The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"You're saying...those people have disappeared?" Ange asked. "Didn't you send people to keep an eye on them?"

"In fact, after confirming the video Felipe brought back, I sent out the two most reliable three-person teams from the 'Red Cat' group to lie in wait near the factory and the club, respectively, to keep an eye on all people coming and going." Faced with Ange's questioning, Luca looked a little aggrieved. "They are my most trusted companions, and they have never made a mistake in anything they have done in the past."

"and then?"

“Each group occupied an abandoned house, with three people taking turns monitoring, changing their monitoring location each day. Meanwhile, through my connections with the Schelling Foundation, I contacted the legal department of Oasis Harbor—however, the subsequent operation took a while,” Luca pointed to her fingers, “You know, even if I suddenly told the judge that ‘more than a thousand people of unknown origin have gathered in the abandoned factory in the fish market district,’ it would most likely be taken as a joke. Even if they chose to send someone to investigate out of respect for me, they would probably only send a small, symbolic team because they didn’t take it seriously enough…”

"And you're worried that if those mysterious figures choose to resist, the small number of law enforcement personnel will face enormous danger?" Ange asked.

“That’s right.” Luca nodded. “So, I patiently had the experts in the consortium prepare enough evidence, and even hired some residents of the fish market area to approach the abandoned factory for observation. Finally, I compiled all the certifications and physical evidence and submitted them to the judicial department, and finally successfully persuaded them to take action. It took the chief judicial officer two days to draw four hundred armed judicial officers from all over the city-state, plus a company of security forces soldiers, to prepare for the roundup operation.”

"and then?"

"Just 12 hours before the scheduled operation to begin, fires suddenly broke out almost simultaneously around those two locations," Luca shrugged. "That's right, simultaneously. This means it wasn't an accident."

"Oh...that's good." Fish shrugged. As far as he knew, the fish market area had virtually no fire safety system—because most residents had long since moved away, the local fire hydrants and pipes were almost all abandoned and in disrepair, and of course, there was no fire brigade. The abandoned buildings, piled high with flammable waste, were like stacks of dry tinderboxes. Once a fire started, it would spread rapidly. "I guess the fire couldn't be contained?"

"At least our observation team had to retreat. Although the fire brigade that came from outside the fish market area put out the fire, both locations and the surrounding area have been completely burned down," Luca sighed. "We found some trash and other signs of human habitation in the ashes, but there are almost no useful clues left."

"It seems our adversaries have been very successful in destroying evidence."

"Furthermore, the bizarre murders and disappearances in Oasis Harbor are still occurring at a rate of two or three per day. Almost every day or two, someone is inexplicably blown to pieces—neither the forensic experts nor the investigators can solve the problem. Because the municipal council has blocked the news, and because the cases are mainly occurring in the chaotic slums, there has been no panic yet. But who knows what will happen later."

"And your surveillance of the Fayun delegation..."

"No suspicious activity was found. After the fires in those two areas, the activities of Fayun's delegation—at least the two hundred or so people 'openly'—became very normal, showing almost nothing unusual, and they rarely even moved around. As for the thousands of people hiding in the workshop, we have absolutely no idea where they are. These people have completely 'vanished'." At this point, Luca revealed an angry expression—to her, it was obviously a shameful thing that such a large group of people had disappeared right under her nose, and she was powerless to do anything about it.

"Very good, at least we have a grasp of the situation—it's much more complicated than we expected." Ange crossed her arms and said softly, "I originally thought those Fayun envoys were just after 'Dark Deep Island.' But it seems they have much bigger ambitions."

"So, my dear little fish friends, especially our intelligent princess, what are your thoughts and plans regarding the current situation?" Luca asked. "Surely you all know what to do, right?"

"Don't worry, we have a very capable strategist... and her forte is dealing with issues that are likely related to the legacy of the old civilization." Anjie smiled confidently. "Miss Huangyan, what do you think?"

