The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Special envoy of the Grand Duke of Penglai, Baron Ruan Aofu; Special envoy of the Marquis of Shisheng, Colonel Yue Die, has arrived!"

Unlike the listless soldiers of Oasis Harbor, although the "long-distance training and visit" was just a pretext, the Principality of Penglai still prepared a decent honor guard to ensure the face of this great power. After the military music started and the messenger announced the name of the guest, these guards, dressed in magnificent white and gold ceremonial armor, marched onto the dock in two rows.

Of course, Yue Die and Ruan Aofu played their roles very successfully—after all, they were genuine nobles who had received the relevant education and training, allowing them to be poised and confident in this setting without any stage fright. At least, they made the trip appear to be a proper visit.

Needless to say, Oasis Harbor would not neglect the special envoys sent by two states far more powerful than themselves. Many important figures from the city council and the ruling committee had already arrived, preparing to give Yue Die and Ruan Aofu a grand reception. However, all of this was irrelevant to Fish and his group.

As the ceremony began, they quickly boarded an unmarked shipboard transport boat and sailed towards the distance of the dock.

Shortly after the transport boat departed from the training cruiser, a 300-ton Guardian-class patrol boat—the largest vessel in Oasis Harbor's naval forces—patrolling nearby spotted it. Although landing without port approval or prior notification is theoretically prohibited, the crew of the patrol boat had already been "taken care of," and thus, they "just so happened" to ignore the small boat's presence.

Then, under Ange's personal helmsmanship, the transport boat circled around to the east side of the port, passed through a whole line of motorboats from various explorer warships, and slipped between dozens of small fishing boats returning to port. Finally, it stopped between several steam/sail hybrid merchant ships that were unloading cargo with cranes. In Oasis Harbor, explorers, merchants, mercenaries, and speculators from all over the world would come to try to get a share of the pie, so it was not surprising to encounter anyone here.

Of course, this also includes certain people they don't really want to see.

"Over there, those are the envoy ships of the Duchy of Fayun," Ange said in a low voice as they docked at the pier, pointing to several fast motor-sailing ships with long hulls, ebony Capricorn prow carvings, and white lotus flags. "These fast yachts are used by high-ranking envoys and officials. If so many have come... I'm afraid Iskandar Lomonosov has sent a rather large delegation."

"No wonder you told us not to go ashore directly with Yue Die and the others," Xiao Xing said. "Although we disguised our operation this time, the delegation from the Duchy of Fa Yun will definitely be wary of envoys from the Duchy of Penglai and the Marquis of Shi Sheng at this time. Once the delegation goes ashore, they will probably be followed, which will make their activities very inconvenient."

"Indeed. Although your intelligent combat armor can enable stealth, we can't rely on you alone. Once those persistent pests stick to us, it will be difficult to shake them off," Ange said. "Fortunately, as long as we take a few detours and use Huang Yan's disguise ability, it won't be difficult to conceal ourselves."

"That's right. However, the ones who mainly need to disguise themselves are Ange and Mint and the others. Those Fayun people probably don't recognize me and Frostleaf, let alone Alicia, Shana and Melu who joined us in the Northland." Fish said after the transport boat came to a stop.

"And you also need to make sure your childhood sweetheart will recognize you, right?" Mint asked as she and her two subordinates put on disguise masks made from a small part of Phoenix Flame, subtly altering their faces.

“Oh, that’s fine. My old friend has other ways of recognizing me,” Fish shrugged. “Besides, if all else fails, I know where she lives. I can just go through the trouble of visiting her in person… though that would be a bit awkward.”

"So, can your friend be of some help to us?" Phoenix Flame asked, having transformed into his light bulletproof vest form and hidden under Fish's loose sailor shirt.

"Ha, she can do more than just 'slightly' help—in fact, my old friend might play a decisive role in this operation." Fish rarely showed such a confident smile.

"Oh? Really?"

"Hehehe, just wait and see." Fish said as he walked to a barbecue stall. On the docks of Oasis Harbor, vendors were everywhere selling fresh coconuts and all kinds of barbecue. Various kinds of octopus, squid, sea cucumbers and other mollusks and echinoderms, as well as freshly caught flounder, pomfret and rays, were all skewered on iron sticks, drizzled with a seasoning made from fresh coconut juice and sea salt, a specialty of Oasis Harbor, and sold fresh after being grilled to 80% done.

"Come on, everyone, have a taste. Although Oasis Harbor doesn't have many local specialties, it's quite good at snacks, especially barbecue and sauces."

As Fish proudly introduced the items, he pulled out a dozen or so imperial dinars and began a buying spree—in the past, this would have been roughly two or three months' worth of his living expenses.

However, since he allied himself with Princess Ange, a genuine princess, and gained the support of her political allies, especially the Duchy of Penglai and the Marquisate of Shisheng, he has completely escaped his precarious existence. By selling some of the relics from the old civilization era that he salvaged from the ancient ruins, his pocket money has remained at the level of several thousand imperial dinars.

It feels amazing to be rich!

Among the food vendors in the port area, many were familiar faces, and several had even met Fish once before. However, in the past, Fish, who was always short of money, rarely frequented these places, so they only vaguely recognized the cat-like boy but didn't know his name. A few vaguely remembered that this boy, who was buying things like this, seemed to have worked at a bar in the past, but they weren't particularly puzzled.

After all, luck plays a significant role in the lives of these teenagers in bars. Maybe this guy's recently struck it lucky and managed to hook up with some rich woman from afar? If that's the case, it's perfectly normal for him to have money to squander.

And some of them even had other ideas...

