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

A spacetime rift, an unknown dimension.

When the Treant (now evolved into the World Tree Ark) passed through the stargate opened by Nyarlathotep, the expected violent turbulence did not occur.

Instead, everything around became unusually quiet.

This quiet isn't the deathly stillness of space, but rather a... profound sense of weight. It's like stepping into an ancient library with thousands of years of history, the air filled with the scent of old paper and ink, and the tranquil feeling of dust dancing in the sunlight.

"Have we arrived yet?"

Sun Wukong jumped off the roof of the car. He had already put away his wild liquid metal armor and transformed back into his lazy monkey form, using a shrunken golden cudgel as a toothpick.

"This place... why does it feel even more stifling than when I, Old Sun, was suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain?"

Wukong scratched his cheek and flicked his tail somewhat uncomfortably. As the naturally active Great Sage Equaling Heaven, he instinctively disliked this kind of place full of rules and regulations and a sense of oppression.

Jiang Li stood on the deck of the ark, holding the yellowed library card in his hand.

"Welcome to... the ultimate database of the universe."

Jiang Li raised his head, his gaze piercing through the mist outside the ark.

"The Library, the One of All Things".

……

As the fog dissipated, the scene before them left everyone—including the well-informed Tang Sanzang and Nezha—completely speechless.

This is not a building at all.

This is a... universe.

There are no boundaries in any direction, whether it's up, down, left, right, front, or back.

Everywhere you look, there are...books.

Enormous, towering bookshelves, like pillars supporting the sky, stood in the void. The distance between each shelf was tens of thousands of kilometers, and countless glowing "script characters" floated in between.

Some books are as huge as planets, floating silently, with ancient divine script engraved on their spines.

Some books are as small as dust, yet they converge into vast "rivers of books," flowing through the void.

There are no stars here; the light comes from the wisdom emanating from the books themselves—golden, blue, purple, and even an indescribable gray.

"Oh My God……"

Er Gou (in his Chaos Devouring Hound form, though he has now reverted to Hastach's size to save power) opened his mouth wide, and his sunglasses slipped down to the tip of his nose.

"How many books would that be?"

"If I tore these books up and sold them for scrap, could I buy the entire galaxy?"

"Amitabha."

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together, his eyes filled with fanatical light.

"Is this... the ocean of truth?"

"This humble monk senses... countless scriptures, countless profound mysteries... all calling upon this humble monk."

If Jiang Li hadn't been holding him back, this knowledge-thirsty monk would probably have already jumped in and swam into that sea of ​​books.

……

Don't get too excited yet.

Jiang Li, however, was not so optimistic. He looked at the library card in his hand, its light gradually dimming.

"This is Yog Sothos's territory."

"Here, strength doesn't mean everything."

"Knowledge is currency."

"Permissions are the rules."

Jiang Li pointed to the ark's dial.

The once full energy bar was now decreasing at a visible rate.

[WARNING! Environmental regulations conflict!]

Current area: Waste paper recycling area (landfill).

[Warning! Your "Ancient Powers" are suppressed in this area!]

[WARNING! Your "cyber computing power" cannot connect to the internet in this area!]

"What do you mean?" Nezha frowned, and with a whoosh, one of his Wind Fire Wheels went out. "Why can't I light my fire?"

"It means..."

Jiang Li sighed and put away the library card.

"Although we have admission tickets."

"But because we don't have the 'knowledge points' (currency) here."

"so……"

"We are now...the poorest class."

"And he was a penniless pauper who was thrown into the garbage dump on the very edge of the library."

……

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

The Treant's engine suddenly let out a "gasping" sound, and then completely shut down.

The massive ark lost power and began to fall downwards under the influence of gravity.

"Whoa! I fell!"

Er Gou howled and clung to the railing.

"Hold on!"

Jiang Li shouted loudly.

"Tree spirit! Take root!"

"Great Sage! Use your golden cudgel to hold it up!"

Rumbling--

The ark plummeted several thousand meters before crashing heavily onto a "mountain of waste paper"—a pile of countless tattered pages, broken scrolls, and dried-up ink bottles.

Smoke and dust rose everywhere.

Fortunately, the Tree Spirit was tough (after all, it had eaten the Creation Soup) and did not fall apart.

But everyone's disheveled state was inevitable.

……

Half an hour later.

The group crawled out of the ark, covered in dust and dirt.

The sensation underfoot was strange.

