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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, Crater Defense Line.

The dawn of Charles is not a symbol of hope.

There is no warm sunrise here, only a dim, bloated red giant star, struggling to climb to the horizon, dyeing this ravaged land a more despairing blood red.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

Although the first wave of Zergling attacks has been repelled, the crisis is not over.

Countless greedy red compound eyes still gleam in the volcanic ash and mist below the crater.

The swarm did not retreat.

They are simply reorganizing.

As a war machine with swarm intelligence, they are learning and evolving. They realize that their prey (Sun Wukong and Nezha) are not to be trifled with, and are waiting for their stamina to be exhausted, or for a higher-ranking commander to issue new tactical orders.

……

Inside the camp.

Sun Wukong, leaning on his golden cudgel, slumped listlessly on the landing gear of the ark, his monkey fur matted together with sweat and green insect blood.

"I can't take it anymore... I, Old Sun, really can't take it anymore."

Wukong was panting heavily, and his stomach was growling like thunder.

"This night of fighting was more tiring than carrying bricks all night."

"Cook, do you still have those awful meat patties? Hurry up and give me two. They're awful, but they'll fill my stomach right now."

Nezha was also exhausted, and the light of the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) had dimmed considerably.

"My fire-tipped spear is almost worn down."

"How come we can't get rid of these bugs? And they seem to be getting smarter; they're not running into the gun anymore."

On Tang Sanzang's (the cyber monk's) data sunglasses, a battery warning keeps flashing.

"Amitabha."

"My spare batteries are almost depleted too."

"If they launch another attack, we'll probably have no choice but to fight them hand-to-hand."

……

"Don't panic."

Jiang Li stood in front of a makeshift stove made of obsidian.

In front of him was a large iron barrel, filled to the brim, which had just been collected from the battlefield.

Inside the bucket were tens of thousands of white, sticky, and brittle joint bones of the alien insects.

"fight?"

Jiang Li sneered and twirled the Occam's razor in his hand.

"For chefs."

The best defense is not offense.

"Instead... I'm cooking."

Jiang Li glanced at the shadowy swarm of insects below, which seemed ready to pounce.

"They don't leave because they're hungry."

"They want to eat us."

"Since that's the case..."

A glint of madness flashed in Jiang Li's eyes.

"Then I'll let them know."

What does it mean to be truly "delicious"?

……

[Deep Blue: Battlefield Cooking Project - Launched]

Step 1: Acid marinating (chemical tenderization).

Jiang Li did not use water to wash the cartilage.

On this planet, water is more precious than gold (the Treant's water circulation system is still not fixed).

He made an extremely bold decision.

He walked over to the carcass of a freshly dead springtail and cut its artery with his knife.

"Sizzle—"

Green, highly acidic blood gushed out.

Jiang Li took out a corrosion-resistant ceramic basin (bought at the Omniscient Market) and filled it halfway with green blood.

"Ergou! Stop hiding!"

"Come and help!"

"Woof? Boss, this is strong acid! It'll ruin your face!"

"It's alright, your teeth are made of cold iron, they're not afraid of acid."

Jiang Li poured the entire bucket of white, crunchy bones into a basin filled with green blood.

"Sizzle s ...

Instantly, violent white smoke and bubbles rose from the basin.

That's strong acid corroding the connective tissue on the surface of cartilage.

"This is... chemical rejuvenation."

Jiang Li explained.

"Although the cartilage of springtails tastes good, it has a very tough membrane on the surface that is difficult to chew."

"Their own blood can dissolve this fascia."

"Moreover, acid can remove fishy smells."

Soaked for three minutes.

The originally white, brittle bone has turned into a crystal-clear jade color.

That tough fascia layer has disappeared, leaving only the core cartilage.

……

Step 2: Coating with batter (to isolate and crisp the dough).

Pour off the acid (carefully pour it onto the stone, which will corrode a large pit).

Jiang Li took out a bag of [nano flour] (a specialty of the Mechanical God Cult).

This type of flour has extremely fine particles that can be rapidly carbonized at high temperatures, forming a hard, brittle shell.

