Kennedy didn't want to sell his integrity so cheaply, but Fang Yuan simply offered too much.
He happened to be in the middle of an election—exactly when he needed money the most.
What? Soldiers' lives?
Does anyone in the glorious United States government actually care about those?
"Fang Yuan's methods are getting slicker," Kennedy thought; the man's grasp of the situation had grown much stronger—and his conscience correspondingly worse.
Yet what Kennedy didn't realize was that Fang Yuan was still holding back.
After all, Fang Yuan had done advanced studies at Vought International; over there, profit truly is king.
They don't treat supes as human, nor regular people either—they discriminate against everyone equally.
Fang Yuan's move was partly to fob Kennedy off, partly to rake in cash.
Normally Fang Yuan didn't care about money, but after seeing Athena's price quote for an Iron Man Suit he decided to amass more of it.
A single Mark X armor cost over a hundred million dollars—and that's 1960s dollars, equivalent to a billion in the future.
Fang Yuan knew Tony could currently build an Iron Man Suit for under three million.
The markup was because of material limitations; 1960s tech was Worlds apart from the early twenty-first century.
Fortunately Fang Yuan could source many raw materials himself; otherwise the price would be even steeper.
With Athena around he could just write any number he liked into a bank balance, but he planned to stay in this World long-term; constantly wrecking the market wasn't wise.
Besides, money is only a number; the real point is to build coalitions of shared interest while amassing it.
Outer Disciples of Kamar-Taj, for instance, can accomplish things money alone never could.
The Outer Disciple model couldn't be copied wholesale in the X-Men World, though—too many people here still hate the Awakened.
"Luckily, I still have the Dark Council," Fang Yuan murmured with a smile.
Forward planning always pays off.
Before long Vought Corporation announced a new program: the International Membership System.
It was far looser than Kamar-Taj's Outer Disciple regimen—no mission quotas. Simply spend a set amount at Vought to hit a tier; fail to keep spending and you drop back down.
In short: pay for happiness.
Yet the announcement caused a worldwide uproar, because membership benefits were revealed at the same time.
"Four guaranteed vials of Awakening Serum every month for basic members?"
Old Tom, a follower since Vought's founding, asked in puzzlement, "What's Awakening Serum? Some health tonic? Does something like that even exist?"
With Mutants already public, the serum wasn't marketed as triggering powers—mere physical enhancement was more than enough.
After all, it was free.
As everyone knows, wherever Tom appears, Jerry spawns nearby.
Old Jerry pointed at the last two lines of the brochure: "You should focus on this—senior members can redeem one Life Serum per year, supreme members one Longevity Serum per year; one vial extends life by a full year!"
"Extends life?" Old Tom exclaimed. "If that's true, Vought is terrifying!"
Unlike the Marvel Universe—where the Ancient One's example vouched for the potion—in the X-Men World the claim sparked both sensation and skepticism.
People demanded Vought explain: was Longevity Serum real? They even wanted the formula notarized.
Fang Yuan knew exactly what they were scheming.
Notarization?
Just say you want it for free.
Fang Yuan ignored the noise completely; Vought issued no statement—take it or leave it.
Want it?
Of course.
Why else kick up such a fuss?
Only members ranked 80 or higher qualified as supreme, and scarcely anyone in the World met that bar.
But level 60 counted as senior member—well within reach for the super-rich.
A terminally ill billionaire immediately spent a fortune to redeem a Life Serum—and made a miraculous recovery.
Overnight, doubt vanished; within a week Vought earned more than it had in the entire previous year.
"Stan Edgar was right," Fang Yuan mused, scanning the financials White Queen had handed him. "Selling drugs really does out-earn super-celebrities by miles."
"Who's Stan Edgar?" Emma asked, tilting her head.
She seemed oblivious to how lethal that cute pose was in a white miniskirt and white stockings.
"An older Black guy who applied for a job here," Fang Yuan replied casually. "He came up with the drug-sales plan."
"Where is he now?" Emma pressed.
"I turned him down—he interviewed for Chairman's Secretary."
That was Emma's own position.
