Nexus: All-Heaven System

Rachael, completely unaware of the slight shift in Alissa's mood, continued with her usual enthusiasm "We're heading into the deeper parts of the gate to deal with the Seed Monster."

She glanced back at Alissa, who gave a brief nod, confirming her words. "The Seed Monster had been producing monsters nonstop, but then it suddenly stopped and recalled most of them to its nest for some unknown reason. We don't know why, but a commission was posted by the Planet Lord of Aurora for cultivators to deal with it. Those who succeed will receive a personal reward from him."

Rachael continued, "Most of the cultivators who entered this gate are already out there, trying to find their way into the seed monsters lair."

Lin Xuanyu's eyes lit up at the mention of the other monsters. "Which way is the seed monster nest?"

With so many monsters there, there must be plenty of monster cores for him to collect and sell for money!

Andrew who was silent till now spoke up again, his voice dripping with skepticism. "Do you have death wish? No offense, but with your strength, it won't be enough to come out of there alive."

Rachael joined in, her tone concerned. "He's right. I don't think you should go there. There's information that, in the deeper layers of the gate, the monsters are at least as strong as a fourth-transition-realm cultivator, if not stronger."

Rachael paused for a moment and then She turned to Lin Xuanyu with a thoughtful expression. 

She then turned to glance at the large backpack behind him before speaking. "How about this? I know you're here to collect monster cores to sell for credits. Since that's the case, why not join us? We can watch each other's backs, and it'll be much safer than you going alone."

"What do you say Alissa?" She asked Alissa's opinion.

Alissa, who had remained silent for most of the conversation, studied him briefly before nodding.

She seemed indifferent to Lin Xuanyu joining them.

"Then it's settled!" Rachael clapped her hands, "Don't worry Lin Xaunyu! Alissa is very strong! We'll split the profit of all the monster cores we get equally among us!"

Andrew, however, wasn't convinced. His eyebrows furrowed as he crossed his arms. "He's too weak. What if he gets hurt? I'm not taking responsibility if something happens."

Andrew knew that Rachael was a kind person who always loved to help others, and this guy seemed to be here alone without a team.

He must be desperate to come inside a gate alone, likely in search of money. Andrew didn't even consider the possibility that Lin Xuanyu might be strong, especially since he was only at the 4th Transition Realm.

However, he didn't want this guy to suddenly join their team without any warning. 

It wasn't about the matter of splitting the profit from the monster cores.

The three of them came from prestigious families and had entered this planet for training, not for the Planet Lord's rewards.

When they caught wind of the Gate incident, Alissa expressed her desire to confront the Seed Monsters within, so they set their sights on this gate.

They never really cared about the personal reward from the Planet Lord. Their goal wasn't profit—it was pure training.

But Andrew's reluctance wasn't rooted in money. It was about responsibility. He didn't want to be burdened with someone else, especially not someone who had just shown up and wasn't even part of their established team.

The team was always supposed to be him, Rachael, and Alissa. It had been like this since childhood.

Rachael shrugged it off with her usual carefree attitude. "Don't worry. Alissa's strong enough to handle everything."

As they bickered, Lin Xuanyu watched them with a puzzled expression.

He couldn't shake the feeling that they were looking down on him.

They probably thought he was some poor soul desperate for money, wandering into a gate alone as a 4th Transition cultivator.

In a way, they weren't wrong.

Lin Xuanyu was wearing a large backpack.

In this day and age, almost everyone used a spatial ring it costed just over 100 cosmic credits, so there was no need for backpacks like this.

But his old spatial ring had been taken by Derick and Jerry, leaving him with no choice but to rely on the backpack. They must have assumed he was drowning in poverty after seeing his huge bag.

Well, technically, he kind of was right now.

He didn't have the best impression of Andrew, but he could tell that Rachael had good intentions. There was no real reason to refuse their offer.

Besides, he had no clue where the seed monster's lair was. It made more sense to travel with them, who likely knew the way, rather than stumbling around on his own, trying to figure it out.

Once he gets there, he'll just leave.

"Alright," Lin Xuanyu said with a smile, the corners of his mouth lifting as if he didn't mind their assumptions.

If they thought he was some desperate soul just looking for money, then let them believe that.

"Then, Miss Rachael, please lead the way!"

"Alright!" Rachael said cheerfully.

Following that, Him, Rachael along with Alissa and Andrew set out to monster nest. 

On the way, they didn't encounter a single monster.

Most of them must have been holed up at the monster lair.

Ten minutes passed quickly as they walked, and during that time, only Rachael and Lin Xuanyu had a conversation. Rachael, being the talkative type, kept the flow going, while Lin Xuanyu simply went along with it, offering casual responses.

"So, you're from this planet?" Rachael asked, genuinely curious.

Lin Xuanyu nodded, "That's right."

Lin Xuanyu lied as naturally as he breathed.

Well, technically he didn't lie since he woke up on this planet. Didn't that mean he was from here?

When he said that, Alissa gazed at him with a cold expression.

When he said that, Alissa seemed to gaze at him with a cold expression, which was without a doubt noticed by Lin Xuanyu.

In fact, he had already noticed her strange expression when she first met him and the look of confusion when he said his name.

It was almost as if she knew him.

Now this was getting troublesome. If she really did know him, then she might directly go to the Lin Clan and talk about it.

Then, Rachael, with a thoughtful expression, said, "You know, you share the same name as the Young Master of the Lin Clan who recently died. The news says his body was never found because the location of his last known whereabouts was cut off after he left the main planet of the Lin Clan. No one knows where he went or how he died. The only reason they confirmed his death was because the soul lamp showed his soul had gone dark."

"???"

Lin Xuanyu was momentarily stunned.

Why had she suddenly brought up the news about him?

But then again, it made sense his death had made its way into the cosmic news, with all sorts of speculations circulating. Some even claimed that he was assassinated by demons from the Demon World.

Of course, no one suspected that his own brother was behind it.

Lin Xuanyu's mouth twitches involuntarily as he said, "Indeed... What a coincidence..."

"Right!" Rachael nodded innocently, unaware that it was the same guy.

But this time, despite Rachael directly bringing up the matter of him, Alissa's expression remained cold and unreadable.

As for Andrew, he stayed silent, choosing not to participate in the conversation. 

Just then, the distant sound of monsters clashing and the chaos of a battle reached their ears. It wasn't far off, and if one focused enough, traces of spiritual energy could be felt lingering in the air.

A battle was unfolding up ahead!

Rachael immediately snapped into alertness, her gaze flickering between Alissa and Andrew.

They all nodded in unison. Turning to Lin Xuanyu, Rachael's expression shifted to one of seriousness. 

"Let's go," she said, her voice steady. "But be careful. The monsters up ahead are likely stronger than a 5th Transition Realm cultivator!"