"Sprinkle powder!"

Jiang Li waved his hand, and white powder evenly coated each piece of jade-colored brittle bone.

Add a little Abyss Black Pepper.

A little bit of volcanic rock salt.

Mix well.

Now, these cartilages look like white glutinous rice balls waiting to be cooked.

……

Step 3: Deep-frying (to combat the odor).

Jiang Li set up the Klein pot.

Pour in the [Abyss Black Pig Oil] (this is the last barrel of oil he stored in the Abyss).

"Nezha! Light the fire!"

"I need the most powerful kind of fire! The strongest kind!"

"Okay!"

Although Nezha was tired, he still had the strength to breathe fire.

call--

The Samadhi Fire ignited at the bottom of the pot.

The oil temperature quickly soared to 200 degrees Celsius.

"Put it in the pot!"

Jiang Li poured a large bowl of cartilage coated in flour into the boiling oil in batches.

"Splash—!!!"

The loud explosion sounded particularly jarring on the deathly silent battlefield at dawn.

Followed by.

A miracle happened.

As the frying process continues, the sour, foul smell that originally belonged to the insects is completely decomposed under the high temperature.

Instead.

It's an extremely strong, intense aroma, full of the scent of burnt oil and the Maillard reaction of proteins.

The aroma also carries a faint sour taste (that's from the residual acid blood).

This sour taste transforms into... a refreshing aroma similar to lemon juice under high temperatures.

That is to say... [Spicy and sour fried chicken flavor].

……

The aroma diffuses.

The scent, carried by the sultry morning breeze of Charles Star, drifted down the mountain.

It drifted into that thick layer of volcanic ash fog.

It drifted into... the nose of the swarm of insects.

……

The swarm's response.

Down the mountain.

A large, elite zebra lemur (squad leader) is lying behind a rock, waiting for the order to attack.

Its mind is connected to the will of the Overmind.

The instructions were clear: [Kill all the intruders, devour the biomass.]

but.

Suddenly.

An indescribable smell entered its olfactory organs.

"hiss……?"

Its antennae twitched.

What is this taste...?

So fragrant...

It tastes better than any human or god it has ever eaten!

This fragrance carries a similar scent (a sour, bloody aroma), yet it is completely different.

It felt its stomach (the acid sac) contracting violently.

An instinct called "appetite" begins to frantically assault the command to "kill".

Not just it.

The thousands of springtails in the vicinity also smelled it.

They began to become restless.

The once orderly formation was disrupted.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

"Hungry!"

"I want to eat it!"

"What does that taste like?!"

……

From chaos to infighting.

Jiang Li stood on the high ground, watching the increasingly chaotic movements in the mist below.

A slight smile played at the corners of his lips.

"Not enough."

He took out a bottle of "Abyss Devil Pepper Powder".

"Add more ingredients!"

wow-

Sprinkle red chili powder into the oil.

"Cough cough cough!"

A pungent, spicy aroma burst forth.

The spiciness, mixed with the aroma of fried food, transformed into the most aggressive... [Biochemical Gourmet Gas].

This completely threw the insect swarm into chaos.

This intense stimulation directly severed their weak mental connection with their superior commander (lord/brain worm).

Instinct triumphed over reason (if any).

"roar!!!"

A springtail finally couldn't resist any longer.

It smelled a bit of its own kind's blood (which was also acidic) on another springtail beside it.

In its senses, the smell of blood was confused with the aroma.

It opened its mouth and bit its companion's thigh.

"Snap!"

"hiss!!!"

The bitten springtail went berserk and bit back.

One pass ten, ten pass a hundred.

The swarm of insects that were originally preparing to besiege the Treant were actually fighting each other down the hillside.

They were tearing at each other frantically, as if the other were the delicious food in the pot.

……

Holy crap!

Wukong was dumbfounded.

The half-eaten meat pie in his hand fell to the ground.

"What...what kind of magic is this?"

"A pot of oil caused them to fight amongst themselves?"

"Amitabha."

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together, watching the horrific scene of infighting below.

"This is... greed, anger, and ignorance."

