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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, entrance to Death Valley.

The wind howled, whipping up clouds of red sand and volcanic ash.

Jiang Li and his group lay prone behind a huge weathered rock, their bodies covered in a slimy, disgusting cockroach slime. Although the slime smelled terrible, it not only insulated them from 90% of the high temperature but also masked their "human scent," making them invisible to the insectoids' olfactory radar.

But while the sense of smell can deceive, the sense of sight cannot.

Above our heads.

"quack--!"

Several piercing, gong-like hissing sounds echoed through the canyon.

Five enormous, strange dragons were flapping their leathery wings and circling low in the air.

They were extremely ugly, resembling a combination of a bat and a scorpion magnified countless times. Their long tails trailed behind them, curled at the end, seemingly concealing something within.

"Is this a flying dragon?"

Nezha looked up at those guys swaggering in the air, holding a cockroach meat soup dumpling in his hand (which he had just stolen).

"It looks like a featherless chicken."

"It's still the kind of chicken that grows back."

Don't underestimate them.

Jiang Li lowered his voice.

His Gluttonous Eyes had locked onto a target in the air.

"They are the Zerg's main air force."

"Although their single-target attack power isn't very strong, they have a unique attack method."

"Do you see that tail?"

Jiang Li pointed to the strange dragon's curled tail.

"That's... a biological catapult."

"They are not firing bullets, nor are they firing energy waves."

"Instead... it's a living parasite."

……

"hiss--!!!"

Just then, a sharp-eyed dragon spotted a corner of red ribbon peeking out from behind the rock (Nezha's Hun Tian Ling was too conspicuous).

It suddenly flicked its tail.

"Whoosh!"

A golden light shot out from its tail.

The light was incredibly fast, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it hurtled through the air, heading straight for Nezha's face.

"You think I'm afraid of you?!"

Nezha flicked his Fire-Tipped Spear.

"clang!"

A crisp metallic clang.

The golden light was knocked away.

but.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The object that was knocked away did not land, but instead drew a strange arc in the air, as if it had a navigation system, and bounced towards Sun Wukong next to it.

"Hey! It can even turn corners?"

Wukong was also taken aback.

He held his golden cudgel horizontally.

"clang!"

He was knocked away again.

The thing bounced back towards Er Gou behind him.

"Woof! Why are you always bullying the dog!"

Er Gou shrank his neck in fright. The thing flew past his scalp and finally embedded itself deeply in the rock behind him.

"Pfft!"

The rock was eroded into a large hole.

……

Food identification: Blade beetle.

"That's an amazing launch."

Jiang Li ignored the flying dragon in the sky and rushed to the rock immediately.

He carefully pried the object out of the stone using Occam's razor.

It was a creature no bigger than the palm of your hand.

It has a golden carapace, an arthropod-like body, and sharp bone blades on both sides.

At this moment, it was still wriggling wildly in Jiang Li's hand, trying to bite Jiang Li's glove with its teeth.

[Biotype: Glaive Wurm]

[Category: Alien Dragon Symbiote / Living Ammunition]

[Characteristics: High elasticity, high corrosiveness. After hitting a target, they use their elasticity and explosive muscle power to propel themselves to the next target.]

[Taste: ???]

……

Jiang Li pinched the blade insect.

"It feels...very bouncy."

"This structure..."

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

"Isn't that... a mantis shrimp?"

"And it's... the kind of mantis shrimp that's trained in gymnastics, can fly, and can explode."

Jiang Li took a sniff.

It didn't have the sour, foul smell of springtails.

Instead, it has a faint seafood smell (possibly because the alien dragon needs a lot of biological nutrient solution when it is hatching).

"This is good stuff."

Jiang Li swallowed.

"If this were made into... salt and pepper mantis shrimp..."

"Or... raw marinated..."

"The texture...it's absolutely chewy!"

……

The struggle for air supremacy.

"Boss! Stop researching shrimp!"

Er Gou, holding Harpi'er (who was still asleep), hid in a crevice between rocks and shouted.

"Those big birds up there are going to poop (shoot) again!"

In the sky.

Seeing that their first attack had failed, the five dragons immediately sent out a signal to call for their companions.

At the same time, they lined up in a row, their tails held high.

"Swish, swish, swish—"

A dense rain of blade insects poured down.

"So annoying!"

Sun Wukong has become a sensation.

"I, Old Sun, hate these flies that fly around in the sky and never come down!"

"Somersault Cloud!"

"rise!"

Wukong somersaulted up to the clouds.

The golden cudgel instantly grew to a hundred meters long.

"Get down here!"

"Bang!"

He slammed the club into the back of the leading alien dragon.

The strange dragon didn't even have time to scream before it was smashed into a pulp and fell from the sky.

"Nezha! Do it!"

"Okay!"

Nezha was not to be outdone.

He threw the Qiankun Ring.

"middle!"

The golden Qiankun Ring drew a streak of light in the air and precisely encircled the neck of a strange dragon.

"tight!"

Click.

The dragon's neck was snapped.

……

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining three strange dragons tried to escape.

"run?"

Jiang Li stood on the ground, a Gauss rifle that had appeared in his hand at some point (he picked it up from the wreckage of the SCV, and although it wasn't repaired yet, he used it as a javelin).

"Leave your...bullets (blade bugs) behind!"

Jiang Li suddenly threw his rifle.

"puff!"

The rifle pierced precisely through the wing of a strange dragon.

It spun and fell with a mournful cry.

The other two were caught up by Wukong and Nezha and easily dealt with.

……

Loot collection.

The battle ended quickly.

Jiang Li ignored the fallen dragon corpses (they were too big to carry, and the meat was said to be a bit sour, so they would be on the menu later).

