China: Hack into Freedom City

For China's Astro Boy generation, a house arrested blogger like Zeng Jinyan could be most clearly viewed as one node in a network system needing to be re-established as quickly as possible. This seems to be at least partly the case in ‘Hack into Freedom City’, a manual being P2Ped around the blogsphere which explains one procedure used to hack through the surveillance system state security agents have set up surrounding Zeng's home in building #76 in the BOBO Freedom City housing complex in eastern Beijing's Tongzhou district, or +39° 54′ 23.40″, +116° 41′ 22.20″.

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一个专业级的送奶粉行动

作者hash:”L0yjzB+Q36etEUv30ZyP+A==”

声明:作为本作品的创作者,我將本作品著作相關權利貢獻於公有领域。这适用于全世界。本人予此作品之使用權與任何人作任何用途。

A Professionally Executed Milk Powder Delivery

Author's hash: “L0yjzB+Q36etEUv30ZyP+A==”

Declaration: As the creator of this work, I dedicate the work and all related rights to the public domain. This applies worldwide. I hereby bestow the rights of use for this work to any person for any purpose.

有人号召20日集体去送奶粉,不过我早已订了火车票当日正在火车上,不能前往。结束旅程以后,看到《奔向自由城》的记述及相关报道,许多人前去但竟然无一成功,心中甚为不平,所以打算回北京以后再来一次。

送奶粉不是达到某种宣传目的的手段,也不能成为某种崇高的象征,送奶粉就是目的,那么手段便可以多种多样,不择手段也行。《奔向自由城》记述的送奶粉的方式就像是一个公民直愣愣地冲进了陷阱,虽然勇气可嘉,不过我可不喜欢这种方式(”于是他讓我看看有什么錯誤,我拿起來看了看,說算了不看了,還能不相信你嗎。”——核对笔录权怎么能这么轻易地就放弃了)。记得某人对我们说过,虽然抛头颅洒热血充满英雄豪情,不过我们的头颅和热血就简单地抛洒掉那就不值了。所以这次得想一想再行动。对手是安全部门的专业人员,那么我也必须做充分准备。

Someone made the call for a group milk powder deliver on January 20, but I'd previously booked a train ticket for that day, and couldn't go. After I'd made the trip, I saw the reports and posts from “Rushing Freedom City”; many people had gone, but not one had succeeded. That didn't seem right to me, so I decided that upon returning to Beijing, I'd give it one more try.

The delivering of milk powder by no means achieves any sort of propaganda purpose, nor will it become any sort of noble symbol; delivering milk powder is just the goal. So, the means are many, and anything goes. The milk powder delivery method written of in “Rushing Freedom City” reads like a citizen storming straight into a trap; as brave and praiseworthy as it is, it's not the approach for me. I remember once being told that even though losing your head and shedding blood sounds quite heroic, it's just not something worth losing a head or spilling blood for. So I had to think this action through. The opponents are security agency professionals, so I must be sufficiently prepared.

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行动目标
a. 首要目标
送达奶粉
b. 次要目标
会见金燕
传递信息

失败条件
被截获
真实身份暴露

Action Objectives
a. Primary objective:
Deliver milk powder

b. Secondary objective:
Transmit information

Conditions of defeat:
-get intercepted or captured
-have true identity exposed

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1. 调查
地形。先仔细查看了flickr上某人偷拍的20日bobo自由城情况、有人编辑的google map,youtube上的《自由城的囚徒》熟悉地形。发现一个问题:”所有想从入口处经过的人都会暴露在警察眼底下”这反映了某种定势思维,只有这一条路吗?

1. Investigation

Terrain. First I looked carefully at the Flickr photos somebody shot in stealth at BOBO Freedom City on the 20th, someone's Google Map, and Prisoners in Freedom City on YouTube, to get familiar with the terrain. I noticed a problem: “Anyone who tries to go in through the entrance will immediately be in plain sight of the police.” This reflects a fixed way of thinking; is there only one way in?

