The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

An hour and a half ago, in the fortified position area of ​​Hill 503, inside the survivors' last defense zone.

"You said you and Shana got separated?" After learning the whole story from several surviving officers and waking up Melu, Fish felt as if he had been hit on the head when he heard this answer.

"Yes. When a large number of 'Tai Sui' hosts broke through the defenses from within and without, a large group of autonomous weapons with strange markings suddenly appeared and began to attack indiscriminately without saying a word. The situation was very chaotic at the time. I and several militia squads gathered together, fighting and retreating, trying to find the warehouse where the minors were hiding and rescue the people left inside."

"Previously, we allocated bunkers on the high ground according to families," Captain Jeffs added. "This was at Major Fogg's request, to try to keep families together. However, there were some minors who were separated from their families, or who were orphans. Those who did not join the militia were gathered in an empty warehouse."

"And then? Could it be...?"

"When we arrived at the warehouse, we found the two soldiers at the entrance had been killed, and the place was littered with corpses...pieces of flesh...and blood..." Melu began to sob uncontrollably. Clearly, what she had seen and heard had deeply traumatized her. "There were...many of them..."

"I know, you don't need to say anything," Ange gently patted the squirrel girl's shoulder, "Shana isn't inside, right?"

"In fact, it's not just that," said a militiaman wearing a gray-green coat with a blood-stained bandage on his forehead. "We also found a large number of corpses of 'Tai Sui' hosts, some of which were parasitized animals, and others were humans. They were killed by autonomous weapons."

"ah?!"

"Oh, right, we also found this," the man said, reaching into his coat pocket and fumbling around for a moment before pulling out a fragment. Fish recognized it as a wing fragment from some kind of biomimetic ornithopter—a common basic configuration for autonomous weapons—with a thin solar film covering the top for replenishing energy. "Look."

"This thing doesn't look special," Mint said. "I've destroyed quite a few of these autonomous weapons when I accompanied the nobles of Fayun on training trips to ancient ruins."

“But I think it’s special,” Ange said, taking the fragment and turning it over to reveal a logo on the bottom edge. “Take a look at this emblem.”

"Uh... what is this?" Fish took a moment to decipher the emblem: a wood-chopping axe with its handle turning to ash. To him, the design was utterly meaningless except for its abstract nature.

"Generally speaking, autonomous weapons have insignia indicating their specific affiliation and the tasks they are required to perform. This is mandated by law in the old civilization era," Huang Yan explained. "Generally, the insignia consists of stylized abbreviations of letters and numbers. Different autonomous weapons used for city defense, pest control, and security tasks have different markings."

"That is, the things I can control, right?" Fish asked in a low voice.

"Yes, with the authority gained through the ability to devour, I can control these kinds of automated devices... at least a large portion of them. But not these," Huang Yan explained. "As you can see, these are not ordinary autonomous weapons; they most likely don't have official registration or serial numbers."

"Then what are they?" Ange asked.

“‘Nostalgia is emptied in vain, like the flute’s lament; returning home, I feel like a stranger who has lost his way.’” Huang Yan replied.

"What the hell is this?" Fish and the others, who were completely unaware of these obscure cultural elements from the old civilization era, all looked on with bewildered expressions.

"An ancient East Asian anecdote, not very famous—but at least it's still in my database. This myth tells of a woodcutter who saw two immortals playing chess deep in the mountains. He was so engrossed in watching that he stayed to watch, and when the game ended, he found that the handle of his axe had rotted away, and centuries had passed," Huang Yan said.

"Holy crap," Fish muttered, "Is this for real?"

"Oh, of course—it's all just imagination," Huang Yan replied instantly. "However, this did give some people at the end of the old civilization era a bit of inspiration: you know, many people were unwilling to indulge in the ecstasy created by technology and found the moral decay of that era intolerable. So, they came up with an idea."

"To put yourself into hibernation and then travel to the future?" Ange nodded. "I've heard of this kind of technology before."

