Becoming a god by raising witches

Well, as long as I leave here and don't get involved, I'll be saved, and the deal will naturally fall through.

Thinking this through, Locke decided to temporarily agree to the witch's request to avoid further entanglement, as getting away from here was the most important thing right now.

To Locke's surprise, Eileen didn't force him to sign any blood pact that required a soul to sign; instead, she simply let him leave.

Locke still had a sense of unreality as he left the apartment.

He quickly crossed the street and headed towards the Pete neighborhood.

Petr Street is an old neighborhood in the western part of Kosork, adjacent to Mar Street, which is known as the slum of the capital. It is a mixed bag, with various factories, alchemy workshops, prisons and ports. Because of the cheap rent, it attracts many migrant workers and is known as one of the areas with the highest crime rate in Kosork.

Old Tom's apartment building is located on this street. It is an old apartment building with a total of 33 households. Many people live in cramped apartments with seven or eight people crammed together.

Locke and his sister Hannah also lived here, in an apartment on the third floor closest to the stairwell.

When Locke returned to his apartment, he was soaked in sweat, and the cold wind blowing in through the broken window made him feel like he was about to catch a cold.

Poor people can't afford to get sick easily. To prevent catching a cold, he immediately took out some old clothes from his box, grabbed a basin, went to the public washroom, turned on the tap, filled a basin with water, and took it back to the apartment kitchen. He reluctantly put 10 microgram coins into the gas meter and started boiling water.

I plan to wipe my body with hot water, change into clean clothes, and find old newspapers to repair the broken windows in my house.

While the water was boiling, Locke went into his sister's bedroom and stood in front of the dressing mirror with two cracks.

The health bar above my head has changed!

It has increased from 24 hours to 438000 hours!

That means I have 50 years left to live!!!

So it really is because of that witch?

As long as you leave her apartment and her area of ​​activity completely, you will be out of danger.

Locke breathed a sigh of relief, took down the kettle, poured a cup of hot water, took out the dry bread from his pocket, and ate it with the hot water to make sure his stomach stopped protesting.

Then pour the water back into the basin, put in a towel, take off your clothes, start wiping your body, and change into clean old clothes.

The advantage of being young is that you won't feel too cold even in winter without a coat, unless it's snowing heavily.

The only coat in the house has been given to his older sister Hannah, who is a girl, so Locke can only wear a padded vest to keep warm.

Unfortunately, the vest was also torn, so I had to take it to Mrs. Amour next door and ask her to help me mend it.

Locke lamented the hardships of life, wrapped himself in a few more old clothes, and felt as if he had come back to life.

He slowly walked to the window and examined the size of the crack in the glass.

A familiar sound from downstairs caught his attention—

Chapter 4, The Best Gift

"Hey Locke, do you need any help? It only costs 10 meters to fix the window."

On the street below Old Tom's apartment building

With a tool bag slung over his left shoulder and 262,800 hours of accumulated time on his head, Uncle Martin was waving at Locke.

Beside him was a boy wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat, a beret, and with freckles all over his face. That was his son, Kai. The number above his head was 432,768 hours.

"No thanks."

Locke, who had just spent 10 mcg boiling water, had no intention of patronizing Uncle Martin's business, especially after seeing Kay.

Kai always liked to smash the windows of his neighbors in order to get his father's business, and he was often beaten for it.

If Locke patronizes Martin's business this time, his own windows will be smashed again in less than a week.

So Locke chose to use old newspapers and glue to cover the hole in the window.

These old newspapers can last a long time as long as there is no typhoon.

After repairing the window, Locke returned to the worn-out sofa and began looking for work again with the newspaper in hand.

Now that they've escaped the fate of being dragged down by the witch, they need to figure out how to continue living.

squeak-

With a heavy metallic scraping sound, the rusty old iron door of the apartment was pushed open.

Hannah, with long brown hair, fair skin, delicate features, and a thin face, walked in looking travel-worn, wearing an ill-fitting old coat and carrying two large bags.

"Locke, look what your sister brought back."

Hannah said excitedly, her nose and cheeks red from the cold wind. After entering the house, she took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack, revealing a blue linen fitted dress.

Her waist was very slender, and her chest was flat; her figure was like that of a teenage girl who hadn't fully developed.

The life bar above her head showed the numbers 525,600.

That means Hannah has 60 years left to live, which is considered a long life in this world; she even has 10 years more than herself.

Upon seeing the number, Locke, in a good mood, stepped forward and took the bag from his sister's hand. Inside were a men's overcoat and two woolen vests.

