
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
A piece of cheese is located at $(3, 6)$, and a mouse is at $(-2, 0)$. The mouse runs along the line defined by the equation $y = -4x - 8$. At what coordinates $(a, b)$ will the mouse start getting farther from the cheese instead of closer? What is $a + b$?

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