Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [329]

Tamz Star.

A functional planet on the edge of the galaxy. The Tamz people who once lived here joined the credit-based system advocated by the Interastral Peace Corporation in the Galactic Year 4298. In what was arguably the fastest leap in history, they skyrocketed from a 0.5-level civilization to a level 3 civilization.

For years, Tamz Star held the top spot on the economic growth rankings published by the Interstellar Peace Corporation, earning envy from countless civilizations. It was hailed as the "small corporation within a barren star system" and "the model of corporate trade expansion."

Yet, this once-thriving civilization had now become a lifeless graveyard.

A curious little face pressed against the transparent glass, breath leaving foggy patches that quickly faded away.

The glass was crafted from a type of quartz produced by the waters of the Luofu Ancient Sea. Known for its high strength, toughness, and heat resistance, it was widely used in the military industry of the Xianzhou. The Corporation had spent decades trying to acquire this technology—without success.

Sushang moved her face away from the glass, her eyes filled with regret. She sighed.
"Not too long ago, I was saying that once I saved enough money, I’d take my mother here for a trip… I never thought it would end up like this."

Tamz Star’s primary function had been to develop its natural environment, construct artificial wonders, and expand its service industry, all to attract tourists from various civilizations.

Most notably, it was famous for its entertainment industry.

At least in this region, Tamz Star was a top-tier tourist destination. The legal casinos operating on the planet generated immense profits for both the Corporation and the local government every year.

Countless interstellar tycoons flocked here—some left with their pockets overflowing, others lost everything.

The poor could rise to riches overnight, reaching the peak of their lives. The wealthy could end up penniless in a single bet, buried under a mountain of debt, sometimes even driven to despair and suicide.

Despite such tragedies occurring frequently, Tamz Star’s booming tertiary industry remained unstoppable. Before the Nano Nebula invasion, the planet welcomed an average of 450 billion visitors per galactic cycle, with 0.072% of the Corporation’s total annual revenue originating from here.

One could only imagine the prosperity it once had.

"Hmph." Fu Xuan cast a knowing glance at Sushang and said coolly, "Gambling for wealth is punishable by the Cloud Knights. According to Xianzhou law, what should be the sentence?"

Sushang froze for a moment, then quickly realized what she meant. A vein twitched on her forehead as she rushed to explain, "No, no! Lord Diviner, please listen to me! I, Li Sushang, absolutely despise gambling and drugs! I just wanted to have some fun, that’s all! Besides… I only wanted to do something nice for my mother. Ever since I can remember, she’s never left Yaoqing..."

Seeing Sushang’s moment of melancholy, Fu Xuan turned her head away.

"As if you’d have the guts."

"Exactly! I would never gamble! If I did, forget my mother—my master would beat me to death first!"

"Master…"

Chen Lin’s lips twitched. If they were talking about age, he was probably the youngest one on this entire ship.

Wait… does this mean I’m already considered an old man?

Fu Xuan caught the change in his expression and shot him an exasperated look.

"Your master is only in his twenties—how does that make him old?"

"Huh…?"

This was the first time Sushang had heard that Chen Lin was only in his twenties. She stared blankly at the man who was two heads taller than her, her mind spiraling into chaos.

In the traditional mindset of Xianzhou people, someone in their twenties should still look like a little brat. A bit older than that, and they might be qualified to become a Diviner… Cough!

The only thing she knew about her master was that he was a long-life species, but she had never actually asked about his age. She had just subconsciously assumed he was a few hundred years old.

Now, hearing Fu Xuan say this, she suddenly realized that the esteemed Diviner wasn’t that old either—but her master still addressed her as “sister.”

So, theoretically speaking… uh… theoretically…

…Error. Error… Processing…

Sushang’s brain officially short-circuited.

Mom, I need help.

Watching her little junior apprentice look so utterly dumbfounded, Fu Xuan let out a soft sigh. Fine, I’ll forgive that disrespectful look she just gave me.

"Alright, none of that matters now. This civilization is completely dead anyway. But why hasn’t the Corporation sent anyone to investigate?"

Chen Lin, who was soft-hearted and didn't want to see his little disciple scolded, decided to voice his own curiosity instead.

Fu Xuan scoffed, her expression indifferent.