It is neither soil nor rock.

Instead... paper.

Thick, yellowed sheets of paper, piled up over millions of years. They feel soft and yielding underfoot, occasionally making a "rustling" sound, as if countless wronged souls are whispering beneath them.

The air was filled with a strong smell of mold and ink.

"This is... the Land of Truth?"

Nezha kicked away a tattered sheepskin scroll with disdain.

"This is clearly a garbage dump!"

"And it's a garbage dump that no one cleans up."

"Since we're here, let's make the best of it."

Jiang Li patted the dust off his clothes.

He looked around.

Although this is a "waste paper area," it is surprisingly large. This mountain of waste paper stretches as far as the eye can see, almost like a continent.

In the distance, some simple buildings constructed from huge books can be vaguely seen, seemingly inhabited by living beings.

"It seems we'll have to... set up camp here."

Jiang Li made a decision.

"The Treant has run out of energy and cannot take off for the time being."

"Our divine power has also been suppressed."

"The most important task now is to survive."

"Survive?"

Wukong snorted dismissively.

"I, Old Sun, already possess an indestructible body and have long since practiced abstinence from grains. Even if I don't eat or drink..."

"Gurgle—"

A loud bang interrupted Wukong's boastful words.

Source of the sound: Wukong's stomach.

"Well……"

Wukong scratched his head awkwardly.

"Strange, why do I feel...so hungry?"

I'm hungry too.

Nezha clutched his stomach, his little face deathly pale.

"I feel like my energy is draining away."

"That's right."

Jiang Li explained.

"In this world, existence itself is a form of consumption."

"If you don't consume foods that contain 'knowledge' or 'energy'."

"Our presence will be... erased by the library."

"That is to say... starve to death."

……

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Er Gou panicked immediately when he heard that he would starve to death.

"Boss! Time to cook!"

"I want to eat braised pork belly! I want to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall! I want to eat takoyaki!"

"Cook?"

Jiang Li gave a wry smile and shrugged.

Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice.

"Our stock... was basically all used up during that hot pot dinner."

"My pockets are emptier than my face now."

Upon hearing this, everyone was struck dumb.

No food?

Is there no food in this godforsaken place?

"What should we do then? Eat the paper?"

Nezha grabbed a piece of torn paper, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it.

"Pah! It's bitter! And it has a weird taste!"

"Don't eat random things."

Tang Sanzang quickly stopped him.

"These scraps of paper contain erroneous or abandoned knowledge."

"Eating this will easily lead to...brain damage."

(Nezha: ...You're the one who's brain-dead!)

……

"Alright, stop arguing."

Jiang Li took a deep breath.

Although his divine power was suppressed, his culinary instincts remained.

His gluttony (passive skill) is still active.

"Since there are traces of biological activity here."

"That means... there must be a food chain here."

"Ergou, sniff with your nose."

"Is there anything... alive nearby?"

Er Gou immediately lay down on the ground, his nostrils twitching.

Its nose now possesses an evolved, chaotic sense of smell.

"Sniff..."

"It smells good!"

"Over there!"

Er Gou pointed deep into the waste paper mountain, towards a "forest" made up of huge black ink bottles.

"It has a...like squid smell!"

"And there's a... musty mushroom smell!"

"very good."

Jiang Li's eyes lit up.

"Squid? Mushrooms?"

"Sounds like you could make... squid ink mushroom stew."

"Great Sage, Nezha, bring your weapons."

"Let's go...hunting."

"As for Sanzang and Alice..."

Jiang Li pointed to the paralyzed Tree Demon.

"You stay here and watch the house."

"While you're at it, tidy up the scrap paper around here and see if you can find any useful information."

"Or... start a fire."

……

After assigning tasks, Jiang Li, along with two thugs and a dog, headed towards the "Ink Bottle Forest".

The road ahead is not easy to walk.

Sharp paper edges were everywhere, and you could easily cut your skin if you weren't careful.

The deeper you go, the dimmer the light becomes.

Some huge, dried-up ink-like riverbeds began to appear around.

On the black riverbed, some strange plants grow.

They look like quill pens, with black liquid dripping from their blades.

[Identification Techniques] (Restricted Version)

[Item: Bitter Ink Grass.]

[Description: A low-level plant that grows in waste paper areas. It has an extremely bitter taste but contains trace amounts of "basic knowledge elements."]

"This stuff is too bitter, I can't eat it."

