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

Jianghai City, Shenlan Plaza, Chairman's Office.

The butcher knife in Jiang Li's hand made a rhythmic "whoosh" sound on the whetstone. Having been baptized by the flesh and blood of countless mythical creatures, the blade was no longer the ordinary iron color, but now presented a deep, dull luster, as if even light would be swallowed up when it shone on it.

"Miss Su, you mean the seafood over there... has been moving recently?"

Jiang Li stopped what he was doing, blew away the non-existent iron filings on the blade, and looked up at Su Qingge sitting opposite him.

At this moment, Su Qingge's expression was more solemn than ever before. She pushed a thick, top-secret file in front of Jiang Li, the cover of which was printed with the words "SSS-level Alert" in bright red.

"It's not just about moving, Mr. Jiang."

Su Qingge's voice was somewhat hoarse, "It was fleeing a disaster."

"According to the latest data from the Global Ocean Monitoring Center, an unprecedented mass migration of organisms is taking place in the waters surrounding Point Nemo in the South Pacific, spanning thousands of nautical miles. From deep-sea behemoths to schools of fish in shallow waters, and even some previously dormant, unknown ancient creatures, they are all frantically fleeing outwards."

She paused, then pointed to the gloomy sky outside the window.

"They are flocking to coastal cities, especially Jianghai City. Because there is... the pillar you erected (the Pillar of Stars), which is both a deterrent and a beacon of 'order' in some sense for certain creatures."

"Escape?"

Jiang Li frowned. "You mean, that fat guy (Cthulhu) is really awake? And still being grumpy in the morning?"

"It's not yet possible to determine whether the main body has fully awakened, but that energy level fluctuation... does indeed seem like he's turning over."

Su Qingge gave a wry smile. "The mental pollution released just from turning over has already turned that sea area into a no-go zone for life. Now, countries along the Pacific coast have all entered a state of high alert to guard against the ensuing beast tide."

"A beast tide..."

Jiang Li stroked his chin, lost in thought.

In the past, hearing about the beast tide might have made him slightly worried about the city's safety. But now, as the chairman of Deep Blue Group, his perspective on the issue has undergone a qualitative leap.

"Miss Su, with this beast tide coming, won't seafood prices in the market rise?"

Su Qingge was stunned, clearly not following Jiang Li's train of thought.

"Um... due to the complete halt of fishing operations and the resulting panic, the price of ordinary seafood has tripled. As for high-grade psionic ingredients, they are practically priceless and unavailable."

"It's tripled in price?!"

Jiang Li suddenly stood up, looking heartbroken.

"This won't do! This disrupts market order! This will make it impossible for ordinary people to afford food!"

He stated righteously, "As a leading catering enterprise in Jianghai City, Shenlan Aquatic Products has the responsibility and obligation to stabilize prices and ensure the supply of vegetables for citizens!"

Su Qingge's lips twitched slightly as she looked at Jiang Li's righteous (but actually gleaming) expression.

"So... what are you planning to do?"

"Since they're like takeout delivered to my door, I'll reluctantly sign for them!"

Jiang Li waved his hand and ordered, "Pass on my orders! Everyone assemble! Not just the Black Pearl, bring out all the spare fishing boats, speedboats, and even kayaks from our warehouse!"

"We're going out to sea...to set up roadblocks and collect fees! No, we're going to set up nets for fishing!"

"Big Yellow! Wake up! And your pack of lackeys (Tindaros Hounds), get out there and patrol the beach! If you see any fish with legs, herd them ashore!"

……

Jianghai City Port Defense Line.

The area has been completely taken over by the military, which has built high flood control dikes and deployed countless heavy artillery pieces and missile launchers.

The soldiers stared intently at the sea level.

The sea in the distance was no longer blue, but a murky, dark green, as if it had contracted a serious illness. The sea was turbulent, and even without wind, the waves were several meters high.

"Commander, report! Sonar has detected a large swarm of organisms approaching! They are ten nautical miles from the defensive line!"

"quantity?"

"Uncountable! A dense mass of red dots! It's like... a tsunami!"

Cold sweat beaded on the commander's forehead.

"All personnel, prepare! Open fire immediately once they are within range! We cannot allow them to reach the shore!"

At this critical moment.

"Beep—Beep—!!!"

A very incongruous, rural heavy metal-style ship whistle sounded from the inside of the harbor.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening background music track, "Good Days," resounded through the sky.

"The joyful drums beat out the festive cheer year after year~~~"

All the soldiers were stunned and turned around.

