Instead of rejoining the others at the Bactrian ruins, Carl, Donut, and Katia limp back to Hump Town while the surviving gnomes scatter from the wreck of the Wasteland. Along the way, Carl notices the System AI is acting unusually hostile, and the trio loots fallen gnome bodies for scraps, weapons, and ammunition. Donut figures out the cause of the AI’s mood when they examine intact gnome ammo balls and discover they contain frenzied gerbils. Carl realizes the AI wanted him to kill one the same way he killed Ralph on the second floor, and he refuses to indulge it.

That refusal immediately triggers a crisis. A massive swarm of released gerbils converges on Hump Town, forcing the defenders to abandon the walls and fall back toward Weird Shit Alley. Donut’s Wall of Fire briefly worsens the situation by igniting the flying gerbils, and the dromedarian defenders are overwhelmed as the creatures burrow into flesh and keep coming in impossible numbers. Realizing the attack is a punitive escalation by the AI rather than a normal battle, Carl steps forward and deliberately stomps a gerbil.

The swarm stops almost at once, confirming Carl’s suspicion that the System AI was retaliating against him personally. Carl receives an achievement explaining that he had provoked the AI’s ire and that the temporary “acceleration action” has now been suspended. Katia is disturbed that the AI is no longer pretending to be fair, while Donut argues that Carl may have to compromise with the AI’s demands if refusing them endangers everyone else. Exhausted, the group decides to recover, release the people sheltering in Carl’s personal space, and plan their next move against the now-undefended castle.

Back inside the damaged Toe, the team checks in with Mordecai and Juice Box. Louis and the others are safely searching the Bactrian ruins and waiting out the storm, while Juice Box reveals that Henrik and the other changeling principals have likely gone into the flooding necropolis to search for the ghost. The trio then opens their reward boxes. Carl receives Half Splat potions, a magical writing kit that links to a new scratchpad tab, and a platinum sharpening stone that upgrades his gauntlet. Katia gets an improved crossbow bolt. Donut opens the fake benefactor “sample” from Veriluxx and discovers it contains a cheap robot version of herself with bizarre Garfield-like dialogue, which Mongo promptly destroys.

Afterward, Donut drinks a skill potion that boosts Animal Wrangling and equips Mongo with new fang caps that improve his speed and strength. The children finish watching Toy Story 3 before returning outside, while the group prepares for an assault on the floating house and the remains of the castle above Hump Town. As Carl escorts the children out and surveys the damaged town, he is caught off guard by the sudden arrival of Chris, a dangerous rock monster crawler with many boss kills and player-killer marks, who greets Carl directly.