The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Wait a minute, you can't do this!" Tucker cried out, trembling like a leaf, as he saw Fish raise his scimitar. "I...I...we can make a deal!"

"A trade? But you have nothing to exchange with me," Fish retorted. "Look, everything on your ship, even your own life, is now mine. So, what do you intend to use for this 'trade'?"

"Use what I know!" The first mate of the "Waves" pointed to his head. "I know a lot of information that only the higher-ups in the warbands know. I... I think this will be very useful to you!"

Fish scoffed—just seconds before, this guy had been vehemently claiming he "didn't know anything," but after merely brandishing his dagger as a threat, he instantly transformed into a "know-it-all." The speed of this transformation was truly astonishing.

However, despite feeling nothing but disgust for the tall, thin man before him, Fish managed to calm himself down. "You say you have intelligence?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"For example?"

"I know the true purpose of the 'Tidal Lightning' gang's operation deep into the city ruins!" Tucker said. "This is top-secret intelligence! It may be useless to you, but if you can sell it to the right person, you can get some money for it."

Fish curled his lip: "Go ahead and say it."

"Our goal this time is to find something in Dusk City called the 'Akasha Compendium.' As far as I know, it's an artifact from an ancient civilization," Tucker quickly recounted everything he knew, seeing that Fish seemed willing to compromise. "It's said that if you can activate it, you can obtain real-time information about relics and ruins from the ancient civilizations throughout the world, including their locations and even their current state. For someone who knows how to use it, it's an invaluable treasure!"

"Interesting," Fish said. Before this, Huang Yan had made no mention of the nature of what the Joint Operations Headquarters had asked him to find.

"I didn't mean to keep it from you," Phoenix Flame's fairy-like remote terminal flapped its wings and flew to Fish's side, whispering in his ear, perhaps reading Fish's thoughts through the neural link. "I didn't know about it myself. The Joint Operations Headquarters considered it 'unnecessary information' in its instructions and didn't explicitly state it."

Unnecessary? Fish felt a sense of confusion. Asking someone to find something without even providing this basic information seemed a bit excessive.

"Furthermore, our employer has already located this item!" Tucker continued. "It's situated deep underground in an area codenamed 'The Arena' at the heart of the city ruins. I know its exact coordinates!"

"Hmm." Fish slowly wagged his tail from side to side, a subconscious reaction when he found it amusing. "Go on."

"Well... I can't tell you right now," Tucker said. "How about this? I know about navigation and I know many channels for smuggling important goods out! If we work together to get that thing out, I can get at least ten million Imperial dinars on the black market, maybe more! I'll take six, you take four, how about that?"

Fish had to bite his lip hard to keep himself from bursting out laughing. What an interesting expression that cunning guy would make if he told Tucker now that Phoenix Flame also knew the exact coordinates of that thing? Just thinking about it made him happy.

"Wait a minute, isn't this a bit unfair?" Xiaoxing jumped down from the bridge, which was charred black by the previous explosion of machine gun ammunition. "We have two people here, and we're only getting 40%?"

"Ah, oh, I'm sorry! I misspoke!" Tucker said. "I'll take three, you guys seven! How about this?!"

Fish didn't answer this pointless question, but instead shrugged: "Who commissioned you to find the 'Akasha's Compendium'?"

"This... I don't know. Our client is anonymous. Although he met us once in New Suva, he always sat behind a purple curtain, so we couldn't see his face."

"he?"

“Yes! Judging from the voice, it should be a man,” Tucker said. “Middle-aged, with a northern accent, probably from the Duchy of Fayun or the Duchy of Penglai. My judgment in this regard has always been very accurate.”

"Any other clues besides these?"

“Well… I happened to see a small part of that man’s cloak, and it had a purple lotus emblem on it,” Tucker said. “I think that seems to be part of a noble family crest. Also, I noticed through the veil that the man seemed to have two swords at his waist, one long and one short, which is also a characteristic of northern nobles.”

