Chapter 275: Increasing the Dosage

Back when he was deterring the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity, the hydrogen bomb ships deployed near the star were never ultimately detonated, so Li Qingsong never got to truly witness a star’s reaction to being bombarded by a massive external energy source.

Now, Li Qingsong was truly witnessing it.

One heavy transport ship carried 50,000 hydrogen bombs, so ten thousand ships meant 500 million bombs!

The total yield reached five hundred quadrillion tons of TNT!

And now, delivered by the kamikaze charge of the hydrogen bomb ships, this five hundred quadrillion tons of TNT had reached a position extremely close to the star—less than a million kilometers away. This was deep enough to be considered within the stellar atmosphere. Then, at the exact same moment, they all violently detonated.

Unparalleled temperatures and shockwaves, along with intense electromagnetic and high-energy radiation, erupted simultaneously within the atmosphere of the Lyra G16 Star.

The next moment, Li Qingsong saw the star suddenly brighten, its luminosity increasing by at least tenfold.

Originally, from the moon of Planet Three, the brightness of Lyra G16 was only comparable to that of a full moon. But now, with its sudden increase in luminosity, it was as if night had instantly turned to day.

The entire star’s magnetic field was violently affected, and its internal convection became chaotic. In an instant, countless sunspots erupted. Vast amounts of stellar matter were ejected into space due to a combination of factors. An extremely violent stellar wind burst forth, sweeping through the entire star system with unparalleled force.

Such a peculiar and drastic change in luminosity would almost certainly be noticed by external observers, who would then deduce that the star had been affected by some form of technology.

But at this moment, Li Qingsong couldn’t care less about that.

‘You Electromagnetic Creatures already made such a huge scene. If we were going to be exposed, it would have happened long ago. Why should I care about that now?’

‘Right now, I just want to annihilate you all!’

The violent changes on the star only began to subside after a full year. Observing the star again, Li Qingsong saw that the biological signature created by the Electromagnetic Creatures had vanished completely, no longer in existence.

Phew…

Li Qingsong let out a soft sigh.

‘Finally, this trouble is solved. Now I can finally develop my technology and prepare for war without any interference or disruption.’

But the good times didn’t last. Not long after, less than two years later, Li Qingsong was shocked to see that the biological signature created by the Electromagnetic Creatures had reappeared on Lyra G16!

Vast, regular patches of low-radiation and low-temperature zones appeared on its surface once again. The luminosity of different areas began to change in a patterned way, as if sprawling cities of intelligent life had appeared on the star’s surface!

Damn it!

Li Qingsong cursed fiercely.

Shortly after the biological signature appeared, the laser-like attacks, powered by the star’s energy, began again. Li Qingsong’s various construction projects and interstellar transport were once again severely affected.

Li Qingsong knew that back on Earth, there was an animal called a porcupine, its body covered in sharp quills. When attacked, it could launch its quills, turning them into “darts” to strike its opponent.

And now, the entire Lyra G16 Star seemed to have transformed into a porcupine. Its “quills” flew out endlessly, indiscriminately attacking every single one of his spaceships and space bases!

A ruthless resolve formed in Li Qingsong’s heart as his anger slowly built.

“There’s no end to this, is there? You’re just asking for death…

“If ten thousand hydrogen bomb ships with a yield of five hundred quadrillion tons of TNT can’t get rid of you, then I’ll just up the dosage! Let’s do it again!”

The production of giant hydrogen bombs was an extremely complex, precise, and resource-intensive task. Previously, producing 500 million hydrogen bombs, each with a yield of one billion tons of TNT, had already consumed a significant portion of Li Qingsong’s industrial capacity. But now, Li Qingsong unhesitatingly upped the ante again.

This time, Li Qingsong was going to produce 1.5 billion giant hydrogen bombs and manufacture thirty thousand hydrogen bomb ships, directly increasing the intensity of the stellar cleansing to three times the previous attempt!

To put it in perspective, the number of giant hydrogen bombs used to deter the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity in the Pegasus V432 Star System was only one billion.

And the mass of the Lyra G16 Star was much smaller than that of the Pegasus V432 Star. Hydrogen bombs of the same yield would therefore have a much greater impact on it.

Li Qingsong diverted 10% of his industrial capacity and invested it into the production of giant hydrogen bombs.

It wasn’t that Li Qingsong didn’t want to divert more, but other tasks like technological research and development had to proceed concurrently and could not be delayed.

At this point, Li Qingsong’s total industrial capacity was at least ten times greater than that of a conventional intelligent civilization at the same technological level. That 10% was equivalent to at least one Strong Core Level conventional intelligent civilization mobilizing its entire industrial might to go all-out producing giant hydrogen bombs!

But even so, it still took Li Qingsong about 10 years to complete the production.

Then, a full thirty thousand ships, laden with giant hydrogen bombs, once again approached the edge of the star. Following Li Qingsong’s command, they repeated the same suicidal attack pattern as before, desperately charging to a point less than a million kilometers from the star’s surface before violently detonating.

And so, the skies of every planet in the Lyra G16 Star System lit up once again.

The star was like a lion that had been stabbed, its full ferocity unleashed. It roared violently, wantonly unleashing its world-destroying energy.

This time, it took more than two full years for the star to mostly calm down. Still, noticeable remnants of stellar activity remained, which were projected to persist for at least a million years before it could fully return to its former state.

But just as the star had mostly calmed down, Li Qingsong saw it: the biological signature had appeared on its surface once again!

Despite this cleansing with a much larger “dosage,” the Electromagnetic Calamity Life actually recovered even faster than before!

Before long, the star had once again turned into a porcupine, resuming its attacks on Li Qingsong’s various ships and facilities.

This time, the situation was giving Li Qingsong a real headache.

‘It’s like these things have gained experience from being bombed… they’ve developed a resistance…’

‘The hydrogen bomb cleansings are becoming less and less effective. But besides that, what else can I do?’

‘Or maybe… I should try negotiating.’

‘After all, this ‘thing’ is intelligent. It might be possible to reason with it…’

Drawing on the data left behind by the Harvillers, Li Qingsong used their language to transmit a message to the Lyra G16 Star at a specific frequency and the highest possible power.

“There is no fundamental conflict of interest between our two sides.