I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

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Act natural. Don’t be afraid of the monsters.
The survival rules given by the support team were simple—but putting them into practice was anything but easy.
I forced my expression to harden as much as possible and straightened my shoulders, walking confidently among the monsters like this place was my own front yard.

But cold sweat was trickling down my spine, and my heart kept pounding out of control.
Slide...
Every time we passed by, the surrounding monsters would openly glance at us.

In their gazes, there was a mixture of emotions I couldn’t quite read—maybe curiosity, or maybe suspicion and wariness.
Us, with our human-like forms, were either a fascinating spectacle to them—or something to be on guard against.
"The survivor probably didn’t move far. It wouldn’t have been easy to get around under all this attention from the monsters."

In this ice-thin situation, the calmest-looking one among us was, of course, Park Sunja.
She truly walked with an indifferent face, not giving the monsters even a sideways glance, just looking straight ahead.
So this was what made a former spy different. Nerves of steel and acting ability like that didn’t come overnight.

"...They’re probably in a good hiding spot, right?"
Bora looked a bit more awkward than Park Sunja.
She also tried to keep a blank expression, but I could tell—every so often, her lips twitched nervously, or she’d briefly wrinkle her brow when looking at the grotesque monsters nearby.

Even so, she was doing a pretty good job.
The problem... was me.
"...Hup."
I just couldn’t keep a neutral face like the others.

With all the bizarre, horrific monster shapes filling my vision, I could feel my facial muscles locking up and my pupils trembling.
At this rate, I was going to be the first to get exposed.
So I came up with my own method.

If I couldn’t pull off a blank face, then maybe I should just make a different, clear expression instead.
And in this situation, one that looked the most believable—and matched the rule of “acting confident” the best—
I tensed my eyes, clamped my mouth shut, and furrowed my brows hard.

Yeah. An angry expression.
"...Minjun?"
Bora, walking beside me, turned and called my name in a low, confused voice.

Her eyes held both concern and a “What are you doing right now?” kind of confusion.
Of course, I wasn’t actually angry.
But compared to a half-assed poker face, this was way easier to maintain—and it gave off a vibe like I was filled with irritation and impatience, which might stop the more curious monsters from casually approaching us.

And most of all, I remembered that rule—be confident.
Didn’t I look confident enough like this?
Whip, slide—

As I kept walking, scowling and huffing, I really did notice a difference—the blatant stares from the monsters seemed to decrease a little.
Of course, there were still some glancing our way—but when I made eye contact, they’d quickly snap their heads away like they hadn’t been looking.
Maybe there was an unspoken rule in this world too: “Don’t mess with the ones who look like they’ve got a nasty temper.”

Or maybe I just looked really mean.
Either way—if it worked, it worked.
"...Still, thanks to you, Minjun, the staring really has toned down."
"...But isn’t this station way too big compared to a normal subway?"

Ha-Moo Station was much bigger and wider than we’d expected.
The platform stretched out with no end in sight, and the ceiling was so high it didn’t even feel like we were underground anymore.
It was either built like this so house-sized monsters could walk around without trouble—or this whole space had been designed from the start for monsters like them.

With this scale, it felt nearly impossible to search the entire place thoroughly.
"For now, we should look for places where a survivor could be hiding."
Park Sunja suggested in a low voice, and we all nodded.

Wandering around aimlessly in this vast place wasn’t an option.
We stopped walking and «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» started thinking—about where a human might be able to hide and survive in this den of monsters.
The first option was obvious: the restroom.

A sealed-off space, tucked in a corner—it wouldn’t be a bad last refuge.
Second: the emergency stairs.
Rarely used in everyday situations, so monsters probably didn’t frequent them either.

"What about something like that?"
And finally, our eyes landed on an unexpected candidate—one we hadn’t considered until now.
A fire hydrant cabinet.

‘A fire hydrant...?’
At first, I tilted my head in confusion, but as we slowly walked over and opened one to check inside—it actually looked promising.
Big enough for a crouched adult to hide in. And best of all, it wasn’t the kind of place monsters would likely pay attention to.

