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

Koprulu Sector, Char Planet, 2,000 meters above the ground - the back terrace of "Big Eyes".

"when----!!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing exploded high in the sky.

Nezha's Fire-Tipped Spear, imbued with Samadhi True Fire, pierced heavily into a pale blue, semi-transparent light barrier.

That's the Protoss's Plasma Shield.

The high-ranking Templar named Tal'darim hovered motionless in mid-air. Blue arcs of electricity surrounded him, and his eyes were as cold as ice.

"A savage attack."

Tadarin's voice echoed in everyone's minds.

"Completely chaotic and devoid of any elegance."

"Blink".

brush!

His figure vanished instantly.

The next second, it appeared behind Nezha.

The spiritual lightning that had been accumulating in his hands for a long time lashed out like a whip of divine punishment, striking Nezha hard on the back.

"You think I'm easy to bully if I don't show my power?"

Although Nezha was a lotus incarnation and reacted extremely quickly, his Hun Tian Ling automatically protected him and blocked the attack, but he was still shaken by the huge impact and tumbled several times in the air.

"This blue-skinned monster is something else!"

Nezha steadied himself, gritting his teeth.

"It's so slippery, you can't hit it at all!"

……

The arrogance and prejudice of the Protoss.

Tadarin did not press his advantage.

His glowing eyes looked past Nezha and down at the King Insect Platform.

To be precise, he was looking at Mohanda, who was sitting there with a look of shame on his face.

"Mohanda".

Tadarin's voice was filled with disappointment and anger.

"As a warrior of Nerazim, although we have different beliefs, I have always respected your martial skills."

"But now..."

He pointed to the half-eaten raw marinated worm in Mohanda's hand.

"You actually associate with these inferior creatures just to satisfy your appetite?"

"You have defiled the nobility of the void!"

Mohanda clenched his fist.

He wanted to argue.

I want to say that this is not just food, it is energy, it is evolution.

But faced with the condescending moral judgment of the orthodox faction, they not only had no words to offer, but even their desire to explain was suppressed.

……

The chef's intervention.

"Are you done talking?"

A lazy voice broke in.

Jiang Li was standing in front of the huge gas grill at that moment.

He was holding a huge ladle and stirring in the large pot, which had just been set up and was three meters in diameter.

"This... is Mr. Tadarin?"

Jiang Li looked at the Templars in the sky.

"You keep saying we are inferior beings."

"They call us filthy."

"Then do you know...?"

Jiang Li lifted the pot lid.

"boom!"

A plume of red, thick steam, almost tangible, rose up instantly.

"What does true filth really taste like?"

……

[Tactical Analysis: Protoss Physiology]

Jiang Li quickly reviewed the information about the gods in his mind.

The Protoss have no mouths and no digestive system.

They rely on photosynthesis and skin pores to absorb spiritual energy and moisture directly from the air or crystals.

This is an extremely efficient and clean way of life.

But it also means...

Their entire skin is like a sensitive "tongue" and "lung".

"Swann!"

Jiang Li shouted loudly.

"exist!"

"Turn the Ohmu's exhaust fan in reverse!"

"Blow the steam from this pot...onto him!"

"Alright! Industrial-grade fan started!"

……

[Biological Weapon: Extra Spicy Red Oil Steam.]

What's cooking in the pot isn't anything else.

It was the [Hell-level Flea Oil Hot Pot Base] that Jiang Li had just prepared.

The ingredients are as follows:

1. Extracting springtail fat oil (extremely oily).

2. Crushed blister pack (extremely pungent/corrosive).

3. Charstar Specialty: Sulfur-treated chili powder (100 times spicier than ghost peppers).

4. High-energy gas (combustion accelerant).

When these ingredients are mixed together, they are cooked at high temperatures.

The steam produced was a biological weapon that even gas masks couldn't block.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh————"

Several huge industrial fans on the back of the King Worm began to spin wildly.

