The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"In short... there's no need to dwell on the past." Shuangye smiled somewhat awkwardly, ceasing to delve further into this unpleasant topic. "In short, my mistakes when I was young and ignorant greatly exacerbated Princess Yuedie's problems. This led her to become increasingly obsessed with emphasizing her 'noble bloodline' and to increasingly enjoy torturing 'inferior people' for amusement."

"Well, that's really bad," Ange said. "As for what will happen next, given my understanding of the usual behavior of the awful people in aristocratic society, it's not hard to guess."

"Oh? What do you think happened?" Fish asked curiously.

"Moon Butterfly's problems have mostly gotten worse, causing her marquis father a lot of trouble. In order to get rid of the trouble, her father finally decided to give her a respectable position and throw her out in a reasonable way."

"Indeed," Shuangye nodded. "Sending good-for-nothing children to military academies and then to distant armies to keep them out of sight is a common and respectable practice in aristocratic society. It not only prevents these children from causing trouble in the court, but also demonstrates to the outside world that nobles are fulfilling their military obligations."

"However, this is very unfair to people in the army." Fish looked coldly at Moon Butterfly, who was struggling to draw her sword, and shook his head.

Undoubtedly, this guy had already become a major when he was about the same age as Shuangye, while Shuangye herself was still a probationary warrant officer. This was clearly not due to her exceptional abilities. As for the general's uniform that Yuedie wore, which did not match her actual rank, it was most likely part of the special privileges afforded to the daughter of a marquis.

However, even so, the fact that this marquis's daughter can openly wear this thing around shows how thick-skinned she is.

"However, it seems that even the army of the Ten Victories Marquisate doesn't like this guy," Ange added. "Generally speaking, the children of high-ranking nobles spend most of their military service in the general staff—they are best at dealing with documents, sand tables, and piles of data reports. To be sent to the North Pole and appointed as an officer in charge of maintaining order in such a remote place... God knows just how annoying this most esteemed prince is."

Of course, since all these conversations were conducted directly through the neural links of the intelligent combat armor on the encrypted communication channel provided by Phoenix Flame, Moon Butterfly, who was not far away, was completely unaware of them. After going through a lot of trouble to finally "get back" his sword from the pine tree, he stormed back to the group.

"Get out of the way! I have important business to attend to!"

"Your Highness, is there anything else you need?" Ange asked politely.

"I haven't dealt with this criminal yet!" Yue Die pointed to the squirrel loli huddled in the corner.

"Can you prove she's a criminal?"

"certainly!"

"So, what crime are you accusing this young lady of?"

"Robbery and looting of military supplies endanger the logistical security of the army!"

After uttering these words with "righteous indignation," Yue Die initially intended to step forward herself, but upon meeting Shuang Ye's icy gaze, she immediately retreated. After hesitating for a moment, she gestured to several of her subordinates, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward, grabbed the squirrel loli, and began shaking her vigorously as if she were a piggy bank.

After all that commotion, the group did find their "spoils": two hard, dark square loaves of bread and several potatoes fell out of the little girl's dirty cotton coat. The potatoes were nothing special, but the bread had a dented "one pound" inscription and a six-digit serial number on it—meaning they came from the army's logistics unit's oven.

Of course, in theory (and only in theory), it should be impossible for ordinary people to possess such a thing.

"How about it? Are my accusations clear?" Seeing the stolen goods, Yue Die became smug again. "Anyone who loots military supplies in an area under martial law can be considered an enemy sabotage agent and executed on the spot!"

"That's right." Shuangye took a deep breath—of course she understood these laws, but she knew even better that this irritable and vicious guy just wanted to use this excuse to "legally" pursue, torture, and kill people she considered "lowly."

After all, those two pieces of hard bread were at most the basic rations for two infantrymen for a day. Although these temporary refugee camps were in chaos and there was a shortage of various necessities, the army's logistics responsible for maintaining order had not collapsed, nor had they fallen to the point where the loss of two pieces of bread would "jeopardize logistical security."

