Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [360]

“Just a business trip. Finished up and came back.”

Chen Lin set his drink down on the desk, his psionic senses discreetly sweeping through the study—checking for any changes.

Nothing.

The small details he had deliberately left behind remained untouched—the folded pages of books, the dust in the corners… even the creases on the sofa cushion were exactly as he remembered.

Clearly, the intruder hadn’t messed with anything.

In fact, Silver Wolf might not have even been here yesterday.

Silver Wolf let out a mocking snort, her words laced with sarcasm.

“Oh wow, that’s rough. Even the Governor has to go on business trips. Disappearing without a word—I almost thought you got kidnapped. Or maybe assassinated. I was just sitting here, waiting for a ransom demand.”

“……”

Why is this girl extra salty today?

“My apologies for disappointing you,” Chen Lin said, shrugging with exaggerated theatrics. “But no, I wasn’t kidnapped. No assassination attempts, either. Just your run-of-the-mill business trip.”

He deliberately put on a smug tone and made his way toward his chair.

Silver Wolf knew full well the seat wasn’t hers, yet she made no effort to move.

Instead, she kept her eyes locked on the game, casually saying,

“Wait till I finish this—hey, whoa!”

Her voice suddenly jumped in alarm.

Like a rubber ball, she slipped right out of the chair, reappearing on the guest sofa the very next second.

Now seated in his rightful place, Chen Lin looked at her with a bright, innocent smile.

Silver Wolf’s fists clenched.

Did he just—was he about to—

Was he really about to sit on me?!

The thought made her already bad mood plummet further.

Expression blank, she glared at him.

“…What the hell are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

Chen Lin calmly sorted through the documents on his desk.

“I’m sitting in my chair, and you’re playing your game. I don’t see any conflict here.”

“…You’re getting back at me.”

“Hey now! What’s with the accusations?”

Chen Lin smiled, completely unbothered by the growing storm on her face.

“Work still needs to get done, you know. Just because of some personal grievances doesn’t mean I can neglect my duties. This is called ‘everyone doing their job.’”

Silver Wolf’s expression darkened.

“That’s not the reason you took my seat.”

Chen Lin rested his chin on one hand, giving her a look of mock sincerity.

“Every seat comes with its own weight to bear.”

“And since you took mine first, you should be ready to carry that burden.”

“It’s for your own good.”

“…You…”

Silver Wolf was speechless.

She grit her teeth, frustration written all over her face—but somehow, it made her look almost cute.

With a huff, she picked up her fallen handheld console.

Her irritation vanished instantly, her voice turning casual.

“I actually had a little insider tip for someone, but… since someone doesn’t seem to want it, I guess I’ll just keep it to myself.”

Oh?

Not bad—she actually held back her temper. And her acting’s getting more convincing, too.

But if she was gonna hold back, then why even bother getting mad in the first place?

Chen Lin gave her a strange look, muttering internally.

The entire morning was spent dealing with paperwork.

Most of it was related to the Galactic Community.

New civilization membership applications.

Council oversight reports on interstellar policies.

These reports mainly monitored whether member states were complying with policies passed by the Galactic Community.

The rest of the documents came from Bronya, detailing internal affairs.

With the war in progress, political activity had surged.

And as the Community expanded, the Empire’s external diplomatic contacts also increased.

Some weak-willed, pacifist officials had been swayed by foreign civilizations, secretly transferring Imperial resources to outside factions.

These people genuinely believed that the war was illegal, that it was evil, and that it would disrupt the galactic balance.

So they started smuggling resources in an attempt to undermine the current regime.

On top of that, recently, there had been hundreds of protests across the Empire—attended by hundreds of thousands of people—all demanding an end to the war in the L-Gate region.

Put simply, this was a sign of rising discontent against Qlipoth Fort’s administration.

Bronya wanted Chen Lin’s advice on how to handle it.

"Advice? A ‘reasonable’ response?"

A country with 100% stability and zero crime, and all of a sudden, we have ‘spontaneous’ peace protests?

Yeah, right. If there’s not some shady force pulling the strings, I’ll eat my damn hat.

Time to call in the Special Operations Unit.

Chen Lin despised these kinds of ungrateful troublemakers.

They lived in comfort.

They had good food, good homes, good entertainment.

And the moment a war started, they turned traitor on the spot.

By afternoon, Chen Lin finally finished his work.

Stretching, he looked up—only to see Silver Wolf still sitting on the sofa, sulking.

