Chapter 37

Carl and Mordecai discover that killing monsters has triggered a waste-disposal spawning system, flooding the area with thousands of harmless level-two grubs. They must escape the quadrant before the limit is exceeded. Brandon's team arrives with an impressive multi-car transport contraption pulled by Imani and Chris to move all 39 residents safely, and the groups begin coordinating their escape toward the stairs.

Carl and Mordecai find their room swarmed by low-level grubs spawning in response to the 835 monsters killed in the recent boss battle. Mordecai explains the dungeon's waste-disposal system: grubs spawn (1-15 per corpse) when janitor mobs are unavailable, with a per-quadrant limit of 5,000. Destroying corpses prevents leveling but not spawning. They contact Brandon to move the residents toward a rendezvous point. Rather than fight the grubs directly, Carl and Donut navigate through them carefully, killing only when necessary to avoid triggering more spawns. At the meeting point, Brandon's team reveals an impressive invention: a 300-foot chain-connected train of wheeled chairs and platforms carrying all 39 residents, built by Imani and Chris using salvaged materials and Imani's magical chain scroll. Brandon reports his team successfully cleared Mind Horrors (floating brain bosses) for training, with Yolanda reaching level nine. As they move toward the stairs through a new hallway, Carl reflects on the ethical weight of bringing elderly residents into danger. Zev, an admin, interrupts via direct mental contact to comment that the elderly storyline is polarizing viewers—some find it compelling, others call it "dead weight." As they approach a safe room, an elderly resident named Jack stands up and begins urinating on the wall, prompting Zev to urgently order Carl and Donut to the safe room immediately.