The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

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The following evening, as the Schelling Corporation's extended limousine slowly approached the gates of Coral Palace along the central avenue of Oasis Harbor, Luca, sitting beside Fish, reached out and made one last adjustment to his tuxedo tie and cuffs. "When you go in later, remember what I said: don't talk to anyone. Just follow behind me. As long as you smile at every stranger, there shouldn't be any problems."

"What are you talking about, Miss Luca?" Ange asked in a dissatisfied tone from the back row. "My husband isn't a three-year-old child. There's no need to be so reserved."

“Of course I know Mr. Fish is a clever and quick-witted man… well, otherwise I wouldn’t have specifically asked for him every time I went to the bar,” Luca deliberately emphasized the word “specifically”—for some reason, after meeting Ange, this guy had developed a strange competitive spirit. This spirit was especially evident when it came to Fish. “However, making girls happy in a bar is one thing, but appearing properly in formal social situations…”

"It's not that difficult—as the head lady-in-chief of Princess Lindenhild of the Duchy of Fayun, I can say that with certainty," said Mint, sitting next to Ange. "My subordinates and I have been providing Fish with the necessary education to become the future head of the Lindenhild-Fayun family. So far, his performance has reached a passing grade."

"However, that's the standard of our Duchy of Fayun," Xiao Luo added.

"In a small place like Oasis Harbor, a 'passing grade' in the Duchy of Fayun is equivalent to an 'excellent grade,'" Peanut continued.

"Hmm..." Luca bared her canine teeth somewhat defiantly, but ultimately said nothing—after all, the other party was a regular female official of the Duchy of Fayun, and her authority in this regard was something she couldn't refute.

"In short, I will now reiterate the action plan one last time." As the gates of the Coral Palace, adorned with gilded scallop, seahorse, and dolphin carvings, slowly opened in front of the convoy, Frostleaf addressed everyone in the vehicle. This time, for the first time ever, she wore a formal dress, but deliberately chose a conservatively designed dark green gown similar in color to the northern coniferous forests. She wore practical knee-high boots instead of high heels, carefully concealed by the hem of her skirt, making her appear as if she were ready to retreat into the woods and engage in battle at any moment.

Of course, Fish knew very well that for Frostleaf, there were only two states: "combat state" and "combat readiness state." At this moment, she was actually on guard against any form of threat, ready to immediately engage in battle should anything unexpected happen.

"First, our objective is to use the social gathering at the Coral Palace to infiltrate the Fayun Mission's headquarters and conduct an investigation, searching for valuable classified documents or other clues. While we cannot rule out the possibility of encountering danger, we should do everything in our power to avoid armed conflict unless absolutely necessary." Shuangye looked solemnly at the palace ahead through the car window.

This palace, constructed primarily of limestone quarried from coral reefs, was originally the residence of the Marquis of Oasis Harbor. When it was first established, Oasis Harbor was still a marquisate; however, more than half a century ago, with the extinction of the marquis's lineage, the Council of State took over power and moved its offices to the Grand Council Hall near the harbor. Since then, the main hall of the Coral Palace has served as the venue for foreign affairs activities and high-level social gatherings.

Its side halls and gardens were separated and, after several changes of ownership, were rented to the Duchy of Fayun, becoming the latter's embassy in Oasis Harbor.

"Thanks to Baron Ruan Aofu and that guy Yue Die's efforts, we've obtained the initial architectural plans for Coral Palace—some have been modified, but most remain unchanged," Shuangye continued. "Once the social event begins, Xiao Xing, with her excellent infiltration skills, and Miss Luca, Princess Anjie's personal thief, will infiltrate the embassy just a wall away according to the route marked on the plans. As for me and the others..."

"Hey! What do you mean by 'official thief'?!" Luca interrupted Frostleaf angrily. "Even if you have to call us that, we're righteous thieves! Righteous thieves! How can you use the word 'thief' to describe me?!"

