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

The Heavenly Palace in the Clouds, Suite No. 1.

It was already late when I returned from the sword-making factory of Shushan Heavy Industry.

The night view of the Upper East Side is even more captivating than during the day.

Outside the window, countless holographic projections floated in the sea of ​​clouds, while a giant neon statue slowly rotated in the night sky, scattering golden data light rain.

inside the room.

Jiang Li did not rest.

He was frowning as he looked at the flowerpot.

In the flowerpot, there was the [Electronic Demon Tree] that was so vigorous yesterday, having devoured three Nascent Soul stage mechanical assassins.

At this moment, however, he seemed somewhat... [listless].

Its crystal-clear OLED blades became dull and lifeless, and the scrolling code on them became intermittent.

The once proud whiskers now droop limply at the edge of the flowerpot, like a starving child.

"What happened?"

Jiang Li reached out and touched the cold metal branch.

"Sizzle..."

A faint electrical signal emanated from the demon tree.

【Hungry……】

Ordinary electricity... doesn't taste good...

[I want to eat...high-dimensional data...I want to eat...soul code...]

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.

"She's quite picky about food."

"It seems that the 220V AC power from the socket is no longer enough for you."

You want to eat 'meat'.

But where can we find "data meat"?

We can't expect the AI ​​to send assassins to deliver our takeout every day, can we? That's unrealistic.

Jiang Li stood up and glanced around the room.

finally.

His gaze fell on the huge holographic projection terminal in the center of the room.

This is an access port connecting the entire Neon Sky Domain [Heavenly Net].

Once you open it, you can enter that vast and boundless virtual world made up of countless 0s and 1s.

"data……"

"network……"

A familiar smile, typical of a fisherman, gradually appeared on Jiang Li's lips.

"Since it's the internet, there must be an 'ocean' within it."

"Since there's a sea..."

"There must be 'fish' in there."

……

"Ergou! Turn on that projector!"

"Maximum power!"

"Woof!"

Er Gou ran over and pressed the switch.

"Buzz—"

A blue beam of light shot into the sky.

Then, the entire luxurious suite vanished.

In its place is a vast, profound cyberspace filled with countless streams of green data.

The surroundings were no longer walls.

Instead, they are countless high-speed information superhighways.

The "building" in the distance is a database tower made up of massive amounts of data.

What flew across the sky were not birds, but various forms of data packets and patrol programs.

"This is... the Heavenly Dao Network?"

Odin curiously reached out to grab a stream of data that was flowing by.

But the hand went straight through.

"It's virtual; you can't touch it."

Jiang Li explained.

"but……"

He flipped his wrist.

The jet-black, ancient-looking [Abyss Fishing Rod] appeared in his hand.

"As for my fishing rod..."

"Everything can be fished."

"Whether it's a physical fish or virtual data."

"As long as it 'exists,' I can pull it out!"

……

Jiang Li found a comfortable position and sat on the sofa (although it looked like he was floating above the data stream).

He took a USB flash drive out of his backpack.

This is a "virus sample" that the machine shop manager gave him at the factory (it was originally meant to be destroyed).

Jiang Li hung the USB drive on the fishing hook.

"Using the virus as bait."

"Let's see what big catch we can get."

"Get out of here!"

whoosh-

The black fishing line blurred the line between reality and illusion.

The fishing hook, baited with the virus, was precisely cast into the widest and fastest-flowing backbone network data stream.

"Gulp."

The fishhook is submerged in the data stream.

Golden ripples spread out.

……

At this moment.

Deep within the Heavenly Dao Network.

This is the [Financial Data Zone].

Countless massive flows of funds, representing Spirit Stones, stocks, and futures, are surging wildly here.

In this golden ocean of data.

A special kind of "creature" was swimming around.

These are not ordinary programs.

They are crypto creatures with rudimentary intelligence, responsible for guarding and moving huge sums of money.

among them.

There is a giant, golden koi carp whose scales are covered with encryption algorithms.

It's called [Bitcoin... oh no, Tiandao Coin Koi].

It is a "living wallet" used by a super conglomerate to suppress fortune and store secret funds.

It is happily devouring the scattered data around it.

