The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"She...has a companion?" Fish asked, puzzled. "How do you know that?"

"Isn't this just common sense? Mr. Fish, as a user of the culmination of human civilization's artificial intelligence and military technology, can't you cultivate even a little bit of logical thinking ability?"

"Uh... what does this have to do with logical thinking?"

"Think about it carefully," Huang Yan replied, "Why does Miss Melu always steal two loaves of bread and extra potatoes? According to Yue Die's accusation, Melu steals food from the cookhouse every day, which means she needs this amount every day."

"Uh, maybe it's because she can eat a lot... Meow!" Fish casually uttered this answer, and then... he immediately received a slight electric shock between his legs.

"Don't use such nonsense to slander girls."

"Okay, okay... I understand, meow." Although the intensity of the electric shock was limited, Fish still almost shed tears.

"In short, for a frail girl like Miss Melu, frequently risking her life to steal food from the army is extremely unsafe. Therefore, she would definitely tend to eat all the stolen food before continuing to steal," Ange analyzed from the side. "Although theoretically, she might also secretly sell the food she bought, in such a disorderly place, it would be too dangerous for a frail girl to sell food on the black market."

"so……"

“Each piece of military bread theoretically weighs one pound after baking. In fact, to avoid not having enough, a little extra weight is added, which is what is known as ‘a baker’s dozen is thirteen,’” Ange continued. “Considering potatoes and other foods, the food that Melu steals every day is enough to feed an adult doing heavy physical labor.”

"But if it were a girl, would there be two of them?"

"Yes," Ange nodded, "So, Miss Melu, where is your companion?"

"She doesn't have any companions." To Fish's and the others' surprise, Melu gave a negative answer.

"Then, where did all that stolen food go?" Shuangye asked.

"I...I...uh..." Melu couldn't speak. Clearly, she was not good at lying. Even when she tried to make up a lie, she would blush and sweat profusely.

"Don't worry, we will never punish anyone for stealing such a small thing," Shuangye crouched down so that she could look the other person in the eye. "Especially since stealing to survive is not a crime."

“We’ll help you,” Fish assured him. “Since you’re stealing for your companion, it means she must be in bad shape, right? If she’s injured, sick, or has difficulty moving around, we can provide her with treatment.”

"Providing treatment...does that mean sending her to the hospital?" Melu suddenly started shaking her head. "No, absolutely not!"

"Don't worry, I'm not talking about a hospital," Fish quickly assured him. After all, there couldn't be any proper hospitals in a refugee camp like this. Although the army stationed nearby and responsible for blocking and monitoring the "buffer zone" might have a medical company or sanitation platoon setting up a temporary frontline hospital, such places could only perform amputations at most.

The "treatment" Fish mentioned earlier naturally refers to Phoenix Flame's built-in medical system. He had already witnessed the capabilities of this ancient intelligent combat armor during his adventures in Twilight City. As long as Melu's companions' injuries weren't particularly serious, Phoenix Flame should be able to handle them.

"No... her companion does have some differences from others, but it's not something that can be 'cured'," Meru stammered. "She... looks very strange and is afraid of seeing people."

"But..." Fish wanted to say something more, but Ange stopped him.

"It's alright. If it's inconvenient to meet people, then let's leave it at that." Ange took out a wad of Imperial dinars and stuffed them into Melu's hand. "Don't steal anything anymore. Let your friend eat something good."

"Okay, thank you!" Upon hearing this, Melu quickly clutched the banknotes and then turned and scurried away like a real little squirrel. Just a few seconds later, her small figure disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Uh...she's gone. Is it okay to just let her go like this?" Fish asked.

"Of course, no problem—because I've already made arrangements," Ange smiled slightly. "This time, we absolutely must find her companion."

Why?

"Haven't you figured it out yet, Mr. Fish?" This time it was Huang Yan's turn to question her. "Do you remember what Miss Melu said? In that orphanage that was attacked by both the host of 'Tai Sui' and the cluster of autonomous weapons, even the army and militia that went to rescue her were wiped out, but she survived... And the reason she survived was that every time a host of 'Tai Sui' tried to attack her, she was 'just right' repelled by the autonomous weapons."

"If it's really a coincidence, then it's far too coincidental," Shuangye nodded. "At least, under normal circumstances, such a 'coincidence' wouldn't happen."

"So the answer is actually very clear. Considering that Miss Melu escaped with another person, and that she herself is just an ordinary orphan, the only reasonable explanation is that the mysterious companion who dared not show herself, so that Miss Melu had to steal food for her, was the reason why she was able to escape from the orphanage and flee here," Huang Yan said. "In addition, if I may be frank, the incident at the checkpoint was probably indeed for a reason."

"What do you mean?" Shuangye asked.

"Just now, Pufferfish... oh no, Miss Yuedie mentioned that the soldiers used such harsh methods to inspect the refugees, only letting a very small number of people through, which was authorized by their superiors," Huang Yan explained. "Although it's true that those people were definitely taking the opportunity to make money off the refugees, if it was really specially approved by their superiors, then what were they inspecting? It certainly wasn't something that could be seen at a glance—mutations caused by the parasitic 'Tai Sui'."

"Could it be...?"

"Once we find Melu's friend, everything will be clear," Ange said. "But let's not rush things now, let's wait a little longer."

"Wait a minute?" Fish asked, puzzled. "But... oh right, the money you gave her..."

