I was just fishing, how did I become a Great Old One?

The night at Blackwater Bay is thicker than ink.

There is no moon or stars here, only a distant lighthouse casting a pale yellow light through the fog, like an eye that is about to die, blinking intermittently.

If any other Awakened One or Night Watchman dared to remain on the shore of Blackwater Bay at this hour, even a C-rank expert, they would probably suffer a mental breakdown and their sanity would drop to zero. Because at night, this place truly becomes a "parade of a hundred demons."

But Jiang Li is different.

He was busy disciplining the "stray dog" he had just picked up.

"Rhubarb! Spit it out! Spit it out right now!"

Jiang Li held a fishing rod in one hand and iron pliers in the other, trying to pry open the Tindaros hound's mouth.

Just now, a "mud monster" (an E-level evil spirit with strong corrosive properties) crawled out of the mud and was covered in pustules, preparing to ambush Jiang Li from behind.

As soon as it poked its head out, it was bitten by the big yellow dog lying next to it.

Although Big Yellow was rendered speechless by Jiang Li's blow, it was still a dimensional reduction attack against this low-level evil spirit. It was a hunter of the time dimension, and this low-level mud monster was just a moving jelly in its eyes.

"Click, click."

Dahuang chewed it with relish, and even let out a burp that smelled of sulfur.

In its eyes, this is a "cleaning job" done to please its owner.

But in Jiang Li's eyes...

"You damn dog! How can you eat everything?!"

Jiang Li stared at the black mud still clinging to Da Huang's mouth, stamping her foot in distress. "That's rotten mud! And rotting seaweed! Eating this stuff will give you diarrhea, you know?"

"I only have twenty yuan left, not enough to take you to the vet for a stomach pump!"

Jiang Li tapped Da Huang's geometrically beautiful head with pliers, feeling utterly disappointed.

"Waaah..."

Big Yellow lay on the ground, looking aggrieved, burying its head between its two front paws.

It, a mighty Tindaros hound, a nightmare creature that has devoured countless transmigrators, was actually disliked by a human for being "unhygienic".

But it dared not refute.

Just now, it tried to escape by traversing space through "angles," but as soon as it squeezed into the corner of a rock, it was forcibly pulled back by a large hand.

The man simply said, "Why are you running away? I never said I wouldn't support you."

At that moment, Da Huang felt absolute suppression from the level of rules. In front of this man, time and space seemed to lose their meaning; as long as he wanted to "take care of you," you couldn't escape.

"Alright, alright, stop playing the victim."

Jiang Li sighed and took out a sausage from his backpack—this was his late-night snack.

He bit open the packaging, broke off half of it, and threw it to Big Yellow.

"Eat this, don't eat those dirty things. This is starchy sausage; although there's not much meat, it's better than rotten mud."

Big Yellow stared blankly at the half-eaten sausage on the ground.

It sniffed.

It lacks any spirituality; it's all technology and ruthless work.

But this is... a gift from the "Great Old Ones"?

Big Yellow cautiously licked it, then swallowed it whole, its tail wagging uncontrollably.

Really fragrant!

"That's more like it." Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction, then ate the remaining half of the sausage. "Looks like you were starving, even the starch sausage tastes so good to you."

After calming the dog down, Jiang Li turned his attention back to the water.

The burlap sack already contained three "human-faced black fish," which, at five thousand each, amounted to fifteen thousand.

But this is not enough.

There's still a large shortfall in my mother's surgery fees, and my younger sister needs to buy postgraduate entrance exam materials next month. I heard she also needs to enroll in some tutoring classes, which will cost another sum of money.

"Just one more big one and we'll call it a day."

Jiang Li rebaited the bait, this time using three earthworms, creating a "deluxe package".

Just then, strange ripples suddenly appeared on the previously calm water surface.

Unlike the minor disturbances before, this time the commotion was much bigger.

A thick black fog rose from the bottom of the water, and the surrounding temperature dropped by more than ten degrees. Even the rocks on the shore were covered with a thin layer of frost.

"Glug... Glug..."

Beneath the surface, a huge shadow is slowly rising.

