The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

The exciting chapter "Chapter 48: A Secret Maneuver" is now available online. Click to read it now!

"Is this the legendary land of Zhongbei?" !

At the same time that cruel incident was happening quietly on the southern side of the Anadyr Plateau, on the edge of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which has expanded significantly, on the armed transport ship "Tokachi-ishi" belonging to the Principality of Horai, Fish walked to the edge of the foredeck, leaned against the railing, and opened his arms to feel the refreshing breeze blowing from the front, just like a cat that had just received a new cat food pouch.

In the past, the frigid climate in this area would have left ship railings, rigging, and even gun covers covered in frost. The icy waves would have forced people to stay inside the cabins. However, the millennia-long trend of global warming has completely changed all of this.

At this moment, the once bitterly cold land is now spring-like all year round. If we disregard the hundreds of millions of frenzied Diptera blood-sucking insects, it can be said to be the most pleasant place in the world.

"Alright, my dear husband, I know you've been cooped up in the cabin for too long," Ange then walked over and gently patted Fish's shoulder, "but please don't make a lot of noise, so as not to attract unnecessary attention."

"That's right. But Miss Ange, you shouldn't call Fei Shi 'husband' anymore—if someone hears it, it will attract unnecessary attention," Huang Yan's voice entered their minds directly. "Now you are Lieutenant Fei'er and Second Lieutenant Angelina, military reporters. Be careful."

"Of course, I'll be careful." Fish suddenly revealed a slightly amused expression: although after escaping Twilight City, Huang Yan had been seizing every opportunity, even cramming him with academic subjects in his sleep, so far, he had only reached the level of being able to read everyday texts fluently and perform basic arithmetic operations proficiently.

And now, someone like him has actually been brazenly identified as a "reporter." No matter how you look at it, it's really... a bit ridiculous.

Of course, all of this was a plan arranged by Anjie: after making the decision with Huangyan to explore the Zhongbei Land, she immediately devised a plan to secretly slip away from the "tail" hiding near the Zhangye Palace.

The first step of the plan was to hire a large number of maids and select reliable ones who were similar in build to Fish and others, had fewer social connections, and were suitable for secrecy. Although Fish suggested that recruitment could be done secretly, Ange said that open recruitment would be less likely to attract the attention of potential surveillance.

Meanwhile, using the disguise ability gained from the Phoenix Flame's absorption, Ange had the Phoenix Flame split itself into several smaller parts, creating incredibly realistic masks for the selected individuals. Of course, as part of the Phoenix Flame, these "masks" also possessed surveillance capabilities, preventing betrayal if necessary.

Previous practical experience has shown that even Huang Yan himself couldn't identify the "clone" disguised as Xiao Xing using this method. Needless to say, the spies lurking outside the Camphor Leaf Palace, unable even to get close enough to observe, were even less likely to detect it.

After that, Fish and the others were gradually replaced by newly hired maids of similar build, while the role of Ange was played by "Miss Phoenix Lily," an avatar controlled by Phoenix Flame.

To control this clone, Huang Yan almost perfectly replicated herself. Therefore, she could mimic Ange's every word and action almost flawlessly. With thorough preparation, even meeting and conversing with Ange's past acquaintances was no problem.

As for Izumi Jun'yū, and the survivors of his "Tidal Lightning" battle gang, they were also appointed as attendants by Ange and remained in Akitsukyo to await orders. They were required to stand guard outside the Campanile Palace every day or to conduct large-scale drills, which further reinforced the impression that "the princess of Fayun could not leave."

After everything was ready, Fish, Ange, and the others secretly disguised themselves as maids and mingled among the many maids who had failed the "test" and were dismissed early, leaving Camphor Leaf Palace unnoticed.

Although Xiaoxing and Anjie were a little worried when formulating the plan, fearing something might go wrong with Fish, it turned out that Fish's cute face was a perfect match for the maid outfit, making him completely absurd to everyone. In a sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Fish had a real talent for cross-dressing...

...Although Fish himself would never admit it.

