The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"How would I know?" Fish shrugged, momentarily at a loss for words. "Maybe the incubation chambers here broke down and were taken away. Maybe something else happened. But that probably has nothing to do with us going to the control room to take control of the 'Moon Palace,' right?"

"Wrong." Huang Yan's "clone" shook its head vigorously. "Quite the opposite, Miss Shana, can you guess what's going on?"

"Hmm... let me see..." Unlike Fish, Shana, having received training from her parents and seniors in the reservation area, didn't stop at mere guesswork. Instead, she opened a hidden terminal and began expertly reviewing its records. "Interesting... this incubation pod seems to have an escape ejection record from eight years ago. At that time, it was launched urgently due to 'unknown circumstances'."

"What the hell is this? Can an incubation pod really be ejected for escape?"

"Technically speaking, this isn't surprising, is it?" Huang Yan's "clone" shrugged its small shoulders. "Unlike those cheap, quickly cloned products outside that are partially cyborgized for ease of use, these 'souvenirs' are high-quality goods, and they're likely custom-made. In case of an accident, they're more valuable than cheap, quickly cloned humans. Therefore, it's not surprising at all that the designers at the time would have prepared an ejection escape procedure for them to avoid losing such a large number of 'high-end goods' in the event of danger."

"But why was this ejected eight years ago? I thought..."

"Who knows? Maybe it was a system malfunction, or maybe something went wrong—but it doesn't matter, as long as they can launch," Huang Yan said. "Our current problem is that almost all the roads into the control room are blocked. The only way is through that 'Pretty Girl Hunting Area' up there. But the problem is, our opponents have already brought a group of dinosaur girls and are lying in ambush there. And in terms of combat strength, we are even at a relative disadvantage."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with these incubation pods being able to eject and escape? Our destination is..." Fish still didn't quite understand.

"I understand." Ange, whose tactical thinking was quite excellent, interrupted Fish. "This is a flanking maneuver."

"What do you mean?"

"Since forcing our way through the 'Moon Palace' from the inside is extremely difficult, and even if we succeed, the casualties will likely be heavy, then we can just take a detour from the outside," Ange said happily, wagging her large tail, clearly quite confident in the plan. "However, according to the information Shana previously accessed through the system, the 'Moon Palace's' control room doesn't have any valves leading outside the hull—which isn't surprising, of course. To ensure the structural strength of critical locations, the number of entrances and exits must indeed be minimized."

"If we can't get in, how do we find a way around it?"

"That makes it even simpler, my lord. Please remember, besides 'reaching the destination,' 'eliminating opponents that are difficult to annihilate through direct attacks' is also an important objective of flanking maneuvers," Ange continued. "Although the enemy on the upper levels has the advantage over us, and the boarding party from the planetary fortress won't be able to reach here anytime soon, we can leverage our asymmetric advantage by changing our perspective and eliminate them all."

"Asymmetric advantage... I get it." After a series of reminders from the other party, Fish finally understood the whole plan. "Then let's get moving. Everyone, hurry up—"

"I'm sorry, not everyone can come. First of all, to avoid system malfunctions, Shana should stay here and operate manually," Huang Yan said. "In addition, our next task will take a lot of time to complete, and if the other side discovers us and takes preventative measures during this process, the entire operation may be ruined."

"Uh...that's true."

"Therefore, I suggest leaving a small team behind to slightly hinder the enemy's movements when we begin our work. As for the specific personnel, that will naturally be decided by you, as Grand Duke Fayun and the overall commander of the operation," Huang Yan said.

"Alright." After thinking for a few seconds, Fish nodded. "Alicia, you, Xiaoxing, and Shuangye stay behind. Huangyan's new 'clone' will also stay to assist you. I believe you should be well-suited for holding off the enemy. Ange, Mint, Yuedie, and I will attack together. If possible, try to gain at least twenty minutes."

"I...I will try my best." Xiaoxing nodded.

"No problem for me." Shuangye lightly patted the hilt of the beam saber "Moon Shadow" that Anjie had given her, with a confident expression.

"Ah, okay," Alicia hesitated a bit compared to the other two, perhaps because she had been frightened by those pseudo-predatory dinosaurs earlier. However, she quickly overcame this feeling, clenched her fists, and said, "I... I'll try my best too."

"Four people? Okay," Shana immediately began operating the terminal. "I will unlock the four incubation pods and deactivate their hibernation programs—according to the instructions here, these pods will be impacted by the escape equipment before ejection. If the occupants are not in hibernation, they can perform simple operations. You'll understand the specific methods after launch."

"Phew..." Fish took a long, deep breath. "This is the first time in my life I've ever ridden in a 'mode of transportation' like this."

"Then you'll have to experience it properly," Shana said jokingly, then walked away from the terminal and pressed a red button located at the back of a culture chamber.

A few seconds later, with a hissing sound of high-pressure gas leaking, the double-layered lid of the incubation chamber opened, and a little cat-eared girl wearing only a semi-transparent thin bra rolled softly out of it... and was caught by Fish.

"What's wrong with her?" Mint quickly stepped forward and checked the cat-eared little girl's breath. "Is she alright?"

"It's alright, it's just the residual effect of the artificial hibernation state... You'll wake up naturally in an hour or two," Shana said. "That's pretty much what happened when I was woken up at the base."

"Don't worry, everyone, I'll take care of them." Then, Shana did the same thing, taking out the other three "souvenirs" that were dormant in the incubation pods, arranging them in a row on the floor, and covering them with the thermal blankets she carried with her. "Now, your 'vehicles' are ready, please come in."

"Hmm, it's really cramped in here... But, I think I feel a bit nostalgic?" After the squad responsible for the containment operation left under the guidance of Huang Yan's "clone," Fish took the lead and lay down in the opened incubation chamber, then muttered to himself.

