Recaps

Private investigator Chen Xu was transported from Hong Kong to the Witcher world as a Chosen and assigned the identity of a White Orchard farmer. After discovering he could acquire skills through experience, he refused Sethis and Penny’s attempt to recruit him into their labor scheme, leaving their partnership unsettled.

• Chen Xu was swallowed by a spatial rift and arrived in White Orchard, where a system assigned him the main quest to find Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.
• Chen Xu met Penny Bones, Sethis, and other Chosen, learned he had been assigned the identity of farmer Pro Gram, and examined his panel.
• A Nilfgaardian soldier assigned the Chosen a wheat-harvesting quest and whipped a dark-skinned newcomer who hesitated to begin working.
• Chen Xu developed the beginner Saber Technique while harvesting, then used his improved efficiency to keep pace while avoiding attention.
• Penny proposed robbing the barracks, but Sethis warned that the soldiers’ equipment, mounts, and abilities made a fight dangerous.
• Sethis and Penny asked Chen Xu and the dark-skinned newcomer to work their fields, but Chen Xu feigned an injury, learned Deception, and refused.

Chen Xu tried to gain Willis’s trust and secure a place to learn smithing, then helped him when his cottage burned down. Penny used Charm on Chen Xu to claim Willis, but the spell drew the Nilfgaard soldiers’ attention, and Sethis was arrested alongside her after Chen Xu turned suspicion toward them.

• Chen Xu rejected Penny’s offer, explored White Orchard’s quest board, and warned Sethis and Penny against hunting the griffin.
• Chen Xu offered Willis pepper vodka and asked to learn smithing; Willis refused, while Chen Xu privately planned to use the coming arson to get closer to him.
• Sethis and Penny returned from hunting wolves and announced they would pursue the griffin, while Chen Xu waited for the fire at Willis’s cottage.
• Chen Xu rushed to help Willis escape the burning cottage and offered him shelter, but Penny used Charm on them to take Willis for herself.
• Willis identified Penny as a witch, and Nilfgaard soldiers confronted her as Sethis tried to implicate Chen Xu in the fire.
• Chen Xu pointed out Sethis’s connection to Penny, and Willis asked the soldiers to take both of them away; Sethis threatened Chen Xu as he was led off.

Chen Xu investigated the arson of Willis’s cottage, caught Napp, and earned a formal blacksmith apprenticeship while crossing paths with Geralt and Vesemir. As he celebrated at White Orchard’s tavern, he spotted Gaunter O'Dimm among the patrons.

• Chen Xu offered to catch Willis’s arsonist in exchange for becoming his formal apprentice, and Willis agreed.
• Chen Xu tracked the arsonist’s footprints to Woesong Bridge, found a boot, and was attacked by two drowners before Geralt and Vesemir killed them.
• Chen Xu used the boot and Napp’s wounds to prove that Napp had burned Willis’s cottage, then took his money and knocked him unconscious.
• Chen Xu brought Willis and Nilfgaardian soldiers to arrest Napp, and Willis secured Chen Xu’s release from field labor by naming him as his apprentice.
• Chen Xu completed the quest with a perfect rating, received rewards, and joined Geralt and Vesemir at the tavern, where he spotted Gaunter O'Dimm.

Chen Xu watched Geralt search for Yennefer, then encountered Gaunter O'Dimm, who stopped time and offered him a powerful quest to convert. Chen Xu refused the deal, uncertain whether his status as one of the Chosen would protect him.

• Gaunter O'Dimm told Geralt that Yennefer had gone to the Nilfgaard garrison, and Geralt hurried after her.
• Geralt fought three drunken villagers outside the tavern, and Chen Xu secretly kicked one of them before the witcher rode away.
• Chosen players spotted Geralt and tried to follow him, but Nilfgaard soldiers ordered them back to work in the wheat fields.
• Chen Xu learned Stealth as Gaunter O'Dimm stopped time across White Orchard and offered him a quest to convert.
• Chen Xu considered the rewards and risks of the deal, then told Gaunter O'Dimm that he was not interested.