国宝动向。《自由城的囚徒》反映了几个重要情况:国宝早晨8点换班,1130有人送午饭来,”分配给”胡和金燕的”专属”车辆可能有白色现代索纳塔”京FB8233″、银灰色马自达6″京FE6034″、黑色现代”京EE7704″。不过就算是车牌号,安全部门肯定不会那么简单,前面的跟后面的不一样那都是很正常的。所以要记住全面的特征:颜色,车型。而8点换班则很可能存在漏洞,如果有则可以趁虚而入。

监视的程度。2007年9月18日国宝监视下76、77楼居然发生了盗窃案,足以说明监视之鼠目寸光。但是在地图上也能看到在人员充分的情况下是有积极防守的(外围监视)。《自由城的囚徒》反映一些国宝长期在单元门口堵住,从地形上看这个单元门口很狭小,视野不开阔,不利于监视,所以在单元门口是消极防守,作用仅限于堵住特定人员。然而在围合以外也可能有国宝,这整个算是纵深防御配置吧。

Movement of the State Security Police. “Prisoners in Freedom City” reveals several important details: the SSP change shifts at 8am; someone brings their lunches at 11:30; the “designated” car “alloted” to Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan might be the white Hyundai Sonata “京F B8233″, the silver Mazda “京F E6034″, or the the black Hyundai “京E E7704″. But even if those are their license plate numbers, the security agency definitely isn't that simple; for the plates used earlier to be different from the ones used now would be quite normal. So I have to remember all the features: color, model. And the 8am shift change could very well present a loophole; if so, it can be used to sneak in. Thus at the entrance there is only a passive defense, with function limited to blocking particular individuals.

Level of surveillance. On September 18, 2007, while under SSP surveillance, there were actually robberies which took place in towers 76 and 77, ample indication that the surveillance is limited. However, on the Google map there can still be seen sufficient personnel for effective defense in the perimeter surveillance. “Prisoners in Freedom City” shows several SSP blocking the entrance to the residential unit for long periods of time, and the topography shows the unit's entrance to be quite narrow, that the view is very narrow, non-conducive to surveillance. Yet, there may also be SSP beyond the enclosure, which would suggest deployment of defense in depth.

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日期。日期的选择也很重要,春节前显然已经是增派警力严密防守了,春节过程中由于放假也可能有人去所以也不能放松,那么春节期结束后防守无论是在人数上还是人员的心理状态上都应该是最松懈的。

Date. The choice of date is also very important; prior to the Lunar New Year there has clearly been an increase in police presence for tighter defense, and during the festival people on holiday might come, so there will be no relaxation, making defense in the period following Lunar New Year, whether in numbers of personnel or their psychological state, at its most lax.

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2. 准备
恰好事前看过一遍《古拉格群岛》,心理上对于机关内的状况有所准备。不过这还不够,所以又突击学习了一点刑事诉讼法和侦查讯问学。另外,以前玩过的第一人称射击统统浮出脑海:三角洲、CS等等——想想军事行动会有怎样的要求。

2. Preparation:

Luckily, just prior to this I had finished reading The Gulag Archipelago, so I was mentally prepared for the conditions inside an institution. However, this was still not enough, so I did a crash course in learning some criminal procedure law and investigation and interrogation methodology. Aside from that, my head was full of the first-person shooters in Delta Force and Counter-Strike—so I was thinking of what was needed for a military operation.

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要准备花大力气侵入,那就得多点回报不仅仅是带点奶粉进去,传递信息同样重要。所以准备:
当日的报纸若干,打印了关于金燕的网志夹在里面,把这些打印件照下来存在某张记忆卡里面;准备两份数码相机的记忆卡,一份带有敏感内容的随时藏在鞋子里面;手机——买一个新号;不要随处留下指纹——手套;食物,水,纸张,记号笔,望远镜,手机电池、充电器,钱,卫生纸,电池;不能带任何证件;地形图和国宝车牌号记录在笔记本上;一个假名——取名字的同音字(这伎俩管用吗?);检查钥匙链上是否带有可能提示身份的信息;最后,奶粉。全部装在一个书包里面,不过要注意若非必要尽量人包分离(国宝会想:你要是小区居民你背个包干嘛?装的什么?)

As you are about to expend a significant effort in the invasion, the greater the return the better. So in addition to delivering the milk powder, relaying information is just as important. Preparations needed to be made:

Several copies of that day's newspaper, printouts regarding Zeng Jinyan's blog tucked inside, and copies of those printouts saved on a memory card; prepare two digital camera memory cards, one with sensitive content to be kept hidden in your sock at all times; a mobile phone—buy a new number; do not carelessly leave fingerprints behind—wear gloves; food, water, sheets of paper, a felt marker, binoculars, mobile phone battery, batter recharger, money, toilet paper, batteries; no ID whatsoever must be carried; a topographical map and the SSP license plate numbers marked down in a notebook; a fake name—choose characters homophonic to your name (this may not be of use); check keychain for any identifying markers; last, milk powder. Carry all this in a backpack, although be sure to note the necessity of keeping the bag as separate from your person to the greatest extent possible (SSP will wonder: ‘what's a resident doing toting around a backpack? What's stored in there?’).

