The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Meow... I never imagined that sashimi made from chimeras could taste this good!"

After stuffing a large, translucent slice of meat with a pale pink hue into his mouth, Fish muttered to himself as he wolfed it down. While sashimi was a common dish for residents of atoll cities like Oasis, this was the first time he had ever tasted sashimi this fresh and delicious.

Just now, with the power boost provided by her intelligent combat armor, Mint first severed the cone-shaped structure at the front of the skull of the over 600-pound "Broken Ship Bonito," then tied it to its tail with a cable and suspended it from the ship's side. Because its gill covers were submerged in seawater, it could continue to passively breathe dissolved oxygen in the water during the "Lucky Star's" voyage, preventing it from suffocating, but this was not a good thing for it.

Because peppermint began its live dissection directly.

Fish had to admit that while the combat armor's servo system greatly improved accuracy, Mint's swordsmanship, like her spear handling skills, clearly required years of intensive training. With a flash of light, the fish-shaped chimera's flesh was sliced ​​apart like pages turned in a book, then, just before it fell into the water, Mint sliced ​​it again with the tip of her blade and swiftly tossed it back onto the deck. A large amount of blood quickly seeped into the seawater, causing other chimeras in the water to retreat in fear.

After all, unlike animals like sharks, larger chimeras are generally more intelligent. And they've clearly learned one thing: this ship may be small, but the adversaries on board are not to be trifled with!

While she was doing this, the other two maids—whom Fish now knew were named Peanut and Little Luo—quickly gathered the meat slices, rinsed them rapidly with the cool seawater, and then coated them with a pale green mixed sauce.

While savoring the sashimi coated in sauce, Fish detected a blend of wasabi root, white pepper, and vinegar, along with some other unique flavors he couldn't quite place. However, when he asked Ange about the ingredients, he only received a knowing smile.

"Hey, I've heard before that the meat of chimeras is poisonous and can't be eaten," Xiaoxing muttered softly as she savored the fish. "If you eat it carelessly, you'll either get poisoned immediately or turn into a monster."

"That's simply because most people have never eaten chimera meat. After all, these guys, in most cases, don't stray far from the ruins of the old city, so ordinary people rarely encounter them," Mint snorted softly. "However, for us nobles of Fayun, eating chimeras isn't a very rare thing."

"Do you often eat this kind of thing?" Xiaoxing asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course!" Mint seemed quite proud. "At least I've personally cooked chimera dishes for Her Highness Ange more than ten times."

"Technically speaking, most of the chimeras are indeed edible—after all, these creatures are just ordinary animals created through gene editing and externally induced genetic mutations, not some kind of monster." Huang Yan's remote terminal flew to a freshly sliced ​​piece of fish and began to devour it. Although she could easily swallow food directly and efficiently like a slime, she would choose a more "normal" way of eating when the conditions were right.

"But I've heard before..."

"Some chimeras do possess artificially designed venomous organs—but that's intentional, intended for use in entertainment activities like gladiatorial combat. These organs might be fangs, stings, or sprayable venom glands, but I don't have any chimeras with venomous muscles in my database," Huang Yan continued. "In fact, many chimeras are based on animals specifically bred for high-yield meat production."

"real?"

"That's right. For example, the synthetic beast 'Steel Hyena Terror Pig' used for gladiatorial combat is based on the experimental high-yield meat pig 'X-PIG' type 11. It's a very ugly animal. Throughout their lives, their dermal cells and muscle stem cells continuously produce benign tumors, which fall off like fruit after reaching a certain size, allowing them to continuously produce meat without being slaughtered," Huang Yan said. "Of course, because the meat is smelly and tough, this type of meat pig was not successful. But after modification, creating synthetic beasts based on them is quite dangerous."

"You mean one of those big guys that can launch spikes? I hunted one down single-handedly when I was fourteen. Back then, I hadn't even inherited the family's intelligent combat armor yet; my only protective gear was a regular military helmet," Mint said in a completely indifferent tone. Clearly, such a feat was nothing special to her. "Going deep into ancient ruins and hunting chimeras is part of the daily training of the Fayun nobles."

"Is that really how it is?" Fish asked in surprise.

"Yes. Although outsiders are full of prejudice against us in Fayun, thinking that our nobles are old-fashioned, fond of extravagant displays and cumbersome etiquette, in fact, we are simply adhering to the traditions of the past—and the most important part of the tradition is the cultivation of a martial spirit," Mint explained. "Our nobles in Fayun, regardless of gender, unless they are missing an arm or a leg, must personally enter an ancient ruin at least once in their lives and hunt down a C-rank or higher synthetic beast, or destroy any autonomous weapons they encounter. If they cannot even do this, they will be regarded as minors forever."

"But wouldn't that put your life in danger?" Xiaoxing asked.

"That's right, of course they will—but most people will explore the ruins more than once. After all, the more spoils they acquire, the higher their future status in noble society will be. And if they don't survive, it only proves that they are not qualified to become nobles of Fayun, nothing more."

After cutting away all the best parts of the shipwrecked bonito, Mint severed the animal's head, ending its suffering. Meanwhile, the spear-like horn that had been broken off its head was now suspended by the maid Peanut from the mast of the Lucky Star, clearly intended to be displayed as a trophy.

"What a barbaric custom... Waaah!" Fish was about to complain when the green-haired fox maid, who had put away her sashimi knife, slapped him on the forehead with a chop. "Whoa, why did you hit me?!"

"Because Your Highness lacks awareness of your status as a noble of the Fayun," Mint said solemnly. "No matter how humble your origins may have been, you are now a noble of Fayun. This means that as the head of the Lindenhild-Fayun family, you must understand our customs, etiquette, and traditions, and preferably genuinely accept them."