After Gaunter O'Dimm cursed Chen Xu with misfortune, Vesemir calmed his panic with Axii, and Chen Xu learned that casting Signs required the dangerous Trial of the Grasses. Chen Xu then demonstrated remarkable forging skill at Willis's forge, leaving the dwarf impressed but unimpressed with the quality of the finished sword.

• Gaunter O'Dimm departed after terminating the quest, and Chen Xu received a curse that reduced his fortune to zero and corrupted creatures' favorability.
• Chen Xu suffered a panic attack, but Vesemir soothed him with Axii and explained that witchers needed the Trial of the Grasses to cast Signs.
• Chen Xu drank with Vesemir, who stayed at the tavern to wait for Geralt, then asked the old witcher about learning Signs.
• Chen Xu visited Willis's forge and quickly comprehended the beginner specialties Hammer Technique and Forging while hammering iron.
• Willis finished and tested a standard-issue longsword, and Chen Xu used Detection to inspect it before judging its quality poor.

Chen Xu learned Willis’s runic forging method, then surpassed his workload and advanced his own forging skill. After a Chosen was killed by Drowners, Chen Xu discovered that proficient forging involved Dark Energy and understood the weaknesses in Willis’s technique.

• Willis taught Chen Xu runic forging and gave him a potion formula, then challenged him to make five acceptable sword blanks.
• Chen Xu used experience to raise his Detective level, forged ten acceptable blanks by noon, and completed the quest with a perfect rating.
• Alexei Seridovich was torn apart by Drowners after getting separated from the others, reminding Chen Xu of the danger outside White Orchard.
• Chen Xu improved the tavern’s cooking and oven, then made a sword blank better than Willis’s first sword.
• Chen Xu used an Advancement Card to reach proficient Forging and learned that the skill involved Dark Energy, which explained both the strengths and flaws of Willis’s runic technique.

Chen Xu lured the drowners away from the riverbed and recovered the silver sword Moonblade from a treasure chest. He barely survived their attack, then examined the sword and confirmed its quality and rune slots.

• Chen Xu bought butcher’s offal, blood, and pig bladders to lure the drowners away from the Ismena’s riverbed.
• While the drowners fed, Chen Xu dived into the river, learned Underwater Swimming, and retrieved Moonblade and a pouch of coins from a chest.
• The drowners returned to the water and attacked Chen Xu as he tried to reach the bank, forcing him to fight with Moonblade.
• Chen Xu used his free attribute point on Strength and killed all six drowners, reaching level 4 and the Mortal Tier Middle Stage.
• Chen Xu recovered the pouch containing thirty-three Temerian orens and examined Moonblade, discovering its fine quality, silver properties, and three rune slots.

Chen Xu forged the steel sword Gram with Willis's crude tools, then collapsed from exhaustion. After Willis praised the weapon and returned it to him, Chen Xu resolved to seek out Geralt and learn swordsmanship.

• Chen Xu forged and quenched a patterned high-carbon steel sword using a mixture of animal blood, urine, and Drowner brain tissue, then passed out after finishing it.
• Willis brought Chen Xu back to his hut, gave him water, and praised his two swords as masterworks beyond his own experience.
• Chen Xu reassured Willis that he would always be his master, and Willis took comfort in the promise that his name might spread through Velen.
• Chen Xu examined the steel sword, named it Gram, and learned that crafting it had slightly improved his Forging skill.
• Chen Xu tucked away both swords and planned to find Geralt the next day to learn swordsmanship.

Chen Xu woke from a nightmare to find his drowner wound infected, so he sought help in White Orchard and met Vesemir for breakfast. After impressing the witcher with his swords and claim that he had killed six drowners, Chen Xu asked Vesemir to teach him swordsmanship.

