Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [287]

Fu Xuan’s sudden message served as a timely reminder for Chen Lin.

Lately, he had been overwhelmed with pressing matters—first the mechanical city crisis, then the corporate schemes eyeing his territories. It was only after resolving these urgent threats that he finally shifted focus back to preparations for the grand military parade.

In the midst of all that, he had almost forgotten about an unfulfilled promise.

Pela’s birthday!

More than twenty days ago, Lynx had visited the palace and shared a great deal about Pela’s background. The most crucial detail? A relic left behind by Pela’s mother—Penia Sergeyevna.

It was an extremely old terminal—a relic from Belobog’s past, containing the essence of an entire era’s information technology. Scientists in Belobog had painstakingly reverse-engineered it from archaeological remains, making it a half-finished replica of lost technology.

Functionally, it was nowhere near as advanced as modern terminals. At best, it could store basic data and serve as a camera. But for Belobog in that era, it was already a technological marvel.

Most importantly, it was Pela’s mother’s keepsake. It was likely locked away in a safe somewhere in Pela’s room, as the device lacked a compatible data module.

No—more accurately, it still used floppy disks.

Without a floppy disk to boot it up, the entire device was nothing more than a brick.

Upon hearing about this from Lynx, Chen Lin had personally asked Fu Xuan to use the Matrix of Prescience’s computational abilities to track down the missing disk’s whereabouts.

The process had been far from simple.

The Qiongguan Array required a significant amount of data to make an accurate deduction. Most of the necessary information had been gathered by Lynx, who had tracked down Penia’s former colleagues and extracted fragments of their memories. These recollections were then fed into the Qiongguan Array as reference points.

Even so, the data was still incomplete.

To make matters worse, the event in question had occurred not in Luofu, but on the distant world of Jarilo-VI. This drastically slowed the calculation speed, resulting in a half-month delay before the final conclusion was reached.

And now, in the video, Fu Xuan was not-so-subtly reminding him of how much effort she had put into this—running back and forth, sacrificing sleep…

She wasn’t even trying to be subtle about fishing for praise. The way she carried herself, Chen Lin could practically see the abacus beads clacking through the screen, demanding compensation.

“…Fine. I’ll prepare some gifts for the Xianzhou later.”

Scratching his head, Chen Lin decided that once he completed his current project, he would prioritize supplying Luofu with the resulting technological advancements. Who knew? If the Xianzhou got their hands on such innovations, their obsession with the Hunt might intensify even further…

Speaking of which—he found himself a bit curious.

Right now, Luofu and his empire had reached maximum diplomatic cooperation. He had been providing everything they needed—especially in terms of food and minerals, which were so abundant that he casually dumped 2,000 units their way every few days.

And yet—the diplomatic status description wasn’t the usual “Friendly” or “Allied” as it was in the game.

Instead, it read:

“Sworn Comrades in Life and Death.”

The mainstream ideology of Luofu was militant ultra-nationalism and authoritarian rule. Their core tenets?

• Fanatical Vengeance

• Elite Governance

• Martial Tradition

As for their government structure…

Chen Lin had never seen anything like it.

It was a unique political system called 【Six Arbiter Unified Government】.

【Six Arbiter Unified Government】

Empire Modifiers:

• Empire Size Penalty: -50%

• Automatic Population Settlement Rate: +80%

Effects:

• Has a Heir Apparent (√)

• Has Government Agendas (√)

• Can Conduct Emergency Nominations (√)

Description:
"Each Xianzhou vessel is governed by a supreme ruler with absolute authority. Any Xianzhou leader may nominate their successor at the Six Arbiter Council."

Reading through Luofu’s national ideology and then cross-referencing their government structure made things particularly interesting.

[Fanatical Vengeance] and [Elite Governance] meant their government had to be either Imperial or Oligarchic.

However, Luofu’s system was neither.

It was this strange “Six Arbiter Unified Government.”

Given that Chen Lin himself had spent time in Luofu, he could make some educated guesses.

Jing Yuan had been able to sign a massive array of national agreements with him without consulting anyone else.

The fact that he could do this unilaterally suggested that Jing Yuan’s authority was absolute. At most, he might need to go through some bureaucratic formalities afterward, but no one could actually oppose him.

That was… a staggering amount of power.

Which meant that, at its core, the Xianzhou wasn’t truly a federation.

