Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [239]

Early in the morning—before the Artisanship Commission had even adjusted the brightness of the artificial daylight, before the city’s academies had opened their doors—a shocking piece of news had already spread across most of Luofu.

The Governor who had vanished after the Battle of the Ambrosial Arbor, the man who had risked his life to save Luofu…

Had returned!

The moment the Divination Commission’s News Division published the report confirming Chen Lin’s survival and return from the former Ambrosial Arbor’s depths, all of Luofu erupted in celebration.

Through communicators and messaging apps, the news spread like wildfire. The public’s spontaneous dissemination of the announcement far surpassed the News Division’s estimates—within two hours, every citizen of Luofu knew that the man who had saved them from total annihilation was alive.

In the streets, drums thundered, firecrackers exploded, red banners fluttered in the wind, and the roads were packed with jubilant crowds.

Online, the comment section under the Divination Commission’s official report refreshed at an insane speed, overwhelming the main formation array servers, causing them to crash momentarily.

And yet, while the city celebrated, the man at the center of it all was seated inside the Strategic Commission’s reception hall, answering questions from his rather peculiar visitor.

“The disappearance of the Ambrosial Arbor was too astonishing…”

The woman sitting across from him sighed, flipping through her notes.

“The Ten-Lords Commission was unable to find any trace of the Arbor within the Scalegorge Waterscape. So, they sent me to ask—what exactly happened back there?”

Chen Lin’s expression remained indifferent.

“That information is classified under Imperial security protocols. I’m afraid I cannot disclose it.”

“…Ah, well, that’s fine. No one on the Xianzhou actually cares whether the Ambrosial Arbor exists or not.”

She tapped her pen against the table absentmindedly.

“Some of my colleagues in the Divination Commission said the scholars at the Divination Division didn’t even bother writing research papers on it—it was probably useless, anyway. Now that it’s gone, we don’t have to worry about sealing the Stellaron inside, I don’t have to document anything, and I don’t have to archive mountains of records…”

Her voice trailed off into a mumble, filled with sheer exhaustion.

“Honestly, I wish every assignment could just disappear like that…”

She rambled on for a while before realizing she was still on duty. Quickly straightening up, she coughed awkwardly.

“…Ahem. Apologies. Let’s move on to the next question.”

She glanced at her notes again.

“During your battle with Phantylia, what exactly was the technique you used? Did it have any lasting effects on you? Do you require assistance from the Alchemy Commission or the Ten-Lords Commission?”

“No need,” Chen Lin replied. “As for the effects… it causes significant memory instability. The rest of the details are classified.”

“Understood. Next question—do you know Phantylia’s current status? Is she dead? If so, where? If not, do you have any idea where she might have escaped to?”

“Apologies, but due to memory fragmentation, I have no clear recollection of that event.”

“Oh… Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

She waved a hand dismissively.

“The Lord Ravagers always seem to be actively seeking death, anyway. If she isn’t dead now, she’ll probably die eventually. Moving on—those warships of yours… the ones equipped with those anti-energy weapons… Could you provide any information regarding their technology?”

Chen Lin’s response was immediate.

“Classified.”

“…Figures.”

The woman across from him was dressed in an official uniform—her codename was "Hanya", an investigator from the Ten-Lords Commission.

Her assignment was to document every last detail of the Battle of the Ambrosial Arbor.

Yet, from the way she carried herself, she seemed less like an investigator and more like someone just trying to pass the time.

She radiated pure exhaustion—her dark eye bags were deep and heavy, her speech was slow and lethargic, and even her handwriting was shaky, as though the weight of the brush was almost too much to bear.

Throughout their ten-minute conversation, Chen Lin couldn’t shake the feeling that she might collapse at any moment.

At the bottom of her report, she lazily scrawled "Classified" for the umpteenth time, then shut her notebook.

After asking a few sensitive questions—only to receive the same "Classified" response—she finally sighed and stood up.

Or at least, she tried to.

She nearly tripped over herself in the process.

Barely managing to regain her balance, she bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Governor Chen.”

She exhaled heavily.

“On behalf of all Judges and Reapers of the Ten-Lords Commission, we offer our gratitude. If not for your aid, the Xianzhou Luofu—and all who dwell within it—might not have survived this crisis.”

