Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 868, Section 78: I will give you a new dog town.

When light returned from the darkness, very few people had survived in this underground space.

This underground area is very large. In addition to providing supplies for the 100-man ninja group, it is also the place where Hansen stationed his secret troops. In other words, those who were in it before were basically Hansen's elites.

However, after the chaos ended, fewer than twenty elites survived.

Compared to the original size of nearly fifty people, more than three-fifths were lost. The reason these people survived was not because Karl was unable to eliminate them, but because this number was just enough to maintain the basic operation of the base.

Carl glanced at the men subdued by Jack and Oliver—disarmed, cut off from communications, and now bound in front of him—and his gaze slowly swept over the crowd, counting them.

Eighteen people.

There were indeed fewer than twenty people; they acted too quickly.

The survivors reacted in various ways to Karl, the sudden attacker dressed in a ghostly hound uniform.

Some stared intently at him, while others were still reeling from the chaos, their faces filled with bewilderment. Nearly half of them were the dejected and completely at a loss experimental researchers—that was all the people left in the area.

Facing them, Karl made no unnecessary movements; he simply removed his disguise and revealed his face to them.

This face, without a doubt, is the best proof.

The moment KK's face became clearly visible, almost all the survivors, regardless of their previous anger, confusion, or despair, held their breath.

Without a doubt, everyone recognizes this face.

"I think I don't need to explain my identity to you any further."

Karl calmly surveyed the crowd and continued, "There are many intelligent people among you who should know very well that I spared your lives because you have value. I do not deny that."

"I won't waste my breath or explain too much. I only ask one thing: you must keep my attack here a secret for 24 hours."
The power and communication outage had already aroused Hansen's suspicion, and he sent an inquiry. As the highest-ranking person in charge of the base, I temporarily deflected the question with the excuse of "power failure, backup power has been activated."

“But Hansen is suspicious by nature, and he will definitely send someone to investigate. I need you, those who are familiar with the base’s operations, to help me buy 24 hours. During this time, I need you to work together to cover up all traces so that he cannot detect anything unusual about this place.”

Karl spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, and his words caused the expression on the face of one of the Ghosthound members to change abruptly.

"KK, the Colonel will never let you get away with this."

Clearly, this hound had no intention of cooperating. He knew that once he said those words, he would likely be dealt with by KK in the next second, but he still remained loyal to Hansen—he would never betray this man.

"Hmm, maybe."

However, to the hound's surprise, KK did not deal with him in response to his words, nor did he express any further opinion on his lack of cooperation. He simply responded to the hound's words, "The colonel will not let you off the hook."

"I also think that this time, only one of them can be left, Hansen or I."

Carl said in a matter-of-fact tone, "But I think the one who will be left is me."

His words were full of confidence, even so self-assured.

but
"Is that the key point, Carl?"

Oliver said, somewhat exasperated, "Why do you always care about such strange things?"

"No, I just felt that this was the only thing about what he said that piqued my interest in answering. If he's not going to help, then he must have made up his mind. Since he's already made up his mind, why should I dwell on this? Of course, I can only answer what I can answer, right?"

Carl listened to Oliver's words, turned to respond, then looked back at the hound and smiled at him.

That smile sent a chill down the spine of the hound, making it feel as if it had fallen into an ice cave. It appeared to be such a relaxed and carefree smile, but to the hound, it seemed terrifying.

He inexplicably thought of some rumors about KK.

Death wasn't frightening to this hound, but being treated by KK like the people in the rumors...
The hound's body trembled instinctively.

He tried to stay calm, but the fear in his mind and instinct still made him tremble uncontrollably.

The others who were listening to the conversation and saw KK's smile also began to tremble uncontrollably.

They weren't tied to pillars and had their flesh sliced ​​off piece by piece, were they? Or were their skulls ripped open and served as a buffet?
One researcher with a weaker mental fortitude had already turned pale and barely managed to stay upright from fainting.

"I...I'd be happy to cooperate!"

There are those who are unwilling, and there are also those who are willing to cooperate.

A researcher who appeared to be of a high rank hurriedly spoke up, his tone almost impatient: "Please let me help you, Mr. KK! I know Hansen very well, and I am responsible for most of the base's daily reporting and management. Not to mention 24 hours, even 48 or 72 hours, I can definitely cover it up for you!"

Upon hearing his initiative, Karl shifted his gaze slightly and quickly retrieved his information from the base's database.

The researcher was indeed not lying—he handled most of the daily reports, and with his cooperation, even if some people were unwilling to cooperate, it wouldn't affect the overall situation.

"Then please."

Carl smiled slightly at him, not worried that the other party would do anything to sabotage the report to Hansen.

This base was merely a temporary stop for him. Even if this person secretly passed on some intelligence, he could simply turn around and leave. Dogtown was a vast territory; Hansen couldn't even manage his own, so how could he possibly catch him?

"Yes!"

The experimenter was surprised that KK agreed so easily and so casually, which made him think a little more.

Generally speaking, people only give special instructions when they value something highly. Does KK's current indifference mean...?
"Mr. KK".

The clever researcher took the initiative and asked Carl a question: "Will I have the opportunity to serve you again in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Carl glanced at the researcher with slight surprise.

It has to be said, there are many smart people out there; you can tell just from these few sentences.

Karl, being a clever man, naturally had to give a proper answer.

"I will give you a new dog town."

He said so.

This sentence made the researcher's eyes light up.

What would it take for Dogtown to become a new Dogtown?

The natural consequence is that the old king is dead and a new king must be established.

Which is the old king, and which is the new king?
Needless to say.

Mr. KK has finally extended his reach from Night City to Dogtown.

(End of this chapter)