Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1529 Regenerated Teeth

"So, Shangluo, why are all the doctors so excited to see me today?"

"Anyway, it's definitely not because of nervousness."

"They're probably just nervous. It's their first time performing this kind of surgery, right?"

The Imperial Guard General Hospital is a place I've visited several times in Shangluo, but it seems like nothing good ever comes of it.

Patient No. 95 and Governor Yuan were sent away from here.

At first glance, it might seem that the Imperial Guard General Hospital can't solve any diseases of superhumans, and that's actually true. However, their main function now is to conduct research and accumulate experience.

After all, medicine often relies on experience. Even with the same technological resources, experience can sometimes be the decisive factor in a medical decision.

The Imperial Guard General Hospital established the "Special Medical Department" to accumulate experience; it is one of the few places where medical issues concerning superhumans can be openly discussed.

After all, a crucial element related to extraordinary individuals is "birth, aging, sickness, and death." Once the news spreads that "there is a group of people in the imperial court who can live forever," the entire world will undergo a major change.

Furthermore, while it would be one thing if immortality were truly attainable, the reality is that Qi cultivators cannot achieve it. Moreover, the longevity of an extraordinary individual offers no benefit to others; even the emperor himself cannot help, nor can the entire court, and the Grand Secretaries will still die. The problem is that no one will believe this if it gets out, leading to countless troubles for the court.

That's why research into extraordinary diseases had to be conducted under extremely high secrecy. Every participant needs to understand the whole picture—and after understanding, the participants will find that it's all about fate.

The imperial court has essentially guided all those capable of cultivation onto this path, and is also providing large-scale distribution of spiritual roots to enhance everyone's abilities in a small but widespread manner. In fact, those in the medical field can observe that the life expectancy of the entire population is increasing year by year. The national life expectancy has reached over 80 years, and the number of centenarians is increasing.

Anyone with professional medical knowledge would find this somewhat illogical, as the improvement in health status is not proportional to the improvement in medical standards. Of course, since overall statistical data is not actually publicly available, these suspicions remain just that—suspicions.

The Special Medical Department of the Imperial Guard General Hospital is used to handle these issues. Sensitive health data and research on diseases affecting superhumans are primarily conducted here. There are also many cultivators here who have practiced medicine.

But just like before when alchemists were the ones treating illnesses—alchemy and medicine collided here. This is because alchemists can also use elixirs to treat illnesses, which is currently the only effective medical method for those with extraordinary abilities. Under these circumstances, the primary function of medical cultivators so far is actually to diagnose and assess illnesses, and then have alchemists provide broad-spectrum drugs or specially formulated remedies tailored to each individual's constitution. The latter is slower, but because it involves a personalized prescription, it is more suitable for each cultivator's individual constitution.

This creates two problems. First, medicine is currently not a branch of alchemy, but rather a branch of metaphysics. Metaphysics, like alchemy, is one of the five major Daoist sects, and few people have the energy to cultivate two sects simultaneously. In other words, one can only choose one primary profession, and the choice of a secondary profession is limited by the primary profession.

This leads to the second problem: when the medical process has little to do with the medical monks themselves, the role of this special medical department becomes quite awkward.

There is indeed a distinction between medicine and pharmacy in science, but if pharmacy were to steal the spotlight from medicine, it would be a rather hopeless situation for medicine.

However, all of this changed with this regenerated tooth.

This is because it has finally entered a realm that alchemy practitioners cannot reach, but elective practitioners can.

This regenerated tooth was created using mirage energy, which happens to fall within Xuanxiu's area of ​​expertise. All the knowledge he'd acquired throughout his life had finally come in handy, and Yanqiu was indeed their first truly treatable patient.

"Shangluo." In the waiting room, Yanqiu suddenly remembered something, "Has someone died here during treatment?"

"Which hospital hasn't had people die there?"

"I mean, has this hospital never managed to save a single person?"

