Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [349]

A whole swarm of L-Drakes?

The exact number was impossible to determine from this distance. No matter how advanced the ship’s sensors were, they couldn’t track the movements of every single L-Drake. Otherwise, there’d be no need for Chen Lin to manually check the star map—frontline forces would be able to deploy in real time based on incoming data.

He already knew the L-Gate didn’t just contain a single L-Drake. In the past, he had captured eight from within, so it wasn’t unheard of to find multiple of them gathered there.

But considering that the last skirmish inside the L-Gate hadn’t been that long ago, there was no reason for the L-Drakes to have regrouped in such large numbers this quickly.

Not to mention…

They had no formation.
Their movements were chaotic.
They looked like a swarm of headless flies, frantically scattering in every direction…

What the hell were they running from?

Unfortunately, the star map couldn’t provide details on a region they hadn’t entered yet. The only confirmed data was that a large number of L-Drake-like entities were currently in full retreat—everything else was unknown.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Lin decided to take the safest approach for scouting the next unexplored system.

He immediately ordered the Second Fleet to stand by, with jump drives prepped for rapid deployment. Meanwhile, the First Fleet would move in first, maintaining formation, to assess the situation.

You don’t stop just because something looks dangerous.
You don’t freeze just because the unknown is intimidating.

Most advantages in war don’t fall from the sky.
You create them. You seize them. You fight for them.

A familiar voice echoed in his mind—Seele’s voice, sharp and serious.

"Brother Lin, what’s the next move?"

"Keep battle formations tight and move in directly. I’ve got the Second Fleet’s jump drives preheated—they can reinforce you at any moment. Same for the Third Fleet."

"Got it!"

The advance fleet remained on high alert.

In an unknown star cluster, danger could erupt at any moment. Everyone had to be at full combat readiness.

Since their Supreme Commander had already spoken, Seele wasted no time—she immediately stood up and ordered her adjutant to relay commands to the fleet: "Full speed ahead to the next system!"

Chen Lin continued, "Focus on reconnaissance first. Preserve our combat strength. Do not get dragged into unnecessary fights. If needed, execute emergency warp retreat strategies and regroup. Once we confirm the situation, we’ll strike back. They take down one of our ships? We’ll return the favor tenfold."

"Copy that!" Seele responded enthusiastically.

Space warfare wasn’t like ground combat—it rarely involved two armies locked in a prolonged stalemate.

In interstellar battles, conflicts didn’t last months or years.

There was no room for hesitation.

Decision-making time was drastically shorter. Finding the right moment to strike was absolutely critical.

Surviving forces were the most valuable resource in war.
Retreating wasn’t a loss—but losing an entire fleet? That was a crippling blow.

Warships were not easy to replace. Lost fleets couldn’t be recovered or repaired easily. The resources needed to rebuild could leave an entire civilization vulnerable.

Any opponent with a brain would immediately push forward aggressively after wiping out an enemy fleet.

And once they lost their main battle groups, they would lose space superiority.

At that point—things would spiral out of control.

Seele was an aggressive tactician, highly capable in frontline command. But that didn’t mean she had full control over the broader strategic situation.

That was why Chen Lin made sure to remind her—
"If things go south, don’t hesitate. Fall back."

"Running isn’t cowardice. It’s knowing when to strike back."

In theory, it was called strategic mobility.
In practice, it meant not getting trapped in an ambush.

What worried him was the massive swarm of L-Drakes—
And the clear signs that a major battle had already occurred deeper in the cluster.

There was no way L-Drakes were the only ones here.

L-Drakes might not be intelligent, but other entities inside the L-Gate were.

Chen Lin wasn’t reckless enough to risk his entire military force gambling on an uncertain scenario.

And unlike the original version of Stellaris, where the L-Gate was just a glorified loot box, this version wasn’t something he could easily bulldoze through by preemptively blowing up a few ships.

After ending his communication with Seele, Chen Lin contacted the Second and Third Fleets, ensuring they were ready for instant deployment.

Only after finalizing these preparations did he turn back toward Silver Wolf.

"That answers your question."

"Just remember to cooperate when the time comes."

"Whether we succeed or fail, I’ll count this as a major contribution on your part."

"Oh?"

Silver Wolf stared at him, intrigued.

"A major contribution, huh? What exactly does that get me?"

Chen Lin smirked. "It means I’ll do one thing for you—something within reason."

Hearing this, Silver Wolf clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Ooooh~! Sounds good to me! You better not go back on your word!"

Chen Lin nodded.

