Long-term mountain running training greatly increased his physical strength, and this time heading to the River Valley Plain felt like a well-trodden path; combined with his improved fitness, he was much faster than last time.
...
Before nightfall, Chen Zhou had already arrived at the River Valley Plain.
The scenery here was the same as last time, basically unchanged, as if time had stopped flowing here.
After choosing a campsite and clearing away the weeds to avoid hidden snakes and insects, Chen Zhou first lit a campfire.
He added enough wood to the fire to burn for an hour. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, he took Lai Fu for a couple of laps around the campsite, hoping to discover something new.
Before setting out, he packed two lighting tools.
One was an oil lamp filled with lamp oil, used for regular lighting conditions.
The other was a high-powered flashlight.
