After they crossed the rift valley, there weren't many obstacles ahead. Clara used her pocket watch to keep track of time, and by a little past seven o'clock that evening, they had arrived at the ruins of Number Two Edge City. After squeezing through a narrow passage, the space before them opened up, revealing a vast expanse of collapsed buildings and rubble in the darkness.
Clara suddenly shivered. She had the illusion that the darkness before her was an endless fog closing in, a dead, lifeless mist without any ripples. She wanted to guess the truth behind the fog but was enveloped by a sense of powerlessness.
"We're here."
This sudden surge of negativity made Clara shiver again. She quickly shook it off, exhaled a breath of stale air, and said in a deliberately casual tone, "We've made good progress, reaching here earlier than I expected. It's getting late, so I suggest we find a place to camp and rest, to recover our strength and spirit. We can explore further tomorrow."