Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [333]

The highest-ranking unit in the Xianzhou military is the Guards, and each Xianzhou has its own unique martial heritage.

Luofu excels in swordsmanship, Xuling masters the spear, Yaoqing wields the blade, and Fanghu specializes in the lance…

Under these distinct martial traditions, the Yun Cavalry of each Xianzhou develops different fighting styles. Because of this, Jing Yuan has deliberately integrated Yun Cavalry from various Xianzhou stationed in Luofu, ensuring that their formations remain disciplined and cohesive.

The Yutu Battalion from Yaoqing Xianzhou consists of 600 highly skilled swordsmen. Yet, in a dense cluster of nano-robotic factory buildings like this, 600 people are nothing more than a few pebbles tossed into a pond—far from enough.

...

Stepping onto the cold, metallic floor, Chen Lin entered the towering, strangely shaped structures…

Most of these buildings had elliptical tops and irregular bases, leaving barely any space between them. Walking side by side? Not a chance.

Above, an intricate network of pipes and thin, ribbon-like metal conveyor belts wove through the air like a spider’s web, tightly linking each building together.

Now stripped of energy, the exposed machinery had ceased operation. A few conveyor belts still held unidentified liquid substances. Chen Lin bent down, taking a careful sniff—there was a faint phenolic scent, like a mix of moldy fermented soybeans and coffee grounds, with a few drops of gasoline thrown in.

Weird, but strangely intoxicating.

Not long after entering, Chen Lin found ample signs of prior human activity. Many conveyor belts had been severed by sharp blades, while others were tied into knots, like toys left for a playful cat.

Yutu Battalion was definitely here before.

Halting his steps, Chen Lin attempted to send a Virtual Realm transmission, only to discover that his signal would either be instantly cut off or require direct entry into The Shroud to get through.

After a moment of silence, he emerged from The Shroud and sighed.

“So, psionic jammers really do exist, huh? Guess psionics aren’t invincible after all.”

At the very least, the nano-robots here had mastered technology capable of countering psionics.

“I need to accelerate genetic ascension… But the next step requires unlocking [Celestial Engineering] first…”

Chen Lin’s [Ascension] had removed many negative traits while granting him a broad range of positive ones. However, most of these positive traits remained Level 1, with only a few barely reaching Level 2.

For example, his physical body was sustained almost entirely by the [Strong] trait, which was described as:

This species possesses well-developed musculature, making them formidable warriors in ground combat.

A Level 1 trait. The next stage, [Very Strong], might sound like a lazy upgrade, but the description made it clear:

This species' physical strength is so immense that it nearly defies the laws of physics.

Stellaris had a habit of using plain, unassuming names to describe things that were downright terrifying.

That’s why Chen Lin desperately needed [Genetic Ascension] to enhance his traits.

Traits like [Strong] were common in this universe. In fact, just among the people Chen Lin knew, there were more than he could count on both hands:

Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan, Li Sushang, Kafka, Silverwolf, Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th, Seele, Bronya…

Even within the current Yun Cavalry forces, many soldiers possessed variations of this trait.

It’s like strength became some bargain-bin trait in this galaxy.

Back on Earth, his physical prowess would have made him a walking monster. But here? If ranked, he’d barely qualify as T2 or even T3.

Boom!

At that moment, a sudden clap of thunder roared through the sky.

Chen Lin looked up. The once-clear sky had darkened, now covered by thick, ominous clouds.

Tamz Star was a terrestrial planet orbiting a low-mass white dwarf. Due to the white dwarf’s extreme stability, the planet had become a renowned resort world.

But now, likely due to interference from the Nano Nebula, its artificial climate systems had been disrupted. Over time, the atmospheric conditions would grow increasingly unstable, leading to more frequent extreme weather events.

With the storm rolling in, Chen Lin abandoned his psionic scanning, instead following the signs left behind by Yutu Battalion as he ventured deeper into the facility.

