A beam of a searchlight shot through the night.
Logan squinted his eyes. The bright white light cut through the darkness like a sword, sweeping across the tower, the surrounding buildings, and even his hiding spot for a brief moment, brutally dispelling the snowy night's mist.
Whirrr…
It was a helicopter.
At the same time, he heard that deep rumble from above the clouds once again. The two fighter jets had returned to Tokyo Skytree.
'What the hell is going on?'
Logan's expression turned grim. Pressing his back against a steel framework, he kept out of sight of the helicopter approaching from a few hundred meters away.
Just minutes ago, he had heard the roar of the jets, but they quickly left. Logan had found it strange but didn't think much of it, assuming they were just passing by. He had even felt a bit lucky to witness them 'up close'. But as he continued his climb, things took a turn.
Whirrr…
The helicopter was getting closer, circling the buildings around the Skytree. Logan waited patiently, hoping it was just passing by… but that hope was crushed. It kept flying back and forth near his location, refusing to leave.
The noise of the rotor blades and the piercing white light moved in and out of range, making the cold wind feel even more unbearable in the brief time that had passed.
The unexpected turn of events put him on edge. Pressing his lips together, Logan was no longer optimistic. Fighter jets and a helicopter, while one could be a coincidence, but together, they signaled something bigger. Whatever this was, it wasn't simple.
The cityscape beneath him looked tiny. The towering white structure lifted him into the sky like an iron pillar piercing the heavens. Logan glanced upward. At this time, he was already over 500 meters high. Beyond this point, the steel framework that had provided cover thinned out, giving way to a more open and exposed structure.
No more interlocking beams, just a simple passageway and guardrails. Compared to the lower levels, the top of the tower was minimalistic.
"If I keep climbing now, I'll be spotted immediately." Logan muttered, his brows knitting together.
At this time, both the skies and the ground were no longer peaceful. The Tokyo Skytree had become the eye of a storm. Logan had a gut feeling that something was happening, something that drew all this attention. But he had no idea what.
"What the hell brought them here...?"
Logan turned his gaze to the helicopter. It was steadily rising along the tower's midsection, moving with persistent determination. As it got closer, Logan could make out its black paint job, lettered serial numbers, and a slightly bulkier frame. The helicopter is not a typical civilian model.
From his perspective as someone sneaking around, it was easy for Logan to assume they were looking for him. But that didn't make sense, as he hadn't done anything.
'Were they really sending this much firepower just to catch someone illegally climbing the tower? That was overkill.'
Logan's expression darkened. Frustrated, he tapped his fingers against the steel beam, 'At this rate, there was no way I was reaching the top tonight. The searchlight would eventually find me. It was only a matter of time.'
The climb had just become a whole lot harder. Logan clenched his teeth. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
However, thinking back on everything that had led him here, everything that had been on his mind these past two days, he realized there was only one choice.
He couldn't afford to back down. There wouldn't be another chance. He had to do this.
At this time, a blinding beam of white light engulfed him.
The world around him turned as bright as day, and Logan's heart clenched. He turned around and saw the helicopter's searchlight was locked onto him.
Logan moved instantly, darting to the other side of the steel framework. But it was too late. Shouts erupted from the helicopter. Its rotors roared louder as it rapidly ascended.
That was the signal, and a surge of power exploded within Logan.
With no safety harness, in open air hundreds of meters above the ground, Logan sprang forward. He leaped several meters in a single bound, rebounding off beams with unnatural agility. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the spotlight at a speed no ordinary person could achieve.
The helicopter, now with a clear target, banked sharply and ascended, maneuvering to the other side of the structure. But when the searchlight swept past, there's nothing.
Logan's limbs propelled him upward, the tower sections below flashing past in a blur. Snowflakes scattered in bursts wherever he pushed off, like tiny explosions in his wake. His expression was cold and focused.
The helicopter's noise wasn't fading, instead, it was closing in. In a brief moment, he glanced back, and then found they were tailing him.
The side doors of the helicopter were wide open. Wind and snow whipped through the cabin. At this height, which is 600 meters, beyond the harsh artificial lighting, the night was an abyss. Shadows swallowed everything outside the beam's reach.
A figure stood inside the helicopter, scanning the tower in shock. They swept their gaze across the structure, but no matter how they adjusted the searchlight, they couldn't find Logan again.
The wind stung his face, but Logan had already entered a state of absolute focus. This confrontation was inevitable. The helicopter had a mission, and he had his own.
Chakra surged through him, and Logan's eyes flashed with a sharp, unreadable gleam.
With a final burst of speed, he sprinted up the last stretch of the Skytree. His feet landed boldly on the tower's outer shell, dashing straight up its smooth surface. The impact echoed through the protective casing of the structure's electrical circuits.
