The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

The world created by Sokhov is fully revealed in "The Last Odyssey: The Fantastic Adventure of a Cat Boy".

Although Fish and his party were originally supposed to rest at the port for a few days to make further preparations before venturing deeper into the vast hinterland of the North, unfortunately, time did not allow them such a leisurely pace.

After meeting up with Warrant Officer Frostleaf, who was in charge of "supervising" them, Fish learned that the situation on the mainland was changing very rapidly. Almost every two or three days, new restricted areas where no one was allowed to enter would be added. And every day, new residents of the colonies were being asked to evacuate, turning them into "quarantine zones" and "buffer zones." The entire North Asian region was filled with people running around like headless flies.

In this situation, continuing to waste time is clearly not the best course of action.

So, after spending the night at the port, Anjie immediately used the order stamped by the Duke of Penglai to retrieve a medium-sized hovercraft from the garrison's warehouse and began heading inland.

For a very long time, water transport has been the primary mode of transportation in North Asia. In stark contrast to the numerous muddy and difficult roads, a network of rivers seeps into the region like capillaries. Following millennia of global warming, the melting of ice sheets and permafrost has led to a dramatic increase in the size of rivers, lakes, swamps, and drowned valleys. Hovercraft have thus become a near-omnipotent means of transportation.

"Whoosh! Look at this!" Although the road ahead was fraught with danger, it did not stop the group from enjoying themselves on the boat. Not long after setting off, Mint, who was quite skilled at fishing, returned to her old ways and started fishing with her homemade lures.

Her first prey took the bait just three minutes after she started fishing.

Although this time the creature that took the bait wasn't a fish-shaped chimera of the "Broken Ship Skipjack" level from Twilight City, it was still an astonishingly large beast: it had beautiful scales, powerful fins, a nearly triangular head and a wide mouth, and a body nearly two meters long; even its struggling posture was full of primal power.

"Hmm, not bad, 95 points!" Huang Yan exclaimed, "To think you could catch such a big one."

"What kind of fish is this?" Fish asked.

"Your name is Fish, don't you recognize me?" Frostleaf asked, holding a training wooden sword and maintaining a sword-wielding stance near the hovercraft's cockpit. Although Fish's identification bore the alias "Fair," since the expected questioning hadn't occurred, he and his companions had reverted to addressing each other by their real names.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. This is my first time in an inland freshwater river like this." Fish shrugged. "It's normal not to recognize it."

Although he ate fish every day in Oasis City, he only knew about saltwater fish. Apart from the goldfish and crucian carp sold in pet stores, and the small tilapia and freshwater gobies that bred in the pond after the rain, he had never seen any freshwater fish.

"This is the king of freshwater fish, the god and ruler of the great river," said Frostleaf, still holding her knife. After spending some time together, the trainee military police officer had overcome his initial nervousness around strangers and could now converse normally. "That's right, it's the supreme, strongest, and most powerful of all salmonid fish! The taimen!"

"Oh...that sounds delicious." Fish licked his lips.

"Wait, Lieutenant Fish. Faced with a creature so full of wildness and natural power, don't you feel any awe at its noble natural spirit and untamed soul?" Frostleaf was a little dumbfounded.

"Only people from Penglai like to talk nonsense like that," Fish muttered. "To me, there are only two kinds of fish: delicious fish and bad fish."

"As expected of Lieutenant... Fell," Ange praised from the driver's seat, piloting the hovercraft. "What I admire most about you is your pragmatic thinking."

"However, we can't handle such a big guy on the boat." Standing on guard behind the hovercraft's only fixed weapon—a .50 caliber heavy machine gun—Xiao Xing looked at the taimen that had been pulled into the boat, then threw a multi-purpose knife, accurately piercing its eye and ending the big fish's struggle.

To complement the combat style of her intelligent combat armor "Grape," Xiaoxing has been practicing the use of various throwing weapons and short-range projectiles since leaving Twilight City. So far, her training has clearly yielded considerable results.

