Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [354]

L Gate—an intersectional system deep within the star cluster—had become the stage for a tense standoff.

A vast fleet of warships stood in formation, poised like a pack of predators ready to strike, silently confronting an unseen presence.

In this charged atmosphere, Chen Lin stepped out from the void, carrying a young girl on his shoulder. He glanced around and found that his chosen arrival point was just right—it was directly in the command core of the target vessel, specifically the Fleet Commander’s office.

Without much thought, he casually tossed the half-conscious girl onto a nearby sofa, then took a seat beside her, waiting in silence.

It wasn’t long before the room’s doors swung open. Upon seeing Chen Lin, Seele entered with a hint of surprise and confusion.

"Brother Lin, you’re here! Hurry, tell me what we should do next..."

"Relax, they haven’t attacked you. No need to be so tense."

"But that monster was fighting us just a while ago!!" Seele protested.

Behind her, a female adjutant saluted upon entering the room, then silently shut the door.

She was certain she had a full grasp of every crew member’s movements aboard this ship. So where exactly had the Governor come from? He was supposed to be at Qlipoth Fort—how did he suddenly appear here?

Despite her curiosity, she chose to remain silent, as a disciplined officer should. Matters concerning high-ranking figures were beyond her pay grade. The best course of action was to stand guard outside and avoid overhearing things she shouldn’t. Otherwise, she might have to trouble a Psionic Corps telepath to seal away her memories…

Seele’s gaze unconsciously drifted to the girl lying on the sofa, a flicker of doubt flashing in her eyes.

She recognized her—none other than Chen Lin’s young apprentice, Li Sushang. However, the girl seemed disoriented, as if she had gone through something significant.

At Chen Lin’s signal, Seele took a deep breath and gradually calmed herself. Straightening her posture, she began to detail the situation at hand.

Six system-hours ago, two main fleets had successfully rendezvoused, securing a strategic foothold in this crucial star map sector. Their initial advance had gone exceptionally well.

But just as the fleets had regrouped, a research vessel detected an L-Drake exhibiting strange behavior within this system.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a big deal—just another L-Drake. If it attacked, they’d simply fight back. But this one was different.

Originally, it had been resting in deep orbit around an oceanic planet, concealed from sight. The sudden approach of the research vessel and its two escort frigates startled it awake.

Yet, bizarrely, it did not attack. Instead, after circling the trembling research vessel and the battle-ready frigates a couple of times, it lost interest and drifted away. It had since been aimlessly wandering the star system, behaving like an interstellar drifter.

This strange conduct reminded Seele of the odd L-Drakes she had encountered when leading her fleet through a super pulsar system. Those dragons hadn’t attacked either; rather, they had been obsessively chasing down other L-Drakes, even going so far as to attack their own kind.

Neither of the fleet commanders could make sense of this anomaly. After a brief discussion, they decided to report the matter back.

Upon hearing this, Chen Lin announced that he would come personally to investigate and instructed the fleet not to engage unless absolutely necessary—to maintain a peaceful stance if possible.

And so, here he was—physically present on Seele’s psionic cruiser flagship, bringing along his unconscious apprentice for reasons unknown.

Listening to Seele’s report and considering the strange incident from earlier that morning—where an event flagged by the system as "Impossible Neglect" had suddenly popped up—Chen Lin was now entirely certain:

That wandering L-Drake was a tamable unit.

[Strangely Behaving L-Drake]

[A research vessel from the frontline fleet has discovered an L-Drake in the B-3 system of the L-Cluster. Unlike previous encounters, this one does not appear hostile toward our ships.]

[It wanders between planets within the system, seemingly searching for something. Scientists are baffled by this behavior...]

[1. I will attempt to communicate with it personally. (Initiate Special Project: Establish Communication Channel with the L-Drake) (Note: This event must be overseen by the special leader Chen Lin.)]

[2. Welcome a new member to the interstellar zoo~ (Initiate Special Project: Enslave the L-Drake)]

[3. Ridiculous—attack it! (Gain Influence: 160; Gain Engineering Research: 21,481; Gain Sociology Research: 19,729)]

[4. Interesting. (No effect)]

This event differed from others in a crucial way: if Chen Lin wanted to choose the first option, he had to personally reach the frontline. The option would remain grayed out unless he was physically present—it simply wouldn’t be selectable otherwise.

