Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [340]

The research on battleship technology had officially entered the development phase. As the most beloved class of warships among Stellaris players, once battleships were fully developed, they would become a game-changing force in the ongoing war.

The Psionic Shipyard could only construct ships based on Chen Lin’s existing templates, enhancing them with psionic energy. While the costs were nearly three times that of a standard warship, its benefits were unparalleled—faster construction speeds, the ability to build multiple ships simultaneously, and exclusive psionic weapons and shields. It was the perfect way to burn through his stockpile of resources.

However, Chen Lin had no intention of waiting until his battleship fleet was complete before activating the L-Gate…

The longer you wait, the higher the risk.

Who knew if the IPC was secretly conducting its own research on damaged L-Gates in other star systems? If he hesitated any longer and let them claim the first-mover advantage, he wouldn’t even have a place to cry about it.

---

At the crack of dawn, Chen Lin’s orders were relayed to the research and engineering fleets, which had been waiting outside the L-Gate for some time.

Under the gaze of hundreds of journalists broadcasting the moment live, waves of high-energy particle streams erupted around the L-Gate…

Asteroids caught in the gate’s orbital path—especially the smaller ones—couldn’t withstand the constant bombardment. They fractured under the relentless impact, shattering into ever-smaller fragments.

"...Why did I never realize opening a gate could generate minerals?"

Inside the study of Qlipoth Fort, Chen Lin stared at his star map, where several newly appeared mineral icons had popped up near the L-Gate. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

Shaking his head, he moved his fingers over the two fully equipped fleets stationed nearby, conducting a final inspection of their configurations.

The first wave of ships entering the L-Gate consisted of two mixed-composition fleets, each boasting a combat power of a little over 4 million.

Their lineup included:

• 30 corvettes

• 12 destroyers

• 6 cruisers

• 1 army transport ship

Each fleet was led by a fully equipped psionic cruiser from the Psionic Shipyard, serving as the fleet’s flagship.

Before optimizing their weapon and armor slots, these fleets had a mere 500k combat power. But after fully outfitting them, their total strength skyrocketed to 4 million.

Unfortunately, his supply of rare resources was still a bit lacking. Aside from the flagships, he hadn’t been able to bring every ship to top-tier configurations. If he had, the combined power of both fleets would have easily exceeded 10 million.

The First Fleet was commanded by Seele.

The Second Fleet was commanded by Princess Fia—a direct descendant of the Great Khan from Sterbe Given Fia’s lack of actual combat experience, the Second Fleet’s primary mission was to support the First Fleet.

As for battle strategy, Chen Lin had delegated full tactical command to Seele and Fia.

He, on the other hand, remained in the rear—using the most overpowered "tech" of them all: a fully revealed star map.

With this omniscient strategic view, he could plan large-scale operations while keeping track of the front lines, the rear supply chains, and even the entire border region.

Enemy stealth and reconnaissance tech? Completely useless.

Ambushes? Impossible.

It was insanely convenient.

While the fleets were nominally under Seele and Fia’s command, the real final authority rested with Chen Lin.

At any moment, if necessary, he could override all fleet actions using the star map. Once his orders were issued, the ships would execute them without hesitation.

Behind him, Pela—wearing a headset—was continuously updating him on the L-Gate activation process.

"Sir, the upper-half energy emitter of the gate is expected to activate in 20 minutes. Miss Clara has confirmed that, barring any unexpected incidents, this will be the final wave of high-energy particle streams before the gate fully opens."

"Got it. Have the fleet enter quantum phasing mode ten minutes before the next burst. I want every ship intact when we cross that threshold."

"Understood."

Without delay, Pela relayed the order to the front lines, and Seele—who possessed the ability to phase her fleet into a quantum state—acknowledged the command.

---

While Qlipoth Fort buzzed with activity, the general population remained surprisingly calm.

Aside from a few citizens on leave, most people were simply busy with their daily work, carrying on as usual.

This was entirely thanks to Bronya’s masterful domestic policies and expert control over public perception.

