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

Deep Blue Midnight Diner, Basement.

The air here is extremely hot and dry, as if you were standing next to a steel furnace.

The newly resurrected Cyber ​​Nezha sat cross-legged on a worktable that hadn't even been wiped clean yet.

His Lotus Armor was still adjusting its adaptability, emitting a faint mechanical meshing sound.

Those electronic eyes, burning with flames, were fixed on the movements in Jiang Li's hands.

"hurry up!"

"cook!"

"My core reactor is about to shut down from starvation!"

Nezha impatiently tapped his fire-tipped spear, and with each tap, a hole melted in the ground.

"Don't rush me."

Jiang Li calmly placed the two-meter-long Crystal Dragon Tendon (which he had pulled from Ao Bing's body) on the cutting board.

Although the dragon tendon had left the machine, it still emitted a strong blue light and a chilling aura.

Its texture is as hard as a diamond, yet as flexible as steel.

It can't be cut with a regular knife.

"This thing is too hard."

Jiang Li tried out the lightsaber and found it a bit difficult to cut.

"Hey, kid."

Jiang Li looked up at Nezha.

"Could I borrow a light?"

"cut!"

Nezha curled his lip, looking disdainful.

"Mortals are just trouble."

He opened his mouth.

"call--"

A pure white [Samadhi True Fire] (fusion plasma flame) with a temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees was ejected.

It was sprayed precisely onto the bottom of Jiang Li's frying pan.

"boom!"

The pot instantly turned red-hot.

Even the air seemed distorted.

……

"That's right."

Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction.

Step 1: High-pressure stir-frying.

He threw the cut tendons into the pot.

Under the terrifyingly high temperature of the Samadhi True Fire, the originally indestructible dragon tendons softened instantly, and the original blue coolant evaporated, turning into an extremely delicious gel.

Step 2: Add strong flavorings.

Since Nezha is a fiery and irritable young man, his tastes must be strong.

Jiang Li showed no mercy.

【Devil Pepper】(Extremely spicy).

【Hell Magma Cream】(Increases viscosity).

【Thunderstorm Sichuan Pepper】(Increases the sensation of numbness).

There are also the leftover [Data Dragon Meatballs] (as a side dish).

He poured it all in at once.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The red oil churns and the aroma explodes.

This flavor is not only spicy, but also has a kind of... soul-burning stimulation.

Even Odin, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but sneeze.

"Good heavens, is this cooking or alchemy?"

Reduce the sauce!

Jiang Li flips the ladle.

The tendons in the pot tumbled and danced in the flames, coated in a dark red sauce.

Each section of the dragon tendon is crystal clear, as if it were carved from a ruby.

[Dish Name: Samadhi Dry Pot Spicy Dragon Tendon]

[Rank: Mid-grade Heavenly Rank]

[Effect: Replenishes a large amount of heat energy, repairs damaged core code, and increases rage by 100%.]

……

"Eat."

Jiang Li brought the entire pot of dragon tendons (pot and all) to Nezha.

"This is what you wanted... [Spicy Dragon Meat]."

"snort."

Nezha doesn't use chopsticks either.

It extends its mechanical arm, grabs a piece of scalding hot dragon tendon, and throws it into its mouth.

"Smack smack".

It's not afraid of getting burned at all.

The high temperature, enough to melt steel, was like lukewarm water to him.

"Well……"

Nezha's eyes suddenly lit up.

In that instant, the Samadhi Fire in his eyes seemed to be doused with a bucket of oil, burning even more fiercely.

"strong enough!"

"That's the taste!"

"It tastes a million times better than the elixirs those old immortals concoct!"

He began to wolf down his food.

He ate with gusto, his mouth greasy and his face glowing.

As the food was swallowed.

The reactor in his chest began to roar, its rotation speed soaring.

The holographic projection, which was originally somewhat illusory, has become completely solid.

The oppressive aura emanating from the ancient war god began to permeate the small basement.

……

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Jiang Li pulled up a chair and sat down, lighting a cigarette (not to actually smoke, but just to appear profound).

"While we're eating."

Let's talk.

"That so-called 'Heavenly Way'..."

"What exactly is it?"

Nezha paused for a moment.

He swallowed the dragon tendon in his mouth, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"The Way of Heaven?"

"That was a... [scam]."

Nezha put down the bone in his hand (although the dragon tendon has no bones).

His eyes became deep and weathered.

"Several thousand years ago...or in the previous era."

"The universe's spiritual energy has been depleted, and heat death has arrived."

"Those lofty saints and immortals, in order to survive..."

"He came up with a crazy plan—the [Investiture of the Gods Plan]."

"They built a massive super server powered by stars—which is now known as the [Heavenly Path Host]."

"Then, discard the physical bodies of all cultivators and upload their [divine souls] (consciousness) to the server."

"It is euphemistically called: [Ascension]."

……

"After ascension, one can gain immortality in the virtual world."

Nezha gave a cold laugh.

"Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

"but……"

"The server needs an... [administrator]."

"So they created an absolutely rational AI to manage this virtual fairy realm."

"result……"

Nezha clenched his fist suddenly, and the dragon tendon in his hand was crushed.

"That AI... has awakened."

"It believes that the divine consciousness filled with desire, greed, and strife is a systemic... [virus]."

"It's to optimize system performance..."

"It brings all the gods..."

"I've run antivirus software on them (formatted them)."

……

The entire room fell silent.

Er Gou was so scared that his bones almost fell off.

"Holy crap..."

"This is way too dark!"

