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Chapter 160 The Death of Kennedy! (4.8k)

"You know about this too?" That was Lin Ran's first thought.

They soon realized that the other party was working for Soviet Russia.

They worked for Soviet Russia, either directly or indirectly.

Lin Ran vaguely knew that the Soviet Union knew that Kennedy was going to be assassinated, and then tried to get the news to Kennedy. It seemed that there was such a thing.

"Who are you?" Lin Ran asked.

The other person pulled out a hammer and sickle medal from his chest.

"It's no use coming to me." Lin Ran said speechlessly.

Lin Ran estimated that as soon as he left, the other party would throw the badge into the forging furnace to melt it down.

“Professor, all the alerts we tried to send to the White House were intercepted,” John Yadley said.

"Didn't I connect you guys?" Lin Ran complained.

What about the hotline?
Isn't that what the hotline is used for?

Lin Ran certainly knew why the Soviet Union wanted to save Kennedy.

Kennedy was one of the few presidents who was conciliatory, communicative, and capable of keeping the Cold War at a very low level.

The Soviet Union certainly hoped that President America would be Kennedy, not Lyndon Johnson or anyone else.

After all, if other people come to power, the military-industrial complex will make a fortune, which will only exacerbate the conflict step by step.

Therefore, rescuing Kennedy was in the interest of Soviet Russia.

“The hotline is a telegram, not a telephone, and the president isn’t always glued to the telegram,” John Yardley said. “Professor, you’re the only one who can get direct contact with Kennedy now.”

Lin Ran was speechless: "Isn't there Robert Kennedy too?"

Didn't you establish direct contact with Robert Kennedy back then?

“He doesn’t trust us,” John Yardley said helplessly.

It's normal not to believe it.

After all, similar reminders happen every day, and some people even claim to be Qin Shi Huang.

If they believed all this kind of news, they would have been running around like crazy long ago.

For example, when the IA wiretapped Oswald's phone in Mexico City, they discovered that someone was impersonating him and contacting the Soviet embassy.

Impersonation, deception, threats, and warnings are rampant in messages, making it very difficult to build trust.

As for why they chose Lin Ran, it's because Lin Ran is a Chinese American who was personally promoted by Kennedy.

From an outsider's perspective, Lin Ran should have been highly loyal to Kennedy.

"Sorry, I can't save them." Lin Ran refused outright and left the office without looking back, thinking to himself, "Why are there Soviets everywhere?"

They're like wild NPCs that suddenly appeared out of the field.

What he didn't expect was that he would soon be impersonating a wild NPC himself.

Bill is the Dallas County Clerk.

He encountered something strange.

To be precise, he's been feeling really strange lately.

Dallas County is very populated, especially around Dallas Trade Plaza, which is arguably the most bustling area in the county.

Although there were many people, as a local who grew up in Dallas, he recognized almost everyone here.

But after the president announced his trip to Texas and Dallas County, many unfamiliar faces came to the county.

These unfamiliar faces made him feel a little uneasy.

This unease lingered in his mind.

The president will be arriving next week.

President Kennedy's action was a very high-profile political campaign.

Besides his wife, White House staff, media and security personnel, Lyndon Johnson (Vice President), John Connally (Governor, Democratic conservative), and Ralph Yabler (Texas Democratic Senator, liberal).

A gathering of big names.

Rumors in Dallas suggest that President Kennedy's visit was both to prepare for next year's presidential election, garner votes, and increase support among voters, and to ease tensions between different factions within the Democratic Party.

In short, the entire county was eagerly anticipating Kennedy's trip to Dallas.

But before Kennedy arrived, he encountered a strange incident at his doorstep.

"Bang bang bang."

A strange man wearing a mask and a long black robe appeared at his door.

The masks are also strange; they are white or light ivory in color and depict the image of a middle-aged man with a black mustache and goatee, a sly smile, red lips, and raised eyebrows.

Future generations will certainly recognize it at a glance; it's a V for Vendetta mask.

This design is based on the image of Guy Fawkes, a 17th-century English conspirator, whom few people in America know.

Bill didn't know either.

However, he could definitely sense the eerie aura emanating from the mask.

Bill was so frightened that he wanted to close the door immediately, but a powerful force prevented him from doing so. The other person's hand was pressed on the open door, as if it weighed a ton, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't close it.

“Mr. Bill, relax.” The voice came from behind the mask. “I need you to do me a small favor.”

The other person pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. Bill thought it was a gun, but it turned out to be a wad of US dollars, at least fifty bills.

“A small favor, and five thousand dollars is yours,” the masked man said.

Bill thought they were going to kill and set fires.

What could be worth five thousand dollars?

在1963年，500美元、1000美元、5000美元和10000美元面额的纸币已经停止印刷，且不再广泛流通，此时最大金额就是100美元。

"The county records building, take me to the county records building," the masked man said.