"Hmm... this is indeed very valuable information," Huang Yan said to Fish. "Someone with such in-depth knowledge of something like the 'Akasha Compendium' should not be underestimated. We must keep a close eye on them in the future."

"So, do you know that person's name? Surname, family title, official rank, code name... how much do you know about these things?"

"I know nothing!" Tucker shook his head. "Only Liu Gang knows a little, but we just call him 'Your Highness.' Also, he can contact Liu Gang directly using a communicator recovered from the ruins. The reason we changed course halfway to intercept that trimaran was also on the orders given by that 'Your Highness.'"

"Very good. Another valuable piece of intelligence," Fish said. "Mr. Tucker, thank you for telling us so much."

"Oh, not at all, we're brothers," Tucker continued, trying to build rapport. "We're going to make a fortune together. It's only natural for close brothers to share information!"

"Well said, but I've changed my mind." Fish exchanged a glance with Xiao Xing, who had taken off his helmet. Then, he grabbed Tucker and led him to the ship's side.

"Hey, wait! What are you doing?! I—Waaaaaaaah—"

"After careful consideration, I've finally decided not to cooperate with you," Fish shrugged as he tossed Tucker into the sea. "Let's part ways here."

"Hey, wait! Only I know the exact coordinates of the 'Akasha's Compendium'! You can't find it yourselves without me!" Tucker yelled as he struggled in the water. Clearly, he hadn't expected that, despite possessing such crucial information, he would still be discarded like a piece of trash.

“Oh, unfortunately, we already knew that information a long time ago,” Fish said. “Oh right, I forgot about that.”

"Huh? Whoa!"

When Fish tossed a crew member's mutilated body into the sea near Tucker, the first mate of the "Waves" was startled, then his face contorted with horror. Fish and Xiao Xing then proceeded to throw in over a dozen more crew members' bodies. The blood flowing from the dead quickly stained a small patch of the surrounding sea crimson.

Although the seawater was cold, large beads of sweat still trickled down the foreheads of Tucker and several other crew members of the Wave who had fallen into the water earlier.

As is well known, these urban ruins, gradually eroded by mangroves and brown algae forests, were originally the finest man-made reefs, accumulating abundant fish resources over the years following the end of the old civilization. Many large predatory cartilaginous fish, such as bull sharks and lemon sharks, also prefer to congregate in these submerged urban ruins.

The most distinctive feature of these sharks is their extreme sensitivity to the smell of blood.

"You can't do this! Don't abandon us! No!" Tucker and the other drowning people cried out in terror as one sharp gray dorsal fin after another emerged from the sea not far away. Of course, Fish and Xiao Xing completely ignored them.

"Phew... I've completed half of my personal mission now," Fish said softly, gazing at the bustling sea where the "Boom" was being feasted, after sailing a short distance with Xiaoxing. In the past, storytellers in taverns always described the taste of revenge as "sweet" and "tempting," but strangely, watching the sharks happily feasting, he now felt quite calm.

Of course, besides this feeling, he also felt a sense of unease: after climbing onto the "Wave" while Fish was distracted and assassinating more than a dozen crew members in one fell swoop, Xiaoxing showed no signs of panic or unease, and even revealed a hint of joy. Compared to Fish, who had to provoke Moore to make the first move before he could cross the psychological threshold, her performance was, in some ways, much better.

But this also made Fish feel...uncomfortable.

"Um... Sachi, is there anything that bothers you?" Fish asked tentatively, "Like, feeling guilty or nauseous or something..."

"No," the little fox-eared girl replied with a smile.

"Uh, but I heard that the first person to kill..."

"Actually, I was a little scared before I started killing those people," Xiaoxing said, spreading her hands. "But when I thought about how they were all Mr. Fish's enemies, I didn't feel any guilt about killing them. After all, these people would only be an obstacle to Mr. Fish's happy life. So their existence was a mistake. I was just correcting that mistake."

"Ugh..." Fish shuddered, suddenly at a loss for words—clearly, Xiaoxing's tone just now wasn't a joke; she was serious about killing for him. Thinking back, this girl, with her faint presence and untrustworthy nature, had been looking at him with a very peculiar gaze ever since he saved her. Could it be...?

