When William mentioned eating just three potatoes a day, with an extra one considered a luxury, many viewers watching the live broadcast couldn't help but feel smug. They grabbed various snacks and, with amused expressions, began enjoying their food in a show of superiority.
As William meticulously watered the pots, carefully measuring the amount for each one, he sighed about how precious water was on Mars. Viewers took this as an opportunity to make a mock toast to him, raising bottles of drinks toward their screens and sarcastically saluting his "struggles" with water scarcity.
But their schadenfreude quickly turned to frustration when William, with a glint in his eye, began describing his longing for rare wines from his own vineyards: Château Latour and Château Margaux, along with the Macallan rare vintage whiskey stored in his London estate's cellar.
The smug drinkers froze. Their faces fell as they stared at their humble drink bottles, realizing they couldn't compete with the $10,000-per-bottle wines William casually dreamed about. In frustration, many tossed their bottles aside, cursing at their screens, wishing for William to stay stranded on Mars forever. Some even hoped he'd end up drinking his own urine.
Their attitudes shifted, however, when William revealed his plan to share his wine stash with the public in a unique game.
"We're going to bet on the total weight of the forty pots of potatoes at harvest," William announced with a playful smile.
Pausing for a moment, he continued, "With over a billion people watching my broadcasts, I expect at least 100 million to participate. Because of this, I'll be precise down to the gram. For example, if the total weight of 200 harvested potatoes is 10,001 grams, everyone who guesses that exact number will win one bottle of wine—either Château Latour or Château Margaux—from this year's vintage.
"I guarantee these will be the authentic first-label wines from both estates, not second-label or sub-brands.
"There will be a total of 10,000 bottles available: 5,000 from each estate, each worth at least $2,000.
"If only one person guesses the correct weight, congratulations! At the moment the results are announced, you'll be $20 million richer. Properly cellared, your stash will grow in value by at least 10% annually.
"If 100 people guess correctly, they'll split the 10,000 bottles equally.
"However, if more than 10,000 people guess correctly, they can choose to receive a coin featuring my portrait instead. The coins will weigh 100 grams and be worth $2,000 each.
"Let me make one thing clear: while there are only 10,000 bottles of wine, I'm confident that even if 100,000 people guess the correct weight, I won't need to bring more gold back from Mars. The gold already stored in the Devonshire family vault is enough for me to repeat this game dozens of times."
The phrase "dozens of times" sent shockwaves through television studios around the world.
Hosts and guests did some quick math, their jaws dropping as they exclaimed, "One hundred thousand coins at 100 grams each is 10 tons of gold. 'Dozens of times' implies the Devonshire family vault holds at least 200 tons of gold.
"That's 23 tons more than Belgium's entire national gold reserve, which ranks 21st in the world!
"Dear God, William Devonshire truly has wealth that rivals nations."
The broadcast sparked worldwide curiosity about William's secret wealth. How had he acquired such a staggering amount of gold in just two years?
And where exactly was the Devonshire family vault? Surely it contained more than just gold—there had to be jewels, antiques, and other treasures inside.
As speculation grew, viewers became increasingly frustrated with the broadcast's one-sided nature. They wanted the ability to communicate directly with William and flooded television networks and the London Space Center with calls demanding the introduction of interactive features.
At the time, William was explaining his plan to set up a website where participants could enter their guesses, along with their identification numbers, to join the game.
Hearing Sunday's report about public demands for interactivity, William paused for a moment.
The live broadcast served multiple purposes: reassuring the world about his situation on Mars, deterring factions plotting against him, and boosting the Devonshire family's global reputation.
But more subtly, it allowed William to leverage the attention of ordinary people as a strategic asset.
Although he was confident in his ability to handle the situation, anything that increased his opponents' hesitation was worth pursuing. Strengthening his position even slightly weakened his adversaries.
Most importantly, with his supplies dwindling as time passed, he needed to project his worsening conditions to make himself seem more vulnerable and win sympathy—or at least distract those plotting against him.
After half an hour of explaining the website's setup to ensure Earth didn't suspect he was monitoring them in real time, William finally pretended to receive the news about the calls.
Smiling at the broadcast sphere, he said, "You want to talk to me directly? Sure, that's possible.
"But maintaining real-time communication across planets involves highly proprietary interstellar communication technology.
"And to be honest, I'm not ready to share it. If I were, I could sell it for at least £100 billion—probably £500 billion without much trouble.
"But if I did that, the English government would probably be itching to slap me with a court summons right here on Mars."
William chuckled, then added, "However, routing signals through the London Space Center to a partnered English TV station for limited-time live interactions shouldn't be an issue."
After pausing for effect, he concluded, "Alright, today's broadcast ends here. I need to discuss security measures with the Space Center to prevent any leaks."
Ending the broadcast, William soon appeared on the main screen in the command hall of the Space Center.
This time, he was far less polite.
Ignoring their opinions entirely, he directly named the most China-friendly English TV station as the exclusive partner.
Meanwhile, several competing English networks were busy strategizing, unaware their efforts were in vain.
Space Center Director Thomas Berry wasn't surprised by William's attitude.
After all, anyone stranded on Mars who could still remain calm and friendly with everyone would surely have ulterior motives.
Their earlier leak incident, while serving William's interests, didn't absolve them from his disdain.
Thomas hesitated before saying, "The collaboration with a TV station for limited-time live interactions can be set up today, but..."
He trailed off, glancing at William's expression. Seeing a smile, he continued, "Richard asked me to confirm when you'll investigate the alien corpse you mentioned."
(End of Chapter)
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