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

Foundry World No. 001, Edge of the Steel Graveyard, Rust Canyon.

The acid rain was still falling from the sky, pattering against the black metallic ground with a sickening "sizzling" sound.

At the foot of that enormous mountain of garbage, the little robot that looked like a long-legged bread toaster was holding the empty cup Jiang Li had given it. With a lingering sense of satisfaction, it stretched out a thin metal tongue (a sensor probe) and licked the last drop of heavy oil latte from the bottom of the cup clean.

"drop--"

Its single eye emitted a brilliant blue light.

The processor, which had been sluggish due to lack of oil, was now running like crazy, as if it had been injected with adrenaline. The rusty joints even emitted a crisp mechanical meshing sound thanks to the lubrication of the high-quality engine oil.

"It's...delicious..."

The little robot emitted intermittent electronic synthesized sounds.

It raised its head, its one eye looking at Jiang Li with adoration, as if it were looking at a generous gas station manager.

"Outsider... a good person..."

"Are you... the [Oil God]?"

……

"Oil God?"

Sun Wukong was munching on a gear-shaped biscuit next to him, laughing.

"Cook, you're getting more and more of these titles."

"He's an Old One, a God of Food, and now he's become the God of Oil."

"Please, give me two buckets too, my monkey hair is almost rusty."

Jiang Li ignored the greedy monkey.

He crouched down and looked at the little robot.

"Little guy, you didn't drink the oil for nothing."

"Now it's your turn to keep your promise."

"Tell us, where can we find the best parts?"

"Also, in this area... who's in charge?"

……

The little robot's body trembled slightly, as if it had mentioned something terrifying.

It raised a rusty mechanical arm and pointed it into the depths of the canyon, at the area shrouded in thick black smoke.

"That area... is the dismantling zone."

"There are... [Chainsaw Mantises] there."

"They specialize in...hunting...stray robots."

"Take us apart...and sell us to...the Forge Lords."

"The Forge Lord?"

Alice quickly searched for the term on the local network (although the signal was very weak).

"Boss, the Forge Lord is the overlord of this abandoned industrial area."

"It is said to control a [Primordial Forge]."

"Not only can it smelt metals, but it can also... smelt the spark (soul)."

……

"A spark?"

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

interesting.

In this mechanical world, the so-called soul is probably something like core code or a smart chip.

"Since it's the dominant power, it must have a lot of good stuff."

Jiang Li stood up and patted the iron filings off his hands.

"Walk."

"Let's go check out that dismantling area."

"By the way..."

Jiang Li glanced at the little robot's tattered body.

"Let's avenge this little guy..."

"And for our Treant too..."

"Get some game (parts)."

……

The group bid farewell to the temporarily hidden Tree Spirit and, led by the little robot, entered the gloomy Rusty Canyon.

The environment here is much harsher than outside.

The cliffs on both sides are not made of stone, but are made up of countless layers of flattened, wrecked cars and spaceship debris.

Strange plants were growing all over the ground.

Those were clumps of "electronic weeds" made of copper wires and optical fibers intertwined.

Occasionally, one or two mechanical mice will dart out from the grass; their tails are data cables, and their eyes are light-emitting diodes.

"Wow!"

Er Gou (in husky form) saw a mechanical mouse and instinctively pounced on it.

"Rat! Don't run away!"

"Snap!"

The two dogs snapped at it.

"Awooo!!!!"

Er Gou let out a miserable cry and released his mouth.

The mechanical mouse didn't die; instead, it released a high-voltage current that made Er Gou's mouth smoke.

"Ptooey! My mouth is numb! My mouth is numb!"

Er Gou had a long face.

"How come this rat can generate electricity? And it doesn't smell like meat, it just smells like money!"

……

"That's a high-voltage electric mouse."

Jiang Li picked up the chewed-up mechanical mouse and looked at it.

"There's not much meat (insulating gel) inside, but this tail..."

Jiang Li ripped off the end of the data cable that was still crackling and sparking.

"It's top-quality... [Spicy Strips] (High-Pressure Version)."

"Keep it for now."

Jiang Li threw the electric mouse's tail into his backpack.

"Keep going."

……

The deeper you go, the stronger the smell of blood (engine oil) becomes.

More and more debris was on the ground.

Everywhere were the corpses of robots that had been violently dismantled.

Some were headless, others had been disemboweled, exposing the circuit boards inside.

"Drip... I'm scared..."

The little robot huddled behind Tang Sanzang's cassock, trembling.

"They're here...they're here..."

"Who's here?"

Nezha raised his neutron star spear and looked around warily.

"Hmph! You cowardly rat, hiding your face and scurrying away!"

"Get out here, you brat!"

……

"Sizzle sizzle..."

A chilling chainsaw start-up sound suddenly rang out above the canyon.

Followed by.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several huge black shadows fell from the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground in front of everyone.

Those were three... [mechanical monsters].

They resemble giant praying mantises and can reach a height of five meters.

