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

Jianghai City, Deep Blue Plaza.

Ever since that "Starry Night Streetlight" lit up the night sky, the entire square has become a true city that never sleeps. And the launch of Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant's new product—[Starry Sky Energy Water]—has pushed this fervor to its peak.

This beverage, made with "meteorite bath water," has a dreamy starry blue color and contains tiny luminescent particles suspended in it.

Although the bottle was labeled in bold with "Side effects: mild hyperactivity, body glow, occasional seeing non-existent friends," it still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of office workers and night owls to buy it.

"Boss! Another case of 'Starry Sky Water', please! I need to work on my thesis all night!"

A college student with dark circles under his eyes rushed into the store and gulped down a whole bottle in one go.

"Glug!"

The next second, his eyes seemed to light up with searchlights, two beams of blue light shooting out, and his previously listless spirit instantly became as energetic as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

"I feel it! Inspiration is flowing! Einstein is beckoning me! I'm going to write a groundbreaking paper!"

The college student ran out laughing wildly, his skin radiating a faint blue light, like a running Avatar.

Behind the counter.

Jiang Li looked at the ledger, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to look at Wang Ergou, who was swinging wildly beside him.

"Ergou, stop shaking me, you're making me dizzy."

Wang Ergou was in a state of extreme excitement at the moment, holding a mop and wiping the floor so fast that it left afterimages.

"Boss! I can't stop! This water pressure is too strong! I feel like I could drag the whole Earth down with me!"

While wiping the floor, Wang Ergou was still rapping, "Look at this floor, it's so shiny and bright..."

"Drink less; too much of this stuff can cause insomnia."

Jiang Li shook his head helplessly.

He glanced at the time; it was already 2 a.m.

"Alright, leave a few people on duty in the store, everyone else can go home."

"Arthur, you will keep watch tonight."

Arthur, the blond heartthrob who was wiping the holy light disc (which was very clean) in the corner, looked up and revealed a sacred and resolute smile.

"Yes, sir. May the Holy Light protect your sleep."

"Stop with the formalities, just remember to lock the door."

Jiang Li yawned and took Da Huang upstairs to sleep.

……

Three o'clock in the morning.

The hustle and bustle of Deep Blue Plaza gradually subsided, leaving only the Starry Night Streetlight still emitting a soft yet eerie glow.

In the quiet of the night.

A group of figures dressed in black trench coats moved silently and quietly appeared in the shadows of the square.

Their faces were pale, their eyes were sinister, and each of them exuded a strong stench of blood.

The leader was a tall, withered old man. He held a skull scepter in his hand, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was none other than the vampire grand duke who had been awakened in the western castle earlier—[Blood Lord Vlad].

"Is this the place?"

Vlad looked up at the sign that read "Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant," a glint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

"That lowly cook... actually turned Dracula into... spicy blood curd?"

Recalling the description in the intelligence report, Vlad trembled with rage.

This is a great insult to the noble bloodline!

"Tonight, I will slaughter everyone here! I'll turn that cook into a blood slave, condemned to eternal damnation!"

With a wave of his hand, the dozen or so elite vampires behind him immediately dispersed and surrounded the entire building.

"Also, release those little cuties."

Vlad grinned maliciously, pulled a black whistle covered in blasphemous runes from his pocket, and blew it softly.

"Waaah—"

There was no sound, only a vibration that only spiritual beings could hear.

Immediately afterwards, a series of eerie laughs filled the air.

"Hehehe..."

"Blood...so much blood..."

There seemed to be something unseen moving in the void.

【Star Vampires】

These are terrifying creatures from among the stars. They are usually invisible, only becoming visible after feeding on blood. They have bodies as transparent as jellyfish, but are covered in sharp claws and countless blood-sucking tentacles, taking pleasure in preying on intelligent beings.

This is the vampire clan's trump card!

"Go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Vlad gave the order.

Dozens of unseen star spirits cheered and rushed towards the seafood restaurant's entrance like a gust of cold wind.

……

Inside the store, on the first floor lobby.

Arthur was holding a mop and meticulously mopping the floor.

Although he was once the pride of the Knights Templar, after "studying" under Jiang Li for a period of time, he has deeply understood the true meaning of "labor is the most glorious".

Sudden.

Arthur stopped what he was doing.

His keen intuition (the perception of an S-rank paladin) told him that something had come in.

And it's... something extremely evil.

"Who?"

Arthur gripped the mop handle tightly, and a faint holy light surged around him.

There was no response.

