Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [343]

Fishing.

Chen Lin had spent some time as an amateur angler, often accompanying the old men from the research institute to the fish ponds in their free time.

But that didn’t mean he actually enjoyed physical fishing.

On the contrary—what truly interested him was the kind of fishing that required patience, the kind where one had to calmly wait for the prey to take the bait.

When fishing by a pond, a person’s excitement came from the uncertainty of what they might catch.

And uncertainty meant the unknown.

But when given the choice, he preferred the kind of fishing where the results were predictable—where he knew what he was about to catch.

Phantylia’s reputation had grown far too infamous recently.

A guard capable of slaying a Lord Ravager lingering at his side every day was an overwhelming deterrent to any potential threat.

So, temporarily reassigning Phantylia was like baiting a hook and casting it into the pond.

Even if the hook was bare and the bait stale, there would always be some fish that just couldn’t resist taking a bite.

Hearing Chen Lin’s voice resonate in her mind, Phantylia’s expression grew increasingly serious.

She held her breath, ears tuned in carefully.

---

Inside a luxurious apartment, a graceful figure stretched lazily as she stepped through the door.

Atop her head, a pair of fluffy, pointed ears twitched ever so slightly, the kind of movement that tempted people to reach out and give them a pat.

However—

Just as the door swung shut behind her, she suddenly reached up and rubbed her face.

A realistic mask peeled away, revealing the true features underneath.

As strands of soft lilac hair tumbled freely, a gentle smile curved across her round, delicate face.

The woman possessed no trace of Sterbian hybrid traits.

Because she was, in fact—

A pure human.

Yawning, Kafka pulled out her phone.

For the past hour, emails had been flooding in nonstop, and her terminal had been buzzing incessantly.

Only now did she finally have a moment to attend to personal matters.

After quickly skimming through her inbox, she tapped a few commands into the terminal—

And moments later, a holographic projection sprang to life before her.

Within the display, a filthy, disheveled girl sat with her gaze lowered, as if her dejected posture alone could tell the tale of her misfortunes.

Kafka studied the sight for a good ten seconds.

Then, all of a sudden—

She burst into laughter.

“Pfft—!”

“…Is it really that funny?”

The ragged girl sighed, irritation creeping into her tone.

“To be honest, I’ve had nothing but bad luck lately. What’s the situation on your end? I’m trying to find a way to get over there.”

Kafka raised a hand, lightly covering the amused smile on her lips.

“Before, there was a great opportunity—but now? Are you sure you can even sneak in?"

"Jarilo’s borders are under martial law, you know."

"There are over a dozen checkpoints per star system."

"And besides… are you really okay using that face?”

The girl on the screen was practically fuming.

She jabbed a finger at the mask glued to her face, gritting her teeth.

“This damn thing is a Mask of the Fool, imbued with the Authority of Elation. I can’t even take it off.”

Kafka, however, simply corrected her with a knowing smirk.

“Ah, no, no. That mask originally belonged to those kind-hearted, pitiful Tragic Mourners."

"You stole it, then modified it."

"It’s not really a Mask of the Fool anymore.”

“I don’t care who it originally belonged to!"

"Right now, it’s making me really, REALLY pissed off!”

“Hm~? Even your signature skillset isn’t working?”

“No! It’s useless!”

“Hm~~ what a shame.”

“Oi, Kafka.”

The girl hesitated, then finally asked,

“…Is this really how things were supposed to turn out?”

Kafka chuckled.

“Who’s to say?"

"I certainly wouldn’t know.”

“Tch. If I ever get my hands on that woman, I swear—"

"I’ll make her pay."

"She tricked me."

"And worse…"

"She stole every last one of my collectibles!”

Kafka watched the trembling girl on the screen—or rather, the girl wearing someone else’s face—with a gentle smile, patiently waiting for her to finish venting.

People all had their tempers.

But for a Stellaron Hunter, getting tricked like this shouldn’t have been enough to make her lose her mind.

Still, Kafka knew exactly why she was so furious.

For years, whether online or in the real world, she was the one who toyed with others.

She was the one who bent reality to her advantage with her ability.

She was the one who controlled the game.

The girl hung her head in frustration, grumbling,

“Kafka, do you even understand how I feel right now?"

"It’s like—like spending decades grinding an account, only for someone to steal the password while I wasn’t looking."

"And when I log back in…"

"They’ve wiped my entire character and remade it from scratch."

"This is a direct provocation!”

To most people, this wouldn’t be a big deal.

As long as the account still existed, they could just reset the password and move on.

But for her, it was an unforgivable humiliation.

“Oh, but that’s not all.”

Kafka raised a finger, swaying it lightly as she chuckled.

“From what I’ve gathered…"

"You’ve actually already started the mission, haven’t you?”

Humiliation?

No, this wasn’t just humiliation.

This was the equivalent of someone climbing onto her back and taking a massive sh—

“That makes it even worse!”

