Chapter 80: The Gambling Match Begins

After finishing the introductions, Davis didn't bother with Viscount Theodore Augustus's attitude and simply sat down.Having fulfilled his duty of making introductions, Davis leaned back in his chair, wearing an expression that clearly said he was here to watch the show.

Such a rude attitude obviously earned a cold snort from the other party.

It seemed the relationship between this Viscount Theodore Augustus and Davis was quite poor.

Loren, as an outsider, silently watched this scene without saying a word.

In the end, this Viscount Theodore still chose not to make a scene on the spot. Instead, he nodded politely at Loren and said:

"I've heard your gambling skills are excellent. You even managed to clean out that fellow Davis last night. I'm looking forward to this."

Loren nodded at Viscount Theodore, the first person at this gambling table to speak to him directly, and replied with considerable humility:

"I just have fairly good luck, that's all."

It wouldn't be good if I scared you all away...

"Alright, the time is about right. Dealer, deal the cards!!" Davis interrupted directly from the side, gesturing to the dealer that the gambling match could begin.

If they chatted any longer, it wouldn't be good if these three guys managed to probe Loren's background.

He had gone to great lengths to get these three out here.

He'd even used something as precious as the mining quotas from those few planets to lure these three arrogant fellows over.

It really wouldn't be good if they got scared off...

Clearly, Loren and Davis were thinking the same thing.

In the morning, after leaving the Gambling City, Davis had gone straight to his office.

He gathered his subordinates and repeatedly confirmed that none of the mining projects in his hands violated the *Natural Environment Protection Act*.

He also meticulously examined the project proposals for those few mining operations that hadn't started yet, similarly confirming there were no regulatory violations there either.

Only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Loren wasn't here for him;he really was a member of the Nature Sect traveling through.

Davis's heart settled considerably.

Then, he began his little scheme.

It's not easy to encounter a God's Favored One from the Nature Sect.

When you do meet one, of course you have to make some moves.

So, he directly sent people to notify the families of Baron Cass, Viscount Stephen, and Viscount Theodore.

He invited these three families to send a representative to the Labey Street Casino City tonight to discuss the mining quotas for those few planets.

Due to the *Pioneering Act*, the legal right to use these planets belonged to these three families.

If the Energy Department wanted to mine them, they had to cooperate with these three families.

But these three families, relying on their status as pioneering nobles, had been making outrageous demands of the Energy Department.

Upon learning that the Energy Department wanted to mine the planets under their names, these three families quickly formed a united front.

Together, they demanded a 40% share from the Energy Department.

The Energy Department naturally couldn't agree, so both sides began half a year of negotiations and maneuvering.

A long stalemate ensued.

As the actual person in charge of this project—Davis Feller—had long been trying to find a solution to this matter.

Since these were all pioneering nobles, it was inconvenient for the Energy Department to use force against them.

The Federation Council had representatives for these pioneering nobles.

Within the Federation, the power of these pioneering nobles was also a significant force, often jokingly called "the true remnants of the old era" by Federation citizens.

Therefore, Davis had a massive headache dealing with these three families.

He couldn't fight them, and negotiations were going nowhere. For Davis, this was clearly an extremely difficult problem to solve.

But after learning that Loren was suspected to be a God's Favored One of the Nature Sect, and that he wasn't here for him...

A rather crude and obvious plan formed in his mind.

Davis first invited the three families to discuss the mining quotas at the casino tonight.

Then, Davis visited the three families one by one and set up a gambling match.

The wager was 10% of the mining share.

If the person Davis invited won, the three families' mining share would be reduced to 30%.

If the people from the three families won, their mining share would be the 40% they demanded.

Seeing the Energy Department finally loosen up, all three families eagerly agreed to attend and accepted this gambling match.

Then, the three families quickly searched the entire Jadeite Star Domain for master gamblers, bringing them to the families for interviews.

With that, Davis finally began the first step of his plan.

As for the second step, whether it could be realized depended on the outcome of the gambling match and was still unknown.

That would depend on the three families.

Before the gambling match began.

Baron Cass, Viscount Stephen, and Viscount Theodore got up and left the gambling table.

Bodyguards behind them brought over three chairs, allowing these three nobles to sit and watch the match from beside the table.

The ones gambling against Loren tonight weren't these three nobles, but the master gamblers specially invited by their families.

In the eyes of the three families, since Davis was willing to use a gambling match as the final negotiation, the person he invited must naturally possess extremely high gambling skills.

The three families had also invited master gamblers with long-standing reputations in the Jadeite Star Domain to represent them.

These three families had been entrenched here since the Jadeite Star Domain was named.

Finding three master gamblers was naturally very simple for them.

Thus, the master gamblers who were scattered in other parts of the Jadeite Star Domain around noon...

By the afternoon, they had already gathered at the residences of the three families.

After a series of competitions, the three strongest master gamblers were selected from the many candidates to represent the three families in the match.

After the three nobles left the table, three men stepped out from the group of bodyguards behind them and sat down at the gambling table.

After sitting down, all three master gamblers couldn't help but glance at Loren, thinking to themselves:

A new face... It seems the Energy Department invited an expert from another star domain.

Withdrawing their gazes, the three extremely confident master gamblers began to close their eyes and rest, calmly waiting for the match to begin.

No matter where an expert comes from, you only know their strength after gambling against them...

The gambling match began.

"Please, the four of you, choose the chips you wish to bet." the dealer reminded them.

Loren waved his hand and took out his seven chips marked "1000," pushing one chip onto the table.

One thousand Spirit Stones, one million Federation coins. As a probe, Loren felt it was well worth it.

The confident demeanor of those three master gamblers made Loren feel it was necessary to be a bit cautious.

The three people at the table exchanged a glance, then silently pushed forward one chip marked "1000" as well.

The three master gamblers also happened to want to test Loren's skill.

An expert invited by the Energy Department, possessing a mysterious spatial storage device, daring to sit down at a match of this level with only 7000 in chips.

Not a trace of nervousness on his face, even appearing quite casual.

Loren's mannerisms clearly also put a lot of pressure on the three master gamblers.

The dealer began dealing the cards.

Two more cards appeared in front of Loren and the three master gamblers.

It was still the same gambling method as last night. Since Davis wasn't sure if Loren was proficient in other gambling methods.

He had agreed with the three families that the gambling method used for the match would still be the old-era poker game, which relied more on luck.