It was closer to a decentralized military dictatorship, where each Xianzhou General functioned as a local warlord.

The so-called "Six Arbiter Council" existed only to maintain cohesion among the Xianzhou fleets and deter external threats.

Meanwhile, back in the present—Chen Lin was still pondering how to placate Fu Xuan later.

That was when Qingque—who had been *shaking him violently for the past minute—*finally snapped.

“Old Chen! Old Chen, are you even listening?! I’m begging you—please, for the sake of sisterhood—let me live!!”

Snapped out of his thoughts, Chen Lin nearly threw up from how hard she had been shaking him.

For someone with such skinny arms, this girl had surprising strength.

With a half-hearted nod, he replied, “Yeah, yeah, I won’t say anything… Huh? What are you doing?”

Qingque had reopened the video.

But instead of watching from the beginning, she skipped directly to the latter half, taking down a large amount of divination text and numerical data into her own terminal.

Her actions left Chen Lin visibly confused.

Without looking up, Qingque explained, “Master Diviner only forbade me from watching the first part. But the latter half—she left behind an absolute mess of data. You don’t have experience with this stuff, right? She must’ve known that if you watched the full video, you’d end up asking me to interpret it anyway."

"So, she banned me from watching it… but also wouldn’t let me leave. That probably means she was expecting me to help you analyze it. I just guessed as much—and it turns out I was right.”

The red dots on the Matrix of Prescience’s simulated map might seem small at first glance.

But in reality?

They covered nearly half of a Xianzhou Celestial Pavilion.

If Chen Lin had to search for the disk manually, there was no telling how long it would take.

This was where Qingque’s role became crucial.

She could reduce his psionic expenditure and use Fu Xuan’s leftover data to further refine the coordinates. By integrating the numbers with her own equipment, she could pinpoint a far more precise location in the real world.

Master Diviner might be a little naïve.

She might be a bit old-fashioned.

But she was no fool.

After finishing her notes, Qingque straightened up.

“Old Chen, wait here a sec. I’m gonna grab some gear from the embassy. Then I’ll take you to find that thing.”

“…What thing?”

“That shadow in the projection—it’s a three-inch-long, three-inch-wide object. What exactly is it?”

“A floppy disk.”

"Oh...”

"Hey, Qingque, let me ask you something—does the IPC have a lot of industries in the Xianzhou?"

"The IPC’s industries?" Qingque frowned, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, they’re pretty big. Their reputation isn’t great, though. But since they supply most of the daily necessities, people have no choice but to grit their teeth and accept it… Why do you ask?"

"No real reason."

"Alright then~"

With that, Qingque didn’t press further. She packed up her terminal, jade talisman, and the stack of tabletop game pieces she always carried around. Just as she was about to head back to the embassy to grab some things, Chen Lin stood up as well.

She blinked. Then, he spoke.

"I’ll go with you. The sooner we find it, the better."

"Sure thing. Let’s stop by my office for a bit—it won’t take long with my efficiency."

"When we’re done, I’ll treat you to a late-night snack. If you wanna drink all night, I’ll keep you IPC."

"Oho~ That’s a deal!"

Qingque laughed, nodding to herself.

Old Chen must really care about this. That floppy disk must be important…

And he wouldn’t just ask about the IPC’s presence in the Xianzhou for no reason. Something’s up.

That reminded her of a document she had seen recently. Ever since her promotion, she had gained access to a lot more information—this was one of them.

It outlined the Empire’s commitment to ensuring Luofu’s self-sufficiency in all aspects of production, guaranteeing that—even in the worst-case scenario—Luofu would still be able to sustain itself.

At first glance, it seemed like a direct challenge to the IPC’s monopoly. But something about it suggested there was more to it than that…

She’d have to go back and look through the details again.

Her eyes flickered with thought, but she said nothing.

She knew better than anyone what to ask and what not to ask.

As far as she was concerned, if Chen Lin wanted her to know something, he’d tell her.

For now, she just had to focus on doing her job properly.

---

In the Administrative District, in front of a grand Xianzhou-style building…

From the void, a dozen Psionic Praetorians stepped out, bowing slightly as the two of them emerged.

These were Chen Lin’s hidden guards, assigned to protect the Xianzhou embassy from the shadows. They typically stayed inside Seele’s phase space, monitoring the perimeter.

If needed, they would serve as escorts for embassy personnel. And if more manpower was required, Qingque and Qingzu could directly contact Qlipoth Fort to request reinforcements.

