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

Chapter 233 Formatting the Brain with Pufferfish and Memory Cleaning Soup

Kowloon Walled City, 18th floor, "Red House" block.

This place was once the most prosperous, yet also the most filthy, place of debauchery and debauchery in the walled city.

But today, a small shop called "Deep Blue Midnight Diner" quietly opened for business here.

There was no deafening electronic dance music, nor were there scantily clad holographic projections soliciting business.

There was only a simple wooden sign with four powerful characters written in calligraphy (though it seemed out of place in this world full of neon lights).

Two red lanterns hung at the entrance, emitting a warm yellow glow that looked particularly cozy and mysterious amidst the pale electronic smog.

……

"Boss, isn't the decor a bit too plain?"

Er Gou lay by the door, looking at the spotless wooden bar counter and the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, and shook his head with some concern.

"In this cyberpunk world, without some RGB lighting and holographic thighs, who's going to eat?"

"You don't know anything."

Jiang Li, dressed in a pristine white chef's uniform, was wiping the lightsaber in his hand (which he now mainly used for cutting vegetables).

"This is called... [returning to simplicity]."

"In this world where our eyes are filled with light pollution and our minds are filled with noise."

"Quietness and purity are the most expensive luxuries."

Jiang Li looked up at Alice, who was standing behind the bar.

This former "Test Subject Zero" is now dressed in a black and white maid outfit (strongly recommended by Er Gou).

Although green code still flowed in her eyes, and several data cables were still connected to her spinal interface (connected to the store's local area network).

But her complexion has improved a lot.

"Alice, is the system ready?"

"Reporting... Boss."

Alice's voice still had a slightly mechanical quality, but her tone was much lighter.

"Firewall...has been upgraded."

"The menu... has been synchronized to the entire Walled City's AR network."

"only……"

Alice tilted her head.

"What we wrote in GG... 'Specializing in treating intractable diseases, cyberpsychosis, and data constipation'..."

"Would anyone actually believe that?"

Jiang Li smiled.

"rest assured."

"In this sick world."

"People who are healthy are the minority."

……

It seemed to be to confirm Jiang Li's words.

"Ring ring—"

The wind chimes at the door (also brought back from the pixel world) rang.

A figure, wrapped in a thick black raincoat and walking unsteadily, pushed open the door and walked in.

The lights in the store flickered the moment he walked in.

The air was filled with the smell of burnt circuit boards.

"Welcome...please..."

The man's voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords were damaged.

He walked to the bar, but instead of sitting down, he gripped the corner of the table tightly with both hands.

His hands... were trembling violently.

Sparks were still flying from the metal joint at the fingertips.

[Target: Shadow]

[Identity: Top intelligence broker in Kowloon Walled City / Deep Dive (hacker)]

[Status: On the verge of collapse (SAN value is plummeting).]

……

"Help...help me..."

The shadow raised its head.

The face hidden under the hood was now contorted with rage.

His left eye was naked and covered with bloodshot veins.

His right eye was a high-end prosthetic eye, which was now spinning wildly, with the halo in the pupil changing size erratically.

"Too...too much..."

"I can't delete it... I simply can't delete it..."

My brain... is about to explode...

As he spoke, he frantically scratched at the chip slot on the back of his head.

They even scratched him until he bled.

"This is... [data redundancy]."

Alice glanced at it and quickly gave a diagnosis.

"This is what is commonly known as... the precursor to cyberpsychosis."

"His brain's cache is filled with junk data."

"It's possible that when it infiltrated the deep web, the defense program injected it with a large number of logic viruses and junk files."

"If it's not cleaned up in time..."

Alice pointed to the shadow's head.

"His cerebral cortex will burn out in ten minutes."

"To become a... idiot."

……

"Data redundancy?"

Jiang Li put down the rag in her hand.

Walk around the bar and stand in front of the shadow.

He extended a finger and pressed it against the shadow's brow.

"Gluttony Godhood... Investigate."

hum-

In Jiang Li's field of vision.

The shadow's head was no longer flesh and blood, but a jumbled mess of a hard drive.

It was stuffed full of all sorts of random fragments:

Some are explicit photos of company executives, some are meaningless gibberish, and some are malicious pop-ups that keep replicating themselves.

"This is what they call... information indigestion."

Jiang Li withdrew her finger.

"Eating too much and too many different kinds of food."