The girl’s eyes widened.

For the first time in a while, her gaze turned dark and unreadable.

Muttering under her breath at an alarming speed, she hissed,

“This is like changing my password, taking my most cherished character, and using it to scam people in my friend list—"

"Doing things I would NEVER do. Saying things I would NEVER say."

"I don’t even want to imagine what else she’s done in my name…"

"Unforgivable."

"Completely unforgivable!”

A pure love warrior who had just watched his waifu get NTR’d—

That was the exact kind of rage she was experiencing.

Her fury spiraled endlessly, like a beast caught in an inescapable loop of rage.

Kafka shrugged, clearly unbothered, and lazily moved her fingers toward the call termination button.

“Alright, alright. Enough screaming and crying."

"You should focus on figuring out how to get inside first."

"Otherwise, you’ll have to meet everyone with that face from now on.”

“…”

“Hmm, let’s see."

"If we’re talking about people who won’t laugh at you to your face, there’s me, there’s Blade…"

"Sampo probably won’t either.”

Kafka tapped her lips in mock thought, smiling slyly.

“So, even if this is the outcome, you have nothing to fear~.”

“…You mean you won’t laugh at me openly—but you’ll be howling inside, right?!"

"I knew it… I just knew it!”

“So, hurry up and get over here.”

With that, Kafka cut the transmission herself.

She knew that if the girl wanted to reach out again, she’d just force the call through.

Whether Kafka picked up or not wasn’t up to her anyway.

She clenched the realistic mask in her hands and turned toward the window, inhaling deeply.

The scent in the air was one she had become all too familiar with lately.

“Psionic police…?”

Her voice was filled with annoyance.

“Their detection methods are such a pain to deal with."

"Even worse than corporate security officers."

"One wrong move, and they’re all over you…"

"Looks like it’s time to switch identities again.”

Kafka left the apartment, casually picking a new one at random.

She climbed the stairs, knocked on the door, and waited.

Knock, knock—

The moment the door swung open, her eyes glowed faintly.

The girl inside froze, eyes dazed and lifeless.

“Hm? What’s with that expression?"

"You’re not going to welcome your sister home?”

Kafka smiled sweetly, reaching out to ruffle the girl’s hair.

“…N-No… I mean, yes."

"Come in, sister.”

The girl stepped aside, and Kafka walked in without hesitation, making her way to the floor-to-ceiling window.

She glanced downward, taking in the scene below.

From the ground, the sky, even thin air itself, psionic police emerged like apparitions, rushing toward the apartment she had just left.

Belobog’s network security had never been this strict before.

But ever since Qlipoth Fort and the Governor’s Office jointly declared a state of emergency, any unauthorized signals attempting to bypass Jarilo’s internal networks were immediately blocked.

If not for her particular set of skills, their conversation wouldn’t have even lasted a second before being cut off.

Kafka chuckled to herself.

“What intense security measures, little brother~.”

---

A lavishly decorated living room.

“Here, have some fruit."

"You haven’t tried Jarilo’s specialties yet, have you?”

“Jarilo actually has a lot of good food."

"There are plenty of delicious fish, not to mention all the fruit trees transplanted from other colonies."

"A lot of them are being crossbred, but their original flavors are already pretty damn good.”

“Quit playing games and eat something, will you?"

"Here, open your mouth—"

"I’ll feed you.”

[MISSION FAILED]

A red warning flashed across the handheld console screen, accompanied by an announcer’s voice.

Lounging on the sofa’s armrest, Chen Lin smirked in satisfaction.

“AAAHHHH!”

Silver Wolf let out a frustrated wail, tossing her console behind her.

With a sour expression, she bit into a fruit and grumbled through a full mouth.

“Damn it—this is your fault! I died again!”

“Whoa, whoa, don’t blame me."

"If you’re bad, just get better.”

Chen Lin grinned, enjoying his fruit, shamelessly absolving himself of all responsibility.

There was no way he’d admit her failure had anything to do with him.

Silver Wolf gave him a deadpan look, then wordlessly pulled out another console and tossed it to him.

“Here."

"Pick something to play."

"And seriously—since when were you this free?"

"I was already mentally prepared to be ignored by you for months."

"This is a nice surprise.”

She stretched out lazily, completely at ease.

Food, drinks, no work to do…

And still getting paid.

This was the dream.

Honestly?

Forget months—

Even if he ignored her for years, she’d be totally fine with it.

Chen Lin didn’t even bother to turn on the handheld console Silver Wolf had tossed him.

Instead, he set it aside, smiling at her with obvious mischief in his eyes.

It was the kind of look that all but screamed bad intentions, making Silver Wolf visibly uncomfortable.

“…What?” she muttered. “You need me for something?”

“You got it—half right.”

Chen Lin, ever the shameless diplomat, corrected her with a straight face:

“It’s not that I need your help—it’s that you are lucky enough to receive a job opportunity."

