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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, Crater Temporary Camp.

When Char's dim red giant star reached its zenith, the surface temperature had already soared to an appalling 80 degrees Celsius.

Ordinary humans would have died of dehydration in this environment long ago. Fortunately, the members of the Deep Blue team are not ordinary people (one is a cheat-like chef, two are gods, one is a monster, and the other is an AI).

The smoke of battle has dissipated.

What remained was a battlefield in ruins.

And... the eerie smell permeating the air, a mixture of sulfur, sour blood, and the lingering aroma of fried cartilage.

"belch--"

Er Gou (Chaos Devouring Dog) lay sprawled on a slightly flat piece of obsidian and let out a long burp.

"Comfortable……"

"Even though I fought all night, this breakfast was really satisfying."

"Boss, what are we having for lunch? Do you still have cartilage?"

"eat?"

Jiang Li was standing next to a pile of jumping insect corpses that looked like a small mountain, holding an electronic notebook (projected by Alice) in his hand, and taking stock of his spoils.

Hearing Er Gou's words, he turned his head and revealed a "nuclear-kind" smile that would make even capitalists weep.

"Are you full?"

"Get up after you've eaten...and get to work."

"In my team, there are no dogs that don't work for a living."

……

Cleaning up the battlefield: Er Gou's miserable life as a porter.

"Do you see these corpses?"

Jiang Li pointed to the remains of springtails covering the mountains and fields.

"These are all...money (resources)."

"We've already collected the cartilage, and although the meat is unpalatable, we've made it into dry rations."

"Right now, the most important thing is... the shell."

Jiang Li kicked the dead jumping insect next to him.

The reddish-brown carapace reflected a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

"Alice has already analyzed it."

"The carapace of this alien insect is made of high-density bioceramics and organometallics."

"They have lived near magma for a long time, so they are extremely heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant."

"Our Treant's armor is severely damaged right now, so we can use these shells... to patch it up."

……

"Woof? Patching?"

Er Gou was stunned for a moment.

"Boss, you mean...we're going to peel off the skins of these insects and stick them onto our spaceship?"

"That's right."

Jiang Li nodded.

"This is called... bioreactive armor."

"Ergou, your task is to drag these corpses to the side of the spaceship."

"Great Sage, you're in charge of using your stick to loosen the shell."

"Nezha, you are in charge of using fire to roast it and burn away the connective tissue inside the shell."

"I'm in charge of... cutting and welding."

……

then.

On this desolate, hellish planet, a bustling "demolition and renovation" project has begun.

"What a miserable life!"

Er Gou grabbed the hind leg of a springtail and struggled to drag it up the mountain.

"I, the mighty Chaos Devouring Hound, have been reduced to a mere porter!"

"And this worm is incredibly heavy! Its belly is full of solid muscle!"

Despite its complaints, Er Gou worked quite efficiently. After all, it didn't want to be woken up by acid rain at night.

……

Anatomy and Cutting: Jiang Li's Knife Skills.

On the side of the Treant, scaffolding had already been erected (made from the thigh bones of the Zerglings).

Jiang Li stood on the scaffolding, holding the Occam's razor in his hand.

At his feet lay a pile of the dead jumping insects that Er Gou had dragged back.

"rise!"

Jiang Li picked up a jumping insect.

The razor in his hand swept across the blade like a swimming dragon.

[Knife skill: Cook Ding removes insects. 】

brush brush --

The blade cut along the grain of the carapace, precisely severing the fascia connecting the carapace to the muscles.

"open!"

Jiang Li lifted it up forcefully.

A "click" sound.

A large, complete, arc-shaped piece of the dorsal carapace was completely peeled off.

This carapace is about one meter long and five centimeters thick, with its surface covered in thorns, making it look ferocious and sturdy.

"Good materials."

Jiang Li tapped the shell, making a "clanging" metallic sound.

"This hardness is even harder than tank armor."

"And it's lightweight."

Jiang Li, like a tailor, traced patterns on the carapace with a knife.

"Cut it off here, smooth it out there."

"This piece is used to patch leaks, and that piece is used to make roof tiles."

……

Welding process: Nezha's flame torch.

