Since no one now lived on the mountain, it had been left untouched by humans for so many years that the trees were completely overgrown and birds and animals lived there undisturbed. When driving on the single road leading through the valleys it was not uncommon to see birds flying about or animals walking across before they vanished into the wilderness. The road that wound its way through the mountain had a nice tarmacked surface, but it was very narrow with many hairpin bends, really testing the skills of the driver. I was told that there was a tunnel cut right through the mountain, to allow people to get from one work unit to another at top speed. The second time I visited the intercepts division, I asked Director Qian if it would be possible for me to see the tunnel. The old man glared at me and ignored what I had said, as if it were a completely unreasonable request.

Perhaps it was.

To tell you the truth, in my dealings with people at Unit 701, including the Director, I could clearly sense that their attitude to me was somewhat complex: they appeared to be worried about having anything to do with me, but in actual fact they were hoping that I would talk to them. If they had really been too scared to get involved, how could this book ever have been written? It would have been impossible.

Thank God for that hope.

And of course, thank God for the annual ‘Declassification Day’, that very special occasion.

5

I can tell you that being a special unit, the unique features of Unit 701 were everywhere to be seen, but some of them you probably cannot imagine. One example of this was the annual special day that everyone who worked there called Declassification Day.