The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"What the hell are you talking about?! What does 'curse' mean? What's wrong with the bloodline of the people of Oasis Harbor?!" Meanwhile, in the Penglai Embassy, ​​Yue Die was becoming increasingly anxious—although the enemy's latest attack had suffered heavy losses under intense fire, the density of the firepower was becoming visibly thinner due to the defenders' increasing ammunition and personnel losses.

When facing such a fearless opponent, any weakening of defensive firepower would lead to disastrous consequences. Soon, an enemy attack squad, stepping over piles of corpses, arrived at the wreckage of a defending Lobster amphibious armored vehicle that had been abandoned due to its tracks being broken. They crawled into the driver's compartment and began to unleash a barrage of fire on the embassy's rooftop with its 12.7mm heavy machine gun.

"Waaaaah!" Moon Butterfly let out a wail, quickly retreating behind cover like a whack-a-mole—although she could be considered a genuine armored warrior, this pampered marquis's daughter only showed courage when facing the weakest enemy. Anything that could theoretically penetrate her armor, like that heavy machine gun, would make her cower in fear.

"Tch, so useless." Mint, the female officer in charge of Ange, said contemptuously to Moon Butterfly, while gesturing to her two subordinates. Then, Xiao Luo and Peanut simultaneously fired a smoke screen with their grenade launchers, covering Mint as she jumped off the roof and rushed towards the "defected" armored vehicle with lightning speed.

In just a few seconds, she wielded her beam saber, felling several enemies near the armored vehicle, rushed into the blind spot of the machine gun fire, and then, pressing against the observation slit at the front of the vehicle, fired a shot into it with the ion gun that her arm armor had transformed into.

After flames erupted from the abandoned armored vehicle, turning it into a complete incinerator, the enemy, already suffering nearly half their casualties, finally began to retreat. However, neither Moon Butterfly nor the others in the embassy felt relieved—they knew very well that the same attack could come again at any time, and the enemy still had ample manpower.

"We need support! Right now! Your Highness Ange, what about those automated weapon systems on Dark Isle? Do they even exist?! Can you control them?!" Moon Butterfly screamed hysterically on the communication channel as Mint, who had taken the initiative, retreated back to the embassy.

"We can't control them, but we can at least activate them. Then these devices should automatically go and eliminate the threat," Ange said. "Don't worry, we should be able to do so very soon..."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Huang Yan suddenly said, "I'm afraid we need to do something else before you do this."

"What's going on?"

"Please activate the system as I instruct you," Huang Yan explained. "I have cracked the activation verification code for the automatic security device. Please enter it after you put it on."

"What is this..." Fish picked up a hat that looked like a bicycle helmet from the edge of the console and examined its inner structure—clearly, its main purpose wasn't to protect the wearer's head. Otherwise, it wouldn't have a series of electrode probes installed on it.

"Just do as instructed." Huang Yan didn't explain, but urged.

"Okay, okay." Trusting his own equipment, which was quite troublesome but almost never failed him in crucial moments, Fish hesitated for a moment before finally putting the "hat" on his head.

Since this thing was clearly designed for the "original" humans of the old civilization era, Fish's triangular cat ears, supported by cartilage, were immediately pressed against the surface of his skull after being forced on, feeling quite uncomfortable. Then, when he typed the activation code given by Huang Yan into the mechanical keyboard, a slight tingling sensation came from the top of his head and the back of his neck.

Fish remembered feeling a similar tingling sensation when he first equipped himself with the Phoenix Flame—at that time, the Phoenix Flame established a connection with his nervous system for the first time, truly merging him with Fish. Therefore, upon experiencing this sensation, Fish immediately realized that the hat had established a connection with his nervous system.

This is the defense system authentication process. Did you have malicious intent during the process of activating and gaining control of this device?

"Uh...of course not...I just..." Fish answered subconsciously, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have heard any voice asking questions at all.

Because the question just now simply popped into his mind, just like when Huang Yan communicated with him in "quiet mode"!

Can you confirm that no illegal or unethical events are expected to occur after this device is activated?

Although Fish hadn't even figured out the answer to the first question, the second question had already popped into his head.

"Hmm... well..."

The confirmation process has been completed. The system is now activated.

Just like when the first question was posed, this time, Fish still hadn't even had time to think of the answer in his mind, let alone say it aloud. But the voice in his head made its judgment regardless. Then, on one side of the control room, a large number of control panels lit up with green lights, and a giant screen lit up, displaying a vast number of small red dots.

"This... I... I didn't mess things up, did I?" Fish asked, sounding doubtful.

"Please rest assured, of course not. So far, everything is proceeding normally," Huang Yan replied calmly.

"But I didn't..."

"Didn't have time to answer? Don't worry, it's completely irrelevant," Huang Yan said. "Anyway, most natural people, including you, have very low language efficiency, so there's no point in listening to your nonsense."

"Meow... That's so hurtful..."

"But that is indeed the case. For this system, asking a question doesn't expect to get a 'completely accurate answer,' but is merely a necessary part of its 'maliciousness detection program's' operation. The moment you hear the question, these devices monitor and record your instantaneous reaction, and then determine your actual intention."

"Uh...you mean, a program running on this system is...monitoring my malice?" Fish asked.

"Yes. By the way, these kinds of programs were commonplace in the old civilization era," Huang Yan said. "Although moral decay and disintegration were widespread throughout society by the end of the old civilization era, these programs were used more and more frequently. They were installed in any place that might pose a threat to public safety."

This is probably because,

"In an era where all morality had collapsed, there were so many people who were so bored that they would do whatever they wanted just for a moment's pleasure that it was necessary to use such measures to prevent extreme and heinous incidents, right?" Ange asked.