"This... won't it be a bit difficult? I've heard that the etiquette of the great nobles is very complicated..." Fish looked troubled.

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Ange said, handing the silver-rimmed white porcelain plate to Lian, who was standing nearby, after gracefully finishing the sashimi on her plate. "This is not a problem. Mint is a very qualified lady-in-waiting. If needed, she will forcefully instill all the knowledge and refinement Your Highness needs into your mind."

"Damn it, I don't want this one!" Fish shuddered, his tail wagging wildly behind him—a characteristic of his panicked state. "I can learn anything myself! I, I promise I'll try my best! You all, you absolutely must believe in my initiative, meow!"

"Oh, of course I trust my husband," Ange said calmly. "Besides, Miss Mint and I will also tutor Princess Xiaoxing in necessary knowledge when we have time—as the concubine of the next head of the Lyndenhild-Fayun family, it's absolutely unacceptable for her to lack proper etiquette and manners!"

"Whoa!" Upon hearing this, Xiaoxing immediately let out a cute little scream and quickly hid behind Fish like a frightened little animal. Ange chuckled and then returned to the helm of the "Lucky Star" to continue steering the ship herself, following the navigation coordinates given by Huang Yan.

Two hours later, as the last rays of blood-red sunset began to dissipate on the western horizon, amidst the ruins of skyscrapers, and millions of stars began to twinkle in the sky, the Lucky Star gradually approached its destination—the geographical center of the Twilight City ruins—in the evening breeze.

Before this, the closer the Lucky Star got to the center of the urban ruins, the more towering giant buildings there were—of course, the number of buildings that had collapsed and crumbled into dangerous underwater reefs was several times that of those that still stood.

However, in this circular area with a diameter of over two kilometers in the city center, the environment has completely changed: the towering buildings and the dangerous reefs have vanished, replaced by a lush island. Numerous mangroves with extensive root systems have taken root in the intertidal zone along the island's edge, forming a green "breakwater," interspersed with tall coconut palms, palm trees, and other broad-leaved trees. A circular building resembling the Roman Colosseum stands at the highest point, occupying nearly half of the island's central area.

Fortunately, after circling the island, the group did not find any trace of the "Tidal Lightning" warband's flagship, the "Black Storm," or its inseparable airship, the "Eye of Surveillance." This meant that, just as Huang Yan had estimated, they had not fallen behind.

However, while relieved, Fish also felt a little...regretful. After all, this meant that he couldn't "repay" Mr. Liu Gang, who had "kindly" forgiven and taken him in, for the time being.

"Is this our destination?" Anjie asked as she directed Peanut and Xiao Luo to furl the sails.

"According to the electronic map attached to the order from the Joint Operations Headquarters, this should be the place," Huang Yan's remote terminal flew to An Jie's side. "On the last official map of the old civilization era, this was an artificial mountain with an elevation of 120.5 meters, built with earthwork. At the top of the mountain was the old city hall, and... the multi-purpose arena."

"The arena? Is that the really tall building?" Fish asked.

"That's right," Mint took a deep breath, "Get ready, it's time to challenge the maze."

"Wait a minute, you said 'maze'?"

"Yes, we nobles of Fayun, and of course, the mercenaries and explorers who often venture into the ruins of the past, all call these buildings 'labyrinths'," Mint said with a hint of anticipation as the Lucky Star slowly approached the edge of the mangrove-covered island. "No one has ever verified when or by whom this name was first used, but that's what everyone says."

"I must say, this statement is very apt," Huang Yan said. "These so-called comprehensive arenas are the culmination of the moral decay and low-level tastes of some people at the end of the old civilization era. The internal structure of these 'arenas' is highly complex. The people who built them painstakingly designed a large number of dangerous, even potentially deadly, levels and traps, and then took pleasure in watching the struggles, pain, and death of those who entered them in the face of various crises."

"This is absolutely terrible." Xiaoxing's furry ears drooped instinctively. "Who would go to a place like this?"

"In rare cases, it's those bastards who are so bored they'd risk their lives for amusement," Huang Yan replied with a cold laugh, "but most of the time, it's the ancestors of you noble lords."

"Our..." Ange frowned.

"Yes, the reason why you specialized 'gladiator' type new humans—including the common wolf-type, fox-type, and leopard-type new humans—are better at fighting and are born with a higher compatibility with intelligent combat armor is that your ancestors were originally created to please their creators with blood and violence in such facilities."

"Well……"

"By the way, the reason why you still instinctively venture into ancient ruins for adventure and hunting, and why you have a mysterious fondness for what you call 'labyrinths,' is the same," Huang Yan noticed the complex look that flashed across An Jie's eyes, but continued, "it's all just a 'legacy' left behind by those guys who possessed technology a thousand years ago but whose souls were decaying and empty, for a momentary interest, nothing more."

"Is that so? That doesn't matter." Ange shook her head, her expression quickly returning to calm. "Perhaps our ancestors were indeed just animals used for gladiatorial combat, but in the end, they still followed the 'Three Heroes' to defeat the people of the old civilization. In this respect, we are undoubtedly the victors. Those people of the old civilization were merely tools manipulated by the god of fate, who bestowed upon us the power we deserved, nothing more."

"Oh, at least I admire your attitude," Huang Yan said.

"But where exactly is the 'Akasha's Compendium'?" Fish asked, as the two maids moored the Lucky Star at the base of a particularly thick mangrove tree. "Could it be deep within the 'labyrinth'?"

"Unfortunately, that's probably true," Huang Yan's remote terminal shrugged. "But don't worry, I have all the relevant information about this facility in my stored data. With me leading the way, we can avoid most of the dangers, as long as you don't act rashly... Wait, Miss Mint, what are you doing?!"