Big Yellow suddenly stood up, its sharp quills (which Jiang Li saw as dog hair) bristling, and let out a low growl as it stared intently at the water.

It sensed it—it was either the vanguard of the Deep Ones or the offspring of some unspeakable being.

Aura strength: Peak D-rank, even approaching C-rank!

For ordinary humans, this is a disaster.

But in Jiang Li's view...

"Wow! Look at all that bubbling! How big must that fish be?"

Jiang Li rubbed his hands excitedly, showing no fear whatsoever, and even moved the small stool forward a bit.

"I knew Blackwater Bay had great resources! This is definitely a behemoth!"

The next second, the float suddenly sank, not in a tentative tug, but as if it had been grabbed and pulled into the water by something!

That's right, they were "arrested" and taken in.

"middle!"

Jiang Li shouted and suddenly swung the fishing rod.

"Buzz—!!!"

The fishing rod instantly bent into a perfect semi-circle, emitting a mournful cry of unbearable strain.

A terrifying force traveled along the fishing line, and Jiang Li felt as if he had hooked a submarine that was starting up.

"Wow! That's really powerful!"

Jiang Li plowed the ground with his feet, dragging two deep furrows in the sand.

The creature underwater was clearly provoked.

"Hiss—Gah—!!!"

A piercing, screeching sound, like fingernails scraping a blackboard, came from the bottom of the water, and the sound waves even shattered a few seashells on the shore.

This is a mental attack! It's called "Howl of the Abyss," and it can directly shatter an ordinary person's eardrums, turning their brain into mush.

Big Yellow lay on the ground in pain, covering its ears.

However, Jiang Li merely frowned and picked at his ear.

"What are you yelling about? Is your swim bladder leaking air?"

He only thought the fish's cry was a bit unpleasant, like fingernails scratching glass, making his teeth ache, but that was all.

"Get on here...!"

Jiang Li took a deep breath, and the power within him called "poverty" erupted.

For medical expenses! For tuition fees! For braised pork!

His arm muscles bulged, and with a sudden burst of power from his waist, he performed a powerful lift!

"boom!"

The water exploded, and a huge object was forcibly pulled out of the water, flew into the air, and then crashed heavily onto the muddy ground on the shore.

Big Yellow shrank back in fright.

That's not a fish at all.

It was a giant crab the size of a millstone, but its shell was covered with eyes that were still moving, and its two huge pincers were not pincers, but two pale, swollen human hands with sharp nails!

【Ghost Hand Crab】(D+ level abnormal creature).

This thing loves to use its two "hands" to drag people from the shore into the water and then tear them apart bit by bit.

At this moment, the demonic crab was waving its two enormous human hands, letting out angry roars, its dozens of eyes darting around, radiating an evil aura that drove people mad.

It stared at Jiang Li, preparing to launch a fatal attack.

However, Jiang Li put down his fishing rod and walked over.

He turned on his headlamp and shone it on the crab.

"Wow! A giant blue crab!"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up. "This must weigh over ten kilograms! We're rich! We're rich!"

In his vision, those eyeballs were automatically filtered into patterns on a crab shell, and those two terrifying human-handed pincers were seen as slightly deformed claws.

"These pliers look a bit strange, like chicken feet."

Jiang Li muttered to himself as he skillfully circled around to the back of the Demon Crab.

Enraged, the Demon Crab swung its human hand and grabbed at Jiang Li's ankle.

"You still dare to grab someone?"

Jiang Li's eyes turned cold. He raised his foot, which was wearing a worn-out sneaker, and kicked the outstretched hand.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

The ghostly hand that could easily snap steel pipes was actually broken by this kick, resulting in a bizarre reverse joint angle.

Crab: "???"

Before it could react, Jiang Li had already stepped on its carapace, pinning it firmly to the mud.

"These crabs are quite lively; they seem very fresh."

Jiang Li took out a bundle of nylon rope used for tying up express packages from his backpack and began tying the crabs with extremely professional technique.

"hiss--!!!"

The demon crab struggled frantically, spewing black poisonous mist from its mouthparts.