A fleet with a unique design, a veritable "hodgepodge" of international styles, was seen sailing out of the port in a grand procession, crossing the military's defenses and heading straight into the beast tide.

Leading the charge was naturally the menacing and imposing Black Pearl.

Behind it followed dozens of modified fishing boats. These boats were adorned with various colorful flags, and huge iron hooks and fishing nets were welded to their sides. On the decks stood a group of...monsters?, dressed in uniform blue overalls and wearing hard hats.

Those were Deep Ones, ghouls, and even a few Coldlands people wearing life jackets!

"Whose unit is that...?"

The new adjutant asked in alarm, "Why does he look even more like a villain than the sea monster on the other side?"

The commander put down his binoculars, let out a long breath, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

"Raise your guns, so you don't accidentally hit friendly forces."

"That's... Deep Blue Seafood's fishing team."

"They went there... to buy goods."

……

On the sea, the Black Pearl was in the lead.

Jiang Li stood at the bow of the ship, facing the salty sea breeze, looking at the black waves that were pushing in like a city wall.

The waves were teeming with all sorts of strange and wonderful marine creatures.

There were mutated sharks with three eyes, giant sea turtles the size of houses, and countless intertwined tentacle monsters. Driven mad by fear, they tore at each other in their crowd, turning the seawater red.

"Good heavens! This density! You don't even need a net; you could scoop up a whole basin of fish with just a ladle!"

Jiang Li rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Ergou! Are you ready?"

"Ready, boss!"

Wang Ergou was standing behind a newly modified [super-large caliber whaling cannon], with the muzzle pointed at the sea.

"What's inside this cannon?" Jiang Li asked.

"Reporting, boss! It's your specially made 'powerful tranquilizer dart'! It contains purified extract of 'Moon Tree Wine,' and with one shot, all the fish within a kilometer radius will be completely intoxicated and disoriented!"

"Alright! Fire! Let's sober them up... no, let's force them to drink!"

"boom!!!"

A massive cannonball pierced the center of the beast tide, exploding into a cloud of pink mist on the sea surface.

The fog spread rapidly.

The originally raging beast tide seemed to slow down the moment it came into contact with the mist.

The ferocious sharks began to circle in the water, belly up and grinning foolishly; the enormous tentacle monsters, like drunken men, limply intertwined and knotted together.

"Great results! No wonder it's a specialty of Dreamland!"

Jiang Li was overjoyed.

"All troops, attack! Fish!"

"Pay attention to the categories! Don't choose the ones that are too ugly! Only choose those with lots of meat!"

Deep Blue Aquatic's "bully gang" sprang into action instantly.

The deep-sea divers plunged into the water, using their racial advantages to herd the disoriented big fish into the net like sheepdogs.

Although the ghouls cannot swim, they stand by the boat, holding long hooks and sickles, and hook them accurately every time.

Even the Byakki, which usually only fly, are now acting as "ospreys," swooping down from the sky to grab big fish and throw them onto the deck.

"Giggle!" (This one's fat! Boss, I want an extra chicken leg!)

The scene was chaotic at times, but also highly efficient.

But this is just the appetizer.

The real tough stuff is yet to come.

"Splash—!!!"

Suddenly, the sea surface in the distance exploded, and a huge black shadow, as large as a small island, rose from the water.

It has a whale-like body, but its back is covered with sharp bone spikes, and its head is a huge sucker mouth covered with spiral teeth.

[Subspecies of Leviathan, the Abyssal Giant Whale] (A+ rank).

It seemed unaffected by the anesthetic fog, letting out a deafening roar as it rammed into the Black Pearl.

"roar--!!!"

The sound waves caused the sea to boil, and several small fishing boats nearly capsized.

"Hey? Here comes a big one!"

Jiang Li looked at the giant whale and, far from being afraid, became even happier.

"This size... must weigh several hundred tons, right? If this were used to refine oil, it would be enough to fry dough sticks for years!"

He turned to look at the "security captain" behind him.

"Ao Bing! Stop posing! Is that your relative? If not, take him down!"

Ao Bing, wearing his tight security guard uniform, glanced at the ugly giant whale with disdain.

"This inferior creature dares to claim kinship with me?"

He snorted coldly, then suddenly leaped into the air.

"roar--"

In mid-air, Ao Bing revealed his half-dragon form. Golden dragon scales covered his entire body, his hands transformed into dragon claws, and his dragon tail swept across his back.

"You beast! Prepare to die!"

He descended from the sky and punched the giant whale on the head.

"Bang!!!"

An S-rank dragon power eruption.

