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

Koprulu Sector, Planet Char, [Deep Blue Char Branch] (formerly Xel'Naga Temple).

"bite--!"

A clear, ringing bell (actually a dining bell made by Swann from discarded bullet casings) echoed through the magnificent temple hall.

"Dinner's ready! Number 42! Your double portion of sour soup with cockroaches is ready!"

Alice's emotionless yet irresistibly enticing electronic voice emanated from the modified speaker of the SCV (Chef Type).

"Here it comes!"

A Marine in blue powered armor pounced on the food chute like a hungry tiger. In his hands was a fist-sized piece of blue crystal ore that he had just dug up from outside.

"Here! This is for your meal!"

He threw the crystal ore into the automatic recycling funnel on the bar.

"drop."

[High-purity crystal mineral detected: 0.5 units.]

Payment successful.

Jiang Li stood behind the bar and skillfully took the large bowl handed to him by SCV. It was drizzled with bright red chili oil, sprinkled with bright green scallions (a fungal substitute), and steaming hot.

"Hold on carefully, it's hot."

"Thank you, boss! You're so generous!"

The soldier, holding his bowl, happily found a round table covered in cockroach shells, sat down, and began to eat with slurping noises.

……

Business is booming.

Today is the first day of business for the [Deep Blue Charles Branch].

Business was even better than Jiang Li had imagined.

The entire temple hall was packed. The dozens of people that Tex had brought had now completely become Jiang Li's "employees".

In order to get a hot meal, these usually lazy soldiers showed amazing initiative.

Some people went to the canyon to mine.

Some people go outside to collect dead insects (to recycle raw materials).

Some people even spontaneously organized patrol teams to clear away wild springtails in the vicinity to prevent them from disturbing everyone's enjoyment of eating.

"This is what a healthy economic cycle should be like."

Jiang Li looked at the box behind the bar that was gradually filling with crystal ore and nodded in satisfaction.

"Labor creates value, and food drives labor."

Marx was right.

……

New guests.

Just when the hall was peaceful, with only the sounds of slurping noodles and chewing filling the air.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed outside the temple gates.

"Boom... Boom..."

Along with the footsteps came a strong smell of gas and burning.

"Is anyone there?"

Sun Wukong, who was sitting at the door in charge of security, twitched his ears.

He held a half-eaten skewer of hydrangea meat in his hand and lazily raised his head.

All that could be seen was the red mist outside the door.

Several extremely burly figures emerged.

They wore thicker, bulkier red power armor (CMC-660 Heavy Firebat Armor) than regular Marines.

Instead of guns, their hands were equipped with two enormous plasma flamethrowers that were emitting blue flames.

[Unit: Firebat]

[Unit: Terran Federation Heavy Assault Infantry]

[Weapon: Hellfire Thrower.]

[Catchphrase: Need a light?]

……

A fight about to break out? No, it's about dismounting at the scent of incense.

This team has about eight people.

The leader was a burly, bald man with a face full of scars and half of his beard burned off.

He looked at the temple in front of him with the bone-like sign that read "Deep Blue Charles Branch," and then at his colleagues inside who were eating with their mouths full of grease.

I was completely stunned.

"Am I... hallucinating because I inhaled too much gas?"

The bald, burly man muttered to himself.

"Is this Star Char?"

"Is it that planet Charles, where bugs are everywhere and you have to worry about getting your butt bitten off even when you poop?"

Why...?

"Why is there a... restaurant here?!"

and.

The aroma wafting out...

It's meat!

It's the real meaty aroma, a blend of oils and spices, achieved through the Maillard reaction!

"Gurgle..."

The eight burly fire-bat men swallowed hard.

The sound was exceptionally loud at the quiet entrance of the temple.

……

Warm hospitality.

"Oh, we have guests?"

Jiang Li wiped his hands and walked out from behind the bar.

He was not nervous because of the flamethrower in the other person's hand.

in contrast.

His gaze fell on the thick fuel pipes, and his eyes softened considerably.

"Gentlemen, are you here for dinner?"

"Or...are you here for a job interview?"

"what?"

The bald, burly man was stunned for a moment.

