As for the child's own stance and choice, what kind of stance can a child this young possibly have?

On the other hand, the Federation would also consider Mengdie's personal circumstances, but that's just one factor among many. Given Feng Yi's highly exceptional identity and status, having the child of such a national hero grow up abroad and become a foreigner—it simply isn't reasonable. Not only would public opinion reject it, but the Federation's citizens would not approve either, and the authorities certainly wouldn't stand idly by. Hence, while the Federation sent this congratulatory message as a gesture of goodwill, it also carried a thinly-veiled warning to Jade Clear Sect: The child can stay with you for now, but there's a shelf life to this arrangement. Once the child grows older, things may not go as smoothly.

Wu Tian let out a heavy breath! The child cannot be separated from her mother, but thankfully she's still young now—future matters can be dealt with in the future. He shifted his attention and asked, "Did the Federation leave any contact information?"

The disciple claimed they did, and it seemed to belong to a figure with considerable political status, perhaps even an organization, because the number originated from the Federal Capital Eden's military line. As for which specific department, it was impossible to guess.

The disciple's report caused an uproar in Wu Tian's heart. His face went pale, then turned red, and ultimately changed to green in color. Trying to suppress his internal shock, he asked, "Besides the congratulatory message, has the Federation sent anything?"

"No."

Hmph, naturally! Wu Tian thought to himself. Those politicians definitely know their craft. Sure, sending a congratulatory message is one thing, but if they were to send gifts, it would invite all sorts of interpretations internally. In truth, the Federation would naturally handle such matters purely by-the-book—sending gifts wouldn't be appropriate.

Wu Tian dismissed the disciple. Today, he didn't linger too long at North Mysterious Hall and instead strode back to his own room without stepping out again…

——

Meanwhile, on the shuttle, the group had been quite merry during this period. Over the past three days, the Time-Space Transfer Device had traversed the Caribbean star cluster and reached the outskirts of Behe-3, south of Zana in Gemini.

At this moment, Xiu Yi had completely sunk into an obsession with the game of Landlords. What was different was that their version wasn't the traditional three-player game—it was six-player Landlords. The six players included the four members of Xiu Yi's squad, plus fatty Zhang Xiaobo and Sara.

It must be said that the alternate timeline where Sara came from didn't have Landlords—or, for that matter, poker as we know it. They did have similar games, but their playing cards weren't named with A to K. Instead, they used cards with seventeen different suits, and they lacked the concept of "Joker." This allowed Zhang Xiaobo to tease Sara constantly, often saying absurd things like, "Who even knows who the Jokers are here?"

Of course, Sara didn't mind his comments at all. She was completely captivated by the engaging elements of Landlords itself—King Bomb, Bomb, Pair Sequence, Straight, Three with One, Three with Two—she had never encountered such an entertaining game before.

Sure enough, if the gameplay itself wasn't enough to ensnare Sara, the joy of being the Landlord and raking in winnings certainly was. It threw her into a cycle of obsession. Over these few days, the group hadn't done much else except thoroughly research the intricacies of the game. Of everyone playing, Sara and Xixi won the most.

Sara even learned how to count cards; Xixi wasn't far behind. Red Ghost ranked somewhere in the middle, while the biggest loser among them turned out to be Zhang Xiaobo.

You have to admit, this guy really had a streak of bad luck. Zhang Xiaobo also understood card counting, but a human brain can only remember so much—he tended to focus on memorizing the big cards.

But Sara and Xixi were different. These two women could practically remember every card that was played. While Red Ghost's memory wasn't as sharp as theirs, it was still far superior compared to the latter three players—making him an above-average earner after several days of games, albeit not as fortunate as Sara or Xixi.

It's ironic that Zhang Xiaobo was the one who taught everyone to play Landlords in the first place. Early on, he would dominate the few rounds with his experience, his energetic gestures, and his infectious enthusiasm. Fatty Zhang often relied on intimidation tactics, sometimes even physically overacting to scare the others.

