The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

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"The world is... doomed? It can't be that dramatic, can it?" After hearing Huang Yan's words, An Jie chuckled twice. "This thing, no matter what, is just a parasite. Although it seems to enhance the host's body, causing the host to grow weapon-like structures, that's about it..."

"Yes, under the current circumstances, your description is not entirely wrong. At this moment, this creature, which the locals call 'Tai Sui,' is indeed 'just like this,'" Huang Yan said. "They pose a certain danger, but it's not serious. Generally speaking, they can only pose a threat to a few individuals active in the wild."

"The current situation?" Ange raised one of her long, slender eyebrows. "Is there anything else going on?"

"Of course. This creature—let's call it by the inaccurate modern name 'Tai Sui'—has some rather unique characteristics. As Miss Shuangye just mentioned, it follows a life cycle of 'fungi-amoeba-parasite.' After parasitizing, the host animal is modified, developing weaponized limbs and becoming more ferocious."

"that's all?"

"Yes. In most cases, although the hosts of 'Tai Sui' possess stronger combat abilities, they still continue to live normal lives like ordinary animals that have not been parasitized. However, if other intelligent beings or their creations—such as robots—approach them, these host animals will immediately launch an attack without reason and fight to the death."

"Good heavens," Fish muttered, "this behavior pattern sounds like a self-regulating weapon from the ruins of a city."

"You're right. This thing is numbered ALI-0060 in the database of the old civilization era. It is a special life form that people encountered by accident during early extrasolar exploration activities," Huang Yan explained. "According to the speculation of people at that time, it is very likely a kind of man-made biological weapon."

"A bio-weapon?" Fish's ears perked up. "Like a chimera?"

"Not entirely. Most existing synthetic beasts are merely pets created by people in the past to satisfy their own desires, or deformed beasts used for gladiatorial games. ALI-0060 is far more valuable than them," Huang Yan continued. "Past researchers believed that ALI-0060 was created by an extraterrestrial civilization with spacefaring capabilities. This is because traces of this creature have been found on multiple planets and moons separated by several light-years. This could not have been the result of natural migration."

"Interesting. What kind of civilization created this thing?" Ange asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. Humans in the past never discovered the civilization that created it... They speculated that the civilization had either perished or lost contact with its creation for some reason."

"I see..." Xiaoxing muttered, "Then why would something like this appear on Earth?"

"I don't know the details. However, at the end of the old civilization era, ancient humans captured some ALI-0060 samples in different colonized worlds and brought them back to Earth for storage," Huang Yan said. "Perhaps, in the chaos after the collapse of the old civilization era, some samples escaped and adapted to the Earth's environment, becoming wild creatures."

"Of course, it's also possible that some people from the old civilization era deliberately released them," Ange said. "Those bored and perverted people would do something like that."

"That's possible. After all, humans have done similar stupid things before, like releasing rabbits in Australia," Huang Yan replied. "Besides, ALI-0060, which you call 'Tai Sui,' isn't actually that scary."

"Huh? Not scary?" Ange asked.

"Of course! There were at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, species of bioweapons of this caliber, as well as alien beasts and pests of similar danger during extraterrestrial explorations at the end of the old civilization era," Huang Yan said. "Well, in a sense, it was truly a vibrant era where everything flourished."

"If that's the case, then what did you mean by 'the world is going to end'?" Ange looked displeased, as if she felt she had been tricked.

"It's very simple," Huang Yan said. "Although the 'Tai Sui' itself isn't dangerous, if we take into account the extraordinary initiative they're currently exhibiting, then it becomes quite dangerous."

"Proactive?" Frostleaf repeated the word. "You mean... these two parasitized bears actively attacked us?"

"Yes, and the side inside even used ambush tactics—they knew how to take advantage of the lack of light in the cellar to launch surprise attacks, while the other side was responsible for luring away Frostleaf, who posed the greatest threat, so that they could defeat us one by one," Huang Yan said.

"A mere trick," Fish scoffed dismissively. "In the end, we still took care of it."

"But this is not a good sign. Don't forget, as a weapon and detector, 'Tai Sui' is different from me, who is excellent and noble. It has no thoughts or will. Without instructions, its basic individuals will only act according to the most basic biological instincts: reproduce, find a host, parasitize, continue to reproduce, mechanically go through one life cycle after another, nothing more."

"Yes." Shuangye looked at the black bear with its charred chest. "Wild 'Tai Sui' generally don't attack people on their own, and I've never heard of 'Tai Sui' hosts cooperating with each other... You mean, someone is giving them orders?"

"right."

"But you said that the creator of 'Tai Sui' disappeared in the old civilization era," Xiao Xing said.

"Yes. However, the disappearance of the original creators does not mean that no one can control them—in fact, when they first encountered the ancients of the old civilization, the Tai Sui were still organized: according to records, their communities were controlled by living command and communication centers called the 'Central Brains.' However, in the conflict with them, humanity should have destroyed all the 'Central Brains.' Those sent to Earth should only be scattered, grassroots individuals."

"Then...maybe someone has found a way to command them again?" Ange speculated.

"At present, this is the only reasonable explanation," Huang Yan said. "And considering the previous intrusion into the ancient research facility and the current crisis in the North, it is probably not a coincidence that we would encounter these two special 'Tai Sui' hosts in such a place."

"But even so, it's not a big problem," Fish shrugged. "These things called 'Tai Sui' are only capable of making animals grow strange limbs and become ferocious. Even if they can use some strategy and tactics, as long as the regular army mobilizes enough heavy weapons, it won't be too difficult to deal with them."