Options 2 and 3 were standard in the game. Choosing option 2 would enslave the L-Drake, while option 3 would allow players to kill it in exchange for what Paradox Interactive called "a large number" of research points. Incidentally, this would also provide indirect insight into the true origins of the L-Drakes.

As for option 4?

Who in their right mind would pick that...?

The moment he selected option 1, a new special project, [Establish Communication Channel with the L-Drake], appeared in the [Intel Log] under the L-Cluster category. Meanwhile, another unfinished event, [Unknown Signals from the L Gate: Second Battlefield], remained unresolved from the initial invasion.

Clicking on the tracker for this Second Battlefield event, Chen Lin saw that it required a research vessel to head deep into unexplored territory—far beyond his current reach.

[Establish Communication Channel with the L-Drake]

[Research vessels tracking the L-Drake have discovered that it exhibits strong responses to communication broadcasts using enemy identification system wavelengths.]

[By adjusting these wavelengths and frequencies, different variations in response can be observed. Additionally, researchers have found that the L-Drake reacts even more intensely to psionic energy signals.]

[Just moments ago, the L-Drake had a close encounter with the Smirnov research vessel. The researchers aboard successfully used psionic signals to steer it away from the ship...]

[A transport vessel carrying Chen Lin must approach the wandering L-Drake: 0/1]

Clearly, now that he had chosen option 1, Chen Lin himself was a necessary component for this special project. This was the primary reason he had come all the way to the frontline.

Just as he had suspected.

Closing the UI in front of her, Seele was still anxiously talking about the L-Drake’s unpredictable temperament. But the moment she saw Chen Lin raise his hand, she quickly summed up her thoughts and asked, “In short, something about this whole situation feels off… Brother Lin, what’s your plan?”

What’s the plan? Let me take a look at this event I’ve never seen before…

Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.

Chen Lin pondered for a moment, his brows slightly furrowed, giving the impression that he was carefully considering the best way to handle the situation.

Seele clasped her hands together between her knees, lips pressed tightly shut, waiting intently for her all-knowing Brother Lin to speak. She hoped he would come up with a solid solution.

As Chen Lin finally began to speak, her heartbeat quickened.

“I’ll go meet it.”

“?”

Seele was stunned for a moment. She quickly steadied herself, assuming Chen Lin hadn’t grasped the true danger of an L-Drake, and hurriedly said, “Brother Lin, that thing is—”

“I know,” Chen Lin interrupted. “But this one is different. The Empire has tamed similar space creatures in the past, and this L-Drake’s behavior meets the necessary criteria. I think it’d be pretty fun to keep one. If taming it doesn’t work, we can always resort to force later.”

As he spoke, he glanced down at Li Sushang, who was slowly regaining consciousness. Her eyes were still closed, her awareness muddled, but her body wasn’t staying still—twitching here, shifting there.

“This is a good opportunity for her to broaden her horizons. If she keeps restricting her own thinking while using psionics, she’ll stagnate.”

So that’s why Brother Lin brought Sushang along…

Seele understood that Chen Lin never made decisions lightly. If he had already settled on a course of action, the only way to change his mind would be to fundamentally convince him otherwise.

But what could she say?

That L-Drake had zero aggression. Brother Lin might not be the best at everything, but when it came to running away, he was unparalleled. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get from Belobog to the frontlines in record time…

In the past, it had always been Bronya who strategized with Chen Lin. Those two political figures handled all the talking, while Seele—whenever possible—preferred action over words.

“…Then I’m coming with you!”

Though she agreed to the plan, the slight pout on her lips betrayed her lingering concerns about Chen Lin’s approach.

Keeping small pets like cats and dogs? That made sense. After all, who didn’t love adorable, fluffy creatures? Even keeping a foxian like the Chief Guard as a pet wasn’t too bad—she was likable, and Seele had been eyeing those ears for a long time now.

But an L-Drake?

There was nothing cute about that thing.

Unless terrifying someone to the brink of wetting themselves counted as cute…

“No problem,” Chen Lin said. “I’ve already ordered the ship to start moving in. Have your people prepare a transport vessel. The sooner we go, the better.”

