In front of the large cultivation tank.
Beal focused on collecting and recording data.
After establishing authority with a high-performance recovery potion produced by the biochemical lab, Reddy handed over the work to his new assistant, Beal.
He had acquired genetic technology through his golden finger but was unfamiliar with this world's science.
However, Beal had worked under Vegapunk for several years. Though he had no personal achievements, he was undoubtedly a qualified researcher.
Reddy only needed to give instructions, and the rest was handled by Beal.
Meanwhile, he began preparing a new trump card.
The five clones made in Water 7, as well as the clone based on himself with the powers of the Float-Float Fruit, had all been exposed.
Creating new clones was now imperative.
Reddy already had a clear target in mind.
The Lunarians!
This race's innate abilities were incredibly formidable, once even hailed as the "Race of Gods."
During the battle at Water 7.
Though King had not gone all out, the fact that he remained composed against a Level 13 clone spoke volumes about the Lunarians' strength.
However, this race's biggest weakness lay in their physicality.
If Kaido's monstrous physique were combined with the Lunarians' innate abilities, it would be nearly invincible.
Since there was no immediate need for clones to serve as decoys, Reddy decided to continue making clones of himself.
But before that, he needed to find a way to elevate his genes to Level 13.
"Another failure!"
Reddy removed the newly created genes from the gene-editing lab and sighed.
His genetic potential was hopelessly low, stuck at Level 1.
To address this, Reddy had tried integrating gene fragments from Sea Kings, but the highest he achieved was Level 11.
"Single-gene fusion isn't enough," Reddy concluded.
Sea Kings had strong physiques, but they weren't top-tier—even Marine Vice Admirals could solo them.
So, Reddy continued experimenting.
He extracted gene fragments related to physique from multiple species, including Sea Kings, and attempted to fuse them.
[Gene Rating: Level 11]
Reddy shook his head. Another failure.
Level 11 seemed like an insurmountable barrier.
He made countless attempts, consuming nearly a million energy points, yet the new gene ratings never exceeded Level 11.
The repeated failures gave him a headache.
"Do I have to use human gene fragments?"
With this thought, Reddy extracted a gene sample from his gene bank.
This sample came from a clone.
The natural Level 13 gene samples had been exhausted, leaving the Level 13 clone-derived samples as the only option.
Entering the gene-editing lab.
Reddy locked onto specific gene fragments and extracted them.
Then, he embedded the extracted fragments into his own genes.
The new genes were complete!
[Gene Rating: Level 10]
Reddy was stunned.
Fusing Level 13 gene samples with Level 1 gene samples had resulted in a drastically lower rating?
After some thought, Reddy discarded the new genes and repeated the process.
First, he extracted more clone-derived genes and sent them to the gene analysis lab for rating.
Level 13!
Reddy then sent the sample to the gene-editing lab and randomly embedded another gene fragment.
When the new genes were complete, Reddy fell silent.
[Gene Rating: Level 10]
Again, a significant drop in rating.
After a long silence, Reddy continued experimenting.
He sent the clone-derived gene sample to the gene-editing lab, created a clone, collected the clone's gene sample, and sent it back to the gene analysis lab for rating.
[Gene Rating: Level 10]
This discovery left Reddy bewildered. He reviewed the entire process.
No mistakes.
Before cloning, the gene sample was undeniably Level 13, but after cloning, the rating plummeted.
There was a problem with these genes!
Reddy calmed himself and kept experimenting.
Level 13 gene samples were rare, and collecting clone-derived samples was a crucial part of his plan.
Now, this step had a fatal flaw, forcing him to postpone creating new trump cards.
Trial after trial, failure after failure!
Eventually, Reddy confirmed that clone-derived genes had a major flaw—extreme instability.
In simple terms, using clone-derived genes to create more clones was unfeasible.
"If natural genes are the first generation, then second-generation genes exhibit extreme instability, causing a sharp drop in ratings."
"There must be a threshold."
Thinking this, Reddy recalled Germa Kingdom's clone soldiers and gradually understood.
Germa Kingdom's clone army was developed from a few powerful soldiers.
However, in the original story, the clone soldiers' performance was mediocre.
Given Vinsmoke Judge's strength and resources, hunting down a Marine Vice Admiral-level fighter shouldn't have been difficult.
By this logic, second-generation, third-generation, or even Nth-generation clones should possess Vice Admiral-level strength.
Germa Kingdom should have been the world's strongest.
Yet, their clone army clearly didn't meet this standard.
In other words, while Germa's original clone prototypes might have been strong, successive generations weakened until they stabilized at a certain level.
Reddy made a new discovery and continued experimenting.
After consuming roughly a million energy points, he reached a conclusion.
Through successive weakening, Level 13 genes would eventually stabilize at Level 9—equivalent to a Marine Lieutenant Commander.
The biggest drop occurred in second-generation clones.
"Hunting strong individuals must continue."
Reddy considered whether he could use the World Government to help him hunt powerful figures.
Kaido or Big Mom's genes would be perfect.
"Dr. Reddy, here's the data from this experiment."
Beal's voice interrupted Reddy's thoughts.
Reddy took the experiment records and skimmed through them absentmindedly.
The research project on cloning Sea Kings to extract active agents wasn't particularly difficult.
He had only provided the direction.
Beal, as an experienced researcher, handled everything excellently, successfully creating fused genes and initiating cultivation.
"Dr. Reddy, someone wants to become your assistant."
Beal hesitated before making the request. "With more assistants, the experiments could progress much faster."
Reddy looked up at him.
Beal quickly explained, "Dr. Vegapunk has already succeeded in creating creatures not of this world. We were all witnesses."
Reddy soon remembered the Western dragon from the original story.
Seeing Reddy remain silent, Beal sighed helplessly. "I know those guys once doubted you, Dr. Reddy, and I was just as angry. But I swear they've come to respect you now and will wholeheartedly assist in developing more Bloodline Factor applications."
"Fine."
Reddy closed the experiment records and handed them back to Beal.
Soon, the research institute grew noisy.
Everyone was nearly fighting to become Reddy's assistant.
Caesar watched as the researchers went crazy over an assistant position, grinding his teeth in frustration. "Once I perfect SAD, you'll all see who the world's greatest scientist is!"
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