In a desperate situation, it was definitely hideable.
"Alright then. Let’s start by checking the restrooms, the emergency stairs, and any visible fire hydrants. Splitting up would be dangerous, so we move together and check as fast as we can."
At Park Sunja’s words, we all braced ourselves once again.

I kept up my scowling, angry face as we started walking, looking for survivors.
According to the info from the support team, the survivor left in Ha-Moo Station was a woman.
The first women’s restroom we found—Bora and Park Sunja went inside to check, and I stayed at the entrance to stand guard. Just in case.

I hoped my pissed-off expression still had some effect.
There were still tons of monsters wandering around in all directions, but thankfully none of them had tried to threaten us directly yet.
And then I saw it.

From over there, a small monster waddled toward me.
Bright red all over, with a single little horn sprouting from its head—it looked exactly like the kind of goblin you’d see in a folktale.
"Uuu."
"...Mm."

So that’s what a goblin sounded like.
It was my first time seeing one with my own eyes, and it wasn’t as scary as I expected.
More like a mischievous child, honestly.

Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I glared at the little goblin with my angry expression, just like before.
"Uu..."
"Uuuu!"

The goblin seemed startled by my scowl and froze for a second—then suddenly, a bigger goblin popped out from somewhere, grabbed the little one’s hand, and quickly dragged it away.
...What the hell?
It felt weirdly like a kid approaching a dangerous stranger, and their parent swooping in to stop them.

Before long, Bora and Park Sunja returned from the restroom.
Both of them shook their heads. Looked like no one was hiding in there.
"Let’s check the emergency stairs next."

Park Sunja pointed to a nearby emergency exit sign.
We carefully opened the emergency stairwell door. With a rusty creak, it revealed a flight of stairs descending into darkness so deep we couldn’t see the bottom.
The lower it went, the darker it got—and no sound of people or monsters came from below.

Just cold, chilling silence.
"...Doesn’t seem like anyone’s down there."
I said cautiously, and the three of us stepped inside—

SLAM—!
Suddenly, with a huge bang, the emergency door slammed shut behind us.
Bora jumped and grabbed the doorknob—but no matter how she twisted it, the door wouldn’t budge.

It was like someone had locked it from the outside.
"It won’t open!"
"Did someone lock it? What the hell?"
The two of them desperately yanked and pushed at the handle, but the heavy iron door didn’t move an inch.

Sweat began to bead on their foreheads.
The dark, damp stairwell felt like the throat of a monster—stretching endlessly downward.
"...We’re not seriously going to have to go all the way down there, are we?"

Bora muttered in despair.
Park Sunja didn’t say anything. She just stared silently down the stairs, face tense.
Honestly, even just imagining having to descend those ominous stairs without any end in sight made me feel sick.

So I stepped forward.
I took a deep breath and walked up to the shut door.
Then, I grabbed the edge near the doorknob with both hands and braced myself.

"Minjun, what are you—"
Park Sunja looked at me in confusion, but I didn’t respond. I just focused all my strength into my arms.
RRRIIIP—! CRACK!

With a metallic shriek like a scream, the heavy iron door tore clean off its hinges.
I ripped it right off the frame.
It was such force that even the hinges snapped and the door buckled.

I chucked the door carelessly down the stairs.
CLANG! CLANG! THUD!
With a deafening racket, the door tumbled down into the darkness.

It kept falling and falling—just how deep was this place?
"..."
"..."

Park Sunja and Bora stared at me, mouths wide open, like they couldn’t believe what they just saw.
I just shrugged like it was no big deal and said,
"Let’s find the survivor first."

At my prompt, the two of them finally snapped back to their senses and stepped through the broken doorway into the hallway—still looking a little dazed.
Some monsters glanced over at the noise we’d made tearing the door off.
Their hideous faces and piercing stares made my skin crawl a bit—but I furrowed my brow and snapped out with a scowl:

"...What are you looking at!"
The monsters turned their heads away, one by one.