Only the faint, eerie laughter in the air grew closer.

"Hehehe..."

suddenly!

Arthur felt a chill on his left shoulder, as if something sharp was stabbing him.

"drink!"

He reacted extremely quickly, swung the mop at him with his other hand.

"Bang!"

The mop made a dull thud, as if it had hit something soft yet bouncy.

Immediately afterwards, the unseen thing let out a scream, and a few drops of red liquid splashed onto the floor.

It's revealed!

It was a red, semi-transparent monster floating in the air. It had no fixed shape; it was like a lump of rotten flesh covered in tentacles and teeth, and it was bleeding from the spot where it had been hit by the mop.

"An invisible demon?"

Arthur frowned.

"Now that you're here, accept the judgment of the Holy Light!"

He slammed the mop down on the ground.

"Holy Light - Purification!"

"Buzz—"

A dazzling golden light burst forth from him, instantly illuminating the entire hall.

Under that sacred light, the previously invisible star spirits had nowhere to hide, and each one revealed its hideous form as if it had been splashed with developing solution.

There were dozens of them!

They surrounded Arthur, baring their teeth and claws.

"So many?"

Arthur's expression changed.

Although he was strong, he was no match for the many hands that could fight him, and the monsters' claws were covered in a highly corrosive toxin.

"Hehehe... A paladin? Working as a cleaner here?"

The door was pushed open.

Grand Duke Vlad entered with a group of vampires, and upon seeing Arthur wearing an apron and carrying a mop, he let out a mocking laugh.

"How depraved! The Lord's servants have fallen to such a state."

"Attack him! Tear him to pieces!"

At a command, all the Star Spirits and Vampires rushed forward.

Arthur was caught in a tough battle.

"Holy Light Shield!"

"Crusader Strike!"

He wielded the mop with tremendous force, each strike carrying a divine power that repelled the approaching monsters.

But this mop was made of ordinary wood, and it broke after only a few strokes.

"Damn it! We're unarmed!"

Arthur was anxious.

Just then.

"It's so noisy! Can't a person get any sleep in the middle of the night?!"

A furious roar, typical of someone who's just woken up, came from upstairs.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Heavy footsteps sounded.

Jiang Li, dressed in her pajamas and carrying the butcher knife, walked down the street with her hair disheveled. Da Huang followed behind, also looking displeased.

"Who is it this time? Are thieves this dedicated these days? Are they working in a group?"

Jiang Li rubbed his eyes and looked at the group of people dancing wildly in the hall.

When Grand Duke Vlad saw Jiang Li, his eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"It's you! That damned cook!"

"Today is your death day! I will spill your blood..."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Li interrupted him impatiently.

His gaze passed over the vampires in trench coats and landed on the translucent red monsters floating in the air.

"Huh? What's that?"

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment.

In his vision (through a gourmet filter), those hideous and terrifying star spirits transformed into…

"This is... a jellyfish?"

"Wait, this thing is floating in the sky, it's... an air jellyfish?"

Jiang Li looked at those red, soft things with tentacles, and the more he looked, the more they resembled them.

"It looks quite fresh, and there's still some blood in it."

"If this were served cold, the texture would definitely be similar to jellyfish skin!"

Vlad: "..."

Cold dish?

Jellyfish skin?

These are predators from the stars! An indescribable terror!

"Ignorant humans! How dare you look down on the spirits of the stars!"

Vlad roared, "Drain him dry!"

Several Star Spirits let out a shriek, instantly became invisible, and pounced towards Jiang Li.

"Boss, watch out! They've become invisible!" Arthur shouted.

"Invisible?"

Jiang Li pouted.

"Playing hide-and-seek in front of me?"

His eyes narrowed, and a glint of gold flashed deep within his pupils.

That's the Eye of Truth (a passive skill awakened after consuming too much ancient god flesh).

In his view, those so-called invisible monsters were as conspicuous as red plastic bags floating in the air.

"Gotcha!"

Jiang Li suddenly reached out and grabbed at the empty space beside him.

"Snapped!"

He accurately grabbed the "neck" (if that lump of flesh had a neck) of a star spirit that was about to launch a sneak attack.

"Squeak squeak squeak—!!!"

The Star Spirit screamed in terror, its tentacles frantically wrapping around Jiang Li's arm, trying to suck his blood.

However, Jiang Li's arm was covered by an invisible force of rules, and those tentacles couldn't penetrate it at all. Instead, it felt like they were giving him a massage.

"It feels nice, cool to the touch, a bit like holding jelly."

