Things happened just as Bureau Chief Lü had hoped: the sea deposited my corpse on Bạch Nhà Loãng beach early in the morning, where I was soon discovered by two fishermen. I must say, I’ve always suspected that these two fishermen probably weren’t fishermen at all, but rather Chinese operatives. Why, you may ask? Well, because upon discovering me they showed absolutely no concern for searching my corpse for valuable possessions; instead, they immediately reported their discovery to the US forces stationed nearby. All they got for me was a reward from the Americans.

My identity (a naval officer of the Vietnamese People’s Army) immediately drew serious attention from the American military. Several of their operatives were dispatched to the scene in order to recover my body and return it to base. Once in their possession, I was given a thorough inspection. I knew they must be searching for classified documents or other military papers, but I was, after all, only an army orderly, charged with guarding a warehouse – how could I possibly be in possession of classified documents? But what they found proved that I had completely misunderstood the situation.

This is what they discovered:

1. A naval officer’s ID and serial number identifying me as an operative of a special services division. My name: Hồ Hải Dương.
2. One photo of a beautiful woman, signed with the name Tuyết Nhi, together with two love letters from her.
3. A letter from home, identifying my father as someone of great political influence, a professor of something or other.
4. A bank statement, suggesting that I was the self-indulgent son of rich parents; a ‘Little Prince’.
5. One top-secret document, written by the second-in-command of the Chinese forces sent to aid Vietnam. The document was addressed to the admiral of the VPA’s naval forces. It seemed to divulge top-secret battle plans requesting naval support for an assault against the American forces stationed along the fourth defensive perimeter. It also revealed that at the time of the assault, decoy manoeuvres were planned along the seventh defensive perimeter.

I never suspected that I was in possession of such papers, especially such important top-secret documents. No one else knew, but I understood that this was all part of Bureau Chief Lü’s plot. I may have been confused about what was going on before, but that was over now: I had completed the mission entrusted to me by Bureau Chief Lü. All that remained was to see whether the Americans believed it or not. Of course, I was hoping that they would. But what I wanted was of no account. Whether the curse I had brought upon them would come true, I would have to wait and see.