Twisting and weaving around the tower's final spire, Logan used the narrow supports to block the searchlight, evading detection by mere inches.
The howling wind carried amplified voices through the snow-laden sky.
"This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department! Cease climbing immediately! Cease climbing immediately! Or we will take necessary action!"
"This is Tokyo…"
Two circular projectiles spun through the night sky at incredible speed.
The helicopter blared its warning, first in Japanese, then in English. Midway through the second announcement, a sharp, violent impact cut off the loudspeaker.
The shuriken had struck the aircraft with unnerving accuracy and force, embedding themselves deep into the fuselage. Instinctively, the personnel inside ducked for cover.
'That English was awful.' Logan thought expressionlessly.
Running with all his strength, Logan closed the remaining distance to the tower's peak in just a few breaths.
At the highest point of Tokyo Skytree, the view stretched infinitely in all directions, an unchanging, desolate steel island battered by sun, rain, wind, and snow. A lone hand grasped the edge.
A figure, flickering with faint electric light, flipped up onto the rooftop. Logan exhaled heavily, dispersing the last traces of electricity as he steadied his breathing, adjusting to the chaotic rush of Chakra through his body. Then, he stood up.
The next moment, the storm raged wildly.
A black helicopter suddenly emerged from the side!
Its massive rotor blades howled, slicing through the air. The cold gleam of its metal body pivoted into a hover, as shredded snowflakes scattered in chaotic spirals, the sheer force of wind and sound pressing down in a relentless assault.
The chase had come to a halt, and both sides now came face to face.
For a brief instant, everyone on the helicopter paused, including the pilot behind the reinforced glass cockpit. They were probably thinking that they had finally caught the guy.
At the next second, there was a clang of metallic impact.
A pitch-black gun barrel locked onto Logan.
Logan stared coldly at the helicopter, his eyes flicking to the shuriken embedded near the tail, then shifting to the open cabin door.
Inside, several figures were visible. One of them, a police officer clad in black tactical gear, was crouching, tethered by a safety rope, gripping an assault rifle with both hands.
The special ops officer had been waiting for this moment. Yet, upon seeing Logan up close, he hesitated.
'His hands were empty and he was only carrying a bag... How the hell did he get up here?'
"This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police! You have violated multiple ordinances. Cease resistance and cooperate with the investigation..." The loudspeaker blared again at this time.
Logan ignored it. At this moment, he had stripped himself of all burdens, and only a singular resolve remained. His gaze pierced beyond the snow and clouds, for it was not just the gun barrel aimed at him now.
A greater, unseen threat loomed above.
Even through the deafening roar of the helicopter's rotors, the low thunderous growl in the distance was unmistakable.
'Tokyo Metropolitan Police… fighter jets…' Logan still can't figure out why they're here.
A sudden gust lifted his hat, his hair whipping backward in the wind. But Logan stood firm.
"Open your bag! We suspect you are carrying dangerous item!" The officer in the cabin tightened his grip on the rifle, shouting over the storm. His voice was faintly transmitted to Logan's ears, and the other party's eyes lingered on Yu Xiaobai's face, "And remove your mask!"
'Dangerous item?' Logan immediately thought of the drawing tablet, 'This thing is something that connects the two world...'
A vague, self-consoling explanation formed in his mind, 'Maybe, in the open sky, it triggered some unknown reaction.'
But none of that mattered anymore.
"I will not repeat myself, take off your mask!"
Logan removed the strap on his shoulder, put the backpack at his feet and opened it. His sudden action startled everyone in the helicopter.
The officer's finger nearly pulled the trigger, but then he saw the other party take out something from the bag.
'A board?'
The helicopter wobbled slightly, buffeted by the storm. The aircraft swayed, drifting meters away before the pilot skillfully corrected its position.
In this kind of weather, it is not suitable to hover so close to the top of the Tokyo Skytree for too long, as it can easily cause an accident.
And through it all, their target had remained silent, unresponsive to every command.
A sharp glint flickered across the officer's face.
"Final countdown. If you don't remove your mask by the time I reach zero, I will open fire!"
Logan remained motionless.
"Three."
Chakra suddenly surged within Logan.
On the snowy Christmas night, the world below was bathed in warmth and laughter. On the streets, people held hands, their silhouettes merging into a sea of glowing lights.
On the tall Tokyo Skytree, the storm raged wilder still. Logan stood where the snow was closest to the sky, his eyes reflecting the brilliance of an entire city.
"Two."
Sweat trickled down, and the officer put his finger into the trigger ring and stared at the person standing on the tower's peak.
"One."