Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [365]

In truth, Chen Lin had roughly guessed the intentions of the Masked Fool in the palace. This guess wasn't some unfounded magical deduction but rather a statistical probability derived after carefully processing available information.

Logically, this reasoning made sense. However, given the unpredictable nature of chaos-seekers, Chen Lin would never fully rely on supposed logical deductions.

Stories need logic, but some people neither speak nor act logically—they only need to convince themselves.

A renowned playwright surnamed Wang once summed it up:

"Excessive courtesy without reason implies ill intent."

This covered most cases. While not always entirely objective, it could still be effectively applied to 99% of human behavior in short-term considerations.

Why had the Masked Fool warned him about the Annihilation Gang’s ambitions toward Belobog?

From this angle, only two reasons emerged: either it was a smokescreen for something else, or she wanted Chen Lin to perform actions aligned with her desires.

A smokescreen seemed unnecessary; he'd already provided enough vulnerabilities for Sparkle. Thus, Sparkle probably wanted him to take action after receiving the information. That particular action must be highly probable, resulting in an outcome favorable to her.

Otherwise, why bother with this whole charade?

It couldn’t be that she wanted him, a Governor, to express understanding followed by something as absurd as, "I truly yearn for progress," right?

Chen Lin might believe that if it came from Phantylia, but not from a Masked Fool prone to eradicating knowledge and frequently infiltrating other civilizations’ societies for "higher learning."

Then again, since Sparkle seemed eager for action, why not comply openly? Doing so might expose Sparkle from the shadows, preventing the little rabbit from desperately causing other unforeseen troubles.

At least she'd provided useful information. Immediately discarding an ally would be too shameless—it was better handled discreetly, away from prying eyes.

Therefore, Chen Lin decided to teach Sparkle a lesson: sometimes, no one believes the truth, even when spoken plainly.

The supreme art of command is to manipulate one's enemy.

If word spread that a dignified Imperial Governor bullied a young woman from the Tavern, who would the public trust—a reputable governor or a notorious Masked Fool constantly stirring chaos? The answer was clear.

How to maximize economic and personal interests—that was precisely why Chen Lin had appeared on Luofu.

He had no reason to make an outright enemy of the Tavern, unnecessarily attracting troublemakers and disrupting orderly development.

As he'd always believed: integrate every possible circle, make every possible friend. Those who couldn’t be befriended and refused to vanish naturally became enemies!

As Jarilo’s leader, wasting resources and recklessly antagonizing everyone without gaining any advantage would be utterly irresponsible.

Even the strategists of ancient warring states understood the importance of forming distant alliances and minimizing disadvantages. Surely, advancing technology hadn't regressed intelligence?

After assigning the Express Crew their small task—leveraging their neutral reputation to provide "objective" commentary—they returned to their train to prepare accordingly, safeguarding themselves from any mistakes.

The Crew was loyal and considerate, especially when it involved their comrades’ safety. Even Stelle obediently followed the others back aboard the Express.

According to Himeko, "Except for the Stellar Hunters' hackers or beings above the level of emissaries, no one can eavesdrop on the Astral Express."

In short: the confidentiality inside the Express surpassed most civilizations.

Chen Lin suspected it had something to do with their adorable, fluffy Pom-Pom.

...

Dusk fell gently over Luofu.

A soft drizzle cloaked the ship, warm breezes carrying traces of evening sunlight. The slow, lazy rhythm of Luofu’s dusk was reflected in tiny water droplets quietly dripping from curved rooftops, creating delicate ripples upon bluish stone paths.

Cloud seas in the distance, touched by fading sunlight, resembled golden gauze, shimmering like a gentle oil painting.

Under Fu Xuan’s supervision, the Matrix of Prescience Ultima quietly activated. Nearly half of the Divination Commission participated in the grand divination for the ongoing war, sorting endless streams of words and numbers.

Chen Lin stood atop the observation platform, seemingly watching busy diviners below, yet his attention was focused on a notification and a frontline report just received from Belobog.

This was the epitome of remote leadership!

Yet Chen Lin frowned, silently staring at the notification before him.

[First Contact with Alien Life]

[The Empire's First and Second Fleets have reported to Qlipoth Fort our first encounter with intelligent alien life. Officials are ecstatic, speculating about their culture and societal organization. The realization that "we are not alone in the universe" sparked cheers among officials.]

[However, it's unclear how long these aliens have been present, or how their technological and military capabilities compare with ours…]

[1. Prepare for war; remain vigilant against these alien beings! (Militarist)]

[2. This is a significant event. (Authoritarian)]

[3. May divine light bless all intelligent beings. We shall pray for a brighter future. (Idealist)]

“?”

Thanks for asking, I just woke up—did I accidentally restart the game? Why am I suddenly getting "first contact" notifications at a time like this?!

I thought it was raining, but turns out it's just you leaving me speechless!

Oh, right—Luofu really is raining right now…

But so what? Chen Lin had encountered plenty of aliens already—during the Belobog military parade, hundreds of alien leaders attended. Why hadn't this notification popped up back then…?

Now he’d established a Galactic Community and even a pan-galactic trade market, yet this "First Contact with Alien Life" message appeared. Wasn't this somewhat absurd?

These event notifications appeared to offer choices but were essentially meaningless; no matter which option he chose, nothing would actually happen.

Selecting an option at random, Chen Lin then turned his attention to reports sent by the two fleet commanders from the frontlines into The Shroud.

The reports were extensive, but in summary, the Second Fleet, led by Princess Fia—a descendant of the Great Khan—was advancing smoothly according to plan. However, upon entering the third advancement phase and exiting hyperspace slipstreams into the next star system, they suddenly found themselves in the midst of an ongoing interstellar battlefield!

