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

Koprulu Sector, fringe galaxy, Char planet orbit.

When the Treant (World Tree Ark), trailing a long plume of black smoke, stumbled out of that unstable dimensional wormhole, what greeted them was not birdsong and fragrant flowers, but a despairing expanse of ashen red.

"Warning! Warning!"

Alice (Ark AI)'s voice is no longer the usual calm electronic tone, but is filled with a tired feeling of low battery.

"Crossing dimensions consumed all the energy accumulated in the Cauldron of Gluttony."

Current shield value: 0%.

"Current energy reserves: 0.5% (just enough to maintain the life support system)."

"Gravity capture in progress... We will crash in one minute."

……

Inside the cockpit.

Jiang Li gripped the handrail tightly, watching the dark red planet outside the window getting closer and closer.

It was a planet like a hellish inferno.

More than 60% of the surface is covered by flowing lava rivers. The rest is black volcanic rock and thick volcanic ash.

The atmosphere appeared a murky orange-red, due to high concentrations of sulfur and toxic gases.

"This place... is hotter than the Flaming Mountains!"

Sun Wukong leaned against the window, looking at the churning lava outside, and scratched his face in frustration.

"Cook, have we fallen into an alchemy furnace?"

"It's even worse than an alchemy furnace."

Jiang Li took a deep breath and quickly issued the order.

"Everyone, prepare for the impact!"

"Ergou! Put your Cold Iron Fang away, don't break it!"

"Sanzang! Activate the shield! Activate as many as you can!"

"Nezha! Go to the cargo hold and protect that sleeping Gluttony Witch (Harpie)! She's our only spare battery!"

……

"Boom!"

The Treant was like a burning meteor, piercing through the thick atmosphere of Char.

The intense friction turned the hull red-hot.

"Adjust your posture!"

Alice used her last bit of computing power to activate the reverse deceleration plate.

"Bang! Bang!"

The deceleration parachutes were instantly incinerated by the high atmospheric temperature as soon as they were deployed.

"Hold on tight!!!"

boom----!!!

A deafening roar.

The Treant crashed heavily onto a black volcanic rock plateau.

The immense impact carved a trench several kilometers long into the ground. Sparks flew and rocks scattered everywhere.

Finally, the Ark came to a stop at the edge of a dormant volcano with a sickening metallic creak.

……

A deathly silence.

A few minutes later.

"Cough cough cough..."

A cough broke the silence.

The airlock door was violently kicked open (it was deformed and couldn't be opened, so Wukong kicked it).

Jiang Li emerged covered in dust and dirt. Instead of checking his injuries, his first action was to take a deep breath.

"Cough cough cough! Ptooey!"

Jiang Li spat out a mouthful of black phlegm.

"It smells of sulfur, coke, and... something like a burnt beetle."

"The air is toxic."

"But for people like us, it won't kill us, it'll just make our throats sore."

Er Gou (the Chaos Devouring Dog) also rolled out, its fur was singed in one spot, making it look like a spotted dog.

"Woof! The ground is too hot!"

Er Gou jumped up and down.

"Boss, is there anything to eat here? I don't see a single blade of grass."

……

Existence crisis.

The group disembarked one after another.

Looking at this desolate, cruel world filled with the aura of death, everyone's spirits sank to the bottom.

Tang Sanzang (the cyber monk) glanced at the Tree Demon, which had completely shut down but was still emitting black smoke.

"Amitabha."

"This humble monk has already scanned it."

"Although the main structure of the spacecraft is still intact, the power unit has completely cooled down, and many key components were shattered in the impact."

"Most importantly..."

"We're out of energy."

Nezha kicked a black stone on the ground.

"What should we do then?"

"If we don't have energy, we can't move. Are we supposed to live like savages in this godforsaken place?"

"Being a savage isn't scary."

Jiang Li squatted down and picked up a piece of volcanic rock that was still hot.

"What's terrible is... going hungry."

He touched his stomach.

During the few days of competition in the Abyss Kitchen, although he was constantly cooking, the high intensity of the activity left his body in dire need of replenishing its energy.

"The top priority now."

"It's not about repairing the ship."

"Yes... we're looking for water and food."

……

explore.

Jiang Li left Harpy (still sleeping, like a dead pig) on ​​the ship and had Alice activate the remaining defense system to guard the house.

He led Wukong, Nezha, Ergou, and Sanzang to form a "battlefield search and rescue team" and began to explore the surrounding area.

This is the highlands of Star Char.

