"This is outright betrayal!" Heinz slammed the copy of the Lampari Weekly in his hand onto the desk and shouted furiously.
Xu Yi glanced sideways at the enormous headline on the front page of the Lampari Weekly and laughed.
"Why would you say that?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Heinz stared at Xu Yi in disbelief. "Our Xinfei Merchant Guild has given the Lampari Kingdom so much support, yet now the Lampari Kingdom wants to cooperate with our enemy, the Sark Kingdom. What is that if not betrayal? And this time, they haven't just betrayed our Xinfei Merchant Guild. They've betrayed countless citizens of the Lampari Kingdom! The Sark Kingdom is the Lampari Kingdom's sworn enemy. Why would they cooperate with them at a time like this?"
Xu Yi smiled and shook his head gently. "No, Heinz, you're being too narrow-minded. There are no eternal enemies between nations. Occasional cooperation is nothing strange. Besides, you haven't really understood what this news is about, have you? The Lampari Kingdom has merely established a free trade zone with the Sark Kingdom. That's a far cry from actual cooperation. And from what I know of the specific terms they negotiated, the Lampari Kingdom actually got a very good deal."
"Terms?" Heinz looked at Xu Yi suspiciously. After a moment's thought, he couldn't help asking, "Hey, Xu Yi, do you know a lot about this?"
"Of course." Xu Yi chuckled and nodded. "I was the one who suggested this to Servini in the first place. I even introduced the concept of a free trade zone to her. Do you think I know about it?"
Heinz stared at Xu Yi, dumbfounded. Only after a long while did he say blankly, "You mean... cooperating with the Sark Kingdom was your idea all along?"
"That's not