The moment their eyes met, she huffed loudly, then turned away like she had no intention of talking to him.

Chen Lin: “…”

After a brief moment of thought, Chen Lin said nothing and simply walked out. Judging by his path, he was heading to get some food.

Silver Wolf kept playing her game for a long while before finally looking up.

Staring at the closed door and the empty courtyard, she recalled the smug look on his face—her irritation flaring up again.

“Tch, seriously… would it kill you to ask nicely?”

As she grumbled, her in-game character failed to dodge an incoming boss attack and was instantly obliterated.

A giant "YOU LOSE" flashed across the screen.

Silver Wolf let out a frustrated growl and threw a few punches into the sofa cushion.

“Ughhh! AHHHH! …Whatever!”

After venting, she lost all interest in gaming and slumped back onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Who knew what was going through her mind?

After an unknown amount of time, the study door creaked open.

Chen Lin stepped inside.

He glanced at Silver Wolf, still sprawled on the sofa, but didn’t say anything—just walked straight toward her.

Silver Wolf immediately sat up, eyes wary as she watched him approach.

“…What are you doing?”

Why had she never noticed how much of a pain in the ass this man was before?

If she’d known, she should’ve punched him a few extra times back when he was weaker.

Before she could say anything else, a lollipop was suddenly shoved into her palm.

She shot him a glance but didn’t take it.

Chen Lin didn’t seem to care.

Without another word, he called in several Psykers and assigned them to investigate recent faction activities.

While he was willing to tolerate the existence of multiple factions—and even silently allow some of their operations—he had zero patience for two specific groups:

• Radical pacifists

• Extreme pro-foreign factions

Letting these two grow unchecked would be nothing but a liability, both for him and for Jarilo’s militaristic future.

He left clear instructions on how to deal with them.

In short, he had just authorized the Special Operations Unit to use force.

If they could be convinced to turn back, they’d get one chance at mercy.

If they refused to change?

Then kill them. No hesitation.

Fizz, the head of Special Ops, accepted the orders and swiftly departed.

After multiple covert operations, she was already well-versed in handling such matters.

She didn’t need anyone to teach her what to do—she already knew exactly how to proceed.

Once the Psykers had left, only two people remained in the study.

Silver Wolf, watching the shut doors, scoffed indifferently.

“Heh. You really don’t hold back, huh? With a crackdown that big, quite a few people are gonna get wrecked.”

“It can’t be helped,” Chen Lin said flatly.

“In a nationwide war, anyone stirring up trouble at home is either stupid or malicious. And this kind of sickness? Only a heavy hand can cure it.”

He wasn’t the least bit bothered by the criticism.

If he got depressed every time someone cursed or slandered him, he’d have offed himself a long time ago.

Grabbing a slice of fruit, he casually took a bite and smirked.

“Feeling better now? Have some fruit.”

“No.”

Silver Wolf’s words were dismissive.

But her actions?

She immediately pulled up her terminal and sent something to Chen Lin.

"Take a look. I figured this might be useful to you. I’m not as petty as some people."

“……”

The moment her message arrived, before he even had time to check it, a pop-up event window suddenly filled his vision.

[Destruction: The Ever-Flame Mansion]

[In a distant corner of the galaxy, the Ever-Flame Mansion sees the Empire’s invasion of the L-Gate as a golden opportunity.]

[With the Empire’s military force likely to become bogged down in war, unable to send reinforcements,]

[The Duke Inferno and his disciples are gathering vassal armies, eager to ignite the flames of purgatory upon this so-called “Nation of Ideals.”]

[They await the perfect moment—when the legions of Destruction shall arrive, offering their own bodies as fuel to burn the land to nothingness!]

[Ever-Flame Mansion’s War Intent: 11%]

(At 100%, they will declare war on the Jarilo Sector.)

[Passive Observation Mode: (Progress is influenced only by external events.)]

Ever-Flame Mansion?

Chen Lin rolled the name over in his mind.

He vaguely remembered it—there were Xianzhou records mentioning this faction.

Digging through his memory, he soon recalled Divination Commission archives on the Ever-Flame Mansion.

It was a faction that had fully embraced the Path of Destruction—their every action a ritual of annihilation.

And yet, despite all their grand-scale campaigns,

Nanook had never once graced them with his attention.

Time and time again, they had attempted mass devastation, hoping to earn the Stellaron god’s favor—

But Nanook had never even glanced their way.

