Ailiveer immediately caught on when she received Xi Yan's meaningful glance.
They were putting on a double act!
The young Secretary of State stood up solemnly and took Xi Yan by the arm. "Marshal, they are our neighbors, after all. We should settle the terms of cooperation sooner rather than later."
Xi Yan turned around with feigned impatience and declared loudly, "What cooperation? Let's just seal our borders to each other and stay out of each other's way. Wouldn't it be better to pretend we don't even have this neighbor?"
"Our economy is self-sufficient. We don't need any trade. You aliens should hurry up and go home!"
Xi Yan made his declaration with supreme confidence.
The M'tok delegation opposite him, however, was far from happy.
How were we supposed to make money if you wouldn't open your borders?
If we couldn't make money, what good was having you as a neighbor?
Their superiors had given the delegation an absolute order: they had to find a way to establish branches of the Criminal Enterprise there!
That meant the borders had to open!
So everything was negotiable. They were willing to sacrifice some of their interests if necessary. As long as they reached an agreement, they would naturally recoup their investment later. It was only a matter of time.
"If we both close our borders, there will be no interaction at all. What would be the point of being neighbors? Some economic exchange and communication are still very necessary," Kabulosius said, choosing his words carefully.
Xi Yan snorted disdainfully. "Then we can conduct all our exchanges online, just like we're doing now."
"If that's all, we have nothing to discuss." He turned again, intending to leave.
Come on, man!
Kabulosius began sweating buckets.
*As expected of the Marshal! He had the aliens