"At least in my opinion, there is no essential difference between the two terms," ​​Shuangye spread her hands. "In short, while Xiaoxing and Miss Luca are on their mission, I and the others will cooperate with them to create suitable alibis. Throughout the operation, those remaining in the Coral Palace must remain vigilant. If things go wrong—especially if they might be discovered—they must provide assistance as planned."

"Yes, I understand," Xiaoxing said softly.

"Furthermore, if things get really bad, we have a last resort—at that point, as long as Mr. Fish gives the signal, a riot will 'coincidentally' break out near Coral Palace," Frostleaf continued. "Aren't our people already in place?"

"No problem," Huang Yan said. "My positioning system has pinpointed their location, and all teams are in position ahead of schedule. The equipment is ready. The communication system has been tested and is functioning correctly."

"Very good." Ange nodded. At the same time, the extended limousine came to a stop. A waiter dressed in the uniform of an Oasis Harbor honor guard, with a bright yellow sash and silver pendant hanging from his chest, opened the car door, while two others laid a small red carpet on the ground.

According to the intelligence obtained by Anjie and others, in order to ensure the safety of guests, more than one hundred guards are currently deployed in the Coral Palace, including a platoon of military police, doormen and security guards with light weapons, and even several maids and waiters who are secretly carrying weapons.

Using only the rudimentary metal detection capabilities provided by "Golden Soup," which had transformed into bulletproof vest mode, Ange discovered a miniature submachine gun and two small pistols on the three seemingly unarmed guards. However, these guards were unaware that a large group of ill-intentioned individuals had already gathered outside the Coral Palace.

These people included Jorov, who had just joined Fish and his gang, and his hundreds of gang members, most of the Red Cat gang members over the age of fourteen, and the thirty bodyguards brought by Ange. Jorov and his group even deliberately set up several street performances a block away and added a lottery, successfully attracting thousands of onlookers and blocking many alleys.

Although neither Fish nor Ange were keen to involve the general public in this matter, if absolutely necessary—for example, in the world of Sokhov's novel, *The Last Odyssey: The Cat Boy's Fantastic Journey*, where the two infiltrating the Fayun Embassy's investigation find themselves in trouble—these undercover groups would create chaos and panic using firecrackers and smoke bombs, then, led by informants already infiltrated into the crowd, escape to the seemingly safer Coral Palace, guarded by armed guards.

At that time, the Oasis Harbor guards, lacking practical combat experience, will inevitably panic and be caught off guard. The chaotic crowd will easily rush into the palace—given the consistently high moral standards of the residents of the Oasis Harbor slums, they will undoubtedly "borrow" anything that can be stolen, and the Fayun Embassy, ​​just a wall away, will certainly not escape unscathed. At that time, Luca and Xiaoxing will still have a chance to escape with their spoils.

"Come on, relax. You can't be all serious at a social gathering." Just as Fish was mentally rehearsing all the possible scenarios, Ange gently took one of his hands—while Luca, as if in a huff, immediately grabbed the other. The two of them led him along the red carpet into the main hall of the Coral Palace.

Although she had used the disguise ability provided by Huang Yan to adjust her facial features and avoid being recognized by acquaintances, Ange was still a top-tier beauty. And Luca, in her formal dress, was certainly no less stunning. Therefore, upon seeing the two of them appear hand-in-hand with Fish, the surrounding crowd still cast envious and jealous glances—mostly from married men, while the single men's eyes burned with a fury that seemed to wish they could burn Fish to ashes.

Fortunately, having experienced begging for food from wealthy women, including Luca, in bars, Fish was already used to the envious stares of other men and showed no sign of panic or loss of composure in the face of these menacing gazes. Seeing this, Ange gently wagged her large tail, showing approval. This only fueled the envy of the others, making them even more agitated.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Soon, the nominal organizers of the social gathering—Moon Butterfly and Ruan Aofu—appeared on the second-floor terrace inside the Coral Palace, accompanied by a pair of honor guards and attendants, attracting all those who had just been venting their dissatisfaction towards Fish and even breathing heavily (mainly the cat-like new humans like Fish) to their side.

