had just crashed into.

“God bless you!”

The man in the hot air balloon shouted to Wei Ran outside the window, stepped on the accelerator hard, and drove onto the street with an almost shrill roar of the engine.

“May Allah bless you too”

Wei Ran took a deep breath, turned around and ran towards the sniper position a few streets away.

At the same time, not only him, not only the bat and the sewing machine, not only Edelweiss who was hiding with her children in the port of Beirut, but everyone on Channel 6 heard his anxious reminder in Arabic.

"That crazy ambulance is on the street near the hospital! Go to the refugee camp wall and stop him! Be careful not to shoot! Captain Ayiman and Captain Arthur are in his car!"

"Beep——!"

Hearing the long-drawn car horn and the subsequent sharp gunshots behind him, Wei Ran, with an expressionless face, quickened his pace and ran towards the sniper position for his life.

"boom!"

Less than a hundred meters away from the refugee camp wall, the ambulance with an anti-tank mine on the front of it crashed into the front of the armored vehicle waiting there at top speed amid continuous machine gun fire, successfully detonating the TM62 anti-tank mine.

With a loud bang, all attention seemed to be drawn there. Even the helicopter hovering overhead began to move over there and dropped more flares!

At the same time, the armored vehicle driven by Uncle Um and the corpse-carrying truck driven by Bat also increased their speed. Not daring to waste any time that the hot air balloon had bought them, they drove desperately towards the entrance of the refugee camp.

When they were less than a hundred meters away from the camp entrance, Wei Ran raised his hand and shot dead two militiamen who were trying to greet him, then ran up to the second floor and took out the sniper rifle.

  By the time he had set up his gun and aimed at the entrance of the camp, the armored vehicle driven by Um had slowed down and slowly stopped next to the checkpoint. The sewing machine sitting in the machine gun tower was waving at the soldier named Tal, and judging from the latter's expression, it seemed that he was ready to climb onto the roof of the armored vehicle!

But behind this armored vehicle, a soldier with a gun had walked to the rear of the truck and raised the Galil rifle in his hand!

"boom!"

  Wei Ran, breathing rapidly, decisively pulled the trigger at the soldier at the rear of the truck!

Fortunately, the distance between him and the opponent was close enough, so close that even though he was out of breath, he still shot the soldier in the lower back!

"boom!"

Wei Ran moved the muzzle of the gun as quickly as possible and pulled the trigger towards the buttocks of the awkward soldier Tal who had climbed onto the roof of the car!

Without waiting for the bullet shell of the second shot to fall to the ground, Sewing Machine pulled the shot Tal down, then hurriedly turned the machine gun turret and pulled the trigger at another building next to Wei Ran!

"Da da da da da da!"

The fierce machine gun fire immediately created clouds of dust on the building, and the tracer bullets mixed in it also provided direction for the soldiers at the door.

At the same time, Um and Bat also drove their cars and hurriedly drove out of the refugee camp!

Just as Wei Ran was about to continue shooting, urgent shouts came from the direction of the first floor.

Not daring to delay at all, he immediately pulled out a grenade and stuck it into the hole of the butt of the sniper rifle. Then he covered the gun with a blanket, turned and ran to another room, climbed over the window, and jumped down by grabbing the window sill outside.

"Pfft!"

Almost at the same time he landed, he heard shouting coming from the second floor and saw two militiamen guarding the doorway on the first floor.

"Da da!"

Wei Ran pulled out his silent Makarov pistol and shot each of them in the back of the head. He then turned and walked across the street, and as the grenade on the second floor exploded, he entered another building.

After closing the bullet-riddled wooden door behind him, he took out the AKM submachine gun he had been carrying, along with the magazine stuffed in the Type 56 chest mount on his body, and hid them in a cabinet on the first floor, leaving only the walkie-talkie in his hand.

He untied his backpack and stuffed the submachine gun magazines into the magazine pouch on his chest. Then he stuffed the submachine gun back into the bag and replaced it with the submachine pistol that was already equipped with a steel buttstock and a silencer.

After successfully reducing a considerable amount of weight from his body, Wei Ran climbed out of the window on the other side of the first floor of the house while pulling out the intercom and blatantly asking in French, "Hot air balloon, are you still alive? Hot air balloon, are you still alive?"

After waiting for a while and seeing no response at all, he switched to Greek, which few people understood, "Sewing machine, are you still alive?"

"Still alive"

A moment later, the weak sound of a sewing machine came from the intercom, "We. Escaped."

  injured?

Wei Ran's heart sank, and he finally said in Greek, "Live on."

"Are you okay? Dongfeng, are you okay?"

Edelweiss's suppressed panicked question suddenly came from Channel 6 - she spoke in German.

"I'm fine. Don't make any more calls. You will be found. Hide immediately."

Wei Ran gave a final instruction, then changed the channel, switched to Arabic, and shouted in a low, hoarse voice, "My team found the sniper, and he's been killed by a machine gun! It was a woman!"

After saying this, he immediately quickened his pace and once again ran towards the hospital in the light released by the flares - the last seven children were hiding there.