"Nostalgia?" Shana asked, who was checking the parameters.

"N-nothing, I was just talking to myself," Fish stuck out his tongue and chuckled. However, he genuinely didn't know why he had suddenly started "talking to himself" like that. Like science fiction? Come and read more!

The only thing that was certain was that when Fish lay down in the incubation chamber, he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, as if he had been lying in this place not too long ago, waiting for something...

...But that's impossible, of course.

Although Fish unexpectedly recalled some memories of Singleton, a former staff officer of the expeditionary fleet, in the underground of the "Secret Realm," and Huang Yan also believed that he probably had some special connection with that ancient android, it is not difficult to see from common sense that Singleton would have absolutely no connection with a spaceship like the "Moon Palace."

Therefore, Fish could only try to convince himself that everything he had just felt was just an illusion caused by fatigue.

"That's right... that must be some kind of illusion, that's it." He muttered to himself as the hatch was closed, locked, and the airtightness test was completed.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the "Hunting Grounds" area, at Entrance C.

As she jogged past one of the four entrances connecting the lower deck to this artificial jungle, Xiaoxing knew very well that she had extremely limited time to use.

Perhaps due to her inherently cautious nature, when she acquired the intelligent combat armor "Grape," this armor, which wasn't particularly powerful overall, was equipped with a very suitable ability for her: optical camouflage. This camouflage not only blocked visible light but also protected against detection by radio waves, microwaves, infrared, and ultraviolet light, making it truly versatile.

The only problem is that this "all-around" cloaking is still not foolproof. After all, if the enemy's detection doesn't rely on optical and electromagnetic wave methods, it's still possible to find her trail.

In some underground ruins, pressure sensors installed in the floor would detect her intrusion, but while there are none in this artificial jungle, her adversaries have other, more "traditional" detection methods.

For example... the sense of smell.

Shortly after running up the stairs, Xiao Xing's keen hearing detected the sound of a large animal forcefully twitching its nostrils and inhaling air: that's right, those ferocious carnivorous dinosaurs were sniffing the air, searching for the scent of their prey.

According to Huang Yan, these dinosaurs were not true Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ceratosaurus, or Abelisaurus species. These species had long since become extinct, and even their DNA had been broken down and lost due to the excessively long passage of time. They were merely imitations created by humans of the old civilization through genetic modification of the descendants of a branch of the Handiraptorosaurs, resulting in similar appearances.

The problem is that, although they are not "real" in biological taxonomy, their sense of smell is indeed extremely acute, just like that of real giant predatory dinosaurs in history.

But now, she mustered the courage to rush into danger.

"I'm up here." A few seconds after stepping into the jungle, Xiaoxing said in the encrypted channel reserved for armored warriors, "However, the enemy has already started moving."

Although the pseudo-Allosaurus lying in ambush near Exit C was trying its best to move quietly under the control of its beautiful female rider, its two-ton size made "quietness" virtually impossible from the start. "I think it's coming towards me."

"Good, I've located you," his companion's voice came through the communication channel. "Stay put."

"Okay, okay." Xiaoxing nervously swallowed, feeling the increasingly noticeable tremors coming from the ground. Undoubtedly, the Allosaurus was sensing something unusual and slowly approaching her.

Deep within her genes, the ancient species memories preserved from the long Mesozoic era told her that danger was imminent and she had to run away immediately! However, Xiaoxing forcibly restrained her impulse and continued to stand still.

After all, trusting her companions was the most important thing she had learned during this period of time.

With a rustling sound of swaying vegetation, Xiaoxing saw a huge head, full of sharp teeth, emerge from the bushes. After sniffing the air again, its rider—a cold-faced red-haired girl—patted its head. "There's definitely someone there. Bite her."

The fake Allosaurus suddenly opened its huge mouth towards Xiaoxing... and then swallowed a round thing.

"Coo-coo-coo-coo-woooooooo-woo ...

For this animal, what it had just swallowed was obviously very unpalatable, quite unappetizing, and extremely hot: after all, it was a bundle of specially made large scented candles, and they were all lit!

Previously, when Fish and the others were preparing to enter the incubation chambers equipped with ejection systems, Frostleaf and Alicia, reminded by Phoenix Flame, entered the "special rooms" they had previously discovered and successfully seized a large number of candles.

Although neither of them knew why someone would stockpile so many large candles on this well-lit ship, now was not the time to ponder that question. On their way to land, they each carried a large bundle of candles, and following Huang Yan's instructions, Xiao Xing went first to distract the creature guarding the exit, then tossed a bundle of lit candles into its mouth.

Although Huang Yan called this candle a "low-temperature candle," its temperature was clearly too high for the delicate mucous membranes of this large creature's throat. After throwing off its rider, the pseudo-Allosaurus roared and struggled in pain before collapsing to the ground.

Its sound attracted other companions—and soon, more vibrations quickly approached the area.

"They're here! Proceed according to plan!" Huang Yan's "clone" quickly opened the bag on his back and stuck several lit large candles into the branches and bushes one by one. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Okay!" Xiaoxing, Alicia, and Shuangye quickly started doing the same thing. Soon, before the other dinosaurs approached, a large number of candles had been scattered in the area and started burning.

Although their primary purpose of production was rather…unique, these candles were infused with enormous amounts of fragrance due to the preferences of past users. Soon, an overpoweringly sweet and cloying aroma filled the surrounding woodlands.

At the same time, it also prevented all attempts to locate the enemy using a keen sense of smell.

"In that case, our disadvantages have been reduced to a tolerable level for the time being," Huang Yan commented with satisfaction. "Everyone, now is the time to let these big guys witness the traditional skills of your archery ancestors!"