Chapter 33

After winning the third race despite losing two allied teams, Carl and Donut return to the garage to prepare for the fourth race. They discover that neither of them can drive in the next race due to having driven in the previous one, forcing them to recruit new drivers. Carl learns details about the upcoming jungle race and checks in on other crawler teams' results.

Carl and Donut limp back to the garage after their first-place finish, realizing that both having driven in the last race disqualifies them from driving in the next one. They witness the surviving mounts from the defeated teams—Onikuma and Old Shuck—disappear after crossing the finish line. Dr. Metcalf, the GPS unit, survives in a damaged state and is transported by a gremlin. The next race is revealed to be a 99-kilometer jungle track called "The You're Gonna Die If You Go in Here Jungle Trail of Tremendous Cannibalistic Slaughter" with a mandatory pit stop at Upano. The race features a 20-hour time limit and special containment units, running alongside three other heats with 7 hours and 3 minutes until start time. Carl notes the decreasing time between races. While Donut checks on allied teams through her mental network, Carl reviews the status of other crawlers: Imani and Elle came second but lost two teams, Florin and Lucia won but lost three teams, Prepotente and Jurgen won without losses, Louis's team came third and is struggling with tire issues, and Zhang won against only fellow crawlers. Hedy presents upgrade options for the truck as Carl prepares to recruit new drivers through Rosetta at the mercenary market.