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3. 进行
3.1 第1日傍晚
懒得再调查行车路线了,按照《奔向自由城》提示的路线”從四惠站出來轉322路公交車”到东关大桥(”城鐵13號線”应为1号线)。到达时已经是晚上了。

3. Execution:

3.1 Day one, dusk

Too lazy to go over the route one more time, I follow the route suggested in “Rushing Freedom City”: “get off at Sihui Stn. and take bus #322″ to Dongguan Bridge”. At time of arrival it is already evening.

3.2 第1日晚
沿着自由城东北面的公路向东南方向走,但不敢回头,因为小区外围监视尚不能肯定已经撤走。赶紧到公路对面的林子里面用望远镜观察,但是没有仍然无法确定外围监视是否仍然存在。意外的是,《自由城的囚徒》里面能看到的小区南面的植被已经被清除,只剩下光秃秃的土,有警告牌写”非本企业员工和车辆不得入内”,这下就不太容易隐蔽了,不过小区南面刚修好的路路灯很亮,而这片土没有灯光黑乎乎的,小区内灯光也很弱,我想要发现我也许也不大容易(穿黑衣服黑裤子黑帽子)。

3.2 Day one, evening

The highway along Freedom City's northeast side heads southwest, but unsure whether surveillance of the outer perimeter had been removed, I didn't dare turn around. I hurried to the woods across the street and from there used the binoculars to scope things out, but was still unable to determine if perimeter surveillance was still in place. What was surprising was that the plants seen on the south side of the compound in “Prisoners in Freedom City” had all been cleared away, leaving only bald earth and a warning sign on which was written “entry to cars and non-staff not permitted”, making concealment at this point difficult. However, streetlights along the recently-renovated road on the compound's south side were very bright, so the barren dirt area, with no lights, was pitch dark. Lights inside the compound were quite weak, and I think it could not have been easy to notice me (wearing a black shirt, black pants and a black hat as I was).

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外围有警车例行巡逻,我看见的有一辆警车隔一段时间就会出现一次。这倒没问题,警车无非是起到威慑的作用,却不会是用在目标明确的行动之中的。

潜到小区东南侧的栅栏外,沿着栅栏向东北方向蹲着前进,想近距离观察地形。在锅炉房旁看见一个锅炉工从锅炉房里出来依靠栅栏上横插的一截木棍翻过栅栏到了对面的平房,虽然栅栏拐角出有热成像仪的监视,不过锅炉房本来就是巨大热源干扰了,锅炉工随便翻却不能引起保安系统警觉,再加上前面盗窃案的发生说明小区的保安系统实际上很弱,这更加确定了我事先对于翻墙简便性的估计。令人紧张的是,不断的有车辆经过,车牌大多看不清,不能确定是否是国宝的例行巡视。我只好是有车经过时埋下头藏起来。要命的是有一辆车慢慢地开过来,经过我这个地方以后,停了下来,又慢慢地后退像是要看清我这里是个什么东西,我心惊肉跳把头几乎要贴在土上,心想”难道才开始就要失败了?”,等待这向我走来的脚步声,坐着应付机关的动作——但是没有,这就是个停车的,我藏身的地方里面是个停车位。此后一段时间的外围侦察充满了这种紧张气氛:某辆黑色的轿车总是在南面的公路上缓慢的行驶并且不明原因的停下来;巡逻警车突然增加了两辆,车上都坐着四个人。”三更半夜黑灯瞎火在小区围墙外面鬼鬼祟祟,被雷子抓住没有任何理由肯定得进去问话”——这种想法一段时间内占据了我的头脑,不过这种紧张到了一定程度以后就恍然大悟了:这只不过是疑神疑鬼,一开始都这样,”我特別小心,盡量裝做若無其事且是此地住戶的樣子。進了大門發現70號樓在右邊,我特意先往左邊走,然后從樓后面繞了一圈”也是一样的心理了,实际上谁去管你做什么呢。而且这样搞下去仿佛我还变成了贼,这不对,在做坏事的是国宝,我在做的是好事。想想这也就是长期以来被灌输的是非观造成的吧。于是直起身来。

There were police cars doing a routine patrol of the perimeter, and I was able to see that one would appear every few minutes. This wasn't much of a problem, the police car is only there as a deterrent, and not for guarding the target of this clear-cut action.

