It turned out that Ves didn't need to travel far in order to view his first species that had produced a mutant.

The snow foxes ignorantly froliking in the frozen biome underneath the floating platform were quite remarkable. Despite their modest physical sizes, they were quite clever in their own way.

The mischievous foxes were designed to be very sensitive to emotions. They served as active companions to any traumatized humans who needed to learn how to have fun again.

The snow rabbits on the other hand were designed to be as harmless and cuddly as possible. They possess an extraordinary gentle temperament. They were so unthreatening that they could cause even the most hurt and untrusting individuals to lower their guard!

Trish pointed at the projected snow foxes. "While the snow rabbits have not produced any mutations of note, one of the previous versions of the snow fox species once counted a mutated specimen among them. The creature in question generated a small sensation in our park."

"How did this snow fox mutate? Did it gain any special abilities?"

"The mutated fox required 60 percent less sleep than other snow foxes. We extensively examined whether it suffered from any sleep deprivation. We failed to find anything detrimental. The fox was completely healthy, or at least as healthy as a snow fox living in this biome should be. We went on to auction it after our examinations failed to yield any further useful data."

Ves became disappointed. That was it? A mutation that allowed a single creature to cut down its sleep was hardly the ingredient he sought!

This example highlighted the fact that mutations, whether they were physical or spiritual, were not always useful!

The definition of mutation covered both major and minor changes. Some mutations caused the organism in question to grow weaker while other mutations imparted them with extraordinary powers!

The outcome was highly randomized. Perhaps certain species were more slanted towards specific categories of mutations, but even then it was still a lottery.

As Ves honed his senses on each and every snow fox, he failed to encounter any creature that possessed more than a negligible spirit.

Perhaps there may be a snow fox that had managed to develop a physiological mutation, but there was nothing extraordinary behind such a change.

Growing an extra toe, becoming a little taller or being able to count to 20 instead of 10 hardly constituted design spirit material.

Ves needed to find creatures like Zeigra. Now that was a creature that had the potential to grow into an immensely dangerous entity.

Even though it was impossible for the Crown Cat to escape the fate of getting hunted, Ves always wondered what life the huge cat would have lived if left on an untamed planet.

Would Zeigra be able to grow into a formidable beast and develop his spirituality to the point where he became a match to Qilanxo when she was alive?

What if Zeigra developed even further? Perhaps his body might start to fail after a millennia of life. Perhaps the huge cat would probably die once his body failed, but what if he was able to exist behind in another form?

What if he was able to live on in an incorporeal form? Would he transition into an entity comparable to the dark gods?

Probably not. Any mutated beast who developed a powerful spirit would have to meet a large number of requirements. If they fell short in any way, then they could forget about transcending their mortal coil!

In this regard, it was nearly impossible for any mutated beast to go all the way. The only exceptions that beat all of the odds were incredibly lucky for avoiding all of the pitfalls.

Ves did not hold any ambitions of picking up a mutated beast that had already evolved a powerful ability. From what he had seen so far, monitoring was ubiquitous in Wexel Park. Anytime a creature exhibited an unusual capability, it would immediately get flagged and taken away.

All he wanted to look for right now were mutated beasts that had only begun to become extraordinary. If they were still in the process of growing their spiritualities, then they may not have developed any powers as of yet. As long as Wexal Park wasn't aware of these special developments, then Ves would probably be able to buy the specimens without any opposition.

This was very important! So far, the LRA only extended basic privileges to him that every foreigner enjoyed. Ves and his clan were not allowed to purchase many valuable products. A mutated beast definitely qualified as one due to their rarity and research value!

Fortunately, Trisha did not harbor any suspicions towards him. She merely thought that Ves was dazzled by the prospect of owning a mutated pet. Plenty of rich people exhibited the same behavior. She was used to this kind of request.

Once Ves dismissed the snow foxes, they moved to a nearby biome that featured a swampy environment.

Unlike the previous biome, the current one featured several large exobeasts the size of shuttles. As Ves observed them from above, he felt as if he was looking at giant turtles who completely retracted themselves in their shells.

"The genodin palma is a hard-shelled alien species that lives in shallow swamps like these." Trisha introduced. "While they resemble turtles, they do not possess any limbs or heads. Their senses are limited. They solely live by sucking in water through one of the cavities in the side of their shell."

"I see. They seem quite.. simple. How could these creatures produce a powerful mutation?"

His guide responded with a smile. "That is a question that we have asked as well. So far, we failed to generate an answer."

"What mutation did the specimen in question develop?"

"The abnormal genodin palma was able to produce water out of nothing."

