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

The Devil's Triangle, on the deck of the Black Pearl.

Hot oil churns in a large iron pot with a diameter of two meters, making a "bubbling" sound, which is the whisper of death, but also a blessing for diners.

The dozens of "Mi-Go" (alien fungal organisms) bound together like dumplings were now lined up, awaiting their fate. Each of their spherical heads, covered in compound eyes, was filled with despair.

As a highly intelligent race capable of interstellar travel, they never imagined that one day they would end their lives in this way—becoming a street food on Earth.

"Come on, let's prepare the ingredients!"

Jiang Li held the still-sharp butcher knife in his hand, looking like an experienced street food stall owner.

"The shells of these 'flying shrimp' are a bit hard; you have to crack them open first so they can absorb the flavor. And these wings—there's no meat, just skin; you have to cut them off."

He grabbed Migo, who was still desperately trying to resist with his telekinesis, and skillfully pressed him onto the cutting board.

"Buzz—!!!" (Let me go! I'm an inspector from Yugos!)

Mi Goh emitted a piercing, vibrating sound.

"What's all that yelling about? So energetic! Looks like the meat must be really bouncy!"

Jiang Li raised his knife and brought it down.

"Snap!"

The pair of membrane wings, capable of gliding in the etheric vacuum, were severed at the root.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Li used the back of his knife to slap its carapace several times, cracking its chitinous exoskeleton, which was capable of withstanding cosmic rays.

"thump!"

The prepared shrimp were thrown into boiling oil.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The fragrance that burst forth in that instant was simply defying the laws of physics.

It was the unique aroma of fungal organisms, mixed with the smoky scent of oil, and then combined with Jiang Li's special "Soul Chili Noodles" (made from chili peppers ground from the crater of the abyss), creating an olfactory storm that could directly impact the cerebral cortex.

"Holy crap! This smells amazing!"

Wang Ergou, who was tending the fire, drooled all over the ground. Even the vengeful spirit in the [Nine Nether Soul Refining Furnace] couldn't help but stick its head out to take a couple of breaths of the fragrance before shrinking back in with a look of pure bliss.

Jiang Li was holding a large iron shovel (originally used for shoveling coal) and stirring it back and forth in the pot.

"Add more numbing! Add more spice! This stuff needs a strong flavor to mask the fishy smell!"

He grabbed a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies and threw them into the pot as if they were free.

The red oil is bubbling and steaming hot.

Those originally pink alien creatures quickly turned into an alluring bright red under the high temperature, their shells cracking open to reveal the snow-white, jade-like...mycelial flesh inside.

"That's about it! Pour the beer!"

Jiang Li gave the order.

Several believers immediately brought over several cases of century-old rum (which was very strong) that they had looted from the ghost ship, and poured them into the pot.

"boom!"

Flames shot up three meters high.

The aroma of wine mingled with the scent of meat, completely permeating the entire Devil's Triangle area.

Even the deep-sea monsters that were originally restless in the sea were so frightened by the scent that carried the aura of "god-slaying" that they tucked their tails between their legs and fled far away.

Ten minutes later.

"It's done cooking!"

Jiang Li used a large strainer to scoop out a large bowl of "spicy crayfish" and placed it on the table in the center of the deck.

"Brothers! Let's get started!"

"roar!!!"

The hungry believers, whose eyes were practically glowing with hunger, swarmed forward.

Wang Ergou snatched the biggest one (the leader-level), and ignoring the fact that it was scalding hot, he took a bite right away.

"Snap!"

The crispy shell crumbles, followed by the tender, juicy meat. The texture is both springy like shrimp and smooth like mushrooms, and when combined with the spicy and savory broth, it's so delicious you'll want to swallow your tongue.

"Waaaah...it's so delicious!"

Wang Ergou was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.

As the meat entered his stomach, a strange energy began to spread throughout his body.

[Ding! Having consumed the flesh and blood of an advanced alien being, you have gained the temporary abilities: Low-altitude flight (lasts 24 hours), and Mental Strength Enhancement +10.]

Wang Ergou felt a slight itch on his back, as if something was about to grow out. His mind suddenly became exceptionally clear, and he could now understand those abyss incantations that he couldn't comprehend before without any instruction!

"Captain! I think I've evolved again!"

Wang Ergou shouted excitedly, and his body actually slowly floated up, half a meter off the ground.

"Stop getting cocky! Just eat properly! What are you showing off for?"

Jiang Li knocked Wang Ergou down with a chopstick. "Get down on your feet! Don't you understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wang Ergou quickly landed and continued to eat voraciously.

On the other side, Liu Wei (Thousand-Faced Ghost) was also eating.

He initially refused.

As an A-rank powerhouse and a high-ranking officer of the Abyss, he knew exactly what these Mi-Gos were. They were indescribable messengers! To eat them? That would incur a curse!

But... it smells so good!

He watched as Big Yellow ate with great relish, even chewing up and swallowing the shell, and finally couldn't resist taking a small bite.

And then I couldn't stop.

"This taste...this energy...it seems my mimicry ability is mutating?"

