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

The wind and waves in the Devil's Reef area are gradually subsiding.

The enormous abyssal anglerfish floated on the sea like a small island, its white belly turned up. Jiang Li held the severed "lantern" tightly in his arms, emitting a faint blue light that illuminated his face, which was covered in fish blood but still beaming with joy.

"Big Yellow! Look at these beads, how bright they are! If we took them home and used them as a table lamp, we wouldn't have to pay the electricity bill for ten years!"

Jiang Li wiped the sticky substance off the lantern with his sleeve, growing more and more fond of it. It felt soft to the touch, somewhat like silicone, but the luminous object inside was hard as a rock—it was definitely a gemstone.

Big Yellow lay on the rocks, looking at its owner with a look of utter despair.

That's the [Eye of the Abyss Watcher]! It's the organ this C-rank evil beast uses to lure prey and unleash its death ray! It's filled with high concentrations of radiation and mental pollution; an ordinary person would go blind just by looking at it, and you actually want to use it as a lamp?!

"Oh dear, this fish is too big, how are we going to get it back?"

Jiang Li stared at the strange fish on the sea surface, which was bigger than a bread cart, and was puzzled.

Just then, the sound of a motor came from inside.

The black speedboat in the distance, which had been lying in wait with its engine off, seemed to be trying to slip away quietly.

Shark, the captain of the "Deep Sea Hunter" team, just wanted to get out of this dangerous place as quickly as possible. He had witnessed firsthand how this incredible man had single-handedly taken on a giant abyss beast—a feat beyond human capabilities!

"Quick! Start the engine! Get out of here!" the shark roared in a low voice.

"Hey! You over there, buddy!"

Suddenly, a voice full of "enthusiasm" rang out in the night sky.

Jiang Li stood atop the highest point of the reef, brandishing his gleaming butcher's knife, and shouted at the speedboat, "Don't go! Help me out!"

The shark froze, its vest instantly soaked with cold sweat.

"Captain...he...he's spotted us!" The team member's voice trembled with tears. "He's still swinging his knife! If we don't stop, will he come at us?"

The shark glanced back.

The man, covered in blood, was holding an evil sphere emitting an eerie blue light in one hand and a still-dripping pig-slaughtering knife in the other. He had a "nuclearly benevolent" smile on his face, and a terrifying hound from another dimension was lying at his feet.

This scene is more terrifying than any horror movie.

"He...he's summoning us." Shark swallowed hard, closing his eyes in despair. "If we run, that dog will probably catch up and tear us to pieces in an instant. Let's go...and hear what the boss has to say. Maybe we can at least leave with a whole corpse."

The speedboat turned around and cautiously approached.

……

"Oh, thank you so much! I knew the fishermen in Jianghai City were the most kind-hearted!"

Jiang Li jumped onto the speedboat, plopped down on the leather sofa, and casually patted Shark's stiff shoulder.

"Hey bro, this boat's pretty good. It's been modified, right? The engine sounds really powerful, like a tractor."

shark:"……"

What the hell are fishermen?! What the hell are tractors?!

This is a tactical assault boat worth three million! The psionic engine alone is enough to buy a hundred tractors!

But he dared not refute, and could only force a smile that was more like a grimace: "I'm glad... Big Brother likes it."

"Hey, could you help me haul this fish back? I'll pay for the gas."

Jiang Li pointed to the monkfish carcass on the sea surface.

"No problem! It's our pleasure to serve you!" The shark didn't dare to ask for money and quickly directed his team to attach the tow hook.

Several fully armed mercenaries, like obedient porters, hurriedly secured the C-level evil beast to the stern of the ship.

"Let's go! To the dock at the scrap metal yard in the northern suburbs!" Jiang Li waved his hand with high spirits.

The speedboat started up, dragging the huge, monstrous fish carcass, cutting through the waves.

Jiang Li sat at the stern of the boat, holding "Big Pearl" in his arms, in a great mood.

He observed that although these "fishermen" looked fierce (with scars on their faces), they were actually quite nice people. It must have been tough for them to make a living at sea late at night.

"Brothers, I see you've been working really hard. Here's what we'll do: I can't finish this fish, and sharing it with you is out of the question, but I can give you some meat to try."

As Jiang Li spoke, he picked up the pig-slaughtering knife and walked to the anglerfish at the stern of the boat.

