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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, entrance to an abandoned mine beneath a crater.

Although Klein's "magma distillation system" was ingenious, just as Jiang Li had worried, its output speed was far too slow.

"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."

An hour has passed.

Sun Wukong stared at the iron bucket used to collect water, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

"This little bit of water isn't even enough for me, Old Sun, to rinse my mouth."

Wukong licked his chapped lips and irritably shoved his golden cudgel into the obsidian in the ground.

"Cook, how about I somersault across the Milky Way and fetch two buckets of water?"

"By the time you turn back, we'll have turned into dried corpses."

Jiang Li shook his head helplessly.

He glanced at Er Gou (Chaos Devouring Dog).

At this moment, Er Gou was lying in front of a dark hole, sniffing wildly as if possessed.

"Woof! So wet!"

"Boss! The smell is getting stronger!"

"It's right down there! It's definitely a big river!"

"and……"

Er Gou swallowed hard.

"This water... seems a little sweet? Like some kind of mineral water?"

……

Go deep underground.

Fortune favors the bold.

Jiang Li made a quick decision and put away the Klein pot.

"If we can't survive on the surface, then let's go underground."

"Great Sage, clear the way!"

"Nezha, lighting."

"Ergou, lead the way."

"I'll cover the rear."

The group filed into the mine that seemed to lead to the depths of hell.

……

Sudden environmental changes.

As soon as we entered the cave, the temperature around us began to drop sharply.

The temperature dropped from 90 degrees Celsius at ground level to a slightly more comfortable 40 degrees Celsius.

The cave walls were no longer dry, sharp obsidian, but covered with a thick, slippery purple fungal carpet.

These fungal mats emitted a faint bioluminescence in the darkness, illuminating the path ahead.

"Da, da, da..."

Footsteps echoed in the empty tunnel.

Occasionally, you can hear the sound of water dripping in the distance.

"There really is water."

Jiang Li touched the wall.

It's wet.

Although it was mucus secreted by the fungal carpet, it also indicates that the air humidity here is very high.

Be careful.

Tang Sanzang (a cyber monk) walked in the middle, his nine-ringed staff emitting a buzzing electromagnetic sound.

"Amitabha."

"This humble monk senses... a murderous aura."

"Moreover, this killing intent... is very unstable."

"It's like... a powder keg that could explode at any moment."

……

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

Just then.

A strange sound suddenly came from the darkness ahead.

It didn't sound like footsteps.

It sounds more like... the sound of a bowling ball rolling down the lane.

Moreover, there was more than one.

It's a group.

"What is it?"

Nezha raised his Fire-Tipped Spear, and the flames from the spearhead illuminated the area ahead.

Just a few dozen meters away, at the corner of the tunnel.

One after another, glowing green spheres appeared.

They are about the size of a basketball, with a semi-transparent surface, and filled with boiling green liquid.

They don't have legs (or their legs are very short and degenerate).

They are rolling.

Extremely fast!

[Monster: Baneling]

[Commonly known as: Poisonous Exploding Bug / Rolling Bug.]

[Tier: Zerg suicide attack unit.]

[Structure: Derived from a springtail. It has a large liquid sac on its back filled with strong acid and biological explosives.]

[Attack method: Roll onto the enemy's face, and then... boom!]

……

"What a huge green lantern!"

Wukong's eyes lit up.

"This thing looks pretty festive!"

"Celebratory my foot!"

Jiang Li's expression changed drastically.

As a chef who had thoroughly studied the interstellar creature encyclopedia (given by the system), he knew all too well how disgusting this thing was.

"Don't touch it!!!"

Jiang Li roared.

"Those are suicide bombers!"

"The green liquid inside is concentrated strong acid!"

"It will explode if touched!"

……

"hiss--!!!"

The lead exploding insect spotted the intruder.

It let out a sharp screech.

The body, which had been rolling slowly, suddenly accelerated.

Like a green cannonball, it hurtled straight towards Wukong, who was at the very front.

"bomb?"

Wukong chuckled.

"I, Old Sun, want to see what kind of explosive method this is!"

Instead of retreating, he advanced, thrusting out his golden cudgel with all his might.

"Break it for me!"

"Don't!!!"

Jiang Li tried to stop it, but it was too late.

"Pfft!"

The golden cudgel accurately struck the giant green sac of the exploding insect.

It didn't leak air like a popped balloon.

But...

"boom--------!!!"

A loud, muffled thud.

The moment the insect made contact with the golden cudgel, a violent biochemical explosion occurred.

The green, highly acidic liquid sprayed outwards like a fountain.

"Sizzle—"

The surrounding rock walls were instantly corroded, leaving them pitted and emitting plumes of white smoke.

Even Wukong's golden cudgel was splattered with a large pool of green liquid.

"Ouch!"

Wukong's hand trembled from the heat.

One end of the golden cudgel (the part in contact with the strong acid) was actually smoking.

Although it is made of super iron, the gold plating on its surface was still corroded and turned black by this strong acid that targets the molecular structure.

"What potent poison!"

Wukong quickly swung his golden cudgel to shake off the remaining liquid.

"This stuff is more poisonous than the Queen Mother of the West's foot bath water!"

……

chain reaction.

This explosion was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The dozens of green exploding insects behind them seemed to have received a bugle call to charge.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle—"

They started rolling around wildly.

Like a group of green suicide squad members, they rushed into the narrow tunnel.

"Back up! Back up now!"

Jiang Li shouted as he pulled Er Gou and ran backward.

"This place is too narrow!"

"If a chain reaction of explosions occurs, we'll all be bathed in acid!"