The people of Jarilo-VI knew their nation was embarking on a dangerous mission—one that could very well escalate into a full-scale interstellar war.

But they had confidence in their military.

They understood the justice behind this war.

They knew why a potential conflict might erupt, and why their beloved Governor and Grand Guardian had chosen to strike first.

Through announcements from Qlipoth Fort, the Imperial Research Institute, and the Imperial Research Association, the public had been informed that something beyond the L-Gate was already infiltrating their universe.

Many civilizations had already been wiped out as a result.

And right here, within their own star system, stood a gateway through which these threats could emerge at any time.

Rather than sitting idly by, waiting for disaster to strike, they would take the initiative—seizing the upper hand before it was too late.

Not only that, but this preemptive strike would prevent other civilizations from falling to the same fate.

This was a just war.

A war fought to protect the weak, safeguard their homeland, and preserve the prosperity of every single citizen of the Jarilo Empire.

Even if interstellar war felt distant to the common folk, every citizen could still contribute—not by fighting, but simply by carrying on with their daily lives.

All they had to do was go to work as usual, perform their jobs diligently, and keep the economy running smoothly.

Thanks to Bronya’s flawless social mobilization strategies, trust in the government had never been higher.

With a population that believed in their leadership, many of the usual social and political risks simply disappeared on their own.

This level of stability guaranteed that their civilization could operate at peak efficiency—allowing for a long-term war economy and sustained military expansion.

A people with clear purpose, who had fully reaped the benefits of their own nation’s prosperity, and who understood why they fought—

They were invincible.

...

The last engineering drone was retrieved from the site.

BEEP—!!

A sharp alarm blared across every warship—the final warning before the high-energy particle stream struck.

As the alarm faded, Clara’s voice came through the comms.

"All—All units, please prepare. The seventh wave of v-p high-energy particle floods is incoming. Estimated duration: four minutes…"

"All units, prepare—"

"All—"

She repeated the message three times before initiating the countdown, her voice punctuated by crisp beeping sounds.

"20 (beep), 19 (beep)… 2 (beep), 1 (beep)."

At that moment, deep, resonating alarms echoed through the void.

The upper half of the L-Gate trembled slightly. Its sealed emission port began to open slowly, revealing a pale blue energy sphere gathering within.

As it charged, the surrounding space warped violently, unleashing a surge of intense radiation that blanketed the starfield.

At the same time, the lower half of the gate also began activating—revealing a massive crystal structure, its surface reflecting the cosmos like a mirror.

The structure tilted left, aligning itself into position…

As soon as it locked in place—

The energy sphere above reached critical mass.

Zzzzzzt—!!

BOOM!!

A blinding energy beam shot forth, striking the crystal.

The crystal exploded instantly, scattering countless shards into space, their dazzling light blinding every observer.

At that same moment, the particle flood surged to its peak—consuming everything in its path.

As the high-energy particle stream gradually subsided and the instruments aboard the research vessels returned to normal readings, the blinding white light in everyone’s vision finally faded.

At that moment, the upper and lower halves of the L-Gate began rotating in opposite directions, revealing a massive, glowing vortex of mist suspended in the center…

Strangely, Clara—who was stationed at the front lines—did not detect any measurable mass from the L-Gate. It was as if it existed in a completely isolated space, free from the influence of any gravitational forces—a true vacuum.

She wasn’t the only one baffled. The entire scientific team working on the L-Gate, including Serval, was completely stunned.

This should not have been possible according to their understanding of physics—at least, not based on what they knew before today.

Standing on her chair, Clara hesitated, her ruby-red eyes filled with uncertainty as she stared at the overwhelming flood of data on her console.

For the first time, she felt unsure about letting the fleet approach the L-Gate…

After a long moment of hesitation, and under the expectant gazes of the surrounding scientists, Clara decided to report the situation to Chen Lin.

Because in her mind, Big Brother was good at everything—if anyone could explain the L-Gate’s strangeness, it was him!

...

Meanwhile, inside the study at Qlipoth Fort, Chen Lin stared at the inquiry from Clara, completely dumbfounded.

