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

Jianghai City, Deep Blue Plaza.

After the dark-skinned "food critic" (Nyarlathotep) left, the atmosphere in the shop finally recovered from its suffocating oppression. Although the man hadn't done anything substantial, the empty bowl he left behind still exuded an eerie aura that would give any ordinary person a nightmare just by looking at it.

"Boss, what should we do with the remaining soup base?"

Wearing a gas mask and holding a long-handled spoon, Wang Ergou cautiously pointed at the Gluttony Cauldron.

At the bottom of the cauldron, a trace of black broth remained—the remnants of the "Disorderly End." Even this tiny remnant constantly shifted in color and shape, sometimes becoming a weeping face, sometimes a distorted geometric form.

"This is good stuff! Don't spill it!"

Jiang Li quickly ran over and took out an extra-large thermos (made of dragon bone).

"This is called 'Chaos Broth'! It's made by simmering together the essence of heaven and earth and the resentment of all things! From now on, no matter what you're stewing, just add a drop, and the flavor will be absolutely amazing!"

He carefully scraped the black broth into the thermos, tightened the lid, and tucked it into his pocket like a precious treasure.

"Alright, pack your things, it's time to get going."

Jiang Li glanced at the night sky outside the window.

"The next stop is a bit far, and it's a big one, so we need to prepare more oxygen cylinders and motion sickness medicine."

"Where are we going?" Liu Wei asked, leaning closer.

Jiang Li pointed to the bright star in the sky that was visible to the naked eye and shone with the light of Jupiter.

"Jupiter! The Great Red Spot!"

……

The next morning, the Black Pearl underwent another large-scale refit.

Considering that they were going to a gas giant planet with immense gravity and raging storms, Jiang Li specifically asked Liu Wei to embed the [Time-Space Crystal] that he had previously obtained from the city of Tindaros into the anti-gravity array at the bottom of the ship to stabilize the ship's structure.

Meanwhile, to prevent the ship from being baked by Jupiter's terrifying radiation, the outer layer of the ship's crystal armor was coated with a thick layer of [Abyssal Black Oil] (extracted from the burrowing worm), making the entire ship look like a huge, slippery piece of obsidian.

"Everyone aboard! You, Wind Chaser, turn your fan up to full power! We need a boost!"

Jiang Li stood at the bow of the boat, full of vigor and ambition.

The person who had been turned into a human-shaped air conditioner nodded with tears in his eyes. The fan blades behind him (actually a vortex of wind elements) spun wildly, spewing out a powerful airflow.

"boom--!!!"

The Black Pearl transformed into a black streak of light, breaking through the atmosphere and heading into the deep reaches of space.

……

Interstellar travel is tedious, but for Deep Blue Aquaculture employees, it's a rare moment of leisure.

Wang Ergou and Lei Meng set up a mahjong table on the deck (made of four dragon scales), playing cards while munching on spicy tripe they brought back from Mars.

Big Yellow was lying on the speaker at the bow of the boat, wearing headphones, nodding his head and listening to heavy metal rock.

Only Jiang Li remained seated in the driver's seat, staring intently at the [Starry Sea Compass], his expression serious.

"Brains, how much longer until we arrive?"

"Reporting to the boss, we have crossed the asteroid belt and are about to enter Jupiter's gravitational field."

Migo's brain issued a warning: "A super cyclone and magnetic storm have been detected ahead. That's Jupiter's signature feature—the Great Red Spot. The 'concert' we're looking for is right at the eye of the storm."

"Alright! Slow down! Cut into the track!"

Following Jiang Li's command, the Black Pearl slowly slowed down, and the massive Jupiter came into view.

It was a breathtaking magnificence.

A colossal planet filled the entire field of vision, its surface covered with dazzling yet terrifying stripes—the result of turbulent atmospheric circulation. In the planet's southern hemisphere, a gigantic, blood-red "eye" stared intently at the intruders.

Large red spots!

This super anticyclonic storm, which has existed for hundreds of years, is large enough to contain three Earths!

"My goodness... this storm looks much bigger than that Devil's Triangle!"

Wang Ergou leaned against the window, his legs a little weak. "Boss, are we really going in? The wind speed must be thousands of kilometers per hour, right? We'll be torn to shreds if we go in!"

"What are you afraid of? Our ship is solid (it not only has a keel but also crystal armor)!"

Jiang Li didn't take it seriously. "Besides, didn't you hear it? There's singing inside!"

Everyone listened carefully.

Sure enough, even through the thick vacuum (actually through psionic sensing), a grand, deep, ancient whale-like cry could be heard coming from the depths of that red vortex.