The detached shell was sent to the damaged area of ​​the spacecraft.

Nezha is floating in the air, acting as a "human welding torch".

"Nezha! Light the fire!"

"Soften the edges of the shell!"

"Okay!"

Nezha spat out a thin stream of Samadhi Fire at the shell in his hand.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The insect's shell did not burn under high temperatures; instead, the edges began to melt, turning into a viscous biological gel.

"Put it on!"

Jiang Li reacted quickly, pressing the softened carapace forcefully onto the exposed metal skeleton of the Tree Demon.

"Sizzle—"

A puff of white smoke rose up.

The bio-colloids and metal skeleton fuse instantly, becoming a seamless whole upon cooling.

"One more piece!"

"There's a big hole here! Use two pieces stacked together!"

"Great Sage! Hammer a nail in to secure it!"

Sun Wukong held a sharp tooth from a jumping insect (used as a nail) and used his golden cudgel as a hammer.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

In just a few strokes, the shell was firmly nailed to the hull.

……

The renovation result: an ark with an unconventional style.

After a busy morning.

When the last piece of shell was welded on.

The crowd stepped back a few paces to admire their masterpiece.

"Well……"

Wukong scratched his head.

"Cook, this ship... why does it look so familiar?"

The World Tree Ark, originally magnificent and filled with divine radiance.

Everything has changed completely now.

Its surface is covered with layers of dark red, spiky insectoid carapace.

From a distance, it looks like a giant mechanical beetle lying on the crater of a volcano.

It's full of wildness, ferocity, and a kind of... post-apocalyptic punk aesthetic.

"That's right."

Jiang Li patted the hull of the boat with satisfaction (although it was a bit prickly to the touch).

"This is called... localization disguise."

"On this planet, the more you look like an insect, the safer you are."

"and……"

Alice's voice rang out.

"Boss, this shell has excellent heat insulation properties."

"The temperature inside the cabin has dropped by 10 degrees."

"Moreover, its corrosion resistance has been improved by 300%."

"The only downside is... it's a bit ugly."

"What's there to be afraid of about being ugly?"

Jiang Li wiped his sweat.

"As long as it works, that's fine."

……

A new crisis: thirst.

The project is complete.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to move.

"call……"

Nezha licked his chapped lips.

"I'm so thirsty."

"I used too much fire breath just now, my throat is practically on fire."

"Me too."

Wukong looked around.

"This desolate place isn't even a leaf on the ground, where would the water come from?"

Er Gou stuck out his long tongue, but he couldn't even drool anymore.

"Woof... Boss, is there any water left in our water tank?"

All eyes were on Jiang Li.

Jiang Li paused for a moment.

He took out the water bottle from his waist.

shook his head.

"Empty."

"I just finished cooking, kneading dough, and all the drinks I usually have... are all gone."

"and……"

Jiang Li pointed to the sulfur pools below the crater that were still emitting toxic fumes.

"The water here is full of strong acids and heavy metals."

"If you take one sip, your intestines will probably rot."

……

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

In the high-temperature environment of Char, the rate of dehydration is ten times that on Earth.

Without water, let alone killing insects, even sitting still will turn you into a dried-up corpse in less than two days.

"What should we do then?"

Er Gou got anxious.

"Are we going to drink... insect blood?"

It recalled that sour, tooth-aching green blood, and its stomach churned.

"You can't drink that either."

Jiang Li shook his head.

"That's a strong acid; if you drink it, you'll really turn into a dead dog."

"but……"

Jiang Li stood up.

His gaze fell upon a flowing river of lava not far away.

And beside the lava river, there were those toxic water pits emitting billowing steam.

"There is water."

"But... it's poisonous."

"As a chef."

"Purifying water is also a basic skill."

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

"Since there is no purified water."

"Then we'll... build it ourselves."

He pulled the all-purpose Klein pot out of his backpack.

He then glanced at the Hun Tian Ling in Nezha's hand and Wukong's Golden Cudgel.

"Has everyone rested well?"

"Get up when you've rested enough."

"We're going to... distill."

"Use the magma from this planet..."

"Take the lives from that poisonous water..."

"Steam it out!"