Then, her tired gaze flickered toward Chen Lin’s "pet" companions, and she muttered,

“Well, I’ll leave you to your rest now… Really, thank you for being so understanding of my predicament.”

She yawned.

“I personally don’t want to ask all these questions, you know? But the moment I received the assignment, the damn questionnaire was already this long…”

A heavy sigh.

“Once I get back, I’ll have to deal with an absolute mountain of paperwork… Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me want to drop dead. If you’d be so kind as to allow me to sit somewhere outside for a while, alone… I’d be forever grateful…”

“…Uh, Miss Hanya, feel free.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I swear I won’t dirty the courtyard floor, please don’t worry.”

Chen Lin: “…”

Finally, after seeing off the Judge-Scribe, Chen Lin let out a deep sigh.

Just how intense was the workload at the mysterious Ten-Lords Commission, for its staff to be ground down to that state?

Work is suffering.

He shook his head and adjusted his posture, shifting the half-asleep girl clinging to him.

She had latched onto him the moment they reunited—and had refused to let go.

She hadn’t spoken a word, hadn’t made a sound—just silently wept while clinging to his back.

Eventually, she had cried herself to sleep.

It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who, even in the bloodiest battles, had never let out so much as a whimper of pain.

Now, seeing her in such a fragile state, Chen Lin could only fall into silence.

For once, he didn’t try to pry her off or make a teasing remark.

Instead, he simply let her be.

“Linlin…”

Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

She had been awake for a while.

She simply hadn’t wanted to let go.

“I thought… you’d left me behind.”

“I never would.”

Chen Lin sighed, gently pinching her cheek.

“You sure caused a lot of trouble while I was gone.”

Her feelings toward him were… complicated.

It wasn’t just friendship—there was something else.

Something deeper.

Something that felt almost like family.

And yet, despite all his pondering, he still couldn’t quite understand why.

Most of the time, she was just pretending to be clueless.

That didn’t mean she didn’t understand things.

So, she simply lowered her head and apologized.

“…I’m sorry. Later, she wrote to me, saying that you were fine, that you’d be back soon. She told me to at least eat a little, or else you might never come back…”

Chen Lin’s expression twitched slightly.

He could already picture it—like a parent coaxing a stubborn child into eating.

“…Kafka?” he asked.

“Mm.”

Stelle nodded vigorously, then sighed.

“I had… so many questions I wanted to ask her. But I can’t contact her anymore.”

“Hah…”

By now, Chen Lin had already caught up on most of what had happened in Luofu over the past few months.

But when it came to the Stellaron Hunters’ strange actions…

He was still struggling to wrap his head around them.

Jing Yuan had told him about the Scalegorge Waterscape investigation.

The so-called “deathsworn” had been acting under the orders of two elder Vidyadharas, who had refused to accept the decline of their lineage.

When they learned that Dan Heng, the last inheritor of their dragon lineage, had returned to Luofu, they saw their opportunity—attempting to use the chaos of the Ambrosial Arbor’s fall as a cover to seize back the legacy of the High Elder.

The Vidyadhara clan’s tangled web of grudges was complicated, but that wasn’t the real issue.

The real problem was: Where did these two elders even get their information from?

Jing Yuan had actually woken up from his coma a while ago.

Ever since, he had been investigating this matter in secret.

And every single clue pointed toward the Stellaron Hunters.

But why?

Why would they go out of their way to orchestrate something like this?

Chen Lin recalled his encounter with Blade inside the Scalegorge Waterscape.

When he had asked why Kafka hadn’t come with him, Blade had simply said:

"She’s preparing a surprise for you."

But what exactly was that surprise?

Was it Phantylia?

Was it the Ambrosial Arbor?

Or had it still not even surfaced yet?

Without more information, he couldn’t make a solid judgment.

For now… he could only take things one step at a time.

A steady footfall sounded outside.

The footsteps drew the attention of Hanya, who was still muttering complaints while resting in the courtyard.

Inside the room, both Chen Lin and Stelle also turned toward the door.

When they saw who had arrived, Chen Lin smiled and stepped forward.

“Miss Qingzu, what brings you here?”

“Lord Chen Lin,” she said with a respectful nod. “The General and Grand Diviner have requested your presence in the main hall.

“In addition, the General also asked me to inquire—

“Did you bring formal attire from the Empire?”

