Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [185]

The dawn broke like any other. Phantylia opened her eyes to find herself staring at the all-too-familiar ceiling. The tantalizing aroma of street food wafted through the air, so realistic it stirred a pang of hunger within her.

The tranquil surroundings offered an odd sense of reassurance, but she knew this peace was merely the calm before the storm. How long she had been here, Phantylia had no idea, but she remembered vividly the countless times she had faced death and restarted.

She lifted her head to look at the floating seven-digit number in the air—her accumulated death count. Her gaze turned vacant.

In her ears, the same unchanging voice of the young man rang out:

“Welcome to I Wanna Live On. Survive the day, and we can have a calm, reasonable conversation. Of course, surrender is also an option.”

Even after millions of deaths, his voice carried the same monotony it had at the start, devoid of any inflection. It felt like a pre-recorded message playing each time she respawned.

As a proud Lord Ravager, Phantylia refused to lower her head and beg for mercy. She would prove to Chen Lin through sheer determination that his petty tricks could not keep her imprisoned.

Though her mental state had begun to fray, muscle memory took over. She silently counted the seconds.

21, 22, 23… 45.

Swish—

She leapt off the bed and crouched beside it, her sharp eyes fixed on the mattress where she had been lying just moments ago.

A second later, dozens of spikes shot up from beneath the bed, shredding the fabric and wooden boards. Had she still been lying there, she would have died once again.

After narrowly dodging the spikes, Phantylia began to move forward in a peculiar hopping gait, leaping from one tile to the next. Careful observation would reveal her pattern: skipping two tiles with each jump.

The moment her foot left a tile, spikes shot up from the ones behind her.

This intricate dance of survival had been discovered through over a hundred deaths.

What should have been a simple trip across the room—barely a dozen steps—became a grueling gauntlet. She zig-zagged like someone completing a convoluted mission, first hopping to the bathroom to wash up, then darting to the living room to retrieve the task list from the coffee table. The process took her over ten minutes to accomplish.

Those ten minutes were the result of tens of thousands of trial-and-error deaths.

Phantylia didn’t want to die. Chen Lin made her die repeatedly.

She had experienced death in every possible way—physical obliteration, mental collapse—and now even the thought of death seemed less terrifying.

At first, she tried to predict Chen Lin’s traps, attempting to outsmart him at every step. Yet, she continually fell into counter-predicted traps, ones that exploited her very efforts to avoid the obvious.

The few times she believed she had accurately anticipated his intentions, she found herself locked in a room with a single poisoned spike, forced to end her own life.

It took her over half an hour to leave the high-rise building. This was only the first step of her task list—a short and seemingly straightforward mission. Below it, countless additional objectives were densely packed, detailing where she needed to go next.

The bustling streets outside were modeled after the Xianzhou, filled with architecture and markets evoking its distinct aesthetic. Throngs of pedestrians wandered about, their movements programmed into the simulation.

Phantylia could not allow herself to be touched by these NPC-like figures; contact would instantly return her to the cold, spiked bed.

With painstaking effort, she arrived at the “Immortal Cuisine Alley,” where she purchased a list of ingredients.

From there, she hurried to a restaurant in the heart of the city, using an absurdly complex method to deliver the ingredients to the chef.

After presenting the items, she was tasked with choosing one dish from a selection of dozens. Picking the wrong one meant death.

Only when she finally selected the correct dish and consumed it did the sky crackle with crimson lightning, heralding the appearance of a monstrous humanoid with the head of a fish.

After an intense battle that pushed her to her limits, she managed to kill the creature, completing the third task on her list.

Forty more tasks remained.

The last time she reached this point, she had been presented with hundreds of treasure chests. Selecting one at random, she opened it, triggering a trap. Rotting hands had sprung from within and impaled her.

Game over.

This time, she gritted her teeth and pressed on, determined to find the correct path.

To Phantylia, it felt like she had been trapped in this cycle for centuries. To Chen Lin, not even a minute had passed in the real world.

Within his consciousness space, Chen Lin sat cross-legged, a hollow golden sphere hovering above his palm. The sphere constantly fluctuated in size as it transmitted data about Phantylia’s repeated deaths.

He smirked to himself. This Lord Ravager sure has perseverance.

“Who would’ve thought my consciousness space would be more secure than an imperial prison?”

“If I could pull others’ minds into this place for interrogation, I bet there’s nothing I wouldn’t be able to extract.”

“As a spiritual entity, even a Herald like her is powerless here. Looks like psionic ascension really has elevated my mental defenses to their peak. Unless I allow it, no one can infiltrate this space. It’s tougher than bedrock…”

“Do you think Nanook has any idea what his subordinate is going through right now?”

Having spent a mere ten seconds devising a torturous game reminiscent of the I Wanna series, Chen Lin had trapped Phantylia within it, forcing her to play endlessly.

For all her reputation as a powerful Lord Ravager, her overwhelming mental strength was useless within his domain.

If my mental defenses are this impenetrable, I can only imagine the enhancements gene ascension would bring to my physical form.

After a few more minutes, his monitor displayed an alert. Phantylia, having died 4,182,673 times, had finally given up.

Every time she revived, she simply lay on the bed, letting the spikes impale her without resistance. Her defeatist behavior added tens of thousands more deaths to her counter.

Chen Lin decided the time was right. With a flick of his thoughts, Phantylia was ejected from the game and returned to the consciousness space.

She no longer maintained a humanoid appearance. Her true form—a flickering soul flame—hovered weakly before him.

The once-proud fire burned dimly, her essence drained and listless.

Chen Lin prodded the flickering flame of Phantylia’s soul. “Still alive in there?”

“……”

“I just had you try out a game. How’d it turn into this?”

