Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [171]

A loud “Ah-yo!” nearly scared the two people outside the pond to death. They couldn’t swim, and if anything serious happened, they wouldn’t be able to save anyone.

So, apart from anxiously shouting the name of the boy who had fallen into the water, there was nothing else they could do.

“Who the hell kicked me— cough cough...”

The boy who had fallen into the water choked and spluttered as he crawled out, soaked to the bone. The first thing he did was question angrily.

“B-Boss, no one kicked you!”

“Yeah, yeah, we didn’t see anyone come near you.”

The two lackeys frantically shook their heads, voicing their thoughts.

“I just saw you walk to the edge of the pond and fall in by yourself.”

The soaked boy’s expression darkened. His tone grew hostile, veins bulging near his clenched fists. He refused to accept the humiliation of making a fool of himself in front of his underlings.

“Bullshit! There’s no way I’d fall in by myself. Someone definitely kicked me!”

“I know who it was.” A young fox-eared boy pointed at the terrified little girl sitting on the ground. “It must’ve been her! She was the only one behind you, Boss, so she had to be the one who kicked you!”

The little girl, inexplicably blamed, looked even more terrified. She stammered in her defense, “N-no, it wasn’t me... I didn’t hit anyone.”

Her trembling voice revealed her fear. She knew that if she didn’t say something, she might get beaten.

Sitting helplessly on the ground, she instinctively shielded her body’s vital areas, especially her head and neck. It was as if she had long since learned how to deal with such situations of unwarranted accusations.

“You blind brat...!” The boy, soaked like a drowned rat, gritted his teeth and stomped toward her, his fists clenched so tightly that they creaked.

At this moment, the truth no longer mattered. What mattered was restoring his pride. If he didn’t, his lackeys might laugh at him.

But before he could take two steps, his legs suddenly buckled, as though someone had kicked the back of his knees. Thud! He knelt before the little girl with a loud crash, his forehead slamming onto the ground in a resounding knock.

Thonk!

Fox-eared Lackey: “?”
Bystanders: “...”
Qingque: “...”

“Boss, why are you bowing to this blind girl so fiercely?” The fox-eared boy muttered, bewildered. Then he added under his breath, “Maybe he got waterlogged and went dumb...”

Though quiet, the latter part of his comment was crystal clear in the brief silence that followed.

The boy’s forehead swelled red. Furious, he got up, ignoring the pain, and kicked the fox-eared boy in the leg.

“Looking for a beating, huh? I just slipped, that’s all!”

“I’m sorry, Boss, my mistake.” After taking a few more punches, the fox-eared boy quickly plastered on a smile and apologized. However, his resentment lingered.

You stomped over and banged your head on the ground in front of her. If that’s not dumb, then what is...?

This time, he was smart enough to keep the thought to himself rather than voice it.

The other lackey, seeing his companion get hit, immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Still dripping wet, the gang leader was skeptical. Pointing at the lackey who hadn’t been beaten, he ordered, “You, go!”

“Uh... me?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Go teach her a lesson!” His voice carried a trace of anger.

Normally, these two lackeys followed his every command without question. Why was everything going wrong today? Even his orders were met with hesitation.

The ordered lackey stiffened. Remembering how his boss had just beaten the other boy for speaking out of turn, he didn’t want to risk getting hit himself. Shoving down his apprehension, he clenched his fists and jogged toward the girl.

She’s just a blind kid. The boss is being merciful by not dirtying his hands. I’ll take the blame for this one!

But as soon as he took a few steps forward, his foot suddenly slipped. Panicked, he tried to steady himself, but his legs betrayed him. He found himself kicking upward and, inexplicably, letting out a yell.

“Waaaah!”

He somersaulted backward in the air, landing perfectly on his feet before springing into another series of flips. He performed over ten backflips in a row, nearly throwing up everything in his stomach. Finally, he stopped and began clapping by himself.

The onlookers were dumbfounded. They had no idea what he was doing. The series of flips was so impressive that it rivaled professional street performers. Slowly, they joined in and began to applaud.