Emma beamed and immediately set about her secretarial duties—
…taking it all in…
Vought Corporation had detonated public attention, and the most miserable party was none other than the freshly-founded Augustus Company under the Dark Council.
They had only just begun to shine with the Dark Council's cutting-edge tech when Vought pulled this stunt.
For Augustus' shareholders—every one of them a declared Vought opponent—it felt worse than losing money.
And forget life-extending or youth serums; even the Awakening Serum that boosts physical prowess was something they craved just as badly.
In short order, Augustus showed signs of internal turmoil.
Many shareholders started thinking of opening a Vought membership account just to double-dip on the perks.
Yet thanks to the Black Emperor Aura, no one actually considered quitting.
Even so, Fang Yuan would never allow it.
He'd already conned them aboard; who could disembark was his call alone.
Besides, the Dark Council existed to herd Vought's foes together—he wouldn't let the flock scatter.
So at the critical juncture, the Dark Council's head chairman, Fox, made his move.
"Shock! Minnesota tycoon found dead at home!"
"Oil Magnate dies in car crash!"
"Billion-Dollar Heir lost in helicopter accident!"
For three straight days the leaders of the three wavering factions suffered accidents, instantly halting the rot inside the Dark Council.
"The Dark Council tolerates no fence-sitters—join, or stay out; once in, only Death lets you leave."
At the council, Fox, Smiling Mask in place, uttered those words, chilling every delegate and representative present.
Only then did they grasp the brutal side of the Dark Council.
No surprise: any outfit whose chief calls himself Black King is no charity.
Yet after the stick, the masked Fang Yuan quickly offered the carrot.
"I've said it before: everything Vought has, the Dark Council has too."
"And we do it better."
He produced his ace: "Members who reach the required rank gain access to a Superhuman Awakening slot—letting suitable candidates Transform into Superhumans."
"Boom!"
The chamber erupted; thanks to Vought's relentless ads everyone knew most Awakened manifested powers in puberty, yet Fox now claimed they could create superhumans on demand?
With life-extending serum already in hand—and now the chance to awaken as a superhuman—the idea of freeloading off Vought vanished overnight.
Fang Yuan then rolled out the Dark Council's Contribution-Point System, copied straight from Kamar-Taj's Outer Disciple model.
Indeed, the Council's grip on its members tightened even further, turning a loose alliance into a rigorously structured organization.
"An extra step, but the goal is met," Fang Yuan nodded, pleased with his handiwork.
Supporters and opponents were now firmly lashed to his twin flagships; Vought faced no obstruction and, in fact, gained many allies.
Not only did Vought's international members back it fervently, Augustus itself supplied extra buzz for Vought's superheroes.
Even while opposing Vought, Augustus—under Fang Yuan's rules—mostly stuck to business tactics and media sniping.
After all, anti-fans are still fans.
As long as employee fame climbed, Fang Yuan was satisfied.
So after handing the White Queen a corporate development roadmap, he largely left Vought's day-to-day alone.
Following his plan meant he no longer needed to micromanage reputation-boosting for his staff.
Hadn't he installed the White Queen as overall coordinator and even commissioned Batman to create Athena precisely so he could be a hands-off boss?
Thus Fang Yuan turned to his real work.
Studying magic.
He knew that no matter how many character templates he held, his own accumulation mattered most—it determined how much of their power he could actually wield.
And magic is a profoundly deep discipline, demanding massive investment of time.
The Ancient One had lived centuries, not even counting the years inside the Time Stone.
Doctor Strange himself used the Time Stone to live through over fourteen million battles against Thanos, rising from someone Ebony Maw could thrash to a sorcerer who, armed with four Infinity Stones, could trade blows with the Mad Titan for several rounds.
The Sorcerer Supreme is forged by stacking up time.
Besides, the Space Stone also awaited his development.
He had Athena pilot the Iron Man Suit to carve out an estate on a scenic, uninhabited Snow Mountain, turning it into his private academy of magic.
Apart from steering Vought's general direction, meeting Charles and Erik, or indulging Raven and the White Queen, he spent most of his hours there.
Of course, that didn't mean he neglected his employees.
For instance, he personally tracked down Eric's long-lost son for him.
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