After sitting silently for more than ten minutes, he suddenly stood up, looked around, picked up a bamboo pole, and began gesturing back and forth in the cave.
To Annie, all of Rosen's actions seemed mystical; she couldn't understand them and could only stand by, watching in a daze.
A few minutes later, Rosen bent down and picked up a piece of charcoal from the campfire. He drew an X on a rock face, then turned to Annie. "Annie," he said, "use your sword to poke a hole here. It just needs to be slightly larger than the bamboo tube, with the front and back diameters roughly the same. The depth should be slightly shallower than the tube, and the opening should face the same direction as the bamboo pole I'm holding. Can you do that?"
"Easy."
Finally, she wasn't just a spectator anymore. Annie immediately picked up her steel sword, glanced at the bamboo pole in Rosen's hand, and with a flick of her wrist, thrust the sword into the hard rock.
"Swoosh!"
The sword sank into the rock, the depth exactly what Rosen wanted.
Annie twisted her wrist, the sword spinning, and with a 'sizzle,' stone dust rained down, leaving a perfectly smooth little hole in the hard cave wall.
Rosen went over to inspect and found that the hole Annie had made with her sword perfectly met the requirements. The inner wall of the stone cave was incredibly smooth, as if it had been sanded. The strength and precise control were truly remarkable; only a master could achieve that.
As he looked, Rosen suddenly felt something was off: "Annie, when you were fighting the vampires earlier, why did you seem so clumsy?"
Annie rolled her eyes at Rosen and said proudly, "That was an act. Let me tell you, in Holdenburg, there isn't a single hunter younger than me and with better swordsmanship."
"Impressive!" Rosen praised sincerely. He hadn't expected Annie to be such a master swordsman.
Annie wasn't particularly happy. She sighed dejectedly, "Sigh... no matter how skilled you are with a sword, you can't possibly be a match for a high-ranking vampire. Viken is just too strong. I doubt any hunter could defeat a high-ranking vampire on their own. I estimate it would take at least ten master hunters working together to have any chance of success."
"That's not necessarily true," Rosen smiled.
He wrapped another layer of cotton cloth around the bamboo tube, then forcefully stuffed it into the hole in the rock wall. He twisted it left and right to make sure it was secure before nodding in satisfaction.
Nitroglycerin was too potent; the bamboo tube and cotton cloth alone might not be enough to suppress it, but with the addition of hard rock, it wouldn't be a problem.
Then, Rosen drew an X about 10 centimeters above the top of the bamboo tube with charcoal: "Annie, stab here again, this time lightly, just enough to pierce a small piece of wood."
Annie did as he was told.
After making the small hole, Rosen stuck a piece of wood into it, then took the rabbit skin Annie had skinned earlier and used a dagger to cut two or three small holes in it.
Annie was confused: "Why cut a perfectly good rabbit skin? You could make a rabbit skin hat."
"Just use it to cover it up."
Rosen hung the rabbit skin on a stick, adjusted its position, aligning one of the holes precisely with the bamboo tube's firing port, and then carefully cleaned up the stone dust on the ground.
After making sure everything was perfect, Rosen took a few steps back, carefully checked it, and only after confirming it wouldn't look out of place did he truly breathe a sigh of relief.
Walking back to the campfire, Rosen drew a line with his hand: "Annie, from now on, we're sitting on this side of the line. Remember, absolutely no crossing the line. Annie, I'm not kidding, don't just sit there, move over."
Annie nodded blankly and moved to the spot Rosen had indicated.
"And then?" she asked.
Rosen walked to where she had been sitting. There was a smooth stone there. He knelt down, carefully wiped it clean, and said, "Look here. The ground is dry, the air is warm, the view is wide, and it's a good spot to move in or out. It's the best location in this cave. The vampire Viken will definitely like it. We'll reserve this spot for him."
Annie was speechless for a moment, increasingly puzzled. "I only understood half of what you said tonight. Could you explain?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Okay, I haven't had enough sleep yet. I'm going to sleep now." With that, Rosen yawned, stretched, and lay down again beside the bear carcass. "If the vampire comes, call me."
The continuous high-intensity use of alchemy had depleted his physical energy. His head was spinning, and he desperately needed rest.
Annie glanced at the bamboo tube covered by rabbit skin on the stone wall, then at the peacefully sleeping Rosen, completely unable to understand where his confidence came from.
"Hey, are you asleep?"
"Don't bother me, I'm sleepy."
"Aren't we leaving? Just waiting here for the vampire?"
"Yeah, that's right, we'll wait for him to come over so I can tell you to rest too. Don't worry, once that guy finds us, he definitely won't attack us. He'll intimidate us, threaten us, watch us despair, watch us cry, and then laugh at us until he's had his fill before he really makes a move. Okay, I'm going to sleep now."
Before she could finish, Rosen fell silent.
Annie went over and saw that the little guy was indeed asleep. He could actually sleep while facing the threat of a vampire—that was truly bizarre!
To be honest, Annie was also exhausted, and her injuries desperately needed healing. Right now, her biggest desire was the same as Rosen's: to collapse and sleep.
"Forget it, it's just death. At least I'll have someone with me; I won't be lonely in death. I'll sleep too!"