However, for Shuangye, who cannot feel her "superiority" and "nobility" without tormenting "inferior people," the truth is not important; what matters is establishing "prestige" through violence in a "legal" way.

"In that case, I am now authorized under the state of emergency to take decisive measures against a major threat—she has been stealing from my security forces' base for three consecutive days, which is unforgivable and poses a serious threat!" Yue Die said as she handed her sword to the middle-aged man who followed her, letting him wipe off the resin and wood chips stuck to the blade.

"Yes, right now at the checkpoint in the south, the guards are literally stripping every refugee who wants to cross the border bare, squeezing the last drop of profit out of them, that's fine. But stealing bread for three days in a row, that's a 'serious threat'," Mint, who hadn't spoken until now, finally couldn't help but sneer. "This major in charge of maintaining order is really fair, no wonder he can wear a general's uniform despite his rank."

"You mean that? I'm sorry, that was permitted by me," Moon Butterfly's answer surprised Fish and the others. "Although it's a bit impolite, the reason I allowed the soldiers at the checkpoint to do this was because of orders from my superiors: in addition to authorizing me to maintain order, they also required that any person with abnormal physical condition be thoroughly investigated using the most rigorous methods."

"Absurd," Mint said.

"Absurd? I don't think so. Anyway, everyone please step aside, I'm about to deal with the criminal—of course, out of humanitarian considerations, I can give her a choice," Moon Butterfly stared at the squirrel loli who was pale with fright, revealing a cruel smile, "She can choose between being shot or beheaded."

"No...no...I don't want any of these..." The little girl was almost scared to death.

"Oh? That's fine then—as long as you commit suicide in front of me, I won't pursue the matter any further," Yue Die took another step closer, her malice practically emanating from her. "How about that? Am I being very merciful?"

"Indeed. But I also have some official business to attend to," Shuangye suddenly said, pointing to the little girl who was trembling like a leaf, "I have arrested this suspect."

"Huh? What gives you the right—"

"Based on your description just now: you claimed that *The Final Odyssey: The Fantastic Journey of a Cat Boy* has received rave reviews and overwhelming praise! She has repeatedly 'looted' military supplies, posing a significant threat to the point where emergency measures are necessary. Therefore, I cannot help but suspect that this 'significant threat' is being planned and directed by someone behind the scenes," Shuangye replied. "In that case, I have no choice but to investigate. This is also to eliminate the 'threat,' do you agree?"

"Eh... Ah, this..." Yue Die was speechless—although she knew very well what Shuang Ye meant by "arrest." But she couldn't deny that, technically speaking, the other party really had the right to do so.

Moreover, Shuangye's actions were only reasonable after she, as the military commander in charge of local order and security, described the poor little girl as "a serious threat."

"If you have any objections, you can file a review application with the military court... well, provided the military court has time to attend to this mess," Ange added opportunely, seeing that Shuangye had successfully disrupted things. Mint quickly shielded the trembling little girl behind her, "Is there anything else, my noble lady?"

"You guys... sob..."

"Don't worry, don't worry. When we have time later, we'll write a special report about your heroic performance today so that people can fully appreciate it." Finally, Fish pulled out his military journalist badge and waved it in front of Yue Die. After seeing the badge, the latter almost had her eyes pop out of their sockets.

"You...remember this..." Finally, after uttering a classic line reminiscent of a lowly villain, Yue Die and her subordinates slunk away looking utterly defeated.

"Ha, don't worry, it won't be easy for me to forget what happened today." Fish sighed, watching Moon Butterfly's retreating figure. "Although I've seen quite a few lousy nobles, this is the first time I've seen one so lowly."

"Husband... uh, Mr. Fish, you're belittling fish too much. Most fish can at least be buried underground to compost, contributing to improving the nutrient content of the soil. As for this guy? He can probably sit at the same table as a spiky, poisonous pufferfish."