"Nezha! Don't use fire!"

Jiang Li saw that Nezha was about to breathe fire and quickly stopped him.

"Using fire will detonate them prematurely!"

"What should we do then?"

Nezha stomped his feet in frustration.

"Are you suggesting we catch it in our faces?"

"By...push!"

Jiang Li pointed to a huge, shield-like Zerg carapace next to him (leftover scraps from previous ship repairs).

"Tang Sanzang!"

"Activate shield!"

"Use your Buddha's Light Shield! Push them back!"

……

"Amitabha."

Tang Sanzang stepped forward and stood in front of the crowd.

"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

"Although this hell... is a bit sour."

"【AT Field - Golden Bell Shield】!"

hum-

A golden wall of light unfolded in the tunnel.

This blocked the barrage's path.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

One by one, the exploding insects crashed into the wall of light.

The green liquid bladder was squeezed and deformed.

then……

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A violent explosion rang out outside the wall of light.

Strong acid was poured onto the golden bell cover like a torrential rain.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The Buddha's light was trembling.

On Tang Sanzang's data sunglasses, the energy value dropped rapidly.

"My friend, this is far too acidic."

"My shield... is being neutralized (corroded)."

"If this continues, this humble monk will break his vows (break his guard)."

……

The chef's observations.

Just then.

Jiang Li, who was hiding in the back, was not idle.

He activated the Eye of Gluttony.

Through the golden light wall, he stared intently at the unexploded insects.

He was looking for... ways to process the ingredients.

"These insects..."

"Actually, they are just big soup dumplings filled with liquid."

"The only difference is that the filling is explosives and strong acid."

"but……"

Jiang Li noticed.

As the blasting insects roll, the large green sac on their backs is not a single, continuous piece.

At the junction of the fluid sac and the body.

There is a ring of... a semi-transparent thin film.

That's used to... isolate the body from strong acids and protect it.

"As long as that membrane isn't damaged."

"Just cut the connection point."

"That way... the liquid sac can be completely removed."

"It's like...picking grapes."

……

Tactical adjustments.

"Great Sage!"

Jiang Li shouted.

"Stop fighting head-on!"

"Use your immobilization spell!"

"A spell to freeze people?" Wukong was taken aback. "There are so many insects, we can't freeze them all!"

"No need to subscribe to the entire amount!"

"Freeze the first few!"

"Block the road!"

"good!"

Wukong plucked a handful of hairs and blew a breath of immortal energy from them.

"Change!"

"Certainly!"

The five exploding insects in front suddenly froze.

The insects behind couldn't brake in time and all crashed together, rolling into a green ball of flesh.

"Now!"

Jiang Li jumped off Er Gou's back.

"Nezha! The Universe Ring!"

"Bring those that are frozen in place... over here!"

"Be gentle! As gentle as you would a baby!"

"Don't let it get too crowded!"

……

Pulling a tooth out of a tiger's mouth (removing a bullet).

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

The red Hun Tian Ling gently wrapped around the stiff, exploding insects, dragging them in front of Jiang Li.

now.

The huge, green, and still slightly trembling liquid sac was right in front of Jiang Li.

The liquid inside was churning, exuding an aura of death.

If you touch him even slightly hard, Jiang Li will turn into pus on the spot.

But Jiang Li's hand remained as steady as a rock.

The Occam's razor in his hand gleamed with a cold light.

"As long as it's fast enough."

"As long as the knife skills are accurate enough."

"bomb……"

"It can also be turned into... a seasoning packet."

brush!

A flash of light.

The fluid sac was not cut.

Instead, it precisely cut into the connective tissue at the bottom of the fluid sac.

"Click."

A slight, crisp sound.

The large green liquid sac detached completely.

Jiang Li caught it steadily in his hand (wearing heat-resistant and anti-corrosion gloves).

The remaining exploding bugs (bugs that had lost their bombs) were still kicking their legs in confusion on the ground.

"It's a success!"

Jiang Li looked at the heavy, green "big water ball" in his hand.

There was no explosion.

Because the chemical fuse (biological enzyme) inside is still inside the insect.

Once separated, it's essentially a...ball filled with strong acid.

……

"call……"

Jiang Li breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since the method is feasible..."

"So, what's next..."

Jiang Li looked at the swarm of exploding insects huddled together.

A greedy glint appeared in his eyes.

"This is... the raw material for top-quality, highly acidic chutney."

"Great Sage! Nezha!"

"Stop killing!"

"Give it to me...!"

"Put these green lanterns..."

"Take them all off!"

"We're going to use it..."

"Let's make a... truly bursting-with-juice dish!"

……

The crisis has eased.

With countermeasures in place, what was originally a terrifying suicide attack instantly became... a technical job for bomb disposal experts.

Although a few still exploded during the process (because Er Gou was reckless).

But in the end.

The swarm of poppy insects has been completely wiped out.

The ground was covered with green liquid sacs.

From the depths of that dark mine, the sound of flowing water became even clearer.

"water!"

Er Gou barked excitedly and charged forward.

Turn a corner.

A huge underground lake appeared before everyone's eyes.

The lake water was dark and bottomless.

But on the shore...

There seemed to be several... even larger figures lying there.

They have thick shells and spew acid mist from their backs.

They are protecting this water source.

[Monster: Cockroach.]

【Features: Superior regeneration/Long-range acid spraying.】

……

Jiang Li looked at those figures.

He then looked at the burst insect liquid sac he had just picked in his hand.

Laughed.

"It seems so."

"The next meal..."

"It's settled."

"The sour soup is ready."

"All that's missing is... the meat."