I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

The words left behind by Park Sunja—the one who called herself a spy from Baekho—kept clouding my thoughts.

Especially the warning that “Dongto is suspicious” weighed heavily on my chest.
In truth, somewhere deep in my mind, I had already entertained the idea that something was off about Dongto.
Transport team.

The structure that made encounters with other teams difficult.
The item rental system.
"...."

The suspicion that there might be something else lurking beneath Dongto’s surface was hard to shake off.
Forcing down my complicated expression, I stepped into the room where Team 15 was waiting.
Perhaps noticing my face wasn’t its usual self, Han Sora was the first to come over.

She looked at me with worried eyes and spoke up.
"Minjun, did something happen? You don’t look so good. Wait… did you break something in the training area? It’s okay~ I don’t think they’ll make you pay for it!"
A faint smile formed at her words.

That shamelessly unserious comfort—oddly enough—actually comforted me.
"It’s nothing serious, just... I’ve got a lot on my mind."
"Yeah? If you’re worried about something, feel free to talk about it anytime!"

As I took my seat, Park Sunja’s proposal surfaced in my mind again.
A transfer to Baekho.
If I were to tell the team right now that a scouting offer had come for a clerical position at Baekho—what would they say?

Could there be an offer more tempting than this for any of my current teammates?
Even bright Han Sora, calm Seo Jihyun, and our capable team leader.
I knew better than anyone else that deep down, they were all scared.
And yet, I still couldn’t trust Baekho.

The negative rumors circulating on the anonymous forum, Aberration Gallery, were too unsettling to dismiss as nonsense.
And more than anything, the slate aberration incident from the past.
I remembered it clearly—I had been there on-site.

That Team 12 employee who had sent the slate into a rampage, screaming that Baekho had betrayed him—his cries had seared themselves into my memory.
What happened to him, I wondered?
When I saw him not long ago at the practical test site, he had looked completely calm.

"...What kind of disciplinary action did he receive...?"
Someone who caused such a commotion from within Dongto, all while claiming to be a spy from Baekho, and yet there had been no real punishment?
It just didn’t make sense.

Or maybe... something had happened, and I just didn’t know about it?
I eventually pulled out my smartphone.
If anyone knew what had happened to that man from Team 12, it might be Rahee.

[Ms. Rahee, about that male employee from Team 12 who caused trouble with the slate a while back… do you know what kind of punishment he received?]
I sent the message briefly, then let out a short sigh and waited for a reply.
But maybe she was busy—quitting time came before any response did.

As I left the office and headed home, my mind churned with tangled thoughts.
The moment I opened the front door with heavy steps, I dashed inside like someone seeking salvation.
"Leo!"

From the bed, Leo—my only family—raised his head, drowsy and lounging.
I reached out and gently pressed my palm to Leo’s head.
As I petted him, it was as if all the noise in my head briefly melted away, a rare calm washing over me.

While stroking Leo’s soft fur, I whispered softly, like I was confessing a secret.
"...Leo, your dad’s... stronger than he looks, right?"
Leo let out a low grrrr as if he understood what I meant, nestling even deeper into my arms.

Yeah, Leo really was on my side, after all.
I let out a small chuckle and continued.
"I’m not so afraid of monsters anymore... but now there’s a whole new problem..."

With a sigh, I spilled my worries about Dongto and Baekho.
The scouting offer, the two shady companies. Leo just blinked slowly up at me.
Of course, he couldn’t understand, but somehow, just talking made me feel a little lighter.

"Leo, which one do you think is better? Dongto? Or Baekho?"
I asked on a whim.
But the moment I said “Baekho,” Leo let out a soft growl.

As if answering.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
"...Is it because you’re both felines or something?"

Maybe it was thanks to Leo’s reaction, but my uneasy heart felt just a bit lighter.
Really, whenever things got tough, Leo was the best.
Only after I felt mentally grounded again did I finally check the phone that had been vibrating.

A reply from Ms. Rahee.
[Mr. Choi? I don’t think anything’s changed with him. Still on Team 12, just like before.]
Nothing’s changed...?

I stared at the message, slightly confused.
Even if he didn’t get fired, I figured there would’ve been some kind of disciplinary action.
To treat that Baekho spy incident so lightly… What on earth is Dongto thinking?

Did they just let him off?
I hesitated, then sent another message to Ms. Rahee.
[Would you be willing to message him and ask if he’d be willing to meet with me?]

I wanted to talk to him in person.
And then—like a flash—one forgotten detail struck me.
One of the rewards I got after successfully clearing the casino quest.

