The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"What is that?!" Moon Butterfly screamed, the first to witness the scene and the first to feel the heat wave. Although she was timid and cowered at the back during the battle, she managed to take first place when Fish ordered a retreat, and was several steps ahead of the second place.

"It's Unit 06!" Ange said. "It looks like it was shot down by the enemy... but it doesn't seem like ground fire."

"You're right," Fish suddenly raised his gauntlet above his head and fired his ion gun, switched to rapid-fire mode, at several shadows in the treetops. The shadows immediately exploded in the sky into filthy, bloody fireballs.

This is a flock of swans. They used to be harmless migratory birds and seasonal prey for hunters, but that's all in the past. Now, this flock of swans has not only grown dangerous spikes and whiskers, but they even have small hand grenades strapped to their backs, turning them into a flock of living loitering munitions!

Just now, they took advantage of the fact that Unit 06 had run out of ammunition and then suddenly crashed into it, successfully launching an attack.

"It seems that these 'Tai Sui' have entered the initial stage of weaponization from their completely wild state—very similar to my previous prediction," Huang Yan commented. "The geese don't grow bombs on their backs by themselves. This is obviously the product of AIL-0060, or the upper control node of the 'Tai Sui,' the so-called 'central brain,' which coordinates tactics and formulates tactical plans."

"Damn it... So, these guys have completely turned into an army now."

"Yes, there is no suspicion, no intrigue, and no fear of death in the army—synthetic beasts and autonomous weapons created in the old civilization era will prioritize protecting themselves and escaping danger without being forced to obey orders. But 'Tai Sui' doesn't even need that," Huang Yan said. "After all, its 'soldiers' and weapons are all obtained by parasitizing and infecting others for free, so there is no need to cherish them."

"It seems that the alien civilization that created this thing is really despicable..." Ange said.

"I agree with that," Huang Yan replied.

"But what happened? Even if there was still fuel left in the plane, it shouldn't have burned like this." Shuangye looked at the raging flames in front of her in confusion—normally, when a plane carrying fuel or ammunition crashes, it will form a burning circular area. Under the influence of wind and the angle of impact, there may also be some deformation.

However, this was the first time she had ever seen a perfectly straight line, hundreds of meters long, burned out like this!

"Someone dug a trench and filled it with fuel!" Fish said after using Phoenix Flame's radar to probe the bottom of the wall of fire. "To prevent evaporation, the person who dug the trench must have covered it with plant branches and cloth or something similar, which is why it wasn't detected from the air. Unit 06 just happened to ignite it when it crashed."

"So, someone set a trap here? Is it also the work of 'Tai Sui'?" Shuangye asked.

"I don't know, but the key question right now is, how are we going to get across?! Those guys will be catching up soon."

"Theoretically speaking, the armored warriors' intelligent combat armor is fireproof, so breaking through a wall of fire shouldn't be a problem. As for Melu, she's rather small, so my husband can use a portion of the Phoenix Flame to transform into a fire blanket to temporarily wrap her up," Ange said. "However..."

"The key question is... what will happen to them?" Frostleaf pointed to Mint's two subordinates.

"This..." Fish was stumped—among the group, Little Luo and Peanut didn't possess the talent of armored warriors, nor the ability to use intelligent combat armor. These two maids were currently dressed in ordinary light infantry attire, their only protection being a thin steel helmet only one millimeter thick. Leaving aside the others, there was absolutely no way they could force their way across the burning trench.

"Don't worry about us," said Xiao Luo, who has rabbit ears. "We'll just stay here."

"Exactly." Peanut, whose ears and tail, and even whose behavior sometimes resembled that of a real Pomeranian, loaded a full magazine into his rifle and tugged on the charging handle. "We ladies-in-waiting have sworn to dedicate our lives to the Fayun-Lindenhild family. If Your Highness so desires, we are willing to generously offer our lives for you."

"I won't allow it," Fish said. "I'd be haunted by guilt for the rest of my life if I left you here to die!"