• Chen Xu discovered that his drowner wound was festering and decided to find a local doctor.
• Chen Xu read Nilfgaardian notices seeking Penny Burns, Sethis Lodakhar, and suspicious witchers or spies.
• Chen Xu showed Vesemir his swords and revealed that he had killed six drowners at the floating bridge beside the mill.
• Vesemir examined Chen Xu's swords, warned him to stay away from the water, and considered teaching him.
• Chen Xu asked Vesemir to teach him swordsmanship.

Geralt and Chen Xu went to Tomira’s cottage for buckthorn and treatment for Chen Xu’s wounds, where they learned that Lena was dying from injuries caused by the griffin. After treating Chen Xu and lending Geralt his swords, Chen Xu discovered Tomira was being pressured for money by an unfamiliar man.

• Vesemir sent Geralt to find buckthorn for a trap and told him to take Chen Xu to Tomira for his festering wounds.
• Geralt and Chen Xu reached Tomira’s cottage, where Tomira explained that Lena had suffered a grave head injury in the griffin attack.
• Tomira had no buckthorn, so she gave Geralt directions to find it near the pontoon bridge and asked him to help Lena with a witcher potion.
• Geralt refused to let Chen Xu collect buckthorn with his wounds, then left to search the cemetery for celandine after Chen Xu lent him Moonblade and Gram.
• Chen Xu treated his wounds with Tomira’s ointment and learned the First Aid skill.
• An unfamiliar man arrived demanding money from Tomira, who apologized and handed him the coin pouch she had prepared.

Chen Xu recovered in Tomira’s hut, learned alchemy, and left White Orchard with Geralt and Vesemir after Lena’s condition began improving. Geralt departed with Yennefer to meet the emperor over Ciri, while Chen Xu chose to head for Velen and learned that Zhang Yuanzhu had been killed.

• Temerian deserters robbed Tomira, and Chen Xu helped her avoid further trouble before she taught him alchemy.
• Geralt returned with Swallow, which Tomira gave Lena; the girl suffered seizures, then began breathing more steadily.
• Chen Xu asked Geralt to teach him swordsmanship, and Geralt promised to consider it after Chen Xu healed.
• Yennefer arrived with Nilfgaardian soldiers and took Geralt to meet the emperor about Ciri; Geralt gave Chen Xu a round stone before leaving.
• Chen Xu decided to travel to Velen to seek a master blacksmith and pursue Ciri’s whereabouts, while Vesemir rode back toward Kaer Morhen.
• A system alert announced that Chosen One Zhang Yuanzhu, the King of Beggars, had been killed by an unknown Chosen One.

Chen Xu collected skill points from two Places of Power, then prepared to drive deserters away from Tomira by brewing a paralyzing decoction and improving his stealth. He infiltrated their camp and killed a sentry, alerting the other deserters.

• Chen Xu found the Places of Power near the cemetery and griffin's nest and gained two skill points.
• Chen Xu killed a pack of wolves, then triggered Tomira's quest to drive away the deserters harassing her.
• Chen Xu brewed a paralyzing decoction and upgraded Stealth to its maximum level.
• Chen Xu crept into the deserters' camp, climbed above the entrance guard, and killed the sentry with a sneak attack.
• The nearby deserters heard the attack, armed themselves, and approached to investigate.

Chen Xu used a fire and paralyzing decoction to kill the deserters, then collected their equipment and completed Tomira’s quest. After reaching the level cap for Detective, he chose Master detective as his new secondary class and experienced a sharp increase in his abilities.