"Some things are better left unsaid," Huang Yan said, sending these words directly into Fish's mind just as he was about to speak. "Besides, you have more important things to do right now."

"Something more important?" Fish was jolted awake by this reminder: At this very moment, the small trimaran that had been pursued by the "Wave" had just circled the submerged high-rise buildings and was approaching the "Wave" again. However, perhaps noticing the unusual changes on the armed sailing ship, it did not accelerate but instead chose to reduce its speed and gradually approach, while raising a white flag to indicate that it had no hostile intentions.

Seeing that the other party showed no hostility, Fish quickly picked up a large piece of white canvas and vigorously shook it at the bow of the boat. At the same time, he noticed that his bodysuit-style combat armor had subtly changed into a simple onesie camouflage overalls—a common garment worn by many manual laborers in this world.

Of course, this "new outfit" only resembles ordinary work pants in appearance and color. Upon closer inspection, it's easy to see that its material isn't rough fibers and leather, but rather a smooth and tough armor made of organic matter. However, at least visually, this mimicry is enough to fool most people.

"What's going on?"

"Keep a backup plan, that's all," Huang Yan said directly to Fish via neural communication, while her remote terminal deftly hid under a pile of tattered canvas. "Although my instructions are to protect the VIPs on that trimaran, there's no further information. At least for now, we can't confirm whether the people on board are hostile or malicious towards us. Therefore, it's necessary to hold back some of our combat power."

"Mmm." A few days ago, Fish might have thought this was unnecessary. But after experiencing so much, he had a very deep and clear understanding of the survival common sense that "one should always be wary of others," so he didn't say anything more.

Soon, as the two ships drew closer, Fish realized a small problem: the freeboard heights of the two ships seemed to be quite different. Although the "Wave" had a displacement of only a little over 500 tons, its freeboard was about five meters above the water, while the small trimaran had a displacement of at most one-tenth that of the "Wave," with a freeboard height difference of more than three meters. It would obviously be difficult for the other ship's crew to board the "Wave" directly.

However, just as he and Xiaoxing were in a hurry to find the rope ladder, someone appeared in front of the small trimaran and waved to them: it was actually a... maid!

"Damn, am I seeing things?!" Fish rubbed his eyes. Before this, although he had seen many maids and "maids" in the taverns and pleasure quarters of Oasis City, to be honest, seeing this kind of loose dress with black and white stripes, covered with lace and ruffles, on a small sailboat that had just gone through a life-or-death chase and was battered and bruised, was still a bit... excessively incongruous.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my lady... wishes to meet you in a more appropriate manner. Please follow us." After saying this, the maid single-handedly lifted a large bundle of thick rope, estimated to weigh tens of kilograms, and threw it more than ten meters away, landing it on the deck of the "Waves," once again giving Fish and Xiaoxing a slight surprise. However, the two understood and secured the rope, allowing the trimaran, now powered by an internal combustion engine, to tow the "Waves" forward.

"Will this work?" Fish silently asked Phoenix Flame in his mind, "Shouldn't we hurry up and find the 'Akasha's Compendium' before the 'Black Storm' gets there first?"

"No problem," Huang Yan considered for a moment, "Although the 'Black Storm' is very close to its destination, it is unlikely that it will be able to successfully obtain that thing in a short time—the facility storing the 'Akasha's Compendium' is not so easy to enter. The Joint Operations Headquarters just issued an order for us to maintain a good relationship with the protected target."

"Okay." Fish swallowed nervously. For some reason, he subconsciously felt that "building good relationships" seemed more difficult than "defeating enemies."

A few minutes later, the two ships finally arrived at the top of a spacious building. Long ago, this had been a sports field atop a large public building, flanked by small green belts. Now, although the green belts were overgrown with weeds, the thick layer of artificial rubber covering the sports field had withstood the ravages of time. After "landing," the people on the trimaran were the first to board the sports field. Then, something happened that astonished Fish.