"You think they haven’t? Over the past six months, the Corporation’s local branches have repeatedly sent personnel to investigate. I must admit, some truly courageous fools dared to step into this death trap. But once they entered the nebula, they lost all sense of direction. None ever returned. Eventually, the Corporation declared this place a dead zone, abandoned aside from scheduled check-ins every three years."

"That explains it…"

Chen Lin knew that the Corporation had specific protocols for handling civilizations that suddenly went silent. The most extreme case was listing them as "extinct"—like Jarilo-VI in the past. Aside from sending occasional communication signals, the Corporation would essentially abandon them.

Tamz Star had been engulfed by the Nano Nebula, and the Corporation had likely lost quite a few personnel trying to investigate. They had made efforts to save their business partner, showing at least some degree of responsibility—but ultimately, they failed.

After repeated failures, the Interastral Peace Corporation’s headquarters must have lost hope in this once-prosperous money tree. There was no point in continuing to invest resources and manpower into a dead cause. They had already sacrificed enough people—by their standards, they had done their duty.

Following standard corporate protocols, it would take time before they even realized Tamz Star had recovered.

Most of the civilizations in this region had fled long ago, afraid of sleeping one night only to wake up to an apocalypse. Survival was their top priority.

Even trade routes had been altered to avoid the surrounding star systems, ensuring they stayed as far away from the Nano Nebula as possible.

It was only by sheer coincidence that the Luofu had been passing nearby, and Qiongguan Array’s divination detected the changes in this area, prompting them to take the risk of sending an expedition.

Without that stroke of luck, no one would have known the Nano Nebula had already left.

In truth, the Corporation wasn’t entirely to blame. Once a star system was covered by the Nano Nebula, it became nearly impossible for ordinary equipment to detect changes. The nebula might have already dissipated, but from a technological standpoint, Tamz Star still registered as a signal black hole.

Even the Cloud Knights sent by Luofu had experienced communication disruptions when reporting back to the Divination Commission.

"Master!"

Sushang’s long eyelashes fluttered as she asked excitedly, "So our mission here is to eliminate enemies?"

"If there are enemies, then yes. If there aren't, then no."

Chen Lin narrowed his eyes as he stared at the approaching planet.

"Of course, I'd prefer it to be the latter—otherwise, things could get messy."

The corpses of the Tamz people recovered by the Cloud Knights' advance team showed no signs of reanimation. But that didn't mean they wouldn’t suddenly turn into a walking army of the dead one day.

The nanomachines here seemed to have some level of infectious capability. Fortunately, the density of psionic shields was enough to block their corrosion. This was precisely why Chen Lin was eager for Li Sushang to awaken her latent psionic potential—so he wouldn't have to keep shielding his little disciple constantly. Sometimes, relying on oneself was better than relying on others, and having more ways to protect herself could only be beneficial.

Thanks to his successful memory learning technique experiment, Li Sushang had already memorized the entire first chapter of psionic theory. After two days of gentle teaching, she was beginning to show signs of awakening her potential. At the very least, she could now create a fragile shield with mental energy—though it would only last for a few minutes.

Of course, for the most part, she still needed Chen Lin to keep shielding her. Additionally, she carried the protective jade talisman Fu Xuan had given her as a final failsafe to ensure her absolute safety against nanomachine corrosion.

Fu Xuan had absolute confidence in her own formations. The protective barriers she set up were just as strong as standard psionic shields. This was evident from the fact that Cloud Knights who had entered Tamz Star for reconnaissance—while carrying her specially crafted talismans—returned unscathed. Clearly, the Xianzhou's jade talismans and formation techniques were not to be underestimated.

At that moment, a Cloud Knight officer approached.

"Reporting to Lord Chen and Lord Diviner! We are about to enter Tamz Star’s low orbit! Estimated arrival at the designated coordinates in five quarters!"

"Good," Chen Lin said with a smile. "Appreciate the hard work, brothers."

The officer grinned.

"Lord Chen, what are you saying? If it weren’t for you and the General, who knows how many of us would still be alive after those days?"

The Cloud Knight officer let out a hearty laugh.

"Being under your command? We’re more than honored."

This unit of Cloud Knights had been handpicked by Jing Yuan himself. Nearly all of them had fought at the frontlines of the Arbor Crisis, battled the Disciples, and later faced the horrors of the Gorge. They had witnessed, firsthand, the brutal reality of the battlefield—six enter, five return.

