
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
Let \(x, y \in \mathbf{R}\). Define \( M \) as the maximum value among \( x^2 + xy + y^2 \), \( x^2 + x(y-1) + (y-1)^2 \), \( (x-1)^2 + (x-1)y + y^2 \), and \( (x-1)^2 + (x-1)(y-1) + (y-1)^2 \). Determine the minimum value of \( M \).

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