Chapter 65: The Door’s Not Locked
Lu Zheng turned his head back and stepped up to the glass revolving door of the hot spring center, reaching to the side out of habit, intending to press the doorbell.
But he felt nothing.
He looked down to where the doorbell should have been.
There was nothing there.
“?”
Lu Zheng felt a bit confused.
Didn’t Yi Ning specifically tell him to ring the doorbell every time he came?
Did she forget to install one during the renovations?
He shifted his gaze to the glass revolving door in front of him.
It looked like something from a high-end hotel—transparent glass slowly revolving on its own. Not only was the frame made of luxurious materials, but elegant patterns adorned the edges, giving it a decidedly premium feel.
Just this door alone could raise the room rate by 200 yuan!
By the way, anyone could enter by simply following the rotating panels—no need for someone to open it.
“She’s using a door like this and didn’t install a bell?” Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “Does she mean for me to just walk in?”
He stepped back a few paces and gave the door a once-over.
Though the main part was made of clear glass, oddly enough, he couldn’t see through it at all.
And since the hot spring center was a retro-style wooden building, this modern revolving door looked wildly out of place.
Just like that, the 200 yuan room-rate bump dropped by 300.
Thinking back to all the clashing design elements he’d seen, Lu Zheng was now certain Yi Ning had done it on purpose.
Could she really have built some “OCD-Inducer” machine to make him die of an aneurysm?
That earlier guess swam back into his head, happily surfing his mental waves.
Lu Zheng shook his head, chasing the thought away.
He decided, for now, to trust that Yi Ning wouldn’t create something that inhumane.
“Let’s go.”
With that, Lu Zheng followed the rotating door and stepped into Dr. Alien’s Evil Hot Spring Center.
The moment he entered, he quickly scanned the surroundings, hoping to verify his earlier theory.
“Phew—”
Lu Zheng let out a sigh of relief.
The interior design was completely different from the outside—a very standard hot spring center layout.
Hooray for normalcy!
Praise be to plainness!
Lu Zheng cheered inwardly.
“Welcome, esteemed guest, to Dr. Alien’s Evil Hot Spring Center.”
Sensing his arrival, a rotund, all-white robot rolled up to Lu Zheng.
It was the same one Yi Ning had kicked aside earlier that morning.
Now it looked slightly different—it was dressed in a kimono and even wore a wig.
“Pfft—”
Lu Zheng couldn’t hold back his laughter at the absurdly dressed robot.
First European, then Chinese, and now Japanese?
Why did Yi Ning always mix in so many weird, clashing styles?
The robot didn’t seem to mind Lu Zheng’s rudeness.
It came to his side, tilted up slightly, and exposed its chest area.
Beep beep.
A signal emitted from the robot, but no matter how Lu Zheng examined it, he couldn’t tell what it was trying to signal.
The robot seemed to realize this.
The pixelated eyes on its screen disappeared, replaced by the words “Self-checking.”
A few seconds later, the message vanished, and the pixel eyes returned.
“So, what exactly was the issue?”
Lu Zheng tilted his head in confusion.
The robot extended its hands and grabbed the edge of its kimono at the chest.
Then, with a quick yank—it pulled the clothing open.
Inappropriate content warning!
Lu Zheng instinctively covered his eyes.
Wait a sec!
Something wasn’t right.
He caught himself.
It was just a robot—there was no such thing as gender. What was there to avoid?
Just to be sure, he peeked through his fingers, squinting slightly.
As expected—There was nothing censored-worthy beneath the robe—just a retractable drawer. Inside it was a white plastic card.
Lu Zheng lowered his hand.
The robe must have been blocking the drawer earlier, which was probably what triggered the signal.
He pulled the card out of the drawer and examined it.
It looked like a regular room card, printed with the name Dr. Alien’s Evil Hot Spring Center and a strange logo.
Judging by the unique design, Yi Ning must have made it herself.
Lu Zheng pocketed the card and looked around, trying to find where he might use it.
“Please follow me, Mr. Lu Zheng.”
After handing over the item, the robot turned slightly and pointed its right mechanical hand toward a deeper part of the room.
There was a door.
Lu Zheng glanced at the card in his hand and then at the distant door.
A room key, perhaps?
He walked over, placed the card against what looked like a card reader beside the doorknob, and waited for a signal.
But the unlocking sound never came.
Frowning, he pulled the card back and crouched to examine the locking mechanism.
There wasn’t even a card reader.
Just a normal, old-fashioned keyhole lock.
He looked back at the robot, expecting it to move and open the door.
But the robot stayed still.
So the key wasn’t on it?
Lu Zheng found that odd.
He scanned the surroundings again but didn’t spot anything suspicious or hidden.
Where could the key be?
He smirked, eyes narrowing, brain kicking into high gear.
A puzzle game from Yi Ning? This was rare—and thrilling.
Knowing her personality, she wouldn’t make this kind of entrance puzzle too hard. The key was probably somewhere obvious.
His gaze landed on the robot again.
Convenient.
Accessible.
Obvious.
Also his guide.
It made perfect sense for a guide to carry the key, didn’t it?
He walked over and began thoroughly checking the robot.
“Nothing?”
Lu Zheng stepped back, frowning as he leaned on the door.
He had thoroughly searched the robot and found no sign of a key.
Was his logic flawed?
Lu Zheng kept thinking but couldn’t come up with any other leads.
Irritated, he twisted the doorknob—Click—The door opened.
It had never been locked.