After Carl’s explosive attack on the goblin workshop, the dungeon system taunts Carl with achievements for killing an infant and more than twenty non-combatants. The rewards are Asshole’s Boxes, but the cruel messages make clear that the game is designed to force moral injury as well as physical danger.

Carl and Donut escape into a neighborhood of rot stickers, small wall- and ceiling-crawling monsters that attach to victims, explode, and inflict a knockdown effect. Carl’s troll skin shirt and Iron Skin potions help blunt the danger, while Donut stays on Carl’s shoulder and destroys clusters of the creatures with missiles. They eventually learn the monsters’ timing and reach a safe room.

The safe room resembles a dingy waiting area with cots, showers, screens, and a plate of experience cookies. The crawler count has fallen to 3,594,517, and Carl worries about people hiding in safe rooms while the population keeps dropping. Carl estimates that they still need to reach another artery, use the chopper, and search east for stairs, but the pair choose to rest first and watch the upcoming second episode.

Carl reviews the rewards and skill gains from the goblin fight and the rot stickers. Carl’s explosives-related skills rise, Carl gains an IED skill and a Demolitions Workshop menu that requires a Sapper’s Table, and Donut receives rewards tied to charming goblins. Donut opens her boxes first, gaining armor, a Minion Army tome she cannot yet use because her spell points are too low, weapon oil, and a Desperado Pass tattoo that infuriates her because it marks her body.

Carl opens Carl’s rewards and receives supplies, a Desperado Pass tattoo on Carl’s neck, another constitution ring, and a Skill Potion that grants Determine Value. The new ability lets Carl sort inventory by value, revealing the Tome of Wisp Armor, the chopper, and the remaining hobgoblin detonator among the most valuable possessions.

As Carl tries to sleep, the baby-killing achievement keeps haunting Carl despite Carl’s rationalization that the dungeon engineered the situation. Looking at initials carved into the ceiling of the stolen safe room, Carl resolves that the game may hurt or kill Carl but will not break Carl. Donut curls against Carl, still upset but comforting, and the two prepare to rest.