“……”

Growing impatient, Chen Lin snorted. “If you don’t respond, I’ll throw you back in to keep playing.”

“…I’m alive…”

The dim fire wavered slightly, and a weak voice finally emerged. “Just tell me what you want. Kill me, spare me, do whatever. I don’t care anymore…”

If there were a prize for giving up and mastering the art of resignation, Phantylia would undoubtedly take home the gold. After millions of deaths, she’d realized that fighting or not fighting made no difference—it always ended the same way. Why not just save the effort and die quietly?

This level of surrender was almost a talent, second only to natural-born slackers.

“If you were ready to talk, why didn’t you just say so earlier?” Chen Lin asked, puzzled.

After all, he’d told her from the start—she could skip the suffering by simply admitting defeat.

Phantylia scoffed.

“So what if I die? This is just a fragment of me. Even if you completely destroy it, what difference does it make? I barely used a sliver of my power and nearly had you on your knees. If I’d gone all out, you wouldn’t even be here talking right now.”

Hiss…

Chen Lin inhaled sharply. That unyielding attitude felt eerily similar to his older sister, Fu Xuan—but somehow, even more intense.

“Killing you won’t benefit me. So no, I won’t kill you. In fact, I’ll let you go.”

“Spare me the lies. You think I’ll fall for that?” Phantylia sneered. “You’ll let me go, only to immediately hand me over to the Xianzhou generals as a gift? What a clever trap—luring me in with your ‘weakness’ just to expose me. Fine. You’ve won. Do whatever you want.”

She’d seen Chen Lin’s methods firsthand. This guy had a darkness in him, and his ability to turn on a dime was faster than flipping a page in a book.

“The Xianzhou already owes me plenty. Giving you to them wouldn’t change anything. Besides, I already know what you’re planning here. What’s left for me to trick out of you?”

Chen Lin shook his head, then turned his back to her. “You want to use the Ambrosial Arbor to create an immortal body, right? I can help with that. In fact, if you want me to use psionics to stabilize it, I’ll even lend you a hand.”

Phantylia paused. Given how much she’d already revealed to him—willingly, no less—there was little reason to suspect deception. Their interests didn’t align enough for Chen Lin to need to manipulate her further.

But why would he help her?

Her voice softened, the edge of defiance replaced with curiosity. “Aren’t you worried about turning the Xianzhou against you?”

Chen Lin chuckled. “Tell me—who do you think they’d believe? A reputable Imperial Governor like me or a Lord Ravager with a reputation worse than the Stellaron Hunters?”

“…”

Phantylia fell silent. Sure, she could theoretically record their conversation, but in this space, any such attempt would be detected immediately.

Not to mention, her powers were severely restricted here. She felt like she’d been bound and gagged by some bizarre artifact, unable to unleash her full strength.

“Why help me, then?” Her tone grew cautious, no longer carrying the haughty disdain of before.

“It’s simple,” Chen Lin said with a faint smile. “If you fail and return in disgrace, the next Herald the Xianzhou faces won’t be as ‘polite’ as you. I’ve got a few business dealings here, and some friends. I’d rather not see you all get in the way of my earnings.”

“You’d fit right in with the IPC…”

“Oh, I might reach out to them someday. But today’s not that day.” Chen Lin waved dismissively. “Not only will I help you construct your immortal body, I’ll even make you two identical ones. Hide one for emergencies, and use the other to carry out your plans. Fight, kill, do whatever you need to—no problem.”

If Phantylia still had a body, her mental abacus would be spinning furiously.

“And yet, you claim the Xianzhou already owes you enough favors!”

Chen Lin shrugged, his expression utterly nonchalant. “True. They owe me plenty of small favors. But I need a big one to really break through.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he added, “Besides, I get the feeling you don’t exactly get along with the other Heralds…”

“…”

Phantylia clenched her metaphorical jaw. That was a topic she wouldn’t dare discuss, even if Chen Lin had hit a nerve.

Unperturbed, Chen Lin continued, “The empire’s borders are non-negotiable. I need you to agree to two things. Do that, and we’ll have a deal.”

“What two things?” Phantylia asked, her curiosity piqued despite herself.

“The first,” Chen Lin said, raising a finger, “is that you use one of your new bodies to fully execute Nanook’s orders here on the Xianzhou. But after a respectable defeat, you leave.”

Phantylia scoffed. “If I really have that body, not even the Xianzhou generals could defeat me.”

“I said you must lose!” Chen Lin’s tone turned sharp. “You’ll fight well enough to keep it close, but you will lose. Understand?”

“Oh, fine,” she muttered. She wanted to argue, to assert her strength, but thought better of it. After all, this was a negotiation. She could always renege later—deception was second nature to her.

Making deals with a Lord Ravager? Chen Lin must be insane.

“And the second thing?” she prompted.

Chen Lin held up two fingers. “At some point, I might need you to help me fight someone.”

“Done!” Phantylia agreed instantly. “Now can I go?”

Chen Lin leaned closer with a sly grin. “Go? Oh, no, not yet.”

The flickering flames of her soul wavered. “W-why not?”

For a moment, she feared he’d say, I was just messing with you. If that happened, she’d truly despair.

But thankfully, Chen Lin seemed genuine.

“Our arrangement is like a business loan,” he explained smoothly. “You’re the borrower, and I’m your lender. Isn’t that right?”

“…Yeah…”

“Then you need to leave some collateral. Let me see…”

Chen Lin’s gaze locked onto her, his mind stirring. Phantylia immediately felt something precious being drawn out of her essence. She instinctively resisted, but his voice cut through her panic.

“Resist, and I’ll assimilate you completely. Then I’ll join forces with the Xianzhou to throw you out for good!”

Phantylia gritted her metaphorical teeth and relinquished control, too drained to fight back. What could he possibly take from her now?

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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!