Under Tony's various adjustments, the projected Prinz Eugen on the workbench underwent many changes.
First, both the above- and below-water sections of the hull were fine-tuned and modernized. That tweak alone already made the ship look different from the original Prinz Eugen.
Even without considering black technology, the design of the Prinz Eugen from World War II had many outdated elements, and almost all of its superstructures were adjusted and optimized by Tony.
The surprising part was that Tony still retained the defining features of the original Prinz Eugen. At first glance, it still looked like the Prinz Eugen and not a completely different ship.
"So? How does it look now?"
Ethan had been watching the whole time and had no objections to Tony's modifications. In his opinion, all the changes were quite good.
"There won't be any more changes to the appearance. Next, we need to consider the internal systems... Are you planning to use an Arc Reactor as the ship's power source?"
Initially, Ethan had intended to use the strange magic stone he found, which showed almost no energy decay, as the power source. But back then, he hadn't been thinking about building such a massive steel warship. He seriously doubted whether that magic stone could provide such high output.
After explaining the properties of the magic stone to Tony, and letting him study it for a while, they temporarily agreed to use the Arc Reactor as the ship's primary power source.
The Arc Reactor was, after all, a cold nuclear fusion reactor. In the world Ethan had once lived in, cold fusion was still theoretical, even considered fantasy. Many scientists believed it could never become real technology.
However, in the Marvel world, the technology had already been successfully developed and matured by the Stark family. It was now a reliable energy source. Whether it was output power, stability, or longevity, there was no issue at all with it being used as the core of a warship.
"A cruiser that looks like a WWII ship on the outside but is powered by nuclear fusion on the inside."
Tony suddenly found this project far more interesting than he had expected, especially since Ethan would also be installing various magical systems and unfamiliar magic stone tech onto the ship.
"Energy shield?"
Ethan had chosen naval guns as the ship's primary weapon because energy-based weapons would be the ship's main form of attack. Although Tony had already anticipated Ethan might add magical enhancements, he hadn't expected him to include an energy shield as well.
"And layered defenses."
It wouldn't just be a single energy barrier. Ethan also planned to use magical methods to create a magic shield and was researching how to transplant the body-clinging energy armor to the ship's hull.
With so many layers of defense, Ethan believed the ship's protection would be more than sufficient to make enemies despair. Ordinary attacks might not even break the outermost shield.
Tony also modified several anti-aircraft positions, replacing them with Phalanx CIWS and missile launchers. Together, they pushed the defense capability of this version of the Prinz Eugen to the current theoretical limit for both of them.
The two continued to discuss and modify. As Tony learned more about Ethan's requirements, he made more adjustments.
Hull optimizations were minor. What came next were the real overhauls.
Although the superstructure still looked similar to the original Prinz Eugen, its interior and many design details had undergone major changes.
In addition to installing Phalanx guns and missile launchers, Tony converted the massive chimney, while retaining its appearance, into a vertical launch system. When Ethan learned about it, all he could do was silently stare at Tony's smug expression.
"I wanted to build a WWII-style ship because energy weapons wouldn't cause logistical headaches. What's the point of all these missiles if I can't even resupply?"
"Let's talk about that after it's built."
Tony didn't care. He was finally having fun and wasn't going to let logistics ruin it for him.
"Considering that you won't have a large crew and the ship's internal space is vast, the original seaplane hangar can be converted into a lift platform. Aircraft can be stored in the interior hangar, and the platform can lift them out of the ship. You can open the overhead hatch for launch directly from inside."
Any aircraft equipped on the ship would need to support vertical takeoff and landing. To accommodate various missions, it made sense to prepare several different models.
"Any requests for aircraft?"
"I'd love to have a few VFs, but unfortunately, I can't."
"VFs? Some kind of high-tech aircraft?" Tony was immediately intrigued. Whenever Ethan mentioned things like this, he figured they were probably items from another world. The name alone made it sound like a high-tech product from a more advanced civilization.
"A variable fighter for space and atmosphere. A single aircraft that can break through the atmosphere and operate in both environments."
Tony's eyes lit up. He looked like he wanted to ask more, but Ethan quickly redirected the topic back to the Prinz Eugen.
"That reminds me. The boom can't be removed."
"Why not?"
In WWII, warships had booms primarily for recovering floatplanes that landed on water. Now that more advanced aircraft could land directly on deck, the boom didn't seem necessary.
"Because it's needed to load supplies."
Ethan had just realized that on a ship like this, even restocking food would require a huge amount of effort. Relying solely on manpower to haul everything aboard was clearly unrealistic.
With a boom, supplies could be lifted and transferred directly onto the ship, possibly even straight into the onboard storage.
This idea existed back in the age of sailing ships. Using pulleys and gear-driven systems, cargo on the dock could be hoisted up to the deck through deck hatches and then directly deposited into the ship's hold.
Ethan had only just remembered this. Tony hadn't thought of it, since modern docks had plenty of loading equipment, and there was no need to include something like that on the ship itself.
He didn't know what Ethan's world was like, but Ethan's insistence proved the need, so Tony had no choice but to reinstall the boom he had deleted.
By now, the ship's framework was mostly set. The remaining specific details would be handled later, as Tony still needed time to study the magic stone technology Ethan had provided.
Most of the components had been confirmed, and now it was just a matter of time. Tony needed to understand how the magic items Ethan had brought could be integrated or modified for installation on the ship.
Even though Tony was a research maniac, he also knew how to unwind. After saving and archiving the preliminary design, he took Ethan, Diana, Logan, and Laura out to enjoy a feast.
Accompanied by Pepper Potts, Diana bought a lot of clothes and shoes. She also received a very detailed crash course in modern urban life, helping the demigod adapt to a world completely unlike the one she was familiar with.
Naturally, Logan didn't miss the chance to indulge either. He bought a large stockpile of cigars without hesitation. Ethan was sure that for a long time to come, even if Logan smoked cigars all day, he wouldn't run out.
After a full day of fun, Tony returned to Stark Tower and immediately dragged Ethan into his lab.
The Stark Building had labs for various purposes, complete with all kinds of equipment and a wide selection of materials, allowing Tony to research, upgrade, and develop new Iron Man suits at any time.
After food and fun, Tony took Ethan to the lab because he was extremely curious about the magic stone technology Ethan had mentioned. He was eager to understand it. Even if they weren't designing the Prinz Eugen, Tony would've wanted to study it anyway.
"This is it?"
"This is it."
What Ethan took out was the armor he had seized from the assassin. Of all the magic stone equipment in his possession, this armor had the most advanced tech. It was far more complex than the thrusters.
"What can this thing do?"
Ethan thought for a moment and then described the armor's capabilities as simply as possible: "Optical stealth, sound suppression, energy defense, enhanced strength, and speed boost."
"Oh?"
Tony hadn't cared much about the armor at first, but now he was genuinely interested. While instructing Jarvis to run a full scan, he kept questioning Ethan about the armor's various functions and systems.
As Tony learned more about the armor, he began to understand the principles behind magic stone technology.
"To put it simply, this so-called magic stone technology uses a specific medium to harness a certain type of energy effect. It's a very limited system. If you want to use this kind of technology on your new ship, you're going to run into a lot of constraints."
For example, if Ethan used a magic stone propulsion system on the new ship, and the propulsion unit ran out of energy or got damaged, he would need to find a magic stone with matching properties to restore or repair it. That kind of situation would cause major logistical and maintenance problems.
"So, it's best if your new ship uses the Arc Reactor as the main power source."
(To be continued.)
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