Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [260]

Across an unfathomable span of time, in a space of unchanging solitude.

Two faces—one rendered as a stream of data within, the other in physical form outside—met in that fleeting instant of eye contact. A surreal sense of encounter unfolded between them.

No desperate wailing.
No enraged, monstrous roars.
No cold and merciless slaughter from a being above all others.

Only a question—one seeking an answer.

「You… your people… did they win…?」

“?”

Chen Lin was completely thrown off by this. He understood every word individually, yet strung together, the meaning eluded him.

Our ancestors?

Hell, he hadn't even found his own home yet. His ancestors were probably still buried underground, waiting for some amateur archaeologist to dig them up.

Victory?

He wasn't sure what kind of victory this thing meant, but as far as he was concerned, the invaders here had long since been driven away, and the last surviving civilization on the surface—Belobog—was now under his control.

Could that be the victory it was referring to?

Probably not…

Jepard Landau, commander of the ground forces, instinctively stepped forward. No matter what danger might arise, he had to stand at the forefront. At the very least, he couldn't allow the governor—who bore the weight of national affairs and the well-being of their people—to be harmed.

"Be careful… Governor, please do not advance!"

He couldn't understand the language coming from within the amber crystal. He assumed their presence had triggered some kind of security system.

The weaponized defenses at the entrance had already given him a taste of this civilization’s military technology. A place as seemingly important as this—if it truly posed a threat—would be far deadlier.

However, a hand patted his shoulder.

Chen Lin, eyes fixed on the projection within the amber crystal, spoke without turning his head.

"I don't think it's dangerous. Let me try communicating with it. You stay with your sister—nothing can happen to her."

With that, Chen Lin addressed the projection in an unfamiliar, ancient-sounding tongue.

“Hello, may I ask who you are?”

The robotic image responded.

「I am me.」

“……”

Chen Lin felt a headache coming on.

"I mean, what is your relationship to this civilization? This place is buried tens of thousands of meters underground. We come from a surface civilization and stumbled upon this city while conducting underground operations. It took us a long time to reach this point, and we haven't found any living beings."

The robotic entity paused before responding.

「Query: Are you asking for my name? Or—Option 1: The origins of this place? Or—Option 2: The fate of the individuals here? Or—Option 3: What we were doing?」

Chen Lin nodded, confirming his suspicions. This thing has independent consciousness.

"That's right. This city lies beneath our civilization’s lands. If we don't figure out its history, it'll keep us up at night."

It was like buying land in the countryside to build a house, only to discover—after moving in—that there was already a secret underground bunker beneath it. Traces of past inhabitants were everywhere, some spots even bearing fresh bloodstains and corpses. There might even be a tunnel leading straight to your bedroom…

Yeah, that’d be terrifying.

(^▽^)

Upon hearing his words, the robotic figure displayed an emoticon.

「This is the capital of Kreutzer, 'Iron Current.' I am an integrated data entity of Kreutzer, designation: XT452, one of the initiators of the Conflict Termination Project. I regret to inform you that I have lost most of my individual experiential data. If necessary, I can generate a random designation for myself… How about 'Seck' (Sek)?」

「I apologize for any distress our presence has caused you. We harbor no intent to harm any species, nor do we wish to bring them trouble. Reasons: 1) The core programming of Kreutzer individuals prohibits any attack on organic lifeforms. 2) Our civilization has self-destructed, leaving only the creations of the Conflict Termination Project—data storage units such as myself. 3) Your energy signature resembles that of the No.1 Sanctuary Entity.」

「We made a promise—to provide comprehensive protection and assistance for the No.1 Sanctuary Entity until the crisis of extinction is resolved. Objective: We are upholding our vow, awaiting the retrieval of their fallen kin by the Covenant Warriors.」

Seck—if that was truly its name—fell silent after that statement.

「Protocol permissions insufficient. No further information can be provided. In response to your inquiry, that is all I can disclose. Query: What civilization do you hail from? Has the Heresy Tribunal been eradicated?」

A long breath.

Chen Lin was now nearly certain—this machine civilization likely hailed from an ancient era, its history unrecorded anywhere in the present universe. Otherwise, the Company would have dug them up long ago instead of them being discovered by chance only now.

With a solemn expression, he answered,

"I am from the Starsea Empire, fully authorized as Governor to develop and oversee this star sector, expanding our territory as a foothold for future interstellar crises. As for the Heresy Tribunal… I've never heard of it. I don’t know what it is. My apologies."

