I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

"Hoo..."
After getting out of the taxi, I slowly walked toward the hotel.
In the end, I was standing once again in front of that place I never wanted to return to.

Just like before, there were people gathered in front of the hotel.
People lured in by the idea that the job was safe and paid well just to move some things.
I slowly stepped inside and sat down among them.

Just in case someone recognized me, I had my face covered with a mask.
When I borrowed Mr. Choi’s phone to apply for the job listing, my heart had pounded with anxiety.
If my personal information was still on file, or if they thoroughly checked applicants, my identity could be exposed.

But it was all unnecessary worry. They didn’t seem to care who applied or what kind of person they were.
Now that I think about it, it had been exactly the same the first time I set foot here.
As long as your body was healthy, you passed.

A familiar yet foreign scene unfolded before me.
A man in work clothes, giving off the vibe of a foreman at a construction site, was roughly lining up the gathered people.
Unlike the man in work clothes I’d seen during my first time in the Transport Team, this one had a more forceful tone.

"Alright, form two straight lines! When the suit guys come out, don’t say a word and just follow them. Got it?"
Grumbles of dissatisfaction leaked out here and there.
"What kind of major company puts you straight to work like this?"

"Exactly. Isn’t this supposed to be an interview?"
"...Well, they said it’s just simple work."
I’d had the exact same thoughts the first time I came here.
The difference now was that I knew the job they were talking about wasn’t ordinary labor at all.

Just then, two men in sleek black suits stepped out from deeper inside the hotel.
I hadn’t realized it back then, but now I knew.
Those weren’t just regular suits—they were specialized protective suits issued to Exploration Teams.

Which meant those two were part of Dongto’s Exploration Team.
I didn’t recognize either of their faces. Maybe they were from a newly formed team—or from a team I didn’t know.
Mr. Choi… has he already gone in ahead?

He wasn’t among the two who’d come out.
The suited men silently scanned us, then gave a small nod to the man in work clothes.
"Alright, we’re moving! Don’t wander off and follow closely!"

At the shout from the man in work clothes, I and the other applicants began following the men in suits.
And finally, we descended into the dark, damp staircase. Step by step, the memories began to come back.
That underground hotel I had never wanted to return to.

And yet, I was walking back in on my own.
"Isn’t this... too deep?"
"Seriously, why would they have us move stuff in a basement like this..."

As I listened to the voices of complaint while descending the stairs, the place that stirred my memory so intensely finally came into view.
"What the hell is that doing down here...?"
"It’s... a hotel entrance!"

The underground hotel’s entrance and lobby appeared before us.
A musty mold smell, along with a damp chill, wrapped around my entire body.
Cobwebs stretched across the walls and ceiling, showing that this place had been abandoned for a long time.

But at the center of it all, an extravagant yet aged hotel entrance stood, completely out of place in this underground space—like something dropped from another world.
Just like the other applicants during my first visit, the newcomers this time also stared at the bizarre sight with expressions of shock and confusion.
"There’s... another hotel underground?"

"Maybe it’s, like, a VIP-only hotel or something..."
Leaving behind the confused murmurs, I unconsciously glanced back toward the staircase we had just descended.
If everything was repeating exactly as before, then soon—very soon—that staircase should disappear without a trace.

As if it had never existed.
Suddenly, I remembered something the Dongto Exploration Team said when they came to rescue us after we escaped the hotel.
When the stairs had vanished and we were isolated, they had claimed, “This has never happened before,” with shocked expressions.

But was that really true?
As my eyes stayed fixed on the stairs, the last person descending stepped off—and at that moment, the space where the stairs had been began to distort.
Then, without a sound, the staircase vanished.

As if it had always just been a wall.
"...Ha."
"Aaaaah! The stairs! The stairs are gone!"

