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

The Library of All Things Return to One, above the waste paper area, at the bottom of the spiral staircase.

The Tree Spirit (World Tree Ark), trailing a golden tail flame, broke through the thick, musty cloud of the waste paper district like a comet swimming against the current.

Ahead, a magnificent building came into view.

It was a spiral staircase connecting the bottomless abyss to the endless sky. It was not made of stone or steel, but of countless huge, heavy hardcover books stacked together. Each step was a book, spine facing outwards, inscribed with ancient, unreadable script.

The staircase ascends in a double helix structure, hollow in the middle, where countless floating characters can be vaguely seen slowly rotating.

"Is this the path to the upper levels?"

Sun Wukong stood on the deck of the ark, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked up.

"Wow, that's incredibly high! It must be at least 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers) away!"

"and……"

Wukong frowned, and his sensitive monkey ears twitched.

"It's too quiet."

"It's so quiet... it's giving me the creeps."

Yes, quiet.

As the Ark approached the spiral staircase, the previously noisy sounds of wind, engines, and even Er Gou's breathing rapidly diminished.

When the ark came to a complete stop on the platform at the entrance of the stairs.

The world... has fallen silent.

……

[Warning! Entering the "Silent Realm".]

[Rule loading: No noise allowed.]

[Punishment Mechanism: Silent voice, name erased.]

Er Gou opened his mouth wide, wanting to bark a couple of times to bolster his courage.

"Woof! Woof!"

Its movements were forceful, and its throat was vibrating.

But... there was no sound.

It's like watching a silent film that's been muted.

Er Gou was terrified. It frantically pounded on the ground, but still no sound came out.

Then, something even more terrible happened.

The dog tag with the words "Er Gou" engraved on it, which Er Gou was wearing around his neck, was starting to fade.

Even Er Gou's originally distinct black and white husky fur began to turn... pale.

It is becoming a "blank sheet of paper".

……

"not good!"

Jiang Li was startled.

He tried to speak, but found that although his vocal cords were vibrating, his voice could not be transmitted.

This is a kind of conceptual erasure.

Here, "sound" is not allowed to exist. A "name," however, is the vehicle for sound. Without sound, a name loses its meaning, and its sense of existence vanishes.

Jiang Li immediately activated the [Gluttony Godhood - Mind Link] (to communicate mentally through the food network).

"Everyone be quiet! Don't try to make a sound!"

Jiang Li's voice resounded directly in everyone's minds.

"This is rule suppression!"

"The more you struggle, the faster you lose!"

"Ergou! Stop barking! If you keep barking, you'll really turn into a blank sheet of paper!"

Er Gou heard the voice in his mind and was so frightened that he quickly covered his mouth and curled up into a ball.

……

Just then.

Some shadows appeared on the steps ahead.

They have no feet and float in mid-air.

They were draped in long white robes, which looked like paper that had been corrected with correction fluid, pale and stiff.

They have no faces.

Where facial features should be, there's only a symbol of a vertical index finger gesture—

(Shhhh).

[Monster: The Silent One.]

[Race: Concept Erasers.]

[Rank: Library Guard (Rule-based)]

[Description: They are aggregates of deleted, resentful words. They hate all sound, hate everything with a name. Their touch can restore everything to "blank space."]

……

There were at least a hundred of these silent individuals.

They floated over without making a sound.

But the aura of emptiness they exude is more terrifying than any killing intent.

Nezha got anxious.

He rode on his fiery wheels (which were silent but still spinning) and tried to rush over.

"return!"

Jiang Li shouted in the mental network.

But it's too late.

Nezha thrust out his Fire-Tipped Spear.

"puff!"

The tip of the gun pierced the body of a silent person.

There was no blood.

The silent one's body was like a cloud of mist, directly enveloping the Fire-Tipped Spear.

then……

The red on the Fire-Tipped Spear... disappeared.

The runes engraved on the gun... disappeared.

Even the concept of the "Fire-Tipped Spear" became blurred in Nezha's mind.

"My gun... turned into... a stick?"

Nezha was shocked and quickly let go and retreated.

The divine weapon, the Fire-Tipped Spear, fell to the ground and turned into a white, lifeless... chalk (???).

……

"What amazing rules!"

Sun Wukong was also startled.

"Don't touch this thing!"

"It gets formatted with the slightest touch!"

"Then what should we do? Use a ranged attack?"

Wukong plucked a handful of hairs, intending to create a clone.

