After eating and drinking its fill, the little penguin grew sleepy again. Newborn creatures were like that, sleeping for most of the day.
After recalling him into the Beast-Taming Space, Luo Yu glanced at the sun. It was still early, and the people at the Beast Management Bureau wouldn't be at work yet, so he went over to the Ink Fish pond, picked up some feed, and began feeding them.
"Eat up, eat up."
"Whether I can keep the research institute for good depends on you from here on out." As Luo Yu scattered the feed, he searched for the four individuals with advanced talents.
The four with advanced talents looked no different from the ordinary ones. In fact, to the naked eye, they might not even have looked as well-developed as some of the ordinary ones.
"The beast tamers raising Ink Fish are probably all trying to figure out how to make them evolve."
"After all, a monarch species... no matter where you put it, it's a tremendously powerful fighting force."
If possible, Luo Yu naturally wanted to discover the Ink Fish's evolved form too. Who wouldn't want a monarch species?
It was reasonable to guess that not every batch of Ink Fish had the potential to evolve. To evolve, they probably needed a "special talent."
But even though Luo Yu could see each individual's information, it was no use. He had no idea which talent was the key to an Ink Fish's evolution.
Unless he got a chance to see an Ink Fish's evolved form, the Water Devil Beast, for himself and observe its talents. After all, it might retain its pre-evolution talents after evolving.
"A talent that can evolve a school of fish to monarch level has to be an advanced talent at the very least, right? It might even take a top-tier talent."
"There are still too few Ink Fish here. But if I make progress researching other aspects of them, maybe I can apply to take over a big fishpond and raise more. Then, I might discover an individual with a talent for evolution."
Luo Yu soon found his favorite Ink Fish again.
It was the Breeding Paragon.
[Individual Talent]: Breeding Paragon (advanced talent, more likely to produce outstanding offspring than ordinary individuals.)
What did a breeder fear most?
That the offspring wouldn't inherit their parents' talents.
This was very common, even in human reproduction. Two academic prodigies from Tsinghua and Peking University could easily have a child who was a poor student, and the odds weren't small.
But after seeing this talent, Luo Yu felt that probably wouldn't happen among this Ink Fish's offspring.
However he looked at it, the Breeding Paragon talent was made for reproduction. Even if its offspring didn't surpass their parents, expecting them to inherit their parents' talents perfectly wasn't too much to ask, was it?
Of course, if the offspring could undergo beneficial genetic mutations and gain even stronger talents, that would naturally be better.
So, rather than researching how to evolve Ink Fish, the safest approach was to first use this Ink Fish to breed a new variety with powerful talents and strategic significance.
"Normally, no one wants to contract a mutated beast like an Ink Fish."
"But what about an Ink Fish with an advanced talent? That's another story."
In Luo Yu's view, the gap between Mid-Rank Ordinary Species and low-rank ordinary species wasn't actually that large—not nearly as large as the gap between ordinary and advanced talents!
For example, an Ink Fish with an ordinary talent might merely have a slightly better-developed organ. But an Ink Fish with an advanced talent could alter the effects of its abilities or even learn abilities outside its own attribute!
Luo Yu found the other Ink Fish with advanced talents and first zeroed in on the dark octopus.
"An Ink Fish with Dark Affinity... if an Ink Fish could master dark abilities, beast tamers would definitely like it."
"After all, darkness is a top-tier attribute that stands above ordinary elemental attributes..."
"What if I let it have a bunch of offspring with the Breeding Paragon...?"
Luo Yu thought about it, then shook his head. Judging by his years of breeding experience, it wouldn't work.
In fact, he didn't even need breeding experience to know it was a bad idea...
Because!
His observations showed that the two were the same sex-both female.
Two of the same sex couldn't breed.
If he could get two Ink Fish of the same sex to breed, that really would be one hell of a research achievement, in another sense.
Also, although the Dark Affinity Ink Fish had this talent for abilities, Luo Yu wasn't quite sure how to get it to learn dark abilities...
He'd probably have to use dark-attribute resources, right? The cost was too high.
Luo Yu could only turn his attention to the male "Eight-Sword Style Ink Fish" and "Mercy Ink Fish."
Of the two, Luo Yu ruled out the Eight-Sword Style Ink Fish first. Although its talent was also very good, the Mercy Ink Fish was clearly more valuable.
The Eight-Sword Style Ink Fish's value lay mainly in combat. It could control eight abilities at once, making it a dedicated source of firepower. The dark Ink Fish was much the same, with a talent geared toward combat.
If he was simply pursuing combat power, choosing a pet beast with a higher species rank might be a better choice.
But the Mercy Ink Fish was different. It was a rare medical pet beast!
"This one's good." Luo Yu nodded. Medical pet beasts were a rarity no matter where they were.
At present, only the official Mirror Moon Hospital had a breeding population of a medical pet beast species on Mirror Moon Island. It had been introduced from another island.
However, because of issues with the species and the environment, breeding had never gone very well. After all, it wasn't a native species, so its overall numbers were very low.
When beast tamers fell ill or were injured, they had to book an "expert appointment" for a chance to see one of these medical pet beasts.
As for the fleets, even fewer could equip themselves with medical pet beasts. Most beast tamers still used various medicines to treat injuries, with fairly mediocre results, so the death rate from serious injuries at sea was high.