Sudden.

It smelled a strange odor.

It was a kind of... alluring, slightly dangerous "loophole" vibe.

(That was the virus bait on Jiang Li's fishing hook).

For data organisms, vulnerabilities are the most delicious food, because devouring vulnerabilities allows them to evolve.

"Gurgle..."

The golden koi swam over, its enormous tail swaying.

It circled the fishhook, which was emitting black smoke, twice.

After precise algorithm analysis:

Risk assessment: Low.

[Profitability Assessment: High.]

[Conclusion: Eat!]

It opened its huge mouth, which was made of firewalls.

He took a bite.

……

"They've taken the bait!"

in the real world.

Jiang Li's fishing rod suddenly sank.

A tremendous pulling force came.

This pulling force is not physical weight.

Rather, it's a kind of... pull on computing power.

Jiang Li felt as if his brain (soul) had been connected to a supercomputer, with countless complex data frantically impacting his consciousness.

"Good heavens!"

"That's pretty powerful!"

"Once you've taken the bait, don't even think about running away!"

Jiang Li's eyes suddenly gleamed.

The Gluttony Divine Essence activated, transforming into the strongest firewall, instantly blocking the onslaught of that junk data.

"Get out here...!"

He suddenly swung the rod.

"Splash—!!!"

The holographic projection shattered instantly.

A giant koi fish, three meters long, entirely golden, and composed of countless glowing binary codes.

They were abruptly dragged from the virtual world into the real world!

Yes, it has been materialized!

This is the power of "manifestation".

When higher-dimensional rules (gluttony) intervene, virtual data is also given the shell of a physical entity.

"Pat! Pat!"

The lucky koi fish data landed on the carpet of the luxury suite.

It was bewildered.

It was swimming happily in the network cable, how did it suddenly end up in a strange room?

and……

It sensed a terrifying killing intent.

From the man wielding the lightsaber.

……

"Wow, it's golden."

Jiang Li watched the koi fish that was still continuously shedding golden code fragments.

"Ergou, close the door!"

"Don't let it run back into the network cable!"

"Odin, hold it down!"

"Okay!"

Odin pounced like a tiger and rode directly onto the koi carp.

"This fish is so slippery! It's like it's been coated in oil!"

"That's an encryption algorithm!"

Jiang Li drew the newly acquired [Cheng Ying Plasma Lightsaber] from his waist.

"Buzz—"

The pure white light blade lit up, radiating a high temperature of 20,000 degrees Celsius.

"No matter what algorithm you use."

"Everyone has to decipher the secrets of high physical temperatures!"

Jiang Li stepped forward.

With a swift movement, the sword fell.

"Sizzle—"

The lightsaber sliced ​​through the koi's body.

No blood was drawn.

But...

The originally indestructible golden scales (firewall) melted instantly under the high temperature of the plasma.

It revealed the most core, the purest part inside... [the raw data flesh].

It was a semi-transparent, jelly-like substance that emitted a faint blue light.

[Ingredient: Heavenly Dao Coin Koi (Data Materialization)]

[Rank: High-grade Earth Rank]

[Description: A spiritual entity formed from massive amounts of financial data. Rich in highly concentrated "computing power" and "luck".]

"Great ingredients!"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up.

The lightsaber in his hand became a blur.

swish swish swish swish —

This is not a killing.

This is in... [slice].

The lightsaber's high temperature, upon cutting through the data, not only destroyed its defensive structure but also instantly locked in the energy within.

Thin slices of data sashimi, each as thin as a cicada's wing, with a smoky aroma at the edges and a cool blue glow at the center.

It drifted down.

……

"Eat."

Jiang Li picked up a piece of sashimi that was still glowing and handed it to the withered electronic demon tree.

"This is top-of-the-line, high-end stuff."

"It's even more nourishing than a typical Nascent Soul stage cultivator."

The electronic demon tree seemed to have caught a whiff of something.

Its previously dying whiskers suddenly stood up as if it had been injected with chicken blood.

"hiss--"

It emitted a longing, electric sound.

then.

Countless tentacles lunged forward.

He rolled up those data sashimi and frantically stuffed them into his "mouth" (the crack in the tree trunk).

