
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
Tatiana's teacher drew a $3 \times 3$ grid on the board, with zero in each cell. The students then took turns to pick a $2 \times 2$ square of four adjacent cells, and to add 1 to each of the numbers in the four cells. After a while, the grid looked like the diagram on the right (some of the numbers in the cells have been rubbed out.) What number should be in the cell with the question mark?
A) 9
B) 16
C) 21
D) 29
E) 34

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