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

Jianghai City, Old Town Hardware and Building Materials Market.

This place is a gathering place for all kinds of construction workers, contractors and craftsmen, and the air is filled with the smells of machine oil, rust and sawdust.

In a shop called "Dali Hardware", the owner was looking at the young man in front of him with a look of horror.

"Young man...are you sure you want to buy these things...to go fishing?"

The shopkeeper swallowed hard and pointed to a pile of intimidating metal products on the counter.

One hundred meters of aviation-grade steel wire rope with a diameter of 5 mm, two gleaming pig-slaughtering knives, a large pulley system for lifting, and several large S-shaped meat hooks made of fine steel that were originally used to hang live pigs.

This doesn't look like fishing gear at all.

This is clearly a dismemberment kit used by a serial killer!

"Hey, fishing."

Jiang Li nodded matter-of-factly, then picked up the large meat hook and weighed it in his hand. "Boss, is this hook any hard enough? I don't want it to break when the fish bite it off."

The shopkeeper's lips twitched: "Young man, this hook can hold a 300-pound pig without breaking, what kind of fish could bite it in half? A shark?"

"Pretty much, anyway, it's pretty powerful."

Jiang Li still felt lingering fear when he recalled the incredibly strong Ghost Hand Crab from last night.

Last night, that 9.9 yuan fishing rod was sturdy enough, but it could only handle D-grade fish. If it really encountered a big one, like the legendary "lanternfish" that can sell for a million, it would definitely break.

If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

Jiang Li is a pragmatist.

Professional deep-sea fishing gear can easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, which he can't afford.

But things are cheaper in hardware stores!

This steel wire rope is much stronger than any PE or carbon fiber wire, and it only costs two yuan per meter!

These meat hooks, once sharpened, become top-grade large fishhooks, costing ten yuan each!

"Um... how much is it in total?"

"That'll be three hundred in total." The shopkeeper just wanted to get rid of this customer who seemed to be a psychopathic killer as soon as possible.

"Okay, it's been scanned."

Jiang Li paid the money readily, slung the steel cable over his shoulder, tucked the meat hook into his waistband, and carried a butcher's knife (used to cut fish bait) in his hand, swaggering out of the hardware store.

Pedestrians on the roadside quickly moved aside, their eyes filled with fear.

Big Yellow followed behind, looking at its owner in his "heavy armor" with eyes full of admiration.

As expected of an Old One!

These primitive weapons, brimming with a murderous aura, are the greatest respect one can show to the creatures of the abyss! Using those fancy carbon fiber rods is simply effeminate!

"Big Yellow, let's go buy some more 'feeding material'."

Jiang Li spotted a butcher shop selling pig offal ahead.

Having heard that rotting entrails have a deadly attraction to deep-sea monsters, Jiang Li decided to try the "heavy-taste" baiting method tonight.

……

Meanwhile, Jianghai University.

Night had fallen, and the streetlights on campus were dim.

Jiang Xiaoyu, clutching her new phone, hummed a song as she walked back to her dorm. This path was usually quiet, and with two streetlights broken, it felt especially secluded.

"Dude, you're such a spendthrift... But this phone is really good, the photos are so clear."

She looked down at the photo on her phone screen; it was a picture of her and her brother that she had just taken.

In the photo, Jiang Li is smiling brightly, while the big yellow dog at her feet is rolling its eyes (actually, it's keeping watch on its surroundings).

Sudden.

A cold wind blew from behind, and Jiang Xiaoyu couldn't help but shiver.

"Why did it suddenly get cold?"

She tightened her collar and quickened her pace.

But she didn't notice that in the shadow beneath her feet, a mass of matter darker than the night was slowly writhing, like a pool of viscous asphalt, and gradually rising to its feet.

Shadow Demon, a strange creature born in the darkness.

They have no physical form and can only exist in the shadows, and they love to devour the fear and vitality of young women.

"Hiss..."

A faint friction sound arose, like a snake crawling.

Jiang Xiaoyu stopped and looked back in confusion.