Unfortunately, the psionic jammers here were even interfering with his psionic shield, and the protective domes that should have been shielding the factory rooftops had shut down after the nano-robots committed mass suicide.

The rain poured in unimpeded.

With his weakened shield unable to repel the falling rain, Chen Lin simply stopped bothering and let himself get soaked.

Every so often, he’d slip into The Shroud for a brief moment to locate Yutu Battalion, then relay his position to Fu Xuan before pressing forward.

---

A desolate sandplain. The wind howled, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, reducing visibility to barely two meters.

The Yutu Battalion had formed a circular military formation, standing their ground against the elements.

At its center sat Li Sushang, carefully tearing a strip of cloth from her coat to replace the bandages of a wounded female Yun Cavalry soldier slumped on the ground.

“This is my fault… This is all my fault… I got everyone into this mess…”

“Ah… No! That’s not true, Sergeant Xueji! No one could have predicted that communications would fail here…”

Li Sushang had heard the sergeant blame herself countless times already. She had to keep morale up, or they’d all be in trouble.

Because the truth was—no one knew where the hell they were.

Two hours earlier, Yutu Battalion had ventured deep into the city. The soldiers had cautiously examined their surroundings, observing and interacting with anything that seemed different from the fragile, crumbling nano-buildings around them.

And against all odds—they had stumbled upon this strange nano-robotic factory.

The buildings were unlike anything else.

More importantly, they didn’t disintegrate into dust at the slightest touch. Every structure here was tangible—real.

Out of caution, Yutu Battalion didn’t immediately enter the factory complex. Instead, they transmitted text and image data back to their camp and stood by, awaiting orders from command.

But time dragged on, and no response came.

The battalion commander quickly lost patience. After ordering a few squads to remain outside, he led the rest inside to investigate.

Finding no apparent dangers, the commander returned and gave the order for everyone to enter and conduct a thorough search, leaving only a small team outside as a precaution.

Despite sweeping the area, they found nothing but an overwhelming number of machine tools and conveyor belts—not a single record, inscription, or piece of written data.

The only exception was a floating metallic cube, suspended in a stream of visualized data deep within an underground chamber—possibly a data storage device.

As night approached, the commander decided to regroup and lead his men back to the command center outside the city. They would report their findings—the factory complex and the strange cube—to Master DIviner and Governor Chen for further analysis.

But just as they were leaving, disaster struck.

A Yun Cavalry soldier stepped forward, and the ground beneath him vanished. He plummeted instantly.

Before the others could react, an immense force surged from the pit—an overwhelming suction pulling them all in.

The next thing they knew, they were standing in the middle of a vast, barren desert.

It wasn’t that command was ignoring them—their transmissions had been intercepted.

Even emergency channels were blocked.

They walked for hours through the dust storm, yet the wasteland stretched endlessly in all directions. The only solace was that, over time, they managed to reunite with other scattered Yun Cavalry soldiers.

Their last hope now lay with the scouts outside the factory and the transmissions from their terminals—hoping that someone would notice their disappearance and report it to Master Diviner and the Governor.

The Yutu Battalion Commander quickly devised a survival strategy.

To conserve stamina, the soldiers formed a defensive ring—those on the outer perimeter acted as a shield against the raging sand, while those on the inner circle took turns resting and tending to the wounded.

And the one feeling the most guilt?

The first soldier who fell through the ground.

She blamed herself for dragging everyone else into this situation.

"Honestly, it's no big deal. Yun Cavalry always looks out for each other—nothing unusual about that!"

Li Sushang expertly tied a knot on the bandage around the female soldier’s injured leg, making a firm promise.

"As long as the comms flickered on for even a second, it means my master already knows what's going on. He won't abandon us."

She paused, then added with a confident smirk:

"Master might look like a gentle scholar, always smiling—maybe not as reliable as Master Diviner on the surface—but judging someone by appearances is dumb. He always steps up when it matters, just like when he fought Phantylia for ninety days straight."