Hiding behind the fence on the southeast side of the compound, I squatted and advanced along the fence toward the northeast, hoping to survey the terrain at close-range. From beside the boiler room I see a boiler worker come out and use a pole stuck horizontally through the fence to jump over and get to the house on the other side, despite that there's a thermal imaging surveillance camera on the corner of the fence, although it seems that such a huge heat source as the boiler room interferes, and boiler workers jump back and forth anytime without setting off the security system alarm. That this is just after the robberies took place suggests that the compound's security system is in fact quite weak, further reinforcing my previous estimation of the simplicity that would be required to get over the wall. What did make me nervous were the cars which kept driving by, the license plates of most of which could not be seen clearly, making it impossible to determine if they were SPP cars on routine patrol. All I could do when cars passed by was duck my head down. It got tense when a car slowly drove over, passed where I was hiding, and stopped, then backed up as though it were trying to get a better look of what was there. With my skin creeping, I almost stuck my head to the ground, thinking ‘come on, I can't fail before I've even begun’ as I waited for the sound of footsteps to come my way, sitting and waiting for the authorities’ next move—but the footsteps didn't come, it was just a car that had stopped here where I was hiding, right next to a parking spot. The next few minutes after that spent scouting the perimeter were quite nerve-wracking: a black sedan kept driving slowly along the highway on the south side and stopping for no evident reason; two new police patrol cars suddenly appeared, with four people seated in each. I kept seeing things popping out of the shadows, but when it got too bad, I decided I was just being overly suspicious. At first, my thoughts were the same as those described in “Rushing”: “I was extra careful, doing my best to look perfectly composed, like I was a homeowner here. Once I got in through the main gate, tower 70 was on my right, so I deliberately turned left, and circled all the way to the back of the building,” when in fact nobody was paying attention to what I was doing. Not just that, I was sure I was starting to look like a thief, only, the only ones there doing anything wrong were the SSP; I was just there to do good. Now that I think about it, these were just the values of right and wrong that I'd long been indoctrinated with. So I stood up.

一开始我还不是很确定目标单元的位置。等到确定以后,又误以为单元门是毛玻璃。看见单元门关着我想这也对,外面冷,国宝关着门取暖打牌这没错。随意地在荒地上走来走去用望远镜观察,这个时候一个国宝出来张望来了,而且家伙还看见我了,当然在我背后明亮的路灯的衬托下估计他也看不到什么,不过似乎一直盯着这里。一个路人走过来,我也就走掉了——难不成你还能把警车调来逮我么。

I wasn't very sure right away of the target unit's location. Once that was established, I then made the further mistake of thinking the building's front door was made from opaque glass. I saw that the unit's front door was closed, which was appropriate, it being cold outside; the SSP would have closed it to keep the heat in. Walking back and forth across the barren ground, observing through the binoculars, it was at this time that one SSP agent came out and looked around, and then looked right toward me. Of course, with the bright street lamps behind me as background, I doubt he saw much at all, though it did seem like he was staring straight my way. A pedestrian walked by, and I took off—not about to get into any police cars tonight.

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然后就走到公路对面,躲在一个变压箱后面观察目标单元的图像,国宝们很悠闲的样子,时不时地走动,我也放松下来。他们一年到头也就拴在这里了,被铁链拴住脖子牵在手上的警犬跟被警犬的咆哮拘禁的囚犯,谁更自由?期间有几批人跑到这边的荒地上放鞭炮爆竹,都显出快乐的神情。南边是铁路线,不时有火车经过,客车,有几次是动车组,车上的旅客不会知道眼前匆匆经过的地方究竟有着怎样的事情。也有货车,这个时候应该是运送煤吧。火车、铁路线也许是信息社会的物理层?天空无云,北斗七星——北极星,其他的就不认识了。不时有民航班机闪着灯慢慢地从远处到远处,也有看不见但轰鸣者的不是民航班机的飞机快速地飞过。除此之外,就再也没有声音。

I walked across the highway and ducked behind the transformer box to examine the picture of the target unit; seeing how laid-back the SSP look, moving around from time-to-time, I too began to relax. Who's got the real freedom? Them, stuck here all year round? Their police dogs with shackles around their necks, pulled around on leashes? Or the prisoners constrained by the police dogs’ growls? During this time a group of people had run over to the piece of barren land to put off some firecrackers, and they all appear in good spirits. Along the south side runs a stretch of railway, and trains frequently pass by; the passengers in the cars have no idea just what sort of place and situation it is they're zipping through. There are also freight cars, and around this time it's probably coal they're shipping. Trains and railways, they're like the physical layer of the information age. It's a cloudless night, I see the Big Dipper, the North Star, and I don't recognize the rest. Occasionally an airliner with lights blinking moves slowly from one far corner to the other, and there's also the roar of unseen non-commercial jets speeding overhead. Aside from these, there are no other sounds.