As soon as the hair left the body, it turned into white scraps of paper and scattered.

"it's useless."

Tang Sanzang's voice echoed in the mental network.

"Amitabha."

"They are the embodiment of 'nothingness'."

"Any attack that is 'existent' will be assimilated into 'non-existent' when it hits them."

"unless……"

"Unless what?" Jiang Li asked.

"Unless it can be done with a force that is absolutely noisy, absolutely existent, and cannot be ignored."

"Go break this deathly silence."

"To force 'nothing' into 'something'."

……

"Absolutely noisy?"

"Cannot be ignored?"

Jiang Li watched the Silent Ones approaching.

Watching Er Gou's figure grow fainter and fainter.

His brain was working at lightning speed.

What sound is most impossible to ignore in this world?

Was that thunder?

No, the thunder was too brief.

Was that an explosion?

No, that was the sound of destruction.

For living beings, there is a sound that is engraved in their DNA. It is a sound that, upon hearing, will cause them to salivate, their heart to race, and their feelings of "it is so good to be alive."

That is……

The sounds of cooking.

To be precise.

It's the kind of smell that comes out when oil collides with high temperatures...

"Sizzle—"

……

"I have a solution."

A smile appeared on Jiang Li's lips.

He shouted in the mental network:

"Great Sage! Nezha!"

"Put your weapons away!"

"Move my things!"

"Move what?"

"Move... an iron plate!"

Jiang Li dragged out a huge, black iron plate from the kitchen of the Tree Demon (he had previously scooped off a piece of Azathoth's accretion disk as a souvenir at the Old Hot Pot Restaurant, and now it came in handy).

"Since they like quiet."

"Since they want to turn us into blank slates."

"Then I'll..."

"On their faces..."

"Let's have a... heavy metal rock teppanyaki party!"

……

Step 1: Set up the "stage".

Jiang Li placed the black iron plate at the very front of the ark's deck.

"Nezha! Light the fire!"

"No, Samadhi Fire! That's too quiet!"

"We must use... Explosive Fire!"

"Add some firecrackers (gunpowder)!"

Although Nezha didn't understand, he still did as instructed.

He mixed a large amount of gunpowder into the flames.

"Crackling and popping—"

Although the sound was suppressed, the flames flickered, generating an extremely unstable heat wave.

The iron plate quickly heated up to a red-hot color.

Step 2: Prepare the "ingredients".

Jiang Li looked at the silent figures that were drifting over.

They have no physical form.

But this was no challenge for the God of Cookery.

"Since you have no names."

"Then I'll give you... a name."

Jiang Li activated the [Gluttony Godhood - Concept Endowment].

He pointed to the silent person at the very front.

"You look fair and clean, soft and tender."

"There are many more tentacles (albeit phantoms)."

"From now on."

"Your name is... [Giant Deep-Sea Squid]!"

hum!

As Jiang Li finished speaking (although there was no sound, it was a concept that was given to him).

The silent one's body suddenly trembled.

Its shape began to distort.

The originally blurry white robe actually grew tentacles and turned into... a huge, white squid made of mist.

"Once it has a name, it has a physical form."

"With a physical form, you can... fry it!"

……

Step 3: Create "noise".

Jiang Li took out two huge iron shovels.

Then they took out another bucket... [High-Dimensional Sizzling Oil].

This is no ordinary oil.

This is the "Exclamation Mark Essence" that Jiang Li collected in the waste paper area (it's an extremely exaggerated emotional extract).

This oil produces a startling crackling sound when heated.

"Watch closely!"

"This is... the first sound that broke the silence!"

Jiang Li suddenly poured a spoonful of hot oil onto the scalding hot iron plate.

"Zzzzz!!!!"

That sound.

It was not completely swallowed up.

Because the sound contained too strong "emotions" and "appetite".

A crack has appeared in the web of rules of the Silent Ones.

A piercing, sharp, yet incredibly enticing sizzle of oil exploded in the deathly silence.

……

The group of silent people stopped.

A hint of... confusion appeared on their faces, which had previously only shown a "shh" sign.

What is that sound?

Why am I hearing this sound...?

The body, which was originally empty, will have an urge to be fried?

"Come on, squid!"

Jiang Li scooped up the silent creature that had been named "Deep Sea Giant Squid".

It was pressed directly onto the iron plate.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzh!!!"

This time the sound was even louder.

That was the sound of moisture (nothingness) rapidly evaporating under high temperature.

That's the sound of grease seeping into the "concept".

"ah!!!"