A few seconds later, Huang Yan's synthesized female voice rang out directly through its external loudspeaker—since the "Red Cat" gang had already joined their side, there was no longer any need to conceal its presence.

"Greetings, everyone. I am the pinnacle and culmination of automated weaponry from the old civilization era. You may call me Phoenix Flame. Currently, I am an artificial intelligence residing within Mr. Fish's intelligent combat armor, providing him with combat assistance. Of course, I also have other functions, but that is none of your concern," Phoenix Flame introduced itself with an unpretentious tone. "As for the current situation, I can only say that, unfortunately, even I myself cannot determine what exactly is going on with these bizarre murders and disappearances."

"You have no clue either?!" Fish suddenly looked deflated, and his ears drooped.

"No. Quite the opposite. I'm pretty sure these cases are almost certainly related to those Fayun people, and most likely they used technology from the old civilization era. However, because there are so many theoretically possible explanations, I can't confirm which explanation is most likely correct until I get further reliable evidence," Huang Yan said. "But I do know how to conduct an effective investigation."

"What should we do?"

"Don't forget, we also have the 'Akasha Compendium' we acquired earlier," Huang Yan said. "Although its main purpose is to locate and determine the status of large facilities from the old civilization era, it can also display relatively small pieces of technology—as long as they have an official registration number in the old civilization era's archives."

"Relatively small? How small?" Ange asked.

"Small toys, micro-drones, and smart combat armor are obviously out of the question, and most weapons and equipment aren't registered in civilian databases either. But larger civilian equipment, such as automated production lines, rapid cloning equipment, and automated medical pods, might have registration data," Huang Yan said. "And I have reason to suspect that those Fayun people have a high probability of using this type of equipment."

"So you can find them now?"

The latest update is now available on Cola Novels; we await your interpretation.

"Searching and querying general civilian devices takes longer than querying the status of scientific research facilities. Please give me two hours. Moreover, I cannot guarantee that I can get a definite result." After saying this, Huang Yan fell completely silent and entered into a silent "battle" with the huge database of "Akasha's Compendium".

"It seems we'll be staying at your esteemed residence for a while longer," Ange shrugged at Luca. "Fortunately, we brought a few small gifts with us, and we hope you'll accept them."

As she spoke, Mint and her two subordinates immediately began their work, as if by magic. They produced a silk tablecloth with a white lotus emblem edged in gold thread from the Kingdom of Fayun and laid it on the table in front of Ange and Luca. Then, from their handbags, they took out a gilded white porcelain tea set, a bottle of high-grade black tea flavored with spices, a small dish for candy and dried fruit, a can of condensed milk, and even a small teapot heated with solid fuel. They poured in purified water that they had personally filtered and began brewing the black tea on the spot!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh..."

This kind of performance-based behavior, exclusive to the maids (or more accurately, "lady attendants") serving high-ranking nobles in the Duchy of Fayun, can almost always surprise anyone who sees it for the first time. And the naive children in the "Red Cat" group are naturally no exception.

When the freshly brewed hot tea, with milk and various spices, was placed in front of Ange, Luca, and Fish, they were all amazed, and more than one of them even applauded.

"A small token of my appreciation—especially for you, heir to the Sherlin Group." As Mint served the hot tea, Angie gave her a wink. The latter promptly placed a short sword with a large, curved tooth inlaid in its hilt beside the tea tray. This foot-long sword was clearly not a weapon of war, as evidenced by the numerous pearls and tiny aquamarines inlaid in its scabbard, and the silver thread wrapped around the ivory carving.

As he was to become the next Grand Duke candidate, Fish had received considerable aristocratic education beforehand, so he immediately recognized it as a ceremonial sword frequently used by the Duchy of Fayun and the surrounding Duchy of Irian to record military achievements. According to Xiao Luo, who was responsible for teaching him aristocratic knowledge, the teeth on this sword came from a type of mysterious whale called a "beaked whale," which prefers to live in the deep sea. Although they are toothed whales, they have very few teeth, which are highly specialized and are usually used by males for fighting and displaying strength.