"Exactly. This is the plan codenamed 'Rotten Chessman'—at that time, many groups of people around the world chose to enter hibernation simultaneously. In that case, we can also explain why Miss Shana came to this era. She was obviously someone involved in the plan, and she entered slumber at the end of the old civilization era... I had similar speculations before, but only now do we have a definitive answer."

"So... what should we do?"

"That's a good question." Huang Yan suddenly fell silent, clearly communicating with the "Unified Combat Headquarters" located in an unknown distance, which was its true master. After a while, she resumed her conversation with the others.

"The Joint Operations Headquarters is taking a conservative approach to the current incident because there is no corresponding contingency plan," Huang Yan explained, "but has asked us to continue the investigation and keep a close watch on Ms. Shana's condition—incidentally, the Joint Operations Headquarters has an obligation to 'protect all humanity,' so it has suggested that we provide protection for Ms. Shana's personal safety while we still have the capacity."

"In other words..."

"We now have two choices," Huang Yan said. "First, we don't need to do anything."

"What?"

"This is theoretically feasible. Because it is obvious that Miss Shana was forcibly taken away by an autonomous weapon dispatched from another facility belonging to the same project during the chaos. As a minor who does not have full capacity for action, no matter what she wants, she will be forcibly sent back into the hibernation pod—which also means that her personal safety is guaranteed."

"but……"

"Hmm, but that means we'll never know what happened to her. And Miss Shana's investigation is extremely valuable to us," Huang Yan said. "As outsiders, we don't have the security code, and even if we find the facility, we can't break its hibernation unless we commit extreme acts like explosions or arson, forcing it to activate its emergency evacuation mechanism. However, the Joint Operations Headquarters strictly forbids me from doing that. So, our choice is naturally..."

"Then we'll have no choice but to go and rescue Miss Shana," Ange said loudly.

"Th-thank you!" Unable to hear Huang Yan's words, Melu thought Fish and the others were just whispering among themselves. However, Ange's words immediately ignited her hope, "If a Master Armorer like you is willing to help, Shana can be saved!"

"Don't get too excited yet," Fish said. "We still don't know where Miss Shana has been taken."

“That’s not a problem,” Ange said. “Based on the autonomous weapon’s fixed behavior pattern, she will definitely be taken to the nearest hibernation facility—these guys never take detours.”

"You're right, and I happen to have the facility layout map of the 'Rotten Chessman' project—after all, it was one of the largest 'Escape to the Future' projects at the time. Moreover, I can roughly calculate the movement speed of the autonomous weapons that took Miss Shana away, and I can deduce the most suitable interception position."

"Then let's hurry..."

"We still have a problem to solve," Ange immediately poured cold water on Fish's enthusiasm, "Have you forgotten something?"

"That's right, we're still surrounded by the enemy," said Frostleaf, who was resting to the side with her sword in her arms. "Currently, the defensive situation here is quite unfavorable. Although the fire wall has stopped the enemy, I judge that this defensive measure is unlikely to last."

"Unfortunately, you're right," Baron Ruan Aofu, who had previously created the fire defense equipment, nodded. "Indeed, the warehouses here stored a large amount of biofuel, but currently only less than ten percent remains—that is, twelve thousand liters. Most of it was previously used by refugees for daily consumption such as boiling water and cooking, and a small amount was used to operate our remaining heavy equipment."

"That's still quite a lot."

"But this method of burning is extremely fuel-intensive. Those 'Tai Sui' will launch a probing attack every two or three hours. The flames can temporarily repel them, but it is still too difficult to maintain the barrier around the entire defensive position. It is estimated that it can only burn for a maximum of six more hours—based on the enemy's attack frequency, it can last for about two days."

"This looks really bad... but two days should be enough," said the Moon Butterfly trapped inside Xiaoxing's body. "Although all the seaplanes in the air squadron have been destroyed, if things go quickly, the remaining two small airships should be ready by tomorrow. While they can't take everyone here, they'll be more than enough to bring me back—"

"Don't even think about it." Ange originally wanted to pull her ear, but considering that this was Xiaoxing's body, she temporarily changed to flicking her forehead with her finger. "Now that you're here, as a loyal armored warrior of the Pan-Pacific Empire, you have to live and die with us and fight to the end."