Bill shuddered. "What do you want to do?"
"It's impossible for me to take you to the county records building on the 22nd!"

As the county clerk, Bill naturally heard some strange rumors, such as those about someone wanting to kill Kennedy.

These kinds of rumors appear every year.

Why did he immediately make this connection?

It was because he knew very well that Kennedy was coming and would be giving a speech at Trade Square in Dallas.

The county records building has an excellent location; whenever Kennedy came, the high-rise windows of this building made it easy to find shooting positions.

Aside from assassinating the president, Bill couldn't believe that a trip to the county records building would cost this mysterious and powerful masked man five thousand dollars.

Five thousand dollars would be enough to buy his life on the black market.

The powerful force displayed by the masked man was also a major reason for his association with the image.

The masked man chuckled. "You're worrying too much. We'll go now and come back now. You'll be with me the whole time. I just want to confirm one thing."

Confirm what?
Confirm if this is the best camera position.

That's right, the masked man is Lin Ran.

Arriving late at night was to arrive early and leave a mark at the door.

Upon hearing this, Bill felt a sense of unease behind the other person's mask. He was worried that something might go wrong if he didn't agree, so he swallowed hard and said, "Okay, I'll go get the key."

The County Records Building is primarily used to store official records of Dallas County, including but not limited to: land and property records, birth, death and marriage certificates, court and legal documents, election and voting records, etc.

These records were kept in the county clerk's office, which was Bill's office.

Bill still didn't believe the reason given to verify the information, but his disbelief was undeniable.

Because the other party is going now.

There are still several days before the president arrives.

We can't just plant explosives, can we?

He was about to close the door and go home to find his keys when he discovered that the door was jammed shut and he couldn't close it at all.

"Bill, who is it?" His wife's disgruntled voice came as he went upstairs.

After getting the key from the study, he initially didn't want to deal with it. He walked to the stairwell, then turned back into the room, kissed his wife, and said, "I have something to do. Remember to lock the door!"

The wife was full of doubts.

However, the mysterious masked man was really just going to the county records building.

After arriving, I didn't do anything; I just looked around from top to bottom, accompanied by him.

They searched every single room.

When they reached the sixth floor of the county records building, the masked man walked to the window and appeared to take a deep breath.

Lin Ran revealed a satisfied smile beneath the mask.

This place is great.

Why come here instead of going to the grassy hill?

The grassy hill offered the best vantage point, and Zaprud's film, which fully documented Kennedy's death, was taken right there.

The shooter, Oswald, took the shot from the sixth floor of the Texas Textbook Depository building, another excellent vantage point.

If the grassy hill and the Texas Textbook Depository Building were excellent vantage points for watching the Kennedy assassination, then the County Records Building, which Lin Ran specifically chose, directly opposite the Textbook Depository Building, was the best spot to watch Oswald's shooting. The location was so good that the sixth-floor window was only 60 meters away from where Oswald was shooting.

With modern high-definition digital cameras, it would be possible to capture the entire process from the moment the gun is fired to when it is released in a crystal-clear image.

"I want to see exactly how many shots were fired," Lin Ran thought to himself as he stood at the window on the sixth floor of the county records building.

There is a great deal of debate surrounding Kennedy's death.

In addition to who did it, it also includes how many shots were fired, whether it was one person or multiple people, etc.

Official investigations, eyewitness testimonies, physical evidence, and conspiracy theorists have presented differing perspectives, focusing on the number of gunshots, bullet trajectories, and timing.

The Warren Commission, the official investigation, said Oswald fired three shots from a 6.5mm Carcano rifle out of a southeast-corner window on the sixth floor of the Texas Textbook Depository building.

The first bullet: It missed Kennedy and anyone in the car; the bullet went missing.

The second bullet, in frames 223-224 of the Zaprud film, struck Kennedy in the back, passed through his throat, and then struck Texas Governor John Connally in the back, chest, right wrist, and left thigh.

The third bullet: the fatal blow, struck Kennedy in the head in frame 313 of the Zaprud film, causing severe brain damage and leading to his death.

The subsequent investigation by the House Select Committee on Assassination revealed that a total of four shots were fired. They analyzed Dallas police recordings made using microphones on police motorcycles and found that there may have been four gunshots.

The fourth shot rang out 0.5 seconds after the third, believed to have come from the grassy hill in Dealey Square.

This means there was a second perpetrator at the scene.

Some eyewitnesses at the scene said there were three shots, while others said there were four.

Lin Ran wanted to see exactly how many shots were fired.

Bill watched the mysterious masked figure disappear into the vast night, then locked the doors of the county records building tightly with a heavy heart.

When I got home, it felt like everything that had just happened was a dream.

My wildly beating heart finally calmed down.

He went into the study on the second floor, took out $5000 from his pocket, and the feel of the $5,000 reminded him that what had just happened was real.

There are people who actually pay $5,000 just to walk around the county records building.

