The lights of the Bayji Refinery command center flickered on at precisely six o'clock in the evening, illuminating the analysis room with a stark whiteness akin to an operating room.
Song Heping stood motionless in front of three side-by-side main screens, arms crossed.
The latest battlefield situation map had been updated — the drones had regained clear reconnaissance capabilities for the first time since the sandstorm.
But the image depicted not the steady advance of the Alliance Army, but a defense network riddled with holes.
"Look here."
Song Heping pointed to the center of the screen, tracing a winding zigzag line in the air with his finger, "Three days ago, the Alliance's front line was here, controlling the intersection of the city's northern Main Street. And now?"
Jiang Feng leaned closer to the screen, his face growing solemn: "They've retreated at least four hundred meters. And the support point here...gone."