"Cough cough, what's that smell? It's so pungent!"

Jiang Li waved his hand, fanning away the toxic fumes that were corrosive to the skin. "The air quality at the beach is really bad; it's all fishy."

In no time at all, he tied the crab's two human hands and eight legs tightly, even making a pretty bow.

"Done!"

Jiang Li clapped his hands, picked up the tied-up demon crab, and weighed it in his hand.

"This portion is substantial! If you took it to the seafood market, it would probably sell for several thousand dollars!"

He also stuffed the magic crab into that magical snakeskin bag.

At this moment, the snakeskin bag was already crammed with three human-faced black fish and a ghost-handed demon crab.

Deep roars and sounds of fighting came from inside, clearly indicating that these guys weren't getting along very well.

"Stop hitting it! You'll break the scale if you keep hitting it!"

Jiang Li kicked the bag.

The bag fell silent instantly.

……

After packing his things, Jiang Li checked his phone.

It was already past 3 a.m.

"We should go now, or we'll miss the morning market."

Jiang Li carried the heavy snakeskin bag on his back; it represented the hopes of his family.

"Big Yellow, let's go! Let's go home!"

Big Yellow quickly scrambled to its feet and followed closely behind Jiang Li. It glanced at the snakeskin bag, its eyes filled with awe.

The man and his dog thus emerged from the fog-shrouded Blackwater Bay.

exit.

Old Zhang was wrapped in a military overcoat and dozing off in the bread cart.

Hearing footsteps, he suddenly woke up and grabbed the wrench next to him.

When he saw Jiang Li emerge from the mist, the wrench in his hand clattered to the ground.

"What the hell?!"

Old Zhang rubbed his eyes, as if he'd seen a ghost. "You...you made it out alive?"

"Uncle, what kind of talk is that? Are you hoping I'll die?"

Jiang Li put the snakeskin bag on the ground with a dull thud.

"Luckily, I got a full set of pets."

Old Zhang got out of the car shakily, walked up to Jiang Li, touched him up and down to make sure he was warm and not a ghost.

"You...you really went in? Didn't you encounter anything...strange?"

"Strange things?" Jiang Li thought for a moment, "Yes."

Old Zhang's heart tightened: "What happened?"

"I came across a stray dog. It looked like it had no hair, it was really ugly, and it ate random things." Jiang Li pointed to the big yellow dog at his feet.

Big Yellow obediently barked, "Woof!" (Mmuttering to himself)

Old Zhang glanced down at Big Yellow.

At this moment, in order to disguise itself, Da Huang had concealed all its aura and looked just like a mongrel dog with a skin disease, except that its eyes were a bit cold.

"That's...that's it?" Old Zhang was somewhat bewildered.

"And this too."

Jiang Li opened the snakeskin bag and showed it to Old Zhang like a treasure.

"Look at this crab, it's so big! But its claws are a bit deformed, I don't know if the purchasing station will accept it."

Using the car headlights, Lao Zhang glanced into the bag.

It came into direct view of a pale human face (a black fish) and a twitching human hand (a crab).

"Oh my god!!!"

Old Zhang let out a scream and sat down on the ground, scrambling backward.

"W-what...what is this thing?!"

"Seafood, huh?" Jiang Li said innocently. "Uncle, have you never seen anything like this? Deep-sea fish are all ugly because the deep sea is dark, so they all grow however they want."

Old Zhang's face was deathly pale, and his hand was trembling as he pointed at the bag.

Although he was just an ordinary driver, he had been working on the fringes of this industry for so long that he had heard some rumors.

This isn't seafood! This is clearly a source of pollution that the night watchmen are desperately trying to get rid of!

This kid... he actually put them in a snakeskin bag? And he's going to sell them?

"Uncle, are you alright?" Jiang Li asked with concern. "How about I share a fish with you to help you recover?"

"No! Don't come any closer!"

Old Zhang dodged him like the plague, saying, "Where...where are you going? I'll give you a ride! It's free! Get in the car!"

All he wants now is to get rid of this jinx.

"Let's go to the night market." Jiang Li tossed the bag into the car. "I heard that's where they get the highest price for black-backed crabs."