"What the hell, what is this! Are we trapped now?!"
As I stared blankly at the place where the staircase used to be, laughing in disbelief, a few others followed my gaze and began shouting frantically.
Just seeing the stairs disappear again was enough for me to realize—

That Exploration Team guy who scouted me after we escaped… had been lying.
I forced myself to stay calm and kept my eyes forward.
While everyone else—both applicants and Exploration Team members—were fixated on the vanished staircase, I didn’t miss my chance.

I quietly slipped off my mask, stuffed it into my pocket, and moved quickly and silently toward the interior of the hotel.
I had to act fast while the confusion lasted.
First, I needed to locate the Exploration Team that should have entered the hotel ahead of us.

At the same time, I had to eliminate any threats—any monsters inside—and collect name tags.
And during all that, uncover the secret behind this underground hotel.
Why they kept pushing victims into this place under the pretense of a “Transport Team.”

My first priority was to find the advance team from Dongto that was most likely already exploring the interior of the hotel.
Mr. Choi should be in here ahead of the rest of the Transport Team.
As I moved swiftly down the hallway, something suddenly jumped out from around a corridor corner—a grotesque mannequin.

The same mannequin aberration that had once filled me with terror.
But now, I wasn’t afraid.
Without even blinking, I snapped its neck with my bare hands.

Crack.
The mannequin collapsed to the floor without resistance, and I ripped the name tag from its chest.
Thud.

Not even for a second did it halt my steps.
Without the slightest hesitation, I strode deeper into the hotel.
"Hey—!"

"...Kraaagh!"
Then, near what I remembered was once the hotel’s restaurant, I heard the sound of a scuffle.
Sharp voices, like an argument.

It definitely wasn’t the Transport Team that came in with me.
They couldn’t have reached this far ahead of me.
Which left only one answer—it had to be the advance Exploration Team.

I silenced my steps and carefully approached the source of the noise.
Near the restaurant entrance, I saw two men facing off with intense tension.
One of them was clearly Mr. Choi. The other one... looked familiar.

I’d seen that face before in passing, but I couldn’t recall exactly where.
Mr. Choi was yelling, visibly agitated.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

The other man didn’t react to his shouting. Instead, he clutched his shoulder and muttered something in a low voice.
I couldn’t hear it clearly from this distance, but from the shape of his mouth and the atmosphere, it seemed like he was saying:
“How did you know, and bring an item...”

That’s when I noticed Mr. Choi was holding something in his hand.
It looked like an ordinary pen, but when he lightly shook it, small sparks crackled from it.
Just like I advised, he’d brought an item with him.

That pen was an electric weapon—its charge built with movement, and a press of the button unleashed a powerful shock.
The man, having taken a hit from the pen, bit his lip in frustration and let out a suppressed groan.
Still rubbing his shoulder, he stared at Mr. Choi with eyes full of wariness and bit down on his lower lip.

"Khh... If we keep making noise, the monsters will..."
He muttered to himself, then suddenly cradled an old-fashioned, ornate cash register in his arms as if it were something precious.
What the hell was that? It didn’t look like a normal register.

It looked heavy, but he clutched it like his life depended on it.
I didn’t remember seeing anything like that the last time I explored the hotel.
Then, the man pulled something else out from his coat—something that looked like a complex mechanical device.

The moment I saw it, I moved.
The memory came back clearly in my mind.
There was no doubt.

If my memory was correct, that was a single-use escape device.
The man facing off with Mr. Choi was about to use it to flee.
Tatadat!

He turned his head toward the sound of rapid footsteps. The moment he saw me sprinting at full speed, he froze in surprise.
Now was the time.
I didn’t miss that tiny opening.

In a flash, I closed the distance and snatched the escape device from his hands just before he could activate it.
"Ah!"
He let out a short cry, realizing too late that his item had been stolen—but the device was already in my hand.

Cradling the cash register, he looked at me in stunned silence—and ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) behind him, Mr. Choi had already approached and was aiming the electric pen at the man’s neck.
"Mr. Minjun! This guy—he attacked the other team members...!"
"...Let’s have a chat."

It was time to talk.
The man looked back and forth between me and Mr. Choi, eyes trembling.