Thus, the fake Ange, who remained in the Camphor Leaf Palace, continued to live a secluded life as planned, constantly communicating with various nobles of the empire via telegram, engaging in seemingly diligent but in fact impossible "political maneuvering." Meanwhile, the newspapers of the Penglai Kingdom reported extensively on these futile efforts, convincing everyone that Ange was still in the same place.

Meanwhile, Fish and his accomplices, who had slipped out of the Camphor Leaf Palace, quickly changed into new identities to serve as cover, with the assistance of the Duke of Penglai.

That is, "military journalists" who are employed by the Ministry of Defense of the Principality and temporarily granted military ranks.

Although nominally formal members of the Penglai Duchy's army, the title of "military journalist" allows Fish and his party to operate without any command—legally, only the Grand Duke himself, as the army's commander-in-chief, and the Ministry of Defense can give them orders.

More importantly, apart from regularly providing "reports" to the Military Information Bureau under the Ministry of Defense, they do not need to perform any duties and can rely on this identity to move relatively freely in different regions.

For a secret investigation that cannot be made public or even known to the vast majority of its own people, this is clearly the most appropriate method.

"It's much warmer here than before," Huang Yan muttered as Fish enjoyed the cool sea breeze. "Although the temperature has indeed become more pleasant, there are some downsides as well."

"Huh?" Fish seemed a little confused.

"If my estimation is correct, the cold-water hermit crabs that used to be abundant in this area, such as various rock crabs, snow crabs, and king crabs, as well as many cold-water fish, are probably very difficult to catch now. In fact, now you can probably only find some of these animals deep in the thawing Arctic Ocean, in the deepest parts of the Arctic Circle," Huang Yan muttered. "It's really a pity for people of this era."

"Oh, is that so?" Xiaoxing and Anjie shrugged and casually agreed. For them, who were born in an era of global warming, these creatures were almost unheard of, so they naturally didn't feel any real pity.

Strangely, however, Fish had some unusual feelings after hearing these words—he vaguely recalled certain sensations: the sweet taste of crab leg meat, the aroma of seafood stew boiled in salt water, and that unique elasticity and chewiness cultivated in cold seawater, as if he had actually eaten it before…

That's impossible... Fish shook his head instinctively.

Admittedly, he couldn't recall any memories before that strange tsunami night, only the obsession with "going further away," and naturally, he couldn't remember what he had eaten in the past. But in this era, the only large hermit crab that someone like him had a chance to eat was basically the coconut crab, which was common on the southern islands and could survive on anything.

Technically speaking, how could Huang Yan have eaten those creatures that he mentioned might only exist in the depths of the Arctic Ocean?

"Husband...Mr. Fehr, is there a problem?" Ange asked, noticing Fish shaking his head.

"N-nothing," Fish said.

"Everyone, the ship is about to dock! Have you all taken your luggage?" Behind the two, Mint, the female officer in charge, carrying large and small bags, asked Xiaoxing, as well as her subordinates Peanut and Xiaoluo. Although passenger ships usually make announcements in advance to remind passengers to disembark, there were none on this armed transport ship.

"Don't worry!" the other three said in unison—Mint's two subordinates each carried a cylindrical duffel bag, while Xiaoxing dragged a box labeled "Photography Equipment" by herself. The weight of this box was rather heavy even for an adult male, but thanks to the intelligent combat armor hidden under her military overcoat, Xiaoxing could easily pull it.

Since it would be too strange to register all of them as "military journalists of the Ministry of National Defense," the four of them are currently officially known as "journalist assistants." Before leaving Akitsukyo, out of personal friendship, the Duke of Horai instructed the Ministry of National Defense to give them some "small gifts," which they carried under the guise of "photography equipment" and "personal luggage."

After slowing down, the Tokachi Stone finally docked at a berth on a floating pier made up of old barges, with the help of a military tugboat in the harbor. However, just as the group was about to cross the floating pier and step onto the land of the North Continent, they unexpectedly discovered that someone had set up a checkpoint at the end of the pier using wooden fences, sandbags, and barbed wire.

At the checkpoint, several hundred people lined up in a long queue.

"What's going on?" Fish hurriedly bypassed the ranks and came to the vicinity of the checkpoint, asking a private first class with the emblem of the Cangwu Duchy's tree on his armband and a pair of curled ram horns on his head.