The one that let me view every post on Aberration Gallery.
At the time, I didn’t see the use of it and brushed it off, but now...
I sat upright and went to my computer.

Once on the site, I typed the word that had been bothering me the most into the search bar.
[Baekho]
When I hit enter, the page looked more or less the same as before.

Posts filled with criticisms ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) and curses toward Baekho still dominated the screen.
But looking closer, I noticed something new—faint gray posts mixed in between.
Each title had a pale [Deleted] tag at the beginning.

Apparently, I could now read deleted posts.
With a trembling hand, I began clicking them open one by one.
But their contents were quite different from what I’d expected.

Most of them, in fact, said the opposite of the critical posts.
[Deleted] Baekho acceptance review! The prep was brutal but the benefits are top-tier. Item support’s the biggest advantage.
[Deleted] I’m a new hire and my mentor's super supportive, making it easy to adapt. The vibe is great, and the teams are highly specialized—
[Deleted] I transferred from Dongto, and Baekho’s way more organized. I recommend it.
Just... normal stories about a good company.

People happy with their jobs, proud of passing the recruitment test.
"Why...?"
Why were these harmless, even positive posts being deleted?

The critical posts were all still there, yet only the praise had been removed?
Anyone would find that strange.
It felt like someone was trying to deliberately manipulate public opinion against Baekho—spreading negativity while suppressing the good.

Right then, my phone buzzed again. Another message from Ms. Rahee.
[He says he’d like to meet and talk with you, too. What should I tell him?]
He wants to meet me?

I hesitated for a moment... but then made up my mind.
Maybe if I met him, I’d get a clue about this confusing situation.
I sent back a reply to Ms. Rahee: I’ll meet him.

***
The day of the meeting.
I arrived at the café with a nervous heart.

It was a weekday afternoon, so the place was fairly quiet. At a window table sat a man who had arrived first.
It was Mr. Choi from Team 12. As soon as he spotted me, he stood and bowed politely.
"You’re Mr. Kim Minjun, right? Thank you for coming."

As soon as we sat down, Mr. Choi bowed his head deeply again.
"I’m really… sorry for what happened back then. And… thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, neither I nor my teammates would’ve made it out of there alive."
His voice carried both genuine regret and gratitude.

I quietly accepted his apology and thanks.
To be honest, it was true that his actions had put me in danger—so I had every right to receive this apology.
So I made a request.

"I’d like you to answer the questions I’m about to ask as honestly as possible."
"Yes, of course. Ask me anything. I’ll tell you everything I know."
He let out a sigh of relief and nodded without hesitation.

I got straight to the point.
"The slate incident. Was it really carried out under Baekho’s orders?"
The moment I said “Baekho,” a flicker of emotion passed through Mr. Choi’s eyes.

He hesitated briefly before opening his mouth.
"Honestly... I can’t say for sure. One day, I just got an anonymous message. It said if I leaked internal Dongto info, I’d be rewarded with a marketing job at Baekho. Making the slate go berserk was one of their instructions. They never explicitly said they were from Baekho, but… based on the context… I assumed it was."
His answer was vague.

Completely different from Park Sunja, who claimed with certainty that she was from Baekho.
I moved on to the next question.
"After the incident, what kind of disciplinary action did you receive from Dongto?"

At this, Mr. Choi looked around briefly and lowered his voice.
"I was told to keep this confidential, but... I’ll tell you, Mr. Kim. Honestly, the punishment wasn’t that harsh."
He gave an awkward smile and continued.

"Just once—I was assigned a mission to secure the safety of people called the Transport Team. Basically, I had to scout the area ahead of them. They said it was a dangerous zone, but according to the info, nothing threatening was expected, and I wouldn’t even need to collect items. It was so light a punishment, I was shocked."
Mr. Choi smiled faintly.
But I couldn’t smile at all.

Transport Team. The moment I heard that term, a cold chill crept down my spine.
That supposedly “safe” Transport Team role in the underground hotel I’d been deceived into entering when I knew nothing.
A position that was anything but safe. That had basically made me the bait.

And now, someone who had been with Dongto longer than me—someone whose own teammates had never even heard of Dongto’s Transport Team—
Mr. Choi had just said the words out loud.
Unlike him, my expression grew increasingly grim.

I pulled out my phone and began searching for job postings, just like I had when I first entered as part of the Transport Team.
"...There it is."
[Simple Loading and Unloading]
[Requirements: Physically healthy individuals]

That familiar and chilling job listing stared back at me.
"Mr. Choi."
"Yes?"

"Make sure you bring an item with you."
And as luck would have it—tomorrow was my day off, too.