Fifteen kilometers away from Titrik, at the Joint Command Center.
Song Heping stood in front of the command console, hands pressed against the edge of the table, knuckles white from exertion.
On the massive screen before him, twelve real-time drone feeds were displayed in split view.
The majority of the images were obscured by yellow smoke, as if a dirty filter had been draped over the cityscape.
Yet, there were still two high-angle camera feeds that remained relatively clear.
They captured the scene from the first few minutes of the gas release.
"Replay Frame Three." Song Heping pointed at the screen with a cold expression and said, "Slow motion."
The technical officer operated the console.
In the center of the screen, an overhead view slowly began to replay.
Three buildings simultaneously collapsed from within, not through explosive destruction, but through precise directional blasting, aimed at releasing rather than demolishing.
Then, yellow smoke surged out.