"Well, you can't say that. Qi cultivators sometimes get colds and fevers, but those can be cured."

Although it wasn't the special medical department that cured them, but rather the medicine from the pharmacy, they were indeed cured at this hospital. After all, the alchemy department didn't have an outpatient clinic; while they could produce medicine, diagnosis still required going to the hospital.

But I heard...

"If you're asking whether they've cured any truly difficult patients—then there really aren't any. At least none of the ones I've seen have made it out alive. But that's alright, they have experience now! For example, in the treatment of patient number 95, they discovered that spiritual energy cannot completely eliminate or neutralize malevolent energy in the human body; it can only compress it. This major discovery directly led to the birth of [Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth], and they deserve immense credit."

"You mean to say that the hospital's greatest achievement so far is developing a bomb?"

Our Miss Yanqiu's comments are truly spot-on.

"If you were a patient, you would probably end up like this too."

[That's true. But hehe, I don't have a body, so I can't get sick at all. I can't even... waaaaaah~~~]

“So, to get back to the point,” Shangluo said to Yanqiu, “first of all, all medical procedures carry risks, right? I think that, in the case of dentistry, the risks are manageable.”

"Yes, I think so."

"Secondly, the greater the risk, the greater your contribution! There are many people waiting for advancements in medical technology to bring about change for them. For example, our Special Patient No. 95, and another [patient], are all suffering from not having their own physical bodies. If this technology of modifying mirage energy according to the effects on the human body can be realized, then they will be saved."

"Huh? Does getting my teeth checked really have such a big impact? That seems pretty good."

[She's more than just pretty. Wow, this is the first time I've realized that Miss Yanqiu is not only beautiful, but also has such a kind heart. Please praise her for me.]

You look beautiful with your teeth now.

"You're making it sound like someone forced you to say that. Stop trying to persuade me, I know. I've eaten so much rice, I still have to do chores, right? It's just a tooth, I'm still pretty even without teeth."

The operating room lights came on.

The lights in the operating room went out.

This was faster than Shang Luo had expected; she was out in about 30 minutes. "So fast?"

"Wow, medical technology is really advanced these days." She sat down next to Shangluo again, glanced at her watch, and said, "The doctor said I need to be observed here for 30 minutes, and then I can leave."

"How did you install it?"

"First came the tooth extraction—wow, this tooth extraction was different from what I expected. I thought they'd use big pliers to pull it out."

"Actually?"

"Actually, the tooth was cut open after being anesthetized and then pulled out without damaging the alveolar bone. It didn't hurt at all. The doctor said I used a special anesthetic. Now the anesthetic is actually a little stinging, but even though the effect of the anesthetic has worn off a bit, it still doesn't hurt at all."

In terms of dental surgery, the Imperial Guard General Hospital is quite advanced—after all, while they haven't made much progress in treating superhumans, they are top-tier in conventional medical procedures. Moreover, under the guidance of Qi cultivators, their medical skills are exceptionally refined. Although this special medical department primarily handles issues related to superhumans, other departments often borrow personnel from them for challenging problems.

While medical monks may be powerless to treat other extraordinary beings, they are quite adept at treating ordinary people.

"So, how was that regenerated tooth inserted?"

"They put some medicinal powder inside and then let me out." Yanqiu wasn't afraid at all anymore, because there really wasn't anything to be afraid of. The whole process was painless, and the treatment effect would be quite good.

"that's it?"

“Okay, that’s it,” Yanqiu replied. “The doctor said that the gums have a lot of blood vessels, so they take root as soon as they hit the ground. But once they grow out, it takes about a month and a half, just like when a tooth erupts. Oh, by the way, the doctor sent the tooth I had pulled out for pathological testing. It seems they want to check what the bacteria inside are like.”

No wonder it was so fast.

"Oh right, they also said I have another tooth with some decay, and asked if I wanted it treated. If it's that easy to get treatment done, I'm going to have to consider coming back again."