The thick, red smoke, with its pungent, spicy, and greasy smell, transformed into a red dragon, hurtling straight towards the Tadarin in the sky.

……

The price of arrogance.

Tadarin looked at the approaching plume of red smoke but did not dodge it.

In his view, these mortal fireworks were simply no match for his psionic shield.

"ridiculous."

He raised a blue shield.

however.

He was wrong.

The psionic shield can block bullets, lasers, and even the shockwave of a nuclear explosion.

But it...cannot stop gas molecules.

In other words, the shield is designed to filter harmful high-energy impacts, rather than filtering the air.

Because the Protoss need to breathe (absorb) trace elements from the air.

then.

The red oil vapor passed through the shield without any hindrance.

It enveloped his entire body...

……

"Cough...cough cough!!!"

The Tadarin, which originally floated in the air like a god.

His body suddenly began to tremble violently.

His originally blue psionic radiance instantly became disordered.

pain!

hot!

choke!

For the gods, this feeling was utterly catastrophic.

Because he has neither a nose nor a mouth.

He breathes through every pore of his body.

now.

It's like skinning a human being naked and throwing them into pepper spray.

Moreover, the chili water seeped into his body through his pores and surged wildly along his nerve bundles.

"ah!!!"

Tadarin let out a scream (brainwave shriek).

This pain is not physical injury, but rather an overload on the nervous system.

His eyes were burning so badly that they were watering (though there were no tears, his psionic fluid was leaking out).

His cherished Khala Link was severed at that moment by intense sensory stimulation.

There was no more "pure spiritual energy" or "sacred dogma" in my mind.

Only one word remains:

hot!!!

……

A fallen god.

"A great opportunity!"

Nezha has sharp eyes.

Seeing the Taldarim's shield flash, he shook wildly in the air as if having a seizure.

"Universe Ring! Smash it!"

"Thump!"

The golden steel ring slammed solidly into the back of Tadarin's head.

This time, there was no flashing, no shield.

The high-ranking Templar rolled his eyes (the blue light went out).

Like a kite with a broken string.

It fell straight down from the sky.

……

"Catch him!"

Jiang Li shouted.

"Don't fall and die! This is a rare ingredient... no, a rare customer!"

Wukong reached out, and his golden cudgel extended, lifting Taldarin back.

"Clatter".

The once invincible El Guardian was thrown onto the deck like a dead fish.

It still smelled of red oil all over.

……

Interrogation and hot pot.

Ten minutes later.

Tadarin woke up.

He found himself tightly bound by a strange red rope (the Hun Tian Ling) and sitting on a cockroach shell chair.

And in front of him.

There was a huge hot pot, its red broth churning.

A group of people were sitting around.

Jiang Li, Nezha, Wukong, Taix, Mohanda...

There was even that dog named Er Gou.

Everyone held chopsticks in their hands, staring longingly at the pot.

"you……"

Tadarin struggled weakly for a moment.

"What kind of torture is this?!"

"Torture?"

Jiang Li picked up a slice of freshly cooked Leviathan tentacles and dipped it in the self-destructing mosquito garlic sauce.

Put it in your mouth.

He looked completely absorbed.

"This is called...a dinner party."

……

Philosophical debate.

Jiang Li swallowed the meat and looked at Tadarin, who had a humiliated expression on his face.

"Mr. Tadalin."

"I've heard that you follow the Khala."

"Kara's core doctrine is...unity and shared emotions, right?"

Tadarin snorted and turned his head away.

"You lowly creature are not worthy to talk about Kara."

"Yeah?"

Jiang Li pointed to the hot pot in front of him.

"Look at this pot."

"It contains Terran gas, Zerg meat, human seasonings, and Protoss... chef (Mohanda)."

"These were originally things that were opposed to each other and fought each other."

"In this pot, amidst the bubbling of red oil."

"Not only did they not fight, but they also did not fight."

"On the contrary... it created an ultimate delicious flavor."

Jiang Li stared into Tadarin's eyes.

