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

The inverted pyramid temple at the heart of the city of Tindarus.

This is an absolute "realm of straight lines." The walls, pillars, and floor are all made up of countless sharp triangles and rhombuses, without a single curve. Even a drop of water falling here would be instantly cut into squares by the rules.

Jiang Li swaggered in with his "demolition squad".

"Wow! This interior design style is pretty hardcore."

Jiang Li touched a pillar next to him that looked like a spiked club, and his hand was pricked.

"It's just too unsafe. If there are kids at home, they're bound to bump their heads all over."

He complained as he looked toward the center of the hall.

There, an indescribable object, constantly shifting and folding, seemingly composed of countless mirrors, was suspended in mid-air.

It transforms into a polyhedron one moment and a serrated wolf the next, each transformation accompanied by the sound of space shattering.

【Mh'ithrha】(Mh'ithrha).

The overlord of Tindalos, a top-tier S+ mythical creature, a predator of time.

"Human...you have crossed the line."

M'Shis's voice echoed throughout the hall, with layers upon layers of resonance, as if it came from the past, present, and future.

"This is the ultimate angle, the end of time."

"Your roundness (referring to the curves of the human body) makes me nauseous."

With its rage, countless sharp crystal spikes suddenly sprang from the surrounding space, piercing towards Jiang Li and the others.

"Be careful!"

Lei Meng raised the large black pot to try and block it.

But the round black pot was subjected to great resistance from the rules here, and it began to make a creaking and deforming sound, as if it was being forcibly squeezed into a square.

"Boss! My pot is about to break!" Lei Meng exclaimed in alarm.

"So what if it's square? A square pan is more convenient for grilling steaks!"

Jiang Li didn't take it to heart.

He looked at the ever-changing geometric monster and, instead of feeling disgusted, he felt... hungry again.

"This thing... looks like a giant, moving... rock candy?"

"Or is it one of those... the 'pagoda-shaped candies' we ate as kids?"

In Jiang Li's eyes, Musisha's crystal-clear, angular body was simply the most perfect ingredient—[Time-Space Crystal].

"Just how high a concentration of energy must this be?!"

"If you boil it into a soup, wouldn't that just send people on a time-traveling journey?"

Jiang Li licked his lips and pulled out the [Immortal Shinbone] from behind (to use as a big stick).

"Hey! That geometric shape! Don't change it! It's making my eyes blurry!"

Jiang Li shouted, "I see you're all cartilage. I happen to need some soup base, can I borrow your legs?"

"presumptuous!"

Mushisha was furious.

It is the ruler of time; who dares to use it as a base?

"Dimensional segmentation!"

It pounced suddenly, its body transforming into an extremely thin plane, attempting to slice Jiang Li and his dimension apart.

This is a high-dimensional attack, like compressing a three-dimensional object into a two-dimensional piece of paper!

"Want to play Fruit Ninja with me?"

Jiang Li sneered.

He didn't dodge, but instead raised the golden bone club in his hand.

"Watch this—beat the dog's head with a stick!"

The power of rules within Jiang Li's body erupted.

That's a "dimensional reduction attack - physical version"!

No matter what dimension you're from, if you're food, you're going to get beaten up!

"Bang!!!"

A loud bang.

The golden bone slammed heavily into Mushisha's ever-changing body.

"Snap!"

A crisp cracking sound.

The seemingly indestructible dimensional barrier of Mushisha was shattered by this single blow!

Its body was instantly forced back into a three-dimensional entity from a two-dimensional plane, crashing heavily to the ground and scattering a pile of glittering fragments.

"Awooo—!!!"

Mshisha let out a painful howl.

It was horrified to discover that it could not heal! The rules had completely collapsed where it had been hit by the stick!

"What...what kind of power is this?!"

"This is the power of a chef!"

Jiang Li pressed his advantage, straddling Musisha's back and unleashing a flurry of blows with his club.

"Serves you right for showing off! Serves you right for playing with geometry! Serves you right for being so clumsy!"

"80! 80! 80!"

With each strike, a large piece of crystal fell from Mushisha's body.

"Lei Meng! Er Gou! Quick, pick them up! These are all diamonds!"

Jiang Li shouted as he fought.

"Okay!"

Lei Meng and Wang Ergou, carrying sacks, followed behind, frantically picking up any scraps they could find.

"This one is big! This one is translucent!"

"This looks like a sapphire!"

Mushisha was stunned.

It felt its body being disassembled and packed away little by little.

This isn't a battle; this is the scene of a demolition office!

"I...I give up..."

Finally, Mushisha couldn't take it anymore and curled up into a ball, turning into a trembling polyhedral sphere.

"Stop hitting me... I'll fall apart if you keep hitting me..."

"Admit defeat?"

Jiang Li stopped what he was doing and wiped his sweat.

He looked at the "sphere" that he had already smoothed out considerably (the edges had all been flattened).

"Look how pretty it is! Round and plump, so festive!"

Jiang Li patted it with satisfaction.

"It feels nice to the touch, like a walnut that has been handled for a long time and has developed a patina."

Mushisha: "..."

It, the mighty ruler of Tindaros, has actually developed a patina from being handled so much?!

What a humiliation this is!

But looking at that golden bone stick, it could only swallow its tears.

"Since you've admitted defeat, let's talk about compensation."

Jiang Li sat on this "ball" and began to do the accounting.

"Compensation for emotional distress, travel expenses, and lost wages for my employee that your underling scared him just now..."

"I won't take much from you, just hand over all those old treasures from your hoard."

"Especially those things... that make you feel like time is flowing backwards."

"Time travel?"

Mushisha trembled as he opened a subspace rift.

