Under Sunday's meticulous optimization, FaceNet was finally ready to launch. The system borrowed and improved upon existing codebases from various global websites and chat programs, delivering a polished product tailored for William's goals.
Although Sunday lacked the ability to innovate entirely new programming from scratch, its capacity to identify strengths and weaknesses in existing programs and optimize them far surpassed that of a team of human engineers.
The following day, William donned his space armor, opened a portal, and returned to his Mars spacecraft. After Sunday conducted final tests to ensure everything was functioning properly, he activated the live broadcast.
The signal was routed directly to the headquarters of the Independent English Television Network in London.
Meanwhile, Wilson, who had spent a sleepless night leading a team of negotiators alongside William's MoonStar Law Firm, had successfully completed the discussions for the network's stake acquisition.
The network's board, who had been deliberating over how to secure exclusive broadcasting rights to William's Mars livestreams, were initially overjoyed when Wilson and the negotiating team approached them.
However, they were also perplexed.
Given William's position, they had expected him to collaborate with a more prominent broadcaster, such as the BBC, which had far greater reach. Why would he choose their smaller, regionally-focused network?
Some board members speculated that William might be planning a full acquisition of the company.
However, their assumptions were soon proven wrong.
After introductions and pleasantries, Wilson laid out the offer: £500 million in exchange for a 33% stake in the company.
If the deal closed successfully, the network would gain exclusive rights to broadcast William's Mars livestreams starting the very next day.
The proposal sent waves of excitement through the boardroom.
As experienced media professionals, the board members knew that if this happened, their network's market share in the UK would skyrocket.
Even a modest estimate suggested a jump from 30% to over 70%.
And if William unveiled something groundbreaking on Mars, ratings could even climb to 90%.
Though viewership might dip after the initial buzz, it would still far exceed their current figures.
Negotiations progressed smoothly, with the only sticking points being the valuation, shareholding proportions, and William's decision-making power on the board.
Ultimately, the 33% stake was a strategically acceptable number—it gave William veto power but didn't make him a majority shareholder. If William acted against their interests, the other shareholders could still band together to counter him.
However, as long as the collaboration was profitable, the board members were more than willing to bend over backward for William—even if it meant making their network a glorified cheerleader for his exploits.
By dawn, the two sides had reached a tentative agreement, contingent on a trial run.
The board proposed that the network would broadcast William's livestream exclusively across the UK for one day. If the ratings exceeded 60%, they would immediately sign the deal.
Thus, when William began his livestream that day, viewers in other countries were able to tune in as usual.
But in England, those accustomed to watching on the BBC or other channels were left frustrated as they discovered the broadcast wasn't available.
Forced to channel surf, they eventually landed on the Independent English Television Network, where William was introducing his new social media platform, FaceNet.
As William explained, anyone who registered on the site and provided their identification number could participate in the potato weight-guessing game.
The promise of prizes—fine wines from Château Latour and Château Margaux, as well as 100g gold coins worth $2,000 each—quickly captivated viewers.
Despite some initial annoyance at having to switch channels, most viewers were now too focused on the prizes to care.
Switching from their TVs to their computers, they eagerly typed in the website address displayed at the top of the broadcast.
The website's clean design, free of intrusive ads, left a positive first impression.
Many users planned to simply enter their guesses and identification details before returning to the livestream.
However, their attention was immediately caught by a prominent post titled "Common Misconceptions About Guessing Mars Potato Weights."
Curious, they clicked on the article, which turned out to be written by a botany PhD from Oxford University named Mark.
Though some parts of the article were dense with technical jargon, the central points were easy to understand.
The author explained that potatoes grown on Mars could either yield an unusually high harvest or fail entirely.
Unlike Earth, Mars's volcanic soil composition, nutrient availability, and mineral content were all unknowns.
Therefore, the chances of an abnormally high or low yield were far greater than those of a normal harvest.
The article concluded with a revelation that electrified readers:
Mark claimed to have called Prince Wilson directly, and Wilson had hinted that William might have intentionally misled viewers during the livestream with a vague comment.
However, the PhD stopped short of revealing what the misleading statement was, joking that Wilson was too afraid of William's retribution to share the specifics.
After reading the article, viewers began speculating wildly about what William's "misleading statement" might have been.
The website's comment section quickly became a hub of activity, with some users posting theories, others asking for clarification, and many simply refreshing the page to read the latest comments.
Within minutes, someone on the homepage started a new thread calling for "Prince Wilson to Explain the Truth."
The thread rapidly gained traction, with hundreds of thousands of comments pouring in within hours.
By the two-hour mark, over a million users had chimed in with variations of, "Wilson, we demand to know the truth!"
William, monitoring the situation from Mars, smiled knowingly.
The controversy was doing exactly what he wanted: stirring up engagement, drawing people into FaceNet, and turning the platform into a hotbed of discussion.
Meanwhile, Wilson, oblivious to the brewing storm, was busy finalizing the television network deal in London. It wouldn't be long before he found himself thrust into the spotlight as FaceNet's first viral topic.
(End of Chapter)
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