"Your Highness is absolutely right. This guy's puffed-up appearance does indeed look quite similar to a pufferfish that's been puffed up," Mint's two subordinates said in unison.

"Well then, miss, since you're theoretically under arrest by the military police, Warrant Officer Frostleaf and I will have to conduct some investigation on you," Fish said, turning his gaze to the bewildered squirrel-like little girl after Moon Butterfly slipped away. "Tell me, what's your name?"

Her name is Melu.

"So, where are your family members?"

Melu paused for a moment, then shook her head—which, of course, was entirely within Fish's expectations.

"You got separated? No wonder you stole food from the army's logistics platoon... Okay, how did you get separated from your family? When was the last time you saw them?"

"You got separated? No wonder you stole food from the army's logistics platoon... Okay, how did you get separated from your family? When was the last time you saw them?"

"No... I remember," the squirrel-like little girl said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Don't remember? Could it be...?"

“I grew up in an orphanage in the East Lanmonia Colony. My parents went hunting in the forest when I was very young and encountered a particularly ferocious chimera, so they were both killed,” Merlu said. “After that, I grew up with other orphans.”

"Ah... I'm sorry, I brought up something that sad," Fish shook his head. "So, Miss Merlu, what about your companions from the orphanage?"

“We got separated too,” Melu said. “Our colony is southeast of Anadel-11, and the orphanage is right at the border of the two colonies. One morning, some strange animals and even stranger people suddenly approached the orphanage, and the orphanage teachers told us to run away immediately.”

"Strange animals and even stranger people? Do they have...some abnormal organs?"

"Hmm," Melu wrapped her upper body with her huge, fluffy tail, as if that would make her feel safer. "I remember a deer with porcupine-like spikes on its back that it could shoot out, and a woman with a long, spiky tail. The man who killed the orphanage teacher... his right claw was as sharp as a dagger, and the tiger that smashed down the orphanage gate had half its body covered in armor."

"There's no mistake, this is definitely a weaponized mutation of the early stage of 'Tai Sui' parasitism," Huang Yan said. "An operation of this scale would be almost impossible in the natural state. There must be an organized coordination involved."

"Tsk... So how did you escape after that? Did the army or militia come to your aid?"

"Yes... oh no, no..." Melu thought for a moment, then gave two completely opposite answers, "When the orphanage was attacked, there were indeed many armed people. But they were all killed."

"What killed it? Was it a 'Tai Sui' (a type of rare fungus)?"

“Some were. But most were killed by some strange machines. Some were like that,” Melu gestured with her hands, making a buzzing sound, due to her limited language skills, “and some had legs, like insects. They killed many people, but also fought with those strange people and animals.”

"They're autonomous weapons," Ange said. "You mean they also clashed with the objects that 'Tai Sui' parasitized?"

"Yes." Melu nodded vigorously. "In the end, amidst the chaos, most people died, including everyone in the orphanage..."

"And how did you manage to leave safely?" Angie asked.

"They don't know either. Maybe... it was just good luck," Melu shook her head. "Several times, those monsters almost caught them, but those strange machines just happened to attack them. The machines and monsters fought each other, and they took the opportunity to escape."

A disturbing sense of unease began to grow around Fish and his team—the refugees' accounts had been contradictory during their investigation. Some claimed that the main reason for the attacks on the colonies and the forced evacuation was the host of the "Tai Sui," while others claimed to have encountered attacks by autonomous weapons summoned by a legendary "disaster star."

According to Melu, both of these claims seem to be true! Furthermore, the autonomous weapons and "Tai Sui" are also in conflict. Clearly, the complexity of the situation far exceeds their initial expectations.

"What do you think happened?" After thinking for a while, Fish asked Huang Yan, "Why did it turn out like this?"

"Insufficient information to draw a conclusion," Huang Yan replied. "However, I suggest you ask this young lady another question."

"What's the problem?"

"She must have had a companion. I'd like to know, where is that person now?"