Its entire body was covered in dark green alloy armor, and black exhaust fumes spewed from its back.

What's most terrifying are their forelimbs.

That's not a sickle.

Those were two high-speed rotating chainsaws, dripping black machine oil...

[Monster: Wasteland Chainsaw Mantis]

[Race: Modified mechanical creature.]

[Rank: Elite Hunter]

【Characteristics: Addicted to oil, prone to violent disassembly.】

……

"Found... a high-quality part."

The lead chain-saw mantis locked its red compound eyes on Nezha (who now has a mechanical body).

"High-density alloy..."

"A rare energy core..."

"Dismantle...recycle..."

Buzz—! ! !

Its forelimb chainsaws spun wildly, emitting a piercing roar.

He lunged directly at Nezha.

"Want some of my parts?"

Nezha gave a cold laugh.

"Aren't you afraid of breaking your teeth!"

"No, break your saw!"

Nezha thrust his spear forward.

"when!"

The neutron star spear collides with the high-frequency chainsaw.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Nezha remained motionless, but the giant mantis was shaken back several steps, and a chip even appeared on the chainsaw.

"So hard..."

The mantis emitted a puzzled electronic sound.

……

"Don't break it!"

Just as Nezha was about to dismember the mantis into eight pieces.

Jiang Li suddenly shouted.

"Leave the body intact!"

"This is...the ingredients!"

Jiang Li stood behind, his eyes shining as he stared at the three chainsaw mantises.

In his gluttonous eyes (concept kitchenware enhanced version).

This is not a killing machine at all.

These are clearly three... [huge, thin-shelled, thick-fleshed mantis shrimp].

"Look at the hydraulic pipes under the armor; they're filled with the freshest [bio-hydraulic oil]."

"Look at the motor of that chainsaw, it's like an electromagnetic muscle brimming with explosive power."

"Especially those forelimbs..."

Jiang Li swallowed.

"With such big pincers, the meat inside must be very firm and chewy."

"If this were made into... [Spicy Teppanyaki]..."

……

"Great Sage! Attack!"

"Take them alive!"

"Just the pliers and the body! We don't need the head!"

"Okay!"

Sun Wukong chuckled and pulled the Golden Cudgel (now in the form of a physics-based holy sword) out of his ear.

"Men! Freeze me, Old Sun!"

"Freeze-body spell!"

hum!

A flash of golden light.

The other two chainsaw mantises, who were preparing to launch a sneak attack, froze in place.

Their engines were still roaring, their chainsaws were still turning, but their bodies were immobile.

"dismantle!"

Jiang Li held the Occam's Razor (a concept chef's knife).

It rushed up like a gust of wind.

……

【The Butcher's Skill in Dissecting an Ox - Mechanical Version】

Jiang Li's figure weaved among the giant mantises.

He did not use brute force.

Instead, they precisely located the connection points of each joint and the gaps of each screw.

"Snap!"

The first cut severed the power transmission pipe.

The praying mantis is paralyzed.

"Snap!"

The second cut removed the heavy back armor.

It revealed the silvery-white, still-pulsating mechanical spine inside.

"Snap!"

The third cut, and the most crucial one.

Jiang Li severed off the pair of enormous chainsaw forelimbs.

"This is the most prized part."

"It's like a crab's large claws."

In just a few seconds.

The three arrogant elite hunters were dismantled by Jiang Li into a pile of... [neatly categorized parts and ingredients].

……

Cooking time.

Location: Rusty Canyon, sheltered area.

Kitchenware: Klein pot.

Jiang Li looked at the "spoils of war" scattered all over the ground.

"The environment here is humid (due to acid rain) and very damp."

"I need to eat something spicy to warm myself up."

"Moreover, this mechanical meat (electromagnetic muscle bundles) is quite tough, so it needs to be stir-fried over high heat to absorb the flavor."

"It's decided."

Jiang Li snapped his fingers.

Today's main dish: [Stir-fried Spicy Chainsaw Mantis Meat]

Main dish: [Oil-drenched high-voltage cable noodles]

……

Step 1: Process the mantis meat.

Jiang Li removed the thick mechanical spine and leg muscles.

These muscles are not real meat, but a type of [memory metal fiber].

Normally as hard as iron, it becomes soft and chewy when exposed to specific temperatures and environments.

"Change the blade!"

Jiang Li cut the metal fiber into thin slices.

"Marinate!"

Pour in the industrial pickling solution (to remove odor and soften).

Add [even slightly rusty iron powder] (for flavor).

Then insert two more "electric spark eggs" (taken from the high-voltage electric rat's nest).

Mix well.

Step 2: Prepare the side dishes.

Take out a handful of [copper wire vermicelli].

Cut a little bit of [fiber optic onion].

Then cut those [Electric Mouse Tail Spicy Strips] into sections (to use as dried chili peppers).

Step 3: Stir-fry.

"Nezha! Fire!"

"I need that temperature that can melt steel!"

"no problem!"