How the hell would I know why the L-Gate behaves like this?!

After double-checking the star map and reviewing the intelligence logs confirming that the L-Gate had successfully activated, he simply waved his hand and sent back a reply:

"Clara, don’t worry about it. This is just part of the L-Gate’s unique properties. Leave one research ship and one engineering ship with the fleet. The rest of the research vessels should return to Skydome Fortress immediately."

Pela relayed his orders to the fleet.

The ships designated for returning to port promptly disengaged from their quantum phasing state and began their retreat along the pre-established routes.

The remaining warships, as well as the research and engineering vessels accompanying them into the L-Gate, remained in their phased state, intending to enter the unknown while maintaining their protective field.

However, an unforeseen issue arose.

Ships in a quantum phase state could not pass through the L-Gate—the conservative safety plan had failed.

Without hesitation, Seele disengaged the fleet-wide invulnerability buff and, aboard her flagship, took the lead—plunging straight into the L-Gate.

One after another, the other ships followed suit.

"Sir, we’ve lost all communication with the fleet inside the gate!" Pela’s voice was sharp with urgency.

Chen Lin, however, remained calm.

"That’s completely normal. I can still communicate with them, so don’t worry."

The L-Gate functioned similarly to a stabilized wormhole.

Wormhole travel relied on bending spacetime, creating a shortest-path hyperspace corridor between two distant locations. These were fully enclosed superluminal tunnels, constrained by the nature of conventional physics.

The L-Gate, however, was different.

It was a specialized, artificial wormhole—one that didn’t just establish a fixed route. Instead, its entrance and exit could be freely designated.

During hyperspace travel, a ship’s engines actively interfered with local spacetime, ensuring temporal synchronization between internal and external conditions. Ships in transit were wrapped in an energy layer called the Breakthrough Bubble, simulating a pseudo-jump state.

This, in turn, interfered with standard communication signals.

However—Chen Lin was an exception.

The Shroud allowed him to establish Echo Communication—a method that used an entirely different stable dimension as a relay, transmitting information directly to him.

Unlike conventional signals, which could never keep up with FTL speeds, this method had no transmission delay.

Pela, on the other hand, was using a secondary connection to The Shroud, meaning her relay had lower priority and weaker signal stability. Losing contact was expected.

That said—even Chen Lin didn’t know exactly how long it would take for the fleet to reach the other side.

Would it be a few minutes?

Or maybe a few dozen minutes?

Either way, it wouldn’t be too long—probably about the same speed as a regular jump.

After several minutes passed with no response from the fleet, Pela—though initially worried—gradually relaxed.

She glanced at Chen Lin’s calm and composed demeanor and figured—

If Sir says it’s fine, then it’s fine!

Knock, knock, knock.

A rhythmic tapping came from the door.

A moment later, the door creaked open slightly, and a smiling fox-like face peeked inside.

Seeing that neither of them were actively working, Huanlong immediately let herself in.

Carrying a tray, she approached the two of them with a bright, cheerful expression.

"Master, Lady Pela, breakfast is ready~"

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Huan Yue." Pela politely accepted her meal.

Huanlong then skipped over to Chen Lin and carefully placed his breakfast in front of him.

She stood to the side, watching attentively.

Had it not been for the many, many times Chen Lin had firmly stated that he did not need someone to feed him, she probably would’ve been doing just that.

Frankly, Huanlong had no bottom line when it came to pleasing her master.

If she could minimize the negative impact of her past mistakes, she absolutely would.

She understood her situation perfectly.

There was no need for dignity or principles—only results mattered.

Blinking curiously, she asked, "Everything going smoothly with the gate?"

"Yeah."

Chen Lin pulled a chair over for her, nodding as he sipped his soup. "The fleet entered ten minutes ago and—"

Just as he was about to continue explaining, Pela’s terminal flashed with activity.

It seemed the fleet’s communication signals had been restored.

At almost the exact same moment, a long-unheard sound effect rang in Chen Lin’s ears.

Beep—!

[Fleet Encountering Hostile Forces!]

---

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!