国宝们熄灯了(约1点),谁知道是不是真睡觉了。我走过公路,从锅炉工翻墙的地方进入了小区。长时间观察但并没有发现摄像头,即使有也不会多吧。我通宵惯了,你们国宝不可能是九三学社,早睡死了,于是大摇大摆给你们拍个正面照吧。然后走到76楼东南的停车场地,拍下楼号牌留念。

可是国宝们一直缩在单元里面,即使我翻墙(单元前面的矮墙)也进不去反而发出动静给逮住了。似乎正面很难有突破了,第2天早上看看换班的时候有没有漏洞吧。我到楼后,看见一楼的住户有门直通下面的花园,我就躲在某个住户的台阶下。等到某个时候那户亮了灯,我敲门询问能否接道进入单元,我说”四楼的一位住户小孩没奶粉了,我想去送奶粉,可是单元门口的那些人不让我进去,要是被那些人发现就要关到公安局去……”,那位住户称”公安局已经警告过我们不能给你们放行”拒绝了我的请求。(总之是拒绝了,是不是真的有警告则不得而知)楼后面也不能有什么办法了,就只好等国宝换班了。唉,可悲的懦弱的自我保护。

The SSPs’ lights go out at around 1 am, but who knows if they sleep or not. I walk down the highway, and enter the compound behind the boiler room. I spend a long time observing, but I don't see any security cameras, and even if there are, it can't be many. I'm used to staying up all night, but doubt the SSP could hack it. Then I walk to the parking lot on the southeast side of building 76, and take a picture of the number for a keepsake.

But the SSP have moved inside the unit. Even if I were to jump over the fence (the short fence in front of the unit), I still wouldn't be able to enter without making a sound and getting caught. A direct breakthrough seems difficult, so I decide to wait until the morning shift change on day two to look for loopholes. I move to the back of the building, and see that residents on the ground floor have doors which connect directly to the garden, so I duck to the bottom one resident's stairwell and wait until a light comes on, then I knock on the door and ask if I can be let in: “one of the residents on the fourth floor's kid has no milk powder, I want to go up and deliver some, but those people at the unit entrance won't let me in, and if they catch me, I'll get taken down to the police station……” The resident refuses my request: “the police department already warned us that we're not to let you in (anyway, I was refused, who knows if there really had been a warning or not). Behind the building there also appeared to be no way in, so I'd just have to wait until the SSP changed shifts. Aye, pitiful, cowardly self-defence.

3.3 第2日凌晨、早晨、上午
郊区一夜冷得够呛,我时不时跑到锅炉房的那里抱着烟囱取暖。千等万等等来了东方鱼肚白。我靠墙站在76楼的5单元拐角那面,看着东方逐渐亮起来,有居民出来遛狗,虽然我站着一动不动,但是有不少狗不顾主人呼唤执着地跑过来对着我狂吠。太阳终于升了起来,为了驱寒同时为了侦察,我在76楼东南栅栏内的马路上运动,跑来跑去。我的书包放在一辆车的后面,一位住户发现了此包,想拎走,我过去阻拦,那位住户问我包里有什么,否则还不给我。一开始我莫名其妙,然后我才明白原来他是要确认包是我的不是别人的。他说”因为我不认识你,我不能肯定这包就是你的,所以我得问问”(不过你认识国宝,那些狗也认识国宝),我表示理解。

我大模大样的沿着小区边上的马路慢跑,经过小区后门的时候特地注意观察,确定没有监视车辆(所有车都是空着的),看来确实防守放松了。

就这样绕了好几圈,该换班了吧。我就到76楼东面靠着墙假装晒太阳,暗中观察换班情况,书包放在几米开外。等待换班的国宝张望着,陆陆续续有国宝骑着自行车来了,既没有早退也没有迟到。我心中无名火起,想骂人。这还真是24小时滴水不漏啊。正面彻底没希望了,也没办法,新来的国宝四处张望,享受阳光,我只能撤到楼后面去。我记得曾经看到记录说国宝有时也会到楼后查看,所以小心的躲到一辆车和一团干藤条中间,坐在地上(脏不脏?我只能找这样的借口了:大行不顾细谨)看着对面的4楼期盼她能什么时候来看看,我就招手,让她放一根绳子把东西吊上去。可是没有。太阳晒着稍稍暖和一些,不过风一吹还是很冷,用参考消息裹着腿(衣服穿了不少,裤子没穿够),边张望边打瞌睡。

