Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [140]

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

“Roar!!”

Through the chaos of panicked citizens fleeing in all directions, Chen Lin’s gaze locked onto a young man whose body was grotesquely transforming. His frame swelled to monstrous proportions, and sharp bone spurs protruded from his shoulders and torso.

The man convulsed on the ground, emitting horrifying roars.

There was no doubt about it—this was a classic case of succumbing to Mara-struck.

And a severe one at that.

In mere moments, Chen Lin could no longer discern the man’s original human form. His body had swelled more than twice its original size, and a dense layer of keratinous armor-like scales covered his skin.

But that wasn’t the most shocking part.

The man, now fully consumed by the Mara, rose from his spasms and began trudging forward, destroying everything in sight with reckless abandon.

Including people.

Some bystanders, too far away to see clearly, were jostled by the fleeing crowd and remained confused about what was happening. Still, they instinctively joined the masses in their desperate escape.

“What’s going on?”
“Is someone causing trouble?”
“No, it’s a young man—he’s succumbed to Mara-struck!”

It was only after these frantic shouts that the confused crowd realized the grim truth—another unfortunate soul had fallen victim to the Mara.

In recent days, cases of Mara-struck among the Xianzhou people had spiked sharply. Even individuals far from the typical age range for such incidents were not spared, meeting a fate seemingly preordained.

“Take him down quickly! Don’t let him harm anyone else!” A commanding voice rang out. A squad of Cloud Knights rushed forward, their captain barking orders to coordinate the response.

Dealing with the mindless Mara-struck was something they were well-versed in.

“You three, flank him from behind! The rest of you, get those injured to safety. I’ll keep him distracted!”

“Yes, sir!” A young Cloud Knight, his injuries minor, struggled to his feet. Gripping his weapon tightly, he joined his comrades in circling around to the Mara-struck’s back.

Normally, these creatures lacked intelligence, and a bit of strategic maneuvering could minimize the damage they caused. But this time, things weren’t so simple.

As the captain taunted the creature by waving his polearm in front of it, the plan seemed to be working. The flanking knights prepared to strike.

Then, with a flash of cyan light, the Mara-struck swung its grotesquely muscular arm like a meteor. The bone blade it wielded easily cleaved through the chest plates of two flanking knights. Dark red blood sprayed outward as the two fell with agonized screams, their lifeblood pooling rapidly beneath them.

“I… am not deaf…”

A rasping, guttural voice emerged from the Mara-struck’s throat, sounding like a newborn attempting its first words.

The captain froze in disbelief. Did that thing just… taunt us?

Impossible.

As shock gripped him, his pupils constricted. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small, familiar figure stealthily dragging the injured knights away.

“Lady Dragon! Be careful!” the captain shouted, his heart pounding as he lunged forward, thrusting his polearm at the Mara-struck, who towered a full head taller than him.

The shimmering weapon struck, but the monstrous creature blocked the blow with ease. Still, the captain’s seasoned battlefield instincts allowed him to twist his body, avoiding a fatal counterattack. Even as a sharp bone spur pierced his deltoid, sending waves of searing pain through him, he gritted his teeth and kicked the Mara-struck in the chest, pushing himself to safety.

Meanwhile, near the fallen knights, a petite girl with horns on her head froze as the Mara-struck turned its gaze upon her. She immediately dropped the injured knights she was dragging.

“Ah… hehe, just passing by! I’m just a little girl passing through…”

Her words, however, elicited no mercy. The Mara-struck raised its bladed arm, aiming to strike her down.

Terrified, the girl grabbed the knights’ collars and bolted, though the heavy armor of her burdens drastically slowed her escape.

The injured captain, seeing this, gripped a nearby fallen spear and hurled it with all his might toward the creature.

He was already gravely wounded, and the throw, hindered by his injury, was neither accurate nor powerful. Even if it hit, it would likely do little harm.

“I’ve got this… stay down.”

Snap!

A gentle yet firm voice resonated by his ear, followed by the crisp sound of fingers snapping.

What happened next defied all logic.

Centered on the Mara-struck, the surrounding air visibly distorted. A gravitational force descended like the weight of an entire fleet, immobilizing the creature. The ground beneath it cracked like a spiderweb, unable to withstand the pressure.