Liu Wei stared at his hands in shock. His skin could change color like a chameleon, and he could even perfectly mimic the aura of a stone!

"Following this madman... seems like there might actually be a future in it?"

Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like weeds.

……

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal.

The sky above suddenly darkened.

The originally hazy clouds seemed to have been torn apart by an invisible hand, revealing a pitch-black void.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribably enormous object slowly descended from the void.

It was a huge, multifaceted metal fortress with an eerie shimmering light on its surface. Countless enormous metal tentacles hung down from below, like an inverted mountain or a giant beehive.

[Mi-Go's Outpost - Mobile Fortress] (A+ Tier War Weapon)!

This is the main base of these alien creatures in this dimension, and also their base for mining ores and conducting live experiments.

They sensed the large number of deaths in their colony and the provocative smell of barbecue, and descended in anger!

"Buzz—"

A deep humming sound resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

A huge holographic projection appeared in mid-air, an enlarged version of Chief Mi-Go, staring intently at the Black Pearl below with its compound eyes, emitting angry radio signals (though Jiang Li couldn't understand them).

"Inferior creatures...daring to devour the citizens of a superior civilization...Destroy them! They must be destroyed!"

With its roar, hundreds of plasma cannons at the bottom of the fortress simultaneously charged, aiming at the small boat that looked like a toy in front of it.

The terrifying energy fluctuations caused the surrounding seawater to boil and evaporate.

The believers on the ship were so frightened that they dropped their chopsticks.

"Holy crap! What's that? An alien spaceship?!"

"We're doomed! This thing is huge, we're definitely going to die this time!"

Wang Ergou's legs cramped up, and he couldn't even hold onto the shrimp claws properly.

Liu Wei's face turned deathly pale. This was an A+ grade war fortress! One shot from it would vaporize the entire sea area!

Only Jiang Li.

He was sucking the roe out of a shrimp by the head when he heard the noise and looked up.

Then, he frowned, a look of extreme displeasure on his face.

"Who is this? So inconsiderate!"

Jiang Li pointed at the fortress in the sky, looking disgusted.

"Building illegal structures at sea? And putting a shed on top of people's heads? Not only does it block the light, but what if a part falls and hits someone?"

In his eyes, this was not an alien fortress at all.

Instead, it is a huge, bizarrely shaped, floating "offshore drilling platform" or an "illegally constructed castle in the air".

Moreover, those protruding cannon barrels looked to him like sewage pipes, right in front of his dining table!

"This is outrageous! Are they trying to shit on our heads?!"

Jiang Li was furious.

Being disturbed while eating is one of the things he can't tolerate the most (second only to not paying back debts).

"Big Yellow! Stop eating! Go and tear down that illegal building!"

Jiang Li kicked Big Yellow's butt, which was engrossed in eating.

Big Yellow: "Waaah..." (Master, that's too big, my teeth aren't good enough, I can't chew it!)

Although Big Yellow is a time-space hunting dog, it is still a little scared when facing this technologically advanced fortress with maxed-out physical defenses.

"Useless! What's the point of keeping you around? I have to do everything myself!"

Jiang Li cursed him in exasperation.

He stood up, wiped the oil off his hands, and walked to the towering Star Pole (flagpole) at the bow of the ship.

"Old Liu! You know how to fire a cannon, right?"

Jiang Li turned to look at Liu Wei.

"Huh? I...I know a little," Liu Wei stammered.

"What are you waiting for? Blow it away! I don't like those pipes of its, break them!"

"this……"

Liu Wei looked at the dense array of plasma cannons in the sky, then at the lone psionic main cannon on the bow of his ship.

Isn't this firepower difference a bit too big?

"What are you afraid of? We have a secret weapon!"

Jiang Li patted the giant black pillar beside him.

"Ergou! Come help! Connect this pillar to the cannon!"

"Huh? How do I connect?" Wang Ergou was dumbfounded.

"Idiot! Tie it up with chains! Don't you know about electricity? This pillar is electrified (by stellar energy), it can power the cannon!"

Jiang Li's logic is utterly nonsensical from a physics perspective, but from a mystical perspective...

The moment several thick iron chains connected the Pillar of Stars to the psionic main cannon at the bow of the ship.

"Buzz—!!!"

A devastating wave erupted instantly!

The red patterns on the pillar of stars suddenly lit up, like flowing magma, surging wildly into the main cannon along the iron chains.

The cannon barrel, which was originally only two meters long, began to groan in pain under the infusion of this enormous energy. The space around the muzzle began to crack and flash with black lightning.

This is... [Star Destruction Cannon] (fake)!

Jiang Li forcibly infused the power of an A-level mythical creature into this B-level weapon!

"Old Liu! Aim at that largest shed (the core control room)! Fire!!!"

Jiang Li gave the order.

With trembling hands, Liu Wei pressed the launch button.

"boom----!!!"

A jet-black beam of light, over ten meters in diameter, interspersed with dark red lightning and carrying the power of rules to shatter everything, shot out from the bow of the Black Pearl!

