I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

“The Chameleon, even when it transforms, cannot access memories from long ago.”

The detail from the earlier briefing flashed through my mind.
Even if the monster absorbed a target’s memories and knowledge, it had a weakness—it couldn’t fully obtain memories from the distant past.
That just might be the breakthrough we needed.

I glanced again at the people gathered in the living room.
We each performed our assigned roles with diligence.
Seo Jihyun still had her nose buried in her smartphone, but every now and then she lifted her head, checking the positions of objects like the fire hydrant in the corner or the poker leaning against the fireplace.
Her fingers were moving busily across the screen—probably cross-checking the suspects’ profiles and anomalies.

Information gathering. She was doing her part.
Now it was my turn.
My role was to approach people as naturally as possible and test their "old memories."

I walked over to the fisherman.
“…The rain’s coming down so hard we can’t even go outside… You here for fishing?”
I broke the ice, and the fisherman gave me a brief glance.

“…Yeah. I was planning to go out on a boat, but with the rain like this…”
“I used to catch fish with my dad every summer when I was a kid. Did you start fishing when you were young?”
At my abrupt question, the man furrowed his brow for a moment—then let out a small chuckle and began to speak.

“Me? Nah… I grew up in a mountain village in Gangwon-do. Back then, I didn’t even have a fishing rod. I just tied bait to a string and caught minnows at the river. I didn’t start real fishing until I moved up to Incheon as an adult.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked out the window, as if recalling a distant memory.
His expression and tone didn’t feel fake. At least not to me.

That story definitely qualified as an “old memory.”
Would a monster really go that far to fabricate something like this?
“I’d love to go fishing again sometime.”
“Yeah. Honestly, nothing beats fishing as a hobby.”

I wrapped up the conversation with a few agreeable nods.
The fisherman turned back toward the window.
As I returned to my seat, I briefly made eye contact with Seo Jihyun. She gave a small nod.

She’d just confirmed that the fisherman was telling the truth.
His background—growing up in the Gangwon mountains and moving to Incheon as an adult—must’ve matched the records.
It seemed like information Seo Jihyun could verify with her data.

Which meant the fisherman was highly unlikely to be the monster.
That left three suspects: the old man, the grandson, the dog—and the young couple.
Right then, raised voices began coming from the couch where the young couple sat.

At first, it was a whisper. Then the woman’s sharp voice and the man’s defensive tone cut through the heavy atmosphere of the room.
“…Haa. I’m going to go clear my head for a bit.”
In the end, the man stood up, visibly frustrated, and stomped up the stairs to the second floor.

What remained in the living room was the woman, arms crossed and fuming, and the other guests, awkward and unsure what to do.
This was my chance.
I shot a look toward Han Sora and Seo Jihyun.

Han Sora nodded, then naturally approached the woman and began speaking to her, pretending to comfort her.
I quietly took that opportunity to head up the stairs.
I had to confirm the man who’d gone upstairs.

The hallway on the second floor was darker and quieter than the first.
There was a faint smell of cigarettes in the air.
Following the scent to the end of the hall, I found an open window—and the man leaning against the sill, smoking a cigarette while staring outside.

The same man who’d just stormed off.
The pouring rain was lightly soaking his shoulder.
He was seriously smoking in this weather.

Noticing me approach, he turned his head.
When our eyes met, he gave me a sheepish, crooked smile.
“Ah… haha. Could you not mention this to the pension lady? The rain and the mood downstairs were getting to me, so I kind of… snuck out.”

“Ah, no worries. I just came up here too. Had a fight with my friends and needed to breathe…”
I gave an awkward reply and stood next to him, opening the window and watching the rain pour down.
He looked at me curiously at first, but when I sighed deeply while staring out the window, he seemed to feel some kinship and started talking.

“Ugh… this is driving me crazy. I don’t know why my girlfriend’s being so sensitive today… Everything was fine until earlier. We were having fun on this trip, but once the rain started this afternoon, she suddenly got angry.”
He exhaled a long stream of smoke as he continued.
“I asked if I did something wrong, but she wouldn’t even give me a straight answer… It’s so frustrating. I don’t get what I did.”

