Carl, Donut, Grigori, and the others limp across the finish line exhausted and realize they have come in last place despite completing their quest. Carl is stunned by Dong Quixote’s death, and Donut openly grieves for him. Grigori tries to comfort Donut by saying Dong believed death was only a passage onward, but Donut answers that the loss is still terrible for those left behind.

As the teams check in through chat, the scale of the disaster becomes clear. Prepotente says his team may be the only survivors from their heat, Louis reports heavy casualties and a useful new engineer, and Florin says his team finished first. Osvaldo then explains how the unicorn won: he bypassed the factory by riding up the outside wall, crossing over the roof, and dropping to the finish, which leaves Donut furious.

Dr. Metcalf reveals the rules for the next stage. Heats 6 and 7 will run back-to-back on the same track, with only a two-hour pit stop between them and no safe room access once Heat 6 begins. The racers will be shrunk to race through a seven-floor apartment building, moving from the top floor to the bottom in Heat 6 and then back again in Heat 7. Carl studies the numbers and realizes the field has been devastated, making his larger rescue plan feel even more urgent.

Back at garage four, Carl thinks about the cleaner bots and the Pineapple Cabaret escape route while Hedy waits for them. He then opens the reward for completing the quest and receives an unsettling message from the dungeon AI. The AI praises the success, grants Carl the ability to choose two beings within its sphere of influence to bring into the floor eleven arena, and warns him to beware exits that seem too good to be true, especially in connection with the Cabaret, Eris, and the Scavenger’s Daughter. Immediately after, Mordecai reports that a flower has bloomed on the cactus, confirming Li Na reached the Pineapple Cabaret and that it is supposedly safe, which makes the AI’s warning even more ominous.