Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [280]

Ever since the discovery of the Kruz civilization and the rough understanding of its downfall, Belobog had hastily arranged a fairly decent welcome banquet that same day, intending to show the Xianzhou their most sincere attitude.

After the banquet, Chen Lin—who had gone more than ten days without sleep—finally had a chance to rest properly.

But just as dawn broke, the rhythmic sound of footsteps outside the door roused him from his dormant state. Judging by the weight and frequency of the steps, he didn’t even need to extend his psionic energy to detect the intruder—he already knew it was Pela.

“Sir, the company’s director hopes to meet you at the Belobog Grand Hotel. She says that this time, she will come with full sincerity.”

The moment he opened his eyes, Chen Lin heard Pela’s voice. Unsurprisingly, she and Bronya had already completed the assignments he had given them the day before. By now, they had likely finished breakfast and were handling their respective governmental duties.

Everyone knew how rare it was for him to get some rest, so they had been considerate enough not to disturb him.

“Alright, I got it. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Hearing his telepathic reply, Pela’s footsteps gradually faded into the distance. Chen Lin rubbed his sleepy eyes and was instantly awake.

Beside him, a small girl lay with her eyes closed, her long lashes trembling slightly. She seemed to be sleeping soundly, but in truth, she was wide awake.

The psionic fluctuations of someone truly asleep were entirely different from those of someone merely pretending. Frequency, intensity—every aspect varied significantly.

Thinking back to the previous night when he had helped Clara reorganize her research ideas, Chen Lin still found himself a little astonished.

Clara’s project was an ambitious one—an attempt to develop a weapon that combined quantum energy and high-energy plasma within a gravity-confinement field. At this stage, she had only managed to mitigate the brief repulsion between plasma and quantum energy. While the resulting energy beam had a peculiar ability to pierce through most barriers and armor—breaking molecular bonds at the atomic level—its range left much to be desired.

The core issue was the difficulty in maintaining a stable coexistence of plasma and quantum energy within the confinement field. If the two were too close, they would detonate on the spot; if too far apart, they would fail to achieve the dual effect of piercing enemy shields and armor while maximizing damage to both organic and inorganic targets.

This contradicted Clara’s ideal vision—one shot, one kill, obliterating enemy warships in a single strike.

In the end, Chen Lin proposed two potential solutions for Clara to experiment with and refine step by step.

The first solution involved using controlled high-voltage currents at precise intervals to regulate repulsion and attraction, ensuring that plasma energy dispersion remained within acceptable limits while preventing the chaotic collision of energies that could lead to premature detonation.

The second solution relied on psionic energy to orchestrate the orderly movement of these energies, triggering an intentional detonation just before impact, maximizing the destructive potential of both high-temperature plasma and quantum energy.

After devising possible solutions to the problem, Chen Lin had intended to rest. Before that, he planned to instruct someone to escort Clara back to her courtyard. However, the little girl had asked if she could borrow his desk for a little while longer, assuring him she would have someone send her back later.

It wasn’t a big deal, so Chen Lin agreed without a second thought.

Yet, as the night wore on, Clara dozed off in her chair. Half an hour later, she walked to the bedside, rubbing her neck and complaining about the stiffness. She asked if she could lie down for just a little while.

Then, as she rested her head on the bed, she murmured, "Brother, your bed is so soft. Clara will just lie down for a few minutes... just to nuzzle a bit... I won’t crawl under the covers, I promise."

And just like that, morning arrived.

Chen Lin didn’t expose the little schemer lying beside him. After last night, he finally figured out why Clara had always seemed just a little off. Turns out, her filial piety had taken a rather twisted turn—she was already treading the dangerous path of bullying her brother and usurping the family lineage.

After pulling a fresh set of clothes from the Nexus and changing, Chen Lin quickly freshened up before diving straight back into the Nexus.

At that moment, Phantylia was completely absorbed in her work—kneeling in the Nexus, tirelessly forging physical bodies. Each one, upon completion, would immediately burst into flames of varying colors.

These flames were the result of a chain reaction within the latent potential of psionic energy. By carefully controlling the reaction, she could leverage the power of Abundance to repair the bodies, allowing what was once a single body yielding no more than five pounds of [Zroni Dust] to now sustainably produce over forty pounds—an eightfold increase!

