America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

Vivian's consistent ranking at the top of the School of Life Sciences is not solely due to her high written test scores.

The overall ranking of life science schools like USC doesn't just look at exam scores; lab performance, publications, and project participation also play a significant role.

The Sinclair family's long-term sponsorship of the college's laboratories allowed her to access high-value topics earlier than ordinary students and to use top-notch experimental equipment for longer periods of time. Over the years, she produced a number of first-author papers, and her overall academic performance naturally remained at the top.

Chen Yuan, on the other hand, was able to rank in the top ten mainly because of his written test scores, while his experimental output was quite average.

Normally, the requirements for experimental papers increase in the second semester of junior year and senior year, so it won't be easy for Chen Yuan to maintain his current ranking.

Chen Yuan was somewhat curious: "Who are the remaining two?"

"One of them is Park Jung-woo, an international student. His family is a conglomerate, so he naturally has no shortage of resources and has no need to cooperate with Adrian."

Chen Yuan said knowingly, "The last one is Arthur, who is ranked second?"

"That's right!" Vivian nodded. "Although Arthur is a bit of a loner, he's a good choice if you're also planning to build a team."

An image of a fat man in a plaid shirt flashed through Chen Yuan's mind, and he couldn't help but shake his head, saying:

"I have no plans to build a team."

He was telling the truth. After all, with the system at his disposal, he could simply increase the villain's value if he wanted to produce any technological output; there was no need to cooperate with others.

However, Vivian shook her head: "While I acknowledge your confidence, if you do research on your own, you'll probably have a hard time even securing a spot in the most basic public lab at the university."

That is indeed a problem. To produce convincing research results, even with readily available theoretical support from the system, it is still necessary to go through the formal laboratory process and obtain legitimate experimental data to back them up.

However, the school's laboratory resources are limited, and they are usually prioritized for use by a few student groups working on key projects.

If Chen Yuan chooses to operate alone, while all his other competitors band together, it will be even more difficult for him to apply for laboratory resources.

It seems that it would be better to gather a few decent classmates and form a small team.

Seeing that Chen Yuan seemed somewhat interested, Vivian added:

"Last semester, Arthur applied for access to an independent laboratory in South Building B for 30 hours a week based on an outstanding paper. However, after a semester, his experiments have not produced any convincing results, and with the advancement of the Fire Seed Project, the access to that laboratory will soon be revoked."

"So if you're planning to build a team and find a lab, Arthur is probably the best choice."

"Furthermore..." Vivian glanced at Chen Yuan and continued, "I still feel that setting a target of $5 first and then letting students form teams freely is a bit too deliberate."

"Are you worried that students will resort to any means necessary to meet the $5 target?"

Vivian nodded: "After all, most students have never left the campus. If they are allowed to form teams freely under this kind of pressure, and the profit share can be freely distributed by the person in charge, it may cause trouble."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Once the rules are implemented, those who can't get investment, can't produce projects, and are about to be abandoned by the academy will inevitably attach themselves to those who control resources and profits."

"You're right, especially Adrian. Besides a few high-achieving students, his team also includes many ordinary students. Dr. Berg's performance in class today has made him the most exemplary student in the class."

Vivian's face showed a worried expression:

"But what if Adrian's project fails, or even fails to achieve its intended goals? What will the students who have placed such high hopes on him do?"

Chen Yuan frowned. Those who chose to join Adrian's team were basically the elites of the academy.

They all have bright futures, but what if they are abandoned by the academy because of Adrian's project failure...?

That will inevitably lead to very serious consequences.

"So...you want me to keep an eye on Adrian?"

It's not surprising that Vivian had this thought, because in her eyes, Chen Yuan was "someone who could hold leverage over students."

“To be more precise,” Vivian corrected, “I want you to keep an eye on how far Dr. Berg is going to elevate him.”

"In case anything unexpected happens, I hope to be prepared in advance."

Chen Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked:

"What benefit would I get if I kept an eye on them for you?"

Upon hearing this, Vivian finally smiled genuinely.

Chen Yuan's ability to make such a direct request actually proves that he is confident in fulfilling Vivian's request.

"Don't worry. I won't let you work for nothing."

She looked into Chen Yuan's eyes and said softly:

"Even if it escalates like before, it's okay. Some things are better resolved once they're completely exposed to the light of day."

-----------------

The time it takes to drink a cup of coffee isn't long. After reaching a further cooperation agreement with Vivian, Chen Yuan went directly to the School of Life Sciences' teaching building, where he had other classes in the afternoon.

This class is a small class, so there are not as many students as in the morning.

But as soon as Chen Yuan entered the classroom, he noticed that the dozens of students were clearly divided into several distinct small groups, each huddled together discussing something.

Clearly, with the announcement of "Project Fire" and facing the $5 cutoff, students began to band together for mutual support, hoping to leverage collective strength to achieve their goals.

Those high-achieving students who already had good grades naturally became the objects of everyone's competition.

Adrian has the most students around him because, in addition to himself, he has recruited five of the top ten students in the entire academy.

In addition, Dr. Berger had already been optimistic about Adrian's "biological lipid blocking enzyme" project, and had even successfully applied for a patent.

Therefore, it was practically a certainty that his team would achieve the $5 target.

Adrian, who was surrounded by everyone like a star, also noticed Chen Yuan walking into the classroom alone.

He immediately stood up and waved to Chen Yuan.

"Chen, Thomas and the others have already joined my team. Why don't you come over too?"

Although Adrian maintained a polite demeanor, his eyes revealed a condescending sense of superiority:

"With your abilities, combined with the strength of our team, I believe our 'LBX (Biological Lipid Blocking Enzyme)' project will soon achieve success in the market."

This invitation, made in public, immediately drew envious glances from many students around.

After all, many people who wanted to join Adrian's team were rejected, but he personally took the initiative to invite Chen Yuan.

This is undoubtedly a recognition of Chen Yuan's abilities.

However, Chen Yuan shook his head and casually made up a perfunctory reason:

"I'm sorry, I already have my own research direction and don't plan to change it."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding students all looked astonished.

Has Chen Yuan gone mad? Adrian personally extended an invitation, and he actually refused!

Keep in mind, this is a star project worth tens of millions of dollars.

Although Adrian's team is large, they can easily achieve the target of $5 per person.

Adrian seemed surprised by Chen Yuan's decisive refusal; his smile froze, but he still maintained his politeness and said:

"Really? Then we'll be competitors from now on!"