Hundreds of L-Drakes were engaged in massive combat with organized fleets of unknown ships. The L-Drakes quickly detected the Second Fleet's arrival and began launching fierce assaults.

Having just exited hyperspace, the Second Fleet reacted swiftly under Fia's command, but the number of L-Drakes present vastly exceeded those encountered at the gate. A single fleet alone was clearly insufficient.

Due to the urgent situation, Seele, commanding the First Fleet, immediately aborted her advance upon receiving the distress call, jumping into the Second Fleet's star system to assist.

Chen Lin had previously granted the commanders emergency decision-making authority. He couldn’t personally oversee every battlefield move, especially when timing was critical. Bureaucracy could not be allowed to hinder tactical responsiveness.

This battle report had been written and transmitted during the ongoing engagement. Currently, both fleets were actively fighting. Apart from ordering a retreat, Chen Lin couldn’t issue further commands.

Glancing at the star map, densely packed with L-Drakes and numerous unidentified warships labeled with question marks, Chen Lin observed both fleets joining forces to counterattack.

Though the number of attacking L-Drakes wasn't overwhelming, Chen Lin acted cautiously. Immediately after reviewing the reports, he ordered the Third Fleet—originally stationed near the L-Gate and commanded by Phantylia—to warp in for reinforcement.

The Third Fleet mainly consisted of lighter warships, with only two cruisers—not even the high-end psionic dockyard type. In reality, its primary combat strength lay with Phantylia herself.

No exaggeration: given enough time and without the fleet’s "Psionic Emanators" intervening, Phantylia alone could theoretically single-handedly take on several fleets with minimal injuries under optimal ambush conditions.

This demonstrated how ridiculously powerful Emanators truly were in this world…

Unless the ships were pushed to absurdly extreme power levels, Chen Lin never felt truly secure.

Chen Lin’s orders, representing the will of civilization, were absolute. The moment he designated the warp destination, the Third Fleet’s psionic engines began charging. Soon, the fleet would arrive at the frontline.

Simultaneously, Chen Lin quickly informed Phantylia through their contract link, issuing her first explicit command:

—Remain vigilant toward unknown fleets, preserve fleet strength at all costs, and if necessary, unleash full power!

While the Divination Commission was busy, Chen Lin was equally occupied.

He quickly realized this "First Contact with Alien Life" event referred not to aliens in his current reality but rather those from "Stellaris."

"They're really playing this card now...?"

Chen Lin cursed silently while swiftly dispatching notifications to various individuals.

His caution toward the unidentified fleet wasn't mere paranoia. He knew well that none of the factions fighting within the L-Gate cluster could be trusted.

The Nanite Empire—officially known as the "Dessanu Consonance"—had created nanite life, only to be inevitably destroyed by their own creations in every possible outcome. This resulted in the closure of all L-Gates, awaiting future civilizations capable of reopening them.

Since the Dessanu's extinction was certain, the unidentified neutral ships marked in yellow on the star map could only be either the "Nanite Pretenders" or the "Gray Tempest."

The Gray Tempest was a feral, destructive mid-game crisis within the L-Cluster, indiscriminately attacking everything. The Nanite Pretenders were comparatively benign—they wouldn't openly engage unless directly confronted about their nanite nature.

However, given the rampant presence of L-Drakes throughout the L-Cluster, Chen Lin couldn't fully trust the "future vision" from his memories. It was essential to prepare Phantylia early. Even if it turned out to be the Pretenders, he'd eventually battle them for their technology and resources.

His immediate priority was exterminating all L-Drakes. Once the battle concluded, he'd plan the next move.

The Third Fleet soon joined the fray, Phantylia’s massive skeletal form cutting effortlessly through enemies. Even while deliberately suppressing her strength, she could eliminate an L-Drake in mere minutes, eliciting a satisfied nod from Chen Lin.

Honestly, this battle heavily favored him!

His confidence mirrored how he'd allowed Sparkle to serve as his assistant. Would he dare such a risky move without certainty? Obviously not.

This action served as another smokescreen, leaving Sparkle unaware of her exposure. Ironically, it convinced her even more that Chen Lin trusted her completely, positioning her as his primary line of defense.

A Governor appearing defenseless ≠ a Governor actually being defenseless.

In these times, what leader didn't conceal some hidden strengths?

Once Chen Lin finished addressing frontline affairs, the Divination Array’s results emerged. Fu Xuan approached briskly, holding a paper umbrella, her steps tapping rhythmically.

Chen Lin glanced curiously at Fu Xuan's umbrella, imagining Qingque would surely tease, "You're not even getting wet, what's with the umbrella?"

Fu Xuan’s normally stern expression softened slightly, a hint of nervousness behind her seemingly calm voice:

“Dear Brother, the divination results from the Matrix of Prescience Ultima have appeared. I shall personally interpret them soon. Let us return first.”

Jing Yuan had again tasked her with caring for Chen Lin’s daily life. Thankfully, after Chen Lin’s previous stay, she'd kept a place reserved, leaving her well-prepared.

Chen Lin, however, chose another trip under the guise of facilitating Sparkles’ actions, simultaneously disrupting her minor schemes.

“Thank you. But Sister Fu, please don’t overburden yourself; otherwise, I'd feel quite guilty."

“Ahem… My health is excellent, dear Brother. There's no need to worry. This trivial matter is effortless for me,” Fu Xuan responded proudly, inwardly relieved her brother had stopped being upset with her.

Quietly, she slipped her paper umbrella into Chen Lin's hand, nudging him gently as she urged, “Let us go, dear Brother. You shouldn’t stand here too long and tire yourself out.”

---

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!