America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

It was almost 9 p.m., and after Rongdingge closed, Hoshino Mina did not leave the restaurant.

She changed into casual clothes and looked exhausted as she entered a private room. After knocking lightly twice, she pushed the door open and went in.

Inside the private room, at a round table, sat Chen Yuan, who was seated at the head of the table.

Kevin was sitting to his left, and a fat man with a plaid shirt, glasses, and curly hair was sitting to his right.

"This is Arthur Pendleton," Chen Yuan introduced. "From today onwards, he is also considered a member of our team."

It was him!

Mina Hoshino's heart skipped a beat; she had heard of this name before.

The top student, ranked second in the college, rarely participates in any gatherings or activities. He spends most of his time either in the lab or the library, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuan also recruited such a person into his team.

In other words, two of the four members of the team are top students who are ranked in the top ten.

Even if this lineup can't compare to Adrian's star-studded roster, it's still enough to make them one of the most competitive teams in the academy.

Mina Hoshino couldn't help but feel glad that she had made the right choice.

What made her heart beat even faster was what Chen Yuan had just said: "Our team."

"Have I... passed the test?"

Hoshino Mina's eyes lit up with hope.

Chen Yuan nodded: "I've already heard about what happened at the store today from Hu Dan. In addition, you haven't been slacking off or holding anyone back these past few days, so you're qualified to officially join our team."

Chen Yuan made a well-considered decision to bring Mina Hoshino into the team.

Although she is quite scheming and even resorts to any means to achieve her goals, she is at least not just a pretty face.

They dare to step forward when trouble arises and have the ability to solve problems.

Rongding Pavilion is currently short-staffed, so having Mina Hoshino come to help out at the store occasionally is a good option.

Most importantly, Chen Yuan saw right through her little schemes.

At least if she had even the slightest wicked thought, Chen Yuan could immediately see her information panel.

Moreover, Hoshino Mina's head looked clean at this moment, indicating that she genuinely wanted to join the team.

After Mina Hoshino sat down, the fat man Arthur suddenly said to Chen Yuan:

"I only promised Kevin that I would listen to your opinion, but I did not promise to join your team."

Although Arthur did not harbor any hostility towards Chen Yuan, the system panel was not displayed above his head, making it impossible for him to find any fault with Chen Yuan.

But Chen Yuan had already obtained enough information from Vivian.

"Arthur, I heard that you published an excellent paper last year, which earned you long-term access to the lab."

"But you haven't produced any results in the past year. At this rate, once the 'Spark Project' officially starts allocating laboratory resources, your advanced laboratory in Area B will be taken back sooner or later."

Kevin, standing nearby, chimed in with advice:

"Yeah, Arthur. Even if you don't like teaming up, you have to protect the lab first, right?"

A conflicted expression crossed Arthur's chubby face. Finally, he gritted his teeth and compromised:

"If you can guarantee that I can continue my previous research, then I am willing to join your team."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan laughed instead:

"I'm curious, what exactly have you been researching this past year?"

When asked about this, Arthur's expression immediately became somewhat unnatural.

After a long while, he stammered:

"Strictly speaking, my research direction is the same as Adrian's, both focusing on the application of a special blocking enzyme extracted from papaya. However... our approaches are slightly different."

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Arthur gritted his teeth and explained further:

"Adrian's 'biological lipid blocking enzyme' is essentially aimed at the human body."

"That is, before eating high-calorie foods, you swallow this blocking enzyme to block the lipids in the food during the absorption process, so you won't gain weight no matter how much food you eat."

Chen Yuan nodded. He had also studied Adrian's paper these past few days. If his "biological lipid blocking enzyme" could be successfully developed, it might really become a "miracle drug for weight loss," bringing good news to many foodies.

Arthur continued, "My research focuses on the food itself, using enzyme-blocking mechanisms to reduce the absorption of oil during cooking. In other words, during frying, I try to prevent the lipids that will eventually be absorbed by the body from entering the food."

Seeing that Kevin and Mina Hoshino still looked confused, Arthur gave up on continuing to explain using technical terms.

"Simply put, what I'm making is a kind of 'high-temperature curing enzyme'."

"Its function is to allow a thin film to form on the surface of fried food under high temperature conditions to block the oil, while minimizing the impact on the taste of the food."

"Moreover, fried food looks and tastes almost the same as before, but ultimately less lipids end up in the human body."

Chen Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately asked:

"So, using your technique to fry chicken wings not only won't change the taste, but it will also be healthier?"

Arthur nodded, somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"Theoretically, fried chicken would taste better if the oil was reduced... To put it bluntly, we're both researching how to reduce lipid absorption when people eat high-oil, high-calorie foods."

"He just wanted to forcibly stop the food after it had been ingested, while I wanted to cut off a portion of it before ingesting it."

Upon hearing the explanation, Chen Yuan immediately realized that Arthur's research was very relevant to the current Rongdingge Restaurant!

Rongding Pavilion is doing well in business and has also achieved some success in public welfare.

However, the main dishes, such as fried chicken, French fries, grilled squid, and some Chinese dishes, are often criticized by left-wing environmentalists as unhealthy foods that are high in oil and salt.

If Arthur's research could solve the problem of high oil content in dishes, wouldn't that shut many people up?

Moreover, the "healthy snacks" cooked using this technology perfectly meet the requirements of the College of Life Sciences' "Spark Program".

In this way, every healthy snack sold is equivalent to a portion of the $5 profit.

Given Rongding Pavilion's current revenue, it's believed that they will be able to successfully reach their target of $20 for the four of them within a few months.

No wonder Vivian specifically recommended Arthur to him; it turns out she already knew that Arthur's research interests were a perfect match for Rongding Pavilion's business!

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan suppressed his excitement and said in a deep voice:

"Arthur, I think your research direction is very important, and it could even be used as the main topic of our team."

Kevin, who was standing nearby, quickly realized what was happening and excitedly slapped his thigh:

"You mean, use Arthur's technology to make fried food, sell it in restaurants, and meet targets through profits?"

Chen Yuan nodded and smiled, "That's right, this is definitely a win-win solution!"

"Buzzing!!"

Just then, the cell phones of several people present suddenly rang at the same time.

Clearly, someone posted a message in the college's public chat group.

Chen Yuan took out his phone and saw that the message was sent by Adrian.

The headline of the news was even more blatantly capitalist:

LBX Bio-blocking Enzyme Project: Internal Venture Capital Early-Stage Partner Recruitment Program!

Still worried about Dr. Berg's $50,000 performance evaluation?

"Our startup project, LBX (a biological lipid blocking enzyme), has received technical endorsement from Dr. Berger and is about to complete final due diligence for a multi-million dollar Series A venture capital round on Wall Street!"

"In order to leverage the best alumni resources of our institute, we are now opening up the last 100 early internal partner option subscription slots."

"The rules are simple: there's no minimum investment required; the maximum investment is only $1 in early-stage bridge financing for R&D. Once the venture capital arrives, we will provide you with up to 5 times the actual business conversion return through a legal profit-sharing agreement!"

"For example: subscribing to $1000 will legally inject $5000 of business profits into your personal performance account as backing."

"Spots are limited. Students who want a perfect score and top-tier recommendation letters, please message me as soon as possible to obtain the co-founder confidentiality agreement and trust payment instructions."

Let's work together to create a win-win situation!

Chen Yuan looked at the message on his phone with a playful expression on his face.

By creating panic under the guise of "Project Fire," Adrian is openly raising money from the wealthy students in the college... He really intends to bring the Wall Street model to the school!