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

Villa No. 13, Yulong Bay, Jianghai City.

At four in the morning, the darkness before dawn enveloped the earth, but the courtyard of this villa was as bright as day and bustling like an illegal construction site.

"Gently! Gently, everyone! That pillar may be hard, but it wouldn't be good if it damaged the flowers and plants!"

Jiang Li, holding a cup of freshly brewed instant coffee (with some leftover divine blood from last night added for energy), stood on the steps giving instructions.

In the courtyard, an extended heavy-duty flatbed trailer lay across the road, carrying the enormous pillar that was twenty meters long, pitch black, and covered with dark red magma patterns—the [Pillar of Stars] (a limb of an A-level mythical creature).

Wang Ergou, along with dozens of followers dressed in white chef uniforms from "Deep Blue Seafood," gritted their teeth, unleashing C-level or even B-level spiritual energy fluctuations from their bodies, and like ants carrying food, they forcefully lifted the "divine finger" weighing tens of tons.

"One! Two! Three! Go!"

Accompanied by the unified chants, the massive black pillar was slowly erected.

"boom--!!!"

The pillar fell into the deep pit that Jiang Li had Da Huang dig in advance.

The ground trembled violently, as if a mini-earthquake had occurred. The villa's windows rattled, and even the alarm in Su Qingge's house next door went off once and then went silent.

Just as the pillar stabilized.

"Buzz—"

An invisible fluctuation, though imperceptible to the naked eye, but clearly perceptible to the soul, spread instantly from the pillar throughout the entire Jianghai City!

This pillar embodies the three laws of "suppression," "gravity," and "stars." Standing erect on the earth, it's like a stabilizing force planted in the city!

Within a radius of ten miles, all supernatural magnetic fields were instantly suppressed.

Those rat spirits hiding in the dark corners of the sewers and the hanged ghosts lurking in the unfinished buildings all felt as if they had been weighed down by a mountain, and were pressed to the ground, unable to move.

"Hmm, not bad, quite straight!"

Jiang Li looked at the towering black pillar that pierced the sky and nodded in satisfaction.

"Now the yard won't feel so empty. I'll string up some steel cables later, and the blankets will definitely dry faster."

Standing to the side, "Immortal Captain" Wang Defa was wrapped in a tattered blanket he had picked up from a roadside trash can, shivering like a leaf.

He looked at the pillar that exuded terrifying divine power, and then at the young man who was figuring out how to hang cured meat on it. He felt as if his worldview had been shattered into dust.

"This...this is a limb of a god..."

Wang Defa muttered to himself, "You're just going to use it... as a clothesline?"

"Otherwise what? It's a bit too big to use as chopsticks."

Jiang Li turned around and glanced at him, then waved enthusiastically.

"Grandpa, don't just stand there, it's cold outside, come inside and sit down! I happen to have some freshly made ginger soup here, it'll warm you up."

Wang Defa wanted to run away.

He was imprisoned in that box at the bottom of the sea for thirty years, surviving only by clinging to his "turtle breath." He thought being rescued would mean seeing the light of day again, but instead, he had fallen into a hellish abyss!

But as soon as he turned around, he saw Big Yellow squatting behind him, with the big bone he had brought back from the seabed in his mouth, his eyes behind his sunglasses staring coldly at him.

"Woof!" (Dare to run? I'll bite your legs off!)

Wang Defa swallowed hard, and with stiff steps, followed Jiang Li into the villa.

……

Upon entering.

"hiss--"

Wang Defa gasped.

Good heavens! The "feng shui" in this house... is way too harsh!

In the entryway sits a giant fish head specimen still dripping black water (monkey head); the living room light shines like a small sun (powered by lightning); and a chilling, sour stench wafts from the kitchen (from the magic pot of pickled beans).

The most outrageous thing was that there was a little girl wearing bunny pajamas sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding potato chips and watching TV.

Why does that little girl have a faint golden light around her? Like the protection of some kind of deity?

