Who I am isn’t important; like I say, the people here all call me Specs. My name is Mai Jia, as I have already told you. I have also mentioned that it is a perfectly normal thing to bump into someone unexpected or to have some unusual experience. In my opinion some of these encounters are a regular part of life, an experience that adds a bit of spice to things; they do not change your life in any meaningful way. Some encounters on the other hand change you root and branch. I am sad to say that my meeting with the two men from my home town belongs to the second kind, and changed me enormously. Writing has now become my greatest pleasure. I am proud of my work but I also suffer for it; writing is everything to me. I don’t think this is a good thing, but there is nothing that I can do about it. That is my fate and I cannot change it.

As for this book, I really think that it is not at all bad. Mystery, suspense, sex, unfamiliarity; it describes classic emotions in a contemporary context. You also get to feel something of the bitterness and helplessness that these people felt in the face of their destiny. My only regret is that Director Qian, the biggest supporter of my writing project, died before it went to press. His death made me realize how insubstantial life can be: just like love, it is here today and gone tomorrow. Once it is gone, it is gone – life becomes death, love becomes hatred, the things that you have are the things that you will lose. It is my greatest wish that the publication of this book should allow his soul to rest in peace.

This book is dedicated to Director Qian and all the other members of Unit 701.

WIND LISTENERS

Thanks to the special permit I received from the Director, not only was I received with courtesy and politeness on my secret mission, but I enjoyed unprecedented support and everybody looked at me with new eyes. Only one thing escaped me and that was ordinary, everyday luck. I may have had a special permit, but that didn’t make me lucky.

Blind Abing