
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
Given an encryption function $y = a^x - 2$ (where $x$ is the plaintext and $y$ is the ciphertext), if the plaintext "3" is encrypted to produce the ciphertext "6" and then sent, the recipient decrypts it to obtain the plaintext "3". If the recipient receives a ciphertext of "14", then the original plaintext sent was \_\_\_\_\_\_.

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