"I, Chen Lin, am a man of my word."

"I said I’d wipe out the Architect’s family? I wiped out the Architect’s family."
"I said I’d annihilate the Rilusian civilization? I annihilated the Rilusian civilization."

"I don’t make empty promises."

Silver Wolf: "…"

Damn. That’s some next-level "honesty."

Silver Wolf absentmindedly munched on the snacks laid out on the table, idly thinking—

This guy’s really not bad.

For his own people, he was practically omnipotent—never fussing over costs or profits, always willing to grant their requests.

...Though he did seem a little vindictive.

She had heard that back when Chen Lin was active in Belobog, he had been deeply dissatisfied with the city’s noble class. Many of his actions had outright trampled on their authority, pushing them to the brink—forcing them to take action against this "alien outsider" before he dismantled their power entirely.

But the moment they made their move, the Empire’s warships arrived at Jarilo-VI.

Chen Lin faked his death—a ploy that successfully ignited the long-brewing tensions within Belobog. And in the chaos that followed, he smoothly took control of the city.

As for the noble Architect families that he despised?

Every last one of them—

—wiped out on the day the unification treaty was signed.

Except for the Landau family, none were spared.

Meticulous, calculating, ruthless.

But in the end, even he had miscalculated—just once.

Silver Wolf blinked as she watched Chen Lin immersed in his work once more.

She thought of something amusing.

Who says the Masked Fools always have to work against you?

Heh~

---

With the warfront pushing forward at high speed, the supply lines were being stretched thin. The construction of supply stations—outposts—could only be handled by the two engineering ships stationed within the L-Cluster.

Outposts required one of two conditions to be built:
1. Chen Lin had to be physically present in the region.
2. Engineering ships under his direct control had to construct them.

Unfortunately—

Outpost construction was far slower than fleet movement.

As of today, the engineering ships had only managed to complete a single outpost within the L-Cluster. This outpost had since been upgraded, transitioning from a mere territorial marker into a fully operational defense platform.

Leading dozens of warships, Seele spearheaded the fleet toward their target system.

The distance between the two systems was immense.

It took nearly four days for the fleet to fully emerge from the Dark Zone.

As they exited the hyperspace slipstream, the fleet formally arrived in the next stellar system.

A pair of long, toned legs paced restlessly back and forth.

Every deliberate step echoed against the cold metal floor—each sound carrying the urgency of its owner’s impatience.

Seele’s gaze remained locked onto the dust clouds outside the observation window—distant light fluctuations casting eerie, shifting hues across the vast expanse.

Since their arrival, the research ship accompanying the fleet had reported anomalous conditions in this system.

Specifically—

The density of interstellar medium surrounding this system was far higher than any of the previous ones.

That alone wasn’t enough to unnerve her.

What truly set Seele on edge was what had been detected the moment they first entered the L-Gate.

A supermassive pulsar.

One with a rotational period of just 4 microseconds.

Observations suggested that, size-wise, it was only as large as Belobog.

But in terms of density?

It far exceeded any normal pulsar.

It was common knowledge—

A charged celestial object, spinning at ultra-high speeds, and possessing extreme density—
Would naturally generate a powerful magnetic field.

But this pulsar wasn’t just magnetic.

Its magnetic field was absurd.

The pulsar’s electromagnetic radiation beams, emitted from its magnetic poles, had an incredibly disruptive effect on standard energy deflectors.

Even though every ship in the fleet was equipped with Psionic Shield Emitters, those shields still relied on the same underlying principles as traditional energy deflectors.

The only difference was that instead of consuming "electricity," the psionic shields were powered by "psionic energy" channeled by psionic users.

Under normal electromagnetic interference, psionic shields experienced only minor weakening—
A loss of about 30% effectiveness.

Nothing too serious.

However—

The electromagnetic beams in this system were… different.

The moment the First Fleet entered combat readiness,

Every single psionic shield collapsed.

The Psionic Shield Emitters failed instantly—overwhelmed by the pulsar’s intense radiation.

Even the strongest psionicists aboard the fleet—
Even Seele herself—

Could barely maintain a thin layer of psionic shielding around their own bodies.

In addition to the severe sensor interference, signals were frequently failing to register properly or returning inaccurate readings.

Furthermore, gravitational waves in the system were reducing engine efficiency. Any subspace travel exceeding a certain speed risked an uncontrolled stall.

This system was incredibly dangerous—this was no joke.

A department head from the observation room, drenched in sweat, hurriedly approached Seele, snapping to attention before handing over the latest sensor data maps.