The captain’s thrown spear froze mid-air before dropping straight down, hitting the ground with such force that its shaft warped.

Yet, the Mara-struck youth stubbornly remained standing.

Chen Lin frowned. With a mere wave of his hand, all the discarded weapons in the vicinity rose into the air. Even the Cloud Knights felt an unseen force wrench their weapons from their grips.

A dozen or so weapons hovered mid-air, their tips trembling before piercing through the Mara-struck, pinning its limbs and non-lethal parts to the ground.

The Mara-struck were known for their formidable regenerative abilities—a fact Chen Lin had learned from Jing Yuan. If injured to a certain extent, they would often enter a coma to expedite their healing. Unless killed outright, even the most severe wounds would mend in moments.

Bruises faded within seconds. Fractures healed in the blink of an eye. Severed limbs regenerated in less than a minute…

Back then, Chen Lin had merely chuckled.

Their regeneration can’t possibly match mine, he had thought. With traits like Rapid Healing and Extreme Toughness, even a fall from hundreds of meters couldn’t kill him. He could recover from near-death with nothing but sheer willpower. To him, a Mara-struck was hardly a threat.

“Impressive, my benefactor!” A cheerful voice clapped in praise. Tingyun, the fox-eared girl, smiled and said, “To subdue a Mara-struck so effortlessly—what an extraordinary display of skill!”

“Wait, are you… Miss Tingyun from the Sky-Faring Commission?” The injured captain, recognizing the fox-eared girl, turned to Chen Lin, his tone shifting to awe. “And you… are you Governor Chen?”

Chen Lin hadn’t expected to be recognized. He was certain he’d never met this Cloud Knight captain before.

“Yeah,” Chen Lin replied, a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Do you know me?”

“Of course. Yesterday, before sundown, the general distributed a photograph to every Cloud Knight, instructing us to provide assistance to the individual in the photo no matter where they were or what they were doing on the Xianzhou,” the Cloud Knight captain said, nodding vigorously. “After that, the Divination Commission also issued a similar notice to the Cloud Knights stationed nearby. The instructions were the same—the person in the photograph was to be allowed unrestricted access to the Divination Commission.”

Unbelievable. Even as the subject of these directives, Chen Lin himself hadn’t been aware of the extraordinary privileges he apparently held on the Xianzhou.

“Stop the bleeding first,” Chen Lin said solemnly, his expression firm. “I’ll go take a closer look at this Mara-struck individual.”

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t encountered Mara-struck individuals before. The issue was that most cases were marked by minor physical transformations—perhaps an extra limb or some grotesque new appendages. But this man’s entire frame had grown absurdly, from an average height of about 1.7 meters to a towering 2.5 meters.

Something’s definitely not right.

Chen Lin’s Auspicious Insight trait had already nudged him in this direction, hinting that he should probe into the memories of this Mara-struck individual. Although he had no idea what he might uncover, he trusted his instinct and the guidance of his unique abilities.

Always makes the right decisions? (✘)
Knows which actions yield benefits? (✔)

Tingyun, understanding her limits, decided there was little point in tagging along. After some thought, she resolved to stay behind and help bandage the wounded, figuring that would be far more useful.

“I’ll stay here and assist with the wounded. Please, Benefactor, take care.”

“I will.”

As Chen Lin approached the Mara-struck youth, who was pinned to the ground by gravity and weapons, he noticed his inexperience with manipulating physical matter clearly reflected in the scene. The weapons embedded in the creature’s limbs were askew, with some even visibly damaged from the immense gravitational force.

Despite being restrained, the Mara-struck continued to struggle. Though its face was obscured, the overwhelming hostility radiating from its form was palpable. Chen Lin knew that accessing someone’s memories required either their full cooperation or a complete inability to resist. There was no in-between.

No point hesitating. Chen Lin grabbed the hilt of a broken sword and, canceling the gravity field for an instant, brought the weapon down hard on the creature’s head.

Clang!

“…”

The Mara-struck immediately went still. Chen Lin hesitated, suddenly doubting himself. Did I hit too hard? I swear I held back—I couldn’t have killed him, right?

