After the CrawlCon segment ends, gnoll guards separate Carl from the Popov twins and keep him in the production room. Dmitri calls out a quick goodbye before Zev arrives to deal with the fallout from Carl stabbing the naga reporter's projection.

Zev tells Carl that the reporter, Nihit, survived and wants to press assault charges. Because Nihit was off system, the case would fall under normal Syndicate law rather than Borant dungeon rules. Zev explains that convictions are handled through warrants and time sentences that can later be bought out by governments or corporations, effectively turning convicts into contracted laborers. Carl is disgusted by the system and learns that, if convicted, his fame would likely make him valuable enough for a major power such as the Skull Empire to purchase.

Carl tries to dismiss the threat, but Zev warns that he is still in trouble and will probably face tighter security. Carl asks why Nihit was so enraged, and Zev explains that nagas struggle with emotional control and that Nihit's family has ties to the Blood Sultanate through the faction wars. Nihit wants Carl and Donut eliminated before they can reach the lower floors.

Zev also reveals that a growing conspiracy portrays Carl and Donut as apocalyptic figures. That warning pushes Carl back to the problem of the ninth floor and Donut's lost Crown of the Sepsis Whore. Carl recalls that wearing the crown permanently places the wearer in the Blood Sultanate's royal line, meaning Donut would have to see the Sultan and the rest of the royal family dead before she could descend. Carl also realizes that if another crawler ever put on the regenerated crown, that person might have to die as well.

Thinking ahead, Carl reflects that even outside help from Quasar might not be enough to solve the Blood Sultanate problem. He asks whether Nihit's fear means there is some way to physically affect the powers waiting on the ninth floor. Zev refuses to speculate and tells Carl to focus on surviving the sixth floor first.