The ground was covered in sharp obsidian.

Walking on it makes a "squeak, squeak" sound on the soles of your shoes.

"careful."

Jiang Li walked at the front, carrying Occam's Razor in his hand.

"It's impossible for such an environment to be devoid of life."

"Anything that can survive in this kind of hell must be... tough-skinned and extremely aggressive."

I walked about two kilometers.

A slightly flat depression appeared ahead.

In the center of the depression, there was a purple, viscous substance, like a fungal carpet, covering the black rocks.

"What's that?"

Er Gou leaned over and sniffed it.

"Woof! It smells so bad!"

"It smells like seafood rotting on the beach!"

Jiang Li walked over and used the tip of his knife to pick up a bit of the purple fungal carpet.

It's viscous, stringy, and still slightly wriggling.

[Item: Zerg Creep]

[Description: A living biological tissue responsible for providing nutrients to Zerg structures and units.]

[Review: Inedible (unless you want to ingest worms). But its appearance means... there are insectoids nearby.]

"Zerg?"

Wukong scratched the back of his hand.

"You mean that thing that looks like a praying mantis and a cockroach at the same time?"

"almost."

Jiang Li stood up and looked around warily.

"The presence of fungal mats indicates that there are... patrol soldiers nearby."

……

"Shhh..."

Before he could finish speaking...

A rapid scraping sound suddenly came from behind a huge volcanic rock not far away.

The sound was like... countless hard feet stepping on glass.

"They're here!"

Jiang Li's eyes narrowed.

"Prepare for battle!"

"Watch out! Don't break it! I need to inspect the goods!"

"hiss----!!!"

A piercing screech.

A monster the size of a wolf suddenly leaped out from behind the rocks.

It has a hard, reddish-brown carapace and a pair of small, though degenerate, but still menacing wings on its back (used for balance).

Its forelimbs are the most terrifying part.

Those were two sharp, sickle-like bone blades.

Its mouth was full of fangs, dripping with green acid.

[Monster: Zergling.]

[Common name: puppy/dog.]

[Tier: Zerg basic combat unit.]

[Characteristics: Extremely fast, with a hard shell; although not strong in individual combat, they never engage in one-on-one battles.]

……

"Just this one?"

Nezha looked at the lonely jumping insect with some disappointment.

"It looks like a larger grasshopper."

"I can kill it with one shot."

Don't underestimate your enemy.

Jiang Li frowned.

"Flying crickets have a swarm mentality."

"The appearance of one means... it's marking us."

really.

The springtail did not attack immediately.

It lay on the ground, its chitinous carapace on both sides of its body vibrating violently, emitting a low-frequency wave that was inaudible to the human ear.

"It's calling for help!"

Tang Sanzang's data sunglasses glowed red.

"Interrupt it!"

"Ergou! Go!"

Jiang Li gave the order.

"Woof! Another dog? I'm a dog too! Let's see who's fiercer!"

Er Gou (Chaos Devouring Dog) felt offended.

It opened its huge mouth, revealing its mouthful of cold iron skull-crushing teeth, and pounced on it.

That springtail reacted extremely quickly.

With a push of its hind legs, it sprang three meters into the air, its scythe-like forelimbs slashing fiercely at Er Gou's head.

"when!"

A crisp sound.

The sickle struck Er Gou's cold iron teeth, sparks flying everywhere.

Er Gou was unharmed (after all, he was equipped with divine gear).

And the bone blade of that jumping insect actually... had a cut.

"Woof! Your knife isn't as hard as my teeth!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Er Gou bit the jumping insect's neck.

"Snap!"

The armor-piercing attribute of Cold Iron Fang is activated.

The hard chitinous shell crumbled in Er Gou's mouth like a potato chip.

Green blood gushed out.

The springtail twitched twice and then stopped moving.

……

First food ingredient identification.

The battle ended quickly.

Jiang Li immediately stepped forward and began to conduct an "autopsy" (inspection) on the alien creature.

"Er Gou, let go."

Jiang Li squatted down and dipped his finger in the green insect blood.

I held it to my nose and smelled it.

"Um……"

"It's very acidic."

"The pH value is around 3, similar to that of vinegar."

"This means its meat will become...dry due to the acidity."

Jiang Li then used Occam's razor to cut open the carapace of the springtail's thigh.

The purplish-red muscle fibers inside were exposed.

These muscle fibers are very thick, and they are intertwined like steel cables.

"Extremely high muscle density."

Jiang Li cut off a small piece, put it in her mouth and chewed it (eating it raw).

