The second floor of a small roadside building was lit up, and a woman's scream came from inside. Jiang Hao paused, thought for a moment, then slipped toward it.
He sprang up to the second floor and stood on an iron frame to peer inside. There were two men and a woman in the room. Both men were huge and brawny, their bodies covered in tattoos. The woman looked very young, only seventeen or eighteen.
The girl lay on the bed topless while one of the men tattooed her. Perhaps it hurt too much, because she screamed, her face twisted in pain.
"Can we take a break and finish tomorrow? It hurts too much," the girl on the bed begged.
Smack!
The burly man beside her raised his hand and slapped her. "We don't have time to play games with you. It has to be finished today. Starting tomorrow, you'll get to work and make money."
The tattooed girl dared not say another word and gritted her teeth to endure it.
Jiang Hao knew this was a common American gang practice. They forced girls into prostitution and tattooed them, especially on places where skin was easily exposed, such as the neck, shoulders, thighs, arms, and wrists. They branded them with gang symbols so others would know which organization they belonged to.
Even if these girls got away, the police would keep an eye on them. It would be difficult for them to live normal lives again. For instance, when they looked for work, people would know what they had done the moment they saw the tattoos. It made it hard for them to return to normal society. This was one way gangs controlled women, making it nearly impossible for them to escape for the rest of their lives.
As for