Placing a hand on the creature’s neck, he confirmed a faint pulse. Relieved, he prepared to delve into its memories. Just as he was about to begin, a childlike voice piped up behind him.

“Big Brother, your ‘calmness therapy’ is astonishingly effective!”

Turning, Chen Lin saw the same audacious little girl from earlier—the one who had dragged the injured knights away. Her large tail swished playfully behind her as she stood nearby. From her appearance, Chen Lin deduced she was likely one of the Vidyadhara, the dragon-like Xianzhou natives he had read about in the Divination Commission’s records.

Everything on this ship feels oddly familiar the longer I stay here…

“And you are?”

“Just call me Bailu! Big Brother, here, give him this medicine. It should help stabilize his Mara-struck condition.” Bailu handed over a small gourd-shaped bottle.

“There’s no need for that yet. I want to examine him first.”

“You’re a doctor too?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

With that, Chen Lin focused, weaving psionic threads into the Mara-struck youth’s mind. He sifted through a tangled web of memories, seeking anything useful.

To an observer, Chen Lin appeared motionless, his hand resting on the creature’s head. But to Bailu, the scene was different. She could faintly see a purple glow emanating from Chen Lin’s palm, accompanied by threads that instinctively triggered a sense of unease—a primal reaction to an invasion of personal boundaries.

Bailu had seen enough of Chen Lin’s capabilities to be cautious. She wouldn’t have stayed this close otherwise, much less spoken to him.

Minutes passed before Chen Lin’s brow furrowed sharply. He withdrew his hand, his expression grim. The Mara-struck’s excess appendages began to recede, restoring the man’s original appearance—only for the growths to regenerate moments later.

“Is… is he okay now?” Bailu asked nervously, peeking at the youth. “What just happened?”

“He’s stable, but he’s beyond saving,” Chen Lin replied, shaking his head. “No point wasting medicine on him.”

Since arriving on the Xianzhou, Chen Lin had learned not to judge by appearances. That cheerful, bouncing girl on the roadside might very well be decades older than him. With that in mind, he addressed Bailu without treating her like a mere child.

“Miss Bailu, is it?”

“That’s me!”

Chen Lin organized the fragments of memory he had gleaned and said, “This man was a member of the Alchemy Commission. His name is Dong Ming, and he’s 281 years old. Do you know him?”

“I don’t.” Bailu shook her head, then suddenly realized something was off. She stepped back warily, her tone sharp. “How do you know his identity?!”

“That’s my method,” Chen Lin replied, waving dismissively. “I even know who you are.”

He lowered his voice as he continued, “Bailu, the ‘Medicine-Holder Dragon Maiden’ of the Alchemy Commission, a Vidyadhara dragon sovereign residing in the depths of the Vidyadhara domain. Frequently escapes for excursions, only to be dragged back by the Artisanship Commission…”

Weapons activated. Ready to strike.

Bailu’s expression betrayed her alarm. Few people could recognize her true identity at a glance, especially not outsiders unfamiliar with the Xianzhou.

Noticing her growing unease, Chen Lin softened his tone. “Miss Bailu, I’m on your side. No need to worry—I was just teasing you.”

“And I’m supposed to just believe you?” she retorted, unconvinced.

“Heh. Fine, let’s start over.” Chen Lin adjusted his posture and spoke formally. “I am Chen Lin, Governor of the Yalilo Star Cluster under the Star Sea Empire, sworn brother of General Jing Yuan and Diviner Fu Xuan, and a strategic partner of the Xianzhou Luofu. I’m here to research the Mara-struck phenomenon and provide solutions for its treatment.”

Pausing for emphasis, he added, “By the way, do you know of an organization called the ‘Disciples of Sanctus Medicus’? According to the memories I retrieved, this man consumed their concoctions multiple times before succumbing to Mara-struck.”

He gestured toward the nearby Cloud Knights. “Look, they know me. And over there—that’s Tingyun from the Sky-Faring Commission. Does that convince you?”

Bailu hesitated, glancing toward the Cloud Knights. Seeing no objections to Chen Lin’s actions, her expression finally relaxed.

“So you were just messing with me, huh? If I could, I’d smack you with my tail! Hmph!”

Superpowers, huh? .jpg

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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!