Chapter 664: The First Batch of Tests

Chapter 664: Chapter 664: The First Batch of Tests

「Japan, Kyoto University.」

Professor Yoshida sat at his desk, a cup of long-cold coffee in his hand. His brow was furrowed, his eyes glued to the computer screen.

On the screen was a feature story from the Dragon Country’s *News Daily* about the "Tooth Regeneration Formula."

Ever since a few of the patent Chinese medicines developed by Li Xu swept the market, even forcing Japan’s Kampo Medicine into a steady retreat, Yoshida had been paying special attention to this young doctor from Dragon Country.

He had even gone so far as to learn Chinese and subscribe to Dragon Country’s major medical journals and news websites, terrified of missing the slightest development.

’Drinking Chinese medicine can regrow teeth?’

Yoshida muttered to himself, his tone filled with a sense of absurdity and doubt. "How is that possible? It defies all common biological sense. Tooth regeneration involves complex signaling pathways and gene expression. That’s God’s domain. How could a few bowls of herbal soup possibly solve it?"

As a meticulous scholar, his first reaction was that this had to be fake news—an exaggeration by the Dragon Country media, or some kind of scam.

But... that name—Li Xu—made him hesitate to jump to conclusions.

The young man was just too uncanny.

From the eye drops to the sobriety tea, hadn’t he broken conventions and worked miracles every single time?

If he dismissed it outright, what if it turned out to be real this time?

Yoshida hesitated for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed the extension for Professor Mitsuyama, the head of the dental laboratory.

"Mr. Mitsuyama, it’s Yoshida. I’ve sent you a link to a news article. Please take a look."

On the other end of the line, Professor Mitsuyama was busy with an experiment and opened the link with some impatience.

After glancing at it for a few seconds, he let out a sneer.

"Mr. Yoshida, are you joking with me?"

Mitsuyama’s voice was filled with contempt. "You actually believe this nonsense? Regrowing teeth by drinking Chinese medicine? That’s even more ridiculous than alchemy!"

"But..." Yoshida tried to explain, "this Li Xu has had many astonishing results before..."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Mitsuyama cut him off rudely. "Mr. Yoshida, you must believe in science! Our tooth regeneration technology here at Kyoto University is the most advanced in the world. It took us ten years and countless funds to barely achieve tooth germ regeneration in mice. Human trials? That’s at least another five years away! How could a doctor of Chinese medicine possibly do it? With a few blades of grass and tree bark? This is an insult to science!"

"This has to be a scam, or some kind of trick, like passing off a root that hasn’t completely fallen out as a new tooth to fool people."

After he hung up, Mitsuyama’s mockery still echoed in his ears.

Yoshida sighed.

His rational mind told him Mitsuyama was right, but his intuition left him with a sliver of unease.

’Li Xu... what on earth are you up to?’

Yoshida decided to keep a close watch on the matter.

If it was fake, it was a joke.

If it was real... it was a legend.

...

「In Feng City, outside a private dental clinic.」

IT technician Liu Shaohua walked out, covering his mouth with a look of utter misery on his face.

’It’s just one thing after another.’

Liu Shaohua was wallowing in frustration.

Previously, he’d had swollen, inflamed gums, and Li Xu had prescribed medicine that cured him.

Later, he helped Li Xu expose the mastermind behind an online smear campaign, which served as both a meritorious act and an atonement. He wasn’t held responsible, so he thought his luck had finally turned.

But then, two days ago, he was playing on his phone on his way home from work when he missed a step and took a nasty spill on flat ground.

He wasn’t hurt, but his front tooth had the misfortune of slamming into the curb, breaking clean in half and loosening the root.

The dentist had just examined it and said the tooth couldn’t be saved. It had to be extracted and replaced with an implant.

An implant?

An imported one costs over ten thousand yuan.

He was just a miserable programmer. Was all the money he’d worked so hard to earn by coding just going to be handed over to the dentist?

As he was agonizing over whether to get the implant, he was scrolling through his phone and saw the report on the "Tooth Regeneration Formula."

"Li Xu? The Tooth Regeneration Formula?"

Liu Shaohua’s eyes lit up.

As someone who had personally experienced the miraculous nature of Li Xu’s medical skills, he had a mysterious, unshakable faith in him.

’If it can really grow back, wouldn’t I save over ten thousand yuan?’

Without a second thought, he hailed a cab and headed straight for Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

Upon seeing Li Xu, Liu Shaohua asked anxiously, "Doctor Li, I knocked out my front tooth. Can I drink your medicine to grow a new one?"

Li Xu examined his condition.

"It’s possible," Li Xu said. "However, this formula is still in the internal testing phase and hasn’t been officially released yet. If you’re willing, you can participate in the clinical trial for volunteers organized by Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory."

"I’m willing, of course I’m willing," Liu Shaohua said, nodding furiously. "I’m not afraid of being a guinea pig. As long as I can regrow my tooth, I’ll do anything."

...

「The next day, at the R&D center of Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.」

Liu Shaohua and twenty-nine other volunteers signed a thick stack of informed consent forms and non-disclosure agreements, officially becoming the first group of human test subjects for the Tooth Regeneration Formula.

Among these thirty people were young individuals like Liu Shaohua who had lost teeth in accidents, middle-aged people who had lost teeth due to periodontal disease, and even a few elderly individuals like Elder Li who had been missing teeth for many years.

The testing procedure was extremely rigorous.

First, there was a comprehensive oral examination and X-ray imaging to confirm the condition of their alveolar bones and rule out any contraindications.

Then, each person received a box of deep purple topical ointment and a vacuum-sealed bag of brownish-red medicinal soup.

"Every morning and evening after brushing your teeth, apply the ointment to the gum at the site of the missing tooth and massage for five minutes. Then, drink one bag of the warm medicinal soup. Do this for seven consecutive days. During this period, you must abstain from smoking, alcohol, and spicy foods."

A staff member explained the instructions in detail.

Liu Shaohua clutched the medicine as if it were a priceless treasure.

Back in his room, he strictly followed the instructions.

The ointment felt cool and tingly when applied and had a peculiar fragrance.

Although the soup was bitter, he downed it in one gulp for the sake of his tooth.

The first day, he felt nothing.

The second day, his gums began to feel a little warm.

On the evening of the third day, that familiar sensation returned!

"Oof... it’s itchy."

Lying in bed, Liu Shaohua felt the empty space where his front tooth had been. It felt like a million ants were crawling there, or like the tingling, swelling sensation he remembered from losing his baby teeth as a child.

He couldn’t resist the urge to poke it with his tongue, but then he remembered the doctor’s instructions and forced himself to endure it.

This itchiness lasted for three whole days.

By the seventh day, the itching had disappeared, replaced by a solid, full feeling.

The test was over.

The thirty volunteers gathered at the R&D center for follow-up X-rays.

Outside the X-ray room, everyone was both nervous and excited.

"Liu Shaohua!"

When his name was called, Liu Shaohua took a deep breath and walked in.

A few minutes later, the film was developed.

The dental specialist in charge of reading the images stared at the screen.

There, within Liu Shaohua’s previously empty alveolar bone, a clear, high-density white spot had appeared.

It was a developing tooth germ.

"It’s growing! It’s really growing!"

The specialist exclaimed in astonishment.