"The appetite is the most primal desire of living beings."

"Benefactor Jiang's move... is to break the order with desire."

"high."

"That's really impressive."

……

Cooking and feast.

Ten minutes later.

The first batch of deep-fried flea cartilage is ready.

The originally white cartilage has now turned golden yellow.

The surface is covered with a crispy crust, and it's coated with red chili powder and black peppercorns.

They rolled around in the plate, making a crisp "rustling" sound.

[Dish Name: Zergling Popcorn - Spicy and Sour Fried Insect Pouch]

[Level: Battlefield Comfort Class]

[Description: The springtails are softened by marinating in their own acidic blood, then coated with nano-flour and deep-fried at high temperature.]

[Features: Extremely crispy on the first bite, then the chewy and smooth cartilage inside. The lemon flavor from the sour blood perfectly cuts through the richness, while the chili powder stimulates the taste buds.]

[Benefits: Replenishes abundant collagen and calcium. After consumption... you'll forget it's an insect and only taste chicken.]

……

"Come on, let's eat!"

Jiang Li grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Crunch!"

A crisp popping sound.

That crispy sensation travels from your teeth to your skull.

"Um……"

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

"That's the taste!"

"Even without beer, the taste... is amazing!"

"Sour and spicy, the more you chew, the more delicious it becomes!"

……

"Is it really that delicious?"

Wukong grabbed one with some skepticism.

Throw it into your mouth.

"Crunch."

next second.

Wukong's eyes widened.

"tasty!!!"

"My goodness! Is this really from that dead bug?"

"This is even chewier than the peach pits from the Peach Garden... no, even more chewy than dragon liver and phoenix marrow!"

"One more round!"

Wukong reached his hand directly into the plate.

……

"Woof woof! Leave some for me!"

Er Gou buried his head directly into the bucket.

"It smells so good! This cartilage...so crunchy!"

"Boss, let's stop fighting from now on. Let's focus on dismembering these bugs' legs!"

Nezha also ate with his mouth full of oil.

"This sour taste is really invigorating! It tastes like it's been dipped in vinegar!"

"If this were sold in Heaven, that gluttonous Giant Spirit God would definitely buy it all!"

……

The tide of battle turned.

On the high ground, the crowd was celebrating.

Down the hillside, insects were killing each other.

That aroma was like an insatiable lure, luring those low-intelligence creatures.

Until the sun has fully risen.

The commotion down the mountain finally subsided.

Because... they're all dead.

Most of the springtails were killed by their own kind in the infighting, leaving only a few dozen with slivers of blood. Attracted by the scent, they staggered up to the higher ground.

They climbed up to the stove.

Looking at the golden, crunchy bone in Jiang Li's hand.

My mouth watered.

then……

"Bang."

They were all killed by Wukong with a single blow, and sent to meet their master.

"Thank you for the delivery."

Wukong chuckled.

"I wasn't full, so they brought in dozens more."

……

A post-dawn inventory.

This battle.

Without losing a single soldier (referring to the second wave).

It only used a pot of oil, half a basin of blood, and a bag of flour.

They annihilated the invading enemy.

Looking at the dead insects scattered all over the ground.

Jiang Li wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth.

"Alice, do the statistics."

"Understood, boss."

Alice's voice also became lighter (although the energy was still low).

"3200 enemy troops were eliminated in this battle."

"Ingredients obtained: Approximately 6000 pieces of cartilage (most of which were destroyed in the internal strife)."

"as well as……"

Alice paused for a moment.

"Tons of...flea carcasses."

"Boss, although these shells don't taste good."

"But after scanning, its composition is high-density bioceramics."

"If used to...repair the Treant's outer armor..."

"The effect may be even better than the original alloy."

……

"Oh?"

Jiang Li's eyes lit up.

He looked at the shell fragments scattered all over the ground.

"It can be eaten and used at the same time."

"This flea..."

"She really is... a treasure trove from head to toe."

"Ergou! Stop eating!"

"Get to work!"

"Pull those shells off!"

"Our spaceship..."

"It's time to change...the skin."