Chapter 417

Kylie couldn’t believe Shermaine still had the nerve to talk to her in such a casual tone. That attitude just rubbed her the wrong way. “I’m going to beat you so badly you’ll forget your own name.”

‘Dream on.’ Shermaine kept that thought to herself. She still had to maintain her act, and saying that would blow her cover. But in her heart, that was exactly what she believed.

As they clashed again, Kylie quickly realized Shermaine was beginning to fall behind. That only drove her wilder—she attacked like a woman possessed, riding the momentum with ruthless ferocity.

Shermaine landed a punch, but it felt like slamming into steel, probably due to the titanium alloy bones. She glanced at her reddened knuckles.

“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Kylie sneered with biting sarcasm. “This is all thanks to Joshua’s ‘generosity.’”

Her body might look human, but inside, she was pure machine. This was a secret no one else knew about her.

“Aren’t you quite pleased with it?” Shermaine taunted with a smirk.

Kylie froze for half a beat, then snapped in rage because it was true. She was stronger than ever, and deep down, she did take pride in her cybernetic body. But having someone call it out so bluntly felt like she was being stripped bare.

Shermaine smirked. “Perfect timing. I can try out the power of my new boxing gauntlets on you.”

‘Gauntlets?’ Kylie thought as she frowned. Then, she watched as Shermaine pulled them out and slipped them on.

The gauntlets looked just like winter gloves—lightweight and fitting snugly against the skin. Even if she wore them out in public, those gloves wouldn’t draw a second glance—they looked sleek, minimal, and totally unassuming.

Once Shermaine slipped them on, she didn’t appear the least bit threatening.

Kylie scoffed. “Petty tricks.” But in the very next second, she realized just how wrong she was.

Shermaine was already more skilled than Kylie, but with the gauntlets amplifying her strength, every punch carried a terrifying threat. For the first time, Kylie genuinely feared she couldn’t withstand the next blow.

With a thunderous crash, the gauntlet-enhanced punch actually blasted a hole straight through the entire wall.

Kylie’s eyes widened in disbelief, thinking, ‘These hits are stronger than my cybernetic limbs. If that punch had landed on me instead of the wall—would it have shattered my titanium alloy frame?’ She didn’t even dare to picture it.

Her hatred toward Shermaine surged because the latter came up with such a terrifying item. She wanted to retreat so badly, but pride rooted her in place.

‘Damn it, I can’t even achieve my goal.’ As she was thinking and hesitating on her next move, she got a brutal beating. One of her arms, after catching a direct hit, had gone completely numb, as if the neural circuits were shorting out.

Meanwhile, Shermaine had started enjoying herself, tossing Kylie around like a basketball with zero mercy. Kylie was so furious that she actually coughed up blood.

“Shermaine!” Kylie ground out between clenched teeth.

Shermaine shrugged, mocking, “Let’s see if your rescue team can patch you up after I cripple you a second time.”

That hit a nerve, and Kylie stiffened. She couldn’t afford to be reckless now. Fortunately, she had come prepared. One tap on her smartwatch, and the hotel’s surveillance system went offline.

What Shermaine didn’t know was that before she even returned to the room earlier, Kylie had already swapped out the suitcase full of books and stashes with the real one in her car in the underground parking lot.

Now with her cover blown, she made a clean exit. Shermaine gave a symbolic chase, then turned back. She was letting Kylie go, hoping that Kylie could lead her to the mastermind controlling her behind the scenes.

The suite, meanwhile, was in a state of total ruin. When the hotel manager returned and saw the state of the presidential suite, he nearly cried.

Shermaine produced a black credit card. “Please arrange another room for me. Here’s 300,000 dollars to cover the damages.”

Meanwhile, Kylie finally breathed a sigh of relief as she sped away. She steered with one hand—the other hung limp, completely numb from Shermaine’s punch.

Just then, her phone rang again. Her contact was calling, pressing impatiently for an update.

Kylie slammed her fist against the steering wheel, barely containing her fury. Gritting her teeth, she forced out, “I’m on my way back.”

When Kylie finally returned to Basterel and handed over the suitcase, Harry opened it, only to find it fully stuffed with BL comic books.

Harry flipped open one of them, only to be greeted by a full–page spread of two men kissing.

His face contorted with fury as he slammed the suitcase shut and roared, “You wasted all that time over there, and you didn’t even bother to check what the hell was inside?”