The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Phoenix Flame... Not a bad name. Looks like you've got some talent in you," said the fairy girl sitting on Fish's shoulder. "This armor is the color of flames, and you've survived a near-death experience today, just like a phoenix rising from a pyre. From now on, the Advanced Intelligent Combat Armor AM-271 is registered as 'Phoenix Flame,' and its user is Special Agent Fish."

"What is a special agent?" Fish asked.

"Oh, after all, I'm not doing charity work," the fairy girl, who was acting as a remote control terminal, changed her appearance after receiving the name "Phoenix Flame." Her original silver hair, bodysuit, and insect-like translucent wings turned golden-red, and golden flame patterns appeared. "I'm giving you this armor, of course, so that you can work for me... no, I should say for the Interstellar Shipping and Extraterrestrial Colonization Joint Operations Supreme Command—in short, the 'Joint Operations Headquarters'."

"Unified Operations Headquarters? What's that?" Fish was confused: In this world of declining civilization, war and violence were very frequent, and he had heard of many military agencies—such as the military coordination conference of the Pan-Pacific Empire, the supreme command and staff of various states, and even the city defense command of atoll city-states like Oasis City.

However, this was the first time he had ever heard of an organization like the "United Front Operations Headquarters".

"I'm sorry. Only those with access level 7 or higher can know the answer to this question—all ordinary Newtypes have level 1 access, while those who have become special agents like you have level 2. In other words, you are not authorized to know for the time being," Huang Yan replied. "I can only assure you that the goals of the Cooperative Combat Headquarters are directly related to the survival of human civilization. Their motivation is the highest interest of all humanity."

"That sounds so profound..."

"Since you accepted these armors, you have essentially accepted conditions. From now on, you must unconditionally carry out the instructions of the Joint Operations Headquarters that I have relayed to you. This includes, but is not limited to, participating in combat, conducting social and political activities, protecting VIPs, recovering supplies, participating in and assisting scientific research activities, and conducting investigations and explorations in dangerous areas..."

"So, does that mean I have the opportunity to go to farther and higher places?" Fish suddenly started to light up.

"Eh...yes."

"Really?"

"You might as well say that you won't be able to go even if you don't want to. After all, it's highly likely that you'll need to travel to various parts of the world, and possibly even beyond Earth, during your mission. 'Beyond Earth' here refers to beyond the atmosphere, including the interior of the Earth-Moon system, other regions within the solar system, and theoretically, it might even include..."

"Great! That solves everything!" Fish shouted excitedly. "This is the second biggest goal of my life!"

"Hmm... so this is the second biggest target?"

"Because my primary goal right now is 'revenge,'" Fish said seriously. "I want to find those bastards who deceived and betrayed me and my comrades, and make them pay the price!"

"Well then, I'm glad we've reached an agreement," Huang Yan said. "As long as it doesn't affect the mission, I'll assist you with your personal affairs. Whether it's revenge, making money, eating, sleeping, playing games, or even chasing girls all over the world and building a harem of debauchery, it doesn't matter... Oh, of course, please don't treat me as a romance target! Although I use a female-looking remote control terminal and speak to users with a female voice by default, that's just part of the default settings. As armor, I have no gender! Understand?!"

"I understand." Fish nodded quickly. In fact, although he had been fed by wealthy female merchants or mercenaries in Oasis Harbor many times in the past because of his cute appearance, his experience in "that kind" between men and women was as pure as a kitten that had just been kicked out by its mother cat. As for the idea of ​​"conquering" his own combat armor, he had never even thought of it!

"Wait, I feel like the pain has stopped! What's going on...?"

"I just performed basic treatment on your four minor fractures, seven muscle injuries, and four open skin lesions. You should be fully recovered within thirty minutes," Huang Yan replied. "Providing first aid to users is also part of my abilities."

"That's amazing... Oh right, can you heal other people?" As the pain subsided, Fish quickly walked to the unconscious Xiaoxing's side—although she was seriously injured and had lost consciousness, the fox-eared loli was still breathing and had a heartbeat.

"This might be a bit tricky," Huang Yan replied. "My first aid abilities can indeed be used on people other than the user, but they're not very efficient; they can only perform simple diagnoses and initial treatment... Your companion has a rather severe head contusion and skull fracture. Although it doesn't look too serious on the outside, intracranial hemorrhage could lead to a fatal blood clot. Treatment might not be successful. Do you really want to save her?"

"certainly."

Is she your girlfriend?

"Eh?!" Fish blushed. "I...I...we're just regular buddies, really! We're not..."

"I completely believe that—after all, judging from your appearance, you don't seem to have any experience in 'that' area." Huang Yan let out a slightly mischievous sneer.

"I won't abandon my true comrades," Fish emphasized the word "true," "How?"

"Activate the temporary treatment plan," after Huang Yan said this, a thin syringe suddenly appeared on Fish's left arm armor. "Please inject the emergency medication into the patient's carotid artery."

"Ah... okay." Fish quickly squatted down and began the injection—although he had never received any formal medical training, the armor marked Xiaoxing's carotid artery directly in the center of his field of vision with a fluorescent symbol.

At the same time, a crosshair appeared in his field of vision, moving with the direction of the needle. After aligning the crosshair with the fluorescent marker, he easily completed the injection.

"What is this?"