"I'm busy! Go to the back of the line... Eh?" The man initially seemed very impatient. However, after seeing the lieutenant's insignia on Fish's uniform and then seeing the military journalist badge that Ange pulled out, his attitude softened a bit. "Uh, what else could it be? Ordered to check and deport certain people."

"But I haven't heard of any inspections being conducted at the docks," Fish shrugged.

As everyone knows, "dumping garbage" into the northern lands—no, I should say "planned immigration"—has always been the empire's national policy. Both the royal family and the various duchies are generally aware of how many dangerous scoundrels and unemployed people are crammed into these immigrant groups.

Since abandoning these guys to fend for themselves would reduce crime within the territory while simultaneously expanding land and increasing food supplies, the authorities were actually quite "lenient" towards them. Entering the Northwest Lands was virtually unrestricted…

After all, if someone with a criminal record or carrying contraband is barred from entering, the Northland would likely struggle to recruit new pioneers. As for those who genuinely carry dangerous items? It doesn't matter; almost no one cares about what happens deep within the continent.

The real trouble is actually getting a boat ticket to leave this place.

Therefore, in theory, there shouldn't be any checks on people entering the country here. As for deportation, unless there are special circumstances, I've never even heard of it happening.

"Ah, the order was just given yesterday, and the news hasn't been officially broadcast yet—mainly because the Zhongbei Garrison Command hasn't decided whether to make this public," another lieutenant, who was probably in charge, came over and explained to Fish. "Of course, you can go in, but I don't know how much they'll allow you to report."

"Order?"

"Yes, the garrison command has issued an emergency order that, starting at midnight today, the port will begin repatriating civilians entering the country—with the exception of administrative officials," the lieutenant explained. "Of course, everyone will receive a receipt and will be reimbursed for their travel expenses when they return home."

As he said, near the temporary checkpoint, several people had already received slips of paper stamped with a red seal and started walking back onto the ship. Only those wearing civil servant cloaks and overcoats, or those in military uniforms, were allowed to pass.

Among those forced to return with their receipts, most looked rather dejected, seemingly regretting the wasted time and effort of their wasted trip. However, some appeared indifferent, or even slightly relieved. Some even showed expressions of relief.

"Do you... know why headquarters issued the order?" Ange leaned close to the lieutenant and asked in a low voice.

"Well... I'm just a junior officer, so I don't really know the real reasons behind those decisions."

"But you must have heard something." Ange patted the other person's hand.

In the instant she did so, several high-end cigars, each worth over fifty imperial dinars and wrapped in tissue paper, from New Java in the Duchy of Fayun, had magically disappeared into the other person's sleeve. Because her movements were so swift, only the sharp-eyed Fish saw it all.

But then again, where exactly did the noble princess learn this trick? Fish wondered to himself.

"Luo Jie, you continue the inspection here. I need to discuss some official business with these military reporters from Penglai." After raising his sleeve and taking a deep sniff of the fragrance seeping through the fabric, the lieutenant licked his lips and led Fish and the others to a place a little further away from the long line in front of the checkpoint.

"Well... how should I put it? In short, all I can tell you right now is hearsay. Although some terrible things have indeed happened in the inland areas, I can't guarantee that these rumors are 100% true." After making sure no one else could hear, the lieutenant said in a low voice.

"It's okay, just say whatever you know."

"Okay. But please don't tell anyone what I told you," the lieutenant emphasized. "There are orders from above that officers and all public officials are prohibited from discussing this matter or disseminating related information."

"Please believe us. I swear in the name of the 'Three Heroes' and our ancestors that I will never, in any way or on any occasion, mention our conversation here to any outsider." Ange raised the fox tail behind her and placed one hand on her chest as she swore.

As she did this, Fish noticed that Mint's expression turned somewhat unpleasant—Ange had just subconsciously used the oath-taking method of a high-ranking noble from Fayun. This was somewhat inconsistent with their current roles.

Fortunately, the lieutenant from the Cangwu Duchy seemed to be a commoner and didn't notice anything amiss. He only showed a slightly relieved expression because of Anjie's serious attitude.

"Well... I'll tell you then," he glanced around again, "In short, a few days ago, an entire colony suddenly disappeared."