The [Zroni Nexus] had reverted to its most primal form. Once a world teeming with life, it was now reduced to a pure white space, where countless visible psionic energies drifted about like morning fog in winter—only to be violently sucked in by a massive black sphere in the distance.

"Seems like it hasn’t finished breaking through yet. No telling what it’ll turn into..." Chen Lin eyed the colossal black sphere without a change in expression, nodding slightly as he mused to himself.

Even though Phantylia was wholly immersed in her mass production of bodies, she still sensed Chen Lin’s arrival. Grinning, she had originally planned to greet him—until she caught his death glare and immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

She vividly recalled the events of last night—being pinned against the desk and thoroughly disciplined by her enraged master, all while he furiously berated her:

"I thought you had some brilliant idea, but turns out you were using my spotless reputation as leverage?! If this rumor spreads, people looking to work with me will start sending women my way every damn day! Annoying as hell! And what do you think Bronya and the others will think of me?!"

Had it not been for the divine power of Abundance reinforcing her body, she might’ve been beaten into a pulp.

But seriously... the Madam wouldn’t even mind, right? Besides, it’s not like Jarilo-VI practices monogamy...

Phantylia shrank her neck, wisely choosing to keep those thoughts to herself. She wasn’t eager for another round of punishment.

It was only when Chen Lin tore open a rift and left that she finally let out a breath of relief. Just as she was about to resume her work and grind out more [Zroni Dust] for stronger bodies, a soft, childlike voice suddenly echoed in her ears.

“You… you… hello…”

The words were halting, as if the speaker was still getting used to language. But this was her master’s personal world—besides herself, forcibly dragged here to work, who else could possibly be in here?!

Phantylia’s expression turned serious. She leaped to her feet and scanned her surroundings—nothing.

Though she always appeared harmless in front of Chen Lin and his wives, that didn’t mean she was weak. In all of Yarilo-VI, aside from her master, no one could match her.

Her voice was ice-cold. “Who’s there?”

“Come… closer… I’ll tell you… hehe…”

"???"

Phantylia stared in shock at the massive black sphere in the distance. She had noticed it since entering, but now… was it actually talking?

Wait—that giggle just now… wasn’t that my voice?!

"It’s mimicking me?!"

Narrowing her eyes, she abandoned her work and cautiously observed the ever-expanding sphere of swirling psionic energy.

Her instincts screamed danger. The sheer pressure it exuded was suffocating, but it was the voice itself that sent chills down her spine. It bypassed her ears entirely, slipping directly into her mind—and worse, it was already influencing her actions.

For an instant, her mind blanked out, and she very nearly walked straight toward it.

The voice was quickly growing more fluent.

“Hehe… wanna… wanna know? Come… closer… I’ll tell… you!”

"Sure—wait, no! What the hell are you?!"

Mid-step, Phantylia froze, retracting her foot with a look of sheer horror.

In this empty void, devoid of any airflow, she could still feel an eerie wind blowing against the back of her head. Goosebumps covered her arms.

She had almost fallen under its control.

A being like her—one of the Lord Ravagers, possessing a body imbued with the power of Abundance and fully awakened psionic potential—should be untouchable. In most places, she could do as she pleased, and only a handful of civilizations in the galaxy would even stand a chance against her.

And yet, twice now, she had been unable to resist the pull of that voice. Her body reacted before her mind could process it.

Even Chen Lin himself wouldn’t be able to manipulate her like this if she were actively resisting.

Her wariness skyrocketed. Silently, she kept reminding herself: Don’t listen. Don’t let it influence you.

The effect was immediate—she was no longer swayed by the childlike voice. After several failed attempts to lure her closer, the entity sighed… almost humanly.

“Hungry… so hungry…”

"Okay? And? What the hell does that have to do with me?"

Phantylia remained utterly motionless. By now, she had a rough idea of how the voice worked—it embedded subconscious suggestions into its words, subtly compelling others to obey.

Fortunately, she had long since transcended being a mere energy-based lifeform. Otherwise, she dreaded to imagine what it would do to her.

“Big sis… can you talk… talk with me? I won’t… eat you…”

"Yeah, sure. And I'm supposed to just believe that?"

For a split second, she thought she saw two gleaming, pitch-black eyes inside the sphere—eyes brimming with hunger, as if they could devour everything. Sometimes, they burned with restless impatience; other times, they were eerily tranquil.