"Hmm, it contains some gadgets left over from the old civilization era... enough for short-range positioning," Ange explained as she walked through the crowded and chaotic "streets" of the refugee camp. "Of course, it doesn't matter if she spends the money, because I also left some of the same gadgets on her."

"I see," Fish nodded. "That way, we won't alert them or scare Melu's companions away. As expected of our cleverest Ange!"

"This...this is nothing..." Anjie's face flushed red instantly. "Planning an action plan of this level is just basic skill, basic skill! It's nothing special!"

"Indeed. However, please remain vigilant—if our guess about the other party's identity is correct, then they may possess some... special methods," Huang Yan said. "Furthermore, we cannot be sure whether they are friendly to us. Therefore, it is best to avoid arousing the target's suspicion as much as possible."

"Of course. Well then, let's go shopping together like a loving and harmonious family," Ange said.

Admittedly, there's nothing inherently wrong with her suggestion—but this chaotic refugee camp is clearly not a place for normal shopping. While adhering to the principle that "where there are people, there is commerce," the streets, lined with tents and makeshift shelters, are now filled with stalls of all sizes. However, the goods they sell are clearly not suited to "ordinary shopping."

Most of the makeshift stalls sell a variety of items, from everyday goods and personal jewelry to furniture and clothing. These items were once the entire possessions of many refugee families, the life savings of many heads of households, but now they are being sold at extremely low prices in exchange for money to get through inspections as quickly as possible and continue their escape.

In addition, some people were selling highly dubious medicines and alcohol of unknown origin, while others were selling weapons such as knives and hunting rifles. Some stalls sold food... but the ingredients were equally questionable. After having his most sensitive nose sniff several stew and roast meat stalls, Fish finally gave up on eating meat and only bought some roasted corn and roasted potatoes.

Of course, the most heartbreaking "vendors" were selling nothing but people—dirty orphans, seemingly mentally unstable young girls, and even newborn babies. Although the Pan-Pacific Empire had never legally recognized slavery over the past thousand years, in many parts of the world, the law itself has only limited reference value.

For example, the practice of putting up signs that "seek adoption" for orphans and abandoned babies who have no one to care for them and then waiting for others to pay to take them away is difficult to interfere with by the laws of the empire or most duchies, principalities or city-states.

Knowing that she didn't have time to intervene in these transactions, even the righteous Frostleaf gritted her teeth and looked away when she saw the vendors with "Seeking Adoption" signs... However, Fish noticed that Ange was watching the children at the stalls with eager eyes, especially the older, pitiful little girls.

"Your Highness... uh, Lieutenant, you're not planning to buy... no, 'adopt' these children, are you?"

"In fact, I did have that thought just now," Ange blinked. "If we had more time and money, I really wanted to adopt these poor children and bring them to Fayun's palace to properly train... no, I mean, educate them and make them excellent ladies-in-waiting."

"You definitely don't just want them to be 'ordinary' female officials, do you?" Fish frowned somewhat helplessly.

"Of course! However, some girls might unexpectedly develop pure love... no, friendship, while spending time with their masters day and night. Such a mutually agreeable, bittersweet thing is naturally a different story."

"I knew it."

Fish sighed. After spending this time together, he finally understood. Ange was great in every way, but she had one quirk: she had the same preference for girls as she did for boys. In fact, only now did he finally understand why Ange had insisted on "managing" his harem in the first place.

After all, in Anjie's view, her "husband's" harem was naturally also her own harem.

Fortunately, Ange was very clear about what was important. When there were important matters to be accomplished, she would never let her personal preferences waste too much energy and attention. Soon, under her leadership, the group followed the signals emitted by the "little gadget" on Melu's body and arrived at the edge of this chaotic tent city.

Compared to the crowded and potentially dangerous central areas of refugee camps, these peripheral areas have a much lower population density and are relatively safer. However, due to the extreme inconvenience of life, especially the distance from rivers where water can be obtained, most of the people living here are among the poorest and most destitute refugees, unable even to afford decent shacks or tents.

Fish noticed that most of the "buildings" here were huts made of branches, and many people simply dug shallow pits in the ground and covered them with pine branches broken off from the forest, forming temporary "dwellings" that resembled animal traps. Dirty old people, women, and children hid in these burrows like ground squirrels, watching everyone who approached them with trepidation.

Fortunately, perhaps to demonstrate that "there is still order here," Moon Butterfly's men had been patrolling the area. When they arrived, an armored unit consisting of an armed "Gorlon" and two "Giant Lizard" amphibious tanks had just passed by, their heavy bodies causing the ground to vibrate.

"This is it, no doubt about it." After investigating through the "Golden Soup" information interface, Anjie pointed to a tree branch hut built against a tall birch tree.

To most ordinary people, the building looked extremely crude and unremarkable, its craftsmanship perhaps only slightly better than that of a chimpanzee's den in Africa. However, after a closer look, Fish suddenly shuddered.

"Did you see anything?" Huang Yan asked. "Do you think there's something wrong with that shack?"

"H-how could this be…" Fish exclaimed in surprise—in his eyes, there was no "tree hut" under the birch tree at all, but a large silver tent. This hemispherical tent was about the same size as the lumberjack huts he had seen before, and it could even be considered spacious if it only housed one or two people. More importantly, the entire tent was made of materials he had never seen before. In other words, it was definitely not a product of this era.

"Interesting, did you see something?" Ange asked, noticing Fish's change in expression.

“Yes…that makes sense,” Fish waved his hand. “I’ll go check it out first. You guys follow me.”