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

The coastal avenue in front of Shenlan Plaza in Jianghai City.

The once bustling commercial street has now been transformed into a chaotic and eerie battlefield.

Hundreds of Atlantean dragon riders, riding giant armored sharks and wielding tridents, charged toward Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant with unparalleled arrogance and murderous intent, riding the giant wave that had been forcibly pushed ashore by magic.

In their eyes, all land creatures are weak and inferior. They only need one charge to raze this shop that has desecrated the Queen's majesty to the ground, and incidentally reap the soul of that arrogant human.

However, reality gave them a resounding slap in the face—or rather, a slap delivered with a frying pan.

"For the year-end bonus! For the buffet! Let's go!"

Accompanied by shouts distorted by excessive excitement, a large group of "thugs" dressed as waiters, carrying stools, mops, and even stainless steel plates, poured out of the seafood restaurant's door like a mudslide, crashing hard into the charging formation of the dragoons.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

There were no fancy magical clashes, only the most primal and savage physical collisions.

The captain of the dragoons at the forefront, riding a ferocious tiger shark five meters long, was preparing to pierce the blond man blocking his way with his trident.

"Die, you land monkey!"

The blond man (Arthur) remained calm and even elegantly adjusted the collar of his apron. Then, he pulled a large, gleaming golden spoon from his pocket.

"Holy Light...The Stir-Frying Method!"

Arthur gave a low shout and swung the large spoon out sharply.

"when--!!!"

A resounding boom, like the grandest bell.

The trident, crafted from deep-sea refined gold, was actually bent by this giant spoon!

Immediately afterward, the spoon, still carrying considerable momentum, slammed hard into the tiger shark's forehead.

"Splat!"

Before the tiger shark could even let out a scream, the holy light purified the ferocity in its mind, and it fainted with its eyes rolled back and tongue lolling out.

"What?!"

Before the captain could react, Arthur grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up like a chick.

"Sir, you want to enter without a ticket? That's against the rules."

Arthur flashed a standard professional smile, then punched the captain in the stomach, curling him into a bow-shaped shrimp, and casually tossed him to the back.

"Next!"

……

On the other side of the battlefield, the scene was even more bloody... no, even more mouthwatering.

Ao Bing revealed his true form as a half-dragon, his body covered in golden dragon scales. Although he had been tainted with black energy due to his fall, his S-rank dragon might still made the deep-sea mounts tremble.

"roar--"

He grabbed a charging Deep Sea Armored Seahorse, and before the soldier on its back could attack, Ao Bing whipped him away with his tail, sending him flying and hanging on a roadside lamppost.

"This seahorse is great! Big and meaty!"

Ao Bing looked at the giant seahorse still struggling in his hand and swallowed hard.

"The boss said that seahorses are still horses, and can be used as a cheaper alternative to donkey meat sandwiches!"

"Snap!"

He snapped the seahorse's neck and threw it to Wang Ergou behind him.

"Ergou! Here you go! This one's mine! Put it on your tab!"

Wang Ergou carried a huge woven bag on his back, shuttling back and forth across the battlefield like a hardworking porter.

"Alright! Brother Long is awesome!"

"Hey there! Don't crush those crabs! They're crystal crabs! Their shells are very expensive!"

While picking up the leftovers, Wang Ergou directed the group of Deepsea service staff.

The Deep Ones were already in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

In the deep sea, they were considered "savage relatives" despised by the nobles of Atlantis, and were the inferior beings who were driven out.

But here at Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant, they are employees! They have permanent positions! They are protected by the boss!

Let's settle both old and new scores!

"Gah gah gah!" (Kill these armored guys!)

"Gah!" (Save that shrimp-riding one for me! I want to eat the shrimp tail!)

Several Deep Ones worked together to overturn a heavily armored cavalryman, and then skillfully began... stripping off his armor and dismounting his mount.

Their movements were so skillful and their teamwork so seamless, it was as if they were handling ingredients in a kitchen.

"No...this is impossible..."

The legion commander at the rear of the group—the gigantic Tiger Shark Man—was completely dumbfounded as he watched his proud elite troops be utterly routed by this group of "cooks" and waiters in just a few minutes, turning them into fish meat on a chopping board.