And of course, the Ever-Flame Mansion was better known by another name—

The Annihilation Gang.

Back in the early days of his rule,

There had already been signs of Annihilation Gang activity in Jarilo.

Chen Lin hadn’t forgotten how they once sneaked onto Jarilo-VI, causing havoc, only to get beaten senseless by the furious locals.

He distinctly remembered Phantylia mentioning a certain "genius" from the Genius Society who had mocked the Annihilation Gang:

"Nanook sees more value in a baby smashing a flower vase than in the so-called ‘Annihilation Gang.’"

The entire fiasco had been so ridiculous that Chen Lin had practically stopped paying attention to them.

He had subconsciously written them off as a non-threat.

But now, in this event…

Vassals?

Since when did the Annihilation Gang have the ability to secure vassals?

That wasn’t something any ordinary faction could pull off.

His expression darkened as he opened the file that Silver Wolf had sent.

It was a heavily edited video.

The angle suggested covert recording, as if the footage had been secretly obtained.

Every individual in the footage had been labeled with their identities and names.

A grand throne room stretched out before him, the floor draped in a crimson carpet.

Five figures stood before the throne, their bodies wreathed in raging flames.

And seated at the center, at the heart of the inferno—

Was the Ever-Flame’s ruler—

"Duke Inferno" Ifrit.

At his sides stood three women and one man…

Hm? Wait a second—what the hell is that thing behind the short girl?

Chen Lin fell silent for a few seconds, then glanced down at the labeled names beneath the video.

The man holding a violin was called "The Tuner" Akash—he wore a pair of sunglasses, exuding a cocky, roguish charm.

Chen Lin raised an eyebrow and turned to Silver Wolf, throwing out a casual remark.

“This Akash guy… what’s with the violin? Is it for smashing people over the head?”

“No interest.”

Silver Wolf shrugged, her voice indifferent.

“If you’re that curious, why don’t you ask him yourself when you meet him?”

She was still pissed off—there was no way she was giving this idiot even a scrap of extra information.

Chen Lin, unfazed by the cold shoulder, didn’t push the issue.

Instead, he kept watching the video, curious to see what exactly this Masked Fool was trying to pull with this sudden intel drop…

Standing next to Akash was a petite girl with a strange, cloaked figure looming behind her.

Her name: "The Scribe" Dubra.

Across from her stood a voluptuous woman wielding a chain hammer.

Her name: "The Shacklebound" Caterina.

But out of all of them, the one who truly caught Chen Lin’s attention was the last figure—

A pale-skinned girl dressed entirely in white, donning an oversized sun hat and carrying herself with an air of elegance and nobility.

Was she beautiful?

Sure, but that wasn’t why she stood out.

Unlike the others, she actually looked… normal.

Chen Lin squinted at the label under her name.

“Let’s see… what’s her name—huh?”

He paused for a second.

His instincts had been spot on—she really did seem like the most normal one.

"The Dahlia" Constance.

The three women and one man standing behind the Duke Inferno were all labeled as "descendants."

Which meant that this "father" they referred to was none other than Ifrit himself.

Chen Lin was far too tired to even bother questioning how the Duke Inferno managed to have four kids who looked nothing like him.

If he had to guess, he’d be far more inclined to believe that these so-called children were adopted rather than biological.

[My lord, our ships are ready, and our soldiers stand prepared! At your command, we shall drown the Empire in an endless inferno!]

Below the throne’s high platform, more than a dozen figures—all dressed in extravagant attire—knelt in formation.

The man at the forefront delivered the report loud and clear.

These people were leaders of various civilizations.

Chen Lin silently memorized their names before continuing to watch.

The rest of the video focused on strategic discussions regarding Jarilo, detailing plans for military operations.

It was obvious—the Duke Inferno was very interested in this territory.

Half an hour later, the screen faded to black—the video had reached its end.

But from what he had just seen…

These people were nothing like the low-level thugs who had once tried to stir up chaos in Jarilo, only to be beaten into submission by furious citizens.

Their military discipline was leagues apart from those pathetic grunts.

So… was she trying to warn me?

Chen Lin had already sent the video to The Shroud for authenticity verification the moment he received it.

And just now, The Shroud’s response had come back:

"Footage is authentic. No edits detected."

Chen Lin lifted his gaze toward Silver Wolf, who had gone back to playing her handheld console as if nothing had happened.

The uncertainty in his mind only grew deeper.

What exactly is this Masked Fool up to…?

---

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!