Out of the corner of his eye, Fish saw a vendor selling grilled oysters and pickled conch jerky whispering to a little girl with hamster ears wearing a dirty cloak. After the little girl left through a narrow alley, a faint smile appeared on Fish's lips... and then he sensed a murderous aura.

"I suspect someone is plotting against us," Shuangye said. "They're probably being watched by the Fayun people. Please allow me to investigate."

"Really?" Ange, who was leisurely enjoying grilled oysters with an elegant posture as if she were attending a banquet, raised one eyebrow.

"Ah, it's true that someone's trying to take advantage of us," Fish said after leading the group a little further away. "But don't worry."

"What are you saying?! Someone is plotting against Her Highness the Princess, and you're not worried?"

"Oh, of course," Fish nodded. "In fact, this is exactly what I've been waiting for."

Hearing Fish's words, everyone else relaxed and continued strolling and enjoying their snacks—though not everyone was as blindly obedient to Fish as Alicia. However, they all knew that when the cat confidently said something that sounded unusual, there was usually a good reason behind it.

And so, the group continued to enjoy the sea breeze and sunshine, eating dozens of skewers and grilled oysters with fresh sweetened coconut juice. Finally, when they were almost finished with their food, Fish deliberately walked toward the west side of the pier.

This area was originally home to relatively poor fishermen. Over a hundred years ago, these fishermen landed on this coral atoll and established the earliest settlements, which became the prototype of a city. During the transformation of Oasis Harbor from a fishing village to a commercial port, this area remained undeveloped due to its filth, disorder, and complex property rights structure, becoming a gathering place for all sorts of people.

At any time, this area is filled with large groups of people setting up stalls to perform, begging along the streets, or peddling all sorts of dubious drugs, jewelry, and even weapons. Unless there's a specific need, ordinary people usually keep their distance from this area, or at least don't venture into it unnecessarily. But Fish deliberately walked into this area, making his way through alleys filled with garbage and sewage.

Instinctively sensing danger, Frostleaf and Alicia simultaneously placed their hands on the hilts of their swords hidden beneath their cloaks. However, Fish shook his head, indicating that they shouldn't worry. "Something very interesting is about to happen, so don't try to stop it."

"Something interesting? What is it?" As soon as Shuangye asked the question, two small figures appeared on the rooftop not far away and threw a small bag down at them.

Although Fish had warned them "Don't stop her," Frostleaf and Alicia's swordsman instincts kicked in before their brains could process the situation. Their katanas flashed from their sheaths, cleaving the falling pouch in mid-air. Then… a large amount of white dust spread out.

"Damn it, it's quicklime powder!" Anjie exclaimed.

"Where did these guys get this?" Alicia shouted, covering her eyes with her hands.

"This is a coral island, of course it's easy to get this," Shana shouted from the center of the group—after all, since her parents were experts in coral reef conservation, she knew a great deal about corals, and of course, she knew how suitable coral skeletons were for making lime. "Everyone, step back!"

Just as the group's eyes were irritated by the lime powder and they had to retreat, several short figures with their faces covered by cloth suddenly rushed out from both sides, like kingfishers diving into the water to catch fish, and then quickly fled with their spoils.

"Damn it! Who was that?!" Although she couldn't see anyone, Frostleaf still assumed a sword-drawing stance... but Fish grabbed her wrist in time. After all, the latter knew very well that if Frostleaf had actually attacked, someone would definitely have died!

Even with her eyes closed, Shuangye's "mind's eye" can still draw her sword and draw blood.

"Nothing much, just a few local kids." As a gust of wind from the sea dispersed the remaining quicklime in the air, the group had vanished. Fish patted his waist and, unsurprisingly, found that the bag he had been hanging there to keep his change was gone—after buying so much barbecue, grilled oysters, and coconuts, the bag still contained gold and silver coins worth more than 10 Imperial dinars, a considerable sum for the locals.

"Little kid? Hey hey hey? Mr. Fish, your purse is gone!" Alicia said.

"Oh yes, it's definitely gone... or rather, I would be troubled if it were still there."

"Trouble? What did you say? Wait... you mean, you deliberately let them steal your purse?"

“Otherwise what? I deliberately lingered at the food stalls and spent a lot of money just to get these people’s attention,” Fish said with a smile. “There are local… uh… ‘side hustler’ informants all over the port area. As long as you act a little flamboyant, you can get these people out.”

"And then you deliberately went to a place where you were easily attacked..." Frostleaf nodded. "I understand. What exactly did you put in your purse?"

"Nothing much. Just a very ordinary mimicry tracker," Fish said. "It's... a small loot we picked up in the North Pole, I guess? It can mimic a metallic coating, hiding on the surface of things like precious metal coins. Its effective communication range is limited to 10 kilometers. Of course, it can only barely indicate direction and distance."

"Oh, okay." Ange nodded. Previously, after killing the imprisoned "Central Brain" and ending the crisis triggered by "Tai Sui," they had indeed ransacked that abandoned ancient facility, collecting as many old civilization artifacts as possible that could be of use. Unfortunately, because Iskander Lomonosov's subordinates had already looted during the invasion, their haul was meager.

"Alright, please visualize the direction of the target," Fish said to Phoenix Flame.

"Data receiving... Found." Huang Yan finished the task in just one second. Then, through a direct connection with Fish's nervous system, she projected an arrow into the center of Fish's field of vision. "Just follow it."

"I understand." Fish nodded, leading the group quickly through the dirty paths of the slums and around a coconut grove and a date palm grove. Then, what appeared before them was a series of small villas standing by the sea.