The discovery of vast amounts of gold on Mars brought jubilation to those who trusted William and held onto their short positions on gold futures, as well as to everyday people planning to invest in gold.
Even before the livestream ended, William had already instructed his team to sell all of the gold reserves in their possession.
When the stock market opened, most gold-related stocks began to fall. Had it not been for the fact that the gold on Mars was not yet transportable to Earth, the price of gold might have been slashed in half rather than experiencing a slow decline.
Looking ahead, even if William were unable to return, the allure of Martian gold would undoubtedly turn Mars into the ultimate destination for dreamers, much like the historical gold rushes on Earth.
Until other nations developed mature spaceflight technologies, this new "gold rush" would be an exclusive feast for the Devonshire family.
Of course, William wouldn't risk his life unnecessarily. As someone who valued his own survival above all else, he had no qualms about opening a portal and fleeing if things got dangerous. If escape or resistance wasn't possible, he would never sacrifice himself for the greater good of humanity.
The staggering wealth represented by Mars' gold ensured that all major nations would prioritize space exploration and the technology required to reach Mars.
Interest in Martian spacecraft technology reached unprecedented heights.
As William had pointed out during his broadcast, Mars wasn't just about gold.
The planet also contained rare metals more valuable than gold. Beyond the highly sought-after platinum, at least a dozen industrial and military-critical rare metals exceeded gold in value.
Even titanium, which William used extensively in his Mark suits, was significantly more valuable than gold. The global demand for titanium in shipbuilding, aviation, and submarine construction was insatiable.
With just ten spacecraft transporting 1,500 tons of titanium back to Earth annually, the demand from the shipbuilding industry alone would consume it all.
If William processed the titanium into various alloys, he could easily rake in $50 billion a year without breaking a sweat.
As William explained his vision for Martian mining during the broadcast, the concept of the Devonshire Family Martian Mining Corporation became a sensation.
Even before it was officially established, it became the most coveted investment opportunity for the global public and financial institutions.
With just gold, platinum, and titanium, the mining company's valuation would easily exceed $100 billion.
And once the first spacecraft brought back 50 tons of gold, the valuation could soar to $1 trillion—a figure that no one would consider unrealistic.
If William included the spacecraft technology as part of the company's assets or granted it exclusive usage rights, the valuation could skyrocket into the tens of trillions.
While William continued pretending to be preoccupied with digging for gold in his broadcast, the words Mars, gold, mining company, and Devonshire family became the most discussed topics worldwide.
As the general public fantasized about participating in the Martian gold rush, experts invited by TV stations poured cold water on the idea.
They explained that for the average person, setting foot on Mars was a dream that might take decades to realize.
Even the possibility of working as a miner on Mars was slim.
The experts outlined the realities of mining on Mars: using human labor was inefficient, risky, and fraught with the potential for lawsuits and compensation claims in the event of worker fatalities.
In the face of such risks, robot workers and automated mining equipment were the clear and logical choice.
This analysis caused the stock prices and valuations of companies involved in robotics and mining equipment to surge.
Interestingly, one of the biggest beneficiaries was Japan.
Back on Mars, William, who had been digging sand with a portable shovel, frowned as Sunday relayed this information to him.
After a moment of thought, he threw the shovel aside and said with a disgruntled expression into the livestream camera,
"Good God, am I officially the richest man in the world now?"
This statement stunned everyone.
The answer was obvious: yes.
Even without factoring in his spacecraft and the still-nascent Martian mining company, William was already one of the wealthiest individuals alive, thanks to his existing company holdings and cash reserves.
If you included his spacecraft, his wealth would eclipse the combined fortunes of the top 100 individuals on Forbes' rich list.
Seeing the reporters in London's Mission Control wearing expressions that practically screamed, "Isn't that obvious?", William grinned and added,
"I can't believe I wasted time digging for gold when I could've made so much more money staying in my lab and developing the robot designs I already have in mind."
"Damn it."
The announcement left the global robotics industry reeling.
No one doubted William's ability to disrupt the market. A man capable of developing a functional spacecraft and pushing spaceflight technology into the practical realm wasn't likely to produce subpar robots.
Sure enough, William continued with a smug grin,
"Actually, I've already developed a prototype robot capable of running and jumping. I've just been hesitant to release it because I don't want to cause massive unemployment in industries that rely on manual labor.
"However, if I only deploy robots on Mars, there shouldn't be too much of a problem."
The claim sent shockwaves through the labor market.
Millions of workers worldwide broke into cold sweats, silently praying that William would never deploy his robots on Earth.
The advent of industrial robotic arms had already rendered many jobs obsolete over the past few decades, forcing large segments of the population to seek employment in the service sector.
The arrival of robots capable of fully replacing human labor would result in catastrophic levels of unemployment, leaving countless people without means to survive.
The topic of robots replacing human labor quickly became a global focal point of discussion.
Meanwhile, the robotics sector—once seen as a promising field—immediately lost its luster.
Investors realized there was no point in funding startups still in the experimental phase when William was already so far ahead. Competing against him would be like David challenging Goliath without a slingshot.
The Japanese media were among the first to react, dubbing William the Destroyer of Industries.
Robotics was an interconnected field that encompassed chip manufacturing, artificial intelligence, battery technology, and bionics.
If William leveraged his technological advantage to enter these sectors, it could reduce Japan from a leading economic power to a second- or third-rate nation.
(End of Chapter)
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