Although, in terms of diplomatic protocol, Ruan Aofu, as the envoy of the Duke of Penglai, was more important than Yue Die, the special envoy of the Marquis of Shisheng, in reality, almost everyone with a keen sense of social standing flocked to Yue Die. After all, they knew very well that, aside from the necessary formalities, the most important task in such occasions was to establish personal relationships with key figures. Compared to Ruan Aofu, whose title was merely baronial and who was a defeated general, Yue Die, the daughter of the Marquis of Shisheng, was far more valuable.

Although she had received the necessary aristocratic education, Yue Die seemed a little flustered because it was her first time encountering such an occasion. In the crowded throng, she kept nodding and smiling at one person after another who came to congratulate her, putting on an expression that said "I will remember you," while secretly glancing at Fish and the others who were moving forward in the hall below.

"Uh...excuse my bluntness, but Miss Yuedie seems to be in a bit of trouble..." Xiaoxing said in a low voice.

"Don't worry," Shuangye smiled. "That's all she needs to do. She's temporarily diverting the attention of most bystanders, which is the best she can do."

"Um... please don't describe Miss Yuedie in such a trashy way, okay? It sounds a bit impolite."

"Don't worry, I've never considered that guy trash—otherwise, it would be too insulting to trash," Shuangye said in a serious tone.

"Alright, everyone, try to relax and have some fun," Luca said with a cheerful smile as she took a bottle of pale gold sparkling wine from a waiter after they were seated. She then picked up a pale pink crystal goblet decorated with an oval shape and sipped it over and over, like a girl learning how to drink in a formal setting for the first time in an etiquette class at a prestigious school. "Smile, everyone."

Ange and her three lady-in-waiting all wore relaxed and cheerful smiles—for these born true nobles, facial expressions had almost nothing to do with their true inner emotions, but only with muscle control.

In contrast, Shimoha remained as expressionless as ever, almost indistinguishable from her usual self when performing her duties as a military police lieutenant. Fish, Sachi, Shana, Meru, and Alicia, on the other hand, tried their best to put on smiles, but they looked very forced, almost like they were wearing the smiling masks of satirical actors.

Fortunately, since most people had gathered around Yue Die and Ruan Aofu, their unnatural expressions did not attract much attention.

Surrounded by the crowd, Yuedie spent a few uneasy minutes. Finally, as an orchestra dressed in splendid military uniforms, wearing top hats, and dressed like a pile of wedding cakes appeared in the center of the hall and began to play the rousing music that marked the official start of the event, the crowd that had been swarming around her like flies finally dispersed and took their places.

After the music ended and the orchestra left, a woman in an extravagant white gown walked to the center of the first-floor lobby. This creature was a rare cow-type Neohuman, with a pair of short, curved horns, adorable cow ears, and… breasts that could easily reach an H-cup. Despite some deliberate attempts to conceal them, those two large mounds of fat still looked quite striking.

"Holy crap..." Fish swallowed hard.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph," Huang Yan snorted disdainfully like a real girl, "What a terrible creation."

"Oh no?" Fish asked, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Although the abuse of life technology at the end of the old civilization era was outrageous, if I may be so bold, the cow-type new humans are the most meaningless product among all new humans—human protein and lactose production is already in serious surplus, and there are plenty of real Holstein cows. To deliberately create individuals that can produce milk at any time after the age of 12 and have unnecessaryly large giant fat deposits is simply utterly foolish..."

"Uh, well... I think..." Fish was about to argue, but then he suddenly remembered that Huang Yan had a simulated human female personality, so he swallowed his words back.

Clearly, what she cares about isn't some financial issue...

"Alright, everyone, please be a little more serious," Ange said, having poured herself a small glass of sweet-smelling fruit wine. As she sipped it, she reminded everyone, "This cow... oh wait, this lady, is said to be the newly appointed special envoy of the Duchy of Fayun."