"Sizzle—"

He skillfully cut off a large piece of fish meat weighing twenty or thirty pounds. It was "live meat" near the fins, with clear texture and a faint black glow.

"Take it! Don't be shy! Take it home and make soup; it'll be very nourishing!"

Jiang Li threw the still-wriggling piece of meat into the shark's arms.

The shark frantically caught it, only to feel a sudden weight in its hand, followed by a surge of intense, almost suffocating, psionic energy.

[Essence of the Abyss Lord's Flesh and Blood] (Grade B Material)!

This stuff... if an ordinary person ate it, they would instantly mutate into a monster. But for an Awakened One, it's a top-tier enhancement potion! Although the side effects are severe (sanity loss), if handled properly, this piece of meat is enough to allow a D-rank Awakened One to break through to C-rank!

On the black market, such a large piece of high-purity abyssal flesh could fetch at least 500,000!

"This...this is too valuable..." The shark's voice trembled.

What does this mean, sir?

A reward? Or a test?

Do they want to recruit us?

"What's so valuable about it? This stuff is very fishy, ​​remember to add plenty of ginger and cooking wine."

Jiang Li waved his hand dismissively, "I don't think there's much good meat on this fish, this is the only piece that looks decent. Just don't mind it."

The shark held the meat, its eyes welling up with tears.

Is this the mindset of the strong?

You can give away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of treasures without a second thought, and you're afraid we'll look down on them?

"Thank you, boss! We'll do anything you ask of us in the future!" Shark and his team bowed in unison.

"Oh, you're too kind. It's all just for making a living."

Jiang Li chuckled to himself, thinking how simple and honest the people by the sea were, so easily moved by a piece of fish.

……

Half an hour later.

Abandoned steel mill dock.

Jiang Li declined Shark and the others' offer to help him carry the fish into the market (mainly because he was afraid that Fatty Wang would rip off his acquaintances), and dragged the huge anglerfish into the underground black market by himself.

The fish was so big that even though Jiang Li was strong, it made a rumbling sound when dragged on the ground, like he was dragging a tank.

The entire black market fell silent instantly.

Everyone stopped their transactions and stared in disbelief at the young man who dragged the abyssal beast in.

"Holy crap... what's that?"

"Abyssal giant anglerfish?! Isn't that the apex predator of the deep sea?"

"A perfectly intact corpse! Not a single tooth is missing! What level of powerhouse could achieve that?"

The crowd parted automatically to make way, their eyes filled with awe.

In front of Fatty Wang's bunk.

Fatty Wang was counting his money when he heard a noise. He looked up and found the banknotes scattered all over the ground.

"Thump!"

He slid right off the chair.

"A tiny little...little brother?!"

Fatty Wang looked at the mountain of flesh that had stopped in front of his stall. It was the ferocious head of an anglerfish, its huge mouth still in a state of terror before death, right in front of Fatty Wang's face.

"Hey boss, you haven't closed up shop yet?"

Jiang Li put the "big pearl" she had been carrying all the way on the table.

"Bang!"

The table has a crack.

The "lantern," about the size of a basketball, emitted a faint blue light, making Fatty Wang's face appear deathly pale.

"We agreed yesterday that you'd accept any goods as long as they were available. Do you still stand by that promise?"

Jiang Li wiped the sweat from his forehead; dragging this fish was really strenuous.

Fatty Wang shakily got up, glanced at the lantern, and then at the giant beast.

He felt like his heart was about to stop.

Light of the Abyss!

This is the core essence of a top-tier C-rank evil beast! It's a core material capable of creating large-scale illusions and even serving as the energy source for city-level protective shields!

This item is a priceless treasure on the official bounty list!

"It...it counts! Of course it counts!"

Fatty Wang was so excited that his whole body trembled. "Boss, did you just raid the Dragon Palace in Blackwater Bay?"

"What Dragon Palace? Just good luck."

Jiang Li waved his hand, "I heard this bead can sell for a million?"

"One million?!" Fatty Wang shrieked. "Who told you that? This is top-quality! And it's so well-preserved, the active ingredients are still there... This is worth at least three million! No, three and a half million!"

Fatty Wang is a shrewd businessman, but he wouldn't dare cheat Jiang Li.