The silent one let out a scream.

No, that wasn't a scream.

That's... proof that there was sound!

It made a sizzling sound while being fried!

……

Step 4: Add "heavy metals".

"Not loud enough!"

"Great Sage! Chop onions!"

"I want the spiciest kind, the kind that makes you scream and cry at the same time—the 'tearjerker onion'!"

"Nezha! Sprinkle with cumin!"

"I want those plump, crackling cumin seeds that pop when roasted over a fire!"

"Okay!"

Wukong and Nezha also joined in this crazy cooking.

"Knock knock knock knock—"

The rhythm of Wukong chopping vegetables is like drumming.

The onion fell onto the hot plate, creating even more intense smoke.

"Crackling and popping—"

The cumin sprinkled by Nezha was like tiny bombs exploding on the iron plate.

Various voices converged.

The sounds of sizzling, cracking, chopping vegetables, and the clanging of a spatula hitting a metal plate.

This created a... [Kitchen Symphony].

……

Amidst this extremely noisy and vibrant wave of sound.

The Silent Ones' [Silent Domain]... has collapsed.

"Click—"

A cracking sound came from the air.

The color on Er Gou's body has returned to normal.

"Woof! Woof woof! I can bark now! Boss, I can bark now!"

Er Gou barked excitedly.

Tang Sanzang also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Amitabha Buddha, well said, well said."

Nezha's Fire-Tipped Spear also transformed from chalk back into a divine weapon.

……

And those who remain silent.

They were in complete chaos.

Once their domains were broken, they became ordinary "ingredients".

"No...don't fry me..."

"I'm so hot... but I smell so good..."

They uttered their first words after being given names.

Jiang Li wielded the shovel with incredible skill, as if he were putting on a spectacular performance.

He pressed the silent creatures onto the hot plate and fried them until they were golden brown on both sides.

Brush on a layer of [Noisy Garlic Sauce].

Sprinkle with a handful of [Screaming Chili Powder].

At last.

You also need to drizzle a spoonful of the "soul cooking wine".

boom!

Flames rose.

That is... the soul of teppanyaki.

……

[Dish Name: Grilled Noisy Squid (Original Name: The Silent One)]

[Level: Rule Violation]

[Description: The monsters that try to erase sound are given the concept of "squid," and they are fried on a sizzling hot plate to produce the loudest sound.]

[Taste: Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, each bite produces a satisfying "crunch" in your mouth. Every bite is a mockery of lifelessness.]

[Effect: Upon consumption, you gain the "Loud Voice" buff. Your voice will have physical penetration, and any silencing spells will be ineffective against you.]

……

"Out of the pot!"

Jiang Li scooped up a large plate of golden-yellow "squid tentacles".

"Come on, come on!"

"Let's share!"

"You're welcome!"

"This is... the voice of freedom!"

……

Everyone was already irresistibly tempted by the aroma.

They swarmed forward.

"tasty!"

Wukong grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Crunch, crunch!"

They chewed with a deafening roar.

"This flavor...it's really potent! Louder than the gong I banged when I wreaked havoc in Heaven!"

Nezha also ate with his mouth full of oil.

"Hmph! You dared to silence me!"

"Now it'll be a great snack to have with drinks!"

Even the old man who folds origami (who had secretly followed behind) came over to ask for a string of them.

"Waaaah... This sound... is so beautiful..."

The old man ate while tears streamed down his face.

"This is... the sound of life..."

……

With the last Silent One consumed.

The mist over the spiral staircase has completely dissipated.

The once silent passageway is now filled with laughter and the sounds of chewing.

"belch--"

Er Gou let out a loud burp.

The burp echoed in the empty stepped well, carrying far and wide.

Nothing came out to stop it anymore.

"Let's go."

Jiang Li wiped the iron plate.

Hang it back on the side of the ark (as a shield).

"The road is open."

"Next stop..."

Jiang Li looked up at the higher part of the spiral staircase.

There.

A vast expanse of books can be vaguely seen...

"The Corridor of Truth".

"I hope the books there..."

"Don't end up like these squid..."

"So...it's time to fry."

……

The Treant has restarted.

The boat was filled with the aromas and noise of the surroundings.

We rushed up the spiral staircase.

And behind them.

That "silent domain" that once turned countless intruders into blank slates.

just now.

All that remained was a sign that read, "Please make a lot of noise to enter" (which Jiang Li had casually put up).

as well as.

The lingering scent in the air...

Cumin flavor.