Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

"...With a full vote by the Board of Directors, we have officially responded to the call of the Humborian Consortium, classifying the 'Undead Dragon' as a devastating threat, and uniting all civilizations in the galaxy that have signed the letter of intent to form a joint annihilation fleet..."

"...Envoy Karen is appointed as the Foundation's Chief Diplomatic Representative for this operation, responsible for diplomatic liaison with the Humborian Consortium and its member civilizations..."

The final line of appointments, like a noose around Karen's neck, was the message he had just received, tantamount to the final step that would push him off a cliff.

The idea that had sprouted in his heart grew stronger and stronger. As Karen looked at the life lying in the stasis field in the database, he gradually became more determined about his future path.

The Boros Global Foundation has been entrenched on this spiral arm for so long, expanding from a small interstellar trading company into one of the galactic overlords. Its roots have become deeply intertwined, penetrating the soil of every colony and the nodes of every trade route.

The families behind the board members are the true power holders of the foundation. They are allied by marriage and check and balance each other, forming an impenetrable web of power.

Karen's origins lie in the marriage between two board members' families. His grandfather was the rotating board member at the time, and in the board's resolution, he took the initiative to suggest that Karen put aside his communication with the Undead Dragon and instead focus on researching how to fight against it.

However, faced with the immense power of the undead dragon, Karen could find no hope. In his endless despair, he saw a new light at the bottom of the abyss, representing a special kind of hope.

Why not take the initiative to surrender to the Undead Dragon?

This path is equally treacherous. He cannot guarantee that the Undead Dragon will accept his surrender, nor can he guarantee that it will not, like it did with the Pirate Alliance, casually burn the Foundation to as well.

But at least, there's still a glimmer of hope on this path.

However, the board of directors, this rigid administrative organization, stood in Karen's way as she tried to surrender to the Undead Dragon.

The current board of directors is already tied to the chariot of interests by the Humboldt Convention, and those old guys will not give up the power and interests in their hands.

Family versus civilization, kinship versus the future—ultimately, a choice must be made.

Karen slowly closed her eyes, her mind flashing back to the ruins of Thousand Star City after its destruction, to the Foundation's current precarious future, and to the languid faces of the old men on the board of directors.

When he opened his eyes again, all his hesitation, all his struggle, all his complex and indescribable emotions vanished, leaving only a cold and resolute resolve.

To change the fate of the foundation, it is necessary to overthrow this high platform and smash this old system that has long been rigid and corrupt.

Even if this is like a mayfly trying to shake a tree for Karen, even if his own grandfather sits at the top of this system, the current rotating director, the director who pushed him to become the foundation's youngest diplomatic envoy, the director who gave him his current status, power and honor.

He must overthrow the board's rule, depose his grandfather, seize supreme power over the entire Boros Universal Foundation, and then lead the foundation off the chariot of the Humboldt Consortium to fight for a way out for this civilization.

He wanted to give this civilization, which was already sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of interests, a complete overhaul, and let it be reborn in the flames.

The moment Karen made this decision, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart, and she felt incredibly relieved.

This is not an easy thing, but once the idea is started, anything is possible.

Facing a global conglomerate like the Boros Global Foundation, which is deeply entrenched and has numerous powerful allies, requires meticulous planning, absolute secrecy, strong allies, and absolute control over key nodes.

However, Karen also has her own trump card.

As the foundation's top diplomatic representative, he is one of the members of the entire foundation who understands best how this massive machine works.

He has dealt with various affiliated civilizations, interstellar forces, and even advanced civilizations for many years. He is familiar with all departments within the Foundation, and has friends, or even confidants, with everyone from military generals, intelligence chiefs, and research experts to governors of various colony planets.

These were the people Karen was supposed to build up when she was promoted to rotating board member or even chairman in the distant future. After all, marriage between board families was meant to consolidate power, with everyone taking turns in charge, creating a democratic image for the outside world.

Now, these forces are being used against the board of directors.

At the same time, Karen, who will be governing the entire Foundation in the future, is naturally very clear about where the Foundation's lifeline lies. Its prosperity and strength have always been built on pervasive trade monopolies, the layered exploitation of vassal states, and the endless oppression of the peripheral star sectors.

This system, which has been operating for countless years, has long developed irreparable cracks over the long years. Karen looked at the edge star sectors marked in gray on the map of the territory.

The Foundation’s extravagance and prosperity are built on the blood and tears of these marginal areas. The Board of Directors has imposed ridiculously high resource taxes on those colonized planets far from the dazzling light of the City of a Thousand Stars, and claims that as long as these taxes are paid, the Governor can do whatever he wants on his own planet.

This action is tantamount to declaring that the Foundation's control over the outer reaches of the planet has fallen to such an extent that the centralized system can no longer function.

The population, rare minerals mined, and genetically modified crops grown on colonized planets must be sold to the Foundation's official trading companies at prices far below market value. The trading companies will then dispatch merchant fleets to resell these goods at higher prices to other star sectors.

In order to maintain an endless monopoly, the board of directors will deliberately suppress the local industries in the peripheral star sectors, so that these colony planets can only develop according to the plans set by the foundation, and be trapped at the bottom of the industrial chain as suppliers of raw materials, feeding the core star sector generation after generation.

Resistance in the outer star sectors has never ceased, with small-scale rebellions erupting one after another, only to be swiftly suppressed by the Foundation's main fleet and mercenaries.

Karen had been sent by the board to these star sectors countless times to mediate conflicts, and had dealt with the governors and local leaders stationed there. He knew how turbulent the atmosphere of discontent was, and how much resources they could mobilize.

Extending the gaze further outwards from the borders, the star sectors marked as vassal states are even more fraught with resentment.

Under the guise of "interstellar sanctuary," the Foundation charges these affiliated civilizations exorbitant protection fees, forcibly opening their home markets and allowing a flood of cheap Foundation goods to overwhelm their local industries.

Many of the unequal treaties were signed by Karen on behalf of the board of directors with these vassal states. He knew exactly where each vassal state's bottom line was, how deep the rift between them and the foundation was, and which forces were truly allies that could be won over and trusted.

As for the Foundation, Karen knew very well that even with his prestigious lineage, he couldn't directly contact the fleet commander-in-chief to launch a military raid. That old-school military strategist, loyal to the board, was quite rigid in his approach.

He also couldn't rashly approach those opposition directors who openly disagreed with the rotating board; they were merely different factions in the power game, essentially aligned with the board.

His gaze fell upon those groups marginalized by the board of directors, suppressed in the middle by the power structure and unable to rise.

Those researchers who have spent their entire lives in the laboratory, those mid-level officers who fought bloody battles against pirates and aliens on the front lines but found that they could not be promoted through merit, but could only rely on back channels or wait for their superiors to pass away, those administrative officials who worked diligently in vassal states and colonies but were constantly harassed and demoted because of their background...

These groups are scattered throughout every corner of the foundation's massive machine. They are inconspicuous cogs in the machine, yet they know best where the machine is rusty and where it can be pried open.

A scheme, as dark as night, slowly unfolded in Karen's mind.

He knew he was on a path fraught with peril, and that to overthrow this behemoth, the slightest misstep would mean certain death.

However, the board of directors is pushing the entire foundation into an abyss of no return, and he has no way out in the face of the undead dragon.