"Whoosh—Buzz—"

The sound wasn't harsh; instead, it had a strange rhythm that made people want to dance along.

"Is that...the sound of a whale?"

Liu Wei asked疑惑地, "But why does it sound a bit like...arguing?"

"Arguing? That's a big chorus!"

Jiang Li corrected, "That's the bell before dinner! Let's go in and freeload!"

"Charge into the Great Red Spot!"

……

The Black Pearl plunged headlong into that sea of ​​red clouds.

In an instant, the world changed color.

All around was a wildly swirling red gas, and lightning bolts darted through the clouds like giant dragons. Gale-force winds, carrying ammonia ice crystals, pounded against the ship's shields like bullets, creating a series of rapid explosions.

"Stay calm! Stay calm!"

Jiang Li gripped the helm tightly, using the power of the [Wind Source Crystal] to forcefully siphon off the surrounding turbulence and keep the ship balanced.

As you go deeper, the surrounding scenery begins to change.

Deep within those thick clouds, a relatively stable "cavity" area appeared.

The air here has a dreamlike golden hue, and countless enormous, luminous creatures are swimming in this golden ocean.

They are enormous, with the smallest being several hundred meters long and the largest reaching several kilometers in length!

They do resemble whales in appearance, but they have translucent, aurora-like wings and huge blowholes on both sides of their bodies, which spew out brilliant streams of ions with each breath.

【Star Whales】

These creatures are not made of flesh and blood, but are strange life forms composed of half energy and half matter, feeding on stellar winds and rare gases in planetary atmospheres.

At this moment, they are gathered together, opening their mouths wide, and letting out deafening roars at a huge energy vortex in the center.

Wow! So many big fish!

Jiang Li's eyes instantly turned into searchlights.

"Look at that shape! Look at that glow! It's definitely a product rich in collagen!"

"And they even glow! If you sliced ​​them into sashimi, you wouldn't even need lighting; they'd have a built-in plating effect!"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"But what are they doing gathered there? Having a meeting?"

Migo conducted a brain scan and reported back:

"Boss, that energy vortex is a high-energy gas eruption from inside Jupiter, rich in high-purity 'Helium-3' and 'pseudo-particles.' They're... stealing our food."

"Stealing food?"

Jiang Li laughed, "I knew it, that sounded like it was hungry."

"Since it's a food rush, let's join in the fun!"

He glanced at the enormous whales, then at his own Black Pearl, which looked like a small sampan in comparison.

"You can't just grab it by force; this thing is too big to fit in a net."

"We must use strategy! We must catch them!"

"fishing?"

Wang Ergou looked around. "Boss, we didn't bring any hooks that big! And what are we going to use as bait? They definitely won't eat dinosaur meat, right?"

"Who said you used meat as bait?"

Jiang Li smiled mysteriously.

"Since these fish like to eat luminous energy, let's give them a 'super light bulb'!"

He ran back to the cabin and brought out the special lead bucket containing the "Starry Night" that had always been placed at the top of the mast.

"Hehe, you raise an army for a thousand days to use it for one."

Jiang Li patted the bucket. "Hey, you neon light inside, wake up! Time to get to work!"

Starry Night: "..."

It was forced to be a street lamp every day on Earth. It finally went on a long trip and thought it could get some fresh air, but it ended up being used as bait again.

"Listen, I'm going to let you out in a bit. Stretch out your body, the brighter the better! The more alluring the better!"

Jiang Li instructed, "Lure all those big oafs over here! If you can't, I'll dump you into the [Nine Nether Soul Refining Furnace] as fuel!"

Starlight trembled with fear, and the light in the bucket instantly brightened several degrees, indicating its determination to complete the mission.

"Alright! Dive the line!"

Jiang Li tied the bucket to the [Immortal Shinbone] (using it as a fishing rod) and then attached a [Dragon Tendon] several thousand meters long.

"Go, Pikachu... no, go, Skittles!"

He suddenly swung the club.

The lid of the lead bucket was opened, and a dazzling, indescribable burst of colorful light shot out and exploded in the golden sea of ​​clouds.

The light was so beautiful, so pure; it was high-level energy from the depths of the universe!

For these energy-consuming space whales, this is like serving a sizzling whole roasted lamb to a group of starving men!

"Ugh—!!!"

The whale pod, which had been scrambling for food around the whirlpool, suddenly erupted into chaos.

All the whales stopped moving, their huge eyes fixed on the colorful light.

What is that?