"He’s definitely coming for us."

The female soldier lowered her head, still ashamed.

"...But if the Governor and Master Diviner end up in danger because of me, how could I ever face returning to Luofu?"

"Ugh, come on, it's not that serious…"

Li Sushang scratched her head awkwardly.

But just then—

She heard something.

A faint, distant rumble carried by the wind.

She turned to a nearby resting Yun Cavalry soldier.

"Hey—did you hear thunder just now?"

The soldier blinked in confusion before chuckling wryly.

"Sushang, you must be joking. Thunder? In a place like this?"

"…Did I imagine it?"

She frowned, rubbing her temple.

But she was sure she’d heard something.

A low, rolling thunderclap—soft, but distinct.

Am I so on edge that I’m hallucinating now…?

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

There were only two things she truly feared in life—studying and medicine.

While she was lost in thought, a Yun Cavalry soldier monitoring the terminal suddenly shouted:

"I picked up another signal—just for a few seconds!"

"I heard the Governor's voice—choppy, but he said he's already on the way."

"He told us to hang on!"

"YES!"

A surge of energy rippled through the soldiers.

A wave of relief and determination washed over them.

They knew it.

The Governor would never abandon them.

---

Chen Lin stood at the edge of a clearing.

Before him, hundreds of Yun Cavalry soldiers lay scattered across the ground—soaking wet, unconscious, unmoving.

Chen Lin blinked.

…What the hell?

His mind filled with question marks.

"Wait—are they all asleep?"

No, something was off.

Then who was I just talking to…?

He walked among the fallen soldiers, shaking them—no response.

After a brief search, he found Li Sushang, slumped on the ground.

She sat with her sword still in hand, head drooping onto her lap, rainwater dripping from her bangs.

…Damn.

She’s flexible.

Anyone else would’ve snapped their back in half sitting like that.

Just as he slid her sword back into its sheath and hoisted her onto his shoulder—

A notification window popped up.

[DATA DREAMSCAPE]

[We’ve located the missing ground forces using their last known transmission coordinates.
But when we arrived, we found them sprawled across an open field, trapped in an unnatural sleep.]

[No external force seems able to wake them.
Medical teams have diagnosed the condition as Non-Responsive Awakening Syndrome.]

[Fortunately, brain scans show heightened neural activity.]

[By matching their brainwaves, we might be able to establish real-time communication.
They appear to be trapped in a limbo between reality and a dreamstate—meaning they can still be saved!]

[Additionally, we recovered a strange metallic cube from a Yun Cavalry soldier’s pocket.
Analysis confirmed it as the cause of the psionic signal disruption.]

[Stranger still, the device has miraculously linked every sleeping soldier’s consciousness into a single network—digitizing their thoughts and storing them within.]

[They are experiencing a shared, digitized dream.]
[Scientists have named it—‘DATA DREAMSCAPE’.]

[To rescue them, a special task force of top scientists and engineers has been assembled.
Their mission: to decipher the cube’s functions, interface with the soldiers’ minds, and wake them from the dream.]

[The cube is an intricately designed device—]
[Combining nanotechnology and psionic engineering in a way never seen before.
It has linked their consciousness into a boundless, desert-like data world, trapping them in an endless loop.]

[On top of that, their collective processing power is disrupting all surrounding signals—including psionics.]

[Choose an action:]

① Rescue our soldiers first, then study the cube later!
(Yutu Battalion awakens; unlocks research for rare technology ‘Nano-Psionic Signal Disruptor’.)

② Replicate the cube, adjust the dreamscape, and turn it into mass entertainment!
(Yutu Battalion perishes; Stellar Empire gains permanent modifier ‘Eternal Souls’: Happiness +10%.)

③ Screw it—
"I wanna go eat some sand too!"
(+200 Influence.)

---

T/N: heh eating sand

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!