3.3 Day two, midnight to late morning

Middle of the night in the suburbs is windy and cold, and from time to time I'd run to the boiler room to hug the stack and warm up, waiting endlessly. I leaned in against the corner of building 76 unit 5, watching the eastern sky gradually lighten, and then residents began to come out to walk their dogs. Though I was standing there and not moving, more than a few dogs ran off from their owners and came over and started barking at me. When the sun finally came up, to drive out the cold but also to do some scouting, I started exercising on the road inside the fence on the southeast side of building 76, running back and forth. I'd put my backpack behind one car, and one resident found it and tried to carry it away, so I went to stop him. The resident asked me to say what was inside the bag or else he wouldn't give it back. At first I was a little puzzled, then I realized he was just trying to make sure it actually belonged to me. He said, “because I don't know you, I can't confirm this bag is yours, so I had to ask” (though you know those SSP, and your dogs do too), so I said I understood.

And so I did a couple laps, and when it was about time for the shift change, I went to the east wall of building 76 and pretended to bask in the sun, sneaking in observations of the status of the shift change, my backpack resting several meters away. The SSP waiting to be relieved kept looking around, and SSP began to show up on their bicycles, arriving neither too early or too late. I started to get a strange feeling, like wanting to curse at someone. This place really is watertight 24 hours a day. There's completely no hope, or way, of getting in the front, and the newly-arrived SSP were looking all around, enjoying the sunshine, so I could only head to the back of the building. I remember seeing mention that the SSP sometimes go around back to look around, so I could only duck in between a car and some vines and sit on the ground (did I get dirty? The only excuse I could think of was that I'd been out tromping around and hadn't been careful) and look up at the fourth floor, wondering when she might come out and look, and then I'd wave, and have her drop a rope down to hoist things back up. But she didn't. The sun got a little warmer, but then the wind would blow and it'd be cold again. I wrapped a copy of Reference News around my legs (I was wearing enough up top, just not thick enough pants), looking around and dozing off.

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刚才找我麻烦的住户回来了,他问我干嘛来了。我把左手食指放在嘴上。他走近来问我:”是不是找四楼的胡家?”我说是,送奶粉,他说:”我们都是邻居,有事可以帮忙”我想起凌晨的不快经历,于是回答:”但是给你带来麻烦……”他说也是,然后就离开了。

没戏。一个上午没有任何收获。我有点心灰意冷,打算下午3点还没成功就离开,不然回去的时候太晚。

The resident from earlier came back. He asked, ‘what are you doing?’ I put my left forefinger to my mouth. He came closer and asked: “are you here for the Hu family on the fourth floor?” I said I was, that I'd come to deliver milk powder. He said: “we're their neighbors, is there anything we can do to help?” I thought back to the awful experience from earlier in the morning and answered, ‘it might get you in trouble…” He said that was true, and left.

Game over. The entire morning, and not the least bit return. Starting to feel a bit downhearted, I decided that if by 3pm I hadn't succeeded, I'd go, otherwise I'd end up getting home quite late.

3.4 第2日中午
太阳照着,我必须要想4楼传递信息啊,一个bit都行。有了一个主意,阳光强烈,用镜子反光就可以发信号了。可是哪里去找镜子呢?我沿着76楼后面向西边的锅炉房走去,我记得那里有一些乱七八糟的杂物。

然后我就看见了fe6034,事先有准备把车牌号都记住了,现在马上就想起来了。发动机没熄火,车上按照惯例坐了4个人(为什么是4个?),静静地停在那里,它就像狙击手一样准备随时射击进入76楼围合的人的背部。原来风头一过,国宝就收缩了监视力量,也许fe6034本来是小区门口的监视车辆,现在撤到这里。嘿嘿,集中优势兵力围点打援伏击么?