"That's largely true," Huang Yan said. "In short, to activate the automated security system in this facility, besides entering the correct activation code, you also need to understand its purpose and nature, but there must be absolutely no malicious intent. Once you choose to activate it, the activator will no longer be able to control those automated devices—they will automatically eliminate the enemy under the drive of a preset program."

"Wait, I have a question: Are the 'enemies' you mentioned these red dots on the screen?" Shuangye suddenly asked, pointing to the giant screen that had just been activated.

"That's exactly right."

"But...uh...excuse my bluntness, but if that's the case, then there are far too many of these 'enemies,' aren't there?"

As Shuangye said, the number of red dots on that lit screen had reached a level that could be described as insane: red dots could be seen in most areas of the entire Oasis Harbor, and along the coast where it should have been the embassy district of the Principality of Penglai, the density of these red dots was even more like the mold growing on spoiled bread, with almost no gaps between them.

"Wait, could it be... those civilians who were coerced into attacking the embassy area..." Fish suddenly had a rather terrifying thought.

"That's right, Mr. Fish. All of those people will be identified as targets for elimination by the activated automated security equipment. Also, the word 'coercion' is not accurate, because they are probably acting voluntarily."

"What on earth is going on?!"

"Well... that's a long story. But, at least for me, the last piece of the puzzle has just been put in place," Huang Yan said. "Now I can say with certainty that from the very beginning, we were lured into a meticulously designed trap from which we were doomed to fail."

"Unable to escape? What does that mean?" Shuangye asked.

"In short, everything that happened in Oasis Harbor was a trap deliberately set against us. This trap was set from the moment the Duchy of Fayun suddenly announced its acquisition of Dark Island." Huang Yan's tone sounded somewhat disappointed—clearly, she wasn't happy about stepping into the trap set by the other side. "The key to the whole trap was to force us into a dilemma. And the special circumstances of the native residents of Oasis Harbor were the key to setting the trap."

"Hmm, what did you just say about a 'curse based on bloodline'? Could it be...?"

"Do you still remember the legend of the establishment of Oasis Harbor?" Huang Yan asked. "That legend has actually been misunderstood by us all along—we mistakenly believed that the 'angels' who rescued the fishermen who fled to Dark Island after being chased by monsters were the automated security system here. But thinking about it carefully, this explanation is not quite accurate."

“Indeed,” Ange nodded. “Due to global warming and rising sea levels over the past thousand years, many urban ruins from old civilizations have been submerged or partially submerged. For example, the ruins where Fish and I met… These ruins, filled with giant structures, are also the most suitable artificial reefs, where a large number of fish breed. Experienced fishermen often go fishing near these ruins.”

"I have heard of that before," Xiaoxing said softly. "Many fishermen's stories include the incident of being attacked while fishing near the ruins."

"In other words, it's impossible for fishermen not to recognize the automated security systems of the old civilization era—after all, these things can appear in the ruins every now and then, and recognizing and avoiding them is a basic skill for fishermen who can survive," Ange said. "Even if those people were rescued by the automated security systems of the Dark Isle, they wouldn't treat them as 'angels'."

"Besides, they don't have the activation code, and it's unlikely they can reach the control core. Activating the automated security system was already highly improbable..." Shuangye added, "Damn it, why didn't I think of that before?!"

"If that's the case, then the 'angel' is actually..." Fish suddenly had a bad feeling.

"In ancient times, people of the old civilization described 'angels,' messengers of God, as various indescribable beings," Huang Yan continued. "But eventually, the description of 'angels' gradually unified into beautiful and kind human figures. For example, beautiful girls with wings. And based on what we've seen and heard here, what is more likely to be considered 'angels' are humanoid bio-weapons that accidentally escaped from this facility."

"Damn, that makes sense!" Fish slapped his forehead hard—the bunny-eared lolis they encountered before would definitely make many people with a penchant for childlike characters drool; and the group of self-destructing pretty girl assassins that the short-skirted pirate gang had handcrafted using the rapid cloning workshop they found would certainly appeal to many. Compared to those combat robots loaded with long guns and short cannons, "not like men," they were ten or even nine parts more like real angels.

"What happened next is just speculation—but I think it's based on facts," Huang Yan continued, "In the final days of the old civilization era, Anthill Technology Corporation conducted extensive testing of bio-weapons on Dark Isle and the atoll islands that later evolved into Oasis Harbor. These included assassins who could disguise themselves as New Humans, perhaps developed to harass and sabotage the New Human resistance. However, much of this research was left unfinished and permanently frozen until the old humans lost control of Earth."

"Then……"

"As time passed, centuries went by. During that time, some bio-weapons scattered across the atolls, degenerated and losing their intelligence, transformed into dangerous beasts. These were the ones the fishermen encountered on the islands. In their escape, the fishermen inadvertently released other, more... aesthetically pleasing bio-weapons from the Dark Isles. Because these latter were not implanted with hostile programs, they rescued the fishermen based on their own judgment. Furthermore, I can further infer that these bio-weapons, or 'angels,' probably lived with these fishermen for a period of time, and had a harmonious relationship with them."

"And after that... um..." Fish licked his lips, remaining silent. After all, a large group of fishermen who spent years at sea without ever seeing a woman suddenly encountered a group of angelic sisters who saved them. What would happen next was simply enviable... no, it was something he dared not think about. "Is that even possible?"

"Yes. Although the old civilization era once required that bio-weapons modified from human genes should ensure that they do not have reproductive capabilities, this regulation may not be enforced," Huang Yan replied. "Especially in the final days, bio-weapon developers have no time to deal with these details, so... based on my judgment, the first batch of natives in Oasis Harbor are very likely to have bloodlines from bio-weapons."