Time Traveler Help Hotline

A dilapidated semi-circular reception desk, a half-peeled notice board, a rattling half-window, and faint sounds of arguing coming from overhead.

The air in front of my nose was heavy with moisture, and the drafty house allowed the cold wind to rage inside.

It was drizzling outside, a light, intermittent rain. Normally, it would be enough to grit your teeth and run home in the rain.

Ji Mo tried going outside. The rain soaked his clothes, and he concluded that the rainwater was corrosive.

Outside, the town looked like a medieval town. Due to the acid rain, there were no people on the streets, and dark clouds covered the sky. The visibility was so low that it was comparable to nighttime, but no buildings had lights on.

Just as Ji Mo sensed that there were very few signs of life nearby, mostly concentrated on the second floor of the building where he had just been, a creaking sound came from above.

The sign, now broken in half but still bearing the inscription "Adventurers' Guild," was a step closer to falling, teetering precariously in mid-air.

Ji Mo withdrew his gaze, his footsteps light as if they were nothing, and he reached upstairs, the sounds from the rooftop gradually becoming clearer.

"Will someone take this sickly child back then, meow? How long do we have to wait, meow? It keeps raining here, and my fur is getting heavy, meow."

"Be patient; it takes time from requesting a rescue request to deploying the right team."

"Heh, as expected of the former Holy Knight, meow, you really know this process well, meow. But how come you're the only one willing to stay in the end, meow?"

A slight male cough.

"Hero, are you still feeling unwell? Why don't you drink some recovery potion first?"

"...Forget it, let's hurry up and send this sickly kid back to save some resources, meow. I told you long ago not to count on that summoning circle, we wasted so many resources and got nothing, meow."

Candles were lit on the second floor, casting long, scattered shadows onto the mottled wall.

The catwoman curled up in the shadows by the window, always ending her sentences with a "meow." Her amber, vertical pupils frequently glanced out the window, her lithe body was tightly encased in leather armor, a dagger pouch was strapped to her thigh, and her tail occasionally brushed the floor, making her look every bit the assassin.

The female paladin sat to one side, wearing ill-fitting, scratched power armor, a heavy iron hammer resting at her feet, silently staring at the cell phone on the table.

The man sitting on the makeshift bed made of stacked chairs was exceptionally thin. Each cough made his shoulder blades rise and fall prominently beneath his thin clothing.

He must be the "hero" the paladin spoke of, and the "sickly fellow" the catwoman mentioned.

After confirming that they were all second-tier extraordinary beings, Ji Mo coughed twice, his voice, which was clearly more steady and powerful than the hero's, startling the three of them.

Catwoman, in particular, was more timid than expected; her entire tail suddenly burst open with a bang.

The paladin also gripped the hammer handle tightly.

"Meow!? Who?!"

The paladin remembered the faces of all the survivors, but had no recollection of Ji Mo. She pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, and cautiously asked, "Are you... part of the production crew?"

"Yes, I've come to take him home." Ji Mo pointed to the weak man. "If there are no other problems, I'll take him away now."

"Who can guarantee you're not a liar? Where's the evidence, meow?" Despite verbally expressing her utter disdain for the hero, the catwoman was more resistant to his departure than anyone else, using vigilance as an excuse to stop him. "You violent woman, use your brain! Haven't you heard enough of those nobles' lies, meow?"

Before he could finish speaking, the phone on the table rang again.

This is the hero's ever-present mobile phone. Lacking a suitable charging device, it had long since run out of battery and shut down. However, hoping to find an alternative charging method, the hero didn't discard it but kept it with him at all times.

As it turned out, his choice was correct.

In the midst of a fierce battle, the hero was startled when his phone suddenly emitted an incongruous legal education message.

The battle was quickly resolved, just as the program was coming to an end.

Upon hearing this, the others scratched their heads and ears for a long time while staring at their phones, which showed no picture at all. After repeated attempts, they realized that it seemed that the broadcast could only be triggered when the brave person was in danger and the program happened to be airing.

That period happened to coincide with Jiuchonglou's upgrade of its programming equipment, giving victims more options, such as whether to allow others to receive the program as well.

The elven mage, who was not present at the moment, knew of the existence of the mortal realm. After much hesitation, he still made the suggestion to contact the program team.

As mentioned earlier, the helpline connects to all realms using the law of causality, so even if the device is out of power, the call can still be made.

Now, assuming there is no immediate danger, Chen Zhuzhu's sweet voice came through the phone: "Rescue workers have arrived at the scene. Local residents, please do not panic and cooperate with the rescue workers in an orderly manner..."

The phone screen went gray again.

"Can you trust me now?" Ji Mo looked around, finally fixing his gaze on the hero, and reminded him, "According to the laws of the Mortal Realm, any citizen who is forcibly transferred to another world and required to perform duties such as hero or savior has the right to hold the perpetrator accountable and seek compensation."

"Who are you calling a human trafficker, meow?!" The catwoman hissed instantly. "This sickly guy was on the verge of death when he first arrived! If we hadn't kindly shared the life-saving potion, he would have been dead long ago, meow!"

"Life Essence Potion?" Ji Mo guessed it was a local medicine, which sounded similar to the healing spell.

"Let me explain."

The paladin stepped forward and bowed, ignoring the catwoman's muttered complaints behind her back that her bow was not proper.

"As you can see, our world is facing a crisis. The nobles, who should have led us to resist the enemy, have been passive and indulged in pleasure, causing the battle lines to retreat step by step. Until there was nowhere left to retreat, they used some means to drain most of the world's energy and fled to other worlds, leaving those who could not leave here to die."

"I am the last paladin... or more precisely, a probationary paladin. With my abilities, I am simply incapable of leading the remaining people to survival, which is why I place my hopes on the legend of the hero."

"Following the methods passed down through generations, we did successfully summon a hero, but..."

Ji Mo followed the paladin's gaze to the hero, who whispered, "I have a congenital immunodeficiency and have been bedridden ever since."

Now, although the hero is still weak, he can sit here like an ordinary person and participate in the battle, which is obviously due to the effect of the so-called life essence potion.

"We did not know he came from the mortal realm and had no intention of offending the great realm. If there are any problems, I am willing to take full responsibility." The paladin placed his hands on his chest, bowed slightly, and spoke with utmost sincerity.

After so many worlds that used ordinary people as guinea pigs and as a reason to maintain legitimacy, has there finally come an indigenous people who genuinely hope that heroes will fight against natural disasters and ultimately save the world?

This was Ji Mo's only thought.