Behind me was nothing but empty space, with only the swaying shadows of trees.

"Strange, I clearly sensed someone was there..."

She felt a little uneasy and turned around to run back to her dormitory.

However, the moment she turned around, a pitch-black face with no features but only a gaping mouth suddenly appeared in front of her, less than five centimeters from the tip of her nose!

"ah--!!!"

Jiang Xiaoyu let out a scream, and her phone fell to the ground with a "thud".

"The taste of deliciousness...and fear..."

A hoarse, piercing sound came from the shadows, and countless black tentacles stretched out from the shadows, instantly binding Jiang Xiaoyu's hands and feet and dragging her towards a dark corner.

"Help! Help me!"

Jiang Xiaoyu struggled desperately, but those tentacles were cold and slippery, and incredibly strong, making it impossible for her to break free.

Just as the Shadow Demon opened its mouth wide, preparing to enjoy this feast.

"Zheng—!"

A sharp, cold light pierced the night sky.

A long blade, imbued with extreme cold and frost, descended from the sky and precisely struck the black tentacles.

"Sizzle!"

Like a red-hot iron block thrown into ice water, the black tentacles were instantly frozen and then shattered into countless ice shards.

"You beast! How dare you commit violence at school!"

A delicate shout rang out.

Su Qingge leaped down from the treetop, her black trench coat fluttering in the wind, and the long knife in her hand radiating a chilling aura.

She originally came to investigate Jiang Li's background, but unexpectedly stumbled upon this scene.

"The Night's Watch?!"

The Shadow Demon let out a venomous roar, its body instantly turning into a puddle of liquid, skimming along the ground as it tried to escape back into the shadows of the sewers.

"Trying to run? Freeze!"

Su Qingge stomped her foot on the ground, and a pale blue ice domain instantly spread out from her, freezing the ground within a ten-meter radius.

The Shadow Demon slowed down, but being an invisible entity, it managed to emerge from the ice crevice and reform, albeit smaller.

Knowing it couldn't defeat this S-class human, it turned its crimson eyes back to Jiang Xiaoyu, who was huddled in the corner.

Once it swallows the girl and replenishes its energy, it can use "Shadow Cloak" to escape!

"Die!"

The Shadow Demon suddenly sprang into action, ignoring Su Qingge's attacks. Risking having half its body severed, it transformed into a black spike and pierced straight into Jiang Xiaoyu's heart!

"not good!"

Su Qingge's expression changed drastically.

The distance was too great! Moreover, the Shadow Demon's speed exploded to its limit at that moment, and her blade simply couldn't keep up!

"don't want--!!!"

Su Qingge cried out in despair.

Jiang Xiaoyu stared at the black spike piercing her heart, her mind blank. She could only instinctively close her eyes and hug her shoulders.

In that very instant.

Just as the black spikes were about to pierce Jiang Xiaoyu's clothes.

A faint, almost imperceptible golden light suddenly shone on the spot on Jiang Xiaoyu's shoulder where Jiang Li had patted her.

That wasn't magic, nor was it psionic power.

That's a rule.

A domineering rule from a higher dimension, called the "Protection of the Abyss Angler".

In Jiang Li's mind, he was the older brother, and it was only natural for an older brother to protect his younger sister.

So when he patted his sister on the shoulder twice, even though he just wanted to say "study hard," from the perspective of "The Abyss," it was like labeling his possessions as "inviolable."

[Warning: Low-level defilement detected attempting to touch "Only Family Member"]

[Decision: Clear]

There was no sound.

The menacing black spike, upon touching the pale golden light, was like snow meeting the blazing sun.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The Shadow Demon didn't even have time to scream.

Its body was annihilated inch by inch, starting from its tip.

It wasn't cut off, nor burned, but rather "erased" directly from this world.

It's as clean as erasing pencil marks with an eraser.

Less than a second.

The once arrogant and domineering Shadow Demon vanished without a trace, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

Only a lingering trace of fear in the air proves that it once existed.

"..."

A deathly silence.