And even though she knew better, just locking eyes with it made her stomach growl, as if she, too, were starving.

“Lick me… just a little… okay? Just one lick…”

“Not enough… not enough…”

“Big sis… hungry… food…”

“……”

After receiving no response, the sphere let out a pitiful whimper. The crushing presence it had exuded instantly dissipated, and Phantylia finally felt like she could breathe again.

After a few cautious glances, the strange voice seemed to have truly vanished. She hesitated briefly before turning back to the relic of the Ambrosial Arbor and resuming her work.

Only this time, she couldn’t help but sneak wary glances at the distant sphere every now and then.

The [Zroni Dust] drifting toward it would disintegrate upon contact, leaving no trace behind. No energy escaped from the sphere—only silence.

"If I had actually walked over there… would I have been eaten too?"

Phantylia wrapped her arms around her knees, heart pounding. For the first time, she realized that this [Zroni Dust] farm job was actually terrifying.

Master, please come save your poor servant. I’ve learned my lesson—I won’t meddle in your affairs again…

---

At the Belobog Grand Hotel, in one of the top-floor suites, a rift suddenly tore through the air. A figure calmly stepped out before the tear vanished as if it had never existed.

Sitting at the vanity, wrapped in a bathrobe, Topaz had just been drying her hair when she caught sight of the unexpected visitor in the mirror.

Her grip tightened instinctively around the hairdryer—she nearly threw it, but her reflexes kicked in, and she caught it at the last second.

“Good morning, Miss Jelena.”

Chen Lin didn’t spare her a glance. Instead, his gaze fell on the breakfast tray on the table—barely touched. With a relaxed smile, he remarked, “Looks like you don’t have much of an appetite today… Should I give you a few more minutes?”

Topaz took a deep breath and smiled. “Thank you for your understanding. Two minutes... no, one minute will do.”

“No rush. I’m off duty today—I’ve got plenty of time.”

With that, Chen Lin casually walked over and started brewing tea, acting as if this place were his own home.

Correction—technically, it was his.

Topaz did her best to maintain her polite smile, but the wave of humiliation washing over her was impossible to suppress. This was the first time she had ever appeared before an outsider in such attire. Even though she had crossed her own bottom line, she still had to put on a grateful expression and force herself to feel thankful.

Because in this game, she was just a pawn.

And pawns had no say in their fate.

The silent air stirred as a faint breeze brushed against Topaz’s neatly cut, shoulder-length hair. The scent of her body wash lingered in the room, a subtle fragrance that could easily stir a man’s desires.

Chen Lin took a sip of his tea and nodded slightly, but his mind was elsewhere. This tea is nowhere near as good as what the Xianzhou produces. When the military parade comes around, I should have my brother or sister bring some over to satisfy my cravings... maybe even a few tree saplings for the research institute to cultivate.

Besides, Jing Yuan had mentioned before that every major civilization had its own renowned scientific institutions—the IPC had the Genius Society, the Xianzhou had the Artisanship Commission... If he wanted to make an impact on the interstellar stage with his technological advancements, forming a dedicated organization of his own might be a smarter move than direct promotion.

He had thought about this before, and even had a name in mind—Imperial Research Association. Whenever the research queue wasn’t occupied with urgent projects, he could have the Deep Space Black Spot unit from the Strategic Misdirection Bureau manipulate public opinion. That would send a clear message to neighboring civilizations and keep them in check.

But what really mattered was the post-parade strategy. He planned to invite the leaders of dozens of surrounding civilizations to witness the event. Their reactions would determine how he dealt with them in the future—particularly the Ruilu Star Sector and the Stirbay Star Sector.

His empire would not tolerate the existence of a state within a state.

If those two sectors were found to contain rare resources, then anyone who refused to comply... would simply be eliminated. Only then could the two civilizations sit at the same table as equals, and only then could his actions be seen as fair and just.

Yes—this was the proper way to handle things.

Topaz continued drying her hair, but her gaze never left Chen Lin. She noticed that after taking a sip of tea, he remained motionless, staring at her—sometimes furrowing his brows, sometimes nodding slightly in apparent admiration.

This behavior was exactly what the chief of his personal guard had warned her about.

Pressing her lips together, Topaz was certain—this time, her sincerity was more than enough.

---

T/N: with this it should be 25 bonus chapters left! don't worry you'll get them... eventually

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!