If a ruthless person capable of single-handedly killing such a monster knew they'd been tricked, even breaking their old bones wouldn't be enough to compensate for it.

"How many?!"

This time, it was Jiang Li's turn to be shocked.

Three and a half million?!

He never dared to dream of this number in his entire life.

"Boss, are you kidding me? Is this thing really that valuable?" Jiang Li touched the soft ball with some uncertainty.

"Absolutely true! I'll transfer the money to you right away!"

Fearing that Jiang Li might change her mind, Fatty Wang took out his phone to make the transaction.

"etc."

Jiang Li held down Fatty Wang's hand.

"What about the fish body? Such a big chunk of meat must be worth something, right?"

Fatty Wang glanced at the enormous corpse and swallowed hard.

"This meat... while not as valuable as the core, is plentiful! And the skin, bones, and teeth are all high-quality materials... Let me calculate, the package price is 1.5 million, making it 5 million in total. Is that acceptable?"

five million.

Jiang Li felt as if a firework had exploded in her mind.

His original goal was just to pay one million for the surgery.

Now, not only can I afford the surgery, but I can also buy a big house in the city center, save up a dowry for my sister, and even buy a car for myself...

"make a deal!"

Jiang Li tried hard to stop herself from laughing out loud and nodded calmly.

"By the way, boss, do you have a car? Could you give me a ride?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I have a special delivery truck! I'll personally deliver it to you!"

Fatty Wang eagerly ran to get the car.

……

Half an hour later.

Sitting in Fatty Wang's luxury SUV, Jiang Li looked at the long string of numbers in his phone's balance and finally couldn't help but grin.

"Big Yellow, we're rich!"

Big Yellow was lying on the back seat, happily gnawing on a tusk that had been knocked out of an anglerfish's mouth.

"Woof!" (If I had money, could I buy that thing called KFC?)

"Buy it! I'll buy you a hundred family buckets tomorrow!" Jiang Li said with great pride.

The car entered the city.

Jiang Li did not go straight home, but instead had Fatty Wang take him to the most upscale sales office in Jianghai City – "Royal Dragon Bay".

"Boss, are you looking to buy a house?" Fatty Wang asked solicitously.

"Yes, the old house is leaking, it's time for a change of scenery."

Jiang Li got out of the car and straightened his clothes.

Although it's the middle of the night and there's no one at the sales office, he's already decided to come first thing tomorrow morning and pay in full!

……

Meanwhile, at the Jianghai City Abnormal Bureau branch.

Su Qingge was sitting at her desk, looking at the blurry surveillance video on the screen.

The video footage was retrieved from surveillance cameras near the black market.

In the video, a young man is seen dragging a giant, strange fish with one hand, as if he were dragging a garbage bag, into an abandoned factory.

"Has the technical department come up with an analysis yet?" Su Qingge asked coldly.

"Captain, we've figured it out."

The technician looked like he'd seen a ghost. "The strange fish's physical characteristics perfectly match the C-rank peak evil beast in the file, the [Abyssal Giant Mouth Anglerfish]. But the strange thing is..."

"What's strange?"

"The strange thing is the cause of death of this strange fish."

The technician pulled up a magnified image and pointed to the horrific wound on the fish's head.

"The simulation showed that the wound was caused by an ordinary... butcher's knife. Moreover, there was no trace of any psionic energy attached to it; it was purely brute force that pierced through the skull of the evil beast."

"A butcher's knife? Brute force?"

Su Qingge took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair.

"Who exactly is that man?"

"Captain, there's something else." The technician hesitated for a moment. "We discovered in the surveillance footage that after that person left the black market, he went to... the sales office of Yulong Bay."

"Sales office?" Su Qingge was taken aback.

"Yes, he stood at the door for a while, and it looked like... he wanted to buy a house."

Su Qingge fell silent.

A peerless expert who casually hunts C-level evil beasts and treats the abyss like his own backyard goes to look at houses in the middle of the night?

Why does this art style feel so off?

"Let's check the listings in Royal Dragon Bay," Su Qingge suddenly said. "If we run into him there, it might be a chance to get to know him."

"yes!"

Su Qingge looked at Jiang Li's blurry profile on the screen, a resolute glint in her eyes.

No matter who you are, whether you are a god or a demon.

As long as you're in Jianghai City, I'm determined to find out everything about you!

Even if... it's just being your neighbor.