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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, Hercules crash site.

"Nezha! Do it!"

With Jiang Li's shout, Nezha, who had been watching the commotion, suddenly moved.

He rode on his Wind and Fire Wheels, transforming into a streak of red light as he rushed towards the hydra corpse that had just been flattened by Wukong's staff not far away.

Although the monster's upper body had turned into a pulp, its abdominal organs remained relatively intact.

"Gallbladder extraction?"

Nezha wrinkled his nose, looking at the pile of red and green entrails with disdain.

"That's disgusting."

But his hands didn't stop. The fire-tipped spear in his hand transformed into a scalpel, precisely cutting open the abdomen of the hydra.

Amidst the still-wriggling intestines, Nezha found a fist-sized, dark green, slightly pulsating sac-like object.

[Item: Hydralisk Gallbladder]

[Property: Highly poisonous.]

[Description: The core gland of the hydralisk secretes high-pressure acid. It stores high concentrations of neurotoxins and corrosive acids. Even a single drop can cause widespread skin ulceration in an ordinary person.]

"then!"

Nezha pinched his nose and threw the poisonous gall bladder to Jiang Li like a grenade.

……

Brewing medicine on the battlefield.

Jiang Li caught the poisonous gallbladder steadily (wearing anti-corrosion gloves).

At this moment, Er Gou had already set up the Klein pot, and Nezha's Samadhi Fire was also burning at the bottom of the pot.

The pot contained the purified distilled water that had been brought earlier.

"Glug glug—"

The water has boiled.

Tex stared at the green ball in Jiang Li's hand, his eyelids twitching wildly.

"Brother... are you sure this is a rescue? Or murder to cover it up?"

"If this thing breaks, all of us in this group will turn to water!"

"That's a biochemical poison, not aspirin!"

"For him right now, this is like aspirin."

Jiang Li didn't explain much.

He placed the poison gall on Zuan's chopping board.

"Bear with it, it's a bit bitter."

Jiang Li said to the chopping board.

"It's okay, Dad! I'm not afraid of hardship! I'm afraid it won't be strong enough!" The chopping board was ready to die.

"brush!"

Jiang Li slashed open the poisonous gallbladder with a single stroke.

Dark green bile flowed out, but instead of corroding the cutting board, Jiang Li quickly collected it into a small bowl.

"The bile of the spiny snake is cold in nature and highly toxic."

"But it has one characteristic: it paralyzes nerves."

"Stimulants excite the nerves, while this paralyzes them."

"Positive and negative cancel each other out."

……

Additional ingredients: springtail bone marrow and ash fungus.

But this is not enough.

If Reynolds were given only bile, he would die instantly.

Jiang Li took out a few more thigh bones from the jumping insects (leftovers from the previous fried cartilage).

"Great Sage! Smash it!"

"Okay!"

Wukong poked it with his finger, and the hard leg bone cracked.

It revealed the inside... pale yellow bone marrow.

"The bone marrow of springtails is rich in regenerative factors."

"Used to repair damaged neurons."

Jiang Li picked out the bone marrow and threw it into the pot.

At last.

He sprinkled in a handful of grayish-black, dried tobacco-like "ash fungus".

"This is the medicinal guide."

"To calm the mind and stabilize the soul."

……

"Sizzle—"

When the three ingredients are mixed together and boiled.

An indescribable smell wafted out.

It doesn't smell good.

It doesn't smell bad either.

Instead, it has an extremely bitter medicinal taste.

It's so bitter that just smelling it makes your tongue go numb.

The broth in the pot had turned a deep black, with a layer of green oil (bile) floating on the surface, and it was still emitting eerie purple smoke.

"this……"

The military doctor standing nearby was dumbfounded.

"This ingredient list is like a meeting of the periodic table!"

"They dare to give this to people to drink?"

……

Fight poison with poison.

"drink!"

Jiang Li ladled out a bowl of dark soup and walked over to Reynolds, who was still convulsing.

At this point, Reynolds' eyes were rolling back and he was foaming at the mouth; he was clearly near death.

"Open your mouth if you don't want to die!"

Although Tex was apprehensive, seeing the miserable state of his men, he steeled himself and pried open Reynolds' mouth.

"Glug."

