Carl learns that the first rescue phase has worked. Several bubbles open after feral or regular gods appear, including one where the summoned creature is too large and explodes and another where a giant turkey god wanders the lacuna. Three regular gods also appear and then leave on their own. As Carl prepares phase two, the survivor count drops below 100,000, which deepens his sense that even successful rescues are only slowing a larger massacre. Juice Box notices Carl spiraling and warns him that constantly forcing progress can get a person killed.

During the recap period, Borant announces that the bubble-escape method will be allowed to continue, though the chance of a summoned feral god pulling in an active deity has been sharply reduced. The announcement also reveals key sixth-floor changes: class specializations, a guild system, and the arrival of third-party hunters funded by an anonymous sponsor. Carl realizes Borant is not protecting the crawlers out of mercy; Borant simply needs enough of them alive to sustain the show and the sponsorship cycle.

After phase two, Carl and Donut leave their temporary position and cross the foul, dark lacuna back toward bubble 543. By then, the operation has saved about 1,500 crawlers, though many bubbles have already gone dark or become impossible to help because they lost club access. The turkey feral god grows more dangerous after feeding, but Carl and Donut still make the trip safely and return to Hump Town. There, Florin personally thanks Carl, explaining that Carl's rescue plan and Elle's words restored his will to keep fighting instead of giving up.

Over the next two days, Carl trains, uses an old Frogger machine to decompress, and helps with three more gate rescues. Gwen, Tran, and their team also loot the submerged tomb area and recover a sixth-floor map from Quetzalcoatlus's corpse. As the level collapse nears, Katia finally tells Carl and Donut that she intends to operate separately on the sixth floor. Katia wants to gather and protect Eva's scattered former daughters before Eva or other predators exploit them, and Carl reluctantly accepts that Katia needs to pursue that mission even if it means stepping away from his direct protection. Carl gives Katia the Left Fang of the Green Sultan so she can return it to Eva when the time comes.

At the six-hour mark, phase three begins. Imani, Elle, Louis, Firas, and a large group of changelings use a portal on Imani and Elle's world to send the changelings and the Twister safely to the sixth floor, while Prepotente has already killed the giant turkey god elsewhere. Li Jun reports that Agatha has unexpectedly appeared and gone down the stairs. Imani and Elle then race back to the Desperado Club, return the gate pieces to Carl, and prepare to descend before their portal times out and summons a feral god. Carl, Donut, and Katia share an emotional goodbye, and phase four officially begins.