"The therapeutic carbon-based nanorobots are products of special differentiation from the slime mold cells that make up the armor. After injection, they can temporarily prevent the damage from worsening and thrombosis, and also prevent infection. But this only temporarily stabilizes the situation. Next, we need to seek proper medical care."

"Proper medical care...where...where can I find that?" Fish was stumped—the ruins of this ancient city were hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest city with a hospital, even if...

"I'm not asking you to go to a hospital." The fairy girl flapped her wings and flew past Fish. "Based on my observations just now, and the information I obtained from the few outsiders who had previously entered this place, I can conclude that the technological level of this era has clearly regressed compared to my era—in other words, the probability that your hospital can cure this kind of injury is close to zero."

"What should we do?" Fish was completely at a loss and began to anxiously wring his hands.

"Don't worry, anyway, I never expected anything from the pathetic level of medical technology in your era," Huang Yan replied. "You're lucky. The tower we're in now was a comprehensive residential facility in the old civilization era. Although these five towers are very large, they only accommodate a thousand permanent residents. A large amount of space was used to build recreational facilities, cultural areas, and other public service facilities for residents... including medical facilities, of course."

"Hmm, but this place has been abandoned for a long time, hasn't it?" Fish asked. "The doctor who used to live here..."

"Yes, the last batch of doctors did leave 870 standard years ago," Huang Yan's humanoid terminal nodded. "But have you forgotten that as a noble, specially customized intelligent combat armor, I also know how to operate and use automated medical equipment? Although I'm not an expert, I can handle most cases, as long as they aren't particularly difficult or complicated, and there are the corresponding drugs and tools."

"Really? But the old lady at the tavern always says that those boastful quacks are usually the worst, and the best outcome for them is to have their wallets emptied—" Fish said emphatically... Then, he involuntarily raised his hand and slapped himself.

"Ugh... What are you doing?"

"It's nothing, I just accidentally slipped," Huang Yan replied casually.

"Can combat armor slip and fall?!"

"When I'm called a 'quack doctor,' I will," Huang Yan replied. "By the way, you don't have a wallet right now, so even if I got the money, I wouldn't have anywhere to spend it. So, at least your worries are pointless, understand?"

"Yes, I understand!" Fish said, his cheeks burning.

"Alright, let's get down to business: I've explored this area before using my remote terminal and even created a map. As far as I know, each of these five towers has a small community clinic located on a higher floor, but the equipment there might not be effective for your friend's injuries," Huang Yan explained. "Fortunately, there's a medium-sized general medical center located below Tower Three. If the equipment there is still usable, perhaps your friend can be saved."

"Excellent!" Fish immediately picked up the unconscious Xiao Xing, wrapped the fox-eared loli in a blanket and some ropes he found like a baby, and carefully secured her to his back—although carrying someone in battle was no easy task, for him, whose strength had been greatly enhanced by the Phoenix Flame, her weight was negligible. "Let's get down quickly—wait, what?"

Just as Fish was about to rush out of the room, his legs were suddenly forcibly restrained.

"Are you courting death? Rushing out without any preparation?!" Phoenix Flame's fairy-girl-shaped remote control flew in front of Fish, poking his nose with a look of utter disappointment. "Although I've already dismantled that thing your 'friends' hid in the so-called 'communication relay equipment,' that doesn't mean the chimeras and autonomous weapons attracted by it will just go back. Without their target, they're likely still wandering around these towers."

"But I already have you," Fish said.

"Hmm..." For some reason, these words made the fairy girl's small face turn red—though only for a moment. "Okay, I understand your trust in me, but I must emphasize one point: although my enhancement limit is extremely high, and under the operation of a truly experienced user, it is enough to turn what most people consider 'impossible' into 'possible,' I am currently only at the basic configuration. And you are just a complete newbie with no experience. In this situation, recklessly going head-to-head with hundreds of synthetic beasts and autonomous weapons—although most of them are just small fry—is as foolish as using a level 1 alt account without any enhancement equipment to directly fight the final boss in a game."

Although Fish had no idea what a game was or what a "final boss" was, he understood what Huang Yan meant. "So, I can't go out freely right now?"

"Not necessarily. While you may not be able to defeat all the enemies in this area in one go, you do have a unique advantage—that is, this place." Under Huang Yan's control, Fish involuntarily raised a hand, took off his closed helmet, and then tapped his forehead.

"I understand! You want me to take them out with a headbutt?"

Fish raised his other hand under Huang Yan's control, grabbing a fluffy cat's ear with each hand and pulling it violently in opposite directions, causing Fish to almost shed tears from the pain.

"Idiot, I mean use your brain! Use your brain!" The fairy girl flew to Fish's forehead and started kicking it with her tiny feet. "Right now I can still provide you with full support, but in the future, you'll have to devise your own tactics and execute them yourself! If you keep acting like this, I'm really worried about your future!"

"Stop! Stop! Stop! I know I was wrong! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" While involuntarily pulling at his ears, Fish cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face. "I'll try to become smarter!"

"Alright," Huang Yan stopped Fish from torturing himself and then controlled his hands to put the helmet back on. "In that case, here is your first test: It is known that there are two chimeras roaming in the corridor outside this room. Like the one that came in earlier, they are specialized cephalopods known as 'Reef Assassins.' With my current abilities, I can easily kill them without being detected."

"Well……"

"So, I'm going to grant you full control over this, Special Agent Fish. You'll have to figure out how to kill them without making contact," Huang Yan said. "Consider this your 'entrance test,' so please don't disappoint me."