Although the design is outdated, the materials are ordinary, and the edges are worn, it is enough to withstand the winter.

"How much money will this cost, Hannah? I told you not to waste money."

"They're all secondhand, not expensive, only 100mcg each, so I bought them all. This winter is going to be even colder, there will definitely be a big snowfall in December, I can't let you wear a vest through the winter, you'll get sick."

Hannah took the clothes out of her pocket and pulled her younger brother to the dressing mirror in her room to try them on.

“Great! The size is just right. I was worried it might be too big, or it wouldn’t be warm enough, and if it was too small I would have to ask Mrs. Amour to help sew it up.”

How will you know if it suits you if you don't try?

Locke reached out to put the "new clothes" on, but Hannah slapped his hand away.

"Second-hand items must be washed before wearing; don't touch them."

Locke winced and withdrew his hand, while examining the cut of the coat. He found it barely acceptable, and the material was better than Hannah's coat, like cashmere.

"Did it really only cost 100 mcg?"

"Of course, your sister is very good at managing money. Don't underestimate her, she used to be a reporter."

When the profession of journalist was mentioned, Hannah's bright eyes dimmed considerably.

She went for an interview at The Sun this morning, but was rejected again.

Despite possessing exceptional professional skills and having a great conversation with the interviewer, she was ultimately told that she was not suitable for the job.

Hannah became incredibly frustrated, knowing that if she didn't pay the debt collection agency on time this month, they might come knocking on her door. And Tom, the landlord of Old Tom's apartment, hated dealing with debt collection agencies the most, as it was highly likely that he would kick the siblings out.

Hannah took the clothes out of both bags, put them in a basin, and silently walked to the public restroom at the end of the corridor, intending to wash them.

Locke silently followed.

"Hannah, I'm sorry, I didn't have a good day either."

Feeling ashamed to wear the "new clothes," Locke grabbed his sister Hannah's hand and said, "Why don't we return them? Let's save some money if we can."

Hannah turned to look at her brother, her eyes filled with apology. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

"It's me who should say sorry."

"...I'm sorry, Locke. Actually, these clothes didn't cost any money. I took them off from a dead gentleman when I passed by Cypress Street. Please forgive me, sister, this is the only clothes I can give you."

Hannah's eyes were a little red, and her body trembled noticeably when she mentioned the corpse.

She used to despise such things as tearing clothes off corpses, but as the weather grew colder and more and more people froze to death on the streets, she was afraid that Locke would become one of them. The moment she saw the man lying on the ground, she had this idea and snatched his clothes.

Of course, she was certain that he was dead and that she had not murdered him for money.

This is also why she doesn't let Locke touch these clothes; she's afraid they might be contaminated with bacteria or diseases, and she insists on washing them thoroughly before giving them to her brother.

Locke reached out and hugged the trembling Hannah tightly, his nose stinging with tears.

"Hannah, I love this dress. No matter where I got it, it's the best New Year's gift I've ever received. I'll definitely wear it every day."

“Woo… woo…”

Hannah finally lost control of her emotions and burst into tears.

Faced with the incredibly sensible Locke, even the strong-willed Hannah softened and cried like a child.

Poverty is like a terrible poison that can endlessly lower a person's moral standards, and Locke was determined never to let the kind-hearted Hannah continue to taste this poison.

We must make life better!

Although he has only been in this world for 3 years, his relationship with Hannah has long surpassed his relationship with his parents in his previous life.

He was born into a single-parent family. His father was a butcher who slaughtered pigs. His mother disliked the family's poverty and eloped with someone when he was three years old. His father started drinking heavily and would always lose his temper with him when he was drunk. He was often beaten, and even his school tuition was used by his father to drink.

Later, he worked part-time to attend university and never returned to his hometown or saw his father again. He became a food blogger, bought a house in Guangcheng, and lived a comfortable life until he time-traveled.

I woke up to find myself in this messed-up world with a strict hierarchical system, a nascent industrial world, where old and new nobles are vying for power, merchants are frantically accumulating initial capital, politicians are manipulating politics while smoking cigars, and traditional religions and cults are openly and covertly fighting each other.

The only person who could make him feel warm was his sister Hannah.

She always selflessly tolerated her own willfulness, and if it weren't for the family's debt problems, she would have done everything she could to send herself to university.

Hannah wiped away her tears and said stubbornly,

"It's okay, it's okay, we'll get better. I'll make you lunch, and after lunch, we can go out and look for work again."

"it is good."