America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

"Please come in!"

With a crisp response, Chen Yuan pushed open the door to the office in front of him.

Vivian Sinclair, the vice president of the USC Student Council, was sitting at her large desk, working on documents.

Her women's suit hung on the rack behind her, and she wore only a sophisticated off-white blouse. The afternoon sun streamed through the window, casting a languid glow on her slightly wavy blonde hair.

There was a beautifully crafted cake next to her, half of which had already been eaten.

"Could you make me a cup of coffee?"

Vivian made the suggestion without even looking up.

Chen Yuan initially intended to refuse, but recalling that the other party had indeed made him coffee the first time he came, he nodded out of a sense of reciprocity.

The coffee machine in Vivian's office was similar to that of Rongdingge. Chen Yuan skillfully brewed two cups of Americano and placed one of them next to her.

After signing her name at the bottom of a document, Vivian picked up her coffee, took a small sip, and then gave a strange look.

"This tastes almost the same as the coffee I brew myself."

It seems that Chen Yuan's critical comments about the coffee she brewed herself last time still bother her.

"All coffees made by fully automatic machines taste the same."

Chen Yuan answered without changing his expression.

"But you clearly said last time that the brewing time and water temperature should be controlled better to do justice to such good beans."

Chen Yuan casually remarked, "That's the kind of taste only professional hand-drip coffee can achieve."

Vivian raised an eyebrow: "I always feel like you're trying to fool me."

Chen Yuan didn't respond, but instead abruptly changed the subject:

"What exactly is this life science commercialization assessment that Dr. Berg announced in class today, also known as the 'Spark Program'?"

However, the other party did not answer directly, but put down the coffee cup, looked at Chen Yuan and asked in return:

"I'm quite surprised you didn't know about this?"

Chen Yuan was slightly taken aback. How could he know the school's arrangements in advance?

She immediately realized that it was during her debate with Olivia that she had exposed the misdeeds of several student bureaucrats, leading Vivian to make a misjudgment.

After all, Chen Yuan knew perfectly well that Olivia had stolen several light meal boxes, which meant that he had very reliable sources of information within the school. There was no reason why he wouldn't know about such a big thing as the School of Life Sciences' "Spark Project".

Vivian waved to him before class, most likely wanting to discuss the matter with him beforehand.

Having clarified this logic, Chen Yuan pondered for a moment before speaking:

"I did hear that the college planned to let students experience the pressure of industry competition in advance in order to improve the employment rate, but I didn't expect it to be done in such an intense way."

These words were so perfectly plausible that Vivian had no doubts.

She gently swirled her coffee cup, took another bite of the small cake, and then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"You're right. From the macro perspective of the entire biomedical industry, the overall economic environment in the United States has not been optimistic in recent years. Even with a USC degree, it's becoming increasingly difficult for life science graduates to get into top labs or receive offers from large pharmaceutical companies."

"That's why the school board agreed to launch this plan after Dr. Berg's strong lobbying. The purpose is to forcefully stimulate students to improve their ability to adapt to business changes, like catfish thrown into a sardine tank."

"But isn't a passing grade of $5 per semester a bit too high?"

Chen Yuan frowned. He had extensive experience working and knew all too well how difficult it was to earn money.

"It's not as exaggerated as you think." Vivian shook her head. "According to statistics from previous years, every year some outstanding students win prizes by publishing papers in core journals, apply for national basic research funding, or get angel investment by using startup concepts during their junior and senior years."

"These students have realized a value far exceeding $5."

"While $5 may seem like an insurmountable barrier, it is by no means an insurmountable chasm for the true elites of USC."

Chen Yuan nodded; what Vivian said did indeed make some sense.

As a top university, USC has quite a few capable students.

"However, this seemingly meritocratic system hides a loophole."

Chen Yuan changed the subject and said in a deep voice:

"Allowing students with resources to form teams and freely allocate excess profits is tantamount to legally creating a system of capital exploitation on campus."

"That's right!" Vivian gave Chen Yuan an approving look. "Once this regulation is implemented, ordinary students who can't get investment and are about to be abandoned by the school, and even top students with few resources, will inevitably rely on those who control funds and channels."

Chen Yuan thought of Adrian; after the first class, he was immediately surrounded by countless students.

Smart people would choose to latch onto a powerful teammate immediately, but this also allowed Adrian to calmly select the most suitable teammates.

"Could it be that Dr. Berg has high hopes for Adrian's project and hopes he can produce results in a short time, so he is using the 'Spark Project' as a pretext to help Adrian build an elite team?"

After hearing Chen Yuan's speculation, Vivian gave him a deep look and said:

"Your grades are good too, maybe he'll take the initiative to invite you."

Chen Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously replied:

"Speaking of which, I did run into Adrian this morning."

Chen Yuan then realized what was going on.

He initially thought it was just a chance encounter, but was the other party already trying to win him over back then?

No wonder Adrian was so enthusiastic back then, even offering to help Su Nian's classmates by getting a second-hand textbook with brand-new access code.

Offering unsolicited kindness must have an ulterior motive!

If Wang Xiaoying still wanted to buy secondhand textbooks at that time, Adrian would most likely have taken the opportunity to extend an olive branch to Chen Yuan for cooperation.

Vivian also had an "I knew it" expression on her face:

"It seems that Dr. Berg has great confidence in Adrian's 'biological lipid blocking enzyme' project, and is even willing to use this method to bring together the elites of the academy to accelerate the research and development."

Dr. Berg's purpose is not hard to understand. If they can transform Adrian's research results into actual commercial projects, they can not only generate huge economic benefits, but Dr. Berg will also be very likely to obtain the title of tenured professor at USC based on this achievement.

She continued, "As far as I know, in just one morning, Adrian has already secured five of the top ten spots in the college's overall junior academic rankings."

"In other words, excluding him and you and me, there are only two people left in the top ten who did not join his team."

Chen Yuan's grades have always been among the top in the School of Life Sciences, and the one ranked first happens to be the young lady in front of him.

Adrian managed to recruit five top students in one go, which clearly shows he has considerable ambition!