• Chen Xu distracted the deserters with a fire, poisoned their meal, and killed the incapacitated men after his Sneak Attack failed.
• Chen Xu collected 34 crowns, stripped the deserters’ armor, burned their bodies, and rode back to Tomira with horses and equipment.
• Chen Xu completed the quest to Drive Away the Deserters and received EXP, points, and a skill point, while Tomira reacted with shock to their deaths.
• Chen Xu reached Detective Lv.5, raised Tracking to Lv.3, and considered the available class options.
• Chen Xu chose Master detective, gaining its class skills and Shared Lineage specialty as his constitution and reaction increased.
• Chen Xu sensed his wounds healing and briefly perceived a faint energy in the air before the sensation disappeared.

After selling captured military supplies, Chen Xu was ambushed by the wanted Chosen Penny Burns and Sethis Lodakhar, who had escaped from prison. He fought off their attacks and dodged Penny’s bullets, but the battle turned against him again when she used Charm.

• Chen Xu sold two horses and captured armor and weapons to the merchant at Woesong Bridge for 167 crowns and Gwent cards.
• Sethis Lodakhar attacked Chen Xu with twin daggers while Penny Burns emerged from the tavern with a pistol.
• Chen Xu advanced his Dodge skill and wounded Sethis while evading his daggers.
• Penny fired at Chen Xu, but he gained Ballistic Analysis and dodged her shots until she ran out of ammunition.
• Penny reloaded and aimed again as Chen Xu struggled with exhaustion, then pink light flared in her eyes as she used Charm.

Chen Xu escaped Penny Burns's Charm by summoning the Chort, then survived its hunt by activating Stealth Technique. He recovered Penny's pistol and headed for the tavern to treat his injuries.

• Penny Burns's Charm trapped Chen Xu in an illusion, and he closed his eyes and used his memory to reach the farm.
• Chen Xu killed the dairy cows to summon the Chort, which charged after him and forced Penny and Sethis to flee.
• Sethis stabbed Penny and used her fall to get ahead, while Penny returned early.
• Chen Xu hid in the riverbank sludge using Stealth Technique as the Chort searched for him and broke his right arm.
• After the Chort left, Chen Xu found Penny's pistol and headed to the tavern for alcohol to disinfect his wounds.

After finding Willis and the village dead, Chen Xu tracked Sethis to the Place of Power and fought him and his clone. Sethis escaped after they reached a stalemate, leaving Chen Xu to destroy the abandoned clone and verify that his enemy had fled.

• Chen Xu discovered that Sethis and Penny had massacred the Nilfgaard soldiers and villagers who opposed them, including Willis, and closed the dwarf's eyes.
• Chen Xu followed Sethis's blood trail toward the Ismena River, but Sethis ambushed him with a fighting clone.
• Chen Xu defended himself with his sword and armor while he and Sethis exhausted their energy and argued over their abilities.
• Chen Xu drew the Beretta 8045F, making Sethis wary, and refused to trade information except to ask how to absorb the energy of a stone pillar.
• Sethis threatened Chen Xu and fled, abandoning his clone; Chen Xu cut off the clone's head and used Tracking Technique to confirm Sethis had escaped.

After surviving the fight with Sethis, Chen Xu recovered at Tomira’s, buried Willis, and watched the Nilfgaardians punish the Chosen who had looted their dead. He explored White Orchard, found four Places of Power, and raised [Sneak Attack] to Lv.3 before another attempt to improve it caused him severe pain.

• Chen Xu went to Tomira to have his broken arm and other wounds treated, then reclaimed his chestnut horse and named it Lizi.
• Chen Xu forged an iron shovel, buried Willis behind the smithy, and marked the grave with Willis’s name.
• The Nilfgaardian garrison commander blamed the Chosen for looting the soldiers’ bodies, and villagers exposed Heipi and the others, leading to their arrest and the doubling of patrols and bounties on Sethis and Penny.
• Chen Xu deceived the soldiers about Willis’s death, gained a level in [Deception], and planned to leave White Orchard while the smithy awaited a replacement blacksmith.
• Chen Xu found the four remaining Places of Power in White Orchard and spent two skill points to raise [Sneak Attack] to Lv.3.
• Chen Xu tried to improve [Sneak Attack] again, but a wrenching pain and a sense of mental dislocation stopped him.

