Boom!
The congressmen present were in an uproar.
Once a bill is written into the Constitution, it becomes very difficult to overturn.
This is because amending the Constitution requires the approval of more than two-thirds of the members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a bill to gain the approval of so many people; since the founding of the United States, only twenty-four constitutional amendments have been passed.
This wasn't mentioned before, was it?
The representatives looked at each other, finding the same look of astonishment on everyone's faces.
The doubt, the shock, and even the wide-eyed stares were identical to their own.
Thus, the congressmen all understood each other.
They were all a bunch of actors!
For something as important as a constitutional amendment, Fang Yuan naturally couldn't propose it on the fly at the meeting; even if Vought held the initiative, things could easily go wrong.
He had already finished his backroom dealings with these high-ranking officials. Through coercion, bribery, and empty promises, two-thirds of the congressmen had agreed to Fang Yuan's terms. Now, this group was merely putting on a show of surprise for appearances' sake.
Of course, some people were genuinely surprised. These were the congressmen Fang Yuan had assessed and decided would never agree to this condition even if beaten to death.
Of course, 'beaten to death' in this context meant literally beaten to death.
"This condition... Congress couldn't possibly agree to it, right?"
Watching the live broadcast on TV, Old Jerry's mouth hung open in a daze, the cheese in his hand nearly falling out.
Even a consistent supporter of Vought Corporation like him couldn't believe it, so Old Tom was naturally even more adamant.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
He shouted loudly, and even though Old Jerry wanted to argue back, he didn't know how to start.
Although he felt that whether it was written into the Constitution had little to do with him, Old Jerry was also a local and knew the nature of Congress.
Usually, they could bicker for ten days or more over trivial matters, let alone something this significant.
It wasn't just the two of them; the rest of the public thought so as well.
Until Congress swiftly began the vote, and a vast majority of congressmen cast their 'yea' votes... "What?"
"How is this possible?"
Old Jerry and Old Tom's eyes bulged, their expressions mirrored by many other ordinary citizens.
With efficiency they had never seen before, Congress rapidly passed the Vought Act, and more than two-thirds of the congressmen had already agreed to initiate the constitutional amendment simultaneously!
Although the constitutional amendment still needed to be sent to state legislatures for a vote—requiring approval from more than two-thirds of the states to officially pass—Old Tom could clearly sense that the Vought Act being written into the Constitution was already a done deal.
It sounded like a fantasy, but watching the congressmen who had previously championed the awakened one act now voting 'yea' faster than the next, Old Tom understood that there would likely be no more hiccups.
While it all seemed somewhat illegal, the scene was unfolding in the most legal place in the country.
One could only say it had very unique United States characteristics, full of the scent of freedom.
However, because the Awakened currently held the momentum and the public generally leaned toward sympathizing with them, most people could still accept the birth of the Vought Act.
After all, Vought Corporation's influence was massive, and in the eyes of most, Vought just made movies and wasn't particularly harmful.
This was the power of idols. Just like in Fang Yuan's past life, if someone said a pop idol was actually cultivating followers to rule Earth once they had enough numbers, who would dare believe it?
Among the Awakened community, the support rate for the Vought Act went without saying—it was nearly 100%.
Those Awakened who held a negative attitude weren't necessarily against the bill itself, but rather against the fact that the bill centered on Vought, completely binding the Awakened to the company.
It was obvious that the opposing Awakened were basically not Vought employees.
Since they weren't Vought employees, in Fang Yuan's eyes, they were the black sheep of the Awakened.
If even Vought didn't want them, what good could they be?
As for those Awakened who actively chose not to join Vought?
They were even worse!
They had no sense of contributing to the Awakened; their ideological awareness couldn't even compare to Fang Yuan's.
The meeting concluded with a complete victory for Vought Corporation, and the implementation of the Vought Act was fully finalized.
Next, they only needed to wait for the results of the state legislature votes to confirm if the Vought Act would be written into the Constitution.
And while quite a few people felt the Vought Act would destroy the purity of the Constitution, as everyone knew, the United States was a "democratic" country where the opinions of capital, officials, and the wealthy mattered most.
As for the ordinary people?
Just leeks to be harvested.
Of course, even being a leek was a status many groups yearned for.
Like the African-Americans.
Despite their loud protests, without Kennedy, they wouldn't even be served at the table as leeks for another few decades.
Naturally, there were hidden dangers; with the Vought Act being so high-profile, the Awakened and Vought would easily become targets of public criticism in the future.
But... as said before, although Fang Yuan was the leader of the Awakened, he didn't particularly care about their life or death.
As long as it was controlled well, like this time, a crisis could also be a resource.
Sure enough, a few days later, good news arrived from the states. Thirty-five states agreed to write the Vought Act into the Constitution. Although this was fewer than Fang Yuan had anticipated, it had already achieved the goal.
The Vought Act officially took effect and would become part of the Constitution. Unless another constitutional amendment was initiated in the future to repeal it—like the previous Prohibition—the Vought Act would continue to suck the blood of the United States.
Yes, blood-sucking.
This was also the headline of the next day's news in The Collector Daily—
Vought Act? Blood-Sucking Act!"
The Collector Daily finally exerted its strength, denouncing the Vought Act for making privileges public, stating that Vought Corporation would continue to grow and even threaten national security.
However, while the wording in The Collector's article remained extremely sharp, the timing of their publication was very clever.
The Vought Act had already taken effect; no matter how fiercely they cursed, it was to no avail.
Why didn't The Collector curse before the act passed?
Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't allow his own media to potentially derail his own momentum.
As for whether The Collector's previous submissiveness would cause its persona to collapse?
Of course not. After all, when all of Vought's opponents were hiding like turtles recently, The Collector was already considered to have some backbone.
This was, of course, also Fang Yuan's idea. Writing the act into the Constitution was indeed very hateful, and once this current wave passed, opponents would definitely emerge.
In that case, the dividends of being the first to criticize should naturally be reaped by his own people.
And The Collector Daily indeed made a name for itself once again. While everyone else was still avoiding the brunt of the storm, The Collector actually dared to be the first to open fire. It truly lived up to its reputation as the benchmark of anti-Vought sentiment!
More of Vought's opponents flocked toward The Collector.
The helmsman of The Collector Daily, one of the "Mysterio Twins" and Fang Yuan's 'Fèng Chú,' Larry Baker, was now quite famous among Vought's opponents and had become one of the leading figures.
For this reason, Fang Yuan had specifically placed a layer of mental protection on Larry Baker to prevent him from being exposed.
The reason he hadn't replaced him was that Larry Baker and the head of The Observer Daily, Quentin Black, had a truly top-tier ability to write nonsense.
Moreover, they could not only write it themselves but also teach others to write it; Fang Yuan found them increasingly handy to use.
However, what made Fang Yuan happiest wasn't how many fish The Collector Daily had hooked, but that the company panel had another major harvest.
[Salvador: Reputation 150, unlocked Tier 4 reward!]
[Sebastian Shaw: Reputation 151, unlocked Tier 4 reward!]
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