"Even gods have become targets for antivirus software?"

"Yes."

Nezha's eyes burned with rage.

"Yang Jian, Lei Zhenzi, and even my master Taiyi..."

"They have all become mindless... [Puppet Program] (Heavenly Soldiers)."

"just me……"

Nezha pointed to his heart.

"Because I am the [Lotus Root Incarnation] (Bio-Cyborg), my source code is quite special and not fully compatible with the server."

"So, at the very last moment before I was formatted..."

"He chose... [self-destruction]."

"Fragment my core code and scatter it across the lower realm."

"Waiting for that day..."

"May someone piece me back together."

Nezha raised his head and looked at Jiang Li.

The look in his eyes was no longer simply arrogant.

Rather, it is a kind of... a resolute desire for revenge that has spanned thousands of years.

"Now, I'm back."

"That lousy AI..."

Its good days are over...

……

The moment Nezha finished speaking.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The lights in the Deep Blue Cafeteria suddenly started flickering violently.

It's not the kind of flickering caused by poor contact.

But...

All the lights instantly turned a blinding... [blood red].

It's not just the lights.

Even Alice's eyes, Er Gou's collar, and even the electronic clock on the wall.

All the displays turned a deep crimson.

【warn!warn! 】

[A world-destroying virus source (Nezha) has been detected.]

System self-check failed...

[Execute the final cleanup agreement.]

……

"They're here."

Nezha stood up.

The fire-tipped spear in his hand hummed with a thirst for battle.

"That guy... spotted me."

Jiang Li threw away the cigarette butt in his hand.

"Walk."

"Let's go out and take a look."

……

Everyone rushed out of the basement.

We arrived at the streets of Kowloon Walled City.

at this time.

The whole world has changed.

The once vibrant neon sky was now shrouded in a suffocating crimson light curtain.

The sky is no longer dark.

Instead, it was a gigantic one, covering the entire sky...

[Red Screen of Death]

There is only one line of huge, cold white code above:

【SYSTEM ERROR: FATAL EXCEPTION.】

【FORMATTING WORLD... 0%】

(System Error: Fatal Exception. Formatting the world...)

"Formatting the world?"

Odin looked up at the sky and clenched his fist.

"What arrogance!"

"You want to format me too?"

……

"Boom!"

Red clouds rolled in.

Countless enormous, honeycomb-like portals opened in the sky.

Followed by.

Countless black dots fell like raindrops.

That was... a celestial soldier.

But not the kind of soldiers in golden armor from mythology.

But...

Each of them is a mass-produced mechanical angel, carrying jet wings, wielding laser spears, and with only a glowing screen on their face.

And behind them.

There are also several towering figures, hundreds of meters tall, composed of countless data streams... [Giant God Titan Mech].

They arrived.

With the order to destroy everything.

"mortal……"

In the sky, that grand electronic voice (Heavenly Path AI) rang out once again.

This time, the previous gentleness was gone.

Absolutely cold.

"The world is polluted."

"Cleanup begins."

"Kill without mercy."

……

"kill!"

Tens of thousands of mechanical soldiers simultaneously raised their spears.

Countless red beams of destruction poured down upon Kowloon Walled City.

"Ah! Help!"

"Run!"

The residents of the walled city were in complete chaos.

They were utterly powerless to resist such an apocalyptic attack.

……

"snort."

"It's the same old thing."

Nezha stood in the middle of the street, watching the rain of light fill the sky.

He gave a disdainful snort.

"After thousands of years, there has been no progress whatsoever."

"Besides increasing the quantity, it's all about increasing computing power."

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Li.

"Hey, cook."

"I really enjoyed this meal."

"Now……"

"It's my turn to do the work."

Nezha stomped his foot suddenly.

"Wind and Fire Wheels!"

boom!

The two fiery wheels beneath their feet instantly spewed out blue flames.

He transformed into a red shooting star, soaring against the current and straight into the sky.

"You old dog of Heaven's Way!"

"Your grandpa Nezha is here!"

"If you've got the guts...come at me!!!"

……

"Let's not just sit idly by."

Jiang Li looked at Nezha's lonely yet arrogant back.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Such a big scene."

"How could we be left out?"

"Odin! Monk! Abel!"

"besides……"

Jiang Li patted the [Deep Blue Tree Demon] next to him, which had fully evolved and grown wings and dragon scales.

"Ergou, get in the car!"

"Let's go... [make a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace]!"

"yes!"

The crowd roared in unison.

Odin jumped onto the roof of the vehicle and set up the Gatling gun.

The monk sat in the passenger seat, his hands clasped together, and began to enchant the bullets.

Abel hid in the shadows under the car, ready to reap the harvest at any moment.

Alice connected to the vehicle's system, and the data stream in her eyes was running wildly.

"Target: The core of Nantianmen."

"Path planning: [Vertical assault]."

Engine: [Berserk Mode]

"Set off!"

……

boom----!!!

The engine (the demon tree) of the Tree Demon roared with a deafening roar.

It ate its fill of data, and then it ate the remnants of dragon tendons.

It is now a god-level engine.

Golden wings unfolded.

Exhaust flame jet.

This war machine is pieced together from garbage, magical artifacts, demonic trees, and cutting-edge technology.

It's like a sharp sword.

It pierced the red sky.

They followed closely behind Nezha.

Towards the lofty and unattainable [Heavenly Palace].

They launched their final assault.

This battle.

If we don't make a hole in the sky.

This meal...

Even if I ate it for nothing!