Chen Xu left White Orchard after completing the Harvest task, then traveled toward Velen through war-ravaged countryside. He reached a village where the chief offered him a possible job clearing out a Ghoul nest, which Chen Xu agreed to consider after resting.

• Chen Xu bought the threshed wheat, disguised himself as a villager, and delivered it to the Nilfgaardian outpost to complete [Harvest] for a perfect rating.
• After repairing his armor and sleeping, Chen Xu left White Orchard during the villagers’ memorial ceremony and rode toward Velen.
• Chen Xu traveled through scorched battlefields and refugee camps, then continued on foot when Lizi became too exhausted to carry him.
• Chen Xu approached a village stealthily, asked the wary villagers for directions and a place to rest, and was initially turned away.
• The village chief called Chen Xu back and asked whether he was a witcher, then offered him a job dealing with a Ghoul nest north of the village.
• Chen Xu agreed to discuss the job that afternoon after he had rested and eaten.

Chen Xu was ambushed by villagers who drugged his soup and tried to rob him for a reward, but he fought back and recovered his stolen armor. He left the village with fodder and water for Lizi, still thinking that the war needed to end.

• An old couple welcomed Chen Xu into their storehouse, but he noticed the villagers waiting to ambush him and killed Rosa when she brought him knockout-powdered soup.
• Chen Xu escaped through a window and fought off the villagers, who attacked him for the five hundred crowns offered by the Nilfgaardian Chosen.
• When the villagers stopped fighting and told him to leave, Chen Xu continued attacking, killed several of them, and learned the skill Throw Lv.1.
• Chen Xu demanded that the villagers kill the old man and return his armor; a young farmer stabbed the old man, but Chen Xu killed the young farmer as well.
• Chen Xu spared the remaining villagers, retrieved Gram and his damaged armor, and left with fodder and well water for Lizi.

Chen Xu reached Crookback Bog and confirmed that Anna was raising orphans for the Crones, then followed the signposts to the Bloody Baron’s castle at Crow’s Perch. He arrived at dawn, intending to use his knowledge of Uma and the Baron’s search for Anna to pursue his goals.

• Chen Xu rode into Velen, avoiding the swamp’s poisonous mists and monsters as he searched for a signpost.
• At the Trail of Treats, Chen Xu reached a settlement where Anna was caring for five children under the Crones’ control.
• Chen Xu offered Anna gold for directions and food, but she refused the money and gave him bread and the route north.
• Chen Xu asked whether the children would be fed to the Crones, and Anna defended their arrangement without denying it.
• Chen Xu followed the signposts and reached Crow’s Perch, the Bloody Baron’s castle, at dawn.

Chen Xu tried to gain an audience with the baron by offering information about his missing wife and daughter, but Zhaotian Zhi and the Nilfgaardian officer suspected him of being a spy. The baron's guard captain recognized Chen Xu's accurate description of Anna and moved to take him to the baron, but the officer stopped them and demanded Chen Xu's identity and purpose.

• Chen Xu offered a crown to a gate guard and said he had information about the baron's wife and daughter, but Zhaotian Zhi attacked him after using Detection.
• Chen Xu fought off Zhaotian Zhi's first strike with Gram, then drew his handgun and called Lizi as Zhaotian Zhi summoned four companions and the baron's guards.
• A Nilfgaardian officer intervened, and Zhaotian Zhi accused Chen Xu of being a Redanian spy, displaying the crown as evidence.
• Chen Xu explained that he knew where the baron's wife was and described Anna's clothing and name, convincing the baron's guard captain that his information was genuine.
• The guard captain returned the crown and offered to take Chen Xu to the baron, but the Nilfgaardian officer blocked them and began interrogating Chen Xu.