Furthermore, while the smaller pearls could be obtained from ordinary oysters and were sold cheaply by the liter, the counterweight ball at the end of the sword hilt was made from a single, top-quality, large pearl from a giant clam. This rare and enormous pearl was not only engraved with the Capricorn motif, a favorite of the Fayun people, but also adorned with a delicate, gilded small crown—the image of the baron's crown from the Fayun Duchy.

In other words, this means that the person granted this short sword is essentially a prospective baron under Grand Duke Fayun—this type of sword was originally designed to be temporarily issued as a token of honor to those receiving a title during times of war or other emergencies when a formal investiture ceremony cannot be held. The person who receives it can later use the sword to exchange for official investiture from their lord.

"Wow...that's quite generous." Luca picked up the short sword, examined it closely for a few seconds, and then... handed it directly to her "comrades" beside her, letting them play with it. "Princess Ange, should I say you're generous, or are you looking down on me?"

"Oh, how could I look down on you? It's just that I'm currently in exile, having lost my country and fiefdom, so for now I can only offer you this kind of reward that can only be realized in the future... Please understand my predicament." Ange revealed a pure smile comparable to the white lotus flower on the emblem of the Fayun Kingdom.

"Oh, that's true." Luca gracefully picked up her teacup, poured a little black tea into the saucer, and then lifted the saucer to sip—in the hot, low-latitude regions, it's common and polite to cool hot tea slightly with a saucer before drinking it. "I'm very honored to receive your gift."

Six months ago, Fish, who knew almost nothing about the world of important figures or the daily life of Luca's other side—the head of the conglomerate "Iluvisca Alexandra Sherin"—would probably have just taken this conversation as ordinary pleasantries. But now, he could hear the underlying meaning.

Clearly, Ange's handing the sword to Luca had a rather complex meaning: First, it was naturally a gesture of goodwill, and could indeed be called "generous"—although low-ranking titles in many small states could be easily bought with money, and any sort of shady character could pay a little money to self-proclaim themselves a "knight" or "lord," as a branch of the royal family, the formal titles of the Lyndenhild-Fayon family could only be obtained through merit or formal inheritance.

In other words, even if the Schelling Group is a large conglomerate that has consistently ranked among the top 30 in the world, it is impossible for them to buy Fayun's title.

However, while the title of Fayun is something many people dream of, becoming a nobleman in Fayun also means being a subject of the highest lord, the Grand Duke of Fayun. This means that if Luca accepts it, she will not only be admitting that her status is lower than Ange's, but she will also be binding herself to Fish: if Fish cannot become the Grand Duke, the sword will become meaningless and may even bring her disaster.

Of course, Luca's response wasn't problematic—she announced she "accepted the gift" rather than "accepted the title," meaning she accepted the sword... but not explicitly accepted the right to inherit the title tied to it. This way, depending on how things developed, she could flexibly choose to accept the title or refuse it outright; in any case, she firmly held the initiative.

"Since you like my gift, I'm so happy." After a quiet standoff of about ten seconds, Ange took another sip of tea and continued to respond with that standard innocent smile—it's said that high-ranking female nobles in Fayun are very good at using this expression when facing opponents of similar status, making them think of them as pure, naive girls with a head full of romantic fantasies. And then, once the other party makes a mistake, she takes action, "I'll be relying on your help a lot in the future."

Unfortunately, this tactic is almost ineffective against Luca.

"Of course I will do my best—after all, if these heinous crimes are allowed to continue, Oasis Harbor will not be safe," Luca replied with a smile. "My friends will also continue to be in danger—especially since two of them have already gone missing."

Anjie wanted to say something more, but at that moment, Huang Yan spoke up.

"Gentlemen, I have made a major discovery. There is indeed something wrong with this city."