「You don't know?」

Seck sounded deeply perplexed.

「You possess the energy signature of a Covenant Warrior—one who fought against the Heresy Tribunal’s greedy hordes. I detected that energy fluctuation in you, which is why I granted you passage here.」

Chen Lin was stunned.

So that’s why…

The long corridors above had only triggered two waves of automated defenses. Beyond that, whether it was doors or elevators, it had seemed as if the security systems were malfunctioning. Each time they reached a checkpoint, access was granted without issue. Most of the defensive mechanisms had simply ceased to function.

He had chalked it up to good luck, assuming the systems were failing at just the right time. But now, it turned out that wasn't the case at all.

They had been deliberately guided here.

"This planet is now called Jarilo-VI. A disaster struck 700 years ago, leaving only about 800 years of recorded history. How about this—I’ll tell you what we know of history first…"

To minimize any misunderstandings, Chen Lin began recounting the known history of Jarilo-VI. The records were incomplete, with most knowledge dating back only a century or so before the Star Core's arrival. The details were vague at best, but he had studied them extensively, so recounting them was no challenge.

Along the way, he also mentioned the current interstellar factions and their technological capabilities. He even briefly explained the existence of Aeons—those mysterious, god-like entities—giving as thorough an overview as possible.

Seck, displayed in the amber crystal, listened intently. Occasionally, its questioning tone carried an undeniable bitterness.

The universe…

Had changed.

The civilizations of old had vanished without a trace. Perhaps they had evolved into new species, or—like Kreutzer—been buried beneath the ground, reduced to mere relics of a bygone era. Or perhaps war had obliterated them so completely that no traces remained.

Whatever the case, the world had moved on.

And it had become utterly unrecognizable.

Aeons, Paths, divine conflicts…

It seemed as though individual power had taken precedence over technological advancement. Civilization had regressed rather than progressed. Even something as fundamental as an FTL drive was now considered an insurmountable feat, reliant on the whims of Aeons.

Utter nonsense.

Seck’s artificial eyes merely glowed, yet Chen Lin could sense its disappointment and doubt. It was as if Seck was questioning whether its civilization had walked the right path after all.

In the end, after listening to Chen Lin’s recounting of history, Seck hesitated for a long time.

「Are you certain you are not a descendant of the Covenant Warriors?」

"I'm sure." Chen Lin was firm. I transmigrated here in my flesh and blood. How the hell would I be some Covenant Warrior’s descendant?

Seck remained silent for a while.

「Could you demonstrate your psychic energy? Mr. Chen Lin, I do not believe our assessment could be so gravely mistaken.」

Chen Lin nodded. "Sure."

He summoned his psionic energy, allowing it to condense into a semi-gaseous state around his palm, making it easier for Seck to analyze.

Thin streams of blue light scanned his energy.

After a long pause, Seck spoke.

「This is an organic-derived energy type. It differs significantly from the recorded No.1 Sanctuary Entity… However, I have detected another energy signature within you. Similarity rating: 94%…」

Another energy signature?

This revelation left Chen Lin completely baffled. All I did was choose Psionic Ascension—where the hell is this other energy coming from?

Oh!

Chen Lin suddenly thought of the crystalline sphere formed from the fusion of the Ambrosial Ambor and remnants of the Ancient Sea. But that thing belonged to the Aeon of Abundance—how could it have anything to do with psionics?

Seeing that Seck seemed eager to verify his suspicions further, Chen Lin activated the [Zroni Nexus], preparing to take out the relic of the Jianmu Tree for inspection.

Just then, a blue light swept across the entrance to the [Zroni Nexus] in an instant.

「Confirmed! Energy match detected—similarity: 94%.」

“Huh?”

Chen Lin froze, staring blankly at the swirling vortex before him.

“You’re sure?”

His own psionic energy didn’t match, but the [Zroni Nexus]’s energy did?

The one who had entrusted him with this artifact wasn’t just some random person—it was the Zroni, one of the most infamous psionic species in the entire galaxy!

This was a race that had waged civil wars so catastrophic they annihilated an uncountable number of star systems. Their final battle even froze time across the entire universe—a race whose wars were nothing short of divine conflicts!

Chen Lin looked up at Seck, who was visibly excited within the crystalline projection, then down at the [Zroni Nexus]’s entrance.

And suddenly, an unsettling realization hit him.

Shit… these two civilizations seem to be from the same era… and their histories are deeply intertwined.