Clap, clap, clap.

“...”

The gang leader’s veins bulged on his forehead. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I... I don’t know, Boss. Blegh...” Before the boy could finish, he squatted down and started retching uncontrollably. A sour stench filled the air.

In the crowd, Qingque silently put away the imperial jade in her hand, her elegant brows furrowed.

Once or twice could be chalked up to coincidence, but three times in a row? That was far too improbable. Someone was definitely helping the little girl.

The question was...

How could someone intervene to this extent?

“This is so damn bizarre.” The gang leader grimaced with disdain. “Whatever, she’s just a blind girl. One day, I’ll settle the score! Let’s go—”

“Boss! Boss!!”

The fox-eared boy who’d been beaten earlier suddenly let out a terrified wail. “I can’t see! I can’t see anymore!!”

“What do you mean you can’t see? You’re not the blind one here—”

Before he could finish, the other boy who had just finished vomiting began stumbling around in a panic, only to trip and crash to the ground.

“It’s so dark... so dark... I... I’ve gone blind!!!”

A string of strange occurrences had the gang leader feeling deeply unsettled. His legs wobbled as he instinctively took a few steps back.

“Stop pretending! If you two don’t move, I’m leaving on my own!”

The two boys, their voices tinged with sobs, cried out, “Boss, we’re serious! We can’t see anything! Help us!”

They clambered to their feet, only to fall over again, their wails echoing across the plaza.

The little girl remained crouched on the ground. Though she couldn’t see what was happening, the sounds alone told her everything.

The bullies who had tormented her were not only making fools of themselves but also seemed to have... gone blind?

Realizing his two lackeys weren’t faking it, the gang leader was quickly consumed by an unknown fear. Ignoring his struggling companions, he turned to flee without a second thought.

But he hadn’t gone far before the colors before his eyes began to fade. The vibrant world was replaced by pitch black, stripping him of his sense of space. He too succumbed to the inevitable, tumbling down a set of steps and rolling several times before coming to a stop.

“Who’s playing tricks on me?! Bring my vision back right now, or the Luofu Three Young Masters won’t let you off! Somebody get me home, now! If I see you kids again, I’ll beat you every time!”

Panicked and disoriented, the gang leader lashed out with his fists, trying to regain some semblance of control. His arrogance, nurtured by a life of indulgence and his parents’ indulgence, could not withstand this unprecedented fear.

“You do enough bad things, and karma catches up to you! Serves you right!”

A voice rang out from the crowd. People began laughing uproariously.

“The Luofu Three Young Masters? More like the Luofu Three Blind Mice!”

“A brat like you still thinks about revenge? Go cry to your mommy and daddy first... Oh wait, you’ll need to find your way home for that!”

“You think they’ll trip and die on the way back? If they do, I’ll set off firecrackers tomorrow to celebrate.”

“I’ll pitch in for a bigger batch of firecrackers.”

“I’ll chip in too. It’ll be a party to celebrate these spoiled brats finally getting what they deserve.”

“You’re all so cruel. Hey, Old Yun, didn’t those kids dump manure on your shop door? Why don’t you grab some from the toilet now and pour it near them? Let’s see if they slip and eat it!”

“Hahahahaha!!”

The Luofu Three Young Masters, infamous for their misdeeds, had long since worn out the community’s patience. Their wealthy families often resolved conflicts by throwing money around, leaving the locals too resigned to escalate matters.

But now, seeing the trio inexplicably struck blind, the onlookers were gleeful.

“You... all of you!!” The gang leader was on the verge of tears, his voice trembling with rage. “If anything happens to me, none of you will have it easy!”

“Oh, still talking tough? Come on, if you can find me, I’ll give you a prize... Careful now, there’s a staircase to your left. No, no, more to the right. Whoops! Hahaha, idiot!”

The gang leader was led in circles by the crowd, stumbling and tripping over and over. He snarled in pain and frustration, yet his curses never ceased.

