As soon as Facebook's premium membership reached 200 million, William once again broadcast live to over 2 billion people worldwide. He randomly selected 10 potatoes from his previous harvest, cut them into quarters, and planted them in 40 pots.
While planting, he taunted the viewers with a grin:
"Let me give you a bit of advice: be cautious about your guesses this time. I've got 70+ kilos of potatoes now, so I'm no longer worried about food.
Don't expect me to pamper these plants like last time. Realistically speaking, with the baseline data from the first batch, even if I leave them to grow on their own, the harvest won't drop below 20 kilos."
"FK!"
"Damn it, Devonshire!"
The chat erupted with insults and curses.
At least 200 million viewers who had been tricked once were now on guard. No one believed William's claim that the yield might be halved. Even if production dropped significantly, 38 kilos was still within reason.
The audience couldn't help but marvel at William's cunning. He had already profited massively from the first round, and now he had the audacity to try and pull the same trick twice.
Time passed quickly, and 15 more days flew by. The second batch of potatoes had sprouted, and the second energy panel on the spaceship was only five to six days away from being fully charged. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
On this day, William continued his usual live broadcast, showing viewers the barren beauty of Mars as he piloted the spaceship toward the Olympus Mons volcano.
A month earlier, William had pierced through the volcano's thick crust of cooled lava using his improvised energy weapon. While magma had briefly surfaced, it quickly solidified due to the low temperatures at the summit.
To maintain the energy absorption process, William had resorted to plugging the magma opening with his spaceship.
Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, has an average magma temperature of 1,300 degrees Celsius, while the ship's exterior could withstand temperatures over 4,000 degrees.
Under normal conditions, the ship could even submerge in magma without sustaining any damage. Over the past month, just as Sunday had predicted, the inactive tectonic activity on Mars meant that the volcano showed no signs of a natural eruption.
But William had no intention of leaving Olympus Mons in peace.
Arriving at the summit, he repeated his routine: firing his energy weapon to break the solid crust, revealing the slow-flowing magma beneath.
However, this time, he quietly introduced a new element—a small, specially designed red mercury nuclear device—into the magma chamber. The device began sinking deep into the volcano, awaiting detonation.
Unlike traditional explosives that would require tens of tons to trigger an eruption, the red mercury device, though significantly smaller, packed immense destructive potential.
William parked his spaceship at the magma opening and filmed the scene for his viewers. Molten rock bubbled and hissed around the ship's base as he narrated the process.
"Right now, I'm probably the first person to use a spaceship to harness magma as an energy source," he chuckled. "And also the most unlucky person to be forced to rely on inefficient energy when I have access to far superior options."
Many viewers laughed in agreement, but William's tone turned more serious.
"People have been asking me on Facebook why I don't search for alternative energy sources on Mars. The truth is… it's not that I don't know how to create them—it's that I can't build them on Earth."
He sighed. "Frankly, nuclear energy feels primitive to me. There are far more powerful, clean alternatives out there. For example..."
William paused dramatically before adding, "I've designed engines capable of far greater output than what this spaceship can currently handle. Because of that, I never bothered installing equipment to extract radioactive materials on Mars."
His words sent shockwaves across the internet. Viewers hadn't expected him to reveal such groundbreaking information.
But William wasn't done. He continued with a bombshell:
"Oh, by the way, I've heard that a European research institute is experimenting with antimatter. As a fellow Earthling, let me give you all a friendly warning:
Antimatter is incredibly dangerous. The hardest part isn't creating it—it's storing it safely.
Outside of a vacuum, even the tiniest contact with air will trigger an explosion. A piece of antimatter the size of a fingernail could obliterate all of London in an instant.
When I first obtained some, I immediately destroyed all related data and equipment. Instead, I focused on developing a safer alternative—the Arc Reactor.
The Arc Reactor isn't as powerful as antimatter, but it's much more stable. If something goes wrong, the energy can be safely dispersed into space without causing catastrophic damage."
For ordinary viewers, this sounded like William showing off again. But for scientists and government officials, the implications were terrifying.
William's casual mention of destroying data raised a chilling possibility: could he recreate antimatter technology whenever he wanted?
Those familiar with red mercury weaponry were even more alarmed. Just how paranoid was William to keep such devastating weapons at his disposal?
Unbeknownst to William, his comments about antimatter caught the attention of several powerful groups, who immediately began plotting to acquire the technology.
However, William himself remained unaware and unfazed. He even looked forward to visiting the European facility someday to see if Sunday could hack their servers and uncover the secrets of antimatter production.
He reasoned that X17, with its vast landmass three times that of Earth, would provide ample space for safe experiments.
Even if something went wrong, as long as he controlled the quantity of antimatter, the resulting explosion would only be slightly more powerful than a nuclear blast.
Of course, unveiling antimatter technology on Earth would undoubtedly terrify world leaders. A few hundred kilograms of the substance could theoretically destroy half the planet's surface, triggering catastrophic climate change and mass extinction.
As William pondered these scenarios, Sunday suddenly interrupted:
"Sir, the red mercury device has now reached a depth of 100 meters inside Olympus Mons.
For safety reasons, I'll have to initiate self-destruction if it isn't detonated soon. Allowing a full-scale eruption could worsen Mars' climate for decades or even centuries, making future mining operations exponentially more difficult."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]