Carl, Donut, Katia, and the others position the portal cart on the employee track so they can send the Nightmare Express into the Abyss. Carl explains that the train’s explosion should kill enough Krakaren creatures to overload the already failing ghoul-generator system and destroy more soul crystals. Before leaving, Carl loots the Mimic Rex’s drop, the Map of the Stars, which adds boss locations to the map, and the group briefly reacts to a system message announcing that a champion has fallen and a bounty has been claimed elsewhere.

Carl then tells Fire Brandy and Tizquick to get off the train before it is sent to its destruction. Fire Brandy refuses, explaining that talking with Tizquick restored her memories of repeated lives spent powering machines, bearing children, and losing them each time; she decides she will not let herself be used again. Tizquick also chooses to stay, saying he understands how to make the train explode at the right moment. Carl accepts their decision, says goodbye, and agrees with Brandy that crawlers and these exploited beings should not truly be enemies.

After the train disappears through the portal, Carl reflects on Fire Brandy’s and Tizquick’s suicides, on his mother’s violence, and on the fact that his companions repeatedly risked themselves to save him. That reflection leads Carl to recognize how much he depends on other people. Moments later, experience notifications confirm the plan succeeded: the blast killed many monsters in the Abyss, Carl receives at least partial credit, reaches level 41, and gets a fan box. Bautista messages that the generator explosion was felt from their position and that his group can now move back toward the stairwells.

The group returns along the employee line to station 36, where Imani has continued holding back the remaining ghouls and Krakaren. The stairwell has been open for some time, but the others have waited for Carl’s team before descending. Donut worries about the unsold hats, Carl reassures her they can try again on the next floor, and Elle heads down first, relieved to leave the trains behind.

Just as Carl is about to descend, the stairwell shifts into a ramp and Agatha suddenly appears, pushing her shopping cart and flamingo as if nothing is unusual. Imani moves to intercept her, but Carl stops Imani and lets Agatha pass. Immediately after, Loita messages that Odette is waiting in the green room and that a new arrangement will be discussed in person; Donut demands to know where Zev is, but Loita refuses to answer remotely. The chapter closes with a passage from Carl’s cookbook in which Carl concludes that NPCs and mobs are also victims of the system and vows not just to survive it, but to destroy the beings behind it.