Ves looked impressed. "Is that true?"

She nodded. "I am not referring to condensing moisture from the air in order to generate flows of water. That is something that many organisms are capable of doing. I am referring to spontaneously generating body fluid that resembles water."

"Something has to be lost, though." Ves grew a bit skeptical. "We might as well throw the conservation laws in the trash if a random giant exobeast is able to break reality to this extent."

"You're correct, Mr. Larkinson. After performing an extensive series of examinations, our researchers concluded that the mutated genodin palma is able to extract energy from its body, the surrounding environment and possibly other sources. After accumulating a sufficient amount of energy, the creature directly converts it into matter in the form of the fluid that I have just described. It's quite magical!"

That was not an understatement! While it was possible for technology to transform matter into energy and vice versa, these were incredibly sophisticated processes that could not be accomplished beyond the microscopic scale without the use of high technology.

It was too absurd to know that a stupid shelled creature like this was capable of replicating high technology!

Trisha understood his befuddlement. "That is mutation for you. No organism is more worthy than others. While the more clever and sophisticated beasts have a higher chance to develop a notable mutation, theoretically every lifeform past a certain threshold is able to develop great powers."

"Including humans?" Ves curiously asked.

He had his own answer to this question, but he was curious what a representative of a biotech company had to say. How much did they equate humans to other lifeforms who were able to mutate?

Trisha looked serious at Ves. "This is a delicate topic that has always sparked contentious arguments. Wexal Park officially holds no stance on this topic. Speaking on a personal basis, you should refrain from bringing this topic up with any of our beast designers and other professionals within the biotech industry. All I can say is that everyone has a different opinion on whether humans, aliens and other beasts should be lumped in the same category or not. What people believe usually shapes their approach towards their work in a highly profound fashion."

Ves understood what she was talking about. It was a core philosophical question that pointed biotech specialists in different directions.

Those who put humans at the same height as exobeasts would not treat either of them special. A human was just another beast that just happened to wear clothes, use tools and form complex thoughts.

As Ves thought about whether humans were more special than other organisms in the galaxy or not, Trisha guided him to numerous more species that once produced mutations.

None of the creatures he inspected with his spiritual senses yielded any positive results.

He began to doubt his approach. As the example of the genodin alpha already showed, powerful mutations could occur in even the least remarkable beasts.

Whether a given species produced one mutation was not necessarily an indicator that a second one would follow.

"We have rarely detected multiple mutations in the same species." Trisha supported this argument. "The only instances where subsequent mutations took place concerned species that we have hosted in Wexal Park for decades."

"I see."

This basically meant that every beast he bought from Wexal Park had an equal chance of developing a mutation. If he wanted to increase the odds of obtaining a creature with powerful spirituality, then he would just have to purchase more.

In fact, the best solution was to take over Wexal Park entirely! If he owned hundreds of thousands of different exobeasts and designer beasts, he wouldn't have to be so circumspect about looking for mutations.

If any mutated beast emerged, then Ves wouldn't have to compete against other biotech experts to obtain it. He also wouldn't generate as much suspicion either, as it was hard to explain why a mech designer like him was interested in studying organic creatures.

As Ves thought about taking over an entire beast institution, he began to grow more and more in favor of it. He might not be able to buyout a company as large and strategic as Wexel Park, but he should definitely be able to take over a smaller organization!

If the Larkinson Biotech Institute was able to absorb such an organization, then Ves could dictate all of the rules. He could set up biomes that increased the chance of organisms developing spirituality. He could perform all of the studies he wanted on a mutated beast in his possession. He could decide to fatten it up and slaughter it when the mutated beast had developed its powers to the desired level.

He could even keep the powerful creature alive and use it as a design spirit!

Of course, the latter sounded rather extreme. Ves would already be happy if he could setup a 'spiritual ingredient farm' where he could regularly harvest spiritual fragments or whole spiritualities of a diverse collection of beasts.

He would need a lot of space, however.

It was one thing to build a nature preserve on a planet. As long as he set it up on a rural planet where there was an abundant amount of land for the taking, he could erect a private zoo that was several times larger than Wexal Park!

Yet if he wished to take his private zoo with him on his travels, then he would have to resort to other solutions.

He needed a capital ship that was dedicated to studying and cultivating beasts!

He winced. Such vessels were not only expensive, but also exceedingly difficult to run properly. There were many challenges to maintaining different biomes on a ship that only had so much space to spare.

What was even worse for Ves was that adding a biotech research vessel to his expeditionary fleet would take up a limited slot in his capital ship quota. How would he be able to justify the addition of a science ship over a fleet carrier to the rest of his clan?