In short…

With these Psionic Praetorians standing watch, not a soul would be able to harm the Xianzhou embassy’s personnel.

Chen Lin gave a slight nod in return. Qingque, walking beside him, now held a mirror with a jade-like sheen—a device called "Xin Jian."

She explained that no matter how far away it was used, it could directly connect to the Matrix of Prescience, collecting relevant data and feeding it back to the Divination’s main system. It could even simulate a weaker version of the Matrix of Prescience on-site.

Of course, using Xin Jian came with a price.

Its structure contained numerous intricate formations, along with countless embedded micro-jade talismans, making it incredibly energy-intensive. Even though it could generate and store its own power, it still needed months to recharge after just one or two uses.

Sounds precious, right?

In reality, it could recharge itself.

It was just that the process was annoyingly complicated, so most Xianzhou folks didn’t bother. They just left it in a corner and let it passively regenerate over time. After all, it only took a few dozen days to fully charge—not decades.

Why risk breaking it by messing with the recharge process? Repairs were a nightmare.

"This way."

Qingque studied the mirror in her hands, then pointed ahead before tucking it away.

"Y’know, Old Chen… back when I was in the Commission, I didn’t dare work too fast. If Master Diviner ever noticed, she’d just dump more work on me. But ever since I transferred here… I feel so refreshed."

Chen Lin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why’s that? If Fu Xuan heard you say that, she’d probably kill you."

"Pffft, please."

Qingque waved a hand dismissively. "She’s not here, so who cares? The real reason is—working at the embassy isn’t half as exhausting as the Commission. Look at the time—it’s barely evening! If I were still at the Commission, I wouldn’t even be off work yet!"

"You’ve been skipping work for ages. What’s the difference?"

She smirked. "It’s different. Here at the embassy, I’m the highest-ranking official. I decide when I clock in and out. And the workload? Way lighter. Life is good."

Hearing that, Chen Lin recalled the brief moment he had wandered through the embassy earlier, waiting for Qingque to analyze the data.

He had stopped by to greet Qingzu.

Qingzu’s desk was piled high with documents. She wasn’t just reviewing reports and issuing approvals—she also had to compile internal briefings and digitize select files to send back to Luofu.

Even though it had only been a day since they last saw each other, Chen Lin could already see the creeping despair of endless paperwork on Qingzu’s face.

Then, he had looked at Qingque’s office.

There were plenty of documents there too… but most of them had already been processed.

All Qingque had to do was nod or shake her head.

She talked about a peaceful, laid-back life.

But in reality…

Someone else was carrying all the weight for her.

Chen Lin gave Qingzu a moment of silent sympathy.

Qingque, meanwhile, smiled with satisfaction.

"And the best part?" she continued. "I don’t even have to sneak out of the office to discuss dinner plans with you. This is my first time doing it so openly!"

She grinned. "But no worries—once I get used to it, we can make this a regular thing. Just keep coming to me for work-related stuff. I’ll adapt."

Chen Lin: "…"

I feel like you’re making an inappropriate joke, but I have no proof. And now I have to thank you for sharing this ‘first time’ with me.

Qingque sighed dramatically. "If only Qingzu weren’t so stubborn. I was this close to passing a policy limiting work hours to just one hour a day."

She shook her head. "Alas… even being the highest-ranking official has its limits. But hey—at least the staff appreciates my efforts! I couldn’t get one-hour workdays, but I did manage to cut down the hours by an entire shift. That’s gotta count for something, right?"

She gave Chen Lin a playful nudge. "Not that I can compare to you, oh great hero. If you had stepped in, Qingzu would’ve been too embarrassed to refuse."

Chen Lin chuckled. "One-hour workdays? Even I wouldn’t dare…"

Then—he paused.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowing at Qingque’s back.

There was something about her words…

Something hidden beneath them.

But she just kept walking ahead, swaying slightly like a carefree penguin.

It was as if she hadn’t noticed his hesitation at all.

A moment later, Chen Lin let out a quiet laugh.

And in that instant—he made up his mind.

If he was going to break the IPC’s monopoly, he wouldn’t start with his neighbors.

He’d start with Luofu.

It might be far away, but the success rate was far higher than with unfamiliar nations.

Because in Luofu, there were people willing to give him face.

---

T/N: quick my brain is too smooth what is the underly8ing message

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!