In the middle of the chaos, most of the diners had already fled and called the black guards.
Only a few hot-tempered young beastmen and the unlucky stall owners were still stuck in the fight against the Grass Union.
Lidi also “lucked out” and ended up involved as part of it… on the side of getting beaten.
There was no heroic resistance, no passionate exchange of punches—just a fox being chased around miserably by a chicken.
“Do I have a grudge against you or what?!
Why are you targeting me?!” Inside the chaotic food center, Lidi weaved through the crowd, using his small frame to dodge flying debris.
Behind him, the chicken beastman kept charging like a truck plowing through traffic, locked onto him without letting go.
Just when Lidi thought he had escaped the chaos, he was accidentally slammed back in by another group of large beastmen fighting nearby, getting thrown straight under the chicken beastman’s feet.
The two locked eyes again.
Lidi awkwardly greeted him.
“…Why don’t we just shake hands?” He answered with fists and kicks.
Lidi, experienced as ever, curled up and covered his head, taking the beating on the ground.
The chicken beastman’s heavy claws stomped down repeatedly while cursing nonstop.
Even though this wasn’t his first time in a situation like this, Lidi still felt the pain.
Growing up in this kind of world—getting bullied, dragged into fights, used as a punching bag—he had long learned how to endure being hit.
But knowing how to take a beating didn’t mean he couldn’t hit back.
Just as the chicken beastman prepared to kick his head again, another group fighting nearby shoved into him, causing him to stagger and miss the kick.
The chicken beastman lost his balance.
Lidi was now directly beneath him.
“Ambush!” Lidi didn’t waste the opportunity.
He planted his hands on the ground and drove his knee straight up.
“AAAAAAGHHH!!” A screaming howl echoed through the food center, quickly drowned out by the surrounding chaos.
Lidi didn’t even look at the chicken beastman collapsing in pain and foam, only wanting to leave this disaster.
At that moment, an elephant beastman being attacked by several younger beastmen slipped on spilled soup, crashing into the central power pole.
The lights flickered violently, plunging the entire food center into unstable brightness, causing more chaos.
Using his natural night vision, Lidi searched for an exit.
But all the exits were blocked.
He had no choice but to head toward the restroom area, planning to hide there temporarily.
His breathing was fast, his arms and stomach still aching, but he kept moving.
Shouts and overturned tables continued all around, making his ears ring.
Then—amid the noise—he caught something faint.
A child crying.
Lidi turned toward the sound.
Near an overturned table, a small figure was curled up.
A zebra child.
About six or seven years old, trembling with his head covered.
He had clearly been separated from his family, and his black-and-white fur blended into the surroundings so no one noticed him.
Nearby, another group of beastmen was chasing and beating a rhinoceros beastman while swinging chairs.
His charge was like a tank in battle—unstoppable.
And his path was heading straight toward the zebra child.
“Shit!” Lidi cursed out loud.
The rhinoceros beastman wasn’t looking where he was going.
At that speed and weight, the child would be crushed into paste.
Lidi didn’t hesitate.
He sprinted toward the child.
He didn’t even know why he was saving someone completely unrelated to him.
Maybe it was his damn conscience.
Or maybe it was the guilt from yesterday’s government revelations.
But if he does nothing right now, the kid would be dead for sure.
The distance was only a dozen meters, but it felt like crossing a canyon.
His body pushed past its limits—heartbeat, adrenaline, instinct all accelerating.
“Faster!” Whether it was his own inner shout or something else, he felt himself running faster than ever before.
The world stretched backward like rubber.
Everything slowed down.
In a single moment of hesitation, he lunged forward at incredible speed, wrapping his body around the child and rolling forward several times.
Right where the zebra child had been, the rhinoceros beastman stomped through.
The overturned table was smashed into pieces like cardboard.
Splinters flew everywhere, injuring several nearby beastmen and sending them rolling in pain.
The chaos escalated even further.
Lidi struggled to get up, looking at the child in his arms, who was completely stunned.
“Can you walk?
I’ll take you somewhere safe.” The zebra child instinctively grabbed his hand and nodded.
“Okay… let’s go…” “YOU FUCKING STOP RIGHT THERE!” A familiar voice shouted.
It’s the chicken beastman.
The one Lidi had knocked down earlier.
“You damn fox not only eats meat, you use dirty tricks, and now you’re trying to kidnap a child?!” He looked completely disheveled now, no longer arrogant as he was kicking his ass just now—just furious and humiliated.
His red eyes looked almost feral, almost making others wonder who is the predator here.
Lidi pulled the child behind him.
“I’m not trying to kidnap anyone.
This isn’t a place for a child.
If you have any conscience, let us leave.” The chicken beastman’s face twitched.
“Conscience?” He laughed bitterly.
“You—an eating-meat fox—talk to me about conscience?” He stepped forward.
His claws slammed into the ground, splashing grease.
His body visibly expanded, towering over Lidi.
“I’m breaking your bones today!” Before he could finish speaking, he had already charged forward.
Lidi had no time to dodge.
He pushed the child aside and raised his arms defensively.
BOOM!
The impact slammed into his arms, shaking his bones all the way to his shoulders.
He was pushed back several meters.
But he wasn’t sent flying away.
He froze for a moment.
…He blocked it?
Before he could process it, another punch came.
His perception suddenly sharpened.
Everything slowed.
Feathers scattering, oil droplets flying, the fist moving sluggishly through the air.
He sidestepped instinctively.
The punch passed inches from his face.
He could even see the anger still forming in the beastman’s eyes.
Without thinking, his body moved again.
A simple right hook he had seen countless times on TV.
He swung.
The fist connected cleanly with the chicken beastman’s face.
Feathers rippled outward, flesh distorted, saliva floated in slow motion, his expression was still frozen in shock.
Then— Reality snapped back.
“PUAAHH!!” The chicken beastman was launched sideways.
He flew across half the food center and crashed into another group of fighting beastmen, swallowed instantly by the chaos.
Lights flickering, the chaos remaining.
No one clearly saw what happened.
They just assumed it was part of the chaos.
But Lidi and the zebra child both saw it clearly.
The child looked up with shining eyes.
“Are you Superman?” Lidi stared at his fist.
He didn’t know what had just happened, as something had changed within him.
And he doesn’t know if it is good or bad.
While looking into the innocent child’s eyes, he forced a tired smile.
“…I guess I am.”