"How about... we make it into sashimi?" Fish muttered. The sashimi he had tasted last time left an indelible mark on him.

"I don't recommend it," Huang Yan said. "Although taimen can indeed be made into sashimi, and its taste is similar to salmon, I don't mind doing it that way."

Why?

"It's simple. You wouldn't want to spend your whole life with a belly full of parasites just because of a moment's craving, would you?" Huang Yan sneered. "Because there's no troublesome osmotic pressure problem like in the ocean, freshwater organisms are inherently more likely to have parasites, especially those at higher trophic levels in the food chain. And the taimen is a top predator in freshwater."

"Ah...that sounds reasonable," Fish nodded. "So what should we do?"

"I suggest salting or disinfecting with alcohol. Of course, the best method is for me to inject disinfectant and complete the safe treatment. This ensures it's nutritious, non-toxic, and harmless; even parasites will be converted into protein and fat, so nothing is wasted!"

"I refuse!" Fish quickly said. Mint, Xiaoxing, and Anjie, who were standing nearby, also nodded hastily: the "method" that Huang Yan just mentioned was indeed the safest in theory, but the problem was that they had experienced this trick before.

When she sailed to the Principality of Penglai aboard the "Black Storm" before, Huang Yan had conducted a comprehensive test on her various functions, including "safe handling"—she swallowed a thick-skinned pufferfish, which was then turned into completely sterilized, edible food porridge and excreted.

Unfortunately, while this stuff was safe, it was completely tasteless, its deliciousness falling somewhere between paste and slug slime. Therefore, after trying it once, everyone immediately resolved that unless in an emergency, they would never eat Huang Yan's "cooking" again.

"Although it's not bad to salt it after cutting it open, I don't really like that way of eating it," Mint said, putting away her fishing rod, squatting down, pulling out her knife, and handing it back to Xiaoxing. "It would be such a waste not to eat something as good as this while it's fresh."

"But there's no place to cook on the ship," Ange said. Although compared to the cramped light hovercraft, for die-hard fans of Sokhov, the latest chapter of "Final Odyssey: The Fantastic Adventure of a Cat Boy" has been released! This multi-functional medium-sized hovercraft is fourteen meters long, has a carrying capacity of up to thirty tons, and its cabins are equipped with bunk beds, accommodating more than 20 people for short-term living.

Unfortunately, its so-called "kitchen" is just a small stove in front of the engine compartment, whose only function is to use the engine's waste heat to boil water and then use the temperature of the hot water to simply heat the pre-made food.

However, cooking a two-meter-long fish, whether by frying, stir-frying, or boiling, is beyond the capabilities of that extremely rudimentary "kitchen".

"It's not like there's no other way," Xiaoxing suddenly said. "We can go ashore."

"I...I don't recommend doing that," Frostleaf said hastily, as she practiced swinging her wooden sword in the air. "It's too dangerous! The riverbanks in this area are generally undeveloped, and there's a possibility of dangerous wild animals, synthetic beasts, and bandits. Safety can't be completely guaranteed. Wilderness travel guides also advise against leaving the riverbed..."

"Do you think wild animals or bandits can threaten us?" Mint put away her fishing rod and took out an automatic rifle.

"Normally, the threat isn't much," Shuangye said, still somewhat worried, "but these are extraordinary times..."

"Well, it's just a temporary activity by the river, so there shouldn't be any major problems," Fish thought for a moment, but in the end, his desire for fresh fish dishes outweighed his slight worries. "Besides, this isn't a restricted area, nor is it an area that has been evacuated."

"That's right. The most recent colony ordered to be evacuated is the Lanmonia Colony, which is 35 kilometers northwest of here," Ange glanced at the map hanging inside the windshield of the driver's cab. "At least according to the opinion of the Northwest Garrison Command, the place we are in now is not considered 'dangerous'."

