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

Antarctica, a desolate wasteland of ice and snow.

This is the coldest and most desolate place on Earth. Gale-force winds, carrying ice crystals, cut through the exposed rock like knives. Temperatures remain consistently below -50 or -60 degrees Celsius, or even lower.

In this desolate, white land, apart from the occasional penguin and seal, there is almost no sign of life.

However, today, this timeless tranquility has been shattered.

"Boom—Crack!!!"

With a tremendous cracking sound, a massive, jet-black, menacingly shaped ship, like a steel behemoth, smashed through the ice sheet several meters thick, carving out a channel in this frozen sea.

【Black Pearl - Polar Icebreaking Edition】.

To adapt to the Antarctic environment, Jiang Li made another major modification to the ship.

The ram at the bow was heated to several thousand degrees (using the waste heat from the antimatter reactor), instantly melting the ice in its path; the hull was covered with a thick layer of bio-oil (scraped from the deep-sea divers) to prevent icing; and on the deck, a huge transparent dome (similar to a greenhouse) was placed over it, making it warm and cozy inside.

"This is so cold! It must be minus eighty degrees Celsius outside!"

Jiang Li, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, stood on the deck under the dome, holding a freshly made iced dragon pearl milk tea in his hand. Looking at the snow and ice outside, he sighed with heartfelt emotion.

"If it weren't for this greenhouse, we'd all be frozen solid!"

Beside him, Professor Miller was wearing a thick down jacket (although it wasn't cold inside the dome, he felt cold psychologically), holding a notebook and frantically taking notes.

"Amazing...it's so amazing..."

Professor Miller muttered to himself, "Using waste heat generated by high-level abyssal energy cores to maintain the ecological cycle... this technology is simply ingenious! Although it looks a bit like burning boilers..."

"Old man, stop writing, look over there!"

Jiang Li suddenly pointed to the ice surface in the distance.

"Those are... a group of penguins?"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

On the ice floes not far away, a group of chubby, black-and-white creatures were wobbling along.

At first glance, it does indeed look like a penguin.

But if you look closely...

These "penguins" are a full two meters tall!

They have no eyes; their heads consist only of a large, sucker-like mouth filled with tiny teeth. Although their bodies are black and white, their skin is constantly wriggling and flowing, as if it were made of some kind of liquid.

【Shoggoth Mimicry Type (Polar Subspecies)】.

This is an extremely dangerous abyssal creature that has learned to disguise itself as local creatures in order to hunt in this cruel land (although the disguise is quite clumsy).

"My God! That's...that's a Blind Penguin? No! That's a Shoggoth!"

Professor Miller turned pale with fright. "They're the Elders' watchdogs! Extremely dangerous! Don't go near them!"

"Shoggoth?"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing the name.

"You mean... that kind of... 'Tai Sui meat'? Or 'liangfen' (a type of cold noodle)

He licked his lips. "I knew Antarctica had something good! This thing can even cosplay as a penguin? How interesting!"

"But... this thing is way too fat! It's even bigger than the one in the sewer last time! How many plates of cold dishes could you cut from that?"

Jiang Li rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Ergou! Stop the boat! No, stop the ship!"

"Let's go down and catch a few penguins! I think the weather's perfect for ice fishing!"

"Ice fishing?"

Everyone was taken aback.

"Yeah, right! How romantic would it be to dig a hole in the ice and fish these fat guys out!"

Jiang Li took out a specially made fishing rod from the warehouse.

This fishing rod is made from a little finger bone of the [Star Clan], making it incredibly hard. The fishing line is made from the tendon of the [Abyss Dragon], and the hook is made from the super-strong alloy of [Mi-Go].

This equipment is enough to catch not only penguins, but even aircraft carriers.

"Big Yellow! Come down with me!"

Jiang Li opened the hatch, and a biting cold wind instantly rushed in.

"Woof!" (It's so cold! It's freezing!)

Although Dahuang is a mythical creature, it was still frozen by the minus eighty degree Celsius temperature and quickly used its spiritual energy to protect itself.

Jiang Li, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected (his physique had made him completely immune to conventional environmental damage), jumped off the boat, and stepped onto the thick ice.

"Hey! You fat penguin over there! Look over here!"

Jiang Li waved at the group of monsters.

The mimicry Shoggoths that were mimicking their migration stopped in their tracks.

They have no eyes, but they sense the presence of prey through vibrations.

"Tekli-ri ...

The leading giant Shoggoth let out its signature cry, its body instantly liquefying, transforming from a "penguin" into a massive lump of black sludge, from which countless tentacles emerged and coiled towards Jiang Li.

"Oh? Showing its true form?"

Jiang Li laughed, "That's more like it! Why pretend to be cute? You look much more endearing as you are, like a lump of mud!"

He swung his fishing rod, and the hook, with a large piece of dragon meat attached, drew a graceful arc in the air before landing precisely in the middle of the muddy ground.

"Eat up! This is S-grade dragon meat! You're getting a good deal!"

The Shoggoth smelled the aroma of dragon meat and could hardly resist.

Its simple mind only had one thought: "eat".

"Glug!"

It swallowed the fishhook whole.

"Middle fish!"

Jiang Li shouted and suddenly swung the fishing rod.

"Buzz—"

The dragon's tendons were stretched straight.