That A+ grade abyssal whale was actually slammed into the water by this punch, creating a water column that was hundreds of meters high.

"Good! Well done!"

Jiang Li clapped his hands on the boat, "Remember not to break it! That's the whale oil we need!"

Ao Bing battled a giant whale in the water, causing chaos and turmoil. Although he was a fallen dragon, his ingrained pride prevented him from allowing such an ugly creature to be arrogant in front of him.

A few minutes later.

The sea calmed down.

Ao Bing dragged the unconscious giant whale back to the side of the boat.

"Boss, deliver the goods."

He shook the water off his hair, trying to maintain his composure.

"Well done! You'll get a bonus at the end of the month! Double the amount!"

Jiang Li waved his hand.

"Hang this big guy on the stern! Let's tow it back!"

……

On this day, the citizens of Jianghai City witnessed a scene they will never forget.

At sunset.

A fleet fully loaded with cargo slowly sailed into the port.

Every ship had its waterline pushed to its limit, and the decks were piled high with all sorts of bizarre deep-sea creatures. And behind the flagship, the Black Pearl, was a giant whale as large as a mountain.

On the dock, Jiang Li, holding a megaphone, shouted to the onlookers and the arriving wholesalers:

Deep Blue Seafood! Special Offer Today!

"Deep-sea mutant large yellow croaker! Ten yuan a pound! Pick and choose as you like!"

"Giant mantis shrimp (actually juvenile deep-sea diver)! 20 yuan each! Buy five get one free!"

"We also have special-edition whale oil! It's great for beauty and skin! First come, first served!"

The whole city was in an uproar.

The panic caused by the beast tide was instantly dispelled by the festive atmosphere of a bustling market.

What? The end of the world?

No way! As long as Boss Jiang is around, even the apocalypse will be a food festival!

And in a corner of the crowd.

A man in a gray trench coat and a baseball cap was coldly watching all of this.

He wore a silver badge on his chest, the emblem of the Global Occult Consortium (GOC).

"This Jiang Li... is indeed an uncontrollable variable."

The man spoke in a low voice into the microphone in his collar.

"Not only was he not corrupted by the abyss, but he was... reaping the benefits of the abyss in reverse."

"Headquarters, I recommend a reassessment of the threat level to the 'Chef'."

"Or... try to make contact and incorporate them into the 'Ark Project'."

……

Late at night.

The excitement subsided.

Jiang Li sat in his office, which was piled high with banknotes, but he felt little joy.

He held the [Dragon King's Eye] in his hand, and the starry sky inside the bead spun faster and faster, even starting to get hot.

"Rhubarb, don't you feel... this bead is a little hot to the touch?"

Big Yellow came closer and sniffed it, and suddenly all the fur on its body stood on end.

"Woof! Woof woof!" (Master! Get rid of it! It's going to explode!)

"fry?"

Jiang Li didn't have time to react.

"Buzz—!!!"

A blinding beam of light shot out from the bead, straight up to the ceiling, and projected a holographic image in the center of the hall.

It was a vast, turbulent sea.

On the sea, floats a huge "ghost island" made up of countless shipwrecks.

At the very top of the island sat a figure.

It was a man dressed in tattered pirate clothes, with only half his face flesh and the other half a skeleton. He held a curved sword in his hand and grinned maliciously at the camera (or rather, at the Dragon King's Eye).

"Jiang Li... my good 'neighbor'..."

The man's voice was hoarse and grating, as if his throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

"I am Davy Jones... the ruler of the undead in the deep sea."

"I heard you stole my business? And you even kidnapped my pet (that giant whale)?"

"Very good...very courageous."

"I'll be waiting for you at Blackwater Bay in three days."

"Bring your Dragon Ball, and your life... to the banquet."

"Otherwise, I'll let the entire city of Jianghai sink to the bottom of the sea and become my new collectible!"

The scene abruptly ended.

The beads became dull and lost their luster.

The office was deathly silent.

Wang Ergou was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground: "Davi... Davy Jones?! That legendary Deep Sea King of Hell?!"

"Isn't he a character from a movie? How can he actually exist?!"

Jiang Li touched his chin, showing no fear on his face, but instead revealing a playful smile.

"Davis Jones? That captain with the octopus face?"

"He just said... he invited me to a banquet?"

Jiang Li stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the dark sea outside.

"Since it's a dinner invitation, I'll definitely go."

"Perfect timing, I also want to try... what that famous 'octopus tentacles' taste like."

"Ergou! Prepare the boat!"

"This time, let's go eat 'authentic' deep-sea cuisine!"