Several jars of ancient-smelling liquid rolled out of them.

【The dust of time】

This is brewed from sediment accumulated over the long river of time; every drop contains the power of tens of thousands of years.

"this one?"

Jiang Li opened a jar and smelled it.

"It has a strong flavor, a bit like aged vinegar, and a bit like... Meng Po soup?"

He took a small bite.

"Buzz!"

In that instant, Jiang Li felt as if he had returned to his childhood and saw himself when he was still wetting the bed.

"Wow! That's powerful! It really can bring back memories!"

Jiang Li shook his head violently, snapping out of it.

"This is amazing! If this were used to make a 'Hot and Sour Reminiscence Soup,' or 'Turning Back Soup' (a dish symbolizing a prodigal son's return), it would absolutely move diners to tears!"

"Take them all!"

Jiang Li waved his hand and put all the wine jars into his spatial bag.

Besides the alcohol, he also looted a large amount of [Time-Space Crystals] (building materials), as well as several elite hunting dogs (food) that foolishly tried to ambush him but were bitten to death by Big Yellow.

"Alright, since you've been so cooperative, I won't stew you."

Jiang Li jumped off Musisha.

"From now on, this will be my Deep Blue Group's... 'Retro-themed branch'!"

"You should practice making yourself a little more rounded, instead of always having thorns, which can easily hurt customers."

Mushisha: "..."

Watching the bandits strut away, it silently curled itself into a ball.

Let it be round then.

As long as I don't get eaten, being a ball is pretty good.

……

The Black Pearl, fully loaded with cargo, once again traversed the time tunnel and returned to the real world.

Upon returning to Jianghai City, Jiang Li immediately began developing new dishes.

【Deep Blue Turnaround Soup】.

Main ingredients: Time Dust Brew + Tindarous Hound Cartilage (ground into powder).

Additional ingredients: Meng Po soup (crossed out), Abyss Forget-Me-Not Grass + Aged vinegar.

Effects: One sip, and you'll recall the past, filled with regret; two sips, and you'll rediscover your original aspirations and turn over a new leaf; three sips... and you'll probably remember where you hid your secret stash of money in your past life.

The dish immediately ignited the emotional market throughout the city upon its release.

Countless people with sad pasts, those who want to win back their exes, and even those who want to recapture their childhood memories lined up in long queues outside Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant.

"Waaaah... I remembered running in the sunset, that was my lost youth!"

"Honey! I was wrong! I shouldn't have hidden my secret stash of money! It was all in the shoebox under the bed!"

"This soup...it's so sour! So bitter! But it's also so delicious!"

The hall was filled with the sounds of weeping, yet it also had a healing atmosphere.

Jiang Li stood on the second floor, watching this scene, and sighed:

"Looks like everyone has a story to tell."

"However, soup alone is not enough; we also need some snacks to go with the drinks."

He took out a [time-space crystal] that he had knocked off Mushisha's body.

"This thing... looks like rock candy. I wonder if it could be made into a 'caramelized candy space'?"

Just then, Su Qingge rushed in.

"Mr. Jiang! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong? Another monster delivering takeout?" Jiang Li asked without turning his head.

"No! It's your... 'Dark Blue Weaving' that's causing the problem!"

Su Qingge held up a report. "Those 'spider silk thermal underwear' items you sold have recently received complaints!"

"Complaint? Quality issue?"

Jiang Li frowned. "Impossible! That's the silk spun by the Cold Plains Spider; it's impervious to blades and spears!"

"It's not a quality issue..."

Su Qingge's expression was strange. "It's a customer complaint... that after they put on the clothes, they often hear someone talking in their ear."

"Speak? Say what?"

"Say... 'I want to eat meat,' 'It's so cold,' and... 'Praise the Spider God.'"

Jiang Li: "..."

He suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Oh no! I forgot to demagnetize that batch of wires!"

"Those spider silks still hold the resentment of the cold-water spider (because it was forced to work overtime)!"

"This is troublesome, it's become a 'ghost outfit'?"

Su Qingge sighed: "Now everyone online is saying that the clothes woven in deep blue have a spirit and are 'enchanted equipment,' so the price has been driven up even higher..."

"ha?"

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"This generation of consumers... has really good mental fortitude."

"Since that's the case, let's go with the flow!"

Jiang Li waved his hand.

"Let's make an announcement! Say this is our new feature—the [Intelligent Voice Companion System]! The voice might sound a bit creepy, but it's absolutely top-notch!"

"In addition, to address this issue (resentment), we're launching a complementary product—the [Calming Sachet] (made with moon tree wine lees)!"

"Buy clothes and get a free sachet! Not only does it keep you warm, it can also prevent sleep paralysis!"

Su Qingge: "..."

profiteer.

This is absolutely a swindler.

But it must be said that this crisis management was... very strong.

"Oh, right, there's something else."

Su Qingge took a deep breath. "Recently, there seems to be some activity over in the Pacific Ocean..."

"Didn't you go to R'lyeh before? Ever since then, the waters there have been quite turbulent."

"It is said that... a huge shadow is moving under the surface of the sea, and... some people have heard a roar that sounds like 'morning grumpiness'."

"Morning grumpiness?"

Jiang Li thought of Cthulhu, the creature whose beard he had cut off and whose fortune he had emptied.

"Could it be that the fat man... has really woken up?"

His eyes sharpened.

"It's good that you're awake."

"I didn't get to see the main thing last time, I only got to eat a single whisker, which was a bit of a shame."

"If it dares to come ashore this time..."

Jiang Li touched the butcher knife at his waist.

"I'll treat it to a real 'teppanyaki' meal!"