Su Qingge remained frozen in place, her sword-wielding posture unchanged. Her usually cold eyes were now wide open, filled with unbelievable shock.

What did she see?

That shadow demon... is gone?

No, it was "eaten" by that light?

She slowly sheathed her knife, her gaze falling on Jiang Xiaoyu, who was still trembling.

"Such a powerful protective spell..."

Su Qingge took a deep breath, forcibly calming her wildly beating heart. "No, that's not a protective spell, it's the mark of 'God'."

Only true gods, or great beings close to gods, can casually set up such a defense that contains the "law of causality".

Touch it and you will die!

"Who are you?"

Su Qingge walked up to Jiang Xiaoyu, her voice as gentle as possible, "It's alright, the monster is dead."

Jiang Xiaoyu opened her eyes tremblingly, saw the beautiful older sister in front of her, and then looked at the empty surroundings. She burst into tears.

"Waaaaah... I was so scared... Was that a ghost?"

"It's alright, it's alright."

Su Qingge took off her coat and draped it over Jiang Xiaoyu's shoulders, but her gaze inadvertently swept over Jiang Xiaoyu's shoulder.

There lingered a terrifying aura that made her soul tremble.

This aura is exactly the same as the mysterious powerful figure she sensed in Blackwater Bay!

"Do you know Jiang Li?" Su Qingge suddenly asked.

"Jiang Li? That's my brother," Jiang Xiaoyu replied, sobbing.

"really……"

A storm raged in Su Qingge's heart.

The mysterious, powerful man fishing in Blackwater Bay was actually her brother!

Moreover, he doted on this younger sister to an extreme degree, even leaving her with a "divine protection" that was powerful enough to instantly kill a C-level evil spirit.

"What does your brother do?" Su Qingge asked tentatively.

"My brother... he's... a fishing consultant."

Jiang Xiaoyu wiped away her tears and honestly said, "I catch seafood specifically for the big boss."

Su Qingge: "..."

Fishing consultant?

Whose fishing consultant can effortlessly annihilate the Shadow Demon? Whose seafood consists of strange fish with human faces?

In an instant, Su Qingge's mind conjured up a whole drama:

A reclusive and unparalleled expert, in order to allow his younger sister to live an ordinary life, willingly disguised himself as an ordinary fisherman, fishing for indescribable monsters in the forbidden sea, just to earn a meager living to support his family.

What kind of spirit is this?

This is boundless love!

Su Qingge looked at the innocent girl in front of her, her eyes becoming somewhat complicated, even carrying a hint of awe.

Is this the boss's sister? Or is she "God's retinue"?

"Um... Sister, are you a police officer?" Jiang Xiaoyu asked cautiously.

I guess so.

Su Qingge took out her phone. "It's so late, let me take you back to your dorm. By the way, don't tell your brother about this, so he won't worry."

"Yeah, I won't tell. If my brother finds out I was almost eaten by a ghost, he definitely won't let me go to school."

Su Qingge gave a bitter smile.

If your brother found out, the entire underworld of Jianghai City would probably be wiped out...

……

"Achoo!"

Jiang Li sneezed violently while on her way to the night market.

"Damn it, who's talking about me? Could it be that swindler, Fatty Wang, trying to renege on his debt?"

Jiang Li rubbed his nose and glanced at the large bag of pig lungs and pig intestines he was carrying. The smell was so strong that even Da Huang kept a distance of three meters from him in disgust.

"Big Yellow, hurry up! Let's go do something big tonight!"

Jiang Li tightened the steel cable on his shoulders, his eyes burning with fervor.

"I heard there's a kind of 'electric eel' (actually a lightning elemental lord) in the Misty Sea, its whole body is electrified. If I could catch one, I could save on my electricity bill!"

Big Yellow rolled its eyes (if it had any whites).

Master, are you trying to save on electricity bills? You're probably trying to undergo a tribulation!

The man and his dog once again ventured into the depths of the night, heading towards the more dangerous and terrifying forbidden zone of the abyss.