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

Jianghai City, noon.

The entrance to Shenlan Seafood Restaurant was still bustling with traffic, and the long queue almost blocked half the street.

Beneath that eerie and imposing skeletal archway, a handsome young man dressed in an oversized security guard uniform, with a pair of crystalline dragon horns on his head and a long tail trailing behind him, stood on the reception platform with a look of utter despair.

He was once the S-rank Abyss Lord who dominated the East Sea and commanded countless aquatic creatures—[Fallen Dragonman Ao Bing].

At this moment, he was wearing a badge that read "Trainee Security Guard 008" around his neck and holding a red baton, maintaining order.

"Move to the back! Everyone move to the back! Don't push!"

Ao Bing called out weakly, his eyes vacant, as if his soul had left his body.

Imagine him, the third prince of the Dragon Palace, bearing the blood of an ancient dragon—how noble he must be! How arrogant he must be!

And now, they've actually been reduced to guarding the gate for a bunch of "two-legged sheep"?!

"Hey! You handsome guy with horns, can you get me a number?"

A heavily made-up, wealthy woman squeezed through the crowd and reached out to touch Ao Bing's dragon horns. "Is this the guy who's been all the rage lately? He looks so real, like he's actually growing into the flesh."

"Get your dirty hands off me!"

Ao Bing's eyes turned cold, and a trace of S-level killing intent instinctively overflowed.

The rich woman felt a chill run through her body, as if she had been stared at by an ancient beast. She was so frightened that she sat down on the ground with a thud, her face turning deathly pale.

"Hey! What are you doing? What are you doing?!"

Just then, Wang Ergou rushed out with a walkie-talkie and slapped Ao Bing on the back of the head.

"I told you to maintain order, not to scare the customers! Smile! Don't you understand?"

Wang Ergou scolded, "If you dare glare at me again, I'll tell the boss to dock your pay! And I'll make you practice the 'belt whip technique' again!"

Upon hearing the word "belt," Ao Bing shuddered; it was a psychological trauma etched into his very bones.

He instantly suppressed all his murderous intent, forced a stiff smile that looked worse than crying, and bowed to the terrified rich woman.

"I'm sorry, welcome, please come in."

Rich woman: "..."

Looking at this handsome man who had been fierce and menacing just moments before, but was now as humble as dust, she felt an extremely twisted sense of conquest.

"This shop... is quite interesting."

……

back kitchen.

Jiang Li was wearing an apron and busy working on a huge cutting board.

On the cutting board, there was no fish, but rather a pile of large, round pearls that emitted a soft glow.

These are [Deep Sea Luminous Pearls] (Grade C spiritual materials) brought back from the Dragon Palace's treasure vault. Each one contains pure water element energy, and wearing them for a long time can nourish the complexion and calm the mind.

But in Jiang Li's hands...

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

He took a rolling pin (actually the thigh bone of some kind of evil beast) and started pounding it against the priceless pearls.

"These pearls are too big to cook properly; they need to be broken into pieces."

As Jiang Li tapped, he muttered to himself, "Don't all young people these days like drinking 'bubble tea'? We need to keep up with the times and launch a bubble tea with a deep blue theme!"

He poured the crushed pearl powder into a large basin, added tapioca flour and... [dragon's saliva] (saliva extracted from the mouth of a dragon corpse, a top-grade adhesive).

"Knead it, rub it, and it becomes a 'Dragon Ball'!"

Jiang Li's hands moved with lightning speed, and in no time he had kneaded a large basin of crystal-clear "pearls" that exuded a faint dragon's might.

"Ergou! Bring me that 'Jade Pot' we brought back from the Dragon Palace! Let's make milk tea!"

"They're here!"

Wang Ergou ran in carrying a white jade pot that was half his height. The pot contained "spiritual spring water" collected from the depths of the Misty Sea, and the tea leaves were made by drying and roasting "abyssal seaweed".

"Glug glug..."

Pearls are added to the pot, and the milk tea becomes fragrant.

Jiang Li took a bite, and her eyes lit up.

"Mmm! The texture! Chewy and smooth! And after drinking it, my throat feels so comfortable, like I've had a mint in my mouth!"

"This is definitely going to be a hit! Let's call it—'Deep Sea Dragon Pearl Milk Tea'! 188 yuan a cup isn't too much, is it?"

Wang Ergou swallowed hard. "Boss, the pearl powder in this cup alone is worth tens of thousands... Isn't it too much of a loss to sell it for 188?"

"What loss? This is just scraps."

Jiang Li waved his hand, "In business, we believe in small profits and quick turnover; the main goal is to attract customers!"

……

Just as Jiang Li was busy developing new products.

In the lobby, Su Qingge walked in with two special operations team members.

She wasn't wearing her uniform today, but had changed into casual clothes, which made her look more gentle and less sharp.

"Welcome—Gah!"

The Deepsea Divers on both sides bowed.

Su Qingge skillfully ignored the monsters and focused her gaze on the dragon-horned youth who was handing out queue numbers to customers at the door.

