In most cases, it’s impossible to keep up writing by hand what one hears. As you transcribe, you have to make use of your memory to keep track of everything; this skill is called ‘forced enumeration’. If two transcribers are competing with each other, the difference between the winner and loser depends upon who is more adept at this ‘forced enumeration’. I remember that during the competition I spoke of before, Agent Lin managed to transcribe up to the sixth string of code. Right now, Abing was at the eighth. Given that the speed varied, it was impossible for the recording and the transcriber to be totally in unison, but what was easy to see was that Abing had mastered Morse code. As for the sample recordings of the fifty-plus enemy radio frequencies, he didn’t need to listen to them over and over again; perhaps just once or twice, and he ought to be able to discern the hidden similarities and differences between all of them – it would be as plain as day for him. In short, even though just half of the time I had been given to train him had passed, Abing had already completed the entire audio surveillance training I had devised … and in style. Perfection, to the point where it all seemed unreal.

An hour later, I accompanied Abing into the institution’s compound and proceeded towards the political offices. It was there that we arranged the ceremony for Abing to voluntarily swear the oath of allegiance and become an agent of Unit 701. The ceremony was formal and strict, but for Abing it was incomprehensible. Faced with a series of life-or-death requirements and compulsory duties, Abing thought he had rushed into a battlefield heavy with suffocating smoke. It was both exciting and frightening. At last, the official in charge of administering the oaths of allegiance asked Abing if he had any requests to be made of the organization. Solemnly, Abing made the following requests:

1. If he, from this moment on, were unable to return to his home town of Lujiayan, he hoped that the intelligence service would properly resolve his mother’s problem concerning the procurement of her daily firewood.
2. If he were to die (in battle), absolutely no one should be permitted to remove his ears for research purposes.

No one knew whether to laugh or cry.

But since he was a voluntary agent of Unit 701, according to the regulations, the organization had to solemnly promise to honour his requests, and make an official record of them.

With the oath-swearing ceremony completed, the three official recordings of the proceedings were signed and marked by those in attendance. Given that Abing did not know how to write, he was instructed to leave his thumbprint, and I signed his name. I realized then that I hadn’t yet asked him what his surname was. When I asked, he told me that he didn’t have a family name.