The beam of light moved faster than light and shadow, piercing through the heavens and earth almost instantly upon its launch!

Before the Mi-Go Fortress in the sky could even fire, it was struck squarely in the bullseye by this terrifying beam of light.

"Sizzle—Bang!!!"

There was no explosion.

Only annihilation.

The seemingly indestructible energy shield shattered like a soap bubble, and the thick alloy armor melted away like paper.

The beam of light pierced straight through the entire fortress, entering from the bottom and exiting from the top, making a clean cut through it!

"Boom!"

The massive fortress let out a mournful cry as its internal structure collapsed instantly, sending countless parts and fragments raining down like a meteor shower.

"Good! That was a precise shot! That's what you call precision demolition!"

Jiang Li clapped his hands and cheered, "See? This is what happens when you build something illegally!"

The people on the ship were dumbfounded.

One shot... destroyed an A+ grade alien fortress?!

Is this a fishing boat?! This is clearly a Star Destroyer!

But Jiang Li wasn't done yet.

His eyes lit up again as he looked at the massive, crumbling fortress that was sinking into the sea.

"Hey? Wait! That thing fell down!"

"There must be a lot of good stuff up there! Those pipes (cannon barrels) look pretty thick; they're made of good steel! And those glittering glass pieces (energy crystals) look valuable too!"

"Big Yellow! Second Dog! Don't just stand there! Get ready to board the ship... no, get ready to land on the island!"

"Let's go scavenging... I mean, let's go recycling!"

Jiang Li was as excited as a scavenger who had found gold in a garbage dump.

"Old Liu! Drive the boat over there! Catch it!"

Liu Wei: "..."

Catch it?

That thing is a hundred times bigger than our ship! If it crashes down, we'll be turned into mincemeat!

But seeing the unwavering look in Jiang Li's eyes, Liu Wei could only steer the boat past with tears in his eyes.

"boom!!!"

The ruined fortress crashed onto the sea, creating a hundred-meter-high wave.

The Black Pearl tossed about like a leaf in the giant waves, but thanks to the powerful output of its engine, it managed to stay afloat.

Before the waves subsided, Jiang Li, carrying Da Huang, threw out the grappling hook and jumped onto the still-smoking metal ruins.

……

Inside the fortress, everything was in a mess.

Sparks flew everywhere and green slime clung to the ground as the surviving Mi-Gos wailed amidst the ruins.

Jiang Li walked down the corridor as if he were strolling through his own backyard.

"Tsk tsk, this decor is so cold and austere, it's all sheet metal."

As he walked, he casually broke off a few pieces of metal (high-strength alloy) that looked good and stuffed them into his bag.

"Rhubarb, smell around, there's something good there."

Big Yellow's nose twitched, leading Jiang Li into a secret room.

Inside the sealed room, hundreds of transparent metal cylinders were neatly arranged.

Inside each cylinder, a vibrant brain was submerged, covered with tubes, and still pulsating slightly.

These are the brains of intelligent beings collected by Migo from various planets, also known as the "Brain in a Vat".

Holy crap!

Jiang Li was startled.

"What...what is this? Pickled vegetables?"

He leaned closer to examine one of the cylinders.

"This thing looks like... pig brain? Or a walnut kernel?"

"So many pig brains... how many hot pot meals would that be enough for?"

Jiang Li frowned, looking disgusted.

"But this thing doesn't look fresh either. It's all turned white from being soaked. It must have been sitting for a long time. It's all zombie meat."

"Huh? This jar is different."

He noticed that the central cylinder was larger than the others and was flashing red light, suggesting it was a high-end item.

That's the brain of the great scientist Miguel Gor! It possesses intelligence and technological knowledge far surpassing that of humans!

The brain sensed Jiang Li's approach and emitted a synthesized electronic voice through the connected speaker:

"Foolish carbon-based life form... Don't touch me... I am great..."

"Oh? It can talk? A smart speaker?"

Jiang Li was delighted.

"This design is quite futuristic; it's a speaker shaped like a brain flower? Interesting."

He patted the cylinder.

"Hey, Xiaodu, play me 'Good Luck'!"

brain:"……"

"I'm not Xiaodu! I am..."

"This isn't smart at all; it can't even play music."

Jiang Li pursed his lips, "Forget it, let's take it back and take it apart to see if there are any chips inside, or let's make it into a decoration for Xiaoyu, it looks quite intriguing."

He picked up the cylinder and stuffed it into his backpack.

"Forget about the rest, they're disgusting to look at. Let's smash them all, so they don't become a nuisance."

Jiang Li swung the steel pipe and smashed it wildly, shattering all the remaining hundreds of cylinders.

Those brains, once removed from the nutrient solution, quickly withered and died.

"All done, that's a wrap!"

Jiang Li clapped his hands and left the fortress with satisfaction.

This trip not only resulted in a good meal, but also a pile of scrap metal and a "smart speaker"—a huge win!

The fortress, having lost its core control, eventually sank slowly into the endless seabed with a muffled explosion, becoming true underwater debris.