"That is..."

Su Qingge's pupils contracted slightly, and she asked her teammate in a low voice, "Is there any information about this person in the database?"

The team member took out a device and scanned the area; his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Captain... Captain! Energy reaction S-rank! Racial trait match... That's [Fallen Dragonman Ao Bing]! He's the guardian boss of the East Sea Dragon Palace ruins! I heard that many expeditions perished at his hands a few days ago!"

"An S-rank boss?"

Su Qingge looked at Ao Bing, who was being dragged by the tail by a child and dared not speak out in anger, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

"This is... the 'newly hired security guard' Mr. Jiang mentioned?"

She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

At Deep Blue Seafood Restaurant, anything is possible. Even if Jiang Li were to capture Cthulhu and make him a takoyaki chef tomorrow, she figured she'd only be surprised for a couple of seconds.

"Let's go inside and find Mr. Jiang."

Su Qingge walked into the hall.

"Oh! Miss Su is here! What a rare guest!"

Jiang Li was carrying a plate of freshly made milk tea out of the kitchen when he saw Su Qingge and immediately greeted her warmly.

"Come on, try my newly developed product—Dragon Ball Milk Tea! It's good for your beauty and health!"

He handed Su Qingge a cup of milk tea that glowed with fluorescent light.

Su Qingge took the milk tea and looked at the "pearls" inside that were still glowing slightly. She could feel the gentle and pure water element energy contained within them.

"This...this is made of a luminous pearl?"

"You have good taste!"

Jiang Li gave a thumbs up. "How is it? The taste is alright, right?"

Su Qingge took a sip and felt refreshed. Even the dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night writing reports seemed to have faded a lot.

"It tastes good...and the effects are amazing."

Su Qingge put down her cup, her expression turning serious.

"Mr. Jiang, besides coming here to enjoy... cough, besides tasting the food, I also have some important information to share with you."

"What intelligence? Is it that guy with the eyes again?" Jiang Li pulled out a chair and sat down.

Not entirely.

Su Qingge lowered her voice, "We detected that although the evil god projection called [Eye of the Abyss] escaped, its true consciousness does not seem to have left Earth, but has instead lurked in a deeper place."

"Furthermore, according to a segment of abyssal fluctuation we intercepted... it seems to be summoning some extremely disgusting and difficult-to-kill creature in an attempt to launch a 'biological attack' on you."

"A biological attack?"

Jiang Li frowned. "Poison gas again? Or throwing flies? Don't these guys have any original ideas?"

"This time is different."

Su Qingge took out a photo. The photo showed a blurry, shapeless mass of flesh devouring a rat.

"This is Shoggoth."

"A protoplasmic organism with no fixed form, capable of mimicking any organ, possessing extremely strong regenerative abilities and corrosiveness. Most terrifyingly, they can split, merge, and even... spread to every corner of the city through the sewer system."

"Shoggoth?"

Jiang Li looked at the photo, lost in thought.

"This thing...it looks a bit like a moving blob of...jelly? Or maybe a rare fungus?"

He recalled a legend he had heard in the countryside when he was a child, which said that a kind of fleshy lingzhi called "Tai Sui" could be dug out of the soil, and that eating it would grant immortality.

"Is this thing... edible?" Jiang Li asked the classic soul-searching question.

Su Qingge: "..."

"Mr. Jiang, this is a slave creature created by the ancients. Its entire body is made of acid and protoplasm, and theoretically... it is highly poisonous."

"It's poisonous...that's a shame."

Jiang Li shook his head with some regret.

Just then.

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

A strange sound came from the direction of the kitchen.

The sound was like a clogged water pipe, or like someone sucking up jelly with a straw.

Immediately following was a terrified scream.

"Gah—!!!"

It was made by a Deep One who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

"What happened?"

Jiang Li's expression changed, and he instantly stood up and rushed to the kitchen.

Su Qingge followed closely behind, her hand already condensing into a frost-covered longsword.

……

back kitchen.

a mess.

The once clean and tidy ground is now covered with a thick, translucent layer of constantly wriggling slime.

The Deep One responsible for washing dishes was now covered in the slime from the waist down, struggling desperately. But the slime was like super glue, sticking to it tighter the more it struggled, and was slowly corroding its scales.

Inside that huge tank, the sewer opening had completely burst open.

A large mass of black, jelly-like substance was continuously gushing out of it, emitting a strange cry of "Tekeli-li".

【Shoggoth Larva】(B+ grade).

Countless eyes sprouted from its body, flickering and filled with madness and chaos. It was rapidly expanding, attempting to devour the entire kitchen!

"This is the Shoggoth you were talking about?"

Jiang Li stood at the door, looking at the huge lump of "jelly" that was still growing bigger and making strange noises. Instead of being afraid, he swallowed hard.

"Miss Su, are you sure this thing is poisonous?"

He pointed at Hughes, "Look at its texture, its elasticity, its crystal-clear appearance... This is clearly top-grade 'seaweed jelly' or 'Tai Sui meat'!"