"Wow! But I didn't come here of my own volition! I have the right to prioritize my own safety..."

"No. Because the day you swore to join the Imperial Army as a Royal Guard, you already gave your life to the Empire." Ange crossed her arms and sneered.

"Eh... eh..."

"Stop talking nonsense, you're coming with us!" Anjie completely ignored the other person's protest. "Do you want to use this body for the rest of your life?"

"Ah...that's true. This body doesn't seem to have much growth potential. If I'm destined to be a flat-chested loli forever, I'll be depressed to death..." Reminded by Ange, Yue Die looked at Xiao Xing's empty chest and finally realized, "No, no, now I have a reason to fight!"

"Good that you understand," Ange said. "Miss Mint, you stay here with Xiao Luo and Peanut to help the survivors hold their ground. The rest of us will break through, rescue Miss Shana, and then come back to join you! I'll have my own plans for what comes next!"

"Um... should I turn off the firewall defense?" Ruan Aofu asked.

"No need... We're all armored warriors." Ange clenched her heavily armored hands into fists. "Keep the flames burning; it'll make our attack more surprise."

"But there are several thousand enemies outside," Kokkoro said, having previously observed the enemy situation from the air. "Excuse my bluntness, Your Highness, but even you..."

"We're just breaking through this time, not trying to defeat all the enemies," Ange said, completely covering every part of her body with her intelligent combat armor, "Golden Soup," to avoid being burned while charging through the wall of fire. "I still have a way to get out of here. Everyone, follow me!"

After saying this, Ange leaped up and was the first to rush into the burning wall of flames ahead. Frostleaf followed. Seeing this, Fish, of course, didn't hesitate any longer and quickly tried to catch up to make a good impression… and then he was the first to fall.

Of course, he wasn't knocked down; rather, he tragically slipped and fell while crossing a burning, fuel-filled drain. Although Fish knew there was a ditch below the wall of fire and made a jumping motion, unfortunately, Moonbeam's poor mobility, coupled with the extra weight on her chest, made her senses a fraction off... resulting in her slipping on the edge of the ditch and falling into the burning fuel.

Fortunately, thanks to the enhancement of his Phoenix Flame, this small amount of fire was of course no match for Fish. However, as the future head of the Fayun-Lindenhild family, it was truly too embarrassing to make such a scene in front of his companions! If the flames hadn't blocked the view of those on the defensive position, he would probably have been so ashamed that he would have dug a hole and crawled into it!

"Are you alright?!" Xiaoxing, who was using Fish's body, quickly pulled Fish up. Although Fish's body was stronger and more powerful, she was not used to it at all. This was mainly because Xiaoxing's original combat method was stealth attack. Although Fish's figure was not particularly tall for a man, it still made her intelligent combat armor "Grape" consume more energy when creating optical camouflage.

"I...I'm fine."

"You bastard!" Yue Die, who jumped in last, yelled, "How dare you treat my body like this! Do you know how precious this body of mine is, as the daughter of a marquis?"

"Ah, sorry, but I'm still the next heir to the Fayun-Lindenhild family," Fish retorted directly. "Besides, it's these two troublesome lumps that made me lose my balance. Since you don't like them, how about I just chop them up?"

"What?! No, no, no, no!" Now it was Moon Butterfly's turn to be scared. "You, you mustn't do anything extreme!"

Of course, Fish didn't have time to pay attention to her, but instead focused his attention on what was ahead—although Ange and the others who were the first to act had only been out for a dozen seconds, at this moment, a large group of strange figures had already emerged from the woods not far away... Among them were quite a few people wearing intelligent combat armor, turning their arm armor into swords for fighting!

"Is this... an enemy armored warrior?" Upon seeing this, Fish and the others were all taken aback, but only Frostleaf smiled, seemingly quite... excited.

What excited her was the blade on the opponent's arm armor.

"It's a sword...that's great. It looks very sharp," said Frostleaf. "However, my sword isn't exactly dull either."