"But what do we do?" Xiao Xing, using Fish's body, finally deactivated her optical camouflage, revealing herself to the group. At the same time, the two "Tai Sui" hosts who had initially caught up were struck in the forehead by her poison darts and collapsed to the ground—these poisoned weapons were effective against these creatures even if they didn't hit vital organs. "I just scouted the area! This fuel-filled trench forms a complete circle, with no gaps!"

"Can't we make it through? Then let's hold out here," Frostleaf suggested. "The fuel will eventually run out. And then..."

"But we may not be able to hold out for much longer," Ange said, peeling a large, resinous shell off the surface of "Golden Soup." "I don't recommend taking such a risk."

"But we can't abandon our comrades," Fish continued, shaking his head. "No matter what..."

"No matter what? If Your Highness can't give up on us no matter what, then there's nothing we can do." Xiao Luo suddenly pulled out a miniature pistol from the backpack behind him—Fish had seen this kind of small weapon before in Akitsukyo and had heard about its uses.

These "toys," which contained six 5.45mm rimfire bullets in their magazines, had an effective range of less than ten meters and were usually the last weapon carried by a nobleman's personal maids. Although they could theoretically be used for self-defense, their primary purpose was actually suicide in emergencies to avoid revealing information about their masters if captured.

"Please allow us to go first. We wish Your Highness continued success in your military campaigns." Peanut also drew an identical miniature pistol—except that it was painted a cute pink. After she finished speaking, the two simultaneously released the safety and pressed the muzzle against their temples.

"Wait, don't—" Fish was completely dumbfounded. Although he knew at least thirty ways to deal with someone pointing a gun at him, he really didn't know what to do in this situation!

What's worse, Ange just watched this scene coldly, without offering any advice or intervention.

Fortunately, much like the ancient Greek dramas that used complex pulley systems and other stage machinery to resolve conflicts, this thorny problem was also solved for very…unexpected reasons.

On the ground, a slab covered with moss-covered clay and camouflaged branches suddenly opened beside them, and then a person wearing a helmet covered with camouflage netting emerged from it.

"Everyone! Come in, quick!"

"Who are you?!" Shuangye immediately drew her sword in a defensive stance.

"Does it matter?! At least I'm not 'those things'!" the man said anxiously, quickly taking off his military overcoat to reveal a battered and emaciated body—indeed, he didn't have a single deformity caused by parasitism. "Is this enough?!"

"Enough, everyone, follow him!" Fish said hastily. The two maids then simultaneously lowered the pistols pointed at their temples... and fired a shot into the air at the same time. Then, a deformed goose, strapped with grenades and preparing for a suicidal dive, spun around and crashed into a crater not far away, failing to deliver its "surprise."

"You all go down first!" To prevent any "Tai Sui" hosts from following him into the underground tunnel, Fish deliberately stayed behind last, precisely using the ion gun installed in the Phoenix Flame Armor to name more than half a dozen deformed creatures that had come after him.

Although the excessive weight on his chest affected his balance, and Moon Butterfly's body was not well-suited to the fight, Fish was unable to effectively utilize Phoenix Flame's fighting abilities during previous training sessions. Fortunately, at least his use of ranged weapons did not present any problems. After finally taking down an exaggerated creature with four arms, each wielding a kitchen knife, Fish also crawled into the narrow tunnel.

"Everyone, please quickly pass the support pillar ahead, then turn right!" Dozens of meters away, the man from before was waving a flashlight in one hand and holding some kind of device with wires in the other. "I'm going to detonate it in ten seconds!"

"Detonate?! What are you going to detonate?!"

"This tunnel entrance is unusable!" the man said. "Those things have already spotted it."

"But I just took care of all the guys who saw us come in," Fish replied. "I think that should work..."

"No!" the man said. "There's no time to explain right now. This place has to be blown up."

"Please trust him," Huang Yan said.

"Oh, okay, okay!" Fish nodded and quickened his pace, rushing past the bend in the tunnel. Then, the man took two steps back, pressed the detonator in his hand, and blew up the entire section of the tunnel.