As they left the courtyard, crossing the vast training grounds, Chen Lin noticed something.

The normally lively drill field—usually echoing with the clamor of Cloud Knights training—was eerily silent.

When he asked Qingzu where they had gone, she only smiled and said,

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

After a few minutes of walking, he finally saw them.

The Cloud Knights stood in formation, clad in gleaming armor, their polearms raised in perfect unison before the Strategic Commission’s entrance.

The ceremonial war drums had even been brought out.

A red carpet stretched across the grand staircase, with officers standing at attention along its edges—arranged by rank.

They had shed their heavy combat armor, donning custom-tailored formalwear instead.

Their chests bore an array of military medals, and their weapons had been standardized—each officer now carrying a ceremonial longsword at their waist.

Their postures were upright, their gazes resolute—an unspoken authority radiating from their presence.

Behind them stood officials from all six divisions of Luofu, also clad in formal attire.

And among them…

One particular figure stood out.

Qingque.

Fidgeting every few minutes.

Why is Qingque standing there?

This was a grand-scale diplomatic reception.

A proper state ceremony.

So why was she just squatting among the government officials like that?!

From a distance, he recognized many of these officers—some of whom had fought alongside him in the Battle of the Apotheosis Codex.

They had bled together on the battlefield.

And at the start of the red carpet, six figures stood waiting.

The heads of Luofu’s six divisions—

Strategic Commission, Astral Navigation Commission, Divination Commission, Divination Division, Artisanship Commission, and Alchemy Commission.

The six of them had all gathered here today.

The moment they spotted Chen Lin, they stepped forward to greet him.

“Brother,” Jing Yuan said, smiling as he gestured toward the assembled Cloud Knights.

“Do you feel honored, being the focus of their admiration?”

His internal injuries had not yet fully healed.

His complexion was still pale.

But his energy had returned—he even had enough strength to joke around again.

Chen Lin glanced at the grand spectacle before him, then chuckled.

“I’m too young to be a living relic.”

“But you, on the other hand, should be feeling pretty proud right now.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“This whole arrangement… does it mean last night’s proposal has been finalized?”

Jing Yuan smiled.

“Indeed.”

He gestured ahead.

“Please—after you.”

As they ascended the ceremonial staircase, Chen Lin couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu.

It reminded him of the state receptions he had seen on TV back in his old world.

Back then, he was just an ordinary viewer—watching from behind a screen.

But now…

He was the one walking down the red carpet.

A national-level diplomatic reception…

Damn.

He suddenly had a terrifying thought.

Am I about to end up on the evening news?!

At the grand table in front of the Strategic Commission, a red ceremonial cloth had been laid out.

Each seat was marked with a nameplate.

Chen Lin and Jing Yuan sat at the head, while the six division heads took their places along the sides.

Jing Yuan took the microphone and began his speech.

He recounted Chen Lin’s contributions to the Xianzhou, detailing every major event in which he had played a role.

Everyone present already knew these stories.

But this wasn’t just for them.

It was for the public—a way to cement the narrative for all of Luofu.

They had already discussed this the night before.

What they hadn’t expected, however, was how absurdly fast the Interstellar Rift Empire had approved the entire process.

Everything had been finalized overnight.

When Jing Yuan finished speaking, Qingzu approached—carrying a small ornate box.

At the same time, a news crew subtly adjusted their cameras, angling them for a better shot.

Jing Yuan took the box, opened it, and solemnly retrieved the artifact inside—a Jade Talisman.

He placed it in Chen Lin’s hands.

"Thousands of years ago… when the Interstellar Rift Empire was first formed, the Xianzhou made a solemn vow—"

"We carved it into jade, our alliance sealed in stone.

"Even should the heavens fall and the earth perish—this oath shall never be broken."

"By order of the Six Chancellors, and by decree of the Marshal and the Ten-Lords Commission, I, Jing Yuan, formally present this Jade Talisman to Governor Chen Lin, as a symbol of our alliance."

"From this moment forward—"

"No matter where you go, no matter how far across the stars—"

"Luofu’s Cloud Knights will come to your aid, at any cost."

"Any who raise their blade against you—raises their blade against Luofu."

"And Luofu shall pursue vengeance—"

"To the ends of the cosmos itself."

---

T/N: who the fuck is cold crow

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!