Jiang Li unceremoniously poured a bowl of [Spirit Serpent Gallbladder and Bone Marrow Soup] down his throat.

"Cough cough cough cough!!!"

Reynolds was choked and coughed violently.

Followed by.

His face instantly turned a dark purple.

"ah!!!"

He let out a piercing scream.

"It's bitter! So bitter! It's killing me!"

The bitterness felt like it had exploded his taste buds, burning all the way down his esophagus to his stomach.

but.

Something magic happened.

As the bitter taste spread, his body, which had been convulsing violently, actually... stopped.

The itching and excruciating pain, as if a million ants were crawling inside my bones, was replaced by a cool, numbing sensation.

Followed by.

A warm current (the power of his bone marrow) rose from his stomach, gently enveloping his damaged brain nerves.

……

"Huff... huff..."

One minute later.

Reynolds stopped calling.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily, his eyes gradually regaining their clarity.

Although his face was pale and his mouth was full of bitterness.

But he... survived.

"My God..."

The military doctor held the scanner, staring at the data on it, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.

"Heart rate has returned to normal."

"Neurotoxin levels... have dropped to zero?"

"How is this possible? That's a lethal dose of stimulant residue!"

……

Trust is established.

"A miracle doctor!"

Tex looked at Reynolds, who was already able to sit up and drink water, and suddenly turned around.

Those eyes, hidden behind the power armor visor, were filled with awe.

If the cockroach soup he had previously made only made him think that this person was a good cook.

So the bitter gall soup he was now using convinced him—

The Eastern man before me is an unfathomable master.

"brother."

Tex patted Jiang Li's shoulder heavily (although it was blocked by Nezha's Hun Tian Ling).

"You saved my brother's life."

"From now on."

"Renault Rangers 7th Squad owes you a favor."

"Anyone who dares to touch you from now on is going against me, Tyx!"

……

Discussing business.

"Remember the favors first."

Jiang Li wiped the medicine residue off his hands and resumed his businessman-like demeanor.

"Now, it's time to fulfill our deal."

"I need to repair the boat."

"no problem!"

Tex waved his hand.

"Swann!"

He shouted at a dwarf with a large beard, wearing greasy overalls and carrying a mechanical arm, behind him.

"Stop playing dead! Get to work!"

"Bring out those two still-functioning SCVs!"

"Take your repair team and follow the instructions of this... Boss Jiang Li!"

"Repair his boat to look brand new!"

……

The engineer named Swan.

The bearded engineer, Rory Swann (although he was just a mechanic in a branch office, he was still a technical expert), walked over.

He glanced at Jiang Li, then looked at the Tree Demon Ship parked at the underground entrance in the distance (although he couldn't see it, he could scan its signal).

"Repairing the ship is no problem."

Swan's voice sounded like he was chewing on a screw.

"But let me make this clear from the start."

"My SCV is a precious treasure."

"No fuel (high-energy gas), no electricity, no spare parts."

"If your ship is too badly damaged, I can't just make something out of nothing."

"I have the parts."

Jiang Li pointed to the Zerg corpses scattered all over the ground.

"Carapace, skeleton, acid."

"These are all materials."

"As for energy..."

Jiang Li pulled out a piece of... glowing jerky from his pack.

That was a high-energy fuel block that he compressed in an underground mine using luminescent fungi and springtail fat.

"Can this be burned?"

Swan took the jerky, smelled it, and then scanned it with the analyzer on the robotic arm.

"drop--"

"High-density biofuel?"

Swan's eyes lit up.

"This stuff has a higher calorific value than regular diesel?"

"Not bad, kid!"

"With this, my SCV will be able to run!"

……

Repairs begin.

The next few hours.

The crash site of the Hercules has been transformed into a bustling construction site.

Two huge, yellow, Gundam-like SCVs (space engineering vehicles) were activated.

They wielded enormous drills and welding clamps, producing a deafening roar.

"SCV ready!"

"Is something broken?"

Under Jiang Li's guidance, SCV did not attempt to repair the decommissioned Hercules.

Instead, they started dismantling it.

Disassemble the main control chip, gravity generator, and life support system from the Titan spacecraft.

Then, it was moved underground and installed on the Treant.

……

Technology Exchange.

In this process, some interesting cross-cultural collisions also occurred.

Sun Wukong was very interested in the giant drill of the SCV.

