
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
There's a sheet of paper. The first time it is torn, it's torn into 4 smaller pieces. The second time, one of the smaller pieces from the first tear is torn again into 4 smaller pieces. This process continues, with one piece being torn into 4 smaller pieces each time. After the $n$-th tear, there are a total of how many pieces?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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