Through his filter, the terrifying, indescribable creature transformed into a giant, fermenting, and extremely bouncy dough (or jelly).

"And it's still chirping, which means it's very active! If you slice it and make a cold salad, the taste would be absolutely amazing!"

Su Qingge: "..."

As she watched the monster dissolving the leg bones of the Deep Ones, she felt as if she and Jiang Li lived in two different worlds.

"Mr. Jiang! That's a strong acid! Be careful!"

Shoggoth spotted a new prey, and several tentacles instantly sprouted from his body, lashing out at Jiang Li like whips.

"You dare to lay a hand on me? You deserve a beating!"

Jiang Li neither dodged nor avoided, but directly reached out and grabbed the tentacle that was pulling at him.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The acid on the tentacles tried to corrode Jiang Li's palm, but in the face of the Abyss Fisherman's physique, the acid was like slightly sour lemon juice, having no effect other than causing a slight itch.

"That's right, it's soft and feels nice."

Jiang Li pinched the tentacle. "It's a bit like pinching a slime."

He pulled suddenly.

"Come here!"

The immense force yanked the several-ton Shoggoth out of the tank and slammed it heavily to the ground.

"Tekli-ri!!!"

Shoggoth let out a terrified cry.

It discovered that its body could no longer deform! The place where the man had grabbed it seemed to be locked by some higher-dimensional rule!

"Lei Meng! Bring me the basin! The biggest one!"

Jiang Li shouted.

"The boss is here!"

Lei Meng grabbed a large aluminum basin (about the size of a bathtub) used for washing vegetables from the side and rushed over.

"What's this? A huge blob of snot?" Lei Meng looked at Hugos, feeling a bit nauseous.

"What snot! This is a rare fungus! This is a meat-shaped Ganoderma! Do you understand?"

As Jiang Li spoke, he stuffed Shugos into the basin.

Shoggoth struggled desperately, countless eyes filled with fear.

It tried to escape back into the sewers, but Jiang Li wouldn't give it that chance.

"Go inside!"

Jiang Li punched the core of the Shoggoth (although it did not have a fixed core, Jiang Li's punch carried the rules of vibration, which directly shattered it).

"Pfft!"

Shoggoth slumped in the basin like a lump of mud.

"Ergou! Bring the vinegar! A lot! And some minced garlic and chili oil too!"

Jiang Li looked at the bowl of crystal-clear "jelly" and her mouth watered.

"This thing is so big, if you cut it up, you could probably make several hundred pounds of cold dishes. It's perfect for this hot day, a nice appetizer for the guests!"

He picked up the butcher knife and gestured at the Shoggoth in the basin.

"Tekli... Li..." (Help...)

Shoggoth let out a final, faint cry of despair.

Su Qingge stood aside, watching Jiang Lizhen start pouring vinegar and chili oil onto the terrifying monster, feeling her sanity crumbling little by little.

"That's Shoggoth..."

"A bio-weapon that even the Ancients couldn't fully control..."

"It actually... turned into a cold dish?"

She took out her phone and sent a message to the bureau chief, her hands trembling:

[Report: A new S-class threat has emerged, named Shoggoth. Current status: Joined the lavish lunch. Suggestion: ...Would I like a taste too?]

……

Half an hour later.

Plates of translucent "Abyss Jelly," mixed with chili oil and minced garlic, exuding a unique sour aroma, were served.

The guests took a bite and immediately went wild.

"Holy crap! What kind of magical jelly is this? It melts in your mouth! And after eating it, I feel cool and refreshed all over, and my mind is clear!"

"It's so delicious! The chewy texture is like it's dancing in your mouth!"

"Boss! Ten more servings, please!"

In the kitchen, Jiang Li looked at the bowl that had been completely cleaned and nodded in satisfaction.

"It seems everyone really likes this new dish."

"The only problem is that there's a bit of a shortage of raw materials, and it seems like the sewer isn't overflowing much anymore."

He walked to the blown-open sewer opening and looked down.

It was pitch black inside, with nothing but a lingering stench.

Clearly, the miserable state of that Shoggoth had terrified its kind underground, causing them to move away overnight.

"What a pity, I was planning to pickle a whole jar of 'Spicy and Sour Tai Sui'."

Jiang Li sighed.

"That's alright, since we don't have any at home, we'll just go get them from the country of origin!"

He pulled out the human skin map he had brought back from the Dragon Palace, which was marked with the coordinates of R'lyeh.

"I heard that this kind of jelly is everywhere in that place called R'lyeh?"

Jiang Li's gaze gradually turned fiery.

"Looks like it's time to set up a 'seafood processing plant' there!"

"Big Yellow! Tell Old Wang! Repair the boat! In three days, we're going to... the end of the world!"

……

at the same time.

Deep in the distant South Pacific Ocean, in a sunken ancient city.

A massive, long-dormant will seemed to sense a gaze from the East, imbued with intense hunger.

It rolled over slightly, triggering an underwater earthquake.

Who... is watching me?

Why... do I feel a... pang of hunger?