"Sizzle sizzle—"

With the injection of high-purity data.

The demon tree began to undergo drastic changes.

Its size did not increase.

but.

Its color changed.

It has changed from the previous neon colors to pure... [white gold].

The code on the blades scrolled ten times faster.

and.

At the top of the branch.

That pink flower bud, finally...

"Pop".

opened.

……

The flowers are blooming.

But the flowers that bloomed were not ordinary flowers.

Instead, it is a... [holographic flower].

The petals are made of photons, and the stamen is a miniature, rotating data vortex.

An invisible wave emanated from the flower and spread outwards.

This is—the flower of Wi-Fi (just kidding).

Or it could be called a "domain node".

As this flower blooms.

All the electronic devices in the room went crazy.

The TV turned on automatically, playing gibberish.

The lights flickered in sync with the demonic tree's breathing.

Even Jiang Li's phone was instantly fully charged, and the signal strength bars were off the charts, displaying as [∞].

"Goodness."

"What kind of tree is this?"

"This is clearly a... [super base station]!"

Jiang Li touched the photon flower.

He could sense that this tree was no longer just a plant.

It became a... [living server].

It connected to the Heavenly Dao Network.

Moreover, it grew up by consuming "administrator privileges" (hunters) and "financial data" (koi fish).

It's in this network...

They possess extremely high rights to concealment and prey.

"From now on, I'll call you... [World Tree - Cyber ​​Edition]."

Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction.

"With you, I can undermine the Heavenly Dao AI right under its nose."

……

however.

The trees on Jiang Li's side have eaten their fill.

The outside world, however, is in chaos.

The moment Jiang Li fished out the "Heavenly Dao Coin Koi" and sliced ​​it.

The entire financial network of the Neon Sky Domain...

It crashed.

……

Shangcheng District, Stock Exchange.

On the huge holographic display screen, the index, which had been rising steadily, was now showing a red trend.

Suddenly, without any warning... [a precipitous drop].

It's not because of the economic crisis.

Rather, it's because...

"The data is lost!"

"Damn it! Where's our backup vault?"

"It was just here a moment ago! Such a huge lucky charm! How did it suddenly disappear?"

"Due to the loss of a core node... the entire data chain of the system is broken!"

"Trigger the circuit breaker! Trim the circuit breaker immediately!"

Countless traders screamed in despair.

The bosses of major conglomerates turned green as they watched trillions of assets vanish in an instant.

……

And at the higher level, in the [Heavenly Palace].

The golden sphere of light (the Heavenly Dao AI) is now also in a state of logical confusion.

"warn!"

"A data black hole has been detected..."

"Coordinates: Unknown (blocked)"

"Loss Assessment: A core financial beast... has gone missing."

"Deduction result: ...eaten?"

The core processor of Tiandao AI was running at full speed.

It cannot understand.

Under its absolute control, how could anything possibly "eat" its data out of thin air?

And it's eating in a physical sense!

"check!"

"Initiate... [Full Area Scan]".

Even if you turn the entire internet upside down...

"We also need to find that... [data thief]!"

……

Inside Suite 1.

Jiang Li looked out the window at the city lights that had suddenly become chaotic (many GG signs went out due to network fluctuations).

Then I glanced at the electronic demon tree, which was eating to its heart's content and letting out a golden burp.

Hidden strength and name.

"Looks like this strike has caused quite a stir."

Jiang Li sheathed his lightsaber.

"But it's also quite good."

"When the water is murky, it's easier to catch fish."

He turned around and looked at Odin, who was wiping his mouth.

"Old Ao, did you sneak some of that fish?"

Odin scratched his head awkwardly.

"Hehe, I only had a small bite."

"That taste...tsk tsk."

"It smells like... money."

"It smells so good!"

Jiang Li smiled.

"It smells good."

"That's a fish worth trillions."

"Alright, go to sleep early."

"tomorrow……"

Jiang Li glanced at the invitation on the table.

"Tomorrow is the launch event for Shushan Heavy Industry's new sword."

"I heard they're going to showcase their latest... [Bio-Mech]."

"Perfect."

"Let's take this lightsaber and go... [show them some support]."