His current target is... the ground covered in blade insects.

That volley of fire just now left dozens of bladed insects still hopping around on the ground.

"Pick it up!"

"Quick, pick it up!"

Jiang Li took out an empty jar (the one that had previously contained cockroach soup).

"This is...top-quality river seafood!"

"Ergou! Don't be afraid it will bite you! Bite it back with your iron teeth!"

"Great Sage! Be careful when you grab him! Don't crush him!"

A few minutes later.

Jiang Li harvested a full jar of [Live Blade Insects].

Looking at these tiny golden shrimp squeezing around in the jar.

Jiang Li smiled with satisfaction.

"Tonight's late-night snack... is sorted."

……

Keep going.

The guard dragon has been dealt with.

The canyon gates are open to the public.

This is Death Valley.

On both sides are red rock walls that are thousands of meters high, and above is a narrow strip of sky.

There was no wind in the canyon, and it was as stuffy and hot as a steamer.

"How much longer do we have to walk?"

Er Gou stuck out his tongue, feeling the Harpy on his back steaming.

"Soon."

Jiang Li glanced at the coordinate instrument.

The distress signal was getting stronger and stronger.

Moreover, intermittent human voices could already be heard on the communication channel.

"Buzz... This is the Hercules... Buzz... We're surrounded..."

"Those are... spiked snakes... lots of spiked snakes..."

"Out of ammunition... Requesting backup... even just... a sip of water..."

……

"Did you hear that?"

Jiang Li quickened his pace.

"The customer is urging us to place the order."

"And it sounds like..."

"They encountered... an even more ruthless opponent."

……

The crash site.

It took about half an hour to walk.

After turning a corner.

The sight before them made everyone pause in their tracks.

This is a huge canyon basin.

In the center of the basin.

A giant, gray, rectangular spaceship, hundreds of meters long, was emitting black smoke and was stuck diagonally in the ground.

That was a Hercules-class transport ship from the Terran Federation.

Its armor is thick and heavy, making it resemble a flying fortress.

But at the moment.

The fortress is already riddled with holes.

The ground around them was swarming with insectoids.

It's not just springtails.

and also……

Hundreds of upright, snake-like monsters.

They have a large crest, huge bone sickles for arms, and their backs are covered with spikes.

[Monster: Hydralisk]

[Commonly known as: drooling monster/hydralisk.]

[Tier: Zerg mid-range fire support unit.]

[Attack: Launch high-density needle-shaped projectiles (armor-piercing projectiles).]

……

"Swish, swish, swish——"

Countless bone needles rained down on the transport ship.

The transport ship's energy shield had turned a pale red and was on the verge of shattering.

Inside the shield.

Through the porthole.

You can see dozens of human soldiers (machine gunners) wearing blue power armor.

They were desperately raising their C-14 Gauss rifles and blindly firing at the swarm of insects outside.

"Da da da da da—"

The gun barrel was red-hot.

But against a swarm of insects, this amount of firepower was simply a drop in the ocean.

……

In the final moments.

Inside the transport ship.

Jim Raynor, captain of the 7th Reconnaissance Squadron of Raynor's Raiders (not the real Raynor, but his fan and subordinate, Tychus Finley's cousin, Tychus).

The burly man with a full beard was leaning against the dashboard, holding an empty Stimpack syringe in his hand.

"Oh shit……"

Tex cursed.

"We're out of medicine."

"Out of bullets."

"There's no food left."

He glanced at his brothers around him, who were already emaciated from hunger and some were even starting to hallucinate.

"Sir..."

A young Marine said weakly.

"I'm so hungry..."

"I saw... my great-grandmother waving at me..."

She was also holding a plate of... braised pork...

"Shut up, newbie."

Tex gave a wry smile.

"That's an illusion."

"Where would you find braised pork on this damn planet?"

"Only... insects that want to eat our flesh."

……

boom!

A loud bang.

The shield... is broken.

"It's over."

Tex closed his eyes.

"Brothers, prepare your bayonets."

"Even if I die, I'll break a few of these worms' teeth!"

"For the Federation! For... that damn dinner!"

……

Just when everyone thought they were doomed.

Just as the swarm of hydralisks opened their mouths, preparing to unleash a final volley of bone needles.

"Here's your order!"

A sudden, loud voice, with a strange accent (in Chinese), rang out over the battlefield.

Followed by.

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

A huge, golden pillar (the Golden Cudgel) descended from the sky.

It crashed directly into the densest swarm of Hydralisks.

The earth cracked open.

Dozens of hydralisks were instantly smashed into a bloody pulp.

……

"What kind of monster is this! Daring to block my delivery route!"

Sun Wukong (Deliveryman Skin) descends from the sky, stepping on his golden cudgel, looking majestic.

Followed by.

"Samadhi Fire! Keep takeout warm!"

Nezha, riding on his Wind Fire Wheels, spewed out a wall of fire, separating the swarm of insects from the transport ship.

At last.

A man wearing a Yeti fur coat, carrying a huge backpack, and holding a razor slowly emerged from the dust.

He glanced at the dumbfounded human soldiers.

He glanced again at the insects that hadn't yet reacted.

He flashed a standard professional smile.

"Hello."

"Deep Blue Cafeteria is at your service."

"Excuse me……"

"Was it the sour soup cockroach meat you ordered?"

"still……"

Jiang Li glanced at the Hydralisk next to him that Wukong had smashed to death.

"Would you like to add an order of... grilled snake skewers?"

……

The entire room fell silent.

Tex dropped the gun he was holding.

He looked at the man standing in the swarm of insects who asked him if he wanted to eat.

He pinched his thigh hard.

"pain……"

"Not a hallucination?"

"Fuck... they have delivery?"