"We... are Firebat Squad, belonging to the 3rd Mixed Division, codenamed 'Hell's Kitchen'."

"We got separated from our troops during yesterday's breakout..."

"I thought I was going to die here..."

"Then I smelled it..."

The bald, burly man pointed to the table inside.

"Um... is it really possible to eat here?"

"certainly."

Jiang Li made a "please" gesture.

"Deep Blue Cafeteria: Honest and trustworthy to all ages."

"As long as you have...that."

Jiang Li pointed to the sign that said "Only accepts crystal ore and gas".

……

An awkward, penniless man.

The Firebat Squad looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Crystal ore...we don't have any."

The bald, burly man scratched the scar on his head.

"We are a commando team, not responsible for mining."

"but……"

He glanced at the fuel canister on his arm.

"We still have some gas left."

"Although there isn't much left, this stuff is high-purity industrial-grade gas."

"Can this... be used to pay for the meal?"

……

"That's amazing!"

Before Jiang Li could speak, Swan, who was repairing SCV in the kitchen, rushed out.

"Industrial-grade gas? Let me see it!"

"My SCV is just about needing this kind of high-quality feed!"

Jiang Li shook his head and stopped Swan.

He looked at the swarm of fire bats and revealed the kind of smile a capitalist has for cheap labor.

"Using gas to pay for a meal is such a rip-off."

"This gas is your ammunition, and it's also your life-saving measure."

How about this?

Jiang Li pointed to the few spare stoves in the open kitchen that had not yet been lit.

"Look, business is so good here that the SCV cooking machine is a bit too busy."

"And that...flamethrower you have..."

"I think its heat control is quite good."

"Are you interested...?"

"Want to do... a part-time job?"

……

[Task: Kitchen Flame Control Officer]

[Content: Utilizing a plasma flame injector to assist the chef in "high-heat stir-frying" and "rapid grilling."]

[Compensation: Free meals and accommodation, unlimited gas (Swan is responsible for refining).]

……

Five minutes later.

An extremely magical scene unfolded in the kitchen of the Deep Blue Charles branch.

Three firebats dressed in heavy red armor were standing in front of the stove.

"Turn up the heat! Reduce the sauce over high heat!"

Jiang Li gave the order.

"Okay!"

A fire bat pulled the trigger.

"boom----"

Two blue fire dragons shot out and instantly enveloped the iron pot.

This firepower is ten times stronger than the stove in a Michelin three-star restaurant's kitchen.

The lurking bamboo shoots in the pot were instantly stir-fried, crackling and popping, releasing a burst of wok hei (wok aroma).

Simmer over low heat!

Another firebat skillfully adjusted the nozzle valve.

The flames instantly turned a gentle red, licking the bottom of the casserole.

"Over there at the grill! Turn the fire up!"

The third firebat unleashed a fan-shaped jet of energy at the dozens of skewers of hydra meat on the barbecue grill.

Just three seconds.

The meat skewers are golden brown and crispy on the surface, while the juices inside are perfectly locked in.

……

Win-win.

"A genius..."

Tex munched on a freshly baked skewer of meat, which had a wonderfully caramelized aroma, and exclaimed in admiration.

"Let the fire bats be the cook."

"Only Boss Jiang could come up with such a brilliant idea."

The fire bats who were working were also beaming with happiness.

Because Jiang Li kept his word.

After each batch of vegetables is cooked, they are given a large bowl of [Special High-Energy Gas Braised Pork].

This meat is smoked with high-energy gas, making it not only delicious but also providing the energy needed for their armor.

"Sir!"

The bald team leader (who is now the barbecue team leader) said with tears in his eyes.

"For the first time in my life, I felt that the flamethrower in my hand was meant to create happiness, not destruction!"

"This job... I could do it for the rest of my life!"

……

Strange loot.

Just as the kitchen was bustling with activity and everyone was enjoying their meal,

Sun Wukong and Nezha have returned from their "treasure hunt".

This time they didn't go far, just wandered around a few abandoned insect nests near the temple.

"Cook! Here!"

As soon as Wukong entered, he tossed Jiang Li a heavy package.