“Huh? I didn’t give that or—”

Seele stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that he was technically the one in charge of both ground and space forces. She just didn’t know when he had given the fleet its orders. Weren’t they just in the middle of their briefing?

…Whatever. Doesn’t matter. As long as there’s a fight, that’s enough for me.

Back on the surface, she had fought battle after battle. Now, she was doing the same among the stars. This "speak less, punch more" lifestyle suited her perfectly, and she wouldn’t mind more of it in the future.

Calling in her adjutant from outside, Seele relayed the orders for the transport vessel. Meanwhile, Li Sushang, who had suffered a severe blow to the head, finally stirred awake.

Ah… that familiar ceiling…

Wait—this isn’t Yaoqing’s clinic!

Li Sushang shot up in a panic. As her vision gradually cleared, she caught sight of the adjutant leaving to carry out her orders, her master standing beside her, and… her master?

Her last memory was of her master smiling as he told her he would personally tutor her—

He had asked her to lean in, saying he had something important to teach her.

Curious about what kind of knowledge was so vital, Li Sushang had obediently moved her head closer—

And then everything had gone black. She’d collapsed on the spot, and just before her consciousness faded, she vaguely remembered hearing her master muttering something like “The quiet suffer fewer troubles,” “The cautious make fewer mistakes,” “A weight unmeasured may seem light,” and “But placed on the scale, even a thousand pounds can’t hold it down.”

What in the world did that even mean?

Feeling the swollen lump on her head, Li Sushang decided not to think too much about it. Rubbing her eyes, she shrank back slightly and called out in a dry voice, “Master… Shifu…”

At the same time, her clear, innocent eyes scanned her surroundings.

When she caught sight of the holographic star map nearby and the vast, boundless cosmos beyond the transparent glass, she immediately understood—

I’m not in Belobog anymore…

How long have I been asleep?!

Chen Lin helped steady his apprentice, casually teasing, “Oh? That was a quick wake-up. You Xianzhou folks really are built different.”

Seele didn’t say anything in response to Li Sushang’s greeting—just nodded briefly before getting up to pour herself another drink. Most of her attention remained focused on the potential threat posed by the L-Drake and how to mitigate it.

“…Um, Master, how long was I out?”

“Not even half an hour. What do you think I was surprised about?”

“…Hah?” Li Sushang’s eyes widened. “Then—where are we now?”

Chen Lin gestured around them and chuckled. “You could probably figure that out yourself. We’re at the frontline of the L-Gate battlefield. There’s some business here, so I brought you along. If you keep shutting yourself in, you’ll struggle to adapt to the real world when you step outside.”

“Oh, oh, oh! Got it—”

Li Sushang accepted this explanation without a second thought, brushing off the fact that she’d been knocked unconscious.

Maybe in her mind, getting smacked by her master was just normal. If he didn’t hit her, then she’d start worrying—wondering if he had finally given up on his stupid apprentice.

Besides, her master was like those supreme experts she used to read about in illustrated storybooks as a kid. To someone like him, reshaping the heavens and overturning the seas was basic stuff. Crossing hundreds of light-years in half an hour? Totally normal.

No need to make a big deal out of it.

Chen Lin, who had been all set to deliver a profound speech, suddenly looked like he’d just tasted an overcooked dish that had gone mushy.

After thinking it over, he realized—his airheaded little apprentice was probably the only person in this era who could experience a Shroud Transit and remain completely unfazed.

Damn… missed a perfect chance to show off as her master. What a shame…

Just then, Seele’s mind jolted with a thought. Interrupting her emergency assessment of the L-Drake situation, she turned and asked, “Oh, right! Brother Lin, why didn’t your hacker assistant come along?”

Since she had been keeping in constant contact with Qlipoth Fort, Seele was well aware that after Phantylia’s Third Fleet had stayed behind to defend their territory, the work that originally fell to Phantylia had ended up in the hands of a certain Stellaron Hunter—a young girl who had recently appeared at Qlipoth Fort.

Silver Wolf was now Chen Lin’s assistant.

And the fact that he had agreed to this arrangement meant one thing: he trusted her.

Otherwise, he never would’ve let her take on that role…

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This is a fan translation of 在星穹铁道点群星科技树真的没问题吗? by 杏雨诗韵 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!