Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode-Chapter 572: Limit

The safe zone sat in the middle of the street. Everything around it was wrong. Buildings leaned at unnatural angles, asphalt was split and buckled, debris lay scattered everywhere.

But the area marked in blue was untouched.

The ground inside the zone was smooth and intact. The air felt lighter and clearer. The constant vibration that had been crawling up Mina’s legs vanished the moment she stepped close enough to feel its boundary. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

A faint, translucent dome shimmered above the area. It was barely visible, like heat distortion, but it bent the light just enough to mark its presence.

They were not the first to arrive.

Dozens of people stood inside and around the safe zone. Some were fully inside the boundary, while others lingered just outside it, frozen in place. Strangers with weapons drawn and strangers with empty hands clutched to their chests.

No one looked relieved. Most looked confused and afraid.

Small groups clustered together, whispering urgently. Other groups stood alone with their backs to walls that were no longer trustworthy, eyes darting constantly.

Hands hovered near weapons and fingers stayed tense, ready to react to anything that moved threateningly.

No one trusted anyone.

"This feels wrong," someone muttered nearby. "Why would they give us a safe place?"

"Yeah. What if it’s a trap?"

"Maybe it locks us in."

"What if it’s just marking where the next attack hits?"

Mina slowed as she and Clyde approached. She could feel the tension was thicker here than anywhere else they had been so far.

People noticed them immediately.

A few turned with sharp movements, weapons raised and the others just stared openly at the blood on their clothes and the dust still clinging to them.

Mina ignored them and looked at the zone itself.

"It feels... kinda safe," she said.

"Yes. I think so. For now," Clyde replied. "Whatever’s moving out there can’t reach inside."

"That’s what it wants us to think!" someone snapped from nearby after hearing their conversation.

A man with a cracked helmet and shaking hands stood just outside the boundary. He stared at the dome like it was a predator waiting to snap shut.

"I’m not stepping in there," he said. "No way. This city’s alive. You think this... this system won’t lie?"

Before anyone could answer, a low sound rolled through the street.

A deep, grinding groan. Concrete scraping against concrete. Steel screaming as it shifted under massive strain.

Everyone froze.

Mina felt it in her bones before she saw it. The vibration returned, stronger than before.

The sound wasn’t coming from one direction. It was everywhere.

Buildings were moving again. At first they were slow. Then more deliberately.

A structure down the street leaned forward, its foundation tearing loose with a loud crack.

Another building behind it also moved, windows shattering as it dragged itself sideways.

Panic spread instantly on the people.

"They’re moving again!"

"Shit, they’re coming this way!"

"We’re going to get crushed!"

People backed away from the streets, pressing closer to the safe zone without realizing it.

The man with the cracked helmet stumbled as the ground shook beneath him.

"Get inside!" someone yelled. "If you stay out there, you’ll die!"

"But what if it’s a trap?" another voice shouted back, hysterical.

A chunk of concrete fell from a nearby building and smashed into the road, sending fragments flying.

That ended the debate for some. Several people bolted forward and crossed the boundary.

The moment they stepped inside, the dome flared faintly. The vibration stopped for them instantly. The grinding sound dulled, like it was being heard through thick walls.

They didn’t get crushed. They didn’t scream. They just stood there breathing hard with fearful expressions.

More people followed to enter. Fear outweighed their doubt.

Clyde watched the buildings advance, calculating distances.

Mina looked at the shrinking space between the moving structures and the crowd still outside. Their faces were pale with terror, their hands were shaking, and their eyes wide and desperate.

She raised her voice.

"It works," she said.

Another building groaned, closer now.

That was enough to move the remaining stragglers to run.

One by one, they crossed into the safe zone as the city continued to move outside its boundary.

Clyde stepped forward and crossed the boundary. Mina followed immediately after him.

The moment they entered, the air settled around them. The pressure vanished completely. The vibration that had been crawling through their bones stopped as if it had never existed.

People inside noticed them immediately.

Conversations stopped. Several individuals stiffened and instinctively stepped away. Their weapons dipped then rose again. Their eyes tracked the blood on Clyde’s spear and the stains on their clothes.

No one spoke to them.

Mina felt the distance open up around them and let out a slow breath.

Clyde didn’t care. His gaze moved slowly, taking in the dome above them, the edges of the zone, and the way light bent unnaturally at its boundary.

This was a safe place provided by the system itself. He frowned.

The World Master was not the kind of existence that handed out mercy without a price.

"I’m sure that this isn’t just protection," Clyde muttered. "It never is."

Outside the safe zone, the buildings that had been advancing finally stopped. Then, with grinding protests of steel and concrete, they began to pull away.

They didn’t stop moving. They were searching for another target who did not enter the safe zone.

Looking for somewhere else to attack.

A nervous murmur spread through the crowd as people realized the buildings had moved on, at least for now.

Then the familiar chime rang again.

A translucent panel unfolded above the safe zone.

[ NOTICE ]

[ Safe Zone Capacity: 50 Individuals ]

[ Time Limit Initiated ]

[ If capacity exceeds limit when timer ends, the Safe Zone will collapse. ]

Silence slammed down harder than any explosion.

Clyde stared at the panel for a second, then let out a short snort. "There it is."

Mina rubbed her face with one hand and sighed. "Of course it can’t just be safe."

The words rippled through the people behind them as comprehension set in.

"Fifty?"

"There’s way more than that here!"

"What does it mean, collapse?"

"So the other has to leave?"

Voices rose rapidly. Panic followed close behind.

People began counting. Others backed away from each other, eyes narrowing. Their hands tightened on weapons. Some looked toward the boundary like trapped animals measuring an escape.

The dome still shimmered overhead and the buildings still moved beyond it.

But the danger was no longer outside anymore.

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