"Is this the power of land dwellers?"

"No! This isn't war! This is...this is hunting!"

It saw the light in the eyes of that group of people.

That wasn't the warrior's killing intent, but the diner's greed!

"Retreat! Retreat now! The intelligence is wrong!"

The Tiger Shark Legion Commander realized he had bitten off more than he could chew and turned to run back into the sea.

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

A lazy voice suddenly rang out above its head.

Tiger Shark suddenly looked up.

A man wearing shorts and flip-flops, holding a black butcher knife, was standing on a GG sign by the roadside, looking down at it.

Jiang Li.

His gaze was calm, as if he were looking at a fish in a fish tank at a market.

"You look quite muscular; your shark fin must be pretty big, right?"

Jiang Li's gaze fell on the huge dorsal fin on the back of the tiger shark man.

"Perfect timing, my soup is just a little short of the main ingredient."

"roar--!!!"

Tiger Shark was enraged by the insulting look.

It's an A+ grade deep-sea overlord! It's the Queen's personal guard!

"Die, you blasphemer!"

With a powerful leap, it charged towards Jiang Li like a cannonball, its heavy halberd, imbued with the terrifying force of ten thousand tons of water pressure, slashing down fiercely.

This strike is enough to split an aircraft carrier in two!

Jiang Li did not dodge.

He simply raised the butcher knife in his hand.

"when--"

A soft sound.

The halberd, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, came to a complete stop the moment it encountered the butcher's knife, as if it had hit the hardest barrier in the world.

"He's strong, but his technique is terrible."

Jiang Li flicked his wrist, and the blade slid down the shaft of the halberd, aiming straight for the tiger shark man's wrist.

[Master Butcher's Skill - God-Level] Activated!

"Swish, swish, swish!"

The blade flashed like silk, so fast that its trajectory was impossible to discern.

Tiger Shark Man felt a chill on his body, and then his indestructible deep-sea armor shattered and peeled off like pieces of paper.

"ah--!!!"

It was horrified to discover that it had been stripped naked!

Moreover, it wasn't just the armor; even the thick sharkskin on its body was completely peeled off by some extremely exquisite knife technique, revealing the bright red muscles inside!

"This leather is good; it's excellent material for making diving suits."

Jiang Li held the intact sharkskin in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, it's time to collect the shark fins."

"No! Don't!"

Tiger Shark Man was completely devastated.

It would rather die in battle than be treated as food!

It wants to self-destruct its demon core (deep-sea core).

But Jiang Li was prepared.

"Want to blow it up? Did you ask me first?"

Jiang Li slapped it on the forehead.

This slap, imbued with the rules of [Soul Suppression], directly caused the Tiger Shark Man's eyes to roll back, and the energy he had just gathered within his body instantly dissipated.

"Lei Meng! Push that big pot over here!"

Jiang Li shouted.

"The boss is here!"

Lei Meng pushed a specially made, wheeled, mobile black pot over. The pot was already boiling with oil.

"Throw this big guy in! First, fry it in oil to lock in the moisture!"

"Okay!"

Lei Meng grabbed the unconscious Tiger Shark Man and threw him into the oil fryer like a dough ball.

"Sizzle—!!!"

A puff of white smoke rose up, and the square was immediately filled with the aroma of fried fish.

The Atlantean soldiers who hadn't had time to run away were utterly terrified when they saw this (if fish had urine).

Their commander...was bombed?!

"Devil! They are devils!"

"Mommy, I want to go back to the sea!"

The remaining soldiers abandoned their armor and jumped into the sea, swimming desperately towards the deep sea, wishing they had more tails.

"Don't run away! We haven't caught enough crystal crabs yet!"

Wang Ergou shouted from the shore, net in hand, "Keep a few more! We'll buy them at a high price!"

Unfortunately, no one dared to turn back.

……

The battle (purchase) is over.

Deep Blue Square was a mess, but everyone's face was filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.

The ground was piled with "parts" of various deep-sea monsters, as well as sets of exquisite Atlantis equipment.