"Pooh!"

Jiang Li chewed it twice and then spat it out.

"It's too hard!"

"It's like chewing on a rubber tire!"

"And there's also a... strong earthy and sour smell."

"It's simply... the worst kind of ingredient."

……

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong's face fell.

"Cook, didn't you say this place was a hunting ground?"

"This stuff tastes awful, are we going to eat this from now on?"

"I might as well go back to Flower Fruit Mountain and eat peaches!"

"Don't rush."

Jiang Li wiped his mouth.

Although it's hard to eat raw, that's no problem for a master chef.

"There are no inherently bad ingredients, only improperly prepared ones."

"This kind of meat, although tough, sour, and smelly."

"But it has one advantage."

"That is... extremely high energy density."

"Just one small bite and I felt the heat explode in my stomach."

Jiang Li looked at the dead jumping insect on the ground.

"As long as the problems of acidity and hardness can be solved."

"It's the best... battlefield rations."

……

Cooking Experiment: The First Way to Eat Springtails.

It's getting dark.

Jiang Li glanced at the two dim satellites on the horizon.

"We need to establish a safe campsite before dark."

"And while you're at it... eat this bug too."

The group used the crater where the Tree Spirit was located as a temporary base.

Because of its high elevation, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it also has geothermal activity.

Step 1: Deacidification.

Jiang Li cut off the thigh meat of the springtail.

"This acidic blood must be neutralized."

Jiang Li searched the surrounding area for some white volcanic ash.

"This ash contains alkaline minerals."

He mixed the volcanic ash with a little water (the only remaining amount in the Ark) and applied it to the surface of the meat.

"Marinate for ten minutes!"

"Use acid-base neutralization to force out that sour, foul smell!"

Step 2: Soften.

"The meat is too tough, what should I do?"

"Physical beating!"

Jiang Li placed the meat on a flat obsidian stone.

"Great Sage! Smash it!"

"Use your stick to... smash through the fibers in this meat!"

"Alright! I'm good at this!"

Wukong swings his golden cudgel (rolling pin mode).

"Eighty! Eighty!"

A frantic pounding ensued.

The once hard, purplish-red muscle was smashed into loose, crumbly meat.

Step 3: Grilling on a stone slab.

Jiang Li found a thin stone slab that was scorching hot from the geothermal heat.

No oil is needed (flea meat contains its own fat).

Simply pat the minced meat into a patty and stick it onto the stone slab.

"Sizzle—"

The meat patty comes into contact with the hot stone slab.

A wisp of blue smoke rose up.

The sour smell evaporated most of it under the high temperature.

What remains is a taste similar to... cheap, grilled lamb skewers.

Although it wasn't particularly fragrant, it was tempting enough in this hungry situation.

Sprinkle with a little Abyss Chili Powder (the leftovers from before).

……

[Dish Name: CharStar Volcanic Ash Marinated Springtail Meat Patties]

[Level: Wasteland Survival]

[Description: Meat patties made by physically pounding and softening the meat after neutralizing the acidity of the Zerg blood with volcanic ash.]

[Texture: Still a bit dry and sour, but at least chewable. The outer layer is crispy, and the inside is bursting with flavor.]

[Benefits: Replenishes a large amount of energy. Long-term consumption may cause the skin to harden (increase defense).]

……

"Come on, give it a try."

Jiang Li distributed the baked meat patties to everyone.

Er Gou couldn't wait and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Woof! Not bad! It tastes a bit like expired beef jerky!"

Nezha took a bite and frowned.

"It's alright, better than Guanyin clay."

Tang Sanzang chewed slowly and carefully.

"Amitabha."

"In this desolate place, a hot meal is a blessing."

……

Just as everyone finished this simple "landing meal".

Night fell.

The nights on Charles did not become cooler; instead, they became even hotter due to heat dissipation from the ground.

far away.

The direction of that purple fungal carpet.

A dense, chilling hissing sound filled the air.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

"Click-click-click"

More than one.

There are hundreds or thousands.

The signal emitted by the slain scout leaper before its death... took effect.

"It seems so."

Jiang Li stood up and gripped Occam's razor tightly in his hand.

Looking at the countless red eyes that lit up in the darkness in the distance.

"Post-meal digestion exercise... is coming."

"tonight……"

"It's probably going to be a...sleepless night."

"Perfect."

Jiang Li licked his lips.

"One isn't enough."

"This group..."

"That should be enough for us... to stock up on some dry rations."