Meanwhile, Qingque had already helped the little girl to her feet, brushing off the dust on her clothes. Watching the arrogant brats flounder made her inwardly smug.

Serves you right for bullying others. Now you’re the blind ones.

She recognized the trio from her commutes. They often loitered near the plaza, kicking stray dogs and throwing rocks at shops while roughhousing. Once, while Qingque was playing cards nearby, they had overturned her table, ruining her winning hand. If not for her good temperament, she might have joined the other players in giving them a beating.

They were the epitome of unwanted nuisances.

“Are you alright? Do those wounds still hurt?” Qingque used a wet tissue to clean the little girl’s injured chin as she asked softly.

The girl timidly shook her head. “Thank you, big sister. Xiaoyu is used to it. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Qingque felt a pang in her heart at the words.

Used to it? So it doesn’t hurt? That’s... too sad.

After scanning the area and seeing no one come to claim the girl, she asked, “Xiaoyu, where are your family? Didn’t they come with you?”

“No... Xiaoyu came to get medicine from Sister Dan Shu but ran into those boys on the way. Big sister, are they going to be okay? Xiaoyu is used to being unable to see, but if they can’t see, they might not make it home.”

“Don’t worry. The Cloud Knights will take them home. Even if they stay blind, their sight will return in a while. Don’t worry about them.”

Qingque had no sympathy for the spoiled brats. If they had become the targets of public scorn, it was simply karma.

“Actually, it’ll take at least a year or two before their sight returns,” a tall figure suddenly said as he crouched beside Qingque. He handed a cloth-wrapped packet to Xiaoyu.

“Old Chen?!” Qingque immediately recognized the voice. It was Chen Lin. “What are you doing here?”

Chen Lin smiled but didn’t answer directly. Turning to Xiaoyu, he gently reminded her, “Xiaoyu, this is the medicine from Dan Shu. Make sure to take it on time. There’s tactile writing on the packet to tell you how much to take and when.”

“Thank you, big brother.”

“Do you need me to take you home?”

“No need. Xiaoyu knows the way,” the girl said with a sweet smile. “Don’t trouble yourself, big brother and sister.”

Chen Lin ruffled her hair, watching as she carefully walked away. Only then did he turn back to Qingque.

“I was asked to deliver medicine and, while I was at it, decided to do some good. How’s that for a reason?”

“So they ended up like this because of you?”

“Yes,” Chen Lin admitted casually, watching the sobbing boys with interest. “Bullying the weak is despicable anywhere. Unfortunately, this isn’t Jarilo—it’s the Xianzhou. So I can only give them a small lesson. A year or two of blindness should help them understand what it’s like to be powerless.”

Qingque raised an eyebrow. “What would you have done if this had happened in your territory?”

“That depends. Are we talking about settling it privately or through the law?”

“If through the law?”

“They’d get a few weeks in jail for some good old-fashioned labor reform. If that doesn’t work, they’d get an extended stay.”

“And privately?”

Chen Lin chuckled. “Take a guess.”

Without answering further, he changed the topic. “Weren’t you heading home? What brings you here?”

At the mention of home, Qingque’s mood visibly darkened.

“The streets near my house are restricted. I heard the Resonance Spirals failed, and several starships collided. No one can get in or out... My family told me to find a place to stay, but everywhere is full!”

She gestured to the nearby inns.

“I’ve been searching for hours, but all the inns are packed. Apparently, several districts are under airspace control, and everyone who can’t get home has to stay outside. At least the Cloud Knights promised reimbursement; otherwise, some people would end up on the streets.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” Chen Lin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know your place has plenty of empty rooms.”

Qingque scratched her head. “I gave the room card back to the landlady. I didn’t want to freeload all the time—it might bother you, haha...”

“...”

Now you’re worried about boundaries? But when you’re staying at my place, you act so casual!

“Come stay with me, then. But first, I need to take care of something.”

---

T/N: hehe justice is BLIND get it

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!