Chen Xu entered an armor-making contest against Yoana at Crow's Perch and crafted modified Temerian armor to prove his skill. Just as the Nilfgaardians prepared to test the armor, Zhaotian Zhi brought out a crude mobile cannon aimed at Chen Xu.

• Chen Xu claimed to be a blacksmith from White Orchard, and the officer took him to the smithy to compete against the master armorer Yoana.
• Zhaotian Zhi offered to test the armor with a powerful weapon, and the officer threatened to conscript him if it failed.
• Chen Xu designed heavy armor with removable steel plates and glyphs, completing the quest with a fine-quality result.
• Yoana finished a suit of Nilfgaardian winged cavalry armor, and the officer chose Chen Xu to test his armor first.
• Zhaotian Zhi brought a handcart-mounted cannon from the inner keep and pointed it at Chen Xu.

Zhaotian Zhi demonstrated his homemade cannon, prompting a Nilfgaardian officer to arrest him and arrange his escort to Vizima. When Zhaotian Zhi tried to have Chen Xu seized as a spy, Chen Xu’s claim to be a blacksmith’s apprentice was supported by Fergus, but the officer still ordered him tied up as Chen Xu prepared to escape.

• Zhaotian Zhi fired his cannon, destroying the target, a wooden house, and part of an earthen wall while Chen Xu narrowly avoided the blast.
• The Nilfgaardian officer placed Zhaotian Zhi in custody and ordered elite cavalry to escort him and a secret letter to the emperor in Vizima.
• Zhaotian Zhi asked to take Chen Xu as a spy, and the officer challenged Chen Xu to prove his identity.
• Fergus confirmed that Chen Xu was Willis’s apprentice, but the officer ordered Fergus subdued and Chen Xu tied up anyway.
• Chen Xu edged toward the blasted wall to escape as a white-haired man and a woman arrived on horseback, and the man recognized someone at the scene.

Chen Xu and Geralt confronted Zhaotian Zhi after Fringilla Vigo identified him as a threat to Nilfgaard, and Zhaotian Zhi unleashed his hidden power to escape. Fringilla trapped him with illusion magic, allowing Chen Xu to kill him, then rode into the inner city and ordered Geralt and Chen to follow.

• Fringilla Vigo arrived at the Crow's Perch garrison and ordered the officer to keep Zhaotian Zhi from reaching the North.
• Zhaotian Zhi broke free, seized a poleaxe, and fought his way toward the outer city while the other Chosen refused to help him.
• Chen Xu stopped Zhaotian Zhi's horse, and Geralt fought him as Zhaotian Zhi escaped onto the inner city wall before Geralt blasted him back with Aard.
• Zhaotian Zhi revealed his second-stage mutation and overwhelmed the Nilfgaardian soldiers until Fringilla trapped him in an illusion.
• Chen Xu killed Zhaotian Zhi with a poleaxe while he was incapacitated, earning 200 points.
• Fringilla rode into the inner city and gave Chen Xu and Geralt five minutes to follow her.

Chen Xu spent his points and experience to raise his Willpower, unseal his talent, and gain a powerful assassination skill before meeting the Bloody Baron. The chapter ended with Chen Xu dodging the drunken baron as he smashed up the reception room.

• Geralt told Chen Xu that Emhyr had sent him and Fringilla to find Ciri, and warned Chen Xu that war was merciless.
• Chen Xu spent his points on Spirit of Twisting, then used experience to raise his Master Detective level and finally increase his Willpower to 1.
• Chen Xu gained beginner proficiency with a poleaxe and unlocked Assassination: Weakness Insight, which made stealth and backstab hits guaranteed critical strikes.
• The sergeant invited Chen Xu to meet the Bloody Baron, while the Chosen Ones gathered to discuss their next move.
• Fringilla opened a portal that drenched the reception room with moat water, and Chen Xu joined Geralt and the baron there.
• Chen Xu dodged the drunken baron's attacks until the baron smashed his fist into the fireplace and cried out in pain.