I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

The next morning, I warned Leo and Daeho, who were still eyeing each other for any excuse to start growling again.
"If I come back and catch either of you fighting, neither of you are getting dinner."

With that stern threat, I rushed out the door.
Even though I hadn’t properly rested after yesterday’s chaos, my body felt oddly light. Maybe it was the excitement of a new beginning.
When I arrived at the Baekho office and opened the door marked [Temporary Team 10], the atmosphere inside was livelier than I expected.

It seemed I was the last to arrive—Bora, Shun, Hanbit, and even Park Sunja all turned to greet me.
"Welcome!"
Bora spoke brightly, but her eyes were unmistakably gleaming with curiosity.

Sure enough, everyone’s attention was fixed on the same thing: Daeho, the tiger I’d ended up adopting by complete accident.
"So, did anything happen overnight?"
Shun asked, half-worried and half-intrigued.

"Daeho slept quietly through the night."
"...I meant the tiger. Is he okay?"
"...Of course?"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at my reply, but then they all started throwing out their own thoughts about yesterday’s insane event.
It had been a death-defying movie shoot, but now that it was over, it almost felt like a surreal dream.
Still, there was one thing that was undeniably real: that incident had brought us much closer together in an instant.

Having been forced to reveal the parts of ourselves we’d most wanted to hide, we now saw sides of each other we hadn’t before. And that had formed a strange but strong bond among us.
Creeaak.
As we were in the middle of animated chatter about yesterday’s events, the office door quietly opened.

One of the Baekho exploration team members—the same one who’d approached us right after the monster event to check if we were okay—walked in.
His face still held a trace of exhaustion, and a serious expression lingered in his features.
"I’m glad to see you’re all alright. Would it be /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ alright if I asked you a few questions about the monster event yesterday?"
He asked politely, and we nodded. We explained everything that had happened—honestly and in as much detail as possible.

We told him about the existence of the script, how it forcibly altered situations, and even how it seemed to read our personal information.
After hearing it all, the man fell into brief thought, his expression heavy, then finally spoke.
"Strange. It’s extremely suspicious that the exact same kind of monster event occurred only to you all and to a few members of the support staff who resigned from Dongto yesterday."

His words made all of us tense up.
After choosing his words carefully, he continued.
"If there’s anything—anything at all—that you received from Dongto or still have in your possession that seems the least bit suspicious, please hand it over to us. Even if it seems minor."

"...Are you saying Dongto caused this?"
"Yes. To be frank, I’m certain of it."
At Park Sunja’s question, the man responded firmly.

She looked slightly taken aback.
"Ah… I mean, that seems a little extreme…"
"Isn’t it too much to be a coincidence?"

"...Can humans even cause monster phenomena at will?"
"...That’s exactly what we need to find out."
Shun asked quietly, and the man replied just as calmly.

We said nothing more. Instead, with a somber air, we began gathering any items we had received from Dongto.
Then Hanbit cautiously raised a question.
"Would apps related to Dongto count too? I had some installed for work…"

The man tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Apps, huh…? Just in case, please uninstall them. But we’d like one person to keep theirs intact and submit their phone for analysis."
"I’ll hand over mine."

Hanbit offered his phone without hesitation, saying he had a separate device for personal use.
The man looked around at us again and said firmly,
"Your first official mission is to completely sever all ties with Dongto. Baekho will provide you with secure apartments immediately. Please move today. Only pack the essentials. We’ll handle the rest safely."

We all looked at each other, dazed by the sudden announcement.
But his words carried a weight that left no room for argument.
Just as we stood up to prepare for the move, the man called out to us again.

"Ah, and one more thing. As of yesterday, you’ve all officially joined Baekho as full members. It’s a bit late, but congratulations on your recruitment."
The moment he finished speaking, a system message appeared right before my eyes—familiar, but with new content.
[Main Quest has begun.]
[Inventory function has been unlocked.]

The system messages floating in the air threw me off for a second.
The first thing that caught my eye was [Main Quest]. The description was surprisingly simple.
[Rescue at least 2 survivors.]

Since Baekho specialized in rescue operations, I’d probably complete this naturally just by doing the work.
Still, the words "main quest" carried more weight than I expected.
It felt like the true story of this world was finally beginning—and that made me feel oddly tense.

The second feature was the [Inventory].
The moment I thought about the word, four faint translucent squares appeared before me.
Was that all?

I tried holding up my phone toward one of the squares.
Just like that, the phone slid inside with a soft shoop, as if pulled in by a magnet.
"...Huh."

Inside the transparent box, an image of my phone now hovered, clearly visible.
Retrieving it was just as easy—I simply reached toward the image and it reappeared in my hand.
This… was insanely useful.

I could now safely carry heavy or important items without worry.
Still, changes to the system could wait. For now, I had to follow the exploration team member’s instructions and get ready to move.
The rest of us stood to gather our things.

Before leaving, I quietly approached the man to ask something.
"Um… do you know what size apartment we’ll be assigned? And, uh… is it okay to keep pets…?"
He chuckled.

"Haha, don’t worry. The apartments are spacious enough for everyone’s comfort. And yes, pets are absolutely allowed."
I let out a relieved sigh.
That took care of my biggest concern: Leo and Daeho.

I decided to move my two feline roommates into the new place first.
When I got home, Leo and Daeho were lying side by side beneath the sunniest window, dozing off like they’d never growled at each other at all.
Their bodies were just barely touching, peacefully basking in the sunlight.

I almost didn’t want to break the calm—but I had no choice.
"Hey, wake up. We’re moving."
I nudged them gently. Leo and Daeho blinked their sleepy eyes and looked up at me.

And that’s when I realized I had a major problem.
I only had one pet carrier.
It was the one I’d gotten when I adopted Leo. I didn’t have another case or anything like it.

And I definitely wasn’t about to test putting a living creature into the inventory.
In the end, I had no choice but to stuff Daeho into the carrier and carry Leo in my arms.
It was a tight fit—Daeho, now roughly cat-sized, barely squeezed inside—but it worked.

Sorry, buddy. I couldn’t exactly walk around in public carrying a tiger in my arms.
"Grrowl… grrrlrrrng…"
Daeho growled low in protest from inside the cramped carrier, but there was nothing I could do.

I patted the carrier soothingly and headed toward our new home.
The apartment the Baekho team had promised was even better than expected.
As soon as I opened the door, we were greeted by a spacious living room and two separate bedrooms—a comfortable, fully furnished space.

Despite the sudden move, the place had everything: fridge, washer, air conditioner, dryer. Fully equipped.
It looked like we’d be able to live here comfortably for a while.
I gently set Leo down on the floor and opened the carrier to let Daeho out.

They both looked around the unfamiliar space, confused for a moment, but curiosity soon took over.
They sniffed everything, jumped onto the couch, explored every corner.
After roaming around for a while, they each claimed a favorite spot: Daeho settled by the sunlit window in the living room, and Leo took over the bed in the back bedroom.

They even started kneading their chosen spots with their soft front paws like they were marking territory.
It made me proud to see how quickly they were adapting to their new home.