America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

Chapter 97 Leaving Others with No Way Out

Vivian didn't reply to the message for quite a while, probably because she was annoyed by his riddle-like retort, which made Chen Yuan feel very pleased.

Although it was a negligible, small victory in the confrontation with that woman, the fact that it made the heiress of a chaebol suffer a setback is still worth remembering!

He put away his phone and his gaze fell once again on the two papers on the computer screen.

One article contains Arthur's detailed information and raw data on "high-temperature curing enzyme" technology.

Another article is Adrian's "Biological Lipid Blocking Enzyme" proposal published on the school's journal website.

Based on Chen Yuan's current biological knowledge, these two seemingly disparate projects are indeed based on the same technical principle.

Both utilize a blocking enzyme extracted from papaya to reduce the body's absorption of fat components.

The difference lies in their commercial applications.

Adrian had enormous ambitions; his approach was to make this enzyme into capsule drugs that people could swallow to take effect.

From the perspective of Wall Street capital operations, a miraculous drug that "can prevent obesity while lying down" is obviously more likely to tell a groundbreaking business story and is the easiest to attract venture capital funding.

However, it is extremely difficult to ensure that this unstable blocking enzyme can safely pass through the human digestive system.

Judging from the discarded experimental data provided by Arthur, he had also conducted oral animal experiments, but without exception, all the mice that ate this new biological enzyme sacrificed their lives for science due to acute gastrointestinal perforation.

Therefore, none of Adrian's current projects have passed security tests; they rely entirely on Dr. Berger's endorsement of PP.

Plan T.

In contrast, Arthur's chosen path was more pragmatic.

He abandoned the practice of ingesting the enzyme and instead used it as a food additive.

Because as long as you coat the food with a paste containing this enzyme, and then put it in a high-temperature environment of over 100 degrees Celsius to steam, boil, bake or fry it.

High temperatures instantly destroy the original protein spatial structure of enzymes. Just before it becomes completely inactive and turns into a harmless substance, its blocking properties form a dense micron-sized protective film on the surface of food.

This perfectly isolates the food from the boiling oil while still allowing it to be fried until crispy and juicy.

Therefore, Arthur named this blocking enzyme "high-temperature curing enzyme".

Compared to oral medications that require rigorous testing, this topical coating, used as a food additive, is not only much safer, but also commercially viable hundreds of times faster.

However, both Arthur's "high-temperature curing enzyme" and Adrian's "biological lipid blocking enzyme" can only be synthesized in small quantities in a laboratory environment.

Unable to be mass-produced, it lacks real commercial value.

In other words, whoever can first mass-produce and monetize this blocking enzyme at low cost will become the actual owner of this technology.

Imagine when Adrian and Dr. Berg had raised millions of dollars and were ready to repackage their "biological lipid blocking enzyme" and sell it for a good price on Wall Street.

Suddenly, a commercially available and mature alternative appeared on the market, which could even be used to make healthy fried chicken.

Any investor with common sense would realize that Adrian's high-risk oral medication PowerPoint presentation would instantly become a worthless piece of paper.

Take the way of others and leave others nowhere to go.

This is what a true villain should do!

Although Chen Yuan's strength lies in theoretical analysis, and he may not be as good as Arthur and Adrian, who spend all their time in the laboratory, in terms of experimental operation, he can enhance his biological skills through the system!

Perhaps because Chen Yuan was an outstanding student in the School of Life Sciences at a top university, the exchange price for "Elementary Biology Mastery" in the system shop was only 200 villain points.

"exchange!"

As 200 villain points were deducted, a massive flow of biological information instantly rushed into Chen Yuan's brain.

Countless gene formulas and cell culture techniques were forcibly etched into his long-term memory like a tidal wave.

In an instant, Chen Yuan felt a splitting headache and became dizzy and disoriented.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Chen Yuan regained consciousness, he found that the sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten.

Unexpectedly, just studying "Elementary Biotechnology Mastery" made him fall asleep for most of the night.

It seems that the mental strain of system skills far exceeds that of simple muscle strengthening of the body.

But this small price is worth it!

When Chen Yuan turned on the computer, which had been dormant, his gaze once again swept over Arthur's "high-temperature curing enzyme" data.

He soon discovered with delight that some previously obscure and difficult parts were now clearly understood!

However, after carefully analyzing the scenario several times, Chen Yuan frowned again.

He discovered that his current knowledge was still insufficient to overcome cost limitations and commercialize Arthur's "high-temperature curing enzyme" at a low cost.

Is it not enough to just exchange for [Basic Biotechnology Proficiency]?

This is highly likely, after all, this is a technology that could revolutionize the catering industry.

The amount of knowledge that the [Beginner] skill imparted to Chen Yuan was at best equivalent to the theoretical level of a senior graduate student from a prestigious university, which was insufficient for him to tackle this century-old problem single-handedly.

System skills are a case of "you get what you pay for," and the improvement brought by 200 villain points is relatively limited.

It seems I need to continue learning the more advanced "Intermediate Biotechnology Mastery" level.

Chen Yuan focused his gaze on the skill books on the system panel, and then paused in surprise.

Surprisingly, the [Intermediate Biotechnology Proficiency] skill not only costs a whopping 500 villain points, but it also has attribute requirements!

[Note: To exchange for intermediate academic skills, the host's base intelligence attribute must reach 1.5 or higher to handle the massive flow of knowledge.]

Chen Yuan's intelligence is slightly above average, but it is only 1.3.

Most importantly, after spending 200 villain points, he now only has 490 villain points left.

In other words, after increasing intelligence, the remaining villain points are not enough.

In any case, improving basic intelligence should be helpful for subsequent research!

So he gritted his teeth and silently chanted, "System, exchange 20 villain points for your intelligence attribute!"

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yuan felt his brain, which had been somewhat sluggish and aching from staying up late and cramming knowledge, suddenly become clear and transparent as if a cool spring had been poured into it.

The fatigue from studying "Elementary Biotechnology Mastery" also began to dissipate quickly.

What surprised him even more was that the complex biological macromolecular structures in his mind, which were not very clear before, became more solid and clear, and could be quickly recalled at any time.

I never expected that upgrading the intelligence attribute would have such a refreshing and invigorating effect!

After having a quick breakfast, Chen Yuan drove directly to the laboratory building of the USC School of Life Sciences.

Although it was still early, given Arthur's habits, he should already be in the laboratory by now.

However, upon arriving at the entrance of Arthur's independent laboratory in Area B, an arrogant voice came from inside: "Arthur Pendleton, didn't I tell you to pack your personal belongings and vacate this advanced laboratory? The academy's laboratories are already in short supply; they should be given to teams that need them more! Not left for worthless trash like you to fry chicken nuggets here!"