"This iron thing is pretty strong!"

Wukong jumped onto the top of the SCV's cockpit.

"Hey, you shorty inside!"

"Can I borrow your drill bit to play with?"

Swan was startled.

"Don't touch it! This is a precision instrument!"

"This drill bit can drill through diamonds!"

"cut."

Wukong disdainfully pulled out his golden cudgel.

"How about comparing yourself to me, this Korean?"

"when!"

The golden cudgel lightly touched the drill bit.

The SCV drill bit... chipped.

Swann was so distressed that his mustache stood on end.

"My drill! This is the Federation's highest technology!"

"What's that broken stick of yours made of?!"

……

the other side.

Er Gou is getting to know a few Marines.

It carried Harpy on its back and darted through the crowd.

"Woof! Can I borrow that metal pipe (gun) to play with?"

"I want to try using it with the Burst Bug."

A soldier handed Er Gou a C-14 Gauss rifle.

Although Er Gou has no hands, it has telekinesis (or demonic power).

It controls the rifle to hover in the air.

"Da da da da da—"

He fired a barrage of shots at a rock in the distance.

"Cool!"

Er Gou wagged his tail excitedly.

"This is way more exciting than biting someone!"

"Boss! I want to equip myself with this too!"

"I want to be a... machine gunner too!"

……

A late-night snack.

As night fell (although the night sky on Charles was not black, but only red).

The first phase of dismantling work is complete.

Everyone was exhausted.

Tex rubbed his rumbling stomach and looked at Jiang Li.

"brother."

"Although the cockroach soup we had at noon was delicious, it was still liquid food."

"I did manual labor all afternoon."

"Do you have... a main dish?"

"A main dish?"

Jiang Li was standing next to an SCV flamethrower, using its tail flame to roast something.

Upon hearing this, he turned around.

He was holding a huge... skewer.

Those aren't ordinary meat skewers.

That's made by cutting the most developed muscle on the back of the Hydralisk (the muscle that fires the bone spikes) into large pieces.

It was strung on the bony needles of a hydralisk.

It was brushed with pyrotechnic hot sauce and abyssal honey.

It's sizzling and dripping oil over the fire.

……

[Dish Name: Charcin Red Willow (Bone Needle) Large Meat Skewers]

[Grade: Heavy industrial barbecue.]

[Ingredients: Spiny snake back meat (very springy) + Spiny snake bony skewer (natural skewer).]

[Special Feature: Due to prolonged high-intensity contraction, this meat has extremely coarse fibers, making it as chewy as beef tendon. It must be eaten while hot; once cold, it becomes as hard as a tire.]

Flavor profile: Caramelized, tangy and spicy, with a sweet aftertaste.

……

"Come."

Jiang Li handed a string of skewers to Tex.

"This is specially made for tough guys like you."

"Hydra snake meat skewers".

"If you take a bite and break your tooth, I'm not responsible."

Tex took the kebab.

The chunks of meat were as big as a fist, roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden and glistening with oil.

He took a big bite.

"Rip—"

He struggled to tear off a piece of meat.

Chew vigorously.

"Hmm!"

Tex's eyes lit up.

"That's powerful!"

"This meat...it's fucking chewy!"

"The more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes!"

"This is what men should eat!"

……

Crisis and opportunity coexist.

Just as everyone was gathered around the SCV's tail flames, eating skewers, drinking the remaining cockroach soup, and enjoying this rare moment of peace.

Alice's voice suddenly rang in Jiang Li's headphones.

"Boss."

"New information detected."

"What's wrong? More bugs?" Jiang Li asked.

"No."

Alice's voice was somewhat solemn.

"The sounds we made while repairing the ship, and the SCV signal just now..."

"It seems to have attracted... a third-party force."

"On an orbit 300 kilometers above us."

"A...stealth spaceship has appeared."

"Its energy fluctuations are very unique."

"It does not belong to humans, nor to the Zerg."

"That is..."

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

He looked up at the deep night sky.

Although you can't see anything.

But he could sense... being watched.

"Protoss".

Jiang Li slowly uttered two words.

"And they are... Dark Templars."

"It seems..."

Jiang Li took a bite of the meat skewer in her hand.

"Our cafeteria..."

"More...new customers are coming."