It could be said that medical pet beasts were an extremely rare type of working pet beast on Mirror Moon Island.
What was more, by Luo Yu's careful reckoning, the great tide that came once every ten years was only ten months away. When it arrived, Mirror Moon Island would definitely suffer heavy casualties, making medical pet beasts even more valuable.
If he could breed a batch of Ink Fish with healing abilities, they wouldn't have as much strategic value as a monarch pet beast, but their impact on Mirror Moon Island certainly wouldn't be small.
They would definitely shake up Mirror Moon Island's medical system.
The fame and fortune from breeding large numbers of Mercy Ink Fish would also make him a highly sought-after genius biological researcher on Mirror Moon Island. The research institute would most likely remain his to use, and he could undoubtedly apply for more research funding.
Yes, all things considered, large numbers of medical Ink Fish had greater strategic value.
"My first breeding project is decided."
"Use the Breeding Paragon and the Mercy Ink Fish to breed a large number of medical individuals."
"Once there are more Ink Fish specialized in medical treatment, I'll keep refining and purifying their bloodline until the line is close to stable."
It didn't take Luo Yu long to decide on a breeding project. Seeing that it was still early, he planned to create a separate breeding space for them right away...
Two hours later, inside the research institute, Luo Yu wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long breath.
He had spent some time putting away research equipment he wouldn't need for now. The rest would be devoted entirely to supporting the Ink Fish's breeding.
With all that done, Luo Yu once again observed the little ones he held dear.
Not the little penguin July, but the Ink Fish.
Love didn't disappear; it simply moved elsewhere.
The Earth Penguin was his true love, his own son, no mistake. But right now, the Ink Fish were his livelihood, the foundation he stood on.
He had already scooped out the two Ink Fish that needed to mate and was temporarily keeping them in one of the ecological tanks that simulated an aquatic environment.
Inside the tank, aquatic plants swayed gently as an air stone bubbled out a stream of tiny bubbles. The two Ink Fish lay lazily at the bottom.
They had squirted quite a bit of ink from stress when Luo Yu scooped them out earlier, so they were resting now, recovering their strength...
Wearing a white research coat marked with ink, Luo Yu crouched in front of the tank, watched for a moment, and chuckled.
"Water temperature, 20 degrees..."
"Salinity, 30‰..."
"Secluded reefs, mud holes, and nests are all present too. Perfect for some hanky-panky."
"The water flow precisely simulates the tidal changes during the Ink Fish breeding season."
"Preparations complete."
"From here on, it's up to you!"
He reached out and tapped the tank.
Ordinary octopuses were actually highly intelligent and difficult to raise and breed artificially.
But research had found that Ink Fish had suffered a serious decline in intelligence after mutating. Perhaps it was precisely because the independent individuals didn't have much in the way of brains that they could merge and evolve into a new species...
Otherwise, hundreds of intelligent individuals merging and evolving, with one body housing hundreds of minds, would be far too terrifying.
Now that Luo Yu had everything ready, he planned to quietly observe them for a few days. If they still wouldn't mate, he'd bring out the technological tricks.
Besides putting the Breeding Paragon and the Mercy Ink Fish in breeding base No. 1, Luo Yu had also, to satisfy his curiosity, placed the female dark Ink Fish and the male Eight-Sword Style Ink Fish together separately. He arranged optimal mating conditions for them too, making theirs breeding base No. 2.
The Breeding Paragon paired with the Mercy Octopus... the dark octopus paired with the Eight-Sword Style Octopus... Luo Yu looked forward to the day they produced offspring.
"Awake?"
Just as he finished all this, the little penguin July finished his nap. Luo Yu summoned him onto his shoulder, and July stared curiously at the ecological tank ahead with his round eyes.
"Wuji...!?(What's this...?!)" Looking at the tank's erotic mood lighting, he asked Luo Yu why he'd put the four of them in there separately.
"Well..." Luo Yu hesitated, feeling that the subject was somewhat unsuitable for young penguins.
"You'll understand when you're older. When the time comes, I'll find you ten wives, don't worry. No, wait, you penguins seem to be monogamous. Hmm, not bad." Luo Yu rubbed his chin. He hoped July could find a suitable partner when he grew up. After all, July had a top-tier talent, so finding a partner worthy of him would be quite difficult.
"Wuji...!?(A wife? What's that? Can I eat it?)"
"No, you can't, thank you. And you're not allowed to sneak a bite of those four Ink Fish, hear me?" Luo Yu didn't trust this little glutton.
"Wuji!(If I can't eat a wife, what's the use of having one? I'm going to become the God of Earth and bring this ocean age to an end!)"
Luo Yu froze. "Wait, who taught you that?"
The little penguin July scratched his head and indicated that Luo Yu had said it all in his sleep.
Something about how he absolutely had to become the God of Earth and bring this ocean age to an end...
The little penguin patted his chest, indicating that he was clever! Since that was what Luo Yu expected of him, he was definitely going to become that God of Earth!
"..." Luo Yu shouldn't have doubted this little fellow's intelligence.
"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile. Don't go around saying that outside. There are lots of marine creatures around these days, after all, and what we're doing is raiding their homes. We're liable to get beaten up if word gets out," Luo Yu warned him.