Jiang Li stood in front of the large oil pot, looking at the tiger sharks inside that had been fried to a golden brown and crispy (actually, only the skin was fried, they weren't completely dead, since they needed to be left alive to ask for directions), and nodded in satisfaction.

"Take them out, don't overcook them."

Lei Meng pulled the tiger shark man out and threw him on the ground.

The tiger shark-man, steaming and exuding an enticing aroma, slowly awoke.

When it opened its eyes, the first thing it saw was Jiang Li's smiling face and the gleaming knife in his hand.

"woke up?"

Jiang Li patted its face with the back of the knife (it was now crispy).

"I see your dorsal fin is really nice, like a natural shark fin. Do you want to cut it off for me yourself, or should I help you?"

"I...I..."

Tiger Shark Man looked at the layer of golden paste covering his body, and his mental defenses completely collapsed.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you! Don't kill me!"

"That's right."

Jiang Li sheathed his sword.

"But shark fin alone isn't enough. I've heard that the gates to Atlantis are quite difficult to find?"

"Didn't your queen say she was going to invite me to dinner? She didn't even give me an invitation, how am I supposed to go?"

"You...you're going to Atlantis?"

Tiger Shark Man's eyes widened.

This demon, after devouring an entire army, actually wants to go to their main camp?!

"Nonsense! How else would we get the goods? This little bit of stuff is only enough to sell for two days."

Jiang Li said matter-of-factly.

"Lead the way! If you take me in, I won't eat your shark fin anymore, and I might even consider hiring you as our store's 'Deep Sea Ingredient Purchasing Manager'."

Tiger Shark Man: "..."

Purchasing Manager?

Helping humans capture their own kind?

How...tempting!

After all, if they don't agree, they'll be in trouble right now. But if they do agree, maybe they can get a government job and live a life of luxury?

It glanced at Ao Bing, who was happily munching on a king crab leg next to it.

Even dragons work here, so what can a shark like it not care about?

"I'll lead the way!"

Tiger Shark Man said through gritted teeth (even though his teeth were fried to a crisp).

"I know a secret passage! It can bypass the main defensive barrier and lead directly into the inner city!"

"Good lad! You've got potential!"

Jiang Li patted it on the shoulder, "From now on, you're a permanent employee! Employee number 9527!"

……

the next day.

Jianghai Shenlan Seafood Restaurant has launched a major new product – [Golden Crispy Shark].

Of course, this wasn't the tiger shark man (that's a guide, you can't eat it), but other mount sharks salvaged from the battlefield.

GG's words: [A royal-exclusive mount from Atlantis! One bite is crispy, two bites burst with juice! After eating, you can ride a shark in the ocean!]

Meanwhile, the Black Pearl underwent another upgrade.

To cope with the high pressure of the deep sea, Liu Wei melted down the shells of the Crystal Crabs captured from the battlefield and coated the Black Pearl with a layer of transparent and extremely hard "crystal armor".

The Black Pearl now looks like a glittering crystal warship, even more flamboyant.

"Are you ready?"

Jiang Li stood on the newly renovated deck, looking at the distant sea.

"Ready, Captain!"

Everyone assembled.

Tiger Shark Man (now known as Ah-Qiang) was wearing an oversized diving suit and stood at the bow of the boat giving directions.

"Target—The Atlantic Ocean! Atlantis!"

"Let's go and give Her Majesty the Queen... a return gift!"

"Ugh—!!!"

The Crystal Black Pearl submerged into the water like a dazzling shooting star, piercing the darkness of the deep sea as it sailed toward that sunken ancient civilization.

And in the palace of Atlantis.

Queen Hela, enraged by the image of the annihilated army in the crystal ball, crushed the wine glass in her hand.

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

"Since he dared to come... let him never leave!"

"Activate the Great Vortex! Awaken the Gatekeeper Behemoth, Hydra!"

"I want to make him...my collectible, in his despair!"

A chilling killing intent flashed in the Queen's eyes.

But what she didn't know was that for a foodie, the so-called "gatekeeper behemoth" often meant...

That's the "gatekeeper's dog meat" or "gatekeeper's lion's head meatballs".

A demolition and buffet tour of the "Kingdom of God" is about to begin.