"Commander," Leah said, seeming to see through his hesitation. "Based on my analysis of that energy signature and its demonstrated high adaptability and transformation capabilities, the success rate of conventional and deep purification methods... is less than 17.3%. It's very likely that when attacked, it will enter a state of 'dormancy' or 'energy absorption,' or even use the attack energy to accelerate its spread."
Rex pounded the console in frustration. "What then? Just watch?"
Kane remained silent, his thoughts returning to the lab, to the fragment of information he had received when he had contacted the alien device—the regional spacetime stabilization field.
Destruction... might not be the best solution. Isolation was the strategy the unknown alien race was attempting.
A bold plan, combining existing resources with alien technological ideas, gradually took shape in his mind.
"No, we won't attack it directly," Kane finally said, his voice steady and resolute.
"What?" Rex and Leah were stunned.
"Leah, immediately analyze the geological structure of planet G-173c, especially the weak points in the crust and the major geological fault zones beneath the outpost!" Kane quickly ordered.
"Rex, prepare the 'Apocalypse' bomb, but disable its standard detonation procedure. I want you to convert it into a 'deep drilling seismic wave generator'! Convert the explosive energy as much as possible into a powerful shock wave of a specific frequency that propagates deep into the crust!"
The data stream in Leah's eyes instantly accelerated: "Understood! Analyze the geological structure... Find structural weaknesses..." She immediately understood Kane's intention.
Rex looked bewildered. "Shockwave generator? Sir, we're not going to blow it up? What can we do with shockwaves? Give it a massage?"
"Not a massage," Kane said, walking over to the star map and pointing at planet G-173c. "What we're going to do isn't to destroy it with the intense heat and pressure of the explosion. Instead, we're going to use the massive energy shock to artificially induce a global, unprecedented, and violent crustal movement! Trigger a chain reaction of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, ideally altering the planet's axial tilt and even its orbit!"
Rex's scanning eyes widened. "Change... the planet's orbit? Oh my god... this..."
"The goal is to completely alter the planet's environment!" Kane explained, his tone a scientist's calm and cruel. "It's going to leave the habitable zone, cool the core, dissipate the magnetic field, and strip away the atmosphere to the stellar wind... ultimately... "It will become a completely dead, cold, frozen rock devoid of any energy or matter!"
He paused, looking at the grayish-white area on the screen. "That crystal requires energy and matter to transform and expand. If we could deprive it of all its 'food,' trapping it in an energy-depleted, material-stable 'prison,' it might be unable to grow further, or even forced into a state of permanent 'stasis.' This would be less risky than attacking it directly, and the effects could be more lasting."
Liya immediately responded, "It's theoretically possible! Drastic changes in the celestial environment, especially the loss of stellar light and internal geothermal heat, would severely suppress any known life or anomalous activity. This would effectively create a natural, massive 'regional spacetime stability field' for it! The estimated success rate... could be raised to 68.5%!"