Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 858, Section 68: Captain
As a former captain of New America and now a member of the Hound of the Underworld, Karl, who is now twenty-six years old, had never had any worries about his name until the end of 2075, when a mercenary with the same name as him, also called Karl, suddenly appeared.

Carl, a name that means 'ordinary person' in English, is a very common name in North America.

It was common to see that you could even just shout out on the street and a bunch of people would turn around for you, but after that man with the same name, Karl, became famous, people would only think of that young man when Karl was mentioned.

That was Karl, who was already famous and known throughout the world.

Just like when people talk about "Bonaparte", they first think of Napoleon I;
Just as when mentioning "Churchill," one can never avoid mentioning Winston Churchill.

Sharing a name with a celebrity always gives one a subtle feeling of 'losing one's name,' and the Ghost Dog Carl also felt this rare blessing of 'sharing'.

At the end of 75, he was still Karl. In 76, people still called him by his full name because everyone knew that the Karl in Night City was named Carl, while he was named Karl and his surname was Taylor. By the end of 76, people started to habitually call him by his former position in New America, namely Captain, and gradually stopped calling him by his first name, and even his surname was rarely mentioned.

Carl Taylor knew that this was not the fault of his familiar friends and colleagues, because anyone in Night City these days would be startled if they suddenly heard the name Carl, or the nickname KK.

Nobody wants to suddenly run into KK. It's like encountering a ghost while walking in the dark. If you call out that name in the middle of the night and then find out someone is causing trouble after the initial panic, you'll likely get a beating or even shot, depending on your relationship with them.

Carl Taylor has now gotten used to being called Captain, and thanks to the mercenary Carl, he is now one of the few members of the Ghost Hounds who is still addressed as a New America.

Just as people think of Hansen when they hear "Colonel" and Bennett when they hear "Lieutenant Colonel," now everyone in Ghosthound will immediately recognize the Captain when they hear "Captain."

"Oh, that's the one with K, cough, that 'Captain'? I know him, of course I know him, he's famous."

With this name becoming almost an exclusive code name, Karl Taylor's reputation within the Ghost Hounds grew louder, and his name frequently reached the ears of the organization's higher-ups. The more often it was mentioned and heard, the more Karl Taylor's status within the Ghost Hounds quietly began to rise.

As the saying goes, in the workplace, it's not the gossip that's scary, it's the complete forgetting of you—and this applies even to Hansen's private army, the 'Ghost Hounds'.

Moreover, the fact that someone could recruit a man named 'Karl' as a subordinate, even if he was just Karl Taylor, is somewhat intriguing.

In this delicate atmosphere, Carl Taylor has now become a senior officer qualified to guard the 'Sapphire Blue' Hotel and the Ghosthound Armory.

Guarding an armory is itself a symbol of importance.

Rather, in a team like the Hound of the Underworld, weapons and supplies are practically the foundation of survival. Being entrusted with such a responsibility undoubtedly shows that Karl Taylor was indeed highly valued. In addition, logistics positions are known to be lucrative jobs. Unconsciously, Karl Taylor himself became more and more accustomed to the title of "Captain".

Carl Taylor was in a great mood today. The breakfast his girlfriend made in Dogtown was delicious, and the traffic was smooth all the way. There were no high-dose lunatics who came out to polish his car, and he didn't run into any of the new Americans who had been flocking to Dogtown recently. Everything was going so smoothly and comfortably.

—Until he saw his subordinates.

"You guys, leaving things lying around again! How many times have I told you—handle with care, handle with care! Those are hand grenades, not your heads, they're not that durable! These are specially modified models by our Ghost Hounds, more powerful, they explode on the slightest touch! They need to be put in a special isolation room! Are you trying to blow us all to smithereens at once?!"

His good mood that morning was completely shattered the moment he stepped into the armory he managed. He was just showing up for work on time, but the seven subordinates who were in charge of the armory with him gave him a huge headache.

They just tossed the entire batch of grenades around like they were moving a box of scrap metal, piling them haphazardly in the center of the armory, and to make matters worse, stacking them next to a row of RPGs. "If you treated these things like you would a crate of liquor, I wouldn't be chasing after you and yelling at you every day!"

Carl Taylor was speechless. Working with these people, he was bound to be wiped out sooner or later.

"You! And—you!"

He pointed at the three members of the Ghost Hound team, his voice suddenly becoming even deeper:
"How many times has this happened? You've only been here a few days! You keep making the same mistakes. Do you really not remember, or are you just not using your brains at all?"

He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the slightly evasive faces of the group:

"If you still can't do it well, I'll personally teach you later—step by step. No one is allowed to leave until they learn it."

"Don't even think about running away. You all have to stay and work with me until the night shift ends. I won't let you take turns resting during the day to go drinking and shopping anymore. This time, you'd better learn properly."

"Yes, Captain..."

The three people who were called looked bitter and responded in low voices.

Captain Carl Taylor was considered a very approachable superior among the Ghosthounds. To be honest, there weren't many people like him in the entire Ghosthound system of Dogtown who could both manage their subordinates and maintain basic discipline.

The Ghost Hounds were originally a regular force led by Hansen, but now Dogtown has become a self-contained place, and the team has been influenced by the habits of local powers, with many rules becoming mere formalities.

But even with lax rules, making such basic mistakes again and again really deserves a good talking-to and a serious lesson.

"First, move all these things to the isolation room. Then, you four, don't think you're okay just because I didn't mention you. This is just your first time making a mistake. Next time, come here and I'll teach you step by step, just like them."

"Yes, Captain."

Under Carl Taylor's watchful eye, the group began to move. The three team members assigned to carry the grenades were particularly cautious, carrying the boxes toward the isolation room with extremely slow steps.

However, the moment the box fell into the isolation room—

The three exchanged glances, their expressions subtly changing.

"Karl, what a coincidence."

One of the hounds smiled and said, "Not bad."

(End of this chapter)