The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Gooooooooooo—"

After the explosion, Fish heard a hoarse scream—just as he had expected, something was hidden in the ventilation duct, and it was a living thing.

"As expected," Fish muttered to himself, while simultaneously generating four more similar spheres. Although Phoenix Flame could transform into various weapons and tools, each of these consumable weapons consumed a certain amount of material that made up the combat armor. Therefore, Fish could currently only generate a maximum of four or five.

Once ready, Fish, with a precision unimaginable even to the best pitchers in the NBA, tossed the gray balls in different directions. Upon hitting the ventilation duct walls, they immediately stuck to them firmly, much like burrs clinging to the trousers of autumn hikers.

"Correct judgment," Huang Yan commented. "Considering the speed at which you made the judgment and your response, I'd give you a 90 out of 100. It seems that while you're not exactly brilliant, you do have a bit of quick wit."

"Thank you for the compliment." After launching the last sphere, Fish adjusted the cooled-down ion gun to a half-power, three-round burst mode for better sustained firepower. Unlike the "Overload" mode, which had a rate of fire comparable to a 17th-century matchlock musket, this mode's rate of fire was equivalent to an early M16 assault rifle, making it more useful in dealing with surprise attacks.

The spheres that Fish just threw out are referred to as "general-purpose fixed booby traps" in Phoenix Flame's database. Their structure is quite simple: a synthetic resin polymer shell filled with semi-liquid nitroglycerin. Although their destructive power is limited, it is sufficient to deal with most small to medium-sized "soft" targets. On one side of the sphere is a compressed oxygen bladder similar to an egg-shaped air chamber, as well as a simple detonator.

The outer shell of these booby traps is covered with countless micron-sized spikes. Upon impact with a hard, rigid surface, these spikes first pierce the object, then, relying on the numerous tiny bristles on the surface to create a large vacuum area, they adhere to the object. They can be programmed with various detonation methods—for example, sensing vibrations of specific intensity and frequency.

Of course, since the first booby trap exploded, none of the others have been detonated—the "Black Destroyer," which had failed in its previous raid and then retreated into the ventilation duct to release poison gas, had clearly realized Fish's scheme and immediately deduced why it had been bombed. So, it chose to remain inside the ventilation duct and observe the situation.

However, the other party's actions were exactly what Fish wanted.

"Good, you bastard, just stay there and don't move." Fish raised the ion gun and melted the only two surveillance cameras in the nearby corridor into a pile of rubble, then smiled with satisfaction.

The booby traps he had just thrown had blocked all the escape routes of the "Black Destroyer" hiding inside the ventilation duct. This meant that, apart from the large hole blasted by the first booby trap, the creature now had nowhere to escape. More importantly, even if that thing could manipulate and use the technology and equipment of the old civilization era, it would be impossible for it to observe the situation outside without surveillance cameras available.

Previous encounters have shown that while the "Black Destroyer" is extremely dangerous, it also behaves with extreme caution, thoroughly adhering to the rule of "preserving itself before eliminating the enemy," and would never take any unnecessary risks. This means that, with their escape route blocked and the external situation unclear, it will have to remain cautiously inside the ventilation duct for a considerable period of time, unable to pose a threat to Fish and Xiaoxing.

"Um... I mean, if it's just a tie, scoring 60 points shouldn't be a problem, right?" Fish muttered to himself.

"If we're just trapping the opponent, it's a draw," Huang Yan "said" in Fish's mind. "However, based on my understanding of the 'Black Destroyer,' it probably won't give up so easily—this thing's actual combat ability is at most equivalent to a C+ level synthetic beast, but its threat level is rated as B+ level, mainly because of its extremely high tactical intelligence."

"But I'm really stuck with it!" Fish emphasized.

"Not necessarily." Huang Yan's only reply to Fish's statement was this cold, detached word—and what happened next proved her guess to be correct.

A booby trap stuck to the bottom of a ventilation duct suddenly sensed a rapidly approaching vibration and then exploded.

