Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 887, Section 97: How to handle it
Hansen died, and died so quietly.

The former New America colonel, the king of Dogtown, died just like any other ordinary person.

He still had a look of doubt on his face, as if he had no idea that this was the case without a preparatory course.

Why didn't KK even bother to say a few more words to him? Why was he killed by KK? These many questions likely accumulated in Hansen's fading consciousness at the last moment. But before those thoughts surfaced, Hansen's last remaining thoughts were...
"So fast."

Hansen hadn't expected KK to be so fast; KK could act so quickly.

Hansen never imagined that KK could be so fast and make such a decisive move.

His rank in the new United States was earned through hard-won combat achievements. In other words, he climbed step by step from mountains of corpses to the position of colonel. Hansen's combat skills were by no means inferior. Even if several ordinary corporate security teams joined forces, they might not be able to do anything to him.

Despite such skill, he couldn't even mount a single effective resistance the moment KK made his move.

Or rather, even the fact that one is already dead is the last consciousness one has before it dissipates.

"thump."

As he watched the body collapse before him, having lost consciousness, Karl's gaze remained calm.

He actually respected Kurt Hansen a lot, otherwise he wouldn't have addressed him as "sir".

This former colonel was a very capable man. He was talented and decisive, able to lead his men to defect from New America and establish his own order in Dogtown, a lawless place, a veritable kingdom in the cracks. The fact that he could do all this was enough to prove his extraordinary nature.

Carl respected this skill from the bottom of his heart.

But respect is not the same as agreement.

For personal gain, he was willing to detonate a nuclear bomb, sacrificing the citizens of Dogtown and his loyal followers—a choice that might seem perfectly reasonable to anyone in a high position. Anyone else in Hansen's place would likely have done the same.

But Carl refused.

Even if everyone in this world would make the same choice, it doesn't matter.

Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Karl was arrogant and haughty; he preferred to trust his own judgment.

This is wrong.

Since it is wrong, there is a reason to stop it.

So Carl chose to stop it according to his own ideas, and Hansen died.

As Hansen collapsed, the lark, or rather, Song Zhaomei, knelt down beside him.

Her consciousness had long been blurred by the black wall, and her memories were constantly dissipating like quicksand. Throughout the entire process, she was being held hostage by Hansen. After Hansen's death, Song Zhaomei, who had lost the support of Hansen's arm, could only kneel on the ground.

Her face was deathly pale, and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

But this was not due to the fear of witnessing Karl kill Hansen, nor was it due to the cold air of Dogtown.

At this moment, she wasn't even aware that she was trembling—her body had completely slipped out of her control. Karl stared at her.

They had met and communicated many times, but never before had they been face to face, in their true forms, like this moment.

Carl knew everything about Song Zhaomei's past.

She is a 'data nuclear bomb' created by New America to explore the Black Wall. Originally a world-class hacker, after multiple modifications and successful connection to the Black Wall, she can perhaps be called the most outstanding hacker in the world today—at least among all beings who still have a real physical body.

However, it was precisely this excellence that pushed her into the abyss.

Frequent high-risk missions, repeated physical modifications, and continuous venturing into the forbidden realm of the Black Wall gradually eroded her consciousness and body, pushing her to the brink of collapse.

Realizing her impending doom, she secretly contacted Hansen and Washington lawmakers opposed to Rosalind Myers, and then orchestrated a plane crash so that she and the president would 'accidentally' crash in the lawless city of Dogtown.

She then employed a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, she hired V and others to assist the president, attempting to use the president's pressure to force Hansen to let her use the neural matrix beneath Dogtown Stadium as soon as possible, hoping to use the AI ​​within to clear the Black Wall's erosion and buy herself a chance to survive; on the other hand, she helped Hansen resolve all external hacking intrusions during the president's plane crash.

It can be said that she was the fuse that ignited the great war in Dogtown.

Although opposition lawmakers in Washington were the main driving force, the situation would never have deteriorated so drastically without her lurking as a 'variable' beside the president.

Today, she has become a key point of contention between the new United States and the Ghost Dogs, who are willing to fight each other and even prepare to use nuclear weapons.

Hansen hoped to coerce Rosalind Miles into submission by controlling her, but Miles would rather destroy everything than let her fall into Hansen's hands. The conflict that swept through Dogtown was ultimately caused by the struggle for her.

All her meticulous planning for survival—her cunning schemes and less-than-clever maneuvering—ultimately came to nothing.

The crucial key to unlocking the neural matrix she so desperately wanted had been intercepted by the FIA ​​halfway through, and the situation changed rapidly afterward: Rosalind Miles lost patience due to Arasaka Seiichi's swift actions, and Hansen was also ready for the final battle.

In the vortex of the impending storm, her consciousness was gradually swallowed by the black wall. She had lost all initiative and could only be pushed and carried by various forces like an object or a puppet, until she knelt down.

Carl watched her, looking at the eye of the storm.

He was thinking about how to deal with her.

If we hand it over to Miles, Rosalind Miles will probably pay a hefty price for her 'loyalty,' or as Johnny would say, she might even get some kind of medal for it.

Get the medal from the new America!
That's quite funny.

Carl had no intention of presenting something that even dogs wouldn't want as a tribute to the new America.

He had seen the men who served the new America, and even spent time with what was probably the most loyal among them, and frankly, they were worse than dogs.

Moreover, Rosalind Miles is essentially no different from Hansen; their methods are practically identical. After dealing with Hansen, Carl was still thinking about when to get rid of Rosalind Miles. Sending the lark to her 'respectfully' was out of the question.

So, should we kill her?
Carl touched the 'KK' at his waist, deep in thought, when he suddenly turned his head away.

"Li De".

He faced the darkness and uttered the name.

(End of this chapter)