Chapter 2

Carl and Donut are randomly assigned a Big Shot Chicken food truck as their racing vehicle for the tenth floor's "Don't come in last" race competition. Hedy the gremlin urges them to board immediately as the first heat begins, while the dungeon AI and floor administrator Zev explain the rules: seven heats with nine teams each, vehicle upgrades available after each race, and elimination for last place finishers.

The chapter opens with Hedy the gremlin preparing Carl and Donut for an imminent race after one of her co-applicants explodes. A giant wheel of vehicle silhouettes appears, spinning to select what vehicle each team will drive. As the wheel spins, a disturbing broadcast from the AI interrupts—a voice expressing despair and suicidal ideation about why the crawlers are still alive. Zev quickly seizes the loudspeaker and provides official floor information: 5,500 crawlers survived Faction Wars, nearly 15,000 took deals to leave, and the tenth floor is a racing competition called "Don't come in last" consisting of seven heats with nine teams per heat, 1,800 teams total. Zev explains the mechanics: vehicles repair between races, winners choose three regular upgrades or one Golden upgrade, last place finishers are voted upgrades by the audience, and every heat requires a different driver. The wheel eventually lands on a Big Shot Chicken food truck—a novelty restaurant vehicle with a plastic tommy gun mounted on the roof that partially obscures the windshield, clearly designed more as a prop than a functional racing vehicle. Carl and Donut rush to board the truck as the countdown timer reaches zero, with Carl taking the driver's seat and the engine starting successfully.