But skill grows with practice, doesn't it? The first few rounds, players didn't understand Fatty's strategies and went along with his rhythm. Half a morning hadn't passed before everyone had figured out nearly nine-tenths of his tricks, rendering Fatty's mind games ineffective. Coupled with Zhang Xiaobo's average card-counting skills, he quickly became the biggest loser.

Take Kevin, for instance—this guy's brain works brilliantly. He has great technical skills, which is part of why he's an engineering specialist. Yet luck just hasn't been on his side. Kevin didn't believe in luck or destiny at first, but now he does. He's barely gotten any good hands.

Judging purely by intelligence, Kevin might even be sharper than Xixi and adept at card counting. Unfortunately, this guy's poor luck meant he seldom drew good cards. Even when he did, he couldn't capitalize on them. Eventually Zhang Xiaobo and Kevin started competing, but only for dead last place.

Xiu Yi, while less experienced than the others, benefitted from decent luck. Of course, luck is just part of the picture—Xiu Yi's most formidable trait was his observational skills. He could pick up subtle clues from others' facial expressions and make decisions about whether to play or hold his cards.

You could say that no matter how much card players tried to hide their intentions, their expressions inevitably betrayed them. Confidence, bluffing, or any kind of emotion—it was impossible to escape Xiu Yi's keen insight.

This poker battle had evolved into something beyond Landlords—it had become a showdown of intellect and courage, a competition of luck and perception.

The worst of them all was poor Fatty Zhang. He kept holding potentially game-winning cards, even bombs, only to lose continuously when others played before him. Then there was Sara—this woman once pulled off a "Spring" immediately after calling Landlord.

Yes, you heard correctly: a Grand Plane combo swept the board right from the start. If you've studied Landlords in detail, you'd know such a scenario is theoretically possible for the Landlord, but the odds are exceptionally low.

This situation meant that no matter how excellent the hands of other players were, they couldn't beat the Landlord because the Landlord plays first and, in this case, cleared her cards in one go.

That time, Zhang Xiaobo actually had decent luck, managing to draw four bomb cards. However, he didn't win the bid for Landlord! Fatty's frustration led to an eruption of fiery complaints, like an anguished cry from the depths of the African plains.

Of the losers, Zhang Xiaobo suffered the most, followed by Kevin. Xiu Yi, on the other hand, lost very little. Red Ghost earned some modest winnings, while most of the money went to Xixi and Sara. Sara laughed so hard she couldn't keep her mouth closed. Given how things were unfolding, she half-joked about opening a card game center—of course, one that prioritizes competition with a friendly spirit.

Yita couldn't bear to watch Fatty lose so miserably and eventually began giving him advice, suggesting which cards to play based on other players' facial expressions.

But Zhang Xiaobo wouldn't listen and stubbornly stuck to his own ideas. No matter how many times people tried to help, Zhang Xiaobo insisted on trusting himself, certain he could turn things around. After all, time was plentiful—one day could make all the difference.

Traveling from the outskirts of the Caribbean star cluster to Behe-3's Gemini system would take a full day. If one's luck turned, anything might happen.

Yet when the day ended, Zhang Xiaobo found himself in such dire straits that he had almost gambled away his underpants. To salvage the situation, he even borrowed some from Blade Warrior, transferring the amount and promising to repay later. For Zhang Xiaobo, this long journey became a rather unfortunate memory from start to finish.

Of course, Fatty wasn't the only unfortunate one. Kevin's situation wasn't much better. He decided to use honor points to haggle with people, but no one was interested. Sure, honor points could be exchanged for substantial financial rewards, but this group wasn't composed of bounty hunters—they wouldn't trade for that.

Kevin felt this was one of the lowest points of his life. Everything around him seemed to conspire against him, especially luck. He simply couldn't draw good cards. The proportion of good cards Kevin drew compared to the others was roughly one to five.

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