The balding man scoffed derisively. "And which arrogant enterprise boasts such brazen folly – employees neglecting their duties to pursue acquisitions? Is your employer a tycoon of mythical wealth?"This naive little girl amused him far more than any mobile game. Toying with her simple mind would provide ample entertainment.Entertaining such thoughts, the balding owner swiveled his phone upon the counter, squinting as he continued, "Might I inquire, young lady, where you attend university and who your employer is? You seek to acquire my establishment, yet I sense you lack the authority to broker such a deal. Allow me to propose an equitable solution – I am the proprietor here, and your superior is a proprietor as well. A dialogue between equals would be fitting.""You wish to converse with my employer? Does this imply a willingness to sell?" Hailey, naive in worldly affairs, failed to detect his mocking tone. "Yet I know not my employer's number, only Mr. Matthew's contact."The bald
"Certainly. Matthew is quite amiable.""Was that Matthew's voice earlier? He sounds remarkably young.""No, they mentioned Mr. Smith, though I'm unfamiliar with him. Yet the voice seemed so familiar...""..."Tucking the contract safely into her bag, Hailey forwarded the balding man's bank details to the finance department. Less than three minutes later, his phone alerted him to a $700,000 deposit.Then, within a minute, another message arrived from Tiktoc's official number: "Mr. Smith acknowledges your struggles. As a gesture of goodwill, an additional $100,000."The shopkeeper gaped at this message, awestruck."Tiktoc truly is affluent!"Simultaneously, a flicker of trepidation stirred within his pupils. "If Tiktoc acquires even insignificant establishments like mine, what are their ultimate intentions?"Matthew's intern Hailey made swift progress, securing Tiktoc's auspicious first acquisition.After all, her assigned southwestern district belonged to Lumina City's older quarters,
"Hah, such arrogant boasts from a mere brat!" The leader scanned the onlookers before fixing his mocking gaze upon Evan. "Your companion started off equally full of bluster, swaggering into our territory. No sooner had he planted his backside in Mr. Turner's office, legs insolently propped, than he demanded outright acquisition of our establishment. Behold his current state.""His current state?" Evan's piercing stare demanded elaboration, word by measured word."Why, ejected by Mr. Turner, of course!"Under Evan's relentless scrutiny, the man suppressed an involuntary shudder, glancing nervously at the surrounding masses. After a prolonged pause to steady his nerves, reassured by the protective crowd, he mustered false bravado. Stepping forward, spittle flew as he sneered, "Take your lackey and begone. Seek competent psychiatric care – you both appear gravely afflicted!""Indeed." A glimmer of icy menace flickered in Evan's eyes. "Perhaps I neglected to mention – I despise excessive
"This prime location commands premium value – every inch of this coveted ground is a fortune. I have surveyed our environs; you lack adequate space to establish a rival retail endeavor!""Did you not aspire to acquire my enterprise? What stratagem remains if I refuse to sell? Fair competition?" He scoffed derisively. "Granting you represent Tiktoc, your vaunted reputation appears greatly exaggerated!""Adam!" Evan disregarded him basking in his glory, addressing Adam instead. "One, implement Plan B effective immediately. All Tiktoc employees shall remain in their assigned regions, visiting local vendors to persuade them to cease supplying the original mall. Offer any sum necessary; we at Tiktoc will purchase their entire inventory!""Two, hire six or seven moving companies for Starlight Mall. Before the mall closes today, I want every item purchased and relocated to our development zone to be sold for $1 apiece - a wholesale liquidation!""Three, acquire ten surrounding residential to
His words detonated like a bombshell amid the throngs, instantly igniting fervent commotion. Onlookers witnessed a youth scarcely twenty commanding a mall tycoon's submission and forcing Mr. Turner's public genuflection.Moreover, this selfsame adolescent deployed $100 billion to spark a price war directly challenging Lumina City's commercial pinnacle - a feat of seismic audacity!"The development zone? The place this lad mentioned is the development zone? Fortunate I ventured out today, else I would have remained oblivious to such monumental events!""Incredible, our Lumina City indeed harbors formidable talents. A mere child has humbled Mr. Turner while effortlessly conjuring $100 billion. Whose scion could he be? Perhaps an illegitimate offspring of our nation's paramount billionaires? But how did he arrive in Lumina City?""Nevermind his pedigree, hurry home for sacks! This presages financial warfare! Rush to seize provisions - the longer this price war rages, the more we commoner
Myriad diffident undergraduates, lacking standing room or vacant phones, migrated outdoors to leverage their mobiles, contacting vendors within their assigned territories. For it was now past five in the evening - most Lumina City enterprises nearing closing - yet their exertions remained unyielding and rambunctious.This zeal stemmed from Evan's unequivocal mandate to Adam and Sean: uphold the promised incentive structure. Thus, every employee harbored supreme conviction - whoever secured exclusivity over a Lumina City firm's complete supplier portfolio, inducing defection to Tiktoc's embrace, would receive thirty percent of post-acquisition profits.Substantial rewards breed valorous souls! Former veterans shed their prior dejection while newly recruited thousands brimmed with impassioned optimism, all inspired by Tiktoc's audacious vision to conquer Lumina's commercial dominion. Yet this feverish intensity at Tiktoc headquarters contrasted starkly with an ominous, brooding stillne
"One month ago, Tiktoc waged brutal commercial warfare against YouClub through sheer financial attrition. You likely overlooked their public $2 billion investment proclamation, but their actual expenditure..." He exhaled deeply. "The $888 million individual bonanza virtually monopolized every Elysian live-streaming platform's traffic. They indisputably spent over $100 billion, based on my clandestine investigation of major platforms' viewer metrics those days.""From the moment Tiktoc acquired YouClub, I foresaw their inevitable foray into Lumina City's corporeal markets. Yet I never anticipated such alacrity. Now I grow increasingly curious - who is the mastermind behind this live-streaming juggernaut? How did they amass such unfathomable wealth?"Old Mr. Clark's revelation drained Daisy's radiant complexion, dispelling all vestiges of the Clark Group chairwoman or Lumina City Business University's peerless beauty."Grandfather, are we utterly impotent? Must we resign ourselves to o
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