This chapter opens with Toshey asking Evans if he would be faster if he were hiding under the ground. Evans replies that he would not be faster than him when he was in the air. Evans then asks why hat didn't use his permutate powers to turn the monkey into air. He explains that permutates are like lead and diamonds in that they are made of carbon, but they can't affect living beings. The only difference between the two is the arrangement of atoms. Evans says that they have no way of dealing with wu now that he's hiding. He tells Evans to hurry up and get xiaoya and take her away to the small town so that Evans can stop him. Evans tells him to cough cough and sizzle. Evans asks why there's methane under the rocks. Evans explains that when a colorless, tasteless mixture of air and ch4 is combined with methane, it creates an explosion. Evans thinks that this is weird, but he doesn't know what to say.