Hearing Wilson's claim that William might have created a mineral-based plant nutrient solution on Mars, viewers around the world watching the broadcast were momentarily stunned before collectively cursing William as shameless.
Meanwhile, on FaceNet, many users who had previously posted their guesses about the potato yield in public threads began to flaunt their supposed knowledge or mock others.
For those who felt tricked by William and were looking for an outlet for their frustration, these threads became their immediate target.
Those boasting about their predictions were easier to tolerate—they had, after all, shared their guesses for everyone's benefit. People felt that enduring a little self-congratulatory behavior was a fair trade-off.
But those who openly mocked others were another story. Feeling superior and ridiculing others' intelligence rubbed many the wrong way.
Before long, the threads filled with scathing insults and mocking posts were inundated with millions of users delivering a collective lesson in humility.
If not for the Independent Television Network's host announcing with great excitement that the signal to Mars had been successfully reconnected and that questions submitted on FaceNet would be chosen to ask William directly, this online battle might have escalated to physical altercations in real life.
When the host confirmed that William would indeed answer questions live and select them directly from FaceNet, the number of users on the platform surged dramatically: 30 million, 50 million, 80 million.
By the time William appeared on the screen, smiling and greeting Wilson and the host, the online user count on FaceNet officially surpassed 100 million.
Fortunately, before this milestone was reached, Sunday had already autonomously rented additional temporary servers. This ensured that the website operated smoothly, with no disruptions or lag.
While William bantered with Wilson on the broadcast, major investment firms closely monitoring FaceNet took notice of the milestone.
Learning that the platform's concurrent users had exceeded 100 million, these firms were eager to contact William and discuss potential opportunities. However, seeing him on television wearing his space armor and cheerfully answering questions, they grew increasingly frustrated.
With William still on Mars, they realized it was impossible to negotiate with him directly.
As they cooled their excitement, they reflected on William's immense wealth and self-sufficiency. Would he even care about a few billion dollars in investment?
In fact, they worried that any attempt to engage him might result in William flipping the script—offering their best representatives a job instead. Few would be able to resist joining a rapidly rising and severely understaffed organization like William's.
Meanwhile, companies operating in the online services sector reacted to FaceNet's success as if they had lost a loved one.
Even imagining a concurrent user base of 10 million was beyond their reach, let alone 100 million.
Most knew their servers would crash if faced with such traffic. Websites might fail to load entirely under such strain.
As a result, businesses with even a potential overlap in services with FaceNet found themselves wracked with anxiety, fearing that the platform's meteoric rise would crush their chances of growth.
But not everyone was worried.
Some companies were ecstatic.
In just one day, the number of new internet users worldwide had increased by tens of millions.
Data collection agencies even boldly predicted that the global internet user base could grow by at least 200 million within the next month.
For computer manufacturers struggling with poor economic conditions and declining consumer demand, this surge in interest was a godsend.
By midday, nearly 10,000 computers had been sold in England alone.
Globally, the number of planned purchases was expected to grow by tens of thousands—or even millions.
At 1:40 PM New York time, stockbrokers on Wall Street saw a sudden uptick in trading activity.
Shares in all publicly listed companies related to computer hardware and software began to climb steadily.
For these companies, this unexpected windfall felt like a blessing from the gods.
Grateful to William for indirectly boosting their market performance, some began brainstorming ways to get involved in his initiatives.
Could they sponsor his betting game? Or create campaigns on FaceNet to draw more people into the online world?
After all, every new internet user represented potential revenue. A modest investment in promotional campaigns could yield substantial returns in the stock market.
While these plans were still in their infancy, William announced during the broadcast that FaceNet would soon roll out new features, including friend lists, group chats, personal profiles, comments, and a "like" button for fans to show their appreciation.
With these features, William explained, users could chat and make friends without being limited by physical distance, and share the most exciting moments of their lives with others.
This revelation sent shockwaves through the tech world.
It became clear that William intended to enter the social networking space in a big way.
Given his resources, FaceNet seemed poised to dominate at least 50% of the market.
As its features became more comprehensive and William continued to fund its growth, any competing platform without government protection would find survival nearly impossible.
Hearing this, computer manufacturers and software companies that had been contemplating partnerships with FaceNet suddenly realized they were no longer in a position of leverage.
Instead, they needed FaceNet more than FaceNet needed them.
Some even began to consider offering money to William just for the privilege of collaborating.
After all, any activity on FaceNet—even something as simple as sponsoring giveaways—was effectively an advertisement to its hundreds of millions of users and billions of potential customers.
Faced with such a massive opportunity, the response from the business world was immediate.
Even though William was still on Mars, wasn't it possible to approach the Devonshire family directly? Surely, Lady Lena Devonshire could facilitate communication with her son.
As Sunday monitored events at the Oxford castle, it reported to William that multiple companies had already contacted Lena.
Hearing this, William smirked. Companies offering money for promotions and collaborations were precisely what he wanted.
Originally, he had planned to host a giveaway to soothe the frustrations of users who felt duped by his betting game.
Now, with companies eager to foot the bill, it was like someone offering him a pillow when he was just about to lie down.
For William, it wasn't about the small sums involved in giveaways; the real prize lay in FaceNet's valuation.
Still, saving his own money while achieving the same goal was a win-win.
Half an hour later, Lena contacted him through the London Space Center.
Feigning surprise while covering his ear as if listening closely, William turned to the camera with a wide grin.
"I just got a message from the London Space Center," he said. "It seems some computer manufacturers are already eager to place ads on FaceNet.
"But if they think they can take advantage of me just because they acted quickly, they're in for a surprise."
(End of Chapter)
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