"We're safe, for now." After continuing to grope their way forward for a while, Fish and the others finally emerged from under a dead pine tree, and Huang Yan uttered this "famous line" from a shooting game in the old civilization era. Beside the pine tree, he saw Anjie and the others who had arrived earlier, as well as some discarded bedding, empty cans, dirty bowls, tattered tents, and other miscellaneous items, but not the other members of Honeymoon.

"Are you the only one who survived here?" Fish asked after the man emerged.

"Thank God we haven't gotten to that point yet," the man said, closing the tunnel entrance and removing his helmet, which was covered by camouflage netting, revealing a pair of dog ears and a head of greasy, curly, gray-black hair. "Everyone, come out."

A while later, with a screeching sound of metal latches turning, a group of people emerged from several hidden entrances nearby. Fish then noticed that the area was riddled with underground bunkers and fortifications. Because they were so well hidden, neither Fish nor the others had noticed these underground works at first.

Of course, after learning of the existence of the fortifications, Fish was able to relatively easily discover many hidden ventilation holes, firing ports, and observation windows with the help of Phoenix Flame's scanning system—clearly, these facilities were not temporary earthworks built by the remnants of the defeated army.

Their ventilation openings are equipped with filters, the fortifications themselves are reinforced with concrete, and the firing ports and observation windows are fitted with additional bulletproof steel plates. Clearly, constructing these structures would have required a long-term, professional engineering effort.

However, unlike the well-constructed fortifications, the group of people emerging from within looked quite disorganized: they numbered about 160 or 170, including 60 or 70 elderly, women, and children, all dressed in dirty cotton-padded clothes and cloaks, many of whom appeared to be injured or ill. Among the remaining people, about 30 wore gray-green militia uniforms without rank insignia or armbands, presumably members of the self-defense corps from the colony area.

Among the remaining two or so platoons of regular troops, Fish surprisingly discovered the insignia of six different vassal states under the Empire: the Duchy of Cangwu, the Duchy of Penglai, the Duchy of Ilian, the Marquisate of Shisheng, and the Earl of Chundu. There were even two men whose armbands bore the "two coconuts" emblem of Fish's "hometown," the Oasis Port Autonomous City. As for the insignia of military branches, ranks, and specific units, they were even more varied, with almost no two being the same.

Clearly, this group of people must have experienced a rather tragic situation before they came together.

"Greetings, everyone! I am Fish... oh wait, I am Yue Die, the security commander of this garrison. I came personally to reinforce you after learning of your predicament," Fish blurted out unconsciously as he introduced himself to the group, then quickly added, "Please don't worry, I'm here!"

"What did this young lady say she was again?"

"It looks like Fish? What does that mean?"

"I don't know, maybe it means she likes to eat fish?"

"No, no, no, such a distinguished person wouldn't talk about such mundane topics as what she likes to eat. I think that must be her nickname..."

"Really? But this nickname is kind of cute..."

Although Fish quickly changed his mind, many people with physiologically sharp ears still overheard his slip of the tongue and began whispering among themselves. While Moon Butterfly's round, weasel-like ears weren't particularly sensitive, with Phoenix Flame's help, he heard everything clearly and blushed deeply with embarrassment.

"Calm down, don't be shy, my lord!" Anjie quickly said to Fish through Phoenix Flame's encrypted communication channel, "If you keep doing this, you'll damage your prestige in front of everyone!"

"Your Highness Ange is absolutely right. You now need to play the role of a reliable commander, not a shy, big-breasted idiot." Huang Yan echoed while injecting a small amount of sedative into Fish through a subcutaneous vein, barely managing to keep Fish in a serious state.

"You are... the security commander? Thank goodness! We never expected you to come to rescue us personally!" A tall, thin man with rabbit ears approached. This guy, with a cleft lip and buck teeth, burst into tears the moment he saw Fish, running up to him with snot and tears streaming down his face. "I... I thought we'd been abandoned!"

Then, the guy started screaming and ran headfirst into Fish's arms.