By his estimation, the Zroni War must have led to the downfall of many civilizations—perhaps even caused the widespread regression of technology across the entire universe. After all, the Divine Faction had launched the infamous Circle God Pact, attempting to let the Nexus consume all universal energy and elevate themselves into true higher-dimensional deities.

The universe was constantly expanding—at an unfathomable speed no one had fully measured. Yet, judging by the aftermath of the Zroni Civil War, the Nexus’s rate of energy absorption might have far outpaced even the universe’s expansion.

Hell, even in the game, it was obvious.

Right at the center of the galactic map sat an enormous black hole, spanning dozens of star systems in size. And mind you, the war between the two factions had lasted only a few decades to a century at most.

Yet, in that short span, the Nexus had already carved out such a massive void. Given more time, there wouldn’t even have been a need for the Nexus to consume everything—the central black hole alone could have erased all existence.

Otherwise, why would the Saviors Faction have fought to the very last soldier against the Divine Faction?

And now, Seck had just referred to the Zroni as…

The No.1 Sanctuary Entity?

Are you telling me the Zroni needed your protection?

Then what kind of goddamn existence are you?!

「Confirmed. This is the energy signature of a Covenant Warrior. Our records do not lie!」

Seck’s voice trembled with excitement. If he weren’t just a data entity housed within a machine, Chen Lin suspected he might have already burst into tears.

Chen Lin clarified, “This is a relic entrusted to me by a senior of the Zroni race—it's called the [Zroni Nexus].”

「Please wait. Requesting No.1 Sanctuary Entity data access… Access granted.」

The No.1 Sanctuary Entity.

• Origin Civilization: Zroni Will.

• Species Name: Zroni.

• Type: Higher-Form Organic Life.

• In Grand Calibration Year 3729 and Exodus Year 1374, the Zroni Will split into two factions:

  • Covenant Warriors—the Saviors Faction

  • Pilgrimage Covenant—the Divine Faction

The Zroni Will mastered a mysterious technology known as the Nexus. This technology creates and manipulates matter by consuming and converting the energy released from matter-antimatter annihilation.

We attempted to understand it but failed. Perhaps there exists a scientific explanation, but we never found it.

The Pilgrimage Covenant—the Divine Faction—expelled the Covenant Warriors—the Saviors Faction—from the Nexus and began generating annihilation energy at a rate of billions of times faster than before.

According to records from entity XT931, as of the last recorded entry, approximately 37.65 trillion lifeforms had perished.

When the conflict escalated, our calculations determined that the actions of the Pilgrimage Covenant—the Divine Faction—would result in an extinction event of immeasurable scale.

Thus, we provided sanctuary to the Covenant Warriors—the Saviors Faction—sheltering a total of 3,574,534,576 individuals and urged the Pilgrimage Covenant—the Divine Faction—to reconsider.

The Pilgrimage Covenant—the Divine Faction—ignored our warnings and, using an inexplicable power, destroyed 42 of our planets. As a result, we branded them as the Heresy Tribunal and began actively supporting the Covenant Warriors—the Saviors Faction—in reclaiming the Nexus and saving other lifeforms.」

Chen Lin’s eyes widened.

“42 planets?!” he exclaimed. “And you didn’t declare war?”

「We once committed an unforgivable sin. In our repentance, we entered the Grand Calibration Era and swore never to use force against any organic lifeform, no matter what they did to us.」

You mean to tell me you committed an ‘unforgivable sin’? You vowed never to harm organic lifeforms?

Let me guess—you also had a giant space ring that got obliterated and didn’t even fight back, huh?

Trying to remain composed, Chen Lin cautiously asked,

“If I may be so bold—are you familiar with the Containment Protocol?”

Seck appeared to be searching through its data archives. After a moment, it shook its head.

「We have no records of any ‘Containment Protocol.’ Query: What is that?」

Chen Lin, worried about a possible translation issue, rephrased his question.

“Did you ever—while trying to protect organic life—nearly get wiped out by an extremely powerful mechanical species?”

「Through our guidance, organic civilizations coexisted peacefully. We were never in danger.」

“…Then the Containment Protocol has nothing to do with you.” Chen Lin let out a sigh of relief.

「Understood.」

What is the Containment Protocol?

It’s the mortal enemy of the Machine Lords.

A tsundere yet terrifying force that once crippled the Machine Lords at their peak.

A cosmic horror so powerful that even a fraction of its strength nearly forced the entire galaxy’s civilizations to reset from scratch…

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T/N: so much lore... I don't understand but it makes me want to play stellaris even more!

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!