Chapter 31

Carl and his team continue grinding on monsters while traveling north, obtaining valuable new cards including the Damnation snare and the consumable Glow-Up card. Meanwhile, Katia goes missing during reconnaissance at the Desperado Club, prompting worry from Carl, though Bautista assures him she is safe but needs rest. Cascadia announces Phase Two rules, which will require the squad to obtain a key within 48 hours to progress, with the threat of forced combat against other squads who fail to secure one.

Carl briefs Donut on the dangers of trusting Shi Maria while keeping the flooding of Larracos secret from certain team members. The group travels north, grinding on various bird and creature mobs. Mongo kills a legendary hairy woman named La Ciguapa before the team can study her, but she drops two valuable cards: Damnation, an uncommon snare card that discards an enemy totem regardless of death, and Glow-Up, a unique consumable that permanently locks in a card's current state after buffs. Carl discovers that his Scavenger Daughter's Kiss attack is significantly more powerful when the soul essence bar contains only one species of creature. After hours of grinding and filling his patch three times over, the team arrives at a roadside saferoom run by a bopca named Pahzi. Carl attempts to contact Katia, who has been radio silent for hours after entering the Desperado Club for reconnaissance. Bautista responds cryptically that Katia is asleep inside the club after finding a secret merchant and is 'out of sorts,' unable to conduct their planned operation for a day. Carl grows increasingly alarmed by the vague responses. While watching Odette's daily show—which features crawlers like Osvaldo doing parkour and Florin operating a tank—Cascadia delivers the Phase Two announcement. The rules state that in 40 hours, all squads will be teleported to a new memory simulation with intelligent mobs carrying decks. Each squad must retrieve a key from a location 10-15 kilometers away within 48 hours. Only keyholders can access the stairwell to escape to the ninth floor. Squads without keys will be teleported to block other squads' exits, forcing potential pvp combat. Carl realizes this creates a scenario where his team may be forced to fight other crawlers, though he hints at a mysterious bone key benefit that might provide an alternative.