"What?!" Fish was stunned for a moment, then saw a smoking piece of debris fall out of the ruptured pipe—it was a small bionic machine with several pairs of slender mechanical legs, resembling a centipede. Although severely damaged, Huang Yan immediately verified its identity.

"Target Model: RE-330P Bionic Robot, Conventional Automated Maintenance Equipment. Main Uses: Internal cleaning, inspection, flaw detection, and basic maintenance of ordinary pipeline structures. Manufacturer: Van Schering Consumer Goods Group. First production batch in 2301."

"Damn it, is that another trick?" Fish muttered angrily. Although Phoenix Flame had warned him before that the "Black Destroyer" had the ability to control many mechanical devices in the ruins, due to his lack of experience, he subconsciously thought that the only use of this ability was to directly manipulate various devices to attack him, just like the forklift that almost forced him to "split up".

However, Fish was completely taken aback by the fact that, knowing the booby trap existed, the use of these non-combat-capable machines as "scapegoats" to detonate it was entirely unexpected. The "Black Destroyer's" move was not just about eliminating a booby trap; more importantly, because of the booby trap's explosion, this section of the ventilation duct now had two openings that could be used to launch a surprise attack, greatly increasing the difficulty of his ambush-style surveillance.

Immediately following, with another burst of hurried footsteps, a booby trap located in the opposite direction of the second breach was also detonated. Upon hearing the explosion, Fish instinctively wanted to turn around, but he restrained himself—after all, the cunning monster could very well take advantage of the moment his attention was drawn to the explosion and leap out from the two breaches he was staring at to launch an attack.

But in the next instant, Fish realized that this didn't seem like... a very good option.

"Idiot, watch out behind you!"

Upon hearing the warning, Fish's body moved—no, more accurately, Phoenix Flame had taken over Fish's body's autonomy in an instant through the neural connection, causing him to turn around and raise his arms in defense.

With a jolt and a slight pain in his arm, Fish realized that the "Black Destroyer" had attacked... and if he had been any later, it would have succeeded.

Unlike its previous escape after the failed ambush, this time, the "Black Destroyer" did not flee. Instead, it retreated a few steps and began to pant in pain. It seemed that the only bionic robot in the area that it could control and was still usable was the previous one. This cunning creature deliberately used it to detonate the first booby trap to attract Fish's attention, then risked detonating the second one itself and crawled out of the ventilation duct through the breach to launch its attack.

It was indeed a risky move, but it almost succeeded.

Taking this opportunity, Fish carefully examined his dangerous opponent: this monster, which was neither entirely a chimera nor a purely autonomous weapon, looked like a black feline. Due to the risky detonation of the booby trap, one of its paws and many parts of its forebody were charred by the explosion, several pieces of metal were embedded in its flesh, and blood was gushing from the wounds.

The "Black Destroyer" isn't particularly large, falling somewhere between a large lynx and a small leopard, and its size doesn't create a particularly imposing presence. Aside from its exceptionally long limbs and the several pairs of tubular structures behind its shoulder blades used for exhaling gas—structures that easily evoke images of the "Alien" from past science fiction stories—it doesn't look much different from the large cats kept in circus cages for performances.

However, when their eyes met, Fish immediately realized that any thought of underestimating the creature was a mistake.

Those were orange eyes, their narrow, small black pupils like bottomless abysses, churning with pure, rational malice—yes, this thing had no emotions, no conscience, and knew no fear. It was merely driven by reason, deeming it necessary to annihilate all "hostile" existences except itself, and after careful consideration, to achieve this through the most efficient means. It couldn't even be considered an "enemy," but simply a troublesome calamity. A calamity manifested in the form of a feline.

Fish held the ion gun high, the crosshair on his helmet display pressed against the black body, but he didn't fire: he had a feeling that the guy could accurately predict when he would attack, and that striking first would not only fail to gain the upper hand, but might also result in a counterattack.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate, neither daring to relax for a moment. The "Black Destroyer," forced to reveal itself, had exhausted all available means. At this moment, its only way to defeat Fish was through the simplest and most direct method: a head-on confrontation relying on strength, speed, and agility.