Jiang Li shook his head.

move on.

Sudden.

"Shhh..."

A scraping sound came from behind the ink bottle in front.

Followed by.

Several enormous creatures, resembling bookworms but as large as crocodiles, crawled out of the shadows.

Their shells are silvery-gray, like they're made of pressed old newspapers.

It has two rows of sharp, staple-like teeth in its mouth.

[Biographies: Giant Bookworm in the Waste Paper Area]

[Rank: Minion Level]

[Characteristics: Feeds on discarded book pages. Hard shell, rich in cellulose. Flesh...similar to mantis shrimp.]

……

"Mantis shrimp?"

Jiang Li's eyes instantly sharpened.

"Although he looks a bit strange."

"But as long as it's shrimp..."

"So you can make... salt and pepper."

"Great Sage!"

"exist!"

Wukong is carrying the Golden Cudgel (which can only be transformed to two meters in length now, but that's enough).

"Leave these big bugs to me!"

"I'm so hungry my hands are about to give it a try, I'll use these to practice!"

"Squeak!"

The giant silverfish let out sharp cries when they saw people.

They opened their mouths and sprayed out streams of black, corrosive ink.

"Careful! Don't get the meat dirty!"

Jiang Li dodged the ink by sidestepping.

"Nezha! Attack their lower body!"

"Ergou! Bit their tails!"

A unique "waste paper hunting battle" has officially begun.

……

Half an hour later.

On the open ground next to the Tree Demon.

A campfire, fueled by discarded book pages, is burning brightly.

When the pages burn, what is emitted is not smoke, but scattered, illusory words.

Jiang Li set up a simple stone pot (using whatever was available, he found a large inkstone, washed it clean, and used it as a pot).

In the pot.

Several giant silverfish, their shells removed and chopped into pieces, are tumbling in hot oil.

Although there weren't many seasonings.

But Jiang Li used the several kinds of Spicy Character Grass (a plant that looks like an exclamation mark and tastes like chili peppers) that he had just found on the road as seasoning.

In addition, the fish meat itself has a scholarly air about it (?).

"Sizzle—"

Jiang Li then sprinkled a handful of coarse salt on the ground.

A strange, burnt aroma wafted through the air.

That's the smell of protein being baked, mixed with a hint of... the fragrance of ink.

[Dish Name: Waste Paper Zone - Salt and Pepper Bookworm Segment]

[Level: Survival]

[Effect: Replenishes a small amount of stamina and restores 5 knowledge points.]

……

"It smells so good!"

Er Gou was drooling.

"Boss, are these bugs really edible?"

"rest assured."

Jiang Li picked up a piece of meat that was fried to a golden brown and crispy texture.

In my hometown, there's a saying...

"High-end ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods."

"and……"

Jiang Li took a bite.

"Crunchy and crunchy."

"Chicken flavor".

Everyone was starving, so they didn't care about the insects anymore and swarmed around to wolf them down.

Even Tang Sanzang made an exception and ate a piece (after all, it was for survival).

"Um……"

Tang Sanzang chewed it.

"This meat... actually has a hint of classical Chinese style."

"This humble monk feels... that my cultural level has improved."

……

They ate and drank their fill.

Everyone's strength and complexion have recovered somewhat.

Jiang Li sat by the campfire, gazing at the boundless mountain of waste paper.

"This is just the first meal."

"We can't keep eating bugs."

"We need to go up."

Jiang Li pointed to the seemingly unreachable upper bookshelf above his head.

"That's where you'll find the real delicacies."

"That's where...the truth lies."

"However, before that..."

Jiang Li pulled out a tattered copy of "Library Survival Guide (Fragment)" from his pocket, which Alice had just found in the trash heap.

"We need to get to this waste paper area first..."

"Make some noise."

"for example……"

Jiang Li's lips curled up slightly.

"Open a shop here..."

"【Deep Blue: Waste Paper Recycling Station & Late-Night Food Stall】?"

"Exchange food for waste paper."

"Exchanging waste paper for knowledge."

"Use knowledge..."

"Exchange it for that ticket to the upper level."

……

Night falls (although there is no sun here, the light dims periodically).

On this desolate, silent mountain of waste paper, filled with the smell of mildew.

The first wisp of smoke belongs to "civilization" and "delicious food".

The smoke rises gently.

This also signifies...

Jiang Li's plan to conquer the library.

Officially started.