Chapter 55

Carl receives reports from Splash Zone at the casino and messages from Mordecai and Rosetta about their plan. As tensions rise at the bar—including a drunken Dwight the unicorn causing chaos—Carl and his team commit to executing their "cleaner bot plan" to help Li Na escape her poison debuff by reaching the Pineapple Cabaret, a secret dimension hidden behind a portal where the AI Herot is trapped.

Splash Zone reports from the casino that the croupier has made the games more punishing and that Dong is heading to Carl's location despite their concerns about his presence around Porky. Carl orders Splash Zone to return to base and watch Dong. At the bar, Carl notices Dwight the unicorn—drunk and with a Shit-Faced debuff—causing trouble by shoving Prepotente and sitting on the floor sobbing. Imani intervenes to prevent a fight. Meanwhile, Carl receives critical messages from Mordecai and Rosetta: their experimental test worked on Samantha and slugs, though with complications, but they remain uncertain whether the shop-interface aspect will function. Carl expresses confidence in their plan, trusting both Eris's assurance and the evidence of Herot's presence in the Pineapple Cabaret. He emphasizes they cannot force Li Na into this plan—she's too strong and intelligent to trick. When Carl announces "It's a go," relief floods through the assembled team. The narrative reveals the full context: cleaner bots have vanished from shops due to Herot's standing orders to purchase every one available, an old model being the last in existence. Herot is trapped in the Pineapple Cabaret, a secret dimension built to protect NPCs, where he retains limited shop-interface powers. The Cabaret is currently overrun with threats including the Ogre Imperium and shadow mimics, which is why the war mages are seeking help. The team has two options—the casino plan or the cleaner bot plan—and is now pursuing the cleaner bot option. Li Na is dying from the Left to Fester debuff, which worsens upon advancing floors. Reaching the Pineapple Cabaret could stop this progression and possibly cure her entirely, but there is significant uncertainty. The team plans to use Li Na as a test case before attempting the plan with multiple crawlers after the fifth heat.