"Commander, the scans are complete. This is the subspace fluctuation map we’ve compiled so far. The disturbances are primarily concentrated in these locations…"

"Let me see."

Seele took the report and examined it carefully.

She noted that most of the anomalous fluctuation points were far from the fleet's current position, primarily clustering around two major transit routes.

A few disturbances, however, were heading their way.

Or rather—they weren’t targeting the fleet directly, but rather the star lane leading behind them, toward the A-2 system.

Right now, Seele’s position was at A-2-1-1-1-2—three single-route star systems away from their point of origin.

They had to cross this system in order to successfully rendezvous with the Second Fleet and complete their first strategic push.

Nobody had expected trouble so soon.

Yet here they were—a massive swarm of L-Drakes, swarming right through their planned route.

Do you have any idea how much trouble you're causing me?!

Do you know how long I spent preparing that proposal gift?!

Frankly, Seele was pissed.

If it weren’t for the L-Drakes' absurdly durable armor, kinetic weapons would have been far more effective against them…

A lot of room for improvement, really.

This was evident from battle reports from their first encounter—the highest kill count had been achieved by two psionic cruisers commanded by fleet officers.

These flagships, built from psionic shipyards, were equipped exclusively with precision energy weapons.

Most notably—

The twelve particle lance cannons mounted on their bows.

These cannons were so effective that even a single cruiser could engage an L-Drake one-on-one and come out victorious, thanks to their high maneuverability and focused firepower.

Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet struggled significantly.

Standard cruisers, in particular, had been modified under Chen Lin’s orders to accommodate a mixed-weapon approach—allowing for engagements at long, mid, and close-range combat.

Versatile, but not specialized.

If every ship had been equipped solely with laser-based weaponry, that battle might have ended without a single loss—a flawless victory within reach.

However, Chen Lin had carefully studied numerous war game simulations, taking into account the presence of highly mobile, high-firepower units.

As a result, he had mandated that all ships (except for flagships) maintain a balanced combat loadout.

Seele had once asked Chen Lin if he ever regretted this decision.

Had he opted for a more aggressive approach, the fleets wouldn’t have needed such a long recovery period—nor would they have lost several ships.

Moreover, reporting a flawless victory would have significantly boosted the Empire’s prestige.

But Chen Lin had simply replied—

"This is the most optimal configuration."

He wasn’t going to sacrifice destroyers and frigates just to trap an entire fleet in an unwinnable engagement.

"Political gains? Small wins, even small losses—we can afford those."

"But military power is the iron fist that upholds the foundation of the Jarilo regime."

"You only need to compare the two to see which is more important."

Seele wasn’t particularly interested in politics, but…

She had to admit—he made sense.

Without space superiority, Jarilo was like a crippled warrior—no matter how unyielding their spirit, without arms and legs, they couldn’t fight back.

Just baring your teeth at the enemy wasn’t going to deter them.

Lin-ge trusted her.

He had handed over the most powerful fleet under his command for her to lead—so she had to be steady.

Steady enough that they wouldn’t even need reinforcements.

Seele sat deep in thought, absentmindedly running a hand along her thigh before shifting her gaze toward her adjutant.

"Dispatch the Chelyeva-class frigate for reconnaissance—have them carry sensor equipment and investigate ahead alone."

"All other ships are to hold position and maintain formation."

"Await further instructions."

The adjutant snapped to attention.

"Yes, ma’am!"

A single frigate, dispatched alone, venturing forward into the interference of the pulsar to conduct reconnaissance—

Everyone knew what this meant.

If they encountered an enemy, the chances of returning alive were nearly zero.

Seele was well aware of the principle—"A commander who is too merciful cannot lead an army."

But she couldn’t let fear of the system’s dangers paralyze her fleet into inaction.

Military objectives had been clearly defined—it was time to take action.

"To achieve greatness, one must endure loss."

This philosophy applied to warfare just as much as anything else.

No strategy was perfect. No plan flawless.

But the role of a fleet commander was to find a way forward, no matter how imperfect the situation.

The frigate was the key to unlocking this impasse.

It might contribute more than any of the larger warships.

Regardless of whether it succeeded or failed—

The crew would be remembered.

They would be honored.

They would be Jarilo’s heroes.

Receiving Seele’s command, the frigate’s crew did not hesitate.

Breaking off from formation, the lone vessel shot forward, navigating deeper into the star system, its hull battered by the intensifying high-energy electromagnetic radiation.

Into the unknown—toward whatever awaited in the depths of the system…

---

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!