"Brother! You're back!"

Upon seeing Jiang Li, Jiang Xiaoyu immediately dropped her potato chips and pounced on him.

"You're back! I brought you a present!"

Jiang Li opened the bag of [Abyss Ancient Gold] that Wang Ergou had just brought in, grabbed a handful of gold coins, and stuffed them into his sister's hands.

"Here, have some! These coins are of even better quality, and you can even do puzzles with them!"

"Wow! Thank you, bro!"

Jiang Xiaoyu happily accepted the gold coins.

"Sizzle—"

Just as the abyssal curse remaining on the gold coin was about to take effect and corrode the girl's skin, it was instantly purified by the golden light emanating from her body, emitting a faint sound as it turned into pure gold.

"Huh? These gold coins can even heat up! Perfect for warming my hands!" Jiang Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise.

Wang Defa's eyes twitched as he read it.

Using [Abyssal Ancient Gold] as a hand warmer? This family's financial situation... is it because they're born with a mine, or are they a god?

"Come, sir, have a seat."

Jiang Li pressed Wang Defa down on the sofa and poured him a cup of hot water (which was actually life essence water diluted a hundred times).

"Sir, what's your surname? It was too noisy on the boat earlier, I didn't hear you clearly."

"No need for formalities... My surname is Wang, Wang Defa."

Wang Defa held the cup with both hands, took only one sip of water, and immediately felt a warm current rush into his parched body. His meridians, which had atrophied and cells had died due to long-term stagnation, began to revive under the nourishment of this warm current!

"This water..." He stared at the cup in shock.

"Oh, it's just plain water with a little sugar added," Jiang Li said casually.

He sat down opposite Wang Defa and began to get to the point.

"Uncle Wang, you said before that you were the captain of that 'Ghost Mary' ship? And that you'd been at sea for thirty years?"

"Yes..." Wang Defa sighed, "The past is too painful to recall."

"You must be very familiar with this area, right? For example, where are the reefs, where are the whirlpools, where are the fish plentiful?"

"It's so ripe! It's incredibly ripe!"

A hint of arrogance flashed in Wang Defa's eyes. "In this misty sea, there isn't a single wave I don't recognize! Even with my eyes closed, I can steer the boat out!"

"That makes things easier!"

Jiang Li slapped his thigh. "Uncle Wang, I cherish talent the most! Since you have nowhere else to go, why don't you stay and work for me?"

"Huh?" Wang Defa was taken aback.

"My 'Deep Blue Seafood' has just opened, and I'm in need of an experienced technical consultant."

Jiang Li said sincerely, "You see, you have the technology, and I have the ship (although it's the Black Pearl). Let's join forces, make it bigger and stronger, and create new glories!"

"I'll pay you a salary! Food and lodging included! Meat at every meal (mythical creature meat)! I'll even take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days!"

Looking at Jiang Li's smiling face, which exuded the aura of a "capitalist," Wang Defa felt a hundred times unwilling.

Are you kidding me?

Go fishing with this lunatic? That's like courting death!

and……

He suddenly lowered his voice and looked at Jiang Li: "Boss, you really just want to fish?"

"Of course!" Jiang Li nodded.

"So... are you interested in [Return to the Void]?"

Wang Defa asked tentatively.

"Return to the Void?"

Jiang Li remembered that Old Wang (the shipping company owner) had mentioned it before, "Is it the legendary place where the Dragon King lives?"

"Yes! That's the real treasure trove!"

Wang Defa's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. "I've been thinking about this in that underwater box for thirty years. I'm certain it contains the secret to immortality, and... countless legendary mythical beasts!"

"A mythical beast?"

Jiang Li's focus was clearly off; "Is there a lot of meat? Is it tasty?"

Wang Defa: "..."

"A lot! A lot! And they're all top-quality!" Wang Defa was going all out to find a backer.

"make a deal!"