It smells so good! It looks so shiny! I really want to eat it!

"Boom!"

Hundreds of giant whales simultaneously turned around and rushed toward the Black Pearl.

"They're here! The fish are coming!"

Wang Ergou clung to the mast in terror, crying, "Boss! There are too many! If they crash into us, our ship will fall apart!"

"What's the panic? This is the effect I wanted!"

Jiang Li sat calmly on the fishing platform, his hand tightly gripping the bone fishing rod.

"Big Yellow! Get ready! Pick the fattest one, the fastest swimmer!"

"Lei Meng! Open all the cold storage doors on the ship! Prepare to receive the cargo!"

As they were speaking, the giant blue whale (starry sky version) that was over a kilometer long, which was at the forefront, opened its mouth, which was big enough to swallow a mountain, and bit into the ball of starlight.

"Now! Pack up!"

Jiang Li suddenly pulled him backward.

Upon receiving the command, Star Color shrank instantly, slipped out of the whale's mouth like an eel, and then flew back quickly.

The giant whale, having missed its target, grew even angrier and hungrier. It swung its massive tail fin and charged forward, intending to swallow the small boat along with its bait.

"Want to eat me? Let's see who eats whom!"

Jiang Li seized the opportunity and drew the [pig-slaughtering knife] from behind his back.

"Big Yellow! Time-space imprisonment!"

"Woof!"

Big Yellow let out a roar, and the surrounding space froze for a second.

In that very second.

Jiang Li leaped into the air and charged into the giant whale's gaping maw like a cannonball!

"Boss!!!" everyone exclaimed.

But the next second.

"Pfft—"

A black blade of light pierced through the giant whale's head!

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Li emerged from the large hole, dragging a huge, glowing crystal in his hand.

【Star Whale Core】(S-grade energy crystal).

This is the power source of space whales, and the essence of their entire bodies.

The whale, having lost its core, let out a mournful cry, its massive body quickly losing its luster and beginning to fall.

"Catch it! Don't drop it!"

Jiang Li shouted.

The Black Pearl immediately activated its anti-gravity field, catching the behemoth like a giant tray.

"Phew... This fish skin is so thick, I almost couldn't cut it open."

Jiang Li landed back on the deck and wiped the blue blood off his knife.

"Is one enough? If not, how about two more?"

He looked at the whales in the distance, who had braked suddenly in fright, and a malicious smile appeared on his face.

The whale pod: "..."

Although they are not very intelligent, they still understood it.

That companion...was instantly killed?

And that little bug...it's terrifying!

"Whoosh—" (Run! There's a monster!)

The remaining whales scattered instantly, each one using all its strength to dive deep into the clouds, refusing even the breath of high-energy gas.

"Running away like that? How disloyal!"

Jiang Li shook his head with some regret.

"Forget it, this one is enough for us to eat for half a year."

He looked at the mountain of whale meat on the deck and nodded in satisfaction.

"This meat looks like jelly, it's transparent and even shines. I wonder what it tastes like?"

He cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

"Mmm! It melts in your mouth! It has a minty flavor and... a popping candy taste?"

"Delicious! This is definitely top-quality sashimi!"

"Let's head back! We're going to have our 'Starry Sashimi Feast'!"

……

Just as Jiang Li returned with a full load and was preparing to leave Jupiter.

Sudden.

A strange signal appeared on the spacecraft's radar screen.

It was a faint, intermittent distress signal, seemingly coming from one of Jupiter's moons.

"Buzz... Help... This is... Europa (Jupiter's Moon) Research Station..."

"We're trapped...under the ice...there's something..."

"Is it a human signal?"

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment.

Are there still humans in this place?

Professor Miller leaned over for a look, and his expression changed.

"Boss, that was a joint expedition that went missing decades ago! They supposedly went to explore Europa's subsurface ocean, and then they completely disappeared!"

Europa? A subsurface ocean?

Jiang Li's attention shifted instantly.

"Are there...fish in there too?"

Professor Miller: "..."

"Theoretically... yes. And there may be a huge ecosystem beneath Europa's ice sheets."

"What are we waiting for? Saving lives is the priority!"

Jiang Li said righteously.

"By the way... let's go see what those fish over there look like, and how they differ from the balloonfish on Jupiter."

"Ergou! Turn around! Target—Europa!"

Black Pearl traced an arc in the sky as it flew toward the moon whose surface was covered with a thick layer of ice and which was hailed as "the most likely place in the solar system to harbor life."

What awaits them is an even more bizarre... terrifying experience beneath the ice than a Jupiter storm.