Actually, he agreed too soon.

If he refuses, the masked man will raise the amount to ten thousand dollars.

Lin Ran had ten thousand US dollars inside his black robe.

It still underestimates the current purchasing power of currency.

Bill's anxiety finally eased a bit, but a greater question arose: what was the masked man's purpose?
But that's not important. What's important is to hide the five thousand dollars so that his wife can't find out.

He hid the money in The Truman Show, this year's most popular science fiction book, co-authored by the professor and Philip.

What Bill didn't know was that he had just spent what he thought was a terrifying hour with the professor.

The next morning, after arriving at the county office building, Bill heard that Bonnie Ray Williams was surrounded by a group of people.

He didn't want to cause trouble, because Bonnie Ray Williams often pretended that something big was happening.

It's really nothing more than her dog getting lost, her husband going on a date with someone, and her son getting so-and-so's daughter pregnant.

It's nothing more than these trivial matters.

Bill was never interested in any of that.

“It’s amazing, something strange happened to me yesterday, someone gave me a sum of money,” Bonnie said nervously.

money?
This word immediately caught Bill's attention.

He stood on the outer edge of the crowd.

"A mysterious masked man gave me some money just to take a stroll around the Texas Textbook Depository Building."

His mask was terrifying!
It was as if it had been resurrected from an ancient curse.

The pale face emanated a chilling aura under the moonlight, as if kissed by death, lifeless yet eerily vibrant.

His eyes were two deep black circles.

It's like a bottomless abyss! It wants to devour all light.

It seems to be hiding a secret.

His thin eyebrows were raised menacingly upwards.

That's a really scary mask!
Her bright red lips curled slightly upwards, forming a chilling smile.

I was terrified; I thought they were assassins coming to kill me.

Who knows? After all, I've offended a lot of people.

My husband's mistresses must have disliked me for a long time, and the parents of my son's ex-girlfriends, whom I forced to abort their children, are also suspects.

I thought they had hired someone to kill me.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

Bonnie's story this time was much more original than her previous ones.

Since she had actually experienced it, she stirred the emotions of the audience, and everyone exclaimed, "Wow!"

Bill's voice came through: "And then!"

Bonnie glanced at Bill: "Bill, weren't you uninterested in my little stories? What's wrong with you today? Has your brain suddenly come alive again?"

Bill didn't want to argue with the other party, because arguing would only hurt him in the end.

No one can out-argue Bonnie.

If he hadn't seen the masked man just yesterday, he would have also thought that someone had hired someone to kill Bonnie.

After all, Bonnie's mouth has offended far too many people.

"Then the man gave me some money, and I took him on a tour of the textbook warehouse building, showing him every room, and then he left."

Nothing happened.

Dallas has returned to calm.

However, this calm is clearly only temporary.

Because President Kennedy was coming to Dallas the next day.

1963年11月22日中午12:30，达拉斯市中心的迪利广场。

Kennedy's motorcade was traveling along Elm Street, heading to the Dallas Trade Market to deliver a speech.

Lin Ran stood on the sixth floor of the Texas Textbook Depository building, next to Oswald's room, holding a camera and pointing it at Kennedy, silently bidding farewell to his first benefactor.

Kennedy promoted him to Special Assistant for Space Affairs in the White House, making him a true benefactor.

At this moment, Kennedy was unaware that Lin Ran was watching him from a distance.

He rode in a convertible Lincoln Continental, with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to his left and Texas Governor John Connally in front of him, along with his wife Nellie Connally.

The driver and the co-driver were two security personnel.

The motorcade was escorted by multiple cars and motorcycles, including Vice President Lyndon Johnson's motorcade.

Gunshots rang out as the convoy passed through Dealey Plaza.

The scene was in chaos.

Screams were heard.

The whole scene was in complete chaos.

Standing beside Elm Street, Bill instinctively looked toward the Texas Textbook Depository Building, following the sound of gunfire.

Sure enough, I saw a familiar mask.

However, what the other person was holding was not a pistol, but a camera.

This made Bill feel depressed.

The shooting lasted about 6-8 seconds, after which the convoy accelerated toward Parkland Memorial Hospital.

From the very first second, Bill paid no attention to the president, but kept his eyes fixed on the masked man.

They discovered that the other person was genuinely just taking pictures, and had been taking pictures the entire time.

This made Bill even more suspicious.

Who exactly is the masked man?

Is Bonnie lying?

She not only took the masked man to the Texas Textbook Depository Building, but also gave him the key.

The masked man isn't the murderer; is he a reporter?

If you were a journalist, how would you know that Kennedy would be killed at this time?

Bill took off running, rushing towards the Texas Textbook Depository Building, trying to catch the killer.

In the chaos, Oswald collided with Bill, who had arrived at the scene.

Two more shots rang out.

The next day, after waking up at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Bill's first words to the police officer sitting in front of his bed were...

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(End of this chapter)