I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

I calmly walked toward the nearest red dot marked on the map.
The bastards, convinced I really knew a safe path, followed behind me without a shred of suspicion.
I half-listened to their useless chatter and bragging about past crimes with one ear, keeping my eyes fixed on the map.

“Once we turn this corner, there should be a display shelf…”
“Ooh…”
I rasped on purpose to hype them up, then turned the corner.

And as I pretended to slowly move forward, I confirmed that the red dot on the map was closing in—right behind us.
Only I secretly kept an eye on our rear and watched to see what would happen.
And then it happened.

The man at the very back of our group—the same one who’d proudly shown off his pistol earlier—was approached silently, like a shadow, by a store clerk monster.
Wearing that same twisted smile, the monster gently but firmly grabbed both of the man’s shoulders.
“H-Huh? What the—!”

As the man panicked and turned around, the clerk monster whispered in a kind but subtly warped voice:
“Dear customer. The three-star pistol item you took from our store last time… You haven’t paid yet. Please make the payment now.”
At the mention of “payment,” the man shouted in a flustered voice.

“W-What are you talking about?! I don’t have that kind of money on me…!”
“I see, dear customer.”
The clerk monster replied with an unbroken smile.

Then it lifted its long, slender finger and drove it straight into the man’s ear.
“Uh… Uaaa… Aah…?”
The man couldn’t even scream properly.
As the monster’s long finger twisted around inside, his eyes blinked rapidly, and his lips twitched.

Then, the corners of his mouth were yanked upward—unnaturally high, like a puppet on strings.
His face transformed—just like the clerk monster’s—into a grotesque grin that bared every red tooth in his mouth.
I saw it clearly: his face had become a mirror of the store clerk monster’s.

He no longer screamed or resisted. He simply smiled back at us with that exact same terrifying expression as the monster that had just attacked him.
The rest of the gang froze in horror at the sight, their faces drained of all color. I took a few steps back, pretending to be shocked.
“…R-Run!”

“Aaaaah!”
The men screamed in terror and bolted deeper into the store.
Their panicked shrieking immediately drew attention, and two clerk monsters broke into a grotesque sprint to chase them.

Their lurching, staggering movements looked clumsy enough to trip any second—but their speed was overwhelming.
It wouldn’t be long before they met the same end.
The clerk monsters only glanced briefly at us—me and the man with the deep scar—as they passed by.

Probably because we hadn’t tried to run in fear. And, more importantly, we hadn’t stolen any pricey three-star items.
“You bastard…!”
That was when the scarred man beside me grabbed my collar with a furious snarl.

“Changsik, you piece of shit! Why the hell did you lead us here?! What the fuck are you plotting?!”
He glared at me like he was about to kill me.
But I stared back into his rage-filled eyes—and slowly removed the mask I was wearing.

“…W-Who the hell are you?”
His expression turned blank at the unfamiliar face that appeared.
He clearly couldn’t comprehend that someone completely different from Changsik was standing in front of him.

I took hold of the hand still gripping my collar—and twisted it. Gently, but with force.
Crunch—
“Guaaaaagh!”

The man screamed and clutched his wrist, which felt like it had snapped.
I warned him coldly.
“If you keep screaming, I’ll twist it more.”

He clamped his mouth shut in fear.
Then I stepped closer and quietly asked what I’d really wanted to know.
“I’ve got a few questions. First, why did you start doing this? Was it for money—or something else? And second, the most important one… How did you even get involved in this?”

I looked him over from head to toe.
Then I recalled the other guys who had either run or been taken out by the monsters.
No matter how I looked at it, they were nothing more than street punks. Powerless lowlifes.

How could people like that discover a phenomenon this bizarre, steal items from inside it, and even impersonate Jinmyeong Group to sell them?
There was no way they did this on their own.
“You’d better be honest. Who’s backing you?”