The several-ton Shoggoth was actually pulled directly off the ice by this pole!

"Come here!"

Jiang Li flicked his wrist, and the huge ball of black jelly traced an arc in the air before crashing heavily in front of him.

"Tekli..."

Shoggoth was stunned by the fall.

Before it could react, Jiang Li had already rushed forward and pulled out a huge woven bag (also made of dragon skin).

"Come in, my giant jelly!"

He deftly stuffed the still-wriggling Shoggoth into the bag and tied it shut.

"Got one!"

Jiang Li looked at the remaining Shoggoths.

"What are you waiting for? Line up! Everyone gets a share!"

The remaining Shoggoths: "..."

Although they weren't very intelligent, they sensed that something was wrong.

This human... seems even more terrifying than that ancient being?

"Tekli!!!" (Run!)

These Antarctic predators instantly cowered, reverting to their muddy form and desperately trying to burrow into the ice crevices.

"Hey? Don't run away!"

Jiang Li panicked, "Dahuang! Block that hole! Don't let them escape!"

"Woof!"

Big Yellow rushed over and plopped down on the largest ice crevice, blocking the way completely.

The next half hour became Jiang Li's one-sided "stock purchase" time.

Everyone on the ship watched this scene through the glass and fell silent.

"professor……"

Liu Wei swallowed hard and asked Miller beside him, "Is...is this also part of archaeology?"

Professor Miller pushed up his glasses, his pen trembling.

"This...this is 'physical archaeology'...he's studying the food chain here by...uh, by capturing local native species..."

He simply couldn't make up any more stories.

This is practically catching jelly!

……

After capturing more than a dozen Shoggoths, Jiang Li finally stopped.

It's not that I don't want to catch them, it's that the bag is full.

"Alright, that's today's appetizer."

Jiang Li threw a bunch of bags onto the boat and clapped his hands.

"Next, let's go check out that 'Crazy Mountains' place."

He pointed to the towering, dark mountain range in the distance.

The mountain range is tens of thousands of meters high, even higher than the Himalayas, and is shrouded in black storms all year round.

That place is the ruins of the city of the Ancients.

"Grandpa Wang said there are 'sea cucumbers' (ancient ones) in there."

Jiang Li licked her lips. "I hope there's more. I'm not a picky eater."

……

The Black Pearl continued its journey, sailing into the foot of the black mountain range that even demons dared not tread.

The wind is stronger and colder here.

A strange whistling sound filled the air, like the weeping of countless wronged souls.

"Something is wrong here."

Ao Bing stood at the bow of the ship, his expression solemn. "The spatial structure here is very chaotic, and... there is a strong mental interference."

"Interference? You mean hallucinations?"

Jiang Li didn't take it seriously. "It's alright, I have experience. If anyone feels dizzy, just smell my jar."

He pointed to the [Screaming Pot] placed on the deck.

Everyone: "..."

They would rather face spiritual pollution than that jar.

The ship sailed into the entrance of a huge ice cave.

This is the passageway leading to the underground city.

As soon as we entered, the surrounding ice walls glowed with an eerie phosphorescence.

By the light, everyone could see what was frozen inside the ice wall.

They were enormous, starfish-shaped creatures. They had five-pointed star-shaped heads, barrel-shaped bodies, and tentacles like crinoids.

The Elder Things.

Although they have been frozen for hundreds of millions of years, they are still lifelike, and some of their eyeballs are even moving.

"Wow! It really is a sea cucumber!"

Jiang Li leaned against the gunwale, his eyes shining.

"And this sea cucumber is this big! How many years must it have taken to ripen?"

"If I took this home and stir-fried it with scallions... tsk tsk tsk, the taste would be amazing!"

He took out an ice axe.

"Stop the car! Stop the car! I need to dig for sea cucumbers!"

Professor Miller is going crazy.

"Boss! Those are ancient beings! They might not be dead yet! They are intelligent!"

"It would be even better to have wisdom!"

Jiang Li didn't even turn her head. "It means it's good for your brain! Eating it will make you smarter!"

"Snap!"

With one swing of his pickaxe, he broke through a block of ice and unearthed an ancient being that was sleeping (playing dead).

The ancient being: "..."

It slept in the ice for hundreds of millions of years, escaping the Shoggoth rebellion, the Ice Age, and countless calamities.

And today, a human dug it up thinking it was a sea cucumber?

"Squeak—!!!" (Let me go! I am from a higher civilization!)

The ancient being emitted a piercing flute sound and brandished its tentacles, attempting to attack.

"Snapped!"

Jiang Li slapped it to the ground with his backhand.

"What are you doing, moving around so much? It's not even in the pot yet!"

He held the old man down and skillfully tied him up with a rope.

"This one looks quite plump; I'll keep it for sashimi."

The ancient man: "..."

Looking at the human before it, who exuded an aura even more ancient and terrifying than their own, it suddenly felt...

Why does this world feel so unfamiliar?

"Brothers! Let's get to work! This place is full of sea cucumbers! Dig up as many as you can!"

Jiang Li's shouts echoed in the empty ice cave.

An activity called "archaeology," but which was actually "digging for wild vegetables (sea cucumbers)," unfolded in great enthusiasm deep underground in the Crazy Mountains.