It was wrapped in a magic ribbon.

"What is this?"

Jiang Li caught the package and felt that it contained a bunch of round things.

"have no idea."

Nezha grabbed a glass of lemonade from the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"We found it in a ravine."

"That place is a bit strange; there are no adult insects there."

"There's only a bunch of these...green eggs."

"And this egg moves, and it feels warm to the touch."

"Er Gou sniffed it and said it had... the smell of strong acid."

……

Food identification: Explosion insect eggs.

Jiang Li placed the package on the bar counter and carefully opened it.

Instantly.

A dozen or so football-sized, translucent, greenish eggs rolled out.

Their shells are so thin that you can even see the green liquid flowing inside and the unformed embryos.

A faint sour smell wafted out.

[Ingredients: Unfertilized baneling eggs.]

[Status: High Risk / Extremely Unstable]

[Description: This is the initial form of the blister beetle before hatching. The strong acid inside is not yet fully acidified, and it is in a delicate colloidal state.]

[WARNING: Severe impact or high temperature may cause...]

……

"This thing..."

Tex leaned over for a look, and his expression instantly changed.

"Throw it out now!"

"These are Zerg mines!"

"This thing is more dangerous than a fully grown blister beetle! Because its shell is so fragile!"

"Just one shot, or it falls to the ground..."

"Our restaurant has reached the heavens!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding diners were so frightened that they dropped their bowls and retreated.

……

A chef's reverse thinking.

however.

Jiang Li was not alarmed.

He picked up a green egg and weighed it in his hand.

"crisp?"

"Afraid of the high temperature?"

"That means..."

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

"The physical properties of this thing..."

"Actually, it looks a lot like... corn kernels?"

"What?" Tex thought he had misheard.

"Corn kernels."

Jiang Li explained.

"Corn kernels also have a hard outer shell and contain moisture and starch inside."

"When subjected to high temperatures, the internal pressure increases sharply, and the outer shell cannot withstand it, then..."

"Bang!"

Jiang Li made an explosion gesture.

"Turn into...popcorn."

……

"You mean...?"

Er Gou came closer and stared at the egg.

"This thing can be made into... popcorn?"

"It is theoretically feasible."

Jiang Li touched his chin.

"The liquid inside the eggs of the explosive insect is a high-energy acidic gel."

"If the temperature is controlled properly, it will expand instantaneously instead of causing a chemical explosion."

"That gel-like substance will... fluff up."

"To become a kind of...sweet and sour, crunchy, foamy food."

……

Experimental preparation.

"but……"

Jiang Li frowned.

"Ordinary fire won't work."

"Ordinary fire doesn't get hot enough and doesn't heat up fast enough."

"Before it could expand, it exploded (a chemical explosion)."

"We need a heat source that has extremely strong penetrating power and can raise the temperature to 3000 degrees Celsius in 0.01 seconds."

Jiang Li's gaze.

He swept across the entire room.

At last.

It landed on the C-14 Gauss rifle on Er Gou's back.

"Gauss rifle..."

"It uses 8mm depleted uranium armor-piercing nails."

"The initial velocity was extremely high, and the kinetic energy was enormous."

"and……"

Jiang Li looked at the fire bats.

"If we put the bullets..."

"Should we replace it with... a miniature plasma bomb?"

or……

Jiang Li looked at Swan.

"Master Swan."

"Could you... modify the rifling on this gun?"

"So, the bullets it fires... generate heat through friction and rotation?"

……

A crazy plan.

The audience was silent.

Everyone was stunned by this crazy idea.

Using a Gauss rifle to shoot down insect eggs?

Just to make...popcorn?

This is practically playing with fire!

but……

I don't know why.

Looking at Jiang Li's confident eyes.

And those few greenish eggs, which looked like they were born to explode.

Everyone's throat...

It moved a little, which was quite disappointing.

"If it's true..."

Nezha licked his lips.

"And this kind of popcorn..."

"It must taste... amazing!"

……

Jiang Li smiled.

He picked up an egg and tossed it into the air.

"Er Gou" (Second Dog).

"Are you ready?"

"Tonight's dessert..."

"It all depends on your marksmanship."