Fish had heard that duels between true sword masters were actually quite boring: there were no shouts and flamboyant dances on stage, no flashy swordsmanship, only silent and patient confrontations, occasional probing, and attacks seizing the opponent's momentary opening. At this moment, the "Black Destroyer" was confronting him in a similar manner, slowly circling, pacing inching, occasionally raising its claws as if preparing to attack. And after its probing proved fruitless, it continued circling and pacing.

"Well... at least this guy considers me a worthy opponent." Fish muttered to himself, suddenly unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't be too happy, this is mainly thanks to me," Huang Yan said. "Also, this guy might still be up to something, so be careful."

"I know." Fish regulated his breathing and continued to patiently wait for the other party's action. Just then, a low buzzing sound suddenly sounded beside him, like a swarm of giant mosquitoes flapping their wings at the same time.

Fish could distinguish the sound: it was the sound of the most primitive small rotary-wing drones flying. As one of the most common and lowest-level types of autonomous weapons, these small rotary-wing drones, though inconspicuous, can still be deadly in many situations. Some incomplete statistics even suggest that they are the top threat that kills the most people entering urban ruins.

Given the "Black Destroyer's" ability to control automated equipment, hearing the sound of a drone flying at this time likely means...

"Wait, don't get distracted!" Huang Yan quickly warned. Perhaps due to her nervousness, her voice came directly from the external speakers of her armor, "The sound isn't coming from the right place! Be careful—"

The "Black Destroyer," which had been patiently confronting Fish, suddenly leaped up like a dark lightning bolt, pouncing on its target, which had been distracted by the earlier sound. All felines are explosive hunters, born with astonishing acceleration. And this Destroyer, with its black feline appearance, possessed a burst of speed far exceeding that of even the fiercest tiger or the most agile serval; in that instant, it had completely surpassed the level that humans could handle.

However, Fish's reaction speed, enhanced by the Phoenix Flame, cannot be measured by the standards of ordinary humans—especially when he is not distracted.

"What an idiot! Jumping into the air means you can't move around freely, it's like inviting me to attack you!" Just as the black lightning's sharp claws were about to touch him, Fish, who knew nothing about the ancient comic book industry, inadvertently uttered this famous line from Dragon Ball. At the same time, the ion gun in his arm armor had already fired first, three flashing ion beams plunging into the black mass.

Subsequently, the shockwave from the high-temperature plasma explosion blasted the "Black Destroyer," which was airborne and unable to dodge, away.

"Trying to distract me by simulating drone sounds, then launching a surprise attack?" Fish muttered. "Clever... but not enough."

With one leg blown off and a large hole torn in its body, the "Black Destroyer" roared hoarsely at Fish, then spat out a glob of viscous green acid—however, Fish easily dodged this final retaliatory attack, and then fired two more bursts of three-round bursts. After a large cloud of blue smoke billowed out, the ferocious monster finally stopped moving.

"Target activity confirmed to have ceased, well done. In that case, all dangers within this tower have been confirmed to be eliminated," Huang Yan switched back to speaking through the remote terminal that resembled a fairy girl. "By the way, because you hit all nine of your shots, your cumulative long-range weapon shooting accuracy for today is roughly 66%, which can be considered a passing grade."

"Phew..." Fish finally relaxed after hearing these words. "This guy is really troublesome... That battle just now almost scared me to death."

"I think this is excellent training—you're a cat-type Newtype, you know, so in a sense, you're related to the 'Black Destroyer'," Huang Yan said. "Because of the feline predator genes implanted in your body, your reaction speed and combat instincts are higher than other Newtypes. Engaging in more battles like this is essential for developing your combat instincts."

"Hmm, really?" Fish shook his head. "But why did this guy have to attack me?"

"I have the answer to this question, and fortunately, your Level 2 clearance just happens to give you access to this information," Huang Yan said. "But do you really want to know?"