Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 912, Section 122: The Dog King Has Arrived
Gagozab's fear of death does not contradict his past courage to gamble on Kurt Hansen's future.

After all, one is a matter of personal character, and the other is a matter of perspective.

But for Karl, this was good news. After all, a smart man who was afraid of death knew what he should do and what he shouldn't do.

A smart person who knows how to maintain boundaries is well-suited for discussing matters.

With the help of Gago, a former high-ranking member of the Ghosthounds, the territories in Dogtown that were once controlled by Kurt Hansen's core were quickly unified and managed.

Regarding taxes levied on the residents of Dogtown, Carl, on Gago's advice, relaxed some taxes on weapons, food, and electricity, but began to strictly control taxes on medicine.

As it turns out, Hansen initially only wanted to ensure that his territory was 100% loyal to him, and Hansen also imposed restrictions on Gago. Now that Gago is giving full play to his abilities, Dogtown, which was originally expected to take a month to complete basic unification, has started receiving taxes in less than half the time.

Collecting taxes essentially means that the land now belongs to them.

Karl's relaxed approach, allowing himself to do whatever he wanted, was beyond Gago's expectations.

According to his initial plan, if he led the Netherhounds back to join him, Karl might give him a position out of consideration for him. However, the position would probably not be very high, at most managing a small area. He would then have to start working again under the weight of suspicion, and he would never reach the heights he once had.

Gago was prepared to work for a while, then quit voluntarily, take a sum of money, and become a rich man. However, he did not expect that after meeting Karl, his authority not only did not decrease, but actually increased.

Even when Gago was using it, he was somewhat terrified.

If KK's actions can be considered as trusting people he employs, then he's incredibly audacious.

Isn't he afraid that he'll summon the Netherhounds to attack him?
Oh, he doesn't seem to be afraid at all.

After understanding the fundamental differences between KK and Hansen, Gago felt relieved.

The feeling of being able to fully utilize his talents without any restrictions was wonderful. If Gago weren't such a person, he would have felt like dying for someone who understands him.

When Colonel Hansen was in charge of finances, he only managed a part of it, such as purchasing with money. He couldn't touch anything else. Now that KK is here, he can not only use money for purchasing, but also manage taxes. He handles both collecting and spending money. It feels so great.

Why didn't KK come sooner? Hansen died too late.

These days, Gago has been handling finances and has made a lot of money, both openly and secretly. Most of the money comes from various companies and forces trying to "show their goodwill" and asking him to do them a favor. He has been accepting these payments out of habit, but as he looks at the astronomical sums that have accumulated, he feels more and more uneasy every day.

Unsure of KK's attitude towards the money, he picked a day and offered to hand it over to show his loyalty. Unexpectedly, KK refused outright.

“NCPDs take bribes, so just take it and buy yourself something you want.” KK’s tone was as indifferent as if he were talking about a child’s stash of money for candy. “As long as you do your job well, you can take the money.”

—So what if you took it?
When he heard it, Gago could hardly believe his ears.

In the past, he would have had to secretly try to collect this amount of money for two whole years, hiding it from Colonel Hansen, and even then, he might not have been able to raise the full amount. Yet KK just casually allowed him to accept it.
It is an honor to do things for KK.

After working for KK for half a month, Gago realized this point and soon forgot about Colonel Hansen.

Kurt Hansen, don't mention that name, I'm really not familiar with him, and don't talk about him in private, I'm afraid KK will misunderstand.

Of course, Karl wasn't entirely unprepared for Gago's extra efforts.

He also has former members of the Pheasant Faction under his command.

The remaining members of the former Pheasant Faction are all elites. This is no exaggeration; they were truly chosen by Saburo Arasaka, Hanako, and Akechi, and were the last remaining elites after undergoing rigorous training.

If Gago had actually done something harmful in front of these elites, the team would have arrived a minute later if he had done it a minute ago.

Other companies can learn from Arasaka's internal strife skills; they can't just learn them by chance.

With everyone under his command working hard, Karl finally had some free time to do other things.

He left Dogtown, where he had been for a long time, and went to Arasaka.

Sei-nobu is no longer in Night City. While Miles was withdrawing his troops and hurriedly sending people to track down Li De and Song Zhaomei while rushing back to Washington, Sei-nobu was also busy in Japan. The current CEO of Night City, Arasaka, is the same person who was two years ago.

That is, Haruko Arakasaka.

Michiko Arasaka has recently left Night City to handle affairs in various parts of North America; and Hanako Arasaka has been taken away by Rai Nie. Now, the only Arasaka direct descendant left in Night City is Haruko Arasaka.

Compared to two years ago, Haruko now has enough strength to secure her position and handle various matters with ease.

Not to mention Kenichi Shiro, who holds the highest position in Arasaka Tower besides herself, she also absorbed and protected the high-ranking members left behind by the 'Pheasant Faction', while cultivating her own confidants among the Doves.

Furthermore, thanks to her relationship with KK and Lai Xuan, the hawks also provided personnel assistance. Although factional divisions still exist within Arasaka and members occasionally have disagreements, no one has any objections to Arasaka Haruko herself anymore.

She is already regarded as the common successor of the three factions and will likely take over the position of Arasaka Yorinobu in the future. Since the future leader has already been determined, what remains are just some internal frictions that do not affect the overall situation.

This has been a characteristic of Arasaka since ancient times, a tradition that dates back to the Taira no Masakado Rebellion; it would be strange if it weren't there.

It's not easy for people to understand each other, so some friction is normal.

As long as there are frictions, but we can still work together towards the overall goal, that is a tolerable norm.

Haruko Arasaka has now been promoted to Vice President of Arasaka North America. In the company structure, she is now the third most important person in the company, second only to Yoriyuki Arasaka and Michiko Arasaka.

There are naturally other regional managers within Arasaka, but under the company's regional weighting system, North America has always been the strategic core, apart from Japan.

The position of head of the North American region was held by Takashi Arasaka more than 50 years ago. Now, it is not surprising that a deputy head of the North American region has a higher actual status and authority than the heads of other regions.

This is like a colonel in a small country; his influence and resources are naturally incomparable to those of a lieutenant colonel in a large country.

This time, Carl came to meet the third-in-command of the Arasaka Company, not as a friend, but as the 'King of Dogtown'.

He wanted to use Dogtown's unique value to discuss with Haruko matters related to starting an arms trade.

After all, Dogtown may be small, but it's still a nail in the coffin.

Of course, even with such geographical value, collaborations at the Dogtown level usually don't require Haruko's personal involvement.

Karl initially expressed his intentions through conventional channels and did not intend to talk to Haruko.

However, when Carl's request to meet with a certain Arasaka employee (such as Kenichi Kazuya, or as a second choice, Kenichi Shiro) was submitted to Arasaka, the Arasaka company immediately and unilaterally proposed that Carl and Haruko must meet in person.

Since that's the case, Karl has no choice but to do it this way.

After all, in his capacity as a formal business negotiator, he did have to follow the other party's wishes.

Under the watchful eyes of many Arasaka staff, Karl easily entered the Arasaka Tower after the inspection, and with his exclusive privileges, pressed the button to go to the CEO's floor.

Then, the first thing he heard when he arrived at Haruko's place was...
"The Dog King is here—"

"Don't talk to me in that weird tone, Mashi."

Carl glanced at Ma Xi, the first person to greet him, and was somewhat speechless.

What does "King of Dogs" mean? Pronounce "King of Dogtown" correctly.

You can't abbreviate chocolate bread to "chocolate bread".

This dog king really can't last a day; he'll have to be changed sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)