Cherry pick!!!???? You're stark raving mad. That is a central concept of Darwin. Do a search on "improve" in "Origin of Species".
Look at this point we have all three types of mutations being fixed in the genome, beneficial, neutral, and deleterious. What the heck is selected?
That is an oversimplification. Numerous examples have been given of more complex categorizations. You have yet to address any of the examples. Genes can shorten the life of an individual, even prevent individuals from breeding, and still benefit the species. Selection operates on populations.