"It can't be discharged."

"This leads to intestinal (memory) blockage, and toxins attacking the heart."

Jiang Li looked at the shadow, which was in unbearable pain.

"Do you want treatment?"

"I'll pay... however much you want..."

Shadow pulled a handful of wet chips (money) from his pocket.

Money is not important.

Jiang Li pushed the chip back.

"When I treat patients, I choose based on first impressions."

"Since it's indigestion, then we need to... [induce vomiting]."

Or rather... [formatting].

……

Jiang Li turned around and went back to the kitchen.

"Ergou, go catch a fish from the tank."

"I want the one... the one that looks the dumbest."

"Okay!"

Er Gou ran to the aquarium in the back kitchen.

This aquarium is also specially made; it doesn't contain water, but rather a high concentration of liquid coolant.

Swimming inside was a round, spiky fish that glowed.

[Ingredient: Format Pufferfish]

[Rank: Top-grade Xuan-level]

[Description: A special creature living in the "recycle bin" area of the deep web. It feeds exclusively on junk data. Its toxins can instantly paralyze the nerves, thereby clearing memory caches.]

"You're the one!"

Er Gou swatted a pufferfish the size of a basketball out with one paw.

As soon as the pufferfish emerged from the water, it immediately puffed up into a ball.

Its thorns stood erect, each one flashing a warning red light:

[DANGER! Formatting...]

……

Jiang Li accepted the pufferfish.

The difficulty of handling this thing is comparable to defusing a bomb.

Because it has a poison sac inside its body.

That's not an ordinary biological toxin.

It was a highly concentrated mass of "forgotten code".

If it's accidentally broken, the person eating it will not only forget their troubles, but also forget who they are and how they go to the toilet.

That means he would become a vegetable.

"Start cutting."

Jiang Li picked up the [Cheng Ying Light Sword].

The lightsaber's power was set to the most refined "surgical mode".

"Toxin removal".

brush!

The lightsaber swiftly sliced through the pufferfish's belly.

There was not the slightest deviation.

The venom sac, emitting a faint blue light, was completely extracted.

Jiang Li did not discard the poison sac.

Instead, they only took... [one drop] of venom.

It dripped into the soup pot next to it.

"This kind of poison, if used in large quantities, becomes a deadly poison."

"The quantity is too small..."

"It's the best... [Memory Cleaner Master]."

……

"slice."

Pufferfish meat, after the venom sacs have been removed, is crystal clear, like crystal.

Jiang Li used a knife technique as thin as a cicada's wing to cut it into dozens of translucent fish slices.

Blanch.

Place the fish fillets into the pot of boiling water with a drop of "Forgotten Venom" added.

It only takes three seconds.

The fish slices instantly curled up and turned milky white.

"Out of the pot!"

Pour into a white porcelain bowl.

Sprinkle with chopped green onions (green onions brought back from the pixel world, with an extremely strong flavor).

Then drizzle with a spoonful of hot oil.

"Sizzle—"

A refreshing aroma, with a hint of minty coolness, instantly filled the entire shop.

This taste is amazing.

Just one whiff of it and I felt like my mind was clearing up a lot of distractions.

It's like... the refreshing feeling after taking a shower or waking up.

[Dish Name: Formatted Clear Broth Pufferfish]

[Effects: Forcefully clears the brain's cache, deletes junk memories, and repairs neural logic circuits.]

[Side effect: You might forget who paid for the meal (but that's not important).]

……

"Eat."

Jiang Li pushed the seemingly ordinary bowl of fish soup in front of Yingzi.

"Drink it."

"Your brain... will reboot."

The shadow stared at the bowl of soup.

At this point, he was already on the verge of losing consciousness.

The swollen feeling of his brain being filled with garbage made him want to smash his head open.

"drink……"

He picked up the bowl with trembling hands.

Regardless of how hot it was, he gulped it down in one go.

"Glug."

Hot soup enters the stomach.

It didn't have that warm, cozy feeling.

in contrast.

Shadow felt as if he had swallowed a piece of... [dry ice].

An extreme chill instantly rushed down my esophagus and straight to my brain.

"Buzz—"

A tremendous roar suddenly resounded in his mind.

It sounds like the sound of a computer crashing.

Followed by.

His eyes suddenly rolled back.

He froze on the spot.

In his field of vision (AR interface).