"If the abilities of 'Tai Sui' are limited to their current level, that is indeed the case," Huang Yan replied. "However, according to some remaining records, once its level of organization and scale reaches a certain critical point, 'Tai Sui' will undergo a qualitative change."

"A qualitative change? Does it make the host more ferocious? Or does it make the tactics more complex? But even so..." Just as Fish was halfway through his sentence, something suddenly flashed through his mind.

Some of those images had become somewhat blurred, but they still deeply disturbed him.

...On the vast wilderness shrouded in purple twilight, a group of white, hovering combat robots and armed mechs were firing their energy weapons at the "mountain" in front of them. But upon closer inspection, it would be discovered that the "mountain" was actually moving.

Countless eerie shadows emerged from the writhing "mountain," some capable of flight, some adept at running, and others swam on the surface of the surrounding wetlands. Upon their appearance, most of the hovering combat robots shifted their firepower to these smaller shadows. A barrage of bullets rained down upon them, but it was impossible to completely annihilate them…

...In the dense, unsettlingly purplish-red jungle, another squad of walking mechs was advancing. But without warning, the ground, covered only with fallen leaves and mud, suddenly exploded.

As dust and dirt gushed into the air like a fountain, bizarre, insect-like objects swarmed out, firing spikes and explosive, corrosive ammunition from strange tubular weapons. One of the bipedal mechs, struck only once, lost a leg and collapsed helplessly to the ground…

...On the lakeshore, shrouded in a thick, pale purple fog, swarms of hovering combat robots, automated turrets, and aerial patrol attack drones formed a battle line, firing energy munitions and physical bullets into the depths of the fog at top speed. The scorching muzzle flashes and the marks left by the energy munitions almost reddened half the sky.

Meanwhile, a barrage of hissing, eerie "ammunition" shot out from the fog, periodically turning robots or turrets into smoke-filled wrecks. Deep within the fog, enormous, winged shadows flew, resembling ominous, world-destroying dragons from legend. A mere glance at them was enough to instill a sense of a bottomless abyss of terror…

...In the defensive fortress atop the high ground, point defense laser cannons, plasma anti-aircraft guns, and short-range anti-aircraft missile launchers were firing in succession. Several huge objects exploded one after another in the low-hanging cumulonimbus clouds, and the stench of rotting seafood mixed with the pungent smell of burning spread with the falling rain.

However, just as the anti-aircraft weapons were firing fiercely, something churning up from the ground was approaching the hill not far away. This mass of objects from the ground was like an endless wave, relentlessly engulfing everything in its path. Neither fortified positions, trenches, electrified barbed wire, nor minefields formed by smart landmines could stop this raging tide.

Finally, blinding flashes of light ripped through the dark sky, and massive fireballs plunged into the depths of the terrifying tide. The intense light filled his vision, blinding him. The entire world was filled only with a deafening roar…

"Huff...huff...huff..." Just like when they appeared, these inexplicable visions lasted only a short while before disappearing. Fish, drenched in cold sweat, continued to pant and sink into confusion.

What exactly was that flashed through my mind just now? Was it a daydream born of exhaustion? Or a real memory? Or perhaps a combination of both?

If it's a memory, then when and where exactly were those memories? At least, while some plants on Earth are purplish-red, like plum tree leaves, he'd never seen that ominous purple mist before…

"What's wrong? Husband... uh, Mr. Fish?" Ange was the first to notice Fish's unusual behavior. "You seemed... very frightened just now."

"No... I'm fine!" Fish quickly said, forcing a smile to reassure the group who were looking at him with unease. "I was just thinking about the next steps, that's all!"

"Uh... is it really this difficult just to think about a plan?" Xiaoxing looked anxiously at Fish's rapidly heaving chest. "As expected of Mr. Fish, he must be thinking about a super important and meticulous plan!"

"Yes, that's it! After all, plans must be as meticulous as possible to prevent unforeseen circumstances and ensure preparedness!" Fish quickly said. "Our current investigation concerns the safety of the entire world. For the future of humanity and everyone's well-being, this is something we cannot be careless about!"

"Well said, my lord!" Ange patted Fish's shoulder, and Xiaoxing and Shuangye also cast half-admiring and half-respectful glances at him. However, before Fish could feel smug, he received another slight electric shock between his legs, which made the corners of his mouth twist for a very brief moment.

Needless to say, Huang Yan's meaning was very clear: she knew what Fish was thinking and understood that he had just been talking nonsense.

"Do you know what I just saw...something?" After instructing Xiaoxing and Shuangye to destroy the wooden house and burn the two dead bears, along with the remains of the "Tai Sui" and the wood that made up the house, Fish silently asked Huangyan a question.

"I know. I can detect changes in the activity levels of different areas of your brain to some extent, so I noticed that you seemed to have some kind of 'daydream' mental activity just now."

"So... it really was just a dream?" Fish muttered to himself as he walked toward the hovercraft moored on the riverbank, watching the thick smoke rising in the distance.

"Yes and no. Through analysis of your brain activity, I can assure you that your 'dream' does indeed contain some real memories. In fact, I can roughly guess the possible sources of those memories."

"Could you tell me in more detail?"

"Not yet, it involves confidentiality," Huang Yan said. "However, please remember this feeling, remember the oppression and fear you just felt... and remain cautious. We will need this caution very much in the future."