Let's break this down. We're going to add 8618 and 6979 together.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 9 in column 1 and get 17.
We'll write down the last digit 7 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 1 & 7 in column 2 and get 9.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 9 in column 3 and get 15.
We'll write down the last digit 5 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 6 in column 4 and get 15.
We'll write down the last digit 5 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 8618 + 6979 = 15597.

