It turned out that the saying "Old habits die hard" was true.
Even though Fu Qian had treated Bernard to coffee, Bernard's attitude was as awful as ever. He didn't want to say a word more than necessary, but fortunately, Fu Qian was the same way.
After wasting a long time, Fu Qian finally ended their "pleasant" conversation and took his leave from Bernard's little shop.
When night fell again, he returned to the museum.
He bypassed the staff, who were in a daze, and entered the excavation site with practiced ease.
Everything below was just as he'd left it. It was obvious that the museum staff, who were clearly not in a good mental state, hadn't noticed the extra entrance.
Unlike last time, Fu Qian now knew exactly what was there, despite seeing nothing before him.
Ding, ding!
Without wasting any time, he took out the bell and gave it a gentle shake.
Eternal Clarity of Thought activated, dispelling the Supernatural Power. The Golden Holy Grail appeared once more.
Bang!
At that very instant, Mercy fired in Fu Qian's hand.
As flames burst from the muzzle, the Golden Cup, covered in swirling patterns, flew away with a sharp ring.
This time, it didn't vanish again.
It spun into the opposite wall and bounced off several times before Fu Qian caught up and easily snatched it.
Looking down, he saw that a hole had been punched right through the cup.
A wisp of intangible, ghostly light was slowly trickling out of the hole, as if the cup were bleeding.
Looks like I broke it.
Fu Qian nodded slightly. For safety's sake, he didn't touch the substance leaking out.
Even so, as the ghostly light dissipated, he seemed to feel the surroundings grow dreamlike. He could barely sense his own body.