No one knew how the Oxford doctoral student had pieced together the idea that William was building a miniature arc reactor. Regardless of the accuracy of his conclusions, the netizens, under the guidance of experts from top universities, quickly learned about the arc reactor—what it was and what it could achieve.
Once these professionals explained that the device William was working on had a one-meter diameter, many began speculating. If William could combine it with the spaceship's existing energy reserves and locate a suitable radioactive material on Mars, he might just return to Earth without any external help.
These rumors exploded when the media reported that the support spaceship had been sabotaged, delaying any new rescue effort by at least twenty days. The online discourse became uncontrollable.
Numerous posts flooded Facebook, claiming that William had foreseen this sabotage. Some even suggested he already knew who wanted to prevent him from returning to London. Conspiracy theories swept across the internet, with people asserting that William had lost trust in England—and perhaps the entire planet.
For survival, he had allegedly activated "God-mode" on Mars, determined to find his own solutions.
Over the following days, William spoke less during his live streams. Yet his viewers remained engrossed, watching him sketch diagrams, hammer metals, and even melt down various components using the ship's engine exhaust to shape them in molds.
Every action seemed to affirm the theory: he was building a new power source and plotting his own way back to Earth.
Day 30 on Mars
William woke up early, washed up, and stood still as Selene and Nissa—both dressed in sleepwear—helped smear oil stains on his face and space armor to make him look like he'd been working tirelessly.
After preparing the scene, William opened a portal to Mars, stepped through, and started his broadcast. He adjusted his appearance in front of the camera, his voice trembling with feigned excitement.
"Today marks my thirtieth day on Mars," he began. "This is a monumental milestone, and I have two incredible pieces of news to share with you!"
Holding the camera drone, he approached the pots where he had planted the potatoes.
"I never imagined they would bear fruit this quickly," he said, crouching beside one plant. Gently, he dug into the soil to reveal a cluster of eight tiny, bean-sized potatoes.
"They've not only grown at nearly double the expected speed but also produced more tubers than anticipated. This plant alone has already sprouted eight small potatoes."
Viewers collectively exhaled in relief. After a month of high-stakes activities, during which millions of dollars in rewards had been distributed, many didn't want anything to go wrong for William.
"Now that we've seen the potatoes, let's move on to the second piece of news," William said, walking toward a workstation in the cargo hold. He pointed at a circular device about a meter in diameter.
"Some of you have already guessed what this is, so I won't go into much detail. But you got one thing wrong," he chuckled. "This isn't a power generator. It's an energy converter."
He put on his helmet and carefully retrieved a metal slab, about the size of a cigarette box, from a sealed container.
"This little thing here... Well, I won't tell you what it's called. No need to risk complications." He inserted the slab into the converter and continued, "What you do need to know is that this device simply converts energy. The spaceship's hull has always been capable of absorbing solar and thermal energy, but the efficiency is far lower than using direct nuclear power."
Carrying the converter, William exited the spaceship and placed it under direct sunlight. He then connected a cable from the ship's engine to the device.
"If my calculations are correct," he explained, "the spaceship can absorb enough solar and geothermal energy to sustain both itself and the potato farm. I plan to move the ship near Olympus Mons, where I'll blast open a crater to expose magma.
"By alternating twelve-hour cycles between sunlight and volcanic heat, I estimate it'll take twenty days to fully charge one energy slab. In ten months, with fifteen fully charged slabs, I'll have enough power to fly back to Earth."
Even if this makeshift converter turned out to be ineffective, William wasn't worried. He could always open a portal to his secret X17 base and retrieve fully charged nuclear energy slabs. What he said to the audience would become reality through sheer will—or rather, technological deception.
A moment later, the converter's indicator light activated, signaling that it was drawing power.
"Ha! It works!" William exclaimed, grinning.
Viewers on Earth were awestruck. Was this the difference between a genius and an ordinary person? He had cobbled together a revolutionary energy converter using spare parts from the spaceship and a bit of improvisation.
In academic circles, many speculated that the device's efficiency must be remarkably high to charge an entire energy slab in just twenty days. Some experts even claimed that, if brought to Earth, such a converter could render external power grids obsolete for individual households.
This revelation sparked a frenzy in the investment world. Investors rushed to buy shares in the England Electric Company, speculating that William's technology would further reduce their operating costs and bring them closer to monopolizing the UK's energy market.
Even if the company achieved monopoly status, critics would find it difficult to challenge them legally. After all, if prices were lower than both past rates and neighboring countries' tariffs, who would demand the company's breakup? Voters would likely oust any politician foolish enough to attempt it.
Meanwhile, factions that had been plotting against William hesitated. Now that he could independently generate power, any sabotage attempts seemed futile.
Amelia, aware of plans by certain vampire factions to attack Lena, immediately ordered them to stand down. Those who disobeyed were either eliminated by her spies or handed over to Selene for execution.
Alexander Pierce, leader of Hydra, watched the broadcast with a dark expression. Seeing the fully operational converter, he muttered,
"If you can bring yourself back to Earth... How the hell am I supposed to recruit you into Hydra?"
(End of Chapter)
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