Suddenly a huge blue window popped up:

[System error... Attempting to fix...]

[Running: Formatting program...]

[Progress: 10%...50%...100%!]

"ah!!!!"

The shadow let out a short scream.

then.

Black smoke began to emanate from his seven orifices.

Within the smoke, countless fragmented images could be vaguely seen: explicit photos, GG (Ghosts), garbled text, and indescribable, terrifying data.

These wastes were forcibly removed by the "forgotten toxins" in that bowl of soup and then physically expelled from the body.

……

Three minutes later.

Shadow slumped in the chair.

He was panting heavily.

The plume of black smoke dissipated.

His eyes... changed.

It's no longer that murky mess filled with bloodshot veins and madness.

Instead, it became...incredibly clear.

Like a baby's eyes.

Even the prosthetic eye stopped spinning and began to flash a steady blue light.

"I……"

Shadow touched the back of his head.

It doesn't hurt anymore.

The swelling sensation that felt like it was about to explode disappeared.

My brain feels lighter than ever before.

It's like a brand new computer that's just had its operating system reinstalled.

It runs incredibly fast!

"Am I all better?"

"I'm really healed?!"

The shadow stared in disbelief at its own hands.

The early signs of cyberbullying that had plagued him for years were actually cured by just one bowl of soup?

"Thank you so much, doctor! Thank you so much, doctor!"

Shadow was so excited that he knelt down on the ground and kowtowed frantically to Jiang Li.

"You saved my life!"

"This is simply... a life-saving grace!"

……

Get up.

Jiang Li wiped his hands.

"Now that you're cured..."

"Then let's talk about... [consultation fees]."

"I've said it before, I don't accept money."

"I only accept... [messages]."

Jiang Li looked down at this top intelligence broker from Kowloon Walled City.

"tell me."

"Regarding... the [Electronic Buddha]."

"Or perhaps... the core secret of the [Mechanical Ascension Cult]."

Shadow's expression changed slightly.

This is a top-secret information that could cost you your life.

but.

Looking into Jiang Li's deep eyes, and recalling the magic of that bowl of soup from earlier, I realized...

He gritted his teeth.

"good!"

"Since the miracle doctor saved my life, it's yours!"

The shadow stood up and looked around warily.

Then he lowered his voice and said:

"Recently... things haven't been peaceful in the lower district."

"There is a new religious sect called... [The Binary God Cult]."

"They're arresting people everywhere."

"It's not just about capturing living people for experiments."

"They are still collecting... [antiques]."

"Antiques?" Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

The shadow nodded.

"This is no ordinary antique."

"It is... [an ancient relic of cultivation].

"For example... broken fragments of flying swords, ancient talismans, and even some indescribable... [fossils]."

"It is said that..."

The shadow's voice became even softer.

"They are trying to... [revive] something."

"An... an Old God sealed at the deepest level of the Deep Web."

"For this plan, they are preparing for the 'Ghost Festival' (cyber version of the Ghost Festival) three days later."

"To hold a... [citywide blood sacrifice]."

……

"Blood sacrifice?"

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

"That's interesting."

"It seems these people not only want to rebel, but also want to play the cult-like summoning style."

"Thank you for the information."

Jiang Li patted Shadow on the shoulder.

"This meal was worth it."

The shadow left, thanking them profusely.

He vowed to recommend this amazing "Deep Blue Canteen" to all his colleagues.

After all, in this cyber world, who doesn't have a bit of a mental illness?

……

After seeing off the first guest.

The shop returned to quiet.

"Boss."

Alice asked as she cleared the dishes.

"That binary cult...sounds dangerous."

Should we intervene?

"certainly."

Jiang Li looked at the bleak neon lights outside the door.

"They're going to perform a blood sacrifice; many people will definitely die."

"If too many people die, it will affect my business."

"and……"

Jiang Li took out the still-growing [Electronic Demon Tree] from his pocket (it had already grown to a meter tall and was planted in a large flowerpot at the bar).

"My tree... seems to be quite interested in that so-called 'Old God' as well."

It said…

Jiang Li stroked the cold leaves of the demon tree.

"That thing...smells like [Mom]."

"Mother?"

Odin and Abel exchanged a glance.

It's Mom again?

What's the story behind this tree?

……

Just then.

"Buzz—"

A low, rumbling engine roared as the car suddenly stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria.