Chapter 158: You Lack the Requisite Stature

His remonstrance elicited approving nods from the assembled eminences. For Lumina City's mercantile axiom espoused harmonious coexistence - each titan dominating their respective domains while respecting others' turf.

Yet Tiktoc's inaugural salvo was a cataclysmic price war underpricing every commodity to $1 - even million-dollar luxuries shamelessly pillaged from their brimming larders.

Moreover, by severing their upstream suppliers, Tiktoc metaphorically plundered these moguls' warehoused provisions.

"I am Adam." He responded with feigned humility. "One of Tiktoc's principal overseers. May I inquire as to your identity, good sir?"

"The Chairman of Lumina City's Commerce Council." The patriarch's eyes flashed with condescending hauteur. "On behalf of our entire mercantile consortium, I demand Tiktoc immediately cessate these market-subverting acts. Persist, and we shall collectively ostracize your enterprise."

"Collective ostracization?" Emboldened by Evan's patronage, Adam scoffed d