The General had collapsed from his wounds, unconscious. Everyone else was battered and barely standing.

Only Governor Chen Lin had held his ground, facing the Lord Ravager head-on, fighting for the survival of the Luofu.

The tides of the Ancient Sea raged.
The Arbor withered.
The crisis of the Luofu was averted.

But… one man had not returned.

Many Cloud Knights were haunted by the memories of those days, waking up from nightmares in cold sweat, their hearts heavy with regret.

They blamed themselves—as soldiers, they had failed to stand by their comrades in the moment of greatest need. They cursed their own weakness, the fact that their powerlessness had led to their Lord’s unknown fate.

To these battle-hardened Cloud Knights, Chen Lin's status was no less than that of General Jing Yuan—perhaps even rivaling Marshal Hua himself.

Had it been Fu Xuan in command, some soldiers might have grumbled. But with Chen Lin leading them, they had zero complaints—in fact, they were fired up and eager to follow his orders.

Jing Yuan had planned everything thoroughly.
The Strategic General had certainly earned his title.

With the landing orders given, the Cloud Knight officer saluted and left swiftly.

Meanwhile, Chen Lin tested his connection to The Shroud and found that several ship systems had started experiencing delays in data transmission and command processing.

However, his link with The Shroud remained strong.

Not only could he still store and retrieve items without issue, but his communications with Luofu and Belobog through The Shroud were crystal clear.

As Sushang eagerly rubbed her hands together, itching for action, the landing procedures completed, and they were finally ready to deploy.

"Move out!"

With a wave of Chen Lin’s hand, Sushang piloted the landing shuttle, detaching from the mothership and speeding toward the surface of Tamz Star.

...

Ten minutes later.

The first landing shuttle touched down successfully.

Chen Lin focused his senses.
No signs of nanomachines attacking his psionic shield.

Only then did he issue the landing orders for the rest of the Cloud Knight forces from the mothership.

The sky was clear and bright, with gentle sunlight filtering through the atmosphere.

Chen Lin stepped onto the metal-covered ground, glancing up at the sky.

"Give it another ten years, and this place will probably turn into a full-blown mechanical planet."

"Master, is all of this iron?"

"Yes."

Fu Xuan answered first.

"The metal ground here… thinnest layer, half an inch. Thickest, fifteen feet. Highly irregular."

Indeed, the entire surface of the planet was now covered in a metallic shell—some areas were thin, others thick. A few patches remained untouched, allowing greenery to sprout.

Fu Xuan's observations suggested that whatever was transforming the planet had intentionally avoided trees and shrubs. This meant that, at least for now, life wasn’t completely erased.

From orbit, Tamz Star appeared black, green, and yellow, with its oceans completely gone, replaced by a metallic surface.

The result? A bizarre planet that was neither fully mechanical nor fully organic—utterly unnatural.

As the Cloud Knight landing forces deployed to various key city coordinates, Chen Lin’s unit regrouped on the ground.

Flipping through his Intel Log, he sighed.

"Still nothing…"

Pushing the thought aside, he walked toward Fu Xuan.

Sushang had already run off to scout the area. Fu Xuan, on the other hand, had begun drawing formations for divination the moment she landed. Now, she seemed to be finished, leaning against a tree trunk, lost in thought, absentmindedly twirling a flower in her hand.

It was rare to see Fu Xuan like this.

For a moment, Chen Lin had the urge to sneak up and pinch her expressionless, slightly gaunt face—after all, Fu Xuan was usually the most serious-looking person in all of the Luofu.

Super serious.

Noticing him approach, Fu Xuan immediately stiffened and put on her usual stern face.

"Junior Brother, when do we act?"

Chen Lin chuckled.

"Right now."

They had landed near Tamz Star’s former capital—once a glamorous neon-lit metropolis, now a cold, steel-plated wasteland.

Gazing at the dense industrial structures in the distance, it was hard to believe this place used to be home to tens of thousands of casinos and entertainment centers.

Now?

If someone snapped a photo and uploaded it online, 90% of people would immediately believe it was a military-industrial city.

The other 10% would take a closer look… and then believe it anyway.

The transformation was unbelievable.

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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!