The so-called "night market" is actually an underground black market in Jianghai City, specializing in trading shady items and also an officially sanctioned recycling point for unusual items.

But in Jiang Li's eyes, it was just a slightly distant seafood wholesale market.

……

An hour later.

An abandoned old steel plant in the northern suburbs of Jianghai City.

The place was brightly lit, yet eerily quiet. People coming and going were all dressed in black robes or wearing masks, hurrying along.

Jiang Li, carrying a snakeskin bag and leading Big Yellow (tied with a found plastic rope), swaggered in.

"This market atmosphere is pretty mysterious, even with cosplay?"

Jiang Li muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the various stalls.

Some stalls displayed still-twitching eyeballs, others displayed yellow paper covered with talismans, and still others sold the bones of unknown creatures.

Jiang Li scoffed at this: "What kind of crap is this? It doesn't even look like proper seafood. Who would buy eyeballs to stir-fry? Doesn't it taste fishy?"

After searching around, he finally found a stall in a corner with a sign that read "High-price buyback of special creatures".

The shop owner was a fat man, and everyone called him "Fatty Wang." He was a notorious swindler in the area and a middleman who specialized in reselling unusual materials.

At this moment, Fatty Wang was examining a blood-stained fang with a magnifying glass.

"Boss, do you buy fish?"

A clear voice rang out.

Fatty Wang didn't even look up: "What kind of fish? No ordinary ones, it has to be something 'energetic'."

"Absolutely awesome! Just caught from Blackwater Bay, still alive!"

Jiang Li slammed the snakeskin bag onto the table.

"Bang!"

The table shook.

Upon hearing the words "Blackwater Bay," Fatty Wang immediately looked up and adjusted his sunglasses.

"Goods from Blackwater Bay? Young man, you look unfamiliar. Which gang are you from?"

"From the fishing trail." Jiang Li untied the bag. "Take a look for yourself, and give me a fair price."

Fatty Wang leaned over and looked inside.

next second.

"hiss--"

Inside the bag, three distorted human faces were emitting silent shrieks at him, while the giant demonic crab with its intact human hand was waving its hand, trying to grab Fatty Wang's nose.

A strong smell of pollution hit them, and Fatty Wang dropped the magnifying glass in fright.

"A human-faced fish?! A demon-hand crab?!"

Fatty Wang exclaimed in surprise, and cold sweat poured down his face instantly.

These are all Class C or even close to Class B dangerous materials! They usually need to be stored in professional sealed cases, and this kid... just used a tattered snakeskin bag?!

"How is it? Pretty good quality, right?"

Jiang Li looked at him with a smile, "This crab is big, it must have a lot of meat. This fish is also plump, look at its face... its head, so round."

Fatty Wang swallowed hard, looking at the smiling young man in front of him, and then at the bald dog next to him drooling over something in his shadow.

As a knowledgeable middleman, he instinctively sensed a great terror.

This guy is definitely a master strategist who's all show and no substance!

"I'll take it! I'll definitely take it!" Fatty Wang wiped his sweat, his voice trembling. "Um... young man, how much are you planning to sell it for?"

Jiang Li stretched out one hand and made a "five" gesture.

He originally wanted to say "five thousand each", since the official guide price was there.

But Fatty Wang saw it and interpreted it differently.

"Five hundred thousand?!"

Fatty Wang gritted his teeth. "It's a bit expensive, but this stuff is truly top-notch... Fine! 500,000 it is! I'll take it!"

"what?"

Jiang Li's hand froze in mid-air.

I meant to say five thousand...

Is this boss... not quite right in the head? Or is there a pearl inside this crab?

Jiang Li's heart was pounding, but on the surface he quickly composed himself and pretended to be calm.

"Well, the boss really knows his stuff. Five hundred thousand it is, deal!"

In his mind, however, he was screaming wildly: Holy crap! I'm rich! I have enough for my mother's surgery! I can even buy my sister an apartment!

This isn't Blackwater Bay; it's a treasure trove!

A fisherman never goes home empty-handed!