Jiang Li pinched it, "Quite juicy."

He swung it forcefully.

"Splat!"

The star spirit was slammed to the ground and smashed into a pile of minced meat.

"Big Yellow! Get to work! Don't break these 'jellyfish'! Catch them alive!"

"Woof!"

Big Yellow couldn't wait any longer.

It activated its spatial and temporal perception, and those invisible monsters were no different from being naked in its eyes.

It transformed into a yellow whirlwind, leaping and bounding through the air, devouring them one by one.

"Snap!"

"Snap!"

In less than a minute, more than a dozen Star Spirits had their tentacles bitten off and were paralyzed on the ground, unable to move.

Vlad was dumbfounded.

This...this script is wrong!

That's an invisible assassin that even an A-level expert would have difficulty detecting! How come it's as easy as catching a fly in front of this cook and that dog?

"Monsters...they're all monsters!"

Vlad felt fear.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

He turned and tried to run away.

"You're already here, do you think you can just leave?"

Jiang Li sneered.

"You disturbed my sleep and dirtied my floor. You think you can leave without leaving anything behind?"

He grabbed a stainless steel basin (used to catch water) from the side and swung it around, throwing it away.

"Behold my—the Flying Guillotine!"

"Whoosh—"

The basin spun and flew out, carrying with it the inescapable law of cause and effect.

"Bang!"

It hit Vlad squarely on the back of the head.

"Ouch!"

Vlad let out a scream, fell to the ground, and landed face-first in the dirt.

"Arthur! Tie him up!"

"Yes, boss!"

Arthur rushed forward, pinned the arrogant vampire duke down with the broken mop handle, and then bound him like a dumpling with the Holy Light Rope (his own belt).

As for the other vampire minions, they scattered and fled in terror when they saw their leader being captured.

But Ao Bing had already blocked the entrance.

"roar--"

Ao Bing revealed his true form as a dragon-man and unleashed a breath of dragon fire, instantly freezing the group of vampires into ice sculptures.

"All done, that's a wrap!"

Jiang Li looked at the prisoners scattered all over the ground and yawned.

"These people look pale; they're probably anemic. I'll feed them more of that 'Mao Xue Wang' (a spicy Sichuan dish) to help them recover."

He kicked the Star Essence on the ground.

"As for these 'jellyfish'..."

Jiang Li touched his chin.

"I heard cold jellyfish salad is pretty good. Lei Meng! Get up and get to work! Shred all this stuff and soak it in aged vinegar!"

"Okay, boss!"

Lei Meng, who was sleeping in the kitchen, heard the summons and rushed out with a cleaver in hand.

……

the next day.

Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant launches a new product – 【Aged Vinegar Crystal Noodles】 (the essence of cold dishes).

This dish is crystal clear, has a crisp texture, and after eating it, you can gain the ability of "minor invisibility" for a short period of time!

It's practically the perfect dish for stealth, spying (just kidding), and evading creditors!

Sales exploded instantly.

As for that Grand Duke Vlad...

He wasn't turned into a dish (after all, the humanoid Jiang Li still had some principles).

He was assigned to a more important position.

The basement, the brewery.

Vlad, dressed in work clothes, is stomping on grapes (actually, they are demonized purple grapes).

"Stomp! Stomp harder!"

Wang Ergou, supervising from the side, said, "The boss said you're a vampire, you have a talent for fermenting blood and liquids! From now on, the wine business in our shop will be yours!"

"If you don't brew it well, we'll stuff you into that furnace as fuel!"

Vlad shed tears of humiliation.

He, a dignified Blood Lord, has actually been reduced to... a brewer?!

And the wine produced has to be called "Deep Blue Dry Red"?!

……

At this moment, in the chairman's office.

Jiang Li was holding a parchment map that he had taken from Vlad.

The map depicted an inverted pyramid floating in the void, surrounded by countless twisted geometric shapes.

【The City of Tindaros】.

"This place... looks pretty sci-fi."

Jiang Li pointed to the pyramid.

"Big Yellow, is this your hometown?"

Big Yellow, who was gnawing on a bone, looked up at the map and his eyes became a little strange.

"Woof!" (That's the end of time! There are lots... um, lots of delicious corners there!)

"A delicious tortilla?"

Jiang Li remembered that Da Huang usually liked to gnaw on things with sharp edges and corners.

"So, that means it's abundant in... 'cartilage'?"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up again.

"Looks like we'll need to update our recipes again!"

"Next stop—the end of time!"