锅炉房周围只找到一块很小的三角形的镜面,也没办法,就这样往回走,并且确认了车牌号。回到76楼后面,用这块小镜子反光发信号,虽然近处反光还很明亮,但是到了4楼就不大明显了。晃了很久,没用。你究竟在干吗?一天都在睡觉吗?在看书?内自省?怎么就不知道到楼后面来看看呢?机会在流逝。我想起望远镜上有一个激光二极管,就跟一般的激光笔一样,可以发出红色的激光束产生一个小红点。但是日光强烈,光点看起来十分薄弱,晃了一会儿还是没结果。我想起来第1日晚上来的时候4楼是亮了灯的,晚上这个红光点应该比较明亮了吧。离开时间推迟到19点,再晚就回不去了。我可受不了再冻一晚上。

3.4 Day two, noon

The sun was shining, and I had to think of a way to deliver the information to the fourth floor! Just a bit would be enough. I got an idea, to use the reflection from a mirror to send a signal. But where was I going to find a mirror? I went west behind building 76 to the boiler room, because I'd remembered there was a bunch of junk scattered around there.

Then I saw 京F E6034, one of the license plate numbers I'd memorized beforehand, and remembered instantly then. The engine hadn't been turned off, and as expected there were four people inside (why four, exactly?) sitting there quietly like snipers, ready to shoot anyone in the proximity of building 76 in the back at any time. It seemed as though as soon as the trouble blew over, the SSP just cut back on their surveillance force, and maybe 京F E6034 was the surveillance car that used to cover the front gate to the compound, since stationed way back here. Hehe, have they concentrated their superior forces to ambush any relief efforts?

Near the boiler room I only found a small triangular piece of mirror, but I had no other choice, so I headed back, and confirmed that license plate number. When I got back to the back side of building 76, I used the mirror's reflection to send up a signal, and while at close range the reflection was quite bright, by the time it reached the fourth floor it was barely visible. I flashed for a long time, but it was no use. What are you doing up there? Do you just sleep all day? Read books? Meditate? Why don't you know to come look out back? The chance of success is fading away. I remembered there was a laser on the binoculars, just like a laser pen, which sends out a red laser beam that makes a little red dot. But the sun was so fierce, the spot was going to be pretty weak. I flashed it for a bit but got no result. Then I remembered that when I arrived on the evening of the first day, the lights on the fourth floor were on, and this red dot might be more bright at night. I'd wait until 7pm to leave; any later and I wouldn't make it home. No way I'm spending another night freezing out here.

不断的失败让我非常烦躁,我甚至有了到小区外面把两包奶粉开口扔向国宝大骂一句然后拂袖而去的念头。不过不行,”自由太可貴了,可是胡為了我們放棄了他的個人自由。聽說他在看守所里48小時沒有喝一滴水,不愧是硬漢。”坚持到最后吧。

The constant defeat was making me quite fidgety. I even thought of going outside the compound and opening the bags of milk powder and throwing them at the SSP and cursing them out before hauling it out of there. But, no. Might as well hold on for a bit longer.

3.5 第2日下午
所以就暂时停止行动,再加上肚子饿扁了,但情况一时半会也没有任何变化,于是我离开了小区,过桥去觅食。肚子填饱以后回来,到小区的西南的休闲运动场上的草坪上躺着晒太阳。等到天色暗下来,我进入小区,准备回到76楼后面作最后的努力。

3.5 Day two, afternoon

So I put a temporary halt to the action. In addition to starving at this point, there didn't seem to have been any progress, and so I left the compound, crossed the bridge and went looking for food. Once I'd filled up my stomach, I went back, and laid down in the sun on the grass near the recreation and sports center to the southwest of the compound. I waited until the sky started to get a little dark, and I went back in through the gate, prepared to make one last effort after returning to building 76.

043.jpg

这个时候已经相当坦然了,路过5单元前面看见国宝正在吃饭。到楼后面看见厨房的灯亮着,心中非常激动,不停地按动开关发送光点。可是仍然没有回应,就像没有人一样的。突然出来一个人到阳台上拿什么东西,可是并没有发现这个光点(难道还不够明亮?),又进去了。时间在流逝,机会在远去,我的心渐渐往下沉。

过了一会儿,又来人了。似乎发现了异常的光点,停止了动作。(!!)我向楼上挥手,再挥手,再挥,窗户打开了,是她,向我挥手。

我站起来,快速走到临近的一个路灯下,向她比划让她放一根绳子下来,她摇手。我向她摊开双手,表示没有办法。她大声地告诉我她的电话,我心想”不是被掐了吗”,还是拨了电话(买新卡本来是准备让她使用的,结果现在派上这种用场了——)。然后又让我不要打(”我家里电话是
89520738,不过是被安全部门监听的,你如果打一次,你就上了调查名单”),说:”我让我妈妈下来。你等着。”从窗户消失了。

24小时的等待终于有了回报。我躲到一个阴暗的角落,估计可能会有人跟踪金燕的妈妈。

By this time things seemed to have quieted down. I passed in front of unit 5 and saw the SSP eating dinner. When I got to the back of the building I saw a light on in the kitchen, and I got excited, and flickered the laser off and on. Only I still got no response, as if there was nobody in there. Suddenly, someone came out onto the balcony to get something, but didn't see the dot (possibly still not bright enough?) and went back in. Time was running out, the chance was drifting away, and my heart began to sink.