Nezha spewed out Samadhi Fire.

The bottom of the pot instantly turned red.

Jiang Li poured in a spoonful of aviation kerosene (as a base oil).

"boom!"

Flames shot up three meters high.

"Add the meat!"

Metal slices of meat coated in batter are slid into the oil pan.

"Sizzle—!!"

A loud metallic popping sound followed.

The meat slices quickly curled and changed color under high temperature, turning from silvery white to an enticing dark brown.

aroma!

A meaty aroma, thick with a heavy metallic feel, mixed with the explosive fragrance of chili and kerosene, instantly filled the entire canyon.

"Add side dishes!"

Pour in all the copper wire, optical fiber, and spicy strips.

"stir fry!"

The large ladle (transformed from the Golden Cudgel) in Jiang Li's hand flew around.

Flames shot into the sky.

That's real... [hardcore cooking].

……

Step 4: Prepare the main dish.

Jiang Li took out a bundle of high-voltage transmission cables that had been pulled from the mantis's body.

These cables are thick and chewy.

"cook!"

Boil it in heavy water (atomic energy cooling water).

fish out.

Place it on a plate.

It was topped with a thick layer of [charcoal-coated garlic paste] and [sulfur-treated chili powder].

At last.

Heat a spoonful of boiling hydraulic oil.

"splash!"

"Sizzle—"

The sound of oil-splashed noodles is always the most beautiful music in the world.

Even if it's spilled on the cables.

……

[Dish Name: Wasteland Stir-fried Chainsaw Meat Platter (Served with Spicy Cable Noodles)]

[Grade: Industrial heavy metal grade.]

[Description: The most essential muscle fibers of a mechanical monster are stir-fried with aviation kerosene. Paired with chewy noodles made from high-voltage cables.]

[Texture: The meat is springy and chewy like beef tendon, with a slightly tingling, numbing sensation. The noodles are firm and chewy, polishing your teeth with every bite.]

[Effects: Repairs bodily damage and increases armor hardness. Grants the user "electric resistance" and "chainsaw proficiency."]

……

"Dinner's ready!"

Jiang Li was carrying a plate that was bigger than a bathtub.

"Come on, everyone."

"Try this authentic... Cybertronian cuisine."

……

A crowd gathered around.

Although Er Gou had just been electrocuted, he didn't learn his lesson.

It picked up a piece of stir-fried mantis meat.

"Awoo!"

"Crunch, crunch—"

"Wow! This meat...it's a bit tough on my teeth!"

"But...it gets better the more you chew it!"

"And it feels warm and cozy in your stomach after swallowing, like you've got a hand warmer inside!"

Wukong, on the other hand, had a particular fondness for that bowl of oil-splashed cable noodles.

He used chopsticks to roll up a large clump of cables.

"Slurp—"

Suck it in like you're eating ramen.

"Delicious noodles!"

"This power! Even my old Sun Wukong's golden cudgel isn't this hard!"

"Delicious! Delicious!"

Tang Sanzang looked at the plate of dark, oily food.

"Amitabha."

"This chainsaw... also committed many killings in his previous life."

"Now that it's become food on a plate, it can be considered... a physical act of deliverance."

He picked up a piece and savored it carefully.

"Um……"

"There's a violent aesthetic in this flavor."

……

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal.

The little robot (a small bread) next to it was stunned.

It had never seen such a scene in its entire life (although it had only been three years since it was manufactured).

That chainsaw mantis that strikes fear into the hearts of all stray robots...

They fired him?

And you're still eating so heartily?

"Beep...beep..."

Its processor is a bit overloaded.

"Want some?"

Jiang Li handed it a cable that had been splashed with oil.

"This is good stuff, it replenishes copper."

The little robot shakily took the cable.

Put it in your mouth.

"Click."

The electric current surged wildly within its body.

"Okay...okay...okay..."

"tasty!"

Its electronic eye has turned into a heart shape.

"Full of energy!"

"System...upgrade!"

This is due to the ingestion of high-grade ingredients (parts of elite monsters).

The little robot's body suddenly started to glow.

Its tattered shell began to peel off.

New, stronger armor has grown.

Its toaster body has become larger, and it has grown a... miniature chainsaw hand.

[System notification: Your guide "Little Bread" has evolved.]

[Current Form: Scrapper Warrior]

……

"That's how it evolved?"

Jiang Li nodded in satisfaction.

"It seems that the food in this mechanical world really is nourishing."

They ate and drank their fill.

Everyone was in top form.

The Treant also received some scraps to repair its armor, which had been corroded by acid rain.

"alright."

Jiang Li wiped the black grease off his lips.

Looking into the depths of the canyon.

There, huge chimneys were spewing black smoke, and red flames dyed the sky crimson.

"We're full, time to get down to business."

"That... [Forge Lord]."

Jiang Li picked up the Occam's razor.

"I heard that there..."

"There's an even bigger fire."

"Perfect..."

"I'm missing... an oven."