His expression was filled with genuine confusion and frustration.
It seemed he truly didn’t understand his girlfriend’s sudden change in mood.
I consoled him with some light words, all while checking the map in my head.

The layout of the second floor appeared—and the map was clear.
No red dots.
No.

The map divided the first and second floors. If the red dot hadn’t moved upstairs with us, that meant the boyfriend wasn’t the monster.
If I could draw people upstairs one at a time, I might be able to isolate the monster.
“…Maybe the rain’s just got everyone on edge.”

“…You think so?”
I offered some harmless comfort and walked away first.
The man kept staring out ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the window with a blank look on his face.

When I came back downstairs, Han Sora had already finished talking with the woman and pulled away.
I signaled to both Han Sora and Seo Jihyun, and we made our way to a room on the second floor, out of sight from the others.
We needed a moment to regroup.

“So, what did you find out?”
I asked, and Han Sora spoke first.
“The woman said today’s their two-year anniversary. But her boyfriend completely forgot and just planned a trip. She’s been upset all day, and when he kept being oblivious, she finally snapped.”

“Two-year anniversary, huh.”
That explained the outburst.
I shared what I’d heard from the man.

“He said they were fine the whole trip until the rain started this afternoon. That’s when she suddenly changed.”
After hearing that, Seo Jihyun took her eyes off her phone and frowned.
“Hmm… sounds like the two-year anniversary part checks out.”

The woman had a valid reason to be angry.
“The guy has to be the monster. How the hell do you forget your anniversary?”
“It’s not that rare.”

“Huh? Really?”
To that, Seo Jihyun answered firmly.
I gave a bitter laugh and nodded.

Yeah, it happened more than you’d think.
Even if the guy seemed suspicious from the conversation, I’d already confirmed he wasn’t the monster.
Now only three suspects remained:

The old man, the grandson, and the dog.
“The problem is, it’s hard to test those three for ‘old memories.’”
Seo Jihyun was right.

A child not knowing events from years ago was normal. And obviously, you couldn’t interrogate a dog.
The old man was still a possibility, but if his memory was fuzzy due to age, it wouldn’t be suspicious either.
“For now, let’s report everything to Team Leader and keep watching.”

We were out of ideas.
We each took a corner of the living room and continued observing the remaining suspects discreetly.
Outside, the rain kept pouring. Inside the pension, time passed slowly and uneasily.

As evening came, the old woman and her grandson began moving busily in the kitchen.
Tap, tap, tap.
The old woman prepared dinner with practiced ease, chopping vegetables.

The dog stuck close by, gobbling up anything that fell to the floor.
Steaming dishes were soon laid out on the table, and at her call, the pension’s residents awkwardly gathered around.
Naturally, the mood at the table wasn’t good.

Trapped in a storm. Awkwardness with strangers. A couple who had fought. Tension hung heavy over the table.
“Mmm~ This is delicious!”
“Oh dear… It’s good to see you eating well.”

Han Sora forced a cheerful tone, praising the food, but it wasn’t enough to dispel the atmosphere.
I tried to act as natural as possible, observing the expressions and behavior of the others.
Nothing stood out.

Toward the end of the meal, Seo Jihyun quietly got up and walked toward the kitchen.
Pretending to get some water—but I could tell she was checking something.
A few moments later, she returned, casually holding a water glass, and sat down.

Then under the table, she tapped my leg twice with her foot—just subtle enough for only me to notice.
She had something to say.
I kept my expression neutral, finished my meal, and nodded at Han Sora before following Seo Jihyun toward the corner near the kitchen.

As soon as we stepped in, Seo Jihyun whispered:
“Two kitchen knives are missing from the knife rack.”
“What?”

“One of them is still in the sink from when the old lady cooked dinner. But the other is just… gone.”
A chill ran down my spine.
One kitchen knife was missing. Not the one used for cooking—another one.

That meant someone had hidden a knife inside this isolated pension.
“…Could it be the monster?”
At her question, I bit my lip.

I couldn’t be sure.
But I had a gut feeling—it was the monster’s doing.