The surgical experience was so good that Yanqiu herself wanted to do it again—it seemed even more troublesome than regular tooth decay treatment. If she could, she would want to replace all her problematic teeth with these regenerated teeth.

"Wait, can they create their own regenerated teeth now?"

Half an hour later, Shangluo's conjecture was confirmed.

Zhu Xianxi and Director Hu of the Special Medical Department came out from inside.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go back now." Director Hu, who was also the attending physician earlier, said, "Everything is normal here. The results for the tooth you sent for pathological examination are also in—it is indeed quite stubborn, and the bacteria have been enhanced across the entire spectrum after evolution. However, we already performed sterilization treatment when we extracted the tooth, so it's not a big problem."

"Shall we leave then?"

"You can go back and rest now. Shangluo, you stay," Zhu Xianxi said. "There's something I need to discuss with you."

After Yanqiu left, Zhu Xianxi said, "This technology is amazing. The Dragon Palace pulled this thing out."

"How to say?"

"Do you know how they made this 'seed'? The answer is that it's a mixture of mirage and phlogiston, with two layers, inner and outer. The inner layer of mirage is protected by the outer layer of phlogiston. The outer layer is indestructible, just like an absolutely rigid body, while the inner layer combines with the human body under the influence of mirage and uses the spiritual energy of the Qi cultivator to power the entire structure."

"Good heavens, how does that phlogiston fuel stay burning?"

This is the difference between phlogiston and mirage that Shangluo had previously observed. These two substances, which utilize illusion to construct physical entities, are very similar and can both create things out of thin air, but they have different limitations in their use.

The use of mirages is more flexible, but their temperature is limited—analogous to conventional objects, they are more like ice.

The use of phlogiston is limited by concentration; it can only exhibit its physical properties at high concentrations.

“Similar to a hot air balloon,” Zhu Xianxi replied. “The oral cavity is obviously not a sealed environment. However, once the roots of the mirage-like teeth take hold, they can use the bloodline of the Qi cultivator to supply energy for the phlox. So although the overall airtightness does not meet the standard, it can still be effective as long as it is continuously charged.”

"Isn't that similar to a regular tooth? Regular teeth also need roots and pulp to deliver nutrients and stay stable, right?"

"Is that so?" Zhu Xianxi asked the doctor next to him.

"Theoretically, tooth enamel is not active, so if it is damaged, it cannot be repaired no matter what. Clinically, we have only observed that a very small number of minor defects in teeth can be repaired by the 'remineralization' process inside the mouth, which is actually not very useful. As for dentin, this is usually where damage occurs. It can indeed repair itself, but the repair speed cannot keep up with the rate of decay. However, this kind of repair can only have some effect in very early and very minor decay. Most of the time, it is useless."

“So, Shangluo,” Zhu Xianxi began, “there’s a crucial issue here—teeth are extremely sensitive in the human body because they are hard and have very complex internal mechanisms. If these artificial organs can be used in teeth, then applying them to other parts is actually quite simple. Because tissues like the liver are far less complex than teeth.”

"Good heavens," Shangluo thought for a moment, "Actually, I have a patient here who might need this kind of medical treatment."

“You mean, Victoria?” Zhu Xianxi asked.

Shangluo nodded and said, "Victoria's heart actually needs this kind of medical treatment. Is it possible to get a heart transplant now?"

"Don't even mention replacing one, we could replace two hearts, three lungs, or even six lungs."

"Wow, they can exchange for several more?"

“Of course, it’s actually related to the function,” Zhu Xianxi replied. “Because this technology uses mirage energy as the structural basis for expressing its characteristics, and then induces phlogiston to function, it actually requires a constant input of spiritual energy. Victoria, I don’t think she’s a Qi cultivator? But her heart has a lot of energy. So, although she can’t have a new heart made of flesh and blood, we can transform her into a superhuman with three hearts and six lungs, capable of killing an African elephant with one punch. Is she interested?”

(End of this chapter)