What factors are needed for successful scientific research?
Reddy believed that the birth of a useful scientific result required only two factors.
One was the correct research direction, and the other was burning money through trial and error.
With his cheat ability, he didn't need to consider whether the research direction was correct at all. He could just charge ahead recklessly.
After freeloading for the entire afternoon, his energy reserves also broke through the 100,000-point mark.
Reddy opened the cold storage cabinet.
A chilly white mist rushed toward him. After it dissipated, rows of test tubes containing blood appeared before his eyes.
These samples all came from the violent beasts on the Floating Islands.
Reddy randomly took out one test tube, stored it in the gene bank, and then sent a sample to the gene analysis lab.
One hundred points of energy were consumed, and the analysis results appeared.
[Gene (Unstable) Rating: LV5]
This was the first time the word "unstable" appeared in the analysis results. Reddy became cautious and chose not to embed any foreign gene fragments. Instead, he used this gene as a blueprint to create a clone without any modifications.
The gene sample was directly sent to the cloning factory.
After consuming 1,700 points of energy and four hours, the clone was completed.
Reddy hesitated for a moment, then switched to the chip lab and spent another two hours manufacturing a control chip.
Without any gene editing, all the clone's indicators were identical to the original.
The chip was implanted.
A total of 1,900 points of energy were consumed. Reddy was very wealthy now and didn't care about this necessary expenditure.
"Now, let's see the results."
Reddy took a deep breath and released the clone from the product storage.
A massive creature suddenly appeared in the laboratory.
It was a giant, brightly colored tiger with a shoulder height of over 2.5 meters and a total body length of six meters from head to tail.
Golden Lion Shiki could be considered a formidable figure. The laboratory he provided for Reddy was spacious enough that even a six-meter-long giant tiger didn't seem cramped inside.
"From what I can see now, this unstable gene doesn't have any fatal flaws."
Reddy crossed one arm over his chest, rested his elbow on it, and propped his chin on his hand as he carefully examined the clone. After a while, he stored the clone back in the product storage and began manufacturing a new clone.
This time, he still used the giant tiger's gene as the blueprint, but he randomly selected a LV2 gene sample from his previous collection, extracted a gene fragment from it, and performed gene editing with the giant tiger's gene.
[Fusing this gene fragment requires 3,200 points of energy.]
Reddy's pupils contracted.
A LV5 gene fusing with a LV2 gene fragment actually required 3,200 points of energy?
Did that mean the new gene's rating would be… Reddy decisively chose to proceed.
The new gene was born and immediately sent to the gene analysis lab.
The results left Reddy stunned.
[Gene (Unstable) Rating: LV5]
"It didn't reach LV6?"
Reddy couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them and looked again.
The result remained the same.
Reddy resent the gene sample to the gene analysis lab for another round of testing. The results made him frown in thought. "The violent beasts on the Floating Islands become frenzied, likely due to unstable genes. These unstable genes actually devoured the embedded gene fragments. It seems these samples aren't suitable as blueprints for creating clones."
The structure of this gene was almost identical to the original sample, with almost no trace of the embedded gene fragments.
After using his cheat ability for so long, Reddy understood its greatest function was using low-level genes for editing to create higher-level genes, not simply cloning a target.
Doing that was meaningless.
However, the gene samples from these violent beasts could still be used to extract useful gene fragments.
After careful consideration, Reddy wrote down a plan in his notebook.
The highest-level natural gene sample in his gene bank was the LV4 giant bear he had hunted earlier.
[Energy Reserves: 96,100 points]
Reddy glanced at his energy reserves and began manufacturing the next clone.
He sent the giant tiger's gene to the gene analysis lab and extracted specific gene fragments from it.
Then, he extracted genes from a pangolin, a sea beast, and a snake, taking specific fragments from each.
Finally, he used the giant bear's gene as the blueprint and performed gene editing with the extracted fragments.
[Fusing all gene fragments requires 12,800 points of energy.]
Reddy remained expressionless and chose to proceed.
Soon, a brand-new gene sample was created.
He sent the new gene sample to the gene analysis lab for testing. The results lifted his spirits.
[Gene Rating: LV8]
This was the highest-potential gene sample he had synthesized so far.
Based on his calculations, a LV8 clone trained to its limit should be comparable to a Marine captain.
"If only I could get the gene of Zunesha…"
Reddy thought to himself as he sent the new gene to the cloning factory for production.
[Manufacturing this clone requires 100 points of energy. Estimated completion time: 4 hours.]
He manufactured a control chip.
Implanted it.
After consuming a total of 12,900 points of energy and four hours, Reddy obtained a clone.
"I hope the expenditure isn't too high."
After creating two clones and spending nearly 20,000 points of energy, Reddy would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling the pinch.
But a complete product required more than this.
Reddy took a deep breath, extracted the clone from the cloning factory's product storage, and sent it to the enhancement workshop.
[Enhancing this clone to its limit requires 12,800 points of energy. Estimated completion time: 1 hour.]
Another 12,800 points of energy were consumed.
As he waited for the enhancement to finish, Reddy looked at his remaining 60,000-plus points of energy and sighed.
Scientific research really burned money.
An hour later, Reddy released the clone.
The clone was still a giant bear.
Its body was taller and stronger than the original, nearly four meters in height, thanks to the specific gene fragment from a sea beast.
Its body was covered in shiny black scales, a trait taken from the pangolin's gene fragment.
What Reddy paid the most attention to were its canine teeth.
They were about one centimeter longer than the original's, a feature derived from the giant tiger's gene fragment.
The canines were hollow inside, with small holes at the tips connected to venom glands.
Yes, this came from the snake's gene fragment.
The other fangs were also exceptionally sharp, paired with stronger jaw muscles, giving it an astonishing bite force.
The clone possessed the physique of a sea beast, the venom glands and fangs of a snake, the bite force of a tiger, and the strength of a bear.
"A stronger body, stronger bite force, plus venom glands and fangs… a perfect creation." Reddy admired the powerful biological weapon he had created and gave sincere praise.
The key factors determining a beast's combat power basically came down to these.
This creative approach was the limit of what he could achieve at the moment.
Reddy stored the clone and pressed a button.
Soon, someone knocked on the door.
Reddy went to open it, only to find a familiar face outside.
Grizzly Bear Bill forced a smile and explained, "Shiki-sama assigned me to follow your orders."
"Go collect Sea King blood for me. The more, the better…"
Reddy didn't care who Golden Lion Shiki assigned to serve him. Just as he finished speaking, he remembered the noble who still owed him 100,000,000 Berries and added, "That noble still owes me 100,000,000 Berries. Don't let him die."
"Instead of focusing on researching and developing your own creations, you're worrying about a hostage?"
The door across from them opened, and Indigo sneered mockingly while subtly trying to peer past Bill and Reddy to see inside the other's laboratory.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, blocking Indigo's view.
"You'll regret this!"
Indigo stomped his feet and cursed, but inwardly, he was delighted.
He had personally arranged that laboratory and knew its layout inside out.
Although he had only caught a brief glimpse just now, and most of his view had been blocked by Reddy and Bill, he had still seen quite a bit.
The laboratory wasn't messy at all. How could you possibly win against me?
This was the intuition of a scientist.