chapter 3 Are you a human or a ghost?

Carrie's delicate form quivered, her face etched with shock. "Brother Samuel!"
"It's me," Samuel replied, entering with a warm smile gracing his face.
"Samuel... Samuel!" Both Carrie's father, Jayden Zhou, and her mother, Faye Li, stood in shock, disbelief plain on their faces.
"Samuel?" "The youngest Ye from five years ago?" "Didn't the Ye family perish five years ago?"
In the hotel lobby, numerous influential figures were left agape.
"Samuel! You little scoundrel, are you alive?" Mattew Zhao's brows furrowed as he bellowed, "Bring him here!"
"Yes!"
A cohort of thugs, bred and raised under the Zhao family's wing, stood sentinel in the hotel lobby. Clad in suits and polished shoes, they swiftly converged around Samuel at Mattew's command.
"Brother Samuel, leave now!" Carrie cried out, her anxiety palpable, her intention to rush forward clear.
"Are you Samuel?" Austin's eyes twitched fiercely as he seized Carrie's wrist.
"Release her hand!"
Samuel's voice turned cold. He deftly disarmed one of the Zhao family thugs, sending the dagger flying.
Thud!
Austin's hand, still clutching Carrie's, fell away at the wrist. He howled, collapsing to the ground, his face drained of color.
"Austin!"
Mattew roared in anger. "Get an ambulance, quick!"
"No need for an ambulance, arrange for a hearse and burial. This coffin is specially prepared for your Zhao family." Samuel's voice was devoid of emotion.
He advanced toward the Zhao family, each step purposeful, as if he were entering a deserted field. The thugs who tried to stop him were promptly dispatched, unable to rise.
His confidence was overwhelming.
Mattew's heart chilled. Confronted with Samuel's ominous demeanor, he silently panicked.
"Commander Shen, it's on you!" Mattew turned to the man beside him.
Kyle Shen, the commander of the Gangnam King's 100,000 Royal Guards, responded impassively. He had a rugged, native appearance, with a heavily muscled frame.
"Boy, do you realize where you are? Do you dare cause a scene here? Leave immediately!" Kyle warned.
"This doesn't concern you. Today, I'm only here for the lives of the Zhao family." Samuel glanced at Kyle.
"Haha, the Zhao family has ties to the Gangnam King, and you dare provoke them? Leave now. I can pretend none of this ever happened," Kyle threatened.
"Pretend this never happened? Impossible! He severed my son's hand, and he must pay for it with his life!" Mattew's voice was frigid.
Kyle frowned, rendered speechless. Samuel was undoubtedly a formidable force, possibly even a martial artist.
Risking a warrior's life for his son's severed hand was a demand that went too far, even for a Toppest Warrior.
However, Kyle refrained from voicing these thoughts. He simply said, "Leave or face the consequences. The choice is yours."
"Anyone who obstructs me will meet their end—"
Samuel strode toward Mattew, not sparing a glance for Kyle.
"Hmph, arrogant!" Kyle sneered, launching himself like an ape. He closed in on Samuel and swung a punch.
Thud!
Samuel extended a hand and connected with Kyle's skull.
Thud!
Kyle trembled, froze in place, and then toppled over. Before succumbing, he managed three words, "The Toppest Warrior!"
Gasps echoed through the entire hotel lobby.
Warriors were categorized into four tiers: Heaven, Profound, Earth, and Yellow.
Heaven was the highest, while Yellow was the lowest.
In all of Jiangnan City, there were three Toppest Warriors. Two were loyal to the Gangnam King, and the remaining one was in the service of that fearsome woman. Gangnam King himself hesitated to provoke her.
Still, she rarely meddled in family affairs.
Could the Samuel before them truly be a Toppest Warrior?
"How can you possibly be the Ultimate Warrior? It's impossible! It's only been five years. Even if it were ten, you wouldn't reach the rank of Ultimate Warrior through mere martial arts practice! This is all a sham." Suddenly, Matthew's voice trembled.
The term "Ultimate Warrior" weighed on him like a sledgehammer.
Click! Click! Click! Matthew swiftly drew a pistol from his waist, aiming it at Samuel's head, and warned, "Hahahaha, you didn't anticipate this, did you? No matter how skilled you are, you can still fear a kitchen knife."
"Samuel, I command you to kneel!"
A buzz filled the air. Guests scattered, fearing stray bullets might find them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Step by step, Samuel advanced, indifferent to Matthew's firearm.
"You...!!!" Matthew quivered, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He spoke with an icy edge, "Boy, are you out of your mind? I have a gun in my hand!"
"So what? Go ahead, shoot." Samuel sneered.
"Take one more step and I'll fire!" Matthew released the safety catch, his voice frigid. "Don't push me. My son's engagement is today, and I don't want to take a life."
"Brother Samuel, please... don't do this!" Carrie's fragile form trembled, her cries threatening to render her unconscious. Jayden and Faye held her firmly, preventing her from darting forward.
"Dad, kill him! Kill him for me! He broke my hand!" Austin roared with manic intensity, his eyes bloodshot, jealousy and fury surging uncontrollably.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Samuel seemed oblivious to it all, steadily approaching Matthew.
Like a savage beast.
Matthew was in a frenzy!
Is this kid truly insane? Unfazed by a gun?
Even the Ultimate Warrior would balk at bullets so near.
"Hehe."
A smirk danced on Samuel's lips. He sought to instill sheer terror in Matthew, to make him taste fear.
When he was hunted by Matthew, he lived in terror for three full months.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Samuel took several strides, now less than five meters from Matthew.
"This is of your own making, now meet your end!" Matthew roared, eyes wide, and squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet spiraled towards Samuel's head, but a staggering sight unfolded. Samuel raised his hand, snatching the bullet as if it were a mere insect, and cast it aside.
"You!!!"
Matthew was petrified.
The guests collectively drew a sharp breath.
"Oh my God!"
"Is this a film?"
"It must be special effects." The affluent and influential were left dumbfounded. With all their worldly knowledge, they'd never witnessed such a spectacle.
Click! Matthew acted once more, pulling the trigger.
Yet, in the next heartbeat, Samuel stood before him, preventing the trigger pull, blocking the gun's muzzle with a finger.
An energy surge followed, accompanied by a crunching sound.
The pistol in Matthew's hand disintegrated in an instant, fragments strewn across the floor!
A single finger had dismantled the gun.
"You..."
Matthew was so terror-stricken, that he collapsed to the ground. He lifted his head in horror, gazing at Samuel standing before him. "Are you... human or ghost?"