"If Kara is what unifies everyone's thoughts..."

"And this hot pot..."

"It's about unifying the essence of all the ingredients..."

"Isn't this... another form of Kara?"

……

Mohanda's finishing blow.

This absurd and fallacious argument left Tadarin completely bewildered.

He wanted to argue, but something felt off.

At this time.

Mohanda, who was sitting next to him, spoke up.

"Tadarin".

Mohanda picked up a piece of tofu (gas solids) and dipped it in the pot.

"You keep saying that we Nailazim are isolated because we have severed our nerve bundles."

"but……"

"When you sit at this table."

"When you're fighting with everyone for meat."

"You will find..."

"This kind of emotional resonance that doesn't require neural connections..."

"More real than Cara..."

Done.

Mohanda handed the piece of tofu, which had soaked up all the red oil broth, to Tadarin.

"Try it."

"This is... the taste of reconciliation."

……

The "it smells so good" phenomenon?

Tadarin looked at the bright red, steaming tofu in front of him.

His instinct was to refuse.

His dogma is resistant.

but……

The "poisonous gas" he had just inhaled caused him immense pain.

But now, as the pain subsides.

An unprecedented feeling of heat rose within his body.

The feeling was like a long-dormant volcano being ignited.

His psionic core, stimulated by the red oil, was operating 30% faster than usual.

"..."

Tadarin looked at the piece of tofu.

Then I looked around at the expectant eyes of everyone around me.

finally.

He extended his free hand (which Jiang Li had deliberately loosened).

He accepted the tofu.

Because it has no mouth.

He directly stuck the tofu to his palm.

"Sizzle—"

Red oil comes into contact with the skin.

Energy is absorbed instantly.

"Buzz!!!!"

Tadarin's eyes suddenly burst forth with a dazzling blue light.

That's... spicy!

That's... awesome!

A substance called dopamine, despite his lack of brain structure, surged to the top of his head instantly through psionic simulation.

"this……"

Tadarin trembled.

"This...violent energy..."

"This... burning sensation..."

"It actually makes me feel... alive?"

……

New members have joined.

"That's right."

Jiang Li smiled.

He untied the magic ribbon from Tadalin's body.

"Welcome to Deep Blue Cafeteria."

"You are an electrician (High Templar)."

"Perfect."

Jiang Li pointed to the gas lamp and oven above his head.

"Our circuitry has been a bit unstable lately."

"after……"

"You are our... Chief Energy Engineer."

Tadarin: "..."

I want to purify you, but you want me to be your battery?

But looking at the piece of tofu in his hand that he hadn't finished sucking, he realized...

The high-ranking Templar's resolve wavered.

perhaps……

It's okay to indulge in a little indulgence now and then...

Not bad?

……

An even greater crisis.

Just as a group of people (gods, humans, demons, and dogs) were happily eating hot pot and singing songs.

Alice suddenly issued the highest level of red alert.

【warn!warn! 】

[A massive spatial warp response has been detected!]

[Coordinates: Airspace directly ahead!]

[Identification Code: UED (United Earth Council)!]

[Quantity: A complete expeditionary fleet!]

……

Jiang Li stopped using her chopsticks.

He raised his head.

All that could be seen in the distance was the starry sky.

Countless white beams of light flashed.

One after another, massive, white-painted battlecruisers, with designs even more futuristic and cold than those of the Terran Federation, slowly sailed out of the warp.

Those were an expeditionary force from Earth.

They are also the human faction with the most advanced technology and the greatest ambition in StarCraft.

UED is here.

And on the bridge of the flagship Alexander.

An elderly man dressed in a white naval admiral's uniform was looking in this direction with a monocular telescope.

Field Marshal Gerard DuGalle.

He looked at the king insect floating in the air, emitting red smoke.

He frowned.

"Is that... a Zerg biological weapon?"

The adjutant, Stukov, glanced at the radar analysis.

"No, Marshal."

"That seems to be..."

"A...pot that's boiling?"