My voice was cold, and the pain in his wrist still unbearable. The scarred man finally gave in.
The name that came out of his mouth was something I hadn’t expected at all.
“…Dongto! Dongto made us do it! They were the first to discover this phenomenon and take control of it! They contracted us street gangs, and let us manage it in exchange for 50% of the profits from the items…!”

Dongto.
Why the hell was that name showing up here again?
My eyes widened at the unexpected answer.

They were smearing Jinmyeong Group’s name, circulating dangerous items, hurting people—and once again, Dongto was the one behind it all.
Seeing my eyes go wide, the man must’ve misinterpreted it.
He gave a crooked smile despite the pain.

“That’s right, Dongto’s backing us! If you know what they’re capable of, you’d better let go and walk away while you still can!”
I silently stared down at him.
Then I let go of his wrist—but not before stealthily palming a nearby three-star bracelet item from a display shelf and slipping it into the back pocket of his pants.

I already knew how “friendly” the store clerk monsters were toward customers carrying stolen goods.
And then, I really did let him go.
Freed, the man immediately sneered and backed away, acting like he’d intimidated me by name-dropping Dongto.

“You’ll pay for this, bastard!”
He shouted once he was at a safe distance.
I just watched him.

The map showed a red dot waiting just around the corner he was about to turn.
Soon, he’d be paying for that new item he didn’t even know he had.
Sure enough, the moment he turned the corner, a bone-chilling scream rang through the abandoned factory store.

“Aaaaagh! I-I didn’t steal anything—! Gyaaagh!!”
A moment later, a system message appeared right in front of my eyes.
[Sub-quest completed.]
[Affinity with Hanbit has increased.]
[You have acquired the skill: Item Appraisal LV.1.]

“…Why did the affinity go up?”
There was an unexpected bonus reward, but the Appraisal skill was one I’d wanted anyway.
There was nothing more to do here.

But just as I headed for the exit, the store began to shake faintly—like an earthquake.
Ruuuumble—
Shelves shifted, walls rose up—the entire layout of the store began changing in real-time.

The exit I’d seen just ahead was now blocked by a huge new wall.
Just like they said, the structure really did change after a certain amount of time.
“Tch…”

Checking the map, it looked like I’d have to go a long way around.
I approached the new wall and tapped on it with my hand.
It looked huge, but felt more like a regular brick wall—not that thick.

“If it’s just this much…”
Without hesitation, I punched the wall.
KWA-BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, the entire wall crumbled down, revealing the original exit to the abandoned factory beyond.
The sound was so loud that I could feel other monsters nearby flinch and turn toward me.
Just then, one clerk monster, the closest one, charged at me like lightning.

I readied my fist, expecting a fight—but what it did was unexpected.
Still smiling that grotesque {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} smile, it asked me in a nearly whispering, sheepish voice:
“…Dear customer, what in the world…?”

“…The wall attacked me first.”
“A-Ah… I see…”
I brazened it out.

Apparently there wasn’t a protocol for this situation. The flustered clerk just stared at me awkwardly.
Well, it’s not like they have a manual for how to handle customers who smash walls.
I looked at it briefly, then walked straight over the rubble and out of the store.

I could still feel the flustered monster’s presence behind me.
And then I saw some items scattered on the floor—fallen from the shelves during the collapse.
Right, I had the Appraisal skill now.

When I used it on the items, faint colors shimmered over them.
Maybe because the skill was only level 1, I didn’t get exact usage info or details, but it seemed like usable items glowed blue, while faulty or dangerous ones appeared red.
“…Dear customer?”

As I suddenly stopped and stared at the floor, the clerk monster following me called out, puzzled.
“…”
I quickly picked up only the blue-glowing items and shoved them into my inventory.

Then I ran. Fast. Toward the exit.
Tatatatak—!
“Dear customer!”

A desperate voice called from behind me, but I didn’t respond.
When I glanced back, I saw—for the first time—that the clerk monster looked genuinely distressed, unable to keep up with my pace.