America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

With the environmentalists gone, Rongding Pavilion's business quickly returned to normal.

After all, Olivia and the others arrived quickly and left just as fast.

While her environmental rhetoric successfully deterred a small number of self-proclaimed middle-class diners, for most of the lower-class Black and Hispanic people in the South, the biggest attraction of Rong Ding Ge's "$1 Fried Chicken" snacks was still their affordability and delicious taste.

Everyone knows that Michelin-starred restaurants serve delicious and environmentally friendly organic vegetarian food, but when you only have a few crumpled bills in your pocket, you know how to choose between going hungry and environmental ethics.

Moreover, high-salt, high-fat fried foods are the "happy home" of America's working class. No matter how much environmentalists talk, they still eat them.

Moreover, the live stream of the fake lecturer Ding Pangzi also attracted many local Chinese.

After all, the live stream footage was very clear, and the sight of the grilled squid sizzling with red oil was enough to bring back memories of home for countless overseas Chinese.

Chinese people who are used to American fast food, who wouldn't want to come here for a change of pace!

That afternoon, many Chinese faces appeared in the queue outside the window.

However, looking at Su Nian, Emily, and the others who were busy, Chen Yuan was not as relaxed as he appeared on the surface.

Chen Yuan had only heard of Olivia Green, this senior student, before.

After all, she wasn't a classmate of Vivian Sinclair, and the two of them had no interaction at all.

However, based on the brief exchange beforehand and the few words on the system panel, it's clear that Olivia is definitely a formidable opponent.

If I refute her in public until she has nothing to say, she will definitely try to get back at me.

Moreover, the problems Olivia pointed out do indeed objectively exist.

Although the "$1 fried chicken" sign on the blackboard is written in small print, there is indeed a possibility of "false advertising."

Although grilled squid smells delicious, the fumes it produces can be smelled from a great distance.

One man's meat is another man's poison. Not all Americans like this kind of taste.

The long queues that stretch to the street corner every day have recently begun to cause growing dissatisfaction among neighboring shops.

When Boss Huang was in charge, he was able to keep these problems under wraps thanks to his years of experience in the marketplace and his familiar network of contacts.

But now that the boss has changed to Chen Yuan, Huang Fugui's connections have become completely useless.

This made Chen Yuan realize for the first time that if he wanted to open a restaurant in Los Angeles, a city known for its powerful gangs, simply dealing with the local mafia was far from enough.

Just as Chen Yuan was pondering a solution, a system notification suddenly sounded in his ear:

[Ding! Detected that the host used cunning rhetoric to humiliate a woman with lofty environmental ideals. Villain points awarded: 10.]

[A conflict has been detected between the host and the target, Olivia Green, and the "Public Narrative Mastery" skill in the Life Skill Tree has been successfully unlocked using "Sin Scan." Would you like to spend 300 Villain Points to exchange for "Basic Public Narrative Mastery"?]

Upon seeing the newly unlocked skill, Chen Yuan hesitated.

After receiving $10 in compensation from lawyer Stephen Walker the day before yesterday, he unlocked the "Proficiency in Courtroom Debate" skill tree. However, since he is not a lawyer and cannot possibly go to court and debate with people every day, this skill became quite useless and he ignored it.

The skill tree unlocked from Olivia this time, [Public Narrative Mastery], while not as professional as courtroom debate, is not limited to any particular situation.

Moreover, its effects are simple and direct: it can keenly identify the narrative traps of opponents, change the direction of the issue, and enhance the rhetoric and incitement capabilities in public statements, media interviews, and on-site responses.

In other words, if he encounters Olivia or other politicians trying to morally blackmail him again, he can use this skill to immediately break free from their narrative framework and even launch a counterattack, using magic to defeat magic.

So Chen Yuan gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and silently recited in his heart:

"exchange!"

The villain value, originally 570 points, was instantly reduced by 300 points.

Fortunately, I have enough funds on hand right now and don't need to exchange villain points for cash yet.

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Chen Yuan gathered several employees together and announced a few points of attention.

The first priority is to upgrade the fume purification equipment at the snack stalls as soon as possible. Although this commercial equipment is expensive, Chen Yuan has the financial means and must completely close the environmental loopholes.

Secondly, Su Nian and Hu Dan should wear masks while working at the food stall. After all, most customers are regulars now, and new customers come for the delicious snacks. The "Fried Chicken Beauty" gimmick is no longer needed for the time being.

On the contrary, if a clear video of Su Nian and Hu Dan were captured and went viral, it would easily attract the school's attention.

Also, the "$1 Fried Chicken" sign on the blackboard at the entrance can no longer be used; it has been replaced with a daily recommended dish.

Finally, apart from normal communication with customers, do not accept interviews or inquiries from any reporters or unknown persons.

The waiters all agreed with this request, especially Hu Dan, who said with lingering fear:

"The environmentalist girl used such high-sounding words during the day that I didn't understand most of them, but her condescending tone made us feel like we had really done something immoral."

Then, she asked Su Nian:

"Xiao Su, your English is better than mine, can you understand what she's saying?"

Unexpectedly, Su Nian also shook her head helplessly, and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"I could understand every single word she said—things like ocean ethics, community health, low-income groups, class-based food exploitation… But once these words were strung together into long sentences, I started to lose track of her train of thought. By the time I realized it, she had already subtly defined us as bad people."

Emily, standing to the side, simply shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"I don't even remember what she said, I only know that she kept telling me in a very polite way: I'm a brainless, low-class idiot."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help but smile wryly.

Olivia's greatest strength isn't whether she's right or wrong. It's that she can make people of different levels and cognitive abilities fall into self-doubt in a short time, thus losing the ability to refute her.

Debating with someone like her will inevitably lead you into her rhythm, leaving you only able to passively defend yourself without any chance to fight back.

Fortunately, Chen Yuan had already redeemed the [Basic Public Narrative Mastery] skill, giving him a more intuitive understanding of Olivia's playstyle. He then explained to everyone:

"She's not talking to you about squid, nor is she talking about environmental protection."

"She first defines your class, and then uses her class advantage to define your problems."

"As long as she gets you to accept the premise that 'you are hurting others,' any explanations you give about the ingredients being compliant and purchased voluntarily will sound to outsiders like you're just making excuses to make money."

At this point, Chen Yuan sighed and said:

"That's why I told you not to give any interviews or ask any questions for a while, because if you interpret things the way she says, you'll fall into the trap of self-justification and be admitting your own guilt."

The employees nodded as if they understood, but their awe of the young boss only deepened.

Early the next morning, Chen Yuan took Lao Ma to a catering equipment supplier and urgently purchased a top-of-the-line industrial-grade fume purification system.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I returned to the restaurant at noon, I saw waiter Yang Qiu rushing into the office with a piece of paper in his hand:

"Boss, someone just put this up on our storefront."

Upon closer inspection, Chen Yuan discovered an A4 sheet of paper with the following titled: "Joint Complaint Letter Regarding the Fumes, Noise, and Health Risks to the Surrounding Community from Rongdingge Restaurant."

Further down the scroll, besides the densely packed signatures of community residents, there were also the names of several nearby businesses.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes.

It seems that my restaurant has really caught people's attention.