Carl helps Bautista's group switch their cart onto a regular line so they can head for the safer route at station 72. During the work, Bautista explains that the stuffed monsters he found in Miss Quill's apartment are true summoning items made by his sponsor, Jaxbrin Amusements: pulling off a tag summons a real creature for a short time, and rarer figures last longer. Carl realizes Bautista has been leaning heavily on these summons, warns him not to depend on sponsor goodwill, and worries that some of Bautista's teammates are underleveled.

After Bautista leaves, Carl reflects on the growing rescue network and the confusing structure of the Iron Tangle. The crawler count still seems too high compared with the groups Carl can account for, and Katia remains bothered by how the floor's layout and the limited number of station mimics do not fully add up. Carl, Donut, Katia, and Mongo travel along the zomp line with both interdiction carts protecting them with Abyss portals, clear ghouls and baby krakarens as they go, and stop at station 59, where they warn everyone else to stay off that line and retreat to the safe room.

In the safe room, Katia opens her fan box before Mordecai returns. She receives an enchanted riot shield that upgrades her Rush into Crowd Blast, letting her use a powerful cone attack every five minutes instead of once per day, and a telescoping baton that knocks back large groups. Although Katia suspects the gift may be trolling because she hates using Rush, the equipment is a major combat upgrade. Because the new shield replaces her old bracer, Katia gives Carl her Auto Buckler of the Peach Pit, adding a useful defensive item to his gear.

Katia then opens her benefactor box from Princess Formidable and receives a single crossbow bolt: the Bolt of Ophiotaurus, one of one hundred, which pauses a god's invulnerability for fifteen seconds if shot directly into the deity's eye. The group interprets the gift as a sign that Princess Formidable may want her powerful brother brought down. During the recap show, the group watches propaganda-heavy footage that omits their rescue work, shows Lucia Mar fighting elsewhere, and reveals a newly visible stairwell at station 433, suggesting the city boss had been hiding another path downward. That discovery means more stranded crawlers may still have a way off the isolated side of the tracks.

The recap's system announcement raises the stakes for the next floor: only existing parties will stay together, crawlers will be scattered farther apart, viewers can now pay to read private crawler messages, and liquids can no longer be stored loose in inventory. Mordecai returns immediately after the broadcast and is stunned by the seven days he missed and by the new changes to the group. Before Carl can brief him, the liquid-storage patch triggers a delayed consequence: all the blood Katia had stored loose in her inventory is violently expelled in every direction, coating the room while leaving Katia herself untouched. The moment is grotesque and absurd, but it also shows how suddenly the system's rule changes can alter stored resources and create new exploits or dangers.