Chapter 60

Carl and his team rush to intercept Quan before Sister Ines arrives at a stairwell location. The system announces the final phase with new key-battle rules, where keyholders who use Flee cards automatically surrender their key. As they race eastward on a motorcycle toward the coast, they learn that someone has used a powerful locating spell to pinpoint their position.

Carl retrieves Samantha from the saferoom and decides not to wait for the system announcement. Donut mocks his choice of a Harley Davidson motorcycle, comparing it unfavorably to their previous goblin copper chopper, while Carl defends his selection and readies the bike. Samantha finds it appealing and settles onto the handlebars. The system announces the third and final phase of the floor, with stairwells now open and new combat rules: non-keyholders can still use Flee cards to escape, but keyholders who use Flee automatically lose a random key to their opponent. Voluntary key transfers are prohibited. Carl curses the system AI Cascadia and they depart heading east. Within a minute, Carl receives a warning that his location has been pinpointed by the Eye in the Sky—a rare level 10 locating scroll that reveals both his position and level to an unknown caster. Mordecai confirms this is powerful magic. As they drive through the empty town of Guanajay avoiding red dot enemies and a large battle between crabs and seals, Imani reports from the church that Quan has left. Carl outlines a contingency plan: if Imani fails to obtain a key, he'll force her into battle, Donut will use Flee to give her their key, and Carl will use his mysterious bone-key jacket to open the stairwell door, accepting the loss. Donut expresses concern about potentially fighting other crawlers they like and the moral cost of their survival.