"Really, you should be thanking me.”

Silver Wolf: “?”

“…Say ‘thank you,’” Chen Lin added matter-of-factly.

“…Hold up.”

Silver Wolf’s eye twitched as she shot him a look of utter disdain.

“You seriously have no shame, huh?"

"If anyone else talked to me like this, they’d be floating through deep space by now.”

“Are you taking the job or not?”

“…Tch.”

Silver Wolf gritted her teeth as she spat out her reluctant answer.

“…Fine.”

Not that she had much of a choice—Elio had made it clear that working under Chen Lin meant doing whatever job he assigned.

After all, this was just another form of labor dispatch.

Chen Lin grabbed a game cartridge, slotting it into his console as he casually explained:

“In a little while, my head of security will be taking command of the Third Fleet to lead an offensive."

"There are far more monsters than I expected inside the L-Gate."

"Even with two fleets, it probably won’t be enough."

"I’ll have to deploy more ships soon.”

Silver Wolf barely reacted—just nodded, keeping her eyes locked on her console.

“Oh.”

“…Pela helps handle a ton of administrative work for me,” Chen Lin continued.

“But there’s still a ridiculous amount of bureaucratic nonsense that needs managing."

"And that girl? She works herself to death."

"I need someone to take some of that load off her shoulders.”

Silver Wolf glanced up.

“…So, you need someone to handle grunt work?”

“Grunt work? That sounds too crude.”

Chen Lin shook his head with a mock-serious expression.

“You would be taking on the role of Deputy Administrator of Internal Affairs at the Governor’s Office."

"This department boasts the best workplace environment, a flat management structure, flexible working conditions, and uncapped salary potential."

"We’re looking for a highly adaptable, goal-oriented individual who thrives in fast-paced, challenging environments and can independently complete assignments—a top-tier talent like yourself.”

Silver Wolf deadpanned.

“…Translate that into human speech.”

“Free meals. You work in my office. You work long hours voluntarily. No salary."

"Oh, and you do all the grunt work yourself.”

“…You know,” Silver Wolf muttered, “compared to you, even megacorporations seem like decent employers.”

“But I’m honest,” Chen Lin pointed out with a shrug.

“Most bosses wouldn’t even tell you the truth—they’d just slap a bunch of regulations on you, hit you with corporate gaslighting, and make you feel like your garbage treatment is actually fine because it’s ‘valuable work experience.’”

Silver Wolf’s eyebrow twitched.

“…And how exactly does your ‘honesty’ justify you being a terrible person?”

Chen Lin gave her a thumbs-up.

“It doesn’t."

"I was just trying to derail the conversation so I could increase the chances of you agreeing.”

Silver Wolf stared at him in silence.

She scanned him up and down, as if reassessing everything she thought she knew.

Meanwhile, Chen Lin was completely unfazed, focused on his game like he hadn’t just shamelessly manipulated the conversation.

For someone with so many titles, so much political influence, and such grand accomplishments, she had once imagined he’d carry himself like a calm, calculating ruler.

But after spending time with him?

Her preconceived bias against politicians had only gotten worse.

Finally, she couldn’t help but blurt out:

“…If you’re short on people, why don’t you just hire more?”

Chen Lin rolled his eyes, pausing his game.

“Sure. You got some spare population to lend me?”

He started counting on his fingers as he broke it down for her:

“Belobog has 497 production zones, overseeing over 700,000 industrial facilities."

"We handle alloy smelting, mineral refinement, luxury goods manufacturing, food cultivation, mechanical maintenance—the list goes on."

"All of that?"

"Can provide jobs for over 1.6 billion people."

"The problem is…"

"Right now, over a billion of those positions are completely unfilled."

"Where the hell am I supposed to find workers?”

At first, Silver Wolf listened intently, taking in every word.

But as he kept going, rattling off more economic statistics, her head started to ache.

So this so-called ‘utopian civilization’ is actually a complete mess?

Even the Governor himself can’t find a damn assistant?

“So,” Chen Lin said. “Are you taking the job or not?”

“If not, no worries—I’ll just find someone else."

"I’m sure Luofu has plenty of people willing to come over."

"And if we run out of room, you can always rent a hotel."

"Won’t affect your gaming schedule at all.”

Silver Wolf hesitated for a moment.

Then, she finally sighed.

“…Fine. I’ll try it out.”

The moment she agreed, Chen Lin threw an arm around her shoulder, grinning.

“See? That’s the spirit!”

He chuckled.

“I was just messing with you earlier."

"I hate people who can’t take a joke.”

“Oh, by the way—you’re moving near my place."

"Gotta keep the commute short.”

For a brief second, a hint of surprise flickered in Silver Wolf’s eyes.

Then, she simply responded flatly:

“…Oh.”

---

T/N: WAIT IS THIS SILVER WOLF OR NOT??? IM CONSUFSIED

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!