"Well, that makes sense..." Although still somewhat reluctant, Frostleaf, having no legitimate reason to object, finally relented. "However, everyone, please be sure not to stray too far when you go ashore. Always carry your weapons and stay alert. If you encounter any danger, please immediately return to the ship. I will protect you all."

"I understand." Fish, Xiaoxing, and Anjie exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

Whatever instructions Frostleaf's superiors had given her beforehand, it was clear she knew nothing about Fish and the others' actual combat capabilities. Otherwise, Frostleaf would never have said such a thing.

Next, Ange reduced the hovercraft's speed from 30 knots to 15 knots and began searching for an open, dry location suitable for a temporary landing. Soon, she successfully discovered an uninhabited village.

This small village is located on higher ground, and the surrounding puddles have been drained to reduce the mosquito infestation in the summer. Although it is called a village, it is actually a collection of more than a dozen simple wooden houses and sheds centered around a large building. Some old logs are piled up around it, and a fortified enclosure made of wood has been built as a simple means of defense.

"Why is nobody here? Did they evacuate?" As Anjie maneuvered the hovercraft to shore, Shuangye asked, gripping the knife at her waist again, becoming wary. This trainee military police officer carried a combat pistol and two knives, one long and one short, on her belt. According to her, this seemed to be a custom among the Penglai nobles.

"Um... I hope there's no danger in the village." Xiaoxing nervously pointed the heavy machine gun at the village.

"Oh, don't worry, there's no one here anyway," Ange explained. "Villages like this are usually only inhabited for part of the year."

"Huh?" The two of them clearly didn't quite understand what Ange was saying.

"In short, this is a logging camp. You see, that building is a simple sawmill," Ange said, pointing to the large building in the center of the village after turning off the engine. "When logging is needed, the surrounding timber is transported here for rough processing, and then directly dumped into the river to be transported downstream."

"Oh, I see," Shuangye said.

"Yes. So people only live here when logging is in progress, and all the buildings are temporary," Ange gave Mint a look, and the latter immediately jumped onto the riverbank after the hovercraft docked and tied the boat to a mooring post standing on the riverbank with a rope. "Since no one is using this place right now, we can borrow it for the time being, and I don't think anyone will say anything."

"Ah... well... but everyone should still be careful." Shuangye looked around, still somewhat uneasy. "My temples are a little sore."

"Are you sick?" Fish asked with concern.

"No, it's not...it hasn't gotten to that point yet," Shuangye replied. "However, a headache in my temples is usually not a good thing. Most of the time, it means there might be trouble or danger."

"Interesting, is it like the legendary sixth sense?" Xiaoxing asked.

"Technically speaking, the sixth sense is probably just an urban legend... Some people are more perceptive than others and are more likely to notice changes in their environment, but they can't properly categorize them, so that's the explanation," Ange said. "However, things like 'temple pain' don't really explain anything; at most, it's just a 'misattribution after something bad happens'."

"But I..."

"Of course, maybe there's a psychological element to it. I've noticed that you're quite easily nervous, Miss Shuangye," Anjie said with a smile as she walked behind Shuangye and took her arm in a slightly suggestive gesture. The fluffy white-gold tail behind her also gently curled around her waist. "Relax a little, maybe it'll be better."

"Uh...that...um..." Shuangye's cheeks immediately turned bright red, while Fish, standing to the side, awkwardly looked away.

Although Ange usually appeared quite proper, with every move exuding the dignity and elegance of a high-class aristocrat, Fish discovered after spending more time with her that Ange seemed to enjoy making very intimate gestures when with other women—for example, she fed Xiaoxing several times and even climbed into her bed.

Of course, according to Anjie's defense after being discovered, it was just "pure and innocent friendship between girls".

"Anyway, even if your little ailment really is related to danger, so what?" Ange continued, "After all, you yourself said that your temple pain is just 'usually' not a good thing—but today we're here, it's a very unusual day. Maybe nothing bad will happen?"

Welcome to Cola Novels! A vast collection of novels awaits your exploration!