Jiang Li was overjoyed. "As long as you take me to that Guixu place to buy goods, I'll definitely be your consultant!"

Just as the two reached an agreement to "collude in evil," the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong—"

Jiang Li ran to open the door.

Outside the door stood Su Qingge, dressed in sportswear and with her hair tied in a high ponytail. She seemed to have just returned from a morning run, but her expression was somewhat hurried.

Good morning, Mr. Jiang.

Su Qingge greeted them, but her gaze involuntarily drifted past Jiang Li and toward the newly erected black pillar in the courtyard.

Even as an S-rank powerhouse, she felt suffocating pressure in front of this pillar.

"Mr. Jiang, this pillar..."

"Oh, I picked up some scrap metal at sea yesterday. It looked pretty straight, so I brought it back to use as a clothesline."

Jiang Li said it casually.

Su Qingge: "..."

Found it? Scrap metal? Clothesline?

She received an urgent report last night that a major earthquake had occurred at the [R'lyeh Ruins (False)] deep in the Misty Sea, and monitoring showed that an A-level energy source had disappeared.

So... you pulled it back to use as a clothesline!

"Mr. Jiang, you really are...so sophisticated." Su Qingge could only manage a dry laugh.

She walked into the room and immediately saw Wang Defa sitting on the sofa.

Although Wang Defa was dressed like an ordinary old man, Su Qingge's [Spiritual Vision] told her that this person had a strong aura of death about him, yet he was strangely alive.

"A living dead?" Su Qingge's heart skipped a beat.

"Let me introduce you. This is Grandpa Wang, my new advisor, a veteran seaman."

Jiang Li introduced, "Uncle Wang, this is my neighbor, Miss Su."

Wang Defa raised his eyelids, glanced at Su Qingge, chuckled, and revealed a set of broken, yellow teeth.

"This little girl is something else; she carries a... Night Watchman's scent about her."

Su Qingge's pupils contracted slightly.

He saw right through her identity? This old man is definitely a hidden master!

"You flatter me, senior." Su Qingge bowed respectfully.

In Jiang Li's villa, even the person sweeping the floor might be a hidden master; she was already used to it.

"By the way, Mr. Jiang."

After Su Qingge sat down, her expression became serious. "Besides visiting you, I also have some information to tell you."

"What intelligence?" Jiang Li asked, taking an apple and munching on it.

"Regarding the 'Devil's Triangle' region deep within the Misty Sea."

Su Qingge took out a map. "Recently, our satellites have detected very intense spatial fluctuations in that area, suggesting that some kind of... extraterrestrial life is active there."

"Alien beings?"

Jiang Li chewed on an apple. "What does it look like? Is it one of those little gray people with a big head and skinny arms?"

"No, based on the blurry image, it looks like... some kind of huge flying insect, or a crustacean."

Su Qingge described them as follows: "They can fly, survive in a vacuum, and seem to have established some kind of base."

"Flying crustaceans?"

Jiang Li and Wang Defa, who was standing next to her, exchanged a glance.

Wang Defa previously mentioned that there are "flying shrimp" in the Devil's Triangle.

"That's a flying lobster!"

Jiang Li slapped his thigh. "Great stuff! This is absolutely amazing! Miss Su, thank you for the information! It's so important to me!"

"Huh?" Su Qingge was taken aback. "You...you're going?"

"Of course we'll go! This is a new ingredient!"

Jiang Li stood up, his eyes burning with a flame called "appetite".

"Advisor Wang! Tell Er Gou! Stop counting the money!"

"We're going on a team-building trip! Next stop—the Devil's Triangle! Let's catch some flying shrimp!"

Su Qingge looked at the excited Jiang Li, but hesitated to speak.

That was an outpost for an alien invasion! That was an extremely dangerous forbidden zone!

You call this...team building? Shrimp catching?

But looking at the [Pillar of Stars] in the courtyard, Su Qingge swallowed her words of dissuasion.

Maybe……

For this guy, this really was just a shopping trip.