A bit later, someone came out again. They seemed to notice the strange dot, and stopped moving (!!). I waved upwards, and waved again, and again. A window opened, it was her, and she waved to me.

I stood up, and ran to a nearby streetlight, motioning to her to lower a rope down. She shook her hands. I put both my hands up toward her, to show there was no other way. In a loud voice she told me her phone number, and I thought, ‘won't it have been tapped?’, but I phoned the number (the new SIM card was supposed to be for her, but since we were in this situation…). Then she told me not to call her, (“my home phone number is 89520738, but it's being tapped by the security department, if you phone here, you'll end up on the investigation list”), saying: “I'll send my mom down. You just wait.” And then she disappeared from the window.

After 24 hours of waiting, finally some return. I ducked into a dark corner, thinking somebody would be following Jinyan's mom.

过了一会儿,金燕妈妈来了,似乎没有跟踪。我钻了出来。我看见了对方,对方也看见了我,国宝在楼对面吃饭,fe6034在围合没有熄火。

有没有跟踪?没有。还需要奶粉吗?是的(拿奶粉),非常感谢……生活质量怎么样?还行。孩子状况怎么样了?还好。信息渠道还畅通吗?(估计是不大明白这个问题是什么意思)基本还行。准你们出去买东西吗?我出去没问题,他们只是不让金燕出去。你出去会跟踪吗?不会。(拿出相机)能把这个用绳子吊上去拍照吗?不行,不能用绳子吊东西,会被他们发现……(我没有明白为什么会被发现)电话被掐了吗?(刚才的不解)是的。你们的通讯手段都被切断了,是吗?是的。还有什么信息想我帮你们传递的,还想说什么?……我们也没有什么办法了,就等着政府最后的判决了……你快走吧,我怕你会有危险。没问题,我来了已经24小时了,侦察得很清楚,没有问题。

金燕妈妈惊讶的样子。虽然没有危险,但是胜利的喜悦仍然让我一路小跑,出了小区。

金燕妈妈应该不会引起怀疑,看样子是有斗争经验的,下来手里还提了一个手提袋,可以装奶粉而不引起国宝的注意。

一路高唱Seek and Destroy向东关大桥走去。

碰到一个人,她问我:

“师傅,请问前面的小区是bobo自由城吗?”

“是的!”

A few minutes later, Jinyan's mom arrived, and she didn't appear to have been followed. I came out. I saw her, and she saw me. The SSP were still in front of the building eating dinner, and 京F E6034 was still by the perimeter with its engine running.

Were you followed? No. Does she need milk powder? Yes. I took it out. Thank you so much. How has life been? Okay. How's the kid's condition? Okay. Have the information channels been opened? (I guess she didn't fully understand this question). So far, so good. Do they let you go out to go shopping? I can go out with no problem, they just don't let Jinyan go out. Are you followed when you go out? No. (I take out my camera) Can you pull this up with a rope and take a few pictures? No, we can't rope things up, they'll notice…..(I didn't understand how they would be able to notice) Have the phones been tapped? (Just now I hadn't understood) Yes. Your means of communication have all been cut off, right? Right. What other information do you want me to help you get out, what else do you want to say? ….There's nothing else we can do, just wait for the government's final decision….you get out of here now, I'm worried you'll be in danger. No problem, I've already been here for 24 hours, and I've scouted things out pretty well, it's no problem.

Jinyan's mom looked shocked. Even if there was no danger, the joy of victory still had me hurrying away and out of the compound.

Jinyan's mom probably won't arouse any suspicion. Judging from her appearance, she's been through a few battles. She even came down carrying a handbag, to put the milk powder in without catching the SSP's attention.

All the